Bloomberg wants to ban New Yorkers smoking in their OWN homes

Anti-smoking police are set to patrol New York neighbourhoods and stop people smoking in their own homes, secret new documents reveal.
Community groups will be sent out to convince landlords and tenants across the city to turn their private buildings into smoke-free zones, according to the documents seen by the New York  Post.
The community groups would 'work with property managers, tenants, and others on adoption of voluntary smoke-free policies', the document says.
In return for their work, each community group will collect a $10,000 bounty — paid for out of a Centers for Disease Control grant.
The news comes one year after the city banned smoking in parks and beaches, despite promises by Mayor Bloomberg that there were no plans to extend a ban to apartment buildings.
The document explains how neighbourhood contractors would help develop New York health department's agenda in tobacco, alcohol, exercise and diet.
Contractors would improve community awareness and promote 'voluntary adoption of smoke-free policies to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke'.

Critics called the plan an affront to personal freedom and suspect that it has long been in the pipeline and waited for the public to get used to the public smoking ban before introducing one in homes.

City politicians denied there was any such plan.
Bloomberg spokesperson Samantha Levine said: 'The city is not banning smoking in private residences; as part of this federal grant, organizations can apply to fund projects that, among other things, educate the community on voluntary smoke-free housing policies.

Ban: Landords will be able to change the wording on the lease and implement ban when lease comes up for renewal

Landlords interested in introducing a smoking ban need only change the wording on the lease once it comes up for renewal. Tenants would then have the choice of signing the new lease and accepting the terms or moving on.
There are no laws prohibiting a landlord from banning smoking, according to real-estate lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey. Landlords need only change the language of the lease, and once it’s time to renew, the smoker can decide to move or stay.
Landlord owners of condominiums would need a 66 per cent majority vote among their tenants in favour of a ban in order to implement it.
Most restaurants in the city outlawed smoing in 1995, followed by bars and bar areas of restaurants in 2002.
The document revelas that although the number of smokers in the city has dropped,  850,000 adults and about 18,000 high school students still smoke.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2249355/Mayor-Bloomberg-ban-New-Yorkers-smoking-OWN-homes.html#ixzz2FRFU4u2y

SWAT cops to ask for IDs from everyone in Arkansas town

Reuters/Marcus Donner

There isn’t a lot to do in Paragould, Arkansas, but residents of the town of barely 25,000 seem to have no problem finding trouble. Now in order to curb the rising crime rate, the city is proposing heavily armed police patrol the streets on foot.
At a town hall meeting on Thursday, Mayor Mike Gaskill and Police Chief Todd Stovall endorsed a plan to send cops dressed in full-fledged SWAT gear and equipped with AR-15s into downtown Paragould starting in 2013.
The militarized police force will be tasked with trying to control a crime rate that has made Paragould an increasingly dangerous place to live in recent years. According to statistics collected by city-data.com, Paragould has had a property crime index rating more than double the national average since 2007. Rapes, burglaries, thefts and assaults per capita are also well above the mean there, statistically suggesting Paragould is perhaps the least-safe among area cities.
"This fear is what's given us the reason to do this. Once I have stats and people saying they're scared, we can do this," Stovall said, according to the Paragould Daily Press. "It allows us to do what we're fixing to do."
In order to bring crime down, residents of Paragould may soon have to endure police officers brandishing semi-automatic assault riddles on the regular. What’s more, Stovall says, is he intends to have the cops collecting identification from everyone and anyone in an attempt to discourage criminal activity.
“If you're out walking, we're going to stop you, ask why you're out walking, check for your ID,” the Daily Press reports him saying during last week’s meeting.
"To ask you for your ID, I have to have a reason," he said. "Well, I've got statistical reasons that say I've got a lot of crime right now, which gives me probable cause to ask what you're doing out. Then when I add that people are scared…then that gives us even more [reason] to ask why are you here and what are you doing in this area."
"They may not be doing anything but walking their dog," added Mayor Gaskill, "but they're going to have to prove it."
Soon after the Paragould Daily Press picked up the story, news of the small town’s efforts to enforce martial law began making headlines outside of Arkansas. On Sunday, Stovall authored an explanation on the Paragould Police Department website to clarify how exactly the proposed Street Crimes Unit will interact with citizens.
“Most often, this identification process will be nothing more than making contact with a subject, handing them a business card, and asking if they live in the area and if there's anything we can do for them,” he says. During hours in which crime seems to be more prevalent, however, Chief Stovall says their process “will become more stringent.”
“We will be asking for picture identification. We will be ascertaining where the subject lives and what they are doing in the area. We will be keeping a record of those we contact.”
Stovall adds that they program would not violate the constitutional rights of Paragould citizens, claiming, “Once we have an area that shows a high crime rate or a high call volume, it is our duty and obligation to find out why this is occurring and what we can do to prevent the trend from continuing. Therefore, identifying subjects in those problem areas help us to solve crimes, and hopefully to prevent future crimes.”
Paragould has scheduled two more town hall meetings to discuss the Street Crimes Unit.

