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Immigration debate clears procedural Senate hurdle

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Tags: senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, senate minority whip

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Published on: June 12, 2013

Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, accompanied by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., gestures as he speaks with reporters about the Immigration Bill following a Republican strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 11, 2013. An amendment announced by Cornyn would require 100 percent monitoring of the entire U.S.-Mexico border and 90 percent of would-be crossers to be stopped or turned back before anyone can get a permanent resident green card. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Barack Obama gestures while speaking about immigration reform, Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in the East Room of the White House. The Senate is preparing to cast the first votes on a landmark bill that offers the best chance in decades to remake the nation’s immigration system and offer eventual citizenship to millions. The president was joined by US Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue, second from left, Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, third from left, and others. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? In Spanish and English, the Senate pushed contentious immigration legislation over early procedural hurdles with deceptive ease on Tuesday as President Barack Obama insisted the “moment is now” to give 11 million immigrants in the United States illegally a chance at citizenship.

Despite the lopsided votes, Republicans served notice they will seek to toughen the bill’s border security provisions and impose tougher terms on those seeking to gain legal status. “This bill has serious flaws,” said their party leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, one of several who noted pointedly that the 60-vote majority they will demand for passage is hardly assured.

Even before the first proposed changes were considered, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a potential 2016 Republican presidential contender, outlined the complicated state of play for a measure that he helped draft as a member of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” and now seeks to alter. With changes to tighten control of the U.S.-Mexican border, he said, about half of the Senate’s 46 Republicans are prepared to vote to create the pathway to citizenship that is backed by most or all of the 55 lawmakers aligned with the Democratic majority.

At the White House, Obama said repeatedly the current immigration system is broken, for the foreign-born who live in the United State legally and illegally alike.

Referring to the 11 million currently in the country unlawfully, he said, “Yes, they broke the rules; they didn’t wait their turn. They shouldn’t be let off easy. They shouldn’t be allowed to game the system. But at the same time, the vast majority of these individuals aren’t looking for any trouble. They’re just looking to provide for their families, contribute to their communities. “

At its core, the bill sets out a 13-year journey to citizenship for the millions of immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally through the end of 2011 or who overstayed their visas. That journey would include paying fines and back taxes and other measures. The bill also requires a tighter border to prevent future illegal immigration.

Other key provisions would create a new program for low-skilled workers to enter the country and expand the number of visas for high-skilled who are particularly in demand in technology firms. The bill also jettisons a decades-old system that favors family ties over education, job skills and other factors in prioritizing prospective legal immigrants.

Obama didn’t say so, but the legislation is likely his best hope of achieving a second-term landmark domestic accomplishment.

Numerous Republicans hope to use the issue to repair their party’s image among Hispanic voters, a growing portion of the electorate in key states, and a group that polls show gave Obama 71 percent of its votes last year. But the GOP is divided, with tea party-backed lawmakers and other conservatives resisting anything that smacks of amnesty or otherwise seems to permit legalization without assuring the long border with Mexico in particular is virtually closed to future unlawful immigration.

“Of all of the issue swirling around this bill the path to citizenship for those who are here illegally is the single most divisive issue,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican elected to his first term last fall. “And that is the issue on which the Obama White House and Senate Democrats insist, and by insisting on that division I believe they by design destine this bill to be voted down.”

In the Capitol, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., chose to deliver a speech on the immigration measure in Spanish. He said it was appropriate to do so since the language “has been spoken in this country since Spanish missionaries founded St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. Spanish is also spoken by almost 40 million Americans who have a lot at stake in the outcome of this debate,” he said in an English translation provided by his office.

Taken together, the two procedural votes had the effect of placing the bill formally before the Senate and open for amendments. Both drew more than 80 votes, reflecting a bipartisan desire to have the debate that now is expected to consume three weeks.

Substantively, an early skirmish took shape over a proposal by Cruz’ fellow Texan, Sen. John Cornyn. It would permit the legalization process to begin, but require several changes before anyone currently in the country illegally could receive a green card that confers permanent legal residence.

Those changes include apprehension of at least 90 percent of those seeking to cross into the United States at every segment of the Southern border, implementation of a biometric exit system at all air and sea ports of entry and a nationwide E-Verify system to check the legal status of prospective employees.

Democratic supporters of the legislation have deemed Cornyn’s plan a “poison pill,” designed to wreck the bill’s chances for passage instead of enhance them. But the Texan told reporters he had some leverage to force changes, if nothing else.

