The NSA's Future: A Tale of Two Committees

Russia granted Edward Snowden a year's worth of refugee status Thursday, and that may be just enough time to determine whether America's most prominent dissident will achieve his stated goal of dismantling the National Security Agency's "architecture of oppression," as he called it.

A groundswell of congressional support for major new restrictions on the NSA, combined with pressure from the nation's most powerful tech companies, is almost certain to force some of those changes into being. And the battle lines are already being formed between the Judiciary and Intelligence committees in both the House and Senate. Firebrand defenders of privacy rights on the Judiciary committees are seeking to shut down or fundamentally overhaul surveillance, while Intelligence Committee members who tend to stand behind the NSA are trying to preserve as much as they can of what they consider an essential program.

The ideas range from the extreme, shutting the telecommunication and Internet monitoring programs down altogether?something almost certain not to happen?to more feasible ideas that might preserve the heart of the program but add more transparency to the process. Such ideas include one that is gaining momentum in both the House and Senate?appointing a privacy advocate to take the other side against government requests for surveillance in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court?declassifying portions of the FISA orders, making them available to more members of Congress, and redesigning the phone-records collection program so that the NSA does not take possession of all the data itself.

NSA advocates counter that the vacuuming up of huge amounts of data is technically necessary, in part because of the nature of the diffuse threat of terrorism from small "super-empowered" individuals or groups (such as the Boston Marathon bombers) and the need to jump out a few "hops" beyond their immediate phone contacts in order to detect all of them, and in part because the data is disposed of by the private sector too soon. And they fear that greater transparency of any kind will compromise the program, revealing sources and methods to potential terrorists and teaching them how to avoid surveillance.

But even the most stalwart defenders agree that some changes are likely to come. Those familiar with the thinking of Rep. Mike Rogers, the powerful chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, say that some privacy concerns will have to be addressed in order to keep the programs functioning. On the Senate side, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, told ABC's "This Week" that "I do think we're going to have to make some kind of changes to make things more transparent."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of that committee, says that she knows of "no federal program for which audits, congressional oversight, and scrutiny by the Justice Department, the intelligence community, and the courts are stronger or more sustained." Nonetheless, Feinstein has already proposed several changes in order to assuage critics, including making public every year the number of Americans' phone numbers submitted as queries of the NSA database, along with the number of referrals made to the FBI and warrants to collect the content of any call; publishing the number of times in a year that any company is required to provide data pursuant to FISA's business-records provision; making available to all members of Congress all classified FISA court opinions, in a secure location; reducing the NSA's five-year retention of phone records to two or three years; and employing more liberal members of the FISA court.

At the moment, the House debate seems more energized, with the shockingly close defeat of an amendment that would have effectively defunded Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows the government to force telecommunications companies such as Verizon and AT&T to turn over business records if they are deemed "relevant" to a terrorism investigation. The failed amendment would have restricted such searches only to those persons already targeted by a federal probe. Now the odd-bedfellow alliance that collected 205 votes for that bill?consisting of libertarian conservatives such as Justin Amash, R-Mich., and liberal Democrats such as John Conyers, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and another Michigander?are already planning for a counterattack by supporters of the program.

The NSA opponents say they know the Intelligence committee members, along with the Obama administration (which is already releasing some phone-data collection information), will try to grant cosmetic concessions while trying to preserve the heart of the surveillance program. "The Intelligence Committee is going to be working very hard to head off any substantive change to the programs," says a Democratic congressional aide. "The one thing in our favor is that it's the Judiciary Committee, and not HPSCI, that has primary jurisdiction" over the legality of domestic surveillance.

It is the Intelligence Committee, however, that oversees many national security programs and prepares the budget for the NSA, among other intelligence agencies. And while Rogers and Feinstein have both expressed concern about the sweep of the NSA's data vacuuming, they insist it is necessary?both Section 215 and another provision of FISA, section 702, that covers the other recently declassified NSA program called Prism, which is intended to target the Internet traffic of foreign suspects by tapping into U.S-based servers.

On the House side, Rogers released a joint statement with Intelligence Committee ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., before the vote on the Amash-Conyers amendment that said the data collection program "has been integral in preventing multiple terrorist attacks, including a plot to attack the New York Stock Exchange in 2009." They said the amendment "would have an immediate?and potentially fatal?operational impact and make America more vulnerable to terrorist attacks."

But in the Senate, Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., disputed that assessment in hearings held this week. He suggested there was no evidence that the program had prevented acts of terrorism, and "if this program is not effective, it has to end." Leahy said a classified list of uses of the phone-record program "does not reflect dozens or even several terrorist plots that Section 215 helped thwart or prevent, let alone 54 as some have suggested."

NSA Director Keith Alexander has contended that the programs conducted allowed U.S. authorities to disrupt 54 "events," 42 of which "involved disrupted plots."

Earlier this week, Leahy proposed a bill?the FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2013?that mirrored to some degree the moves made in the House. In part, it too would allow the government to obtain records using Section 215 only when it could establish that the information is relevant to an authorized investigation and somehow linked to a foreign terrorist group or foreign power. Again demonstrating the power of the emerging libertarian-liberal alliance, it was cosponsored by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

And so, while leaker Edward Snowden hides in Russia, the debate he started in Washington will unfold in the ensuing months. The outcome will turn in part on the shifts in public opinion. The most recent national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted July 17-21, found that 50 percent of the public still approve of the government's collection of telephone and Internet data as part of antiterrorism efforts, while 44 percent disapprove. That was actually a slight increase in favor of the NSA from a month before, when 48 percent approved and 47 percent disapproved.

At the same time, however, Pew found that 56 percent of Americans say that federal courts fail to provide adequate limits on the programs. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll also found dramatically rising concerns about intrusions into privacy related to the data collection.

Many opponents of the NSA's practices, including such prominent names in the House as James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., coauthor of the Patriot Act, and California Democrat Zoe Lofgren, say they do not want to shut down the surveillance programs, only restrict them to the actual language of the actual FISA act, which requires that the NSA only collect information directly relevant to a national security investigation. If that doesn't happen, they warn, then the battle will be resumed when the statute is "sunsetted" on June 1, 2015.

And they are indicating that they feel the nation has been led astray because too much trust was put in the Intelligence committees that were supposed to be overseeing the NSA programs. Says the Democratic congressional aide: "In lot of ways it was an Intelligence Committee-driven solution, with no input from rank-and-file members, that got us into this mess."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nsas-future-tale-two-committees-060021003.html

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Bay Area commuters brace for another BART strike

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) ? Agencies are planning ways to get San Francisco Bay area commuters to work Monday if there's a transit strike, but officials say no matter what steps are taken there's no way to make up for the idling of one of the nation's largest transit systems

More ferries and buses will be put into operation to get people across San Francisco Bay. Carpool lanes will be open all day Monday, not just for rush hour. And gift cards for coffee will be handed out to drivers who pick up riders.

BART carries more than 400,000 commuters a day, keeping them off the roads in a region routinely choked with traffic.

"The inescapable fact is BART's capacity can't be absorbed by the other transit agencies," said John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. "We're still hoping for the best, but it's time to prepare for the worst."

Meanwhile, Bay Area Rapid Transit and its union were holding weekend-long labor talks in hopes of reaching an agreement by a midnight Sunday.

The two sides were scheduled to return to the negotiating table at 10 a.m. Saturday after recessing for the night Friday.