 

Your federal tax dollars being used zombie apocalypse

Watch Video
WE/The above film clip is not a “behind the scenes” of the latest Dawn of the Dead straight-to-DVD ripoff. It is the actual footage of first responder seminar in San Diego, California. The Department of Homeland Security deemed the event an allowable expense, enabling participants to use federal grant funding to pay to go.
That’s according to “Safety at Any Price: Assessing the Impact of Homeland Security Spending in U.S. Cities” a report compiled by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who chairs the investigations subcommittee of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. The report focuses on grants made by the DHS and the Urban Areas Security Initiative. Coburn says the report shows that DHS was “directing scarce dollars to low-priority project and low-risk areas.”
Coburn found that, among other things, DHS was spending money on teaching first responders how to stop flesh-eating ghouls. The report said the event was held by the HALO Corporation “at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa on an island outside San Diego 9 (and) the 5-day summit was deemed an allowable expense by DHS, permitting first responders to use grant funds for the $1,000 entrance fee.”
Coburn’s report explained further:

The marquee event over the [San Diego] summit, however, was its highly-promoted “zombie apocalypse” demonstration. Strategic Operations, a tactical training firm, was hired to put on a “zombie-driven show” designed to simulate a real-life terrorism event. The firm performed two shows on Halloween, which featured 40 actors dressed as zombies getting gunned down by a military tactical unit. Conference attendees were invited to watch the shows as part of their education in emergency response training. Barker explained that, “the idea is to challenge authorities as they respond to extreme medical situations where people become crazed and violent, creating widespread fear and disorder.”
According to the firm’s public relations manager, the exercise was brought about “utilizing Hollywood magic,” and setup in a “parking lot-sized movie set [with] state-of-the-art structures, pyrotechnic battlefield effects, medical special effects, vehicles and blank-firing weapons.” [HALO President Brad] Barker added, however, “This is a very real exercise, this is not some type of big costume party.” (Emphasis added.)

That’s a good thing because a zombie apocalypse is something that could totally happen. And the training is necessary too because it is not like there is any film or television show you could watch to give you clues on what to do when the zombies do attack.

 

House explosion sparks blaze near Devil's Lake

13abc/Lenawee County Sheriff's Department confirms there was a house explosion near Devil's Lake Thursday evening. It happened near Glenwood Drive and Round Lake Highway.
The explosion is suspected to have been the result of a gas leak. Two homes were destroyed by the blast and ensuing fire.
Both homes are occupied, but no one was home at the time.
Five fire departments responded to the scene.
Witnesses reported hearing the explosion up to two miles away.
No fatalities or injuries have been reported.

