NBC execs say it's not a 'shoot-'em-up' network

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) ? NBC executives said Sunday they are conscious about the amount of violence they air in the wake of real-life tragedies like the Connecticut school shooting, but have made no changes in what has gone on the air or what is planned.

NBC isn't a "shoot-'em-up" network, said network entertainment President Jennifer Salke.

The level of violence on television, in movies and video games has been looked at as a contributing factor ? along with the availability of guns and a lack of mental health services ? in incidents such as the Dec. 14 attack in a Newtown, Conn., school where 20 first-graders and six educators were killed.

Like many in Hollywood, NBC questioned a link between what is put on the air and what is happening in society.

"It weighs on all of us," said NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt. "Most of the people at this network have children and really care about the shows that we're putting out there. It's always something that's been on our mind but this brought it to the forefront."

NBC hasn't needed to take any tangible steps like minimizing violence in its programming or deemphasizing guns, Salke said, because NBC didn't have much violence on the air. It might be different "if we were the 'shoot-'em-up' network, she said.

She didn't name such a network, but said violence might be an issue on a network that airs many crime procedural shows. That's a staple of CBS' lineup. Greenblatt, who was head of Showtime when the "Dexter" series about a serial killer was developed, said CBS' "Criminal Minds" is "worse than 'Dexter' ever was."

Within an hour after both executives spoke, NBC showed reporters at a news conference highlights of its show "Revolution" that included a swordfight, a standoff between two men with guns, a bloodied man, a building blown up with a flying body and a gunfight.

Later clips of the upcoming series "Deception" featured several shots of a bloodied, dead body.

NBC also is developing a drama, "Hannibal," based on one of fiction's most indelible serial killers, Hannibal Lecter. An airtime for the show hasn't been scheduled, but it could come this spring or summer.

Salke said there is more violence in Fox's upcoming drama "The Following," also about a serial killer, than there will be in "Hannibal." Much of the violence in the upcoming NBC show, created by former "Heroes" producer Bryan Fuller, is implied and not gratuitous.

"We respect the talent and like what he is doing, so we are standing behind him," Salke said. She said there's been a spate of programs about creepy killers because they've been such indelible characters.

Greenblatt said he wasn't trying to be glib, but one of the best tonics for people upset about real-life violence is to watch an episode of NBC's "Parenthood." He said it's a great example of a family that loves each other and grapples with many issues.

"Ultimately, I think you feel good at the end of the day," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nbc-execs-not-shoot-em-network-222431585.html

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Feds spent more on immigration enforcement than other crime agencies

Spending on immigration enforcement. (Migration Policy Institute)

The federal government spent $18 billion last year on immigration enforcement, more than the combined spending of the rest of the federal government's law enforcement agencies over the same period.

The $18 billion immigration price tag is larger than spending on the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives combined, according to the new report from the Migration Policy Institute think tank.

Spending on immigration enforcement, which includes everything from screening visitors to the United States to deportations, has increased 15-fold since 1986, when President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law that legalized 3 million immigrants and for the first time required employers to verify their employees' immigration status. Though the law attempted to stop illegal immigration from the Southern border, the waves of migration continued, peaking in 2000 at 1.7 million border apprehensions. Since 2005, the number of Border Patrol agents has doubled, and deportations have increased.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/feds-spend-more-immigration-enforcement-other-crime-agencies-230412227.html

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Sudan, South Sudan agree once again to set up buffer zone

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan agreed on Saturday to set up a demilitarized zone along their disputed border, a condition for restarting oil exports, an African Union mediator said on Saturday, without giving a time frame.

Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir and South Sudan's Salva Kiir had agreed in September to withdraw their armies from the border area, a move both say is necessary to allow oil to flow again from landlocked South Sudan through Sudan.

After weeks of deadly clashes early last year the two came close to all-out war but agreed a ceasefire in April. However, South Sudan says Sudan has bombed its side of the border several times since then and neither has withdrawn its army since the deal was struck in September.

They also accuse each other of supporting rebels on each other's side of the border, accusations denied by both, and part of Sudanese side is controlled by Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) rebels.

The AU called this week's summit, two days of talks in Ethiopia, to defuse tensions after months of often unproductive talks between two countries which remain deeply mistrustful of each other, a legacy of one of Africa's longest civil wars.

"They've ... agreed that actions should be taken as soon as possible to implement all the existing agreements unconditionally," AU mediator Thabo Mbeki said after the summit which Bashir and Kiir left without making statements.

"The presidents have also agreed that ... the necessary decisions are taken to create the safe demilitarized border zone," Mbeki told reporters. The AU would present a time frame next week, he said.

The AU, backed by Western powers, had threatened both with sanctions should they miss a September deadline to resolve the dispute and has since then granted more time to negotiate.

Sudan has rejected calls by Western powers and the AU to start peace talks with the SPLM-North, which complains of marginalization and wants to topple Bashir.

Mbeki said Kiir had told the summit that the South had cut any ties with SPLM-North but it was not clear whether this would be sufficient assurance for Sudan. Security officials from both sides will start more talks in Ethiopia on January 13.

Sudan's state news agency SUNA only said both presidents had agreed in the final summit communiqu? to implement all existing deals and set up the buffer zone without delay.

South Sudan's Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin could not be reached on his mobile phone.

LONG LIST OF DISPUTES

South Sudan became independent in July 2011 under a 2005 peace agreement which ended decades of civil war and the neighbors have yet to sort out a long list of disputes.

