Hatch wants IRS probe to expand, include Freedom Path

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(Scott Sommerdorf | Tribune file photo) Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is leading a group of Republicans seeking a new line of inquiry in the IRS scandal -- one aimed at the release of confidential documents, including those from a group that spent $570,000 helping to re-elect the Utah senator.

Washington A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Orrin Hatch called for a new investigation into the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday, focused on the improper release of information on nine conservative groups, including one that supported Hatch in his 2012 re-election campaign.

Last December, the IRS gave the website ProPublica the applications of 31 politically active groups with tax-exempt status, but nine of them had not been approved or denied. By law, the applications are confidential documents until the IRS makes a determination.

"We believe that disclosure of applications that are still pending is a violation of the Internal Revenue Code and other related provisions, which could result in civil and criminal penalties," Hatch, R-Utah, wrote in a letter to the inspector general at the Treasury Department signed by all of the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee.

ProPublica decided to release six of those nine applications, though it redacted financial information. One of them belonged to Freedom Path, a group with deep ties to Hatch that was created in January 2011 and spent at least $570,000 in support of the senators campaign for a seventh and, he has vowed, his final term in office.

Freedom Path operated as a tax-exempt social welfare organization as its application with the IRS was pending. That designation allowed it to withhold any public information on its donors and delay disclosure of its board of directors.

The IRS has still not ruled on Freedom Paths application and the group feels that it was among those targeted for extra scrutiny in a scandal that has already resulted in President Barack Obama firing the tax agencys acting commissioner, Steven Miller.

Freedom Path has yet to respond to a request for comment.

The groups board is comprised of a former Hatch employee and two political operatives who worked for the National Republican Senatorial Committee at a time when Hatch was the vice chairman. Freedom Path, which produced mailers and TV ads that supported Hatch and opposed his Republican challenger, also shared some vendors with the Hatch campaign, though they said no improper coordination took place.

Hatchs staff also said the senator was unaware of Freedom Paths problems with the IRS until it was reported in The Salt Lake Tribune and that the call for an expanded probe of the IRS is warranted in light of recent revelations.

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Hatch wants IRS probe to expand, include Freedom Path

At Cannes, Watson revels in post-'Potter' freedom

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CANNES, France (AP) Emma Watson is reveling in her post-"Potter" freedom at the Cannes Film Festival, relishing a Valley Girl role far from her wise-beyond-her-years Hermione.

The 23-year-old "Harry Potter" actress stars in Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring," which premiered Thursday at the French Riviera festival. The British actress plays a celebrity-obsessed, thickly accented Los Angeles teenager who, with a group of friends, burgles Hollywood stars such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

At Cannes, Watson told reporters that while she remains proud of her work on the "Potter" films, they now feel long ago.

"I'm not trying to run away from it," she said. "I've just had an amazing three or four years. I'm really re-enjoying having the chance to transform into new roles and work with new creative people."

"The Bling Ring" is based on a Vanity Fair article about the true story of teenagers who robbed celebrities like Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom while they were out at premieres and other events. The character Watson plays, Nicki, is modeled on Alexis Neiers, who starred in the reality series "Pretty Wild."

Watson said she watched American TV shows like "The Hills," ''Keeping up With the Kardashians" and "The World According to Paris" to prepare for the role.

"It'd be very easy for Nicki to feel like a parody," Watson said. "Somehow I had to understand and empathize with her and that was really biggest challenge, second to getting the accent down. It's quite a specific dialect."

Since the "Harry Potter" films concluded in 2011 with the second part of "Deathly Hallows," Watson has gravitated to more adult films, including last year's coming-of-age tale "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and Darren Aronofsky's Biblical epic "Noah," which recently finished shooting. She also makes a cameo as herself in this summer's "This is the End," an apocalyptic comedy.

"For Emma, it was, I think, really interesting to see an actress that you've seen in other things really transform into a completely difficult character," Coppola said.

Young actors often treat Cannes as a coming-out-party, a place to introduce themselves on a more artistically-minded stage. Watson shined with enthusiasm for her experience with the improvisation-friendly Coppola.

