How to Change Windows Explorer's Starting Location

By default, when you start Windows Explorer, it opens up to your Libraries. If you'd rather have it open to a different folder, changing this behavior is very easy. Here's how.

I don't really use Libraries all that much, so it's annoying to have Windows Explorer constantly sending me there. I'd rather Windows Explorer start up in my user folder, so I can access my Dropbox and other useful folders without having to go through Libraries. Luckily, this is easy to change:

1. Right-click on the Windows Explorer icon in your taskbar. Right click on "File Explorer" and choose Properties.
2. Under "Target," change the path to the folder you want Windows Explorer to display by default. In my case, that's F:\Users\Whitson for my user folder.

That's it! However, some folders?like My Computer, for example?don't have a specific "path," they're something that's part of the OS itself. In those cases, our friends at the How-To Geek note that you can use the GUID of the location to make it work. For example, if you wanted it to open My Computer, you would change the target to:

%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /E,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

Google around to find the GUID of the special location you want to use, if necessary. If you use Win+E to open Explorer, this trick won't work?but there are easy ways to change its default behavior too.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/i7_OkGm2-38/how-to-change-windows-explorers-starting-location

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Markets drop, borrowing costs up after Italy's election stalemate

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian stock market fell and state borrowing costs rose on Tuesday as investors took fright at political deadlock after a stunning election that saw a comedian's protest party lead the poll and no group secure a clear majority in parliament.

"The winner is: Ingovernability" ran the headline in Rome newspaper Il Messaggero, reflecting the stalemate the country would have to confront in the next few weeks as sworn enemies would be forced to work together to form a government.

In a sign of where that might lead, former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi indicated his center-right might be open to a grand coalition with the center-left bloc of Pier Luigi Bersani, which will have a majority in the lower house thanks to a premium of seats given to the largest bloc in the chamber.

Results in the upper house, the Senate, where seats are awarded on a region-by-region basis, indicated the center-left would end up with about 119 seats, compared with 117 for the center-right. But 158 are needed for a majority to govern.

Any coalition administration that may be formed must have a working majority in both houses in order to pass legislation.

Comedian Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement won the most votes of any single party, taking 25 percent. He shows no immediate inclination to cooperate with other groups.

Despite talk of a new election, the main established parties seem likely to try to avoid that, fearing even more humiliation.

World financial markets reacted nervously to the prospect of a stalemate in the euro zone's third largest economy with memories still fresh of the crisis that took the 17-member currency bloc to the brink of collapse in 2011.

In a clear sign of worry at the top over what effect the elections could have on the economy, Prime Minister Mario Monti, whose austerity policies were repudiated by voters, called a meeting with the governor of the central bank, the economy minister and the European affairs minister for later on Tuesday.

Other governments in the euro zone sounded uneasy. Allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel made no secret of disappointment at Monti's debacle and urged Rome to continue with economic reforms Berlin sees as vital to stabilizing the common currency.

France's Socialist finance minister also expressed "worry" at the prospect of legislative deadlock in Italy but said that Italians had rejected austerity and hoped Bersani's center-left could form a stable government to help foster growth in Europe.

INSTABILITY

Fabio Fois, an economist at Barclays bank, said: "Political instability is likely to prevail in the near term and slow the implementation of much needed structural reforms unless a grand coalition among center-left, center-right and center is formed."

Berlusconi, a media magnate whose campaigning all but wiped out Bersani's once commanding opinion poll lead, hinted in a telephone call to a morning television show that he would be open to a deal with the center-left - but not with Monti, the technocrat summoned to replace him in a crisis 15 months ago.

"Italy must be governed," Berlusconi said, adding that he "must reflect" on a possible deal with the center-left. "Everyone must be prepared to make sacrifices," he said of the groups which now have a share of the legislature.

The Milan bourse was down more than four percent and the premium Italy pays over Germany to borrow on 10-year widened to a yield spread of 338.7 basis points, the highest since December 10.

At an auction of six-month Treasury bills, the government's borrowing costs shot up by more than two thirds. Investors demanded a yield of 1.237 percent, the highest since October and compared to just 0.730 percent in a similar sale a month ago.

Berlusconi, who was forced from office in November 2011 as borrowing costs approached levels investors feared would become unsustainable, said he was "not worried" about market reaction to the election and played down the significance of the spread.