“I think if they had 60 votes to pass a bill out of the Senate they probably wouldn’t be talking to me. And they are,” Cornyn said of majority Democrats.

As the Senate embarked on a debate expected to last for weeks, Speaker John Boehner said he hoped companion legislation could clear committee in the House by the end of the month.

In an ABC interview, the Ohio Republican sidestepped when asked if he is prepared to support a pathway to citizenship for those living in the country illegally. “A lot of these big questions will be decided on the House floor,” he said.

In the Senate, McConnell sounded a similar note.

“The Gang of Eight has done its work,” he said, referring to the four senators from each party that crafted the basic bill. “Now it’s time for the Gang of 100 to do its work.”

____

AP writer Erica Werner contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-11-Immigration/id-3a3c1901f05049d9a3cdb525cd90c51b

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Police move past barricades in Istanbul square

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Tags: george zimmerman, jim demint

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Published on: June 12, 2013

Remember the wave of pundit insanity over the death of Trayvon Martin two Februaries ago? Well, get ready for round two. The trial of George Zimmerman, who stands accused of second degree murder, began today in Sanford, Florida, and immediately inspired one of the most baffling comments ever uttered by a talking head about Martin’s late-night confrontation with Zimmerman, even for a story already so loaded with race, death, lawyers, Florida, and inevitably Nancy Grace. …

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-move-past-barricades-istanbul-square-044638491.html

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How Archaea might find their food: Sensor protein characterized

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Published on: June 12, 2013

June 10, 2013 ? The microorganism Methanosarcina acetivorans lives off everything it can metabolise into methane. How it finds its sources of energy, is not yet clear. Scientists at the Ruhr-Universit?t Bochum together with colleagues from Dresden, Frankfurt, Muelheim and the USA have identified a protein that might act as a “food sensor.” They characterised the molecule in detail and found both similarities and differences to the system that is responsible for the search for food in bacteria.

MsmS has a different function to that thought

The protein MsmS has so far only been studied from a bioinformatics point of view. Computer analyses of its gene sequence had predicted that it might be a phytochrome, i.e. a red light sensor. Using spectroscopic methods, the research team of the current study have refuted this theory. MsmS has a heme cofactor, like haemoglobin in red blood cells, and can, among other things, bind the substance dimethyl sulphide. This is one of the energy sources of Methanosarcina acetivorans. MsmS might thus serve the microorganism as a sensor to directly or indirectly detect this energy source. In genetic studies, the scientists also found evidence that MsmS regulates systems which are important for the exploitation of dimethyl sulphide.

Archaea: flexible “eaters”

Methanosarcina acetivorans belongs to the Archaea which constitute the third domain of life, alongside Bacteria and Eukarya; the term Eukarya comprising all living organisms with a cell nucleus. Many of them are adapted to extreme conditions or are able to use unusual energy sources. Among the organisms that live from methane production, the so-called methanogenic organisms, M. acetivorans is one of the most flexible when it comes to the choice of food sources. It converts many different molecules into methane, and thus produces energy. How M. acetivorans detects the different food sources, is still largely unknown.

In Archaea, unlike bacteria

For this purpose, bacteria use the so-called two-component system: when a sensor protein comes in contact with the food source, the protein modifies itself; it attaches a phosphate group to a certain amino acid residue, the histidine. The phosphate group is then transferred to a second protein. In methanogenic organisms such a process could trigger cellular processes that activate the methane production. Archaea might also use comparable sensor proteins in a way similar to bacteria. MsmS would be a candidate for such a task, because the analyses of the research team showed that it is able to transfer a phosphate residue to an amino acid. The target site of this phosphorylation is, however, probably not histidine. “So there could be differences between the signal transduction systems of Archaea and Bacteria” speculates Prof. Dr. Nicole Frankenberg-Dinkel from the work group Physiology of Microorganisms. “It is also interesting that the heme cofactor is covalently bound, i.e. linked with the protein by an electron-pair bond. This is very uncommon for sensor proteins which are present in the cell fluid.”

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/x9JPmr4yXJg/130610095030.htm

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Mice give new clues to origins of obsessive-compulsive disorder

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Tags: new york state psychiatric institute, world health organization

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Published on: June 11, 2013

June 10, 2013 ? Columbia Psychiatry researchers have identified what they think may be a mechanism underlying the development of compulsive behaviors. The finding suggests possible approaches to treating or preventing certain characteristics of OCD.