Key sticking points in the labor talks focused on worker safety, pensions and health care costs, commuters are bracing for what could be the second BART strike in a month.

When transit workers shut down train service for four days in early July, roadways were jammed and commuters faced long lines for buses and ferries. The unions agreed to call off that strike and extend their contracts until Sunday while negotiations continued.

"I didn't really fully appreciate the magnitude of disruption of my commute," said Oakland resident Benny Martin.

Martin, 32, said the short trip to his law firm in downtown San Francisco took him two hours each way. If BART workers strike next week, he just won't go into the office. "It's just not worth it for me."

A strike next week could cause more traffic mayhem than last month's work stoppage, which came around the Fourth of July holiday.

"Without having a holiday in the middle of the week, there's a potential for much greater congestion on the roadways," Goodwin said.

At a news conference Friday, Bay Area and state officials called on BART managers and union leaders to reach an agreement, saying a strike would create financial hardship for working families and hurt the Bay Area economy.

"We need an agreement and not a strike in our BART Service," San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said. "They need to know that it is no longer a matter of inconvenience to the ridership. It is hardship."

On Thursday, two transit unions? which represent nearly 2,400 train operators, station agents, mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff ? issued a 72-hour strike notice. They plan to participate in labor talks up until the contract expires at midnight Sunday in hopes of averting a strike.

At a meeting of BART's board Friday, union leaders urged the directors to give workers what they called a fair contract.

"I'm here to say we will not be busted," John Arantes, president of SEIU local 1021. "We are more united now than ever before."

BART General Manager Grace Crunican said the two sides were working hard at the bargaining table, but they remain far apart on wages, pensions and health care. There's still time to reach a deal before the strike deadline, she said.

"Three days is a long time when you've come as far as we have," Crunican told reporters.

Under state law, Gov. Jerry Brown has the authority to seek a court-ordered 60-day "cooling off period" that would temporarily block BART workers from striking.

"The governor is considering all his options and closely monitoring the situation," said spokesman Evan Westrup.

___

Associated Press writers Martha Mendoza, Jason Dearen and Sudhin Thanawala contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bay-area-commuters-brace-another-bart-strike-191159552.html

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Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH.

By Jim Fisher

Leica's f/2 Summicron lenses have traditionally delivered excellent performance at a reasonable (for Leica) price tag. The Summicron-M 50mm f/2 sells for a mere $2,295, and even the current version has been on the market for enough time so that used examples are available for much less. So why does the new Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. ($7,195 list) cost more than three times as much? Quite simply, it's as close to perfect as any that I've shot with. It's sharp from edge-to-edge, even at f/2, shows no distortion, and is completely free of chromatic aberration. It's very expensive, and chances are that you don't need a perfect lens for your camera, but we're awarding it an Editors' Choice award based on its exemplary performance.

Like most rangefinder lenses, the APO-Summicron-M is quite small. It measures just 1.9 by 2.1 inches (HD), but is a bit heavy at 10.6 ounces. Its density is in part due to its all-metal construction, but you can't discount the heft of the glass?there are eight internal lens elements, arranged in five groups. The front element is fairly small in diameter, allowing you to use 39mm screw-in filters as needed. Like most rangefinder lenses, the close focus capability is limited to 0.7 meters. Aperture ranges from f/2 down to f/16 in half-stop clicks, and there are 11 aperture blades. There's a notch on the lens barrel to aid in focus adjustment, a physical aperture ring, and a telescoping hood. The lens ships with a slip-on metal cap with a soft, black felt lining.

I used Imatest to check the performance of the lens when paired with the full-frame M (Typ 240). Its performance is, to put it lightly, impressive. We consider an image to be sharp if it manages to resolve more than 1,800 lines per picture height using a center-weighted analysis of our SFRPlus test chart. The Apo-Summicron records 2,788 lines at f/2, with sharpness that is even from edge to edge. Stopping down to f/2.8 improves its score to 3,496 lines, and it peaks at 3,843 lines at f/4. There's absolutely no distortion, and the apochromatic design means that you won't see any purple or green fringes at areas of high contrast or bokeh. To compare, the excellent Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. managed to record about 2,300 lines at f/2, and the best performance we were able to muster was at f/8?3,680 lines. We tested that lens with the M Monochrom, a camera that benefits from an inherent advantage in sharpness due to the lack of a color filter.

If you want the absolute best 50mm lens that money can buy, the Leica APO-Summicron-M f/2 ASPH. is it. That kind of performance comes at a cost that not many are willing or able to pay. The lens is impressively small, but extremely well built. I'm not sure if I'd call anything perfect, but the APO-Summicron comes close. We're rewarding its design with a rare 5-star rating and our Editors' Choice award. Thanks to its cost, it's not a lens that many will get to shoot with, but those who do get the opportunity will undoubtedly walk away happy with the resulting images.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/wKJHQ-winas/0,2817,2422556,00.asp

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Letter: Delta mayor and council need to work with MLA Huntington

Published: July 28, 2013 9:00 AM

In their many years of service to Delta, Mayor Jackson and councillor MacDonald have done many good things but their vendetta against Vikki Huntingdon is in my humble opinion very destructive.

She was elected by the people of? Delta South and is our official representative in the legislature.

To treat her with disrespect is to treat us with disrespect. To ignore her is to ignore us.

She has taken on a very important job and is keeping her constituents informed very well. The mayor and council would do well to meet with her and listen to her.

She has a unique position in the legislature and they would do well to take advantage of it.

By all means they should talk and deal with the other MLA, as he represents North Delta.? As far as him having the ear of the government is concerned, past experience has taught me to question that belief.

Delta would be better served if there was co-operation in place of the confrontation the mayor and councilor are attempting.

Ken Atkey
Ladner

Source: http://www.southdeltaleader.com/opinion/letters/217182651.html

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Monster galaxies lose their appetite with age

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Our universe is filled with gobs of galaxies, bound together by gravity into larger families called clusters. Lying at the heart of most clusters is a monster galaxy thought to grow in size by merging with neighboring galaxies, a process astronomers call galactic cannibalism. New research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is showing that, contrary to previous theories, these gargantuan galaxies appear to slow their growth over time, feeding less and less off neighboring galaxies.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/8UCm2dF0cSU/130801195743.htm

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Chinese automaker shamelessly copies Volkswagen Taigun Concept

Unheard-of Chinese automaker Jiangsu Lake Motors is preparing a 99 percent copy of the Volkswagen Taigun Concept.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but this is just too much. You are looking at a car created by Jiangsu Lake Motors which is currently known simply as the "SUV". The real VW Taigun won't be out until 2016 but a very similar design will probably be seen on Chinese streets a lot sooner.

These photos are actually from a patent application and show virtually the same styling, including the alloy design (albeit with significantly slimmer tires). The main difference between the two can be seen at the rear doors where the "SUV" gets normal door handles.

This latest patent application comes after a string of China-made copy/paste models, including the recent Lamborghini Urus lookalike from Sichuan Yema and the C-Class impersonator known as the Brilliance BS6.

Source: http://www.worldcarfans.com/113080261026/chinese-automaker-shamelessly-copies-volkswagen-taigun

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Lawyer: Mayor didn't get harassment training

A lawyer for San Diego Mayor Bob Filner criticized the city for not providing sexual harassment training to the mayor, saying its failure to do so violated the law.

In a letter to the city attorney, Harvey Berger wrote that Filner might never have been sued for sexual harassment had he been properly trained.