The poor showing by Monti's centrist bloc reflected a weariness with austerity that was exploited by both Berlusconi and Grillo; only with the help of center-left allies did Bersani beat 5-Star, by just 125,000 votes, to control the lower house.

The worries immediately went beyond Italy's borders.

"What is crucial now is that a stable functioning government can be built as swiftly as possible," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. "This is not only in the interests of Italy but in the interests of all Europe."

The euro skidded to an almost seven-week low against the dollar in Asia on fears about the euro zone's debt crisis. It fell as far as $1.3042, its lowest since January 10.

"NON-PARTY" SURGES TO THE TOP

Commentators said all Grillo's adversaries underestimated the appeal of a grassroots movement that called itself a "non-party", particularly its allure among young Italians who find themselves without jobs and the prospect of a decent future.

The 5-star Movement's score of 25.5 percent in the lower house was just ahead of the 25.4 percent for Bersani's Democratic Party, which ran in a coalition with the leftist SEL party, and it won almost 8.7 million votes overall - more than any other single party.

"The 'non-party' has become the largest party in the country," said Massimo Giannini, commentator for Rome newspaper La Repubblica, of Grillo, who mixes fierce attacks on corruption with policies ranging from clean energy to free Internet.

Grillo's surge in the final weeks of the campaign threw the race open, with hundreds of thousands turning up at his rallies to hear him lay into targets ranging from corrupt politicians and bankers to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In just three years, his 5-Star Movement, heavily backed by a frustrated generation of young Italians increasingly shut out from permanent full-time jobs, has grown from a marginal group to one of the most talked about political forces in Europe.

RECESSION

"It's a classic result. Typically Italian," said Roberta Federica, a 36-year-old office worker in Rome. "It means the country is not united. It is an expression of a country that does not work. I knew this would happen."

Italy's borrowing costs have come down in recent months, helped by the promise of European Central Bank support but the election result confirmed fears of many European countries that it would not produce a government strong enough to implement effective reforms.

A long recession and growing disillusionment with mainstream parties fed a bitter public mood that saw more than half of Italian voters back parties that rejected the austerity policies pursued by Monti with the backing of Italy's European partners.

Monti suffered a major setback. His centrist grouping won only 10.6 percent and two of his key centrist allies, Pier Ferdinando Casini and lower house speaker Gianfranco Fini, both of parliamentarians for decades, were booted out.

"It's not that surprising if you consider how much people were let down by politics in its traditional forms," Monti said.

Berlusconi's campaign, mixing sweeping tax cut pledges with relentless attacks on Monti and Merkel, echoed many of the themes pushed by Grillo and underlined the increasingly angry mood of the Italian electorate.

Even if the next government turns away from the tax hikes and spending cuts brought in by Monti, it will struggle to revive an economy that has scarcely grown in two decades.

Monti was widely credited with tightening Italy's public finances and restoring its international credibility after the scandal-plagued Berlusconi, who is currently on trial for having sex with an under-age prostitute.

But Monti struggled to pass the kind of structural reforms needed to improve competitiveness and lay the foundations for a return to economic growth, and a weak center-left government may not find it any easier.

(Additional reporting by Barry Moody, Gavin Jones, Catherine Hornby, Lisa Jucca, Steven Jewkes, Steve Scherer and Naomi O'Leary; Writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huge-protest-vote-leaves-italy-facing-deadlock-005214049.html

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Italy's Berlusconi: ignore the 'crazy' markets

ROME (AP) ? Italy's post-election political paralysis is spooking financial markets. But former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, whose strong showing defied pro-Europe pundits who thought he was politically finished, insists a government can be formed.

The conservative leader said Tuesday that Italians should ignore the "crazy" markets. His center-left rivals won Parliament's lower house after votes were counted Monday. But they failed to win an absolute majority in the upper house.

Pro-Europe leaders, who were hoping Italy would stay the course of tough economic reforms, are rattled by the prospects of legislative gridlock. Berlusconi says having another election soon won't solve problems, and called on fellow leaders to "make some sacrifices," an apparent call for a coalition government.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-26-Italy-Elections/id-c9e255be3f1e4e279c8a3b0b77ed7b9a

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Ontario's online gambling bet - London Free Press

In one of the biggest rolls of the dice, Ontario hopes to generate $100 million in profit every year from online gambling. The site, playolg.ca, will allow players to play interactive casino-style games against the house or each other and buy lottery tickets with computers or smart phones. That?s not the only chip left to fall.