Obama's opening "fiscal cliff" bid seeks debt limit hike,

(Reuters) - The Obama administration's opening bid on Thursday in negotiations to avert a year-end fiscal crunch included a demand for new stimulus spending and authority to unilaterally raise the U.S. borrowing ceiling, a Republican congressional aide said.
The proposal, made by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to congressional Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, was seen as offering little the Republicans could agree to and was greeted with laughter, the aide said.
"We can't move any closer to them because they're not even on our planet," the aide said. "It was not a serious proposal."
Obama and congressional Republicans are returning to the bargaining table to prevent across-the board tax increases and deep spending cuts, the so-called fiscal cliff, from taking effect next year.
The president wants Bush-era tax breaks to be extended for all but the wealthiest earners, but Republicans have balked at tax hikes of any kind.
In the maiden bargaining session, Geithner, the president's lead negotiator, proposed raising tax revenues by $1.6 trillion, congressional aides confirmed. That figure is in line with what Obama has said is necessary to achieve long-term deficit reduction of $4 trillion over 10 years.
The administration also sought at least $50 billion in new economic stimulus spending.
Obama's negotiators also sought the ability to raise the nation's borrowing limit unilaterally. Currently, Congress must approve an increase in the debt ceiling, and it was an impasse over that issue that brought the country perilously close to default in 2011.
The administration's proposal would put off across-the-board spending cuts for a year.
In exchange the administration agreed to make $400 billion in spending cuts to entitlement programs, an aide confirmed.
The White House had no comment on the details of the offer.
"The only thing preventing us from reaching a deal that averts the fiscal cliff and avoids a tax hike on 98 percent of Americans is the refusal of congressional Republicans to ask the very wealthiest individuals to pay higher tax rates," a White House official

 

1,200-foot sinkhole opens up in Ohio

1,200-foot sinkhole opens up in Ohio: Pipeline exposed and hanging — Gas company working to fix problem — “I’ve never seen anything like this… very unusual situation” (PHOTOS)enews/

Times-Reporter , Nov 28, 2012:

Source: 19 Action News

A section of land the length of four football fields collapsed Wednesday afternoon leaving a gaping hole [...]
The collapse left about 70 to 80 feet of a 4-inch natural gas line exposed, and hanging [...]
[...] an Ohio Department of Natural Resources geologist was at the scene to assist in determining the cause of the collapse.

WTOV, Nov 28, 2012:

“I’ve worked for ODOT 16 years now and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said [ODOT District Deputy Director Lloyd] MacAdams. “This is very unusual situation. You would never think this pond would make it to the state route.”

19 Action News, Nov 29, 2012:

Dover Fire Captain Mike Mosser said that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, ODOT and the gas company are working to fix the problem. The gas company has addressed an exposed gas line that is no longer a hazard to the surrounding community.

U.S. Birth Rate Hits Record Low

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

nationaljournal/The U.S. birth rate plummeted in 2011 to the lowest level since the beginning of the Great Depression, led by a drop among immigrants.

The U.S. birth rate dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of the Great Depression, led by a drop among immigrants, according to a report data released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.

In 2011, the overall birth rate was 63.2 per 1,000 women of childbearing age, the lowest since at least 1920, Pew reported, citing numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics. The birth rate reached 122.7 in 1957, the peak of the Baby Boom. After the mid-1970s, the birth rate stabilized at about 65 to 70 births per 1,000 women annually, until the beginning of the Great Recession.

Since 2007, both the U.S. birth rate (the number of live births per 1,000 women ages 15-44) and the number of births have dropped significantly, according to the report.

Overall, the birth rate declined 8 percent from 2007 to 2010.  Among U.S.-born women, the birth rate dropped 6 percent. The decline among foreign-born women was 14 percent. Among Mexican women, the birth rate fell even more, to 23 percent.
(RELATED: State Education Data Reveal Large Racial Achievement Gaps)

Despite the recent decline, foreign-born moms continue to give birth to a disproportionate share of the country’s babies, the report said. In 2010, immigrants represented about 13 percent of the U.S. population while foreign-born mothers accounted for 23 percent of all births.

After 2007, the number of U.S. births, which had been rising since 2002, fell abruptly, according to the report. This decrease was also led by immigrant women. Overall the number of births between 2007 and 2010 dropped 7 percent, pulled down by a 13-percent drop in births to immigrants. By comparison, births to U.S.-born women dropped only 5 percent.

The Pew researchers attributed that drop to a change in behavior (the falling birth rates) rather than a change in the number of women (those born in the U.S. or immigrants) of childbearing age.