OCD consists of obsessions, which are recurrent intrusive thoughts, and compulsions, which are repetitive behaviors that patients perform to reduce the severe anxiety associated with the obsessions. The disorder affects 2-3 percent of people worldwide and is an important cause of illness-related disability, according to the World Health Organization.

Using a new technology in a mouse model, the researchers found that repeated stimulation of specific circuits linking the brain’s cortex and striatum produces progressive repetitive behavior. By targeting this region, it may be possible to stop abnormal circuit changes before they become pathological behaviors in people at risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The study, which was led by Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia Psychiatry and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, was published in the June 7 issue of Science.

While the obsessions and compulsions that are the hallmarks of OCD are thought to be centered in the cortex, which controls thoughts, and the striatum, which controls movements, little is known about how abnormalities in these brain regions lead to compulsive behaviors in patients.

To simulate the increased activity that takes place in the brains of OCD patients, Dr. Ahmari and her colleagues used a new technology called optogenetics, in which light-activated ion channels are expressed in subsets of neurons in mice, and neural circuits are then selectively activated using light delivered through fiberoptic probes.

“What we found was really surprising,” said Dr. Ahmari. “That activation of cortico-striatal circuits did not lead directly to repetitive behaviors in the mice. But if we repeatedly stimulated for multiple days in a row for only five minutes a day, we saw a progressive development of repetitive behaviors — in this case, repetitive grooming behavior — that persisted up to two weeks after the stimulation was stopped.”

She added, “And not only that, when we treated the mice with fluoxetine, one of the most common medications used for OCD, their behavior went back to normal.” The current study, as well as others currently being performed by Dr. Ahmari and her team, may ultimately provide clues for new treatment targets in terms of both novel drug development and direct stimulation techniques, including deep brain stimulation (DBS).

The study was supported by grants from NIMH (K08MH087718; K24 MH091555), the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Scholars Program, the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the Gray Matters Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, and a NARSAD Young Investigator Award.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Rd5–ZehpAQ/130610095150.htm

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The diabetes ‘breathalyzer’

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Tags: electron microscopy image, transmission electron microscopy

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Published on: June 11, 2013

June 10, 2013 ? Diabetes patients often receive their diagnosis after a series of glucose-related blood tests in hospital settings, and then have to monitor their condition daily through expensive, invasive methods. But what if diabetes could be diagnosed and monitored through cheaper, noninvasive methods?A transmission electron microscopy image of the hybrid material revealing the formation of “titanium dioxide on a stick.”

Chemists at the University of Pittsburgh have demonstrated a sensor technology that could significantly simplify the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes through breath analysis alone. Their findings were published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).

Even before blood tests are administered, those with diabetes often recognize the condition’s symptoms through their breath acetone — a characteristic “fruity” odor that increases significantly with high glucose levels. The Pitt team was interested in this biomarker as a possible diagnostic tool.

“Once patients are diagnosed with diabetes, they have to monitor their condition for the rest of their lives,” said Alexander Star, principal investigator of the project and Pitt associate professor of chemistry. “Current monitoring devices are mostly based on blood glucose analysis, so the development of alternative devices that are noninvasive, inexpensive, and provide easy-to-use breath analysis could completely change the paradigm of self-monitoring diabetes.”

Together with his colleagues — Dan Sorescu, a research physicist at the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and Mengning Ding, a Pitt graduate student studying chemistry — Star used what’s called a “sol-gel approach,” a method for using small molecules (often on a nanoscale level) to produce solid materials. The team combined titanium dioxide — an inorganic compound widely used in body-care products such as makeup — with carbon nanotubes, which acted as “skewers” to hold the particles together. These nanotubes were used because they are stronger than steel and smaller than any element of silicon-based electronics.

This method, which the researchers playfully call “titanium dioxide on a stick,” effectively combined the electrical properties of the tubes with the light-illuminating powers of the titanium dioxide. They then created the sensor device by using these materials as an electrical semiconductor, measuring its electrical resistance (the sensor’s signal).

The researchers found the sensor could be activated with light to produce an electrical charge. This prompted them to “cook” the “skewers” in the sensor under ultraviolet light to measure acetone vapors — which they found were lower than previously reported sensitivities.

“Our measurements have excellent detection capabilities,” said Star. “If such a sensor could be developed and commercialized, it could transform the way patients with diabetes monitor their glucose levels.”