Ontarians are spending $400 million every year on off-shore gaming sites and the government wants a piece of the action.

This fall, in a bid to attract the under-45 crowd, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is launching its own Internet gaming site ? playolg.ca.

Online gaming isn?t the only wildcard as OLG shuffles its deck in a bid to modernize the province?s gambling empire and generate more money to help pay down Ontario?s massive $12- billion deficit, but it?s the biggest roll of the dice.

?

The site will allow Ontarians to play interactive casino-style games against the house or each other and buy lottery tickets using their computers or smart phones. The plan will generate about $100 million in net profit to the province every year.

The move has drawn criticism from politicians such as Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who said Ontarians already have enough gaming opportunities.

?Now we have ?click your mouse, lose your house? kind of gaming and I don?t know if that?s necessary,? she said.

And what will sanctioned online gaming mean for convenience store owners, whose businesses sell 70% of all lottery tickets in this province?

?The jury is out on what the future looks like,? said Dave Bryans, chief executive of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association.

The association is watching how iGaming unfolds in provinces such as British Columbia, where so far it?s only made up about 2% of the lottery pie.

Lottery ticket sales are important for variety store owners who count on the foot traffic to boost their bottom line, said Bryans. In the convenience sector there are only three types of foot traffic generators ? tobacco, lottery and gas ? and they?re all under threat, he added.

?I?m not saying it?s all doom and gloom ? we have to reinvent ourselves and that is working with your partners like lottery,? he said.

It?s why the association has its own committee on modernizing gaming to work with the OLG on changes and negotiate a future for variety store owners, even though Bryans said the stores sell more lottery tickets than anyone and that won?t change.

?The future is sort of mysterious but we have to understand that we are the biggest deliverer of lottery sales to this government and we?ll continue to be and let?s see where we go with all of them together,? he said.

Other wildcards:

B Still up in the air is how many racetracks will close, what the new funding model for harness racing will look like and where exactly casinos in each of the new 29 gaming zones will go.

?There?s so many wildcards,? said Stan Sadinsky, a retired Queens University law professor and former chair of the OLG and Ontario Racing Commission.

Racetrack operators such as the Western Fair in London expect some of those answers as soon as next week.

?The government realizes there?s tremendous urgency,? said Hugh Mitchell, chief executive of Western Fair, one of the places waiting to hear which tracks the government will support and how much money there will be for purses and operating expenses.

B Up in the air still are what kind of deals the government is inking with private operators.

It?s those private deals that are angering politicians such as MPP Monte McNaughton, the Tory critic for economic development.

?There?s deals happening across Ontario under a veil of secrecy,? said the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP. ?The Legislature?s been shut down and we haven?t been able to ask questions. We know deals are happening but we don?t know what the details are.?

kelly.pedro@sunmedia.ca

?

QMI spoke with Rod Phillips, president and chief executive of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG)

Q. Why a casino in Toronto now when the OLG has resisted that for so long?

A. This goes back to work the provincial government asked the OLG to do in 2011, which was to look critically at what OLG was doing in lottery and in gaming and come back with recommendations around how the agency should operate in the future. On the gaming side, we had a business model that was focused along the borders. Ten years ago, OLG would?ve earned $800 million of profit from those border facilities. This year that number will be less than $100 million. One of the areas that?s clearly underserved is the GTA. If you go to our Woodbine facility on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night, you would see people lined up two or three deep to get access to one of our slot machines. It is all in that context that a GTA facility makes sense.

Q. What will a Toronto casino mean for the OLG?s bottom line?

A. At the end of our modernization . . . the gaming component is in the neighbourhood of $700 million. The Toronto casino is certainly a really important part of that ? not half of it, but the single biggest portion of that.

Q. One criticism is that the government shouldn?t be in the gaming business and it should be privatized. What?s your response?

A. (Under the) Criminal Code of Canada, only provincial governments can conduct and manage lottery and gaming in this country. Were that law to change, then I think you would have a whole different set of options. But we?ve taken a step in a direction that I think many people think OLG should have, which is the people who are directly involved in the delivery of gaming . . . can work effectively in the private sector so they?re going to be transferred over to private operators. OLG will go from 8,000 employees to fewer than 1,000. Really what we?ll be responsible for is that oversight.