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Sanchez: Eugenics

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ONE would think the Philippines is secretly apartheid South Africa, or worse, under Adolf Hitler's Aryan populated Germany the way many Filipinos in social media treated Nancy Binay.

No, I skipped my vote for her. I refuse to be a party for the perpetuation of a Binay dynasty and for her being an "OJT for 20 years," her words.

Look at some of the comments: "If Nancy Binay win for senator then the Dark Lord is back and so we need Harry Potter urgently! Hahahaha." Or this: "NO TO NANCY BINAY! ang replika ng itim na nazareno!" Like there's something wrong with looking like the Black Nazane (sic).

If only for that, I should have voted for Nancy Binay as a protest vote and strike a blow for democracy. There is no room for our constitutional democracy for bigots and racial discrimination. Nancy Binay has as much right to run for an elected post as mestiza Lucy Torres-Gmez or Aga Muhlach.

Getting elected on the basis of inherited skin color is just as worse on the basis of political pedigree. This mentality is the philosophical basis for discrimination and social exclusion in the country.

The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines states in Article II Section 26, "The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law." Obviously, even P-Noy balked at calling for a legislation banning political dynasties. And for that matter, we heard not a peep from any of our representatives from the six congressional districts Wikipedia notes: "Politics in the Philippines has been under the control of a few notable families. It is normal for a politician's son, wife, brother, or other kinsman, to run for the same or other government office. The term coined by Filipinos to describe this practice is 'Political dynasty,' the equivalent of an oligarchy in political science."

The online encyclopedia goes on: "One can trace its roots from the Spanish colonial times where favored families of the mestizo stock, or the ilustrados were given responsibilities of Gobernadorcillo, or Alcalde. As such, these men have wielded some influence in their communities, and patronage politics was a common undertaking."

During the early years of US colonial rule of the Las Islas de Filipinas, these ilustrados joined the budding democracy introduced by the Philippine Bill of 1902. During this period, family names such as Cojuangcos, Lpezes, Marcoses, Osmeas and Aquinos started to emerge, later on becoming household names.

Most of them are buena familias and light-skinned from their Chinese and Spanish blood. Wealth, landed estates, and skin color went hand-in-hand. This is the Filipino version of eugenics, the social philosophy advocating the improvement of human hereditary traits through the promotion of higher reproduction of more desired people and traits, and reduced reproduction of less desired people and traits.

We are a nation of over 90 million. We are Catholics, evangelicals, Muslims. We are doctors, lawyers, mediators, journalists, civil society workers and businesspeople. Many of us are farmers, workers, fisherfolks.

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Sanchez: Eugenics

Injustice: Gods Among Us – Lobo vs Cyborg – Lobo Classic Battle – Part 8 – HD – Video

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Injustice: Gods Among Us - Lobo vs Cyborg - Lobo Classic Battle - Part 8 - HD
DLC #39;s Lobo vs Cyborg! Subscribe for more gaming videos! Game details below! Injustice: Gods Among Us is a fighting game featuring various heroes and villains...

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Injustice: Gods Among Us - Lobo vs Cyborg - Lobo Classic Battle - Part 8 - HD - Video

Need a Source? Find the best Ontario beaches for this long weekend

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TORONTO, May 15, 2013 /CNW/ - Which beaches should you swim at this Victoria Day long weekend? Lake Ontario Waterkeeper can tell you, with its newly updated, free Swim Guide app.

The Waterkeeper Swim Guide app and Swim Guide website http://www.theswimguide.org/ shows the closest public beaches and provides up-to-the minute information on which ones are the best for swimming, this weekend and all through the summer. Most beaches are not sampled until June, but Swim Guide's archive helps you identify the best and worst options in Ontario quickly and easily. During the summer season, water quality information is updated daily, based on data from government agencies.

Talk to Waterkeeper President and Vice President

Talk to Mark Mattson, President of the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and Krystyn Tully, Vice President, about protecting Lake Ontario's waterways and which water is cleanest for swimming and to drink. Mark and Krystyn built the Waterkeeper Swim Guide, now used in hundreds of communities across Canada and the United States.