"If there is any liability at all, the city will almost certainly be liable for 'failing to prevent harassment,' " Berger wrote in a letter dated Monday and obtained Wednesday by CNN from City Attorney Jan Goldsmith.

An intent of Berger's letter was to urge the city to pay Filner's legal fees associated with a sexual harassment filed against him by his former spokeswoman, Irene McCormack Jackson. The city is named as a co-defendant in that lawsuit.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted 9-0 to deny the mayor's request for taxpayers to pay his legal fees, according to Matt Awbrey, spokesman for council member Kevin Faulconer.

Filner never received sexual harassment training while serving in Congress from 1993 to December 2012, Berger wrote. He was set to get such training -- which is required within six months of one's start date -- after becoming mayor, but the trainer canceled the session and never rescheduled, according to the lawyer.

"There is very, very good reason for mandatory sexual harassment training," Berger said. "If nothing else, it makes people think about the subject and how they interact with fellow employees."

While the mayor has admitted unspecified inappropriate behavior in the past, he denies the allegations against him by Jackson.

"This is not a request for the city to agree to pay any verdict; it is simply a request for defense against unverified claims being brought against the mayor -- claims which are denied," Berger said.

Jackson isn't alone. Seven other women have said they were subjected to "crude and disgusting" comments and inappropriate touching -- including groping and kissing -- by Filner. Many of the alleged incidents of which he's being accused took place during his five terms in a U.S. representative, before he was elected mayor last year.

Source: http://www.wdsu.com/news/national/Lawyer-Mayor-didn-t-get-harassment-training/-/9853500/21271588/-/11tqc8w/-/index.html?absolute=true

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Former NFL Star Aaron Hernandez Pens Letter From Jail, ?God Put Me In This Situation For A Reason?

He has nothing else better to do.

When ninjas are behind bars facing years in jail, they find God real quick. God put you in jail for a reason, but why were you holding a gun on that surveillance footage? God always knows something we don?t.

According to TMZ

Aaron Hernandez wrote a pen pal a letter from inside his jail cell, declaring his innocence, saying his murder charges are God?s plan, and vowing to return to the NFL ? and TMZ has a copy.

We have verified with law enforcement the letter is the real deal. You can read it yourself ? among the highlights:

? ?The world just makes things out of false accusations ? and it will all die down, especially when they say NOT GUILTY?

? ?All the people who turned on me will feel like crap.?

? ?God put me in this situation for a reason.?

? ?Can?t wait to sign [autographs] again when I?m playing again an [sic] prove all the haters WRONG.?

As for the fan who received the letter, Karl ? he just called in to ?TMZ Live? and told us he wrote Hernandez first.

Karl says he sent the letter because he was in the same jail 15 years ago, and wanted to reach out to Hernandez to give him some encouragement.

Karl also says he would like to visit Aaron in jail ? if Aaron will let him.

FYI, Hernandez ? who?s been accused of murdering semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd ? has been denied bail and will remain behind bars until his trial.

Hit the flip to view the letter.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bossiprss/~3/9Bm8czZkAxs/

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(Clarification) Hispanic Phoenix College Teacher Sues MCCCD in Federal Court Over Race Discrimination and Retaliation

SOURCE: The Strojnik Firm LLC

PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - Aug 1, 2013) - On July 31, 2013, The Strojnik Firm LLC released a publication concerning math professor Dr. Cleopatria Martinez, who sued Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) for race discrimination and retaliation in relation to her employment at Phoenix College. The story goes on to say that a deponent in that litigation opined that Phoenix College President Anna Solley and Math Department Chair Joe Sueyoshi are racist.

The clarification is that the deponent did not opine that Dr. Solley was racist, but that Dr. Solley is intimidating and retaliates especially against Latinos and Hispanics. The deponent, who is also a Latina employee at Phoenix College, further testified that Dr. Solley's "whole demeanor is one of retaliation [and] intimidation." The deponent went on to testify about the hypocrisy of seeing flyers at Phoenix College concerning the family atmosphere there, but "what kind of administrators do we have that would allow themselves a person, to really harass and intimidate a fellow employee..."

Dr. Martinez' attorney, Peter Strojnik, stated in relation to the deponent's testimony, "During my examination, I was very concerned for the deponent. It was my strong sense that she was extremely fearful that Dr. Solley would retaliate against her for her testimony."

Dr. Martinez' lawsuit against MCCCD was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona under case number CV12-702.

Source: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=1817194&sourceType=3

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Student loan compromise heads toward final vote

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A deal that gives college students and their parents lower interest rates for loans is heading toward its final vote.

The House was expected Wednesday to take up a bipartisan compromise that links student loan interest rates to the financial markets. Immediately, most borrowers would see lower rates for classes this year than last, although the costs are expected to climb in coming years if the economy improves as expected.

"This is a victory for students and taxpayers, and I look forward to the bill's swift passage in the House," said Rep. John Kline, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Undergraduates this fall would borrow at a 3.9 percent interest rate for subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Graduate students would have access to loans at 5.4 percent, and parents would borrow at 6.4 percent. The rates would be locked in for that year's loan, but each year's loan could be more expensive than the last. Rates would rise as the economy picks up and it becomes more expensive for the government to borrow money.

But for now, interest payments for tuition, housing and books would be less expensive if the House passes the bill as expected.

The chamber earlier this year passed legislation that is similar to what the Senate later passed. Both link interest rates to 10-year Treasury notes and remove Congress' annual role in determining rates.

Negotiators of the Senate compromise were mindful of the House-passed version, as well as the White House preference to shift responsibility for interest rates to the financial markets. The resulting bipartisan bill passed the Senate 81-18.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner has signaled his caucus should support Senate changes to the earlier bill. So, too, has Rep. George Miller of California, the top Democrat on the House education panel.

The House-written student loan bill passed the GOP-led chamber 221-198, largely along party lines. Eight Republicans crossed party lines to vote against it; four Democrats voted in favor of it.

With changes made in the Senate ? most notably a cap on how interest rates could climb and locking in interest rates for the life of each year's loan ? Democrats were expected to join Republicans and back the bill.

Interest rates would not top 8.25 percent for undergraduates. Graduate students would not pay rates higher than 9.5 percent, and parents' rates would top out at 10.5 percent. Using Congressional Budget Office estimates, rates would not reach those limits in the next 10 years.

Even with those protections not all Democrats will back it, cautioned House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. She said this "isn't the bill we would have written, but it is a bill that can pass and will have Democrats voting for and against."

The White House has endorsed the deal and President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into law, despite objections from consumer advocates that the outline could cost future students.

"The bottom line is that students will pay more under this bill than if Congress did nothing, and low rates will soon give way to rates that are even higher than the 6.8 percent rate that Congress is trying to avoid," said Chris Lindstrom, higher education program director for the consumer group US PIRG.

Rates on new subsidized Stafford loans doubled to 6.8 percent July 1 because Congress could not agree on a way to keep them at 3.4 percent. Without congressional action, rates would stay at 6.8 percent ? a reality most lawmakers called unacceptable.

The compromise that came together during the last month would be a good deal for all students through the 2015 academic year. After that, interest rates are expected to climb above where they were when students left campus in the spring, if congressional estimates prove correct.

The White House and its allies said the new loan structure would offer lower rates to 11 million borrowers right away and save the average undergraduate $1,500 in interest charges.