Q. Will commercial leases and deals made with places such as Western Fair, Woodbine and Mohawk be made public?

A. Typically, commercial agreements that the government does are things that are not made public. There are certainly circumstances where they are, but at this stage we still have the leases to finalize.

Q. Some critics say the OLG has bullied municipalities into accepting a casino ? that if they oppose it, you?d widen the gaming zone to include neighbouring municipalities. How do you respond?

A. There?s 37 communities that have indicated they want to host a facility. Some of these are locations that have historically shown a different preference, places like North Bay, Peterborough, Kingston, that 10 or 12 years ago voted against a facility. I think the proof is otherwise. I think municipalities are interested. We have other municipalities (that) are not identified in gaming zones (that) said they would be interested in being included, so that sounds to me like people wanting to have a relationship.

Q. OLG is launching a new gaming site this fall. What will entice people to gamble there instead of offshore sites?

A. We had eight million people play the lottery last year ? 2.7 million people come to our facilities, our slots and casino facilities. People like the fact that they have confidence in the OLG brand, that they?re going to get paid. It?s also because they know that the money from that all goes to good causes, principally health care and community infrastructure. Clearly there?s a demand and people want the chance to be able to play and game online. If anything, OLG has lagged on that regard. Those who don?t play should like the fact that we?re going to make sure it?s done in a responsible way, in an age-controlled environment where there?s a clear concern for the small portion of people who do have a problem with gambling.

twitter.com/KellyatLFPress

Source: http://www.lfpress.com/2013/02/25/shuffling--the-deck-ontario-raises-its-gambling-stakes

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The Plugged-In Portable - Disappearing Days of the Desktop

Just three years ago, I?d book the computer lab if I wanted my students to have access to technology. Then, I was fortunate enough to acquire a dozen computers for use in my classroom, rendering my visits to the computer lab to a thing of the past. However, this year may mark the beginning of the end of most board-owned, desktop computers in my classroom. This couldn?t have been more evident this past week when I asked my students to use Edmodo to post a reflection pertaining to the book they?re reading. Only a very small number of students used board-owned equipment to post their response, everyone else used their personal mobile device that they bring to school each day. Colleagues often look around my classroom and assume that they cannot?integrate technology in their programming to the extent that I have because they don?t have enough computers. However, the computers that they require are brought to school each day in the pockets of their students. I believe that this paradigm shift is going to become increasingly clear in our classrooms in the very, very near future. Perhaps finally the classroom of 2013 won?t resemble the classroom of 1913.

Source: http://thepluggedinportable.edublogs.org/2013/02/24/disappearingdaysofthedesktop/

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Parts of ancient continent found

24 February 2013 Last updated at 19:13 ET By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service

Fragments of an ancient continent are buried beneath the floor of the Indian Ocean, a study suggests.

Researchers have found evidence for a landmass that would have existed between 2,000 and 85 million years ago.

The strip of land, which scientists have called Mauritia, eventually fragmented and vanished beneath the waves as the modern world started to take shape.

The study is published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Supercontinent

Until about 750 million years ago, the Earth's landmass was gathered into a vast single continent called Rodinia.

And although they are now separated by thousands of kilometres of ocean, India was once located next to Madagascar.

Now researchers believe they have found evidence of a sliver of continent - known as a microcontinent - that was once tucked between the two.

The team came to this conclusion after studying grains of sand from the beaches of Mauritius.

While the grains dated back to a volcanic eruption that happened about nine million years ago, they contained minerals that were much older.

Professor Trond Torsvik, from the University of Oslo, Norway, said: "We found zircons that we extracted from the beach sands, and these are something you typically find in a continental crust. They are very old in age."

The zircon dated to between 1,970 and 600 million years ago, and the team concluded that they were remnants of ancient land that had been dragged up to the surface of the island during a volcanic eruption.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

We need seismic data which can image the structure... This would be the ultimate proof?

End Quote Professor Trond Torsvik University of Oslo

Prof Torsvik said that he believed pieces of Mauritia could be found about 10km down beneath Mauritius and under a swathe of the Indian Ocean.

It would have spanned millions years of history, from the Precambrian Era when land was barren and devoid of life to the age when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

But about 85m years ago, as India started to drift away from Madagascar towards its current location, the microcontinent would have broken up, eventually disappearing beneath the waves.