An earlier Pew report attributed the recent fertility decline to “economic distress.” The study showed that states with the largest economic declines between 2007 and 2008 were most likely to experience relatively large fertility declines the following year.
Hispanic women - both those born in and those born outside the U.S. - experienced larger birth-rate declines from 2007 to 2010 than other groups. They also experienced greater percentage declines in household wealth than white, black, or Asian households between 2005 and 2009, according to the report. Latinos also experienced a greater rise in poverty and unemployment than non-Latinos after the Great Recession began.

The recent decline in births to foreign-born moms reversed a trend in which immigrant women accounted for a rising share of the country’s births, according to the report. In 2007, immigrant mothers accounted for a quarter of all U.S. births, compared to 16 percent in 1990. By 2010, foreign-born moms accounted for 23 percent of all births.

Despite the drop-off among the foreign-born, Pew population projections indicate that immigrants who arrived since 2005 and their descendants will account for 82 percent of U.S. population growth by 2050. Even taking the recent decline in immigration into account, new immigrants and their descendants are still expected to lead most of the nation’s population increase by mid-century, according to the report.

Other findings:

• The majority of births (66 percent) to U.S.-born women were to white mothers. That share has dropped since 1990 when it was 72 percent. The majority of births to foreign-born mothers were to Hispanic moms.
• Teen mothers make up a greater share of births among U.S.-born women (11 percent in 2010) than foreign-born mothers (5 percent).
• Mothers ages 35 and older make up a higher share of births to immigrants (21 percent in 2010) than to moms born in the U.S. (13 percent). Mothers born outside the country accounted for more than a third of births to women ages 35 and older that year.

 

Residents Alerted to Obamas' Hawaiian Holiday Plans

hawaiireporter/Residents living near the beachfront homes where President Barack Obama and First Family vacation with their friends every year since 2008 were alerted on Monday to some specifics of the Obamas' holiday vacation plans.
The report delivered to residents living along the ocean and canal that surrounds the multi-million dollar homes at Kailuana Place where the President stays, informed  them of restrictions that will be implemented for 20 days beginning December 17 and running through January 6.
In a matter of weeks, Kailua residents will see the familiar street barricades fronted by U.S. Secret Service agents and Navy Seals and the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in canal and ocean waters.
The President, who spent some of his childhood years in Hawaii, brings his wife, two daughters, Sasha and Malia, with dog Bo in tow, each holiday season. They settle into the small town community known for its spectacular sparkling beaches, warm turquoise ocean, rolling surf, country shops and restaurants and friendly people.
The homes where they stay are just a two-minute drive from Kaneohe Bay and the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, where the Obamas and friends can access private white sand beaches and military workout facilities.

Kailua Beach

While many residents welcome the First Family, others are disheartened by the restrictions put on air, water and road travel while the President and family are in town, especially because it is the holiday season and many families on vacation want to use their boats or surf and paddle in the welcoming ocean waves fronting the Kailua homes. In addition, the President's caravan of at least 22 vehicles including an ambulance can easily overwhelm the community that typically has single lane streets.
Adding to the controversy surrounding the President's visit is the cost of the trip.
With the staff, special forces, local police presence and equipment, the President's visit adds up annually to at least a $4 million vacation courtesy of the Hawaii and federal taxpayers.
While the President and his friends pay for their own rental homes, taxpayers pick up the cost of security and waterfront housing for the Secret Service, Navy Seals and Coast Guard as well as staff accommodations at a plush beachfront Waikiki hotel.
TRAVEL: $3,629,622
The biggest expense is President Barack Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii via Air Force One.
A Congressional Research Service report released in May 2012 said the plane typically used by the President, a Boeing 747, costs $179,750 per hour to operate. The U.S. Air Force has listed the cost of travel as high as $181,757 per flight hour.
Travel time for Air Force One direct from Washington D.C. to Hawaii is about 9 hours or as high as $1,635,813 each way for a total of $3,271,622 for the round trip to Hawaii and back.
The cost for USAF C-17 cargo aircraft that transports the Presidential limos, helicopters and other support equipment to Hawaii has never been disclosed in the years the President has traveled to Hawaii. However, the flight time between Andrews Air Force Base and Hawaii is at about 21.5 hours roundtrip, with estimated operating cost of $12,000 per hour. (Source: GAO report, updated by C-17 crew member). The United States Marine Corps provides a presidential helicopter, along with pilots and support crews for the test flights, which travel on another C-17 flight. That is $258,000, not including costs for the 4 to 6 member crew's per diem and hotel.