The team is currently working on a prototype of the sensor, with plans to test it on human breath samples soon.

The paper, “Photoinduced Charge Transfer and Acetone Sensitivity of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Titanium Dioxide Hybrids,” was first published in JACS online June 5. The work was performed in support of ongoing research at the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/technology/~3/GWYdp8Xgx24/130610133125.htm

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Local Reporters Fight on Air, Appear to Totally Hate Each Other

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Tags: new orleans hornets, prince johan friso

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Published on: June 10, 2013

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/local-reporters-fight-on-air-appear-to-totally-hate-each-other/

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PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals himself, reasons for leaking surveillance program

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Tags: booz allen hamilton, missouri election results

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Published on: June 10, 2013

Only days after the initial leaks and explanations by the US government about the National Security Agency’s data surveillance program PRISM, Edward Snowden has revealed himself as the whistleblower. He’s employed by defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and also worked at the NSA as a “technical assistant.” In speaking to The Guardian, he explained his reasons for disclosing the intelligence program: he wanted to “to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them,” hoping that they’ll use the information to debate the issue.

While the NSA’s data-mining tool is reportedly known as Boundless Informant, Snowden has been keeping himself bound to a hotel in Hong Kong during this whole drama. Major internet companies have insisted that the government doesn’t receive direct access to their servers and President Obama has stated that “nobody is listening to your phone calls, but the issue remains far from black and white. Snowden claims a “massive surveillance machine” is in the making under the radar — at this point he’s now waiting to see what happens next, assured he’s made the the decision that feels right to him. Catch the full interview at the source link.

Filed under: Internet

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Source: The Guardian

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/sN3nrnbmRwQ/

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Weakened tropical storm dumps rain on Southeast

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Tags: morning rush hour, national hurricane center

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Published on: June 9, 2013

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ? After bringing rains, heavy winds and even tornadoes to parts of Florida, Tropical Storm Andrea moved quickly up the Southeastern coast on Friday, leaving parts of Georgia and the Carolinas waterlogged while sparing the region any serious damage.

The first named storm of the Atlantic season lost some intensity after making landfall Thursday in Florida and its winds were down to 45 mph (75 kph) Friday afternoon. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was losing its tropical characteristics but that tropical storm conditions were still spreading northeastward along the East Coast, with strong winds possible as far north as Canada by Sunday.

As of 2 p.m. EDT Friday, the storm was 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Wilmington, N.C. and moving northeast at 28 mph (45 kph).

The storm is forecast to move out of North Carolina on Friday night and north up along the Delmarva peninsula and into New England. A tropical storm warning for the Atlantic Coast on Friday extended from Little River inlet in South Carolina to the lower Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The storm was expected to bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to the Eastern Seaboard as well as storm surge-related flooding.

Cities in the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast were bracing for the storm. New York City activated its flash flooding plan, while a flash flood watch was issued for southeastern Pennsylvania. The rainy weather washed out events such as NASCAR’s Sprint Cup qualifying and the Washington National’s Friday night home game.

Authorities in Virginia blamed heavy rain from the storm’s outer bands for a fatal accident on Interstate 77 in the state’s western mountains. William Petty, 57, of Lexington, S.C., died when a car in which he was a passenger hydroplaned while passing a tractor-trailer. He survived the crash, only to be killed moments later when the car was struck by second tractor-trailer, authorities said.

During the morning rush hour in Charleston, S.C., there was little evidence that the center of the storm was passing to the northwest beyond a few downed tree branches, gusty winds and some puddles in the street. The sun occasionally peeked through.

Derrec Becker with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said the storm has brought only a severe thunderstorm. No injuries were reported, and there had been no reports of significant damage.

The storm was expected to be centered over North Carolina by midday.

The National Weather Service issued flood watches across much of both states, was well as tornado and flash flood watches in several counties.

Thousands of power outages were also reported.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott had warned of the risk of tornadoes, and officials said that eight were confirmed across the state. Slower-moving storms can pose a greater flood risk because they have more time to linger and dump rain, though Andrea still could bring as much as 6 inches to parts of the Carolinas.

Forecasters didn’t expect major problems, however, along the most vulnerable parts of the coast such as the Outer Banks, a popular tourist destination.

John Elardo, a meteorologist with the weather service in Newport, N.C., said Thursday that the storm would push major waves to the north and northeast, away from the Outer Banks. Storms in the fall and winter wore away dunes and washed out portions of N.C. Highway 12, the only road connecting the barrier island to the mainland of North Carolina.