In addition to the new Swim Guide app, there's also a new Waterkeeper Drink Guide, which alerts users when there are drinking water advisories. These advisories fall into four categories: Boil Water, Blue-Green Algae, Water Shortage and Do Not Consume. They are updated daily by The Water Chronicles, based on information from official government sources.

Mark Mattson and Krystyn Tully are available for interview: 416-861-1237

About Lake Ontario Waterkeeper Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is a grassroots, non-profit charity dedicated to creating a swimmable, drinkable, fishable Lake Ontario. It was started after contaminated drinking water caused seven deaths in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000. Waterkeeper's goal is for communities where it is safe to touch the water, where the water is pure enough for drinking, and where it is clean and wild enough to toss in a line and pull out a fish for your family. The organization educates the public about the Great Lakes, connects people to the water through initiatives like Swim Guide, participates in decision making and conducts research in science, law, policy and culture. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is a member of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s internationally-recognized Waterkeeper Alliance. To learn more about Waterkeeper, visit http://www.waterkeeper.ca or Facebook. Follow us on Twitter (@LOWaterkeeper).

SOURCE: Waterkeeper

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Need a Source? Find the best Ontario beaches for this long weekend

Metropolitan Beaches Commission To Hold Public Hearings In Nine Communities This Summer

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BOSTON, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --The Metropolitan Beaches Commission (MBC) recently completed two public hearings on Beacon Hill to assess the state of the Boston Harbor region's public beaches and announced that they will hold a series of 9 public hearings in the region's beachfront communities this summer.

"These first two hearings focused on the important contribution these beaches make to the quality of life in our communities and the region," said Commission Co-Chair Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, who represents Revere, home of America's first public beach. "I am very much looking forward to holding additional public hearings in every community with a DCR beach to find out what we can do to help move our metropolitan beaches forward."

"We are looking to move these beaches from good towards great," said Commission Co-Chair Senator Tom McGee, who represents Lynn, Nahant and Swampscott. "Working with Save the Harbor / Save the Bay and the public, we intend to build on the success of our work in 2007 and are seeking new ways to enhance public access, increase beach programs, expand water transportation and improve water quality and beach flagging."

At Monday's hearing MBC Commissioner Paul Grogan, CEO of The Boston Foundation, stressed the importance of the region's beaches and the Boston Harbor Islands to the region and the contribution they make to the economic vitality of our coastal communities. "These beaches are important civic assets with the power to improve the quality of life for all the region's residents," said Grogan. "They are also economic drivers in many communities. These hearings are a great opportunity for us to work together to get it right."

The Commission was originally established in 2006 by the Massachusetts Legislature to recommend improvements to the Boston Harbor region's public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket. It has begun to examine the impacts of the recommendations made in its first report and intends to make additional recommendations for further improvements in 2013.

So far this year the Metropolitan Beaches Commission has held two public hearings at the Massachusetts State House. Commissioners have heard from DCR Commissioner Ed Lambert about the agency's budget, staffing and plans for the metropolitan beaches. Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey also addressed the Commission about the economic benefits of water transportation to coastal communities and the need for a coordinated and strategic approach in the region. They have also heard from expert panels on beach and harbor island access, programming and partnerships, water transportation and excursions, and water quality and beach flagging.

EEA Secretary Richard Sullivan, who also attended Monday's hearing, praised the Commission's efforts, saying "Their work has served as a roadmap for improvements to our beaches and parks across the Commonwealth."

The Commission will hold nine public hearings in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, and Hull this summer. The first will take place on June 11, 2013 in Revere. These hearings and the Commission's report will also identify and showcase economic development opportunities for local communities made possible by public investment in clean water and better beaches in our region's waterfront neighborhoods and beachfront communities.

If you are interested in being informed of the hearing date in your community, please email info@savetheharbor.org.

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Metropolitan Beaches Commission To Hold Public Hearings In Nine Communities This Summer

Neutrinos spark 'new astronomy era'

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15 May 2013 Last updated at 13:10 ET By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News

An experiment buried beneath the ice of the South Pole has for the first time seen the particles called neutrinos originating outside our Solar System.