Moana Surfrider Resort

The rentals are fronted by the ocean and backed by a canal. So, the taxpayers must cover the costs for housing U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Coast Guard and Navy Seals in beach front and canal front homes around where the President stays.
Last year, that added up to about $200 per bedroom per day, or $21,600 per average home for a nearly three week period, with special forces renting at least 7 homes. Security arrives ahead of the President costing taxpayers about $176,400 for the length of the visit.
The President’s staff and White House Press Corps typically stay at one of Hawaii’s oldest and most elegant hotels, the Moana Surfrider. Besides its stunningly beautiful view of Waikiki, and its traditional Hawaiian architecture and decor, it is one of the most pricey hotels in the state and government rates are not available during the holiday season. Rooms  start at around $270 but can cost as much as $370 a night for an ocean view before Christmas, and climb much higher around the new year.
A conservative estimate with rooms at $270 (excluding a 9.25 percent Transient Accommodation Tax and a 4.712 percent General Excise Tax on each bill, meals, internet charges and other charges) means the taxpayers are covering more than $129,600 in hotel bills for some two dozen staff.
LOCAL TAXPAYER COSTS: $260,000
Local police are paid over time for the President’s visit, which has historically cost Oahu taxpayers $250,000.
The city ambulance the accompanies the President 24 hours a day through his entire visit is about $10,000 to city taxpayers.
UNKNOWN COSTS
There are several costs the White House annually refuses to release, citing security.

• • For example, the President’s security usually rents an entire floor of an office building in Kailua on the canal during the president’s stay.
  • There are security upgrades and additional phone lines to several private homes where Obama and friends are staying. That includes bullet proof glass installed, home security systems disabled, new security measures put into place and additional phone lines added.
  • There is the cost for car rentals and fuel for White House staff staying at a Waikiki Hotel.
  • And there are additional travel costs Secret Service and White House staff traveling ahead of the President.

The total cost (based on what is known) for a 20-day round trip vacation to Hawaii for the President and his family and staff and security is more than $4 million.
Hawaii Reporter annually has requested details on the cost of the President’s trip, but the White House will not release any figures, citing security concerns. A spokesperson has maintained the costs are "in line" with other presidential vacations.
Hawaii Reporter has sought to determine the cost of vacations for the current president and last two presidents but the Government Accountability Office referred Hawaii Reporter back to the White House spokesperson.

 

Sandy Cough Plagues Homeowners Cleaning Up

Marc Santia

Patrick Zoda has been working nonstop for a month, trying to save his Staten Island home after it was badly damaged by Sandy. As he works, the debris cloud filling his house has also been filling his lungs.

nbc/Patrick Zoda has been working nonstop for a month, trying to save his Staten Island home after it was badly damaged by Sandy. As he works, the debris cloud filling his house has also been filling his lungs.

“I feel totally drained, tired," Zoda told NBC 4 New York. "Every morning I wake up coughing."

Dr. Brahim Ardolic, chairman of Emergency Medicine at Staten Island University Hospital, says he has seen a greater number of patients with respiratory issues in recent weeks, mostly in people with pre-existing conditions. The combination of flu season and Sandy cleanup -- which has brought unhygienic conditions, dirty water and mold into homes -- is a perfect storm for sickness, he says.

"Which of these factors actually cause these people to come in is very difficult to say, but clearly, there is an increase in the number of people that are coming in with these conditions," Ardolic said.

Zoda, who lives in Midland Beach, says this cough is different from anything he's had before.

“It is a very dry cough that I have. It's not a normal cough,” Zoda said.

And doctors say it’s not just mold that could irritate residents, but also dust and insulation.