However, a small part could have survived.

"At the moment the Seychelles is a piece of granite, or continental crust, which is sitting practically in the middle of the Indian Ocean," explained Prof Torsvik.

"But once upon a time, it was sitting north of Madagascar. And what we are saying is that maybe this was much bigger, and there are many of these continental fragments that are spread around in the ocean."

Further research is needed to fully investigate what remains of this lost region.

Prof Torsvik explained: "We need seismic data which can image the structure... this would be the ultimate proof. Or you can drill deep, but that would cost a lot of money."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21551149#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Subcontractor in deadly KC blast lacked permit

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? A cable company subcontractor suspected of rupturing a natural gas line before a deadly Kansas City restaurant explosion didn't have an approved permit for the work, city officials said Monday.

Pat Klein, assistant city manager, said excavating without a permit is violation of the municipal code, and can result in a fine of $500, up to six months in jail or both. He said no charge had been filed.

"The city will decide what they are going to do," Klein said. "At this point, all the resources are going toward the fire investigation and the impending snow."

A Missouri Gas Energy official said previously that Heartland Midwest reported hitting a natural gas line with an underground borer more than an hour before Tuesday night's explosion. The blast and ensuing fire leveled JJ's restaurant near a busy outdoor shopping area called the Country Club Plaza. One person was killed and 15 others were injured.

The next day, Heartland Midwest sought a permit and asked that it take effect retroactively, Klein said.

"Honestly, it's kind of surprising to me," Klein said. "Getting one after the fact isn't what's supposed to be done."

Brad Russell, a lawyer for Heartland Midwest, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment Monday. The company released a statement last week expressing sympathy for the victims and saying the company is cooperating with authorities. "We are reserving any public comment until the completion of a thorough investigation," the statement concluded.

Four of the injured remained hospitalized Monday at the University of Kansas Hospital ? one in critical condition, two in fair condition and one in good condition.

Hours before the explosion, witnesses reported a strong smell of gas. But no one alerted the fire department or utility officials to the possibility of a leak until the subcontractor called 911 shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday to report having ruptured the gas pipe, Mayor Sly James has said.

Within 20 minutes, a worker for Missouri Gas Energy arrived at the scene, followed later by a backhoe to dig a hole that would allow the gas to vent into the air, MGE Chief Operating Officer Rob Hack said.

Those who remained in the restaurant were urged to leave, Hack said. Then about 6 p.m., something inside the restaurant ignited the fuel, authorities said.

Surveillance video from a nearby travel agency shows a fireball erupting from the restaurant's roof, showering the street with debris and throwing up a cloud of dust and smoke. The blast could be felt for a mile and shattered glass in neighboring buildings.

The Missouri Public Service Commission, which oversees utilities, said preliminary information indicates that gas pipelines had been properly marked. The commission and fire officials continue to investigate.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/subcontractor-deadly-kc-blast-lacked-permit-205923083.html

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Matt Kuchar wins Match Play Championship

Matt Kuchar reacts after sinking a putt on the 12th green in the final round of play against Hunter Mahan during the Match Play Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Marana, Ariz. Kuchar won 2 and 1. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Matt Kuchar reacts after sinking a putt on the 12th green in the final round of play against Hunter Mahan during the Match Play Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Marana, Ariz. Kuchar won 2 and 1. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Matt Kuchar waves to the crowd after beating Hunter Mahan 2 and 1 in the final round of play during the Match Play Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Marana, Ariz. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Hunter Mahan, left, congratulates Matt Kuchar after Kuchar won 2 and 1 in the final of the Match Play Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Marana, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Matt Kuchar tees off on the third hole in the final round of play against Hunter Mahan during the Match Play Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Marana, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Matt Kuchar holds up the Walter Hagen Cup after defeating Hunter Mahan 2 and 1 in the final round of play during the Match Play Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Marana, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

MARANA, Ariz. (AP) ? Even in the most stressful form of golf, Matt Kuchar and his easy smile made the Match Play Championship look like a weekend game with his buddies.

It was fun when he built a 4-up lead at the turn. And when Hunter Mahan threw his best golf at him during a wild back nine Sunday at Dove Mountain, Kuchar never looked rattled, never felt as if the match belonged to anyone but him, and never lost the lead.