Democratic senators were already talking about changing the deal when they take up a rewrite of the Higher Education Act this fall. As a condition of his support, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin won a Government Accountability Office report on the costs of colleges. That document was expected to guide an overhaul of the deal just negotiated.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill as written would reduce the deficit by $715 million over the next decade. During that same time, federal loans would be a $1.4 trillion program.

___

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/student-loan-compromise-heads-toward-final-vote-072756908.html

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Facebook Owner-Wannabe's Lawsuit Is Bogus, Says DOJ

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/law/law-com-newswire/~3/945cZEUuVro/sign_me_in.jsp

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Facebook announces Mobile Games Publishing pilot program

Facebook has reportedly been toying around with the idea of launching a distribution platform for mobile games, boosting advertising revenue by also taking a cut of sales. As of today, the initiative is official: a new Mobile Games Publishing page is now live on Facebook's developers site. The pilot program is designed for small and medium-sized gaming developers -- after signing up, Facebook will help developers target consumers who might be interested in playing. Additionally, the site will provide feedback through analytics tools, enabling developers to refine their approach in response to customer interest. The program isn't open to everyone just yet, but if you're a small to mid-sized dev that Facebook identifies as "high-potential," you might just have a shot at joining up. Fill in your deets at the source link below.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Facebook

Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Facebook

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/30/facebook-mobile-games-publishing/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Is Your Small Business Ready To Survive After a Disaster ...

This may seem like a well-covered topic, but honestly, no small business is ever fully prepared to face a disaster nevermind the long post-event road to recover.??Another summer storm season is just around the corner.??Most small business owners don?t realize that storms aren?t the only threat to their livelihood. The good news is that there are steps that every small business can take to reduce the impact of a catastrophe and decrease the restart time to being fully operational once more.

What can we learn from recent disasters?

Disasters don?t just include storms or fires. There are a multitude of unforeseen events that can impact and interrupt your business to the point of shut-down. Consider for a minute that your work force is lean, everyone is juggling multiple tasks, and each person is critical to your business? success. Then consider that a pandemic virus, (think H1N1 virus) strikes your community taking out nearly two-thirds of your work force, several critically. Your business suffers because you cannot meet customer demands, provide adequate service, or maintain daily operations with so many key staffers out ill.??What you do next, may mean the difference between keeping your customers or losing them forever. It may even mean the survival of your business.

If your next move is to reach for your updated crisis plan and implement the procedures your emergency team put together just last quarter, then your business may have hope for surviving the crisis.??Alternately, if your next choice is to buy a box of surgical masks and put a quarantine sign on your door, you may want to start looking for another career choice.

To your amazement, not only did your emergency response team write the crisis plan, they even ran a few test scenarios to see how well it worked!??Before you can believe your eyes, your emergency response team leader pulls out the binder and initiates the ?Illness Crisis Protocol? to start the process of auto orders with your vendors, back-up delivery schedules and a list of contingency duties for the remaining staff on hand. Each staffer gathers together a list of the top ten items in his or her department that need to be addressed in order to maintain operations for the next 24 to 36 hours. The team regroups in an hour and begins to sketch shor- term plans based on their needs lists. None of this would have been possible if your employees hadn?t taken the initiative and time to review these processes six months ago.

Data interruption

Threats to data bases aren?t just for corporate espionage novels any more.??Posing even a greater risk to small businesses than their large corporate cousins, data theft or data interruption can cost thousands or even millions in lost revenue.??According to a Trend Micro-sponsored Ponemon Institute study, ?more than 78 percent of organizations have suffered from at least one data breach over the past two years.????Whether those breaches were from external malicious intent or as a result of employee error, the costs related to recovering and restoring your business? data. Data recovery is severely hindered for small businesses because according to the Trend Micro report, ?62 percent of small business enterprises do not routinely back up [their] data? making it even more difficult to recover lost information and restart the business. Of those businesses backing up their data, one in four of them are storing their back up at a remote location more than 50 miles away. Backing up your data to a removable hard drive and storing it in a desk drawer may be a nice first step, but consider what you would do if a rogue storm?strikes and your business and all of its contents are flooded. Storing back up data in an off-site secure location will help to ensure greater business continuity. When creating a back-up, remember to also keep a duplicate copy of your business? accounting and emergency contact information for every employee. These and other emergency measures will make a big difference in how quickly you can reopen your business.

Lastly, but certainly not least, protect your employees.??For small businesses, employees hold not just the figurative keys to the business, but often the physical keys, too.???Employees, a small business? most important asset, can often be overlooked in disaster planning,? says a representative from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). Protecting your employees needs to happen both inside and outside your facility.??Make sure that your emergency plan includes building evacuation, shelter in place, and lockdown activities. Also, consider how you can implement a work at home process until your business? facilities are back online and fully operational.

Please be advised that, based on current IRS rules and standards, any advice contained herein is not intended to be used, nor can it be used, for the avoidance of any tax penalty that the IRS may assess related to this matter. Any information contained in this article, whether viewed or subsequently printed, cannot be relied upon as qualified tax and accounting advice.? Any information contained in this article does not fall under the guidelines of IRS Circular 230.

www.smallbizaccountants.com

Source: https://www.accountingfreedom.com/?p=1059

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Rome native graduates from Harvard

James Isaac Payne graduated from Harvard University with a master?s of divinity degree with an emphasis in Arabic and Islamic studies. In 2011 he graduated suma cum laude from Emory University.

He was the 2007 valedictorian of Rome High school.

He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. James Payne and the grandson of J. Sanford Payne and the late Sara Hall Payne.

Source: http://rn-t.com/bookmark/23242753

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HOMES WERE SHAKING 10 MILES AWAY: At least eight injured, five critically, after explosions at propane gas plant in Florida ? 'It sounds like bombs are going off'

Tyler Boylston/Demotix/Corbis

Fire from the Blue Rhino propane plant explosions lights up the night sky on Monday in central Florida.

At least eight people were injured, including five critically, as a series of explosions rocked a central Florida propane gas plant on Monday night, sending local residents who believed "bombs are going off" into a panic.

All the workers at the Blue Rhino propane plant in Tavares, Fla., were accounted for early Tuesday.

"People from very far away and in towns six, seven, eight, 10 miles from here were reporting feeling their homes shaking," John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office told ABCNews.com.

One of the injured people was not a worker, but a man who was hit by a car while trying to run away from the fire.

Leesburg resident Kaghy Sam, 29, was sprinting on the road "due to a large fire and several explosions" just before 11 p.m. Monday and "ran into the direct path" of 72-year-old Gene Batson's vehicle, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Sam was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center with serious injuries, and no charges were filed.

Three workers were listed in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center early Tuesday, while one person injured in the explosion was in critical condition at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital. Other injured workers drove themselves to hospitals.

Five workers walked up to a command center with skin hanging off their arms, torso and faces, a fire official said.

The plant, located northwest of Orlando, refilled propane tanks usually used for barbecues and other uses. There were at least 53,000 20-pound tanks on the premises.

There were 14 full-time employees and 10 part-timers at the scene when the blasts happened around 11 p.m.

"It sounds like bombs are going off," Norma Haygood told WESH in Orlando.

The tanks at the plant hold 90,000 gallons of propane each, but did not ignite the fire, Tavares Fire Chief Richard Keith said Tuesday morning.

"We don't think there was any act of sabotage or anything like that," Keith told the Orlando Sentinel. "It was probably a human or equipment error."

Three 33,000-pound tanks of propane were untouched even though hoses designed to spray water on them in case of fire did not go off because they needed to be manually activated, Lake County Battalion Chief Chris Croughwell said.