Both economies badly need the oil to flow again from the fields in South Sudan, for which Juba has to pay millions of dollars each month. Juba shut down its entire output of 350,000 barrels a year ago after failing to agree on an export fee.

Diplomats say both sides tend to see such summits as an opportunity to pick away at the other's weaknesses rather than an opportunity to solve their conflicts.

Both use the confrontation to shore up popular support for their governments and to divert attention from their economic problems and widespread corruption.

Mbeki said Bashir and Kiir had agreed to mark the undisputed part of their almost 2,000 km (1,200 miles) long border, a plan both sides have committed to before. An AU panel will make non-binding proposals for other boundaries.

He said both presidents would meet again to decide on a deal for the border region of Abyei, which both claims as theirs.

The AU had demanded a solution for Abyei by September and then said it would make a binding proposal before giving the parties until December 2012 to do a deal.

(Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sudan-south-sudan-agree-once-again-set-buffer-210910422.html

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Atom smasher hiatus sets stage for more discovery

FILE - In this March 30, 2010 file picture the globe of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, is illuminated outside Geneva, Switzerland. The world's largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a 2-year hibernation in March 2013 , aiming to reach maximum energy levels that may lead to more stunning discoveries after hunting down the so-called "God particle. But physicists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN, won't exactly be idle as the US $10 billion proton collider goes on hiatus for maintenance and retooling _ in preparation for unlocking more mysteries. There are still reams more data to sift through since the July 2012 discovery of a new subatomic particle called a Higgs boson and promises a new realm of understanding in subatomic science. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus,File)

FILE - In this March 30, 2010 file picture the globe of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, is illuminated outside Geneva, Switzerland. The world's largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a 2-year hibernation in March 2013 , aiming to reach maximum energy levels that may lead to more stunning discoveries after hunting down the so-called "God particle. But physicists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN, won't exactly be idle as the US $10 billion proton collider goes on hiatus for maintenance and retooling _ in preparation for unlocking more mysteries. There are still reams more data to sift through since the July 2012 discovery of a new subatomic particle called a Higgs boson and promises a new realm of understanding in subatomic science. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus,File)

FILE - In this March 30 2010 file picture s cientist of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, react in the SMS experiment control room at their headquarter outside Geneva, Switzerland. The world's largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a 2-year hibernation in March 2013 , aiming to reach maximum energy levels that may lead to more stunning discoveries after hunting down the so-called "God particle. But physicists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN, won't exactly be idle as the US $10 billion proton collider goes on hiatus for maintenance and retooling _ in preparation for unlocking more mysteries. There are still reams more data to sift through since the July discovery of a new subatomic particle called a Higgs boson and promises a new realm of understanding in subatomic science. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

GENEVA (AP) ? The world's largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a 2-year hibernation in March, as engineers carry out a revamp to help it reach maximum energy levels that could lead to more stunning discoveries following the detection of the so-called "God particle."

With the reopening of its $10 billion proton collider in early 2015, the stage will be set for observing more rare phenomena ? and unlocking more mysteries, said James Gillies, chief spokesman for the European particle physics laboratory known as CERN.

The Large Hadron Collider under the Swiss-French border will operate for two more months then shut down through 2014, allowing engineers to lay thousands more superconducting cables aimed at bringing the machine up to "full design energy," Gillies told The Associated Press on Friday.

Physicists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN, won't exactly be idle as the collider takes a break. There are still reams more data to sift through since the July discovery of a new subatomic particle called the Higgs boson ? dubbed the "God particle ? which promises a new realm of understanding of the universe.

For the next two months, the Large Hadron Collider will be smashing protons with lead ions, then undergo several weeks of testing before it shuts down. The collider launched in September 2008, but had to be switched off just nine days later when a badly soldered electrical splice overheated, causing extensive damage to the massive magnets and other parts of the collider some 300 feet (100 meters) below the ground.

It cost $40 million to repair and improve the machine. Since its restart in November 2009, the collider has performed almost flawlessly and the power produced has been ramped up to ever-new record levels, creating a treasure trove of new data to sift through.

But because of the 2008 accident, the collider could only run at an energy level far below what it was designed to do. To fix that, Gillies said, engineers over the next two years will install 10,000 redesigned superconducting cables that connect between the magnets. That will vastly improve its capacity to simulate the moments after the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago.

"It will bring you more collisions. Which means that the more collisions you have, the more likely you are to see rare events," he said. "The Higgs particle was just one of many on the wish list that we'd like to find, so higher energy increases your discovery potential."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-04-Switzerland-Big%20Bang%20Machine/id-7782522879ba41f2b69b01eb9e1bb5d4

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Saturday 1/5 Afternoon----Apps of the Week: Super Monsters Ate My Condo!, Netflix New Releases, AntennaPod and more!

We said we'd be back in 2013 with our weekly app picks, and here we are. Trying to start off the year right before some of us make the trip to Las Vegas for CES 2013, we've got a whole grouping of great picks for you this week. A mix of games, utilities and overall fun apps can be found here, so stick around after the break and see how we did.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/0sih4Jeh1Ek/story01.htm

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Today in History

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/today-history-050206767.html

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Books on Science: ?Discord? ? Sound, Noise and Our Elusive Quest for Quiet

[unable to retrieve full-text content]In his new book, ?Discord,? Mike Goldsmith offers surprising facts about sound and traces our relationship with noise through the centuries.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/science/discord-sound-noise-and-our-elusive-quest-for-quiet.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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