Andrea could bring up to a foot of flooding on the sound side of the Outer Banks, Elardo said.

David Tweedie, 41, of Ocracoke, said an early morning burst of rain and the forecast of another three hours or so of rain and wind on the Outer Banks island has done little to alter the day’s routine for the roughly 1,000 year-round residents.

The Friday fish fry that kicks off the island’s annual folk music and arts festival was moved indoors to the island’s only public school, and a musical performance of the three-day event was shifted to the community center. But the tropical system was otherwise forcing no changes to the Ocrafolk Festival that normally draws more than 2,000 visitors, Tweedie said.

“The weather is looking pretty good for blowing out and for us having a good day tomorrow,” said Tweedie, the festival coordinator.

Authorities in coastal Bertie County said a school bus with 32 elementary students on board slid off the road and into a ditch about 8 a.m. No injuries were reported.

A Coast Guard cutter and HC-130 Hercules airplane were called to rescue four adults aboard a 35-foot sailboat about 65 miles off Charleston, S.C. The sailboat’s engine was disabled during the storm and left rocking in 15-foot seas and 35-mph winds.

Vacationers were keeping a close eye on the storm.

Tan Sanders, 20, of Goldsboro, brought his surfboard, hoping for bigger-than-usual waves during his vacation at North Myrtle Beach, S.C. The newcomer to surfing got more than he wanted.

“I went out for probably about 20 or 30 minutes, but it was beating me to death so we come back in,” Sanders said.

But it wasn’t long before the heavy weather was gone.

“We did most of what we wanted to, other than working around the rain,” Sanders said. “It was definitely blowing some sand for a little while, but after about two o’clock or three o’clock it got right back to normal with people going back out on the beach, taking their chairs and stuff.”

Farther east in Chapel Hill, heavy rains forced the forced the postponement of Friday’s NCAA super regional baseball series opener between No. 1 seeded North Carolina and South Carolina until Saturday. A second game between N.C. State and Rice in Raleigh was also postponed.

In Cuba, days of torrential rains associated with Andrea caused rivers to jump their banks in the western province of Pinar del Rio. More than 3,300 people evacuated endangered homes, and nearly 1,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of croplands suffered “serious damage,” state-run newspaper Juventud Rebelde said Friday. Rain was forecast to continue falling on already waterlogged areas through Saturday.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Aaron Beard in Raleigh, N.C.; Bruce Smith in Charleston, S.C.; Jack Jones in Columbia, S.C.; Jennifer Kay in Miami; Gary Fineout and Brent Kallestad in Tallahassee, Fla.; and Peter Orsi in Havana.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weakened-tropical-storm-dumps-rain-southeast-211057717.html

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Breather Founder Explains How On-demand Rooms Could Unlock Cities With An App [TCTV]

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Tags: business lounges, loic le meur

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Published on: June 9, 2013

Breather is a new startup billed as a sort of “Zipcar for rooms?. Announced at the LeWeb conference in London and due to launch later this year, it’s closed $1.5 million in funding from Canadian VC Real Ventures, along with Gary Vaynerchuk, Loic Le Meur, Mike Walsh and others. The idea is to have network of well kept rooms – sort of mini business lounges – which a user can unlock with a smartphone app. That’s it.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/NnFyTCpAcDs/

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Status in small communities | N?rwegian Style

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Published on: June 9, 2013

The word ?status? gets used a lot in discussions, especially in some gaming communities I?m part of. This is my attempt to understand and describe what the word means, and how status works in a small community. I?ve spoken to people from different countries and communities to try to get different viewpoints; however, this isn?t a scientific article in any way, and the thoughts presented here are my own, incorporating ideas and thoughts from many sources.

My intention when starting this article was to give some sort of definitive answer. Not going to happen. This is a part of an ongoing discussion, but it might be a good reference for later talk. Enjoy, and comment!

What is status?

Social status, according to Wikipedia, is ?the honor or prestige attached to one?s position in society?. However, it?s not as simple as that: You don?t hold only one position in one fixed society. Rather, your status is relative to each specific community ? and each member of a community will have their own idea of what your status is. It?s a moving target ? one of those words that we use that everyone knows what means until you start investigating it. (For more words like that, check out ?immersion?, ?art? and ?love?).