RELATED: TRAIN CARRYING PETROLEUM DERAILS, CATCHES FIRE IN QUEBEC

"Most sane people don't stick around for an event like this," he said.

Tavares Mayor Robert Wolfe was surprised the hoses needed to be manually activated. "We're lucky those tanks didn't explode," he said. If they did, it "would have wiped us out," he said.

Video footage on WESH showed raging fires following the explosions. Residents who were told to leave their homes as a precaution were later allowed to return.

"You could definitely see the fire from across the lake," Ashley McCormick of Mount Dora told ABC. "It was humongous even from seven miles away. You could hear the explosions, just one after another and then after it would explode, a fireball would shoot up into the sky."

"It was like a car had run into my house, is what I thought had happened," said Marni Whitehead, who lives less than a mile from the plant.

She ran outside and saw the explosions.

"We knew right away it was the plant, the propane plant," Whitehead said. "After that, it was just sort of panic. And it was just boom after boom after boom."

"I have heard tons of booms for at least 30 minutes," Mount Dora's Blake Cottle told ABC affiliate WFTV-TV.

Officials believe the fire was contained, but while reporters were examining the facility on Tuesday morning, firefighters found burning plastic tank caps in a gigantic container, according to the Sentinel.

Blue Rhino, which was built in 2004 and employs fewer than 50 people, is a subsidiary of Kansas-based Ferrellgas.

"We know very little so far. It's very early, it's very preliminary," a Ferrellgas spokesman told the Sentinel.

"It was a tremendous fire," Keith said Tuesday morning. "We still have a lot of work to do."

Blue Rhino was cited with a "serious" violation by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration in November of 2011, according to the Sentinel.

"We don't have any details regarding the event," an OSHA spokesperson said. "As is standard OSHA policy, OSHA has up to six months from the beginning of its investigation to issue its findings and determine whether any OSHA standards were violated. OSHA does not issue preliminary or interim reports, so we won't be able to comment on the investigation until the final report is issued."

With News Wire Services

?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nydnrss/new-york/~3/XIpTgXyojLc/story01.htm

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San Francisco 49ers NFL tickets are a steal...for now

Vivid Seats

A snapshot of National Football League average home game ticket prices for the 2013-2014 season, according to ticket marketplace Vivid Seats.

The looming National Football League season will be the San Francisco 49ers' last at Candlestick Park, and cost-conscious fans might want to get in on the action now.

According to an analysis by online ticket marketplace Vivid Seats, the Niners have the No. 13 most expensive average home game tickets out of the league's 32 teams. But if the team's season ticket and seat license prices at the new Levi's Stadium are any indication, expect the team to rank higher next year.

Across the NFL, the average ticket price for the 2013 season is $203.75. For home games at Candlestick Park this upcoming season, 49ers' tickets are going for an average $216, according to Vivid Seats.

That's much lower than the top teams for home game ticket sales, like the New England Patriots, which are going for an average of $431. However, Niners games are significantly higher than the Oakland Raiders' average $120 ticket price, which sends the East Bay team to the bottom of the spendy list, at No. 29.

The 49ers' new $1.3 billion Santa Clara stadium project ? slated for completion next summer ? has already generated more than $800 million in revenue from early seat license and box sales.

Seat license costs at Levi's Stadium, which are not figured into average ticket prices, range from $2,000 to $12,000. Season ticket prices range from $850 to $2,000 or more for suites.

For those keeping score, a ticket to the 49ers' game at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 15 is currently the No. 11 most expensive single game of the upcoming season, with tickets averaging $418, according to Vivid Seats.

Lauren Hepler covers economic development, sports, and hospitality for the Silicon Valley Business Journal. She can be reached at 408.299.1820

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bizj_sanjose/~3/rcikigmtnCQ/san-francisco-49ers-nfl-tickets-are-a.html

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European Court to hear new CIA jail case against Poland

By Christian Lowe

WARSAW (Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has agreed to consider a second case against Poland over allegations it allowed the CIA to run a secret jail on its soil, intensifying pressure on Warsaw to reveal how closely it was involved in the U.S. "war on terror".

The Strasbourg-based court will consider an application from Saudi-born Abu Zubaydah, who alleges that he was held illegally about a decade ago in a CIA-run facility on the grounds of an intelligence training academy in a Polish forest.

His case will be considered alongside one brought earlier by Saudi national Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who says he was held in the same place as part of a CIA program of "extraordinary rendition" to detain and interrogate suspected al Qaeda operatives.

According to applications submitted to court by lawyers for the two men, they were flown by private jet to a remote Polish airfield and then driven to the facility near a village called Stare Kiejkuty. While there, they say they were subjected to interrogation techniques - including water-boarding - that human rights activists say amount to torture.

Polish officials deny hosting a CIA jail. Poland's foreign ministry said it had received details of the case from the ECHR.

"Poland is obliged to reply to the complaint by the deadline of September 16 this year. The case is currently being analyzed by the legal services of the ministry," it said in a statement.

The twin court cases are awkward for Poland's government: it is caught between a desire to be seen as a model of human rights and respect for the law on the one hand, and its close security relationship with the United States on the other.

GUANTANAMO INMATES

The United States has acknowledged that, as part of its "war on terror" it had facilities around the world where it held al Qaeda suspects. Putting them on foreign soil meant the detainees were not entitled to the protections afforded under U.S. law.

Washington has never disclosed the location of any of the prisons, and President Barack Obama signed an order ending their use after taking office in 2009. Both Abu Zubaydah and al-Nashiri are now being held in the U.S. military jail at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Warsaw has so far declined to answer questions from the court about the allegations made by al-Nashiri, citing national security concerns and worries about interfering with a separate criminal investigation inside Poland.

"As a member of the Council of Europe, Poland is obliged to cooperate with the Court," said Helen Duffy, senior counsel for Abu Zubaydah on behalf of Interights, a human rights group.

"It needs to begin to engage with the detailed allegations against it and to account for its central role in the rendition program," she said.

Abu Zubaydah's application against Poland was on Monday listed by the ECHR as having been "communicated", which means that on a preliminary examination the court believed there was a case to answer.

The court usually takes several years between receiving an application and communicating it, but it acted more swiftly in the two cases against Poland: 14 months for al-Nashiri and six months for Abu Zubaydah's application.

Some people with expertise in the court's workings say this could mean a ruling will be made as early as this year.

The U.S. government says Abu Zubaydah ran a camp in Afghanistan that trained some of those who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities. It accuses al-Nashiri of directing an attack on the U.S. warship Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in 2000 that killed 17 sailors.

Prosecutors in Poland have been conducting a criminal investigation into allegations that Polish officials knew there was a CIA jail. It has been running now for five years, with no sign any prosecutions are imminent.

(Additional reporting by Dagmara Leszkowicz; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/european-court-hear-cia-jail-case-against-poland-150155823.html

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Video Shows SDSU Basketball Coach Slapping Assistant

Women?s basketball coach Beth Burns isn?t taking her forced retirement sitting down.

Former San Diego State University women?s basketball coach Beth Burns isn?t taking her forced retirement sitting down. Burns was caught slapping an assistant coach on the shoulder and then the school forced her to retire without so much as a goodbye to her players.

Become a blogger today!
Get started now

Source: http://encinitas.patch.com/groups/sports/p/video-shows-sdsu-basketball-coach-slapping-assistant_c527619b

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Egyptian gov't authorizes military police to arrest civilians

Egypt's interim president, Adly Mansour, issued a decree giving Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi authorization to order the military police to arrest civilians.