They are produced in our atmosphere and in the Universe's most violent processes, but the IceCube experiment has seen the first "cosmic neutrinos".

It detected 28 of the exceptionally fast-moving neutrinos - but it remains unclear exactly where they came from.

The pioneering finds could herald an entirely new branch of astronomy.

The results were presented on Wednesday at the IceCube Particle Astrophysics Symposium in Wisconsin, US.

Researchers have gathered there to discuss the findings of the world's largest neutrino detector, occupying a cubic kilometre. It is made up of 86 strings sunk into the Antarctic ice, each with 60 sensitive light detectors strung along it like "fairy lights".

As neutrinos pass, they very rarely bump into the nuclei of atoms in the ice, producing a brief flash that the detectors can catch. With more than 5,000 detectors catching flashes at different times, the direction of the neutrinos' arrival can be determined.

Neutrinos can be produced in our own atmosphere here on Earth - IceCube picks up about 100,000 of them a year - but previous attempts to associate them with more far-flung cosmic processes, such as those described in April 2012, have turned up nothing.

However, in April this year, the IceCube collaboration reported seeing two neutrinos - nicknamed Bert and Ernie - of energies greater than a "petaelectronvolt".

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Neutrinos spark 'new astronomy era'

Google and NASA launch a quantum artificial intelligence lab

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COMPUTING PIONEERS Google and NASA have launched the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab that will use a controversial quantum computer built by D-Wave.

Google and NASA joined forces to establish the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab that will allow researchers at the two organisations and a number of universities to research artificial intelligence using quantum computers. The lab will use a D-Wave 2 computer that is priced at around $15m.

D-Wave's computer, which for years has courted controversy regarding whether it really is a quantum computer, is a second generation unit that is rated at 512-qubit and makes use of quantum effects that in theory can deliver performance that is several orders of magnitude higher than that of traditional computers for certain workloads.

Google and NASA's collaboration is intended to foster research into machine learning by using D-Wave's quantum computer. For Google, research into machine learning presents some obvious benefits for trying to attach contextual meaning to data that it collects.

NASA also makes extensive use of high performance computing for its research and missions. Colin Williams, director of business development and strategic partnerships at D-Wave said, "Examples today include using supercomputers to model space weather, simulate planetary atmospheres, explore magnetohydrodynamics, mimic galactic collisions, simulate hypersonic vehicles, and analyse large amounts of mission data."

Aside from Google and NASA, 20 percent of the machine's compute cycles will be available to university researchers for free. However university researchers will have to submit proposals and go through a competitive process to get access to the machine.

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Google and NASA launch a quantum artificial intelligence lab

Google Buys a Quantum Computer for Artificial Intelligence Lab with NASA

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The search giant Google is now too much interested to elaborate artificial intelligence. Google and NASA together establishing a laboratory called 'Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab' to study AI by...

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The search giant Google is now too much interested to elaborate artificial intelligence. Google and NASA together establishing a laboratory called 'Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab' to study AI by using quantum computers. For this purpose, Google actually buys a big Quantum Computer worth 15 million dollars. This computer has a speed 1000 times faster than latest super computers. Google buys this speedy computer from D-Wave systems. This new Google quantum computer will start working during the third quarter of this year.

Director of Engineering at Google, Hartmut Neven, has made the official announcement of launching the lab in a blog post today. He stated that Google is launching the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab today. While Ames Research Center of NASA will be responsible to run the lab. Google also indulged the USRA (Universities Space Research Association) in this project. The duty of USRA is to gather researchers from around the world to provide their time and efforts on this project. Google's actual goal is to study that how quantum computing will enhance machine learning.

Google has already worked on quantum computing and developed some algorithms for machine learning. One of these algorithms succeeded in getting efficient results that will be useful when your mobile device is on low power. While another is used for computed data for proper labeling. Now the search giant wants to use these algorithms in real practice to find real solutions for the quantum hardware.

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Google Buys a Quantum Computer for Artificial Intelligence Lab with NASA