Kuchar kept momentum on his side with four birdies on the back nine, the last conceded on the 17th hole for a 2-and-1 victory. He captured his first World Golf Championship and put his name in the conversation as among the most lethal players in match play.

In his case, looks are deceiving.

"Match play I find to be such an amazing, unique format, so much fun to play and so much pressure," Kuchar said. "It seems like each hole there's so much momentum riding and so much pressure on every hole. To come out on top after six matches of playing the top 64 guys in the world, it's an incredible feeling."

Mahan, trying to join Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners of the Match Play Championship, had gone 169 holes without trailing dating to the opening round last year until Kuchar won the fourth hole of the championship with a par.

Mahan never caught up, though it wasn't from a lack of effort. Every time he cut into the deficit, Kuchar answered the challenge ? a 15-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole with Mahan in tight, and a 10-foot birdie putt on the 15th with Mahan poised to cut the lead to one hole.

And he did it all with that warm smile on a day so frigid they traded golf hats for ski caps.

"He does it differently," said Mahan, who had to get past the ultra-intense Ian Poulter in the semifinals earlier Sunday. "He's more like a fuzzier, Peter Jacobsen kind of guy who likes to talk. He's super competitive, there's no doubt about it. He plays golf to win, and he works hard at it. I think he really enjoys playing. When you play against him, you know what you're going to get. You're going to get a competitive guy who's probably not going to make mistakes."

This time, it was Mahan who made the mistakes. He allowed Kuchar to win consecutive holes with pars, and Mahan fell further behind when Kuchar hit pitching wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the par-3 sixth and Mahan hit a poor second shot that kept him from matching birdies with Kuchar on the par-5 eighth.

But even 4 down at the turn, there was never a dull moment on the back nine.

For all the great shots in a 25 mph wind that felt harsh with the cool, desert air, the match ended with a thud.

Kuchar was 1 up on the 17th hole when both drove into the bunker. Their golf balls were only a few feet apart, but Mahan's had sunk slightly in the sand, making it difficult for him to get a clean hit. He came up woefully short, the ball rambling through the desert until it landed in a bush. It took him four shots to reach the green, and with Kuchar only about 4 feet away, Mahan conceded the birdie and the match.

"Just had a bad stretch against Matt on the front nine there that put me just a little bit too far behind," Mahan said.

Kuchar became the second player in the last three years to win the Match Play Championship without ever playing the 18th hole.

Mahan nearly forced him to the final tee.

He made a long two-putt par to win the 10th, and played a tough chip from the mound of a bunker to about 6 feet for a birdie on the next hole, cutting the lead in half. Mahan followed with a tee shot into about 10 feet on the par-3 12th, the momentum squarely on his side. Kuchar, however, followed with an 8-iron to just inside 15 feet and made the birdie putt.

"The shot was certainly good, but the putt was really crucial, and when that went in, I felt like I was still in control of the match," Kuchar said. "Had that putt not gone in, it would have been only a 1-up lead, and I think the match was in anybody's hands at that point."

On the par-5 13th, Mahan hit a poor approach from the fairway and Kuchar got up-and-down to restore his lead to 3 up.

Kuchar came up with one more clutch shot. With a 2-up lead on the 304-yard 15th hole, the breeze at his back, Kuchar chipped about 10 feet past the hole with Mahan only 6 feet away for birdie. Kuchar holed the putt and escaped with a halve.

Mahan won the 16th with a two-putt par when Kuchar's tee shot bounced off the corporate tents behind the green, and it looked as though the match would go down the 18th for the first time in nine matches for Kuchar. Both hit into the fairway bunker on 17, but Mahan's ball was slightly sunk in the sand, and his approach never came close to reaching the green. Instead, it rolled through a patch of desert until it lodged in a bush.

Kuchar's record in this event improved to 15-3, the highest winning percentage of anyone who has played at least 10 matches. He has reached the quarterfinals each of the last three years, and this time went all the way.

In the semifinals Sunday morning, when the wind chill hit a low of 37 degrees with the wind, Kuchar had no trouble against Jason Day in a 4-and-3 win.

Mahan hit a series of remarkable wedge shots in beating Poulter, 4 and 3, in his semifinal. He twice hit difficult chips inside 5 feet to win holes, and then seized control with a chip-in from about 70 feet on the 12th hole to take command.