According to the daily Al Wasat, which printed the decree published Sunday in the official state bulletin, Mansour extended a series of presidential prerogatives to Beblawi, including the arrest authorization.

The move may be interpreted as another step to increase the repression of demonstrators supporting deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted by the military on July 3.

Since the lifting in May 2012 of the emergency law, which had been in effect in Egypt since 1981 ostensibly to fight terrorism, the police had been the only organization allowed to arrest civilians.

However, on June 13, 2012, the Justice Ministry issued a decree authorizing the military police to arrest civilians for specific common crimes, although a few days later the Supreme Administrative Court in Cairo ordered that measure suspended. EFE

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/latino_foxnews_com/home/feed/~3/HVnQO9T1mEg/

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Chromecast Dealz, Apple Store Meltdowns, Easy Monopoly, and More

Happy Saturday friends! Since you are inside staring at the Internet instead of outside staring at the ocean, here's a selection of the most bestest stories we published this week. They will make you laugh and cry simultaneously with outrage and joy!

Read more...

Source: http://gizmodo.com/chromecast-dealz-apple-store-meltdowns-easy-monopoly-933910755

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Microsoft promises ‘unlimited free hard drive space’ via Xbox One’s extensive cloud network

Microsoft has had a less-than-stellar track record with the?Xbox One?so far: with somewhat fumbling PR and a host of unpopular features and policies, the Xbox One?s reveal didn?t go over so well in the gaming sphere.

Now Microsoft is aiming to change that by pushing a variety of newly announced features and content in order to redeem the console?s overall public image, and their most recent attempts have proven successful.

At this year?s?PAX Australia, Microsoft unveiled some pretty impressive features for their next-gen Xbox One. First off, the Redmond-based gaming giant announced that gamers will be able to use the next-gen system to create and self-publish their own indie games?a move that was well received by many indie enthusiasts.

Now Microsoft offers something that every gamer can appreciate?more HDD capacity. 500 gigs isn?t by any means a smallish figure, but when gamers are downloading HD videos and huge next-gen gaming content via Xbox LIVE, that hard drive may be full before you know it.

To solve this, Microsoft has promised gamers the Xbox One will have ?unlimited? drive space via the console?s extensive cloud network, and that it won?t cost users a dime.

According to a PR spokesperson from Microsoft, the cloud storage feature will be offered to?allXbox LIVE subscribers and won?t be restricted to just Xbox LIVE Gold members?which is quite surprising, given the perks offered by the premium subscription.

Xbox Live offers Xbox One unlimited storage space in the cloud for all Xbox Live members to store numerous types of Xbox Live content, including your profile, games, Achievements and entertainment.

This content is stored and saved in the cloud so you can automatically access it anywhere, anytime, no matter where you are.

While Microsoft has touted their cloud network since the Xbox One was formally announced, we haven?t had very much clear-cut information regarding the specifics of the cloud. This new announcement may be enough to win a percentage of gamers who are still on the fence about which next-gen console is right for them, and it will be interesting to see if Sony counters with their own focus on cloud storage.

The?PlayStation 4?s cloud network,?Gaikai, will be optimized for Sony?s PlayStation Store offering and may feature a variety of classics from the previous PlayStation consoles all the way back to the PS1. While Sony?s cloud-based service will offer a ton of content from a smattering of providers, we may not see unlimited hard drive space.

Even so the PS4 remains the dominant choice, and we?ll likely see the console war heat up in the coming months with Gamescom and this year?s Tokyo Game Show around the corner.

Via Examiner

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vr-zone/~3/MXcEJtgrpW8/47766.html

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San Diego mayor's ex-supporters to discuss claims

SAN DIEGO -- An attorney and former supporter of San Diego's mayor says he is preparing to make a sexual harassment claim against the city.

Attorney Marco Gonzalez speaking at a news conference in front of City Hall on Monday said lawsuits may also be filed if Mayor Bob Filner refuses to resign.

Gonzalez was accompanied by another lawyer and former Councilwoman Donna Frye, who first announced the allegations last week.

Frye read statements Monday allegedly from two unnamed victims.

Frye says the mayor forcibly kissed both during separate encounters.

San Diego's first Democratic mayor in 20 years is desperately trying to hold on to his office amid the allegations.

Filner has apologized for not respecting women. But he said in a statement Monday that he is not guilty of sexual harassment.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/15/3501244/san-diego-mayors-ex-supporters.html

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Hotshots killed in Ariz. fire remembered, mourned

Unidentified members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew from Prescott, Ariz., pose together in this undated photo provided by the City of Prescott. Some of the men in this photograph were among the 19 firefighters killed while battling an out-of-control wildfire near Yarnell, Ariz., on Sunday, June 30, 2013, according to Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo. It was the nation's biggest loss of firefighters in a wildfire in 80 years. (AP Photo/City of Prescott)

Unidentified members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew from Prescott, Ariz., pose together in this undated photo provided by the City of Prescott. Some of the men in this photograph were among the 19 firefighters killed while battling an out-of-control wildfire near Yarnell, Ariz., on Sunday, June 30, 2013, according to Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo. It was the nation's biggest loss of firefighters in a wildfire in 80 years. (AP Photo/City of Prescott)

This undated photo courtesy of the the Woyjeck family shows firefighter, Kevin Woyjeck, right, and his father, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Joe Woyjeck. Kevin Woyjeck of Seal Beach, Calif., was one of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew, who was killed Sunday evening above the town of Yarnell, northwest of Phoenix in the nation's biggest loss of firefighters in a wildfire in 80 years. (AP Photo/Woyjeck Family)

This undated photo provided by the family shows John Joseph Percin Jr. Percin, 24, was among the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighters who were killed Sunday, June 30, 2013 when a windblown wildfire overcame them north of Phoenix. (AP Photo)

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) ? Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, based in Prescott, Ariz., were killed Sunday when a windblown wildfire overcame them north of Phoenix. It was the deadliest single day for U.S. firefighters since Sept. 11. Fourteen of the victims were in their 20s. Here are the stories of those who died:

___

ANDREW ASHCRAFT: AN ATHLETIC, GO-GETTER

Prescott High School physical education teacher and coach Lou Beneitone taught many of the Hotshots, and remembered Andrew Ashcraft, 29, as a fitness-oriented student.

"He had some athletic ability in him and he was a go-getter, too. You could pretty much see, from young freshman all the way, he was going to be physically active."

Beneitone said athletic prowess was a must for the Hotshots. "That's what it takes. You gotta be very physically fit, and you gotta like it, gotta like the hard work."

Ashcraft, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was honored to be a member of the Hotshot crew, and "he just had a really sweet spirit about him," Elise Smith, a Prescott resident, told The Deseret News of Salt Lake City.

Ashcraft left behind a wife, Juliann, and four children, the newspaper reported.

___

ROBERT CALDWELL: THE SMART ONE

Friends characterized Robert Caldwell, 23, as the smart man in the bunch.

"He was really smart, he had a good sense of humor," said Chase Madrid, worked as a Hotshot for two years, but sat this year out.

"He was one of the smart guys in the crew who could get the weather, figure out the mathematics. It was just natural for him," Madrid said.

It was Caldwell's intelligence and know-how that got him appointed as a squad boss.

His cousin, Grant McKee, was also a Hotshots member and also was killed on Sunday.