For Zoda and hundreds of home owners just like him, there is just no time to get sick.

“If I have to see a doctor, do this, that, everything, clean up. Only so much one person can do,” he said.

Even if people are pressed for time, they need to see a doctor, Ardolic says.

“You've probably had very little rest, been exposed to conditions that are horrifying and you maybe are sicker than you know. And what gets you ill, it's not the mold necessarily but you might be ignoring symptoms you wouldn't normally be ignoring,” he said.

UN warns permafrost is melting

abc/A United Nations report says the world's permafrost is beginning to thaw, bringing with it the threat of a big increase in global warming by 2100.
Permafrost is a deep layer of frozen soil covering about a quarter of landmass in the northern hemisphere, and is thought to contain twice the amount of carbon already in the atmosphere.

A global temperature increase of 3°C means a 6°C increase in the Arctic, resulting in anywhere between 30 to 85 per cent loss of near-surface permafrost. Such widespread permafrost degradation will permanently change local hydrology, increasing the frequency of fire and erosion disturbances.
Damage to critical infrastructure, such as buildings and roads, will incur significant social and economic costs.
If the permafrost thaws, the organic matter will thaw and decay, potentially releasing large amounts of CO2 and methane into the atmosphere.
Thawing permafrost could emit 43 to 135 Gt of CO2 equivalent by 2100 and 246 to 415 Gt of CO2 equivalent by 2200.
UN report into permafrost thaw

An accelerating melt would free vast amounts of carbon dioxide and methane which has been trapped in organic matter in the subsoil, often for thousands of years.
In the report released at climate talks in Qatar, the UN Environment Program warned that the thaw could accelerate global warming.
The report says that warming permafrost could release the equivalent of between 43 and 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, by 2100, up to 39 per cent of annual emissions from human sources.
Andy Pitman, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Climate Systems Science at the University of New South Wales, says the thaw could also release large amounts of methane.
"Permafrost stores carbon dioxide, but it also has lots of little microbes in it and lots of organic matter," he said.
"And when that organic matter isn't frozen any more, it gets broken down by microbes in the soil and under certain circumstances that breakdown process releases a lot of methane."
Charles Miller is the principal investigator for NASA's Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment.

The melting of the permafrost is no surprise to the locals who live in the town of Inuvik, about 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in Canada's north-west.
Mayor Floyd Roland spoke to AM about the impact the changing climate is having on his village:

We're in a zone that is permafrost rich, as we call it, and we've had to adapt our construction techniques up here to avoid causing any melting and slumping of permafrost areas - we've noticed an increase in the last number of years.
We've been dealing with permafrost conditions, both the immediate building of the community, the infrastructure as well remediation as things start to change, the seasons start to change and you have to adapt for that when it comes to our runways, our roadways.
The permafrost was more stable - our seasons have definitely changed up here. When I grew up as a young boy here our winter season was coming from middle of September for example the rivers would start to freeze.
And we'd have much colder winters where nowadays it's sometimes middle of October and we don't get the extreme cold that we normally did.

'Canary in the coalmine'

Dr Miller says that in the short term, methane releases have a far greater impact on global temperatures than carbon dioxide.
"We're looking to see whether or not the impacts of climate change will cause the mobilisation of this stored carbon into dynamic carbon cycling which means it would be available in the atmosphere for photosynthetic uptake, and whether or not this carbon as it is released comes in the form of carbon dioxide or methane," he said.
"On a per molecule basis, methane is 75 times stronger than carbon dioxide over a 20 year time span."
He told the ABC's AM program that a thaw in parts of the northern hemisphere could provide also provide insight into the impacts of climate change worldwide.
"It's expected that climate change will impact the Arctic earliest. It's anticipated that climate change in the Arctic will be more dynamic than it would be in many other parts of the world," he said.
"And the ecosystems in the Arctic are so heavily adapted to the harsh conditions that exist there that the changes that are already occurring are happening faster than ecosystems can adapt.
"This is really a case of the canary in the coalmine where we might be able to find early detection of some things that would have larger, perhaps even global scale impact."