Day defeated Poulter in the consolation match, 1 up.

It was the first all-American final in five years at the Match Play Championship, and Kuchar's win gave the Americans a clean sweep of the PGA Tour's West Coast Swing for the second straight year.

He moves to No. 8 in the world and picked up $1.5 million, and now has earned just over $3.2 million from his last two wins.

Kuchar and Woods are the only former U.S. Amateur champions to win the Match Play Championship. Kuchar won the Amateur in 1997, the year after Woods turned pro. He recalls being in the semifinals with three Walker Cup players and feeling out of his league.

That wasn't the case this year, even against Mahan. Collectively, they have a 27-4 record at this event the last three years.

"The difference today I think is just all that experience now," Kuchar said. "I step up to a first tee and I feel confident and I feel like I belong out here. Back in '97, I was so new to it, I wasn't sure I belonged. I loved being out there, but it was ... I was way more nervous than I am today. "

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-24-GLF-Match-Play/id-ede6c91048dc4cdf983e0ca9f7834b8b

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Sounding Off! Our Quickie Judgments About the Oscars

Charlize Theron rocks short hair better than Anne Hathaway, Miley Cyrus and Halle Berry combined.

JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/oscars-2013-funny-snap-judgments/1-a-523551?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aoscars-2013-funny-snap-judgments-523551

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Mozilla to bring marketplace to Firefox OS, allow payment through network operators

Mozilla has just announced live at its MWC 2013 event that it's going to offer a marketplace for its fledgeling Firefox OS, and that you'll be able to pay for apps directly through your mobile operator. That differs from payment methods offered by Google and Apple, perhaps as a way to get mobile operators on board the new mobile OS. You'll be able to grab apps in categories like games, news and media, with Mozilla dropping names like EA games, Disney, Facebook and Twitter. The organization said that developers will be able to use "web technologies at the core" to facilitate new app creation.

Developing...

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/24/firefox-to-offer-multiple-marketplaces-payments-operator/

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Off-Shore Oil Rigs Have Been "Incapacitated" By Malware Thanks To Pirated Music and Porn

Hacks have been popping up all over the place recently. Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, various news organizations. And off-shore oil rigs aren't to be left out. According to the Houston Chronicle, more than one of the things have been "incapacitated" by malware that can be traced back to the Internet's most common vices: pirated music and porn. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/pURngLs4wIs/off+shore-oil-rigs-have-been-incapacitated-by-malware-thanks-to-pirated-music-and-porn

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Correction: Obit-Magic Slim story

In an obituary Feb. 21 for blues guitarist Magic Slim, The Associated Press erroneously described his album "Bad Boy." It is a collection of original songs and covers, not a mix of covers.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Blues guitarist Magic Slim dies in Pa. at age 75

Chicago-style blues guitarist Magic Slim dies in Philadelphia at 75; got sick while on tour

By MARK SCOLFORO

Associated Press

Magic Slim, a younger contemporary of blues greats Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf who helped shape the sound of Chicago's electric blues, died Thursday. He was 75.

He died shortly after midnight Thursday at a Philadelphia hospital, said his manager, Marty Salzman. The musician had health problems that worsened while he was on tour several weeks ago in Pennsylvania, Salzman said.

Magic Slim and his backing band, the Teardrops, performed a no-holds-barred brand of Chicago-style electric blues, led by his singing and guitar playing, and were regulars on the music festival circuit.

Slim's given name was Morris Holt. The Mississippi native established himself in Chicago's thriving blues community in the 1960s, but more recently lived in Lincoln, Neb.

Holt's story was one of persistence. Like many bluesmen from rural Mississippi, he left a life that revolved around cotton fields and moved to Chicago in 1955. But competition on the South Side was fierce in those days, and he moved back home after failing to establish himself.

Playing plantation parties and small gigs, he honed his skills to a fine edge and enlisted his brothers, Nick and Douglas, as his backing band. They returned to Chicago, where they formed the Teardrops and refused to be dismissed.

Younger than many of the renowned bluesmen in Chicago, he maintained a career well into the 21st century. Holt and the Teardrops won blues band of the year at the 2003 Blues Music Award, and he released a record last year.