"Robert was a gentle giant ? he was man of few words," said his aunt, Laurie McKee.

He had just gotten married in November, and had a 5-year-old stepson.

"Both of these boys were only interested in having a family life. Robert was newly married, and Grant was engaged. They just wanted the house and the dog," she said.

Mary Hoffmann was grandmother to both boys.

"To have two grandson's gone, it's devastation," she said.

___

TRAVIS CARTER: STRONG AND HUMBLE

At Captain Crossfit, a gym near the firehouse where the Hotshots were stationed, Travis Carter was known as the strongest one out of the crew ? but also the most humble.

"No one could beat him," trainer Janine Pereira said. "But the thing about him, was he would never brag about it. He would just kill everyone and then go and start helping someone else finish."

Carter, 31, was famous for once holding a plank for 45 minutes, and he was notorious for making up brutal workouts.

The crew recently did a five-mile run during wilderness training, then he made them go to Captain Crossfit in the afternoon for another really hard workout.

"The other guys who came in here always said that even though he was in charge, he was always the first one at the fire, the first one in action," Pereira said.

___

DUSTIN DEFORD: DRY SENSE OF HUMOR

Dustin DeFord, 24, had been a firefighter since he turned 18 and started as a volunteer in tiny Ekalaka, Mont. His father, the Rev. Steve DeFord, said the outpouring of support there has been unbelievable.

"We've got enough food in the house to last a year," he said.

DeFord graduated from Cornerstone Bible Institute in Hot Springs, S.D., three years ago, his father said, and always believed God was his guiding force.

On his Facebook page last year, he talked about wanting to find work in western Montana, but God instead moved him to Arizona. Immediately he worked to improve his skills on the climbing wall at a gym near the firehouse.

"He listened very well. He was very respectful," said Tony Burris, a trainer at Captain Crossfit. "He kind of had a dry sense of humor."

Another trainer, Janine Pereira, echoed that sentiment.

"You would say something to him, and he would respond with a crack, which was funny because he was so shy," she said.

DeFord is survived by nine brothers and sisters, including a Marine Corps staff sergeant who is traveling home from Afghanistan, an older brother who is fighting fire with a helicopter team in New Mexico and a younger brother on a Hotshot crew in Alaska.

___

CHRIS MACKENZIE: 'JUST LIKE HIS DAD'

An avid snowboarder, Chris MacKenzie, 30, grew up in California's San Jacinto Valley, where he was a 2001 graduate of Hemet High School and a former member of the town's fire department. He joined the U.S. Forest Service in 2004 then transferred two years ago to the Prescott Fire Department, longtime friend Dav Fulford-Brown told The Riverside Press-Enterprise.

MacKenzie, like at least one other member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, had followed his father into firefighting. Michael MacKenzie, a former Moreno Valley Fire Department captain, confirmed that he had been informed of his son's death.

"I can't talk about it," he said.

Fulford-Brown, also a former firefighter, feared for the worst as soon as he heard the news of the Arizona firefighters. "I said, 'Oh my God, that's Chris' crew.' I started calling him and calling him and got no answer," he told The Press-Enterprise. MacKenzie, he said, "lived life to the fullest ... and was fighting fire just like his dad."

"He was finishing his credentials to get promoted and loved the people. It's an insane tragedy."

___

ERIC MARSH: HOOKED ON FIREFIGHTING

Eric Marsh, 43, was an avid mountain biker who grew up in Ashe County, N.C., but became hooked on firefighting while studying biology at Arizona State University, said Leanna Racquer, the ex-wife of his cousin. Marsh lived with Racquer and her then-husband during the winters from 1992 through 1996 in North Carolina, but kept returning to Arizona during fire season.

After college, he kept working as a firefighter, eventually landing a full-time job and settling in northern Arizona. He even moved his parents to the state, she said. Marsh was superintendent of the Hotshot crew and the oldest of the 19 who died.

"He's was great ? he was the best at what he did," Racquer said. "He is awesome and well-loved and they are hurting," she said of his family.

Marsh was married but had no children, said his cousin, Scott Marsh, of Pisgah Forest, N.C. His father, John Marsh, told the Jefferson Post newspaper in Jefferson, N.C., that his only child "was a great son."

"He was compassionate and caring about his crew."

___

GRANT MCKEE: GIVING NATURE

Grant McKee, 21, loved to give things away.

"Even as a child, I'd ask him where things were, and he'd say, 'Oh such and such liked it.' And sometimes it really cost a lot! But he'd say, 'Oh he liked it so much,'" said his grandmother, Mary Hoffmann.

"So on his birthday, I started to say, 'I hope you're going to keep this!'" she said.

McKee's cousin, Robert Caldwell, also was a Hotshot and also was killed on Sunday.

"I had four grandchildren, but Grant was the sweetest most giving nature of any of my grandkids," Hoffman said. "We used to think he was a little angel."

McKee's mother said Grant was training to be an emergency medical technician and only intended to work with the Hotshots for the summer.

During EMT training, he would ask for extra shifts at the emergency room. And because his superiors liked him, they would give them to him, Laurie McKee said.

"Grant was one of the most likable people you could ever meet," she said. "Grant was friendly, he was outgoing. Everybody loved Grant."

___

SEAN MISNER: 'TREMENDOUS HEART AND DESIRE'

Sean Misner, 26, leaves behind a wife who is seven months pregnant, said Mark Swanitz, principal of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in Santa Barbara County, where Misner graduated in 2005.

Misner played varsity football and also participated in the school's sports medicine program where he wrapped sprained ankles and took care of sidelined athletes.

"He was a team player, a real helper," Swanitz told The Associated Press.

In high school, Misner played several positions, including wide receiver and defensive back. He was slim for a high school football player, but that didn't stop him from tackling his opponents, recalled retired football coach Ken Gruendyke.

"He played with tremendous heart and desire," Gruendyke said. "He wasn't the biggest or fastest guy on the team but he played with great emotion and intensity."

___

SCOTT NORRIS: THE 'IDEAL AMERICAN GENTELMAN'

Scott Norris, 28, was known around Prescott through his part-time job at Bucky O'Neill Guns.

"Here in Arizona the gun shops are a lot like barbershops. Sometimes you don't go in there to buy anything at all, you just go to talk," said resident William O'Hara. "I never heard a dirty word out of the guy. He was the kind of guy who if he dated your daughter, you'd be OK with it.

"He was just a model of a young, ideal American gentleman."

O'Hara's son Ryan, 19, said Norris' life and tragic death had inspired him to live a more meaningful life.

"He was a loving guy. He loved life. And I've been guilty of not looking as happy as I should, and letting things get to me, and Scott wasn't like that at all."

___

WADE PARKER: ANOTHER SECOND GENERATION FIREFIGHTER

At 22, Wade Parker had just joined the Hotshots team. His father works for the nearby Chino Valley Fire Department, said retired Prescott Fire Department Capt. Jeff Knotek, who had known Wade since he was "just a little guy."

The younger Parker had been very excited about being part of the Hotshot crew, Knotek said.

"He was another guy who wanted to be a second generation firefighter," Knotek said. "Big, athletic kid who loved it, aggressive, assertive and in great shape."

"It's just a shame to see this happen," Knotek said.

___

JOHN PERCIN JR.: STRONG, BRAVE, AMAZING

He loved baseball and had an unforgettable laugh. In his aunt's eyes, John Percin Jr. was, simply, "an amazing young man."