But let me try to define it at least a little bit. It seems status isn?t just one thing ? rather, it?s composed of different categories. You could say that the higher your ?score? in each category, the higher your total status. I mean, if you were a gamer, you could say that.

So here, without further ado: The categories of status.

Category: Visibility in the community

Do people have reason to notice you in the community? For instance?

Are you present at gatherings, big and small? Cons, festivals etc.
Do you make your presence known? Are you charismatic, well-dressed, a party animal?
Do you make your voice heard? At online fora, panel debates etc.

Radars

People notice different things, of course, and have different filters on reality ? so one person might not notice you while another knows exactly who you are and where your children go to school. This is based a lot on personal interest, but it also seems there are different types of relational radars, by which I mean:

Some people notice social hierarchies. I know I do: I pay attention to who gets to speak when, who gets to interrupt people, who gets listened to, who makes the final call in group decisions. I sometimes see people as leaders and followers, and base social decisions on that.

Some people care more about social closeness. Who do you trust, personally? Who gets to be in your inner, most intimate circles, and who stays just a little further out? If this is your radar, you?re likely to talk about people in terms of whether they?re trustworthy, how they treat others, because this information is important to you. (Also, see the ?Ethics? category below.)

Category: Contribution to the community

This is not the same as visibility. If you do a lot for the community, some people will notice and some won?t. If you talk a lot and do nothing, again, some will notice and some won?t.

So are you an unselfish contributor? Do you do things not just for your own sake, but for the sake of everyone? For instance?

Do you organize things for others? Cons, trips etc?
Do you help others get their projects going? With funding, social ninja-ing, proofreading etc?
Do you set up organizations that strengthen the community?

Category: Cultural production

This one?s a bit tricky, and I?m not sure if I?ve nailed it ? that is, something about it feels fuzzy and undefined, but it?s the start of a thought.

Do you produce artifacts that are valued by the community? For instance, if you?re in a gaming community, are you a game designer?

This is related to both contribution and visibility; being a cultural producer makes you more visible, and it?s a contribution, but it?s not an unselfish one. These things make this category interesting and hard to pin down.

Category: Attractiveness

Weighted, of course, by what community you?re in ? however, there?s no escaping the fact that looks matter.

Are you, by the standards of the community, physically attractive?
Do you dress right? Or even set the tone for how to dress?

Of course, here a lot of sexual undercurrents and unwritten rules make things a bit muddled. For instance, if you?re a very beautiful and sharply-dressed woman, that might make it harder for you to be accepted for some positions, in some circles etc.

Category: Ethics

The wrong behavior can really fuck up your status in a community, no matter what else you do.

Do you behave like a good model participant/leader should?
Is your personal conduct good?
Is your personal conduct as people would expect from your position?

Fighting is an interesting thing here. It?s wrong to start a war (for instance, to conquer an oil-producing nation while lying about your motives) or a big public fight (for instance, to make the other guy/girl accept that You?re The Smartest). Still, fights can give you great visibility, and as a leader, you might be expected to fight? so yeah. It can make you popular, because we?re animals.

Intra-community behavior

This might be a separate category, or maybe it belongs here; but it?s important to some how you treat others, as people. For instance:

Do you see others and help them contribute?
Are you kind and helpful to newcomers, and try to make them part of your community?

Category: Influence/power

Yeah, it?s good to be the king. It?s also good to own the web site that everyone visits, so you can decide what?s cool and what?s not. Or to be the person who decides what projects get funded or not.

For instance:

So, there you have it.

That?s what I?ve got right now. If you find this useful or thought-provoking, please let me know in the comments! (I?ll be moderating them, of course, so be nice.)

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Source: http://norwegianstyle.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/status-in-small-communities/

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LG Lucid and Spectrum get ICS update

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Georgia minister visits Afghanistan after 7 deaths

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BANGKOK (AP) ? President Barack Obama says his landmark visit to Myanmar is an acknowledgement of the democratic transition underway but not an endorsement of the country’s government. Obama’s words were aimed at countering critics who say his trip to the country also known as Burma is premature. While Myanmar [...]

Dog Writer's Association of America Dinner | Steve Dale's Pet World

Speaking at the 2012 DWAA Banquet in New York City’s Affinia Hotel I was honored to be inducted in the Dog Writer’s Association of America Hall of Fame in 2012 (their youngest inductee ever)! As I had done several times before, I spoke at the swanky banquet (for decades held [...]