"He was probably the strongest and bravest young man I have ever met in my life," Donna Percin Pederson said in an interview with The Associated Press from her home in Portland, Ore.

John Percin Sr. declined to comment Monday. "It's not a good time right now."

Percin, 24, was a multisport high school athlete who graduated in 2007 from West Linn High School, southeast of Portland.

Geoff McEvers grew up playing baseball with Percin and remembered him as a fun-loving guy with an unforgettable laugh, The Oregonian newspaper reported.

McEvers said he learned about the Percin's death through friends.

"It's already tragic when you hear about those who died," McEvers told the newspaper, "but when you find out it's someone you know personally, it's tough."

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ANTHONY ROSE: 'BLOSSOMED' AS FIREMAN

Anthony Rose, 23, was one of the youngest victims. He grew up in Wisconsin and previously worked as a firefighter in nearby Crown King before moving on to become a Hotshot.

Retired Crown King firefighter Greg Flores said Rose "just blossomed in the fire department. He did so well and helped so much in Crown King. We were all so very proud of him."

Flores said the town was planning a fundraiser for Rose and hoped to also have a memorial to honor him.

"He was the kind of guy that his smile lit up the whole room and everyone would just rally around him," he said. "He loved what he was doing, and that brings me some peace of heart."

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JESSE STEED: 'GREAT FOR MORALE'

Jesse Steed's former colleagues remember him as a joker.

"He was a character. If you look at all the old photos of him, he was doing things to make people laugh," said Cooper Carr, who worked with Steed in the Hotshots from 2001 to 2003.

"He was good at impressions, and he sang songs; he was just great for morale. He'd just talk in a funny voice and have us all in stiches," Carr said. "And he was strong as an ox."

Carr remembers that Steed once spent the better part of an hour positioning a water bottle just right for a photo so that it would look like Yosemite Falls was cascading into it.

Steed was also remembered for his dedication to fighting wildfires.

"He did it for a long, long time. I think he started in 2001, when he got out of the Marines. A job like the Hotshots is hard, hard work, and you don't stay in it if you don't love it," Carr said.

Steed, 36, was one of the older members of the crew. Renton, Wash., police officer Cassidy Steed said his brother "always put his life on the line for people who he knew he would never meet."

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JOE THURSTON: DARING AND DETERMINED

Back home in Cedar City, Utah, Joe Thurston, 32, used to go to an area reservoir with friends and promptly show how fearless he could be.

"He was definitely one of the daredevil types," longtime friend Scott Goodrich told the Salt Lake Tribune. "We went to Quail (Creek) Reservoir, and we'd be finding 40- to 50-foot cliffs that people would be scared to jump off. He would just show up and be front-flipping off of them."

He brought this bold streak to the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

"He had all the qualities that a firefighter would need to possess," E.J. Overson, another friend, told the Salt Lake City newspaper. "He was service-oriented, very caring and willing to do some things that many others would say, 'I don't want to get involved.'"

Thurston was also determined, generous and hardworking, his friends said.

He went to Cedar High School and Southern Utah University, played in a band and rode skateboards.

"He was one of the best guys I ever met," Goodrich said.

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TRAVIS TURBYFILL: 'BIG, HUGE MARINE'

Known as "Turby" among crew members, Travis Turbyfill got a full-time position with the Hotshots when another member's girlfriend asked him to quit.

Turbyfill, 27, often worked with other Hotshots at Captain Crossfit, a warehouse filled with mats, obstacle courses, climbing walls and acrobatic rings near the firehouse. He would train in the morning and then return in the afternoon with his wife and kids.

Trainer Janine Pereira said she recently kidded Turbyfill for skipping workouts. His excuse was that he wanted to spend some quality time at Dairy Queen.

"He was telling me that it's because it was Blizzard week, and he was just going to eat a Blizzard every night," she said.

Tony Burris, another trainer, said he enjoyed watching Turby with his two daughters.

"Because he's this big, huge Marine, Hotshot guy, and he has two little girls, reddish, blonde curly hair, and they just loved their dad," he said.

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BILLY WARNEKE: 'DOING WHAT HE LOVED'

Billy Warneke, 25, and his wife, Roxanne, were expecting their first child in December, his grandmother, Nancy Warneke, told The Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside, Calif. Warneke grew up in Hemet, Calif., along with his fellow Granite Mountain hotshot, Chris MacKenzie. He was a four-year Marine Corps veteran who served a tour in Iraq and had joined the hotshot crew in April, buying a property in Prescott, near where his sister lived, the newspaper reported.

Nancy Warneke said she called her sister after seeing the fire on the news.

"She said, 'He's gone. They're all gone,'" Nancy Warneke told The Press-Enterprise. "Even though it's a tragedy for the whole family, he was doing what he loved to do. He loved nature and was helping preserve nature."

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CLAYTON WHITTED: HE'D 'LIGHT IT UP'

Full of heart and determination, Clayton Whitted, 28, might not have been the biggest guy around, but he was among the hardest-working. His former Prescott High School coach, Lou Beneitone, said Whitted was a "wonderful kid" who always had a big smile on his face. Whitted played for the football team as an offensive and defensive lineman.

"He was a smart young man with a great personality, just a wonderful personality," said Beneitone. "When he walked into a room, he could really light it up."

Beneitone said Whitted loved being a firefighter and was well-respected among his crew. He says he ran into Whitted about two months ago and they shook hands and hugged, and talked about the upcoming fire season.

"I told him to be careful," Beneitone said.

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KEVIN WOYJECK: FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS

For Kevin Woyjeck, 21, the fire station was always a second home. His father, Capt. Joe Woyjeck, is a nearly 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Keith Mora, an inspector with that agency, said Kevin often accompanied his dad to the station and on ride-alongs and always intended to follow in his footsteps.

"He wanted to become a firefighter like his dad and hopefully work hand in hand," Mora said Monday outside of the fire station in Seal Beach, Calif., where the Woyjeck family lives.

Mora remembered the younger Woyjeck as a "joy to be around," a man who always had a smile on his face. He had been trained as an EMT and worked as an Explorer, which is a mentorship training program to become a professional firefighter.

"He was a great kid. Unbelievable sense of humor, work ethic that was not parallel to many kids I've seen at that age. He wanted to work very hard."

As he spoke, Mora stood before an American flag that had been lowered to half-staff. His own fire badge was covered with a black elastic band, a show of respect and mourning for those lost in the line of duty.

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GARRET ZUPPIGER: A RED BEARD, AND A SENSE OF HUMOR

Garret Zuppiger, 27, loved to be funny, said Tony Burris, a trainer at a gym where many of the Hotshots worked out.

Burris said the two bonded over their hyper-manly ginger facial hair.

"We both had a red beard and so we would always admire each other's beards," he said. "We also had a few conversations about beer."

Zuppiger's humor was evident on his blog where he wrote about his grandmother's one-eyed Chihuahua, his "best hair day ever" and a hike with his mother on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. There's also photos of a tongue-in-cheek project to build a "ski-chair," in which a living room recliner was placed atop two skis.

"Garret Zuppiger turns 25!" he wrote in a post several years ago. "Everyday is like a gift!!"

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Associated Press reporters Raquel Maria Dillon in Seal Beach, Calif., Sue Manning in Los Angeles; and Felicia Fonseca and Hannah Dreier in Prescott contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-07-02-US-Firefighters-Killed-Vignettes/id-71ec7d553b3b47908ae90cf5221c055f

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