"If you were going to take somebody who'd never seen blues to one of their shows, it would be like putting them in a time machine and putting them in 1962," Salzman said. "No frills, no rock 'n' roll. It was just straight-ahead, real-deal blues."

Holt came by the sound authentically. Born in Torrance, Miss., in 1937, he grew up in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta. His first love was piano, but he lost the little finger on his right hand to a cotton gin and switched to guitar. Like many of his contemporaries, he started out on a one-string instrument he made by nailing a piece of wire stolen from a broom to the wall.

He moved to Grenada at age 11 and met Magic Sam, an older guitarist and influential blues figure. Sam taught him about the instrument and gave him his first job as a bass player years later when he first moved to Chicago.

He didn't make his first recordings until 1966. He released his first album, "Born Under A Bad Sign," on a French label in 1977 and put out an album of original songs and covers, "Bad Boy," last year.

Salzman said that bleeding ulcers sent Holt to the hospital, but that he also suffered from heart, lung and kidney ailments.

___

Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pa. AP Music Writer Chris Talbott contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/correction-obit-magic-slim-story-220120984.html

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South Africa's Pistorius goes free on $113,000 bail

PRETORIA (Reuters) - A South African court granted bail on Friday to Oscar Pistorius, charged with the murder of his girlfriend on Valentine's Day, after his lawyers successfully argued the "Blade Runner" was too famous to flee justice.

The decision by Magistrate Desmond Nair drew cheers from the Paralympics star's family and supporters. Pistorius himself was unmoved, in marked contrast to the week-long hearing, when he repeatedly broke down in tears.

Nair set bail at 1 million rand ($113,000) and postponed the case until June 4. Pistorius would be released only when the court received 100,000 rand in cash, he added.

Less than an hour later, a silver Land Rover left the court compound, Pistorius visible through the tinted windows sitting in the back seat in the dark suit and tie he wore in court.

The car then sped off through the streets of the capital, pursued by members of the media on motorcycles, before it entered his uncle Arnold's home in the plush Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof.

At least five private security guards stood outside the concrete walls, keeping reporters at bay.

Under the terms of his bail, Pistorius, 26, was also ordered to hand over firearms and his two South African passports, avoid his home and all witnesses, report to a police station twice a week and abstain from drinking alcohol.

The decision followed a week of dramatic testimony about how the athlete shot dead model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp at his luxury home near Pretoria in the early hours of February 14.

Prosecutors said Pistorius committed premeditated murder when he fired four shots into a locked toilet door, hitting his girlfriend cowering on the other side. Steenkamp, 29, suffered gunshot wounds to her head, hip and arm.

Pistorius said the killing was a tragic mistake, saying he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder - a possibility in crime-ridden South Africa - and opened fire in a blind panic.

However, in delivering his nearly two-hour bail ruling, Nair said there were a number of "improbabilities" in Pistorius's version of events, read out to the court in an affidavit by his lawyer, Barry Roux.

"I have difficulty in appreciating why the accused would not seek to ascertain who exactly was in the toilet," Nair said. "I also have difficulty in appreciating why the deceased would not have screamed back from the toilet."

By local standards, the bail conditions are onerous but it remains to be seen if they appease opposition to the decision from groups campaigning against the violence against women that is endemic in South Africa.

"We are saddened because women are being killed in this country," said Jacqui Mofokeng, a spokeswoman for the ruling African National Congress' Women's League, whose members stood outside the court this week with banners saying "Rot in jail".

TOO FAMOUS TO RUN

However, Nair said he made his decision in the "interests of justice" and argued that the prosecution, who suffered a setback when the lead investigator withered under cross-examination by Roux, failed to show Pistorius was either a flight risk or a threat to the public.

Roux stressed the Olympic and Paralympics runner's global fame made it impossible for him to evade justice by skipping bail and leaving the country.

"He can never go anywhere unnoticed," Roux told the court.

Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated in infancy forcing him to race on carbon fiber "blades", faces life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.

Prosecutors had portrayed him as a cold-blooded killer and said they were confident that their case, which will have to rely heavily on forensics and witnesses who said they heard shouting before the shots, would stand up to scrutiny at trial.

"We are going to make sure that we get enough evidence to get through this case during trial time," a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority told reporters.

In court, lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel was scornful of Pistorius's inability to contain his emotions. "I shoot and I think my career is over and I cry. I come to court and I cry because I feel sorry for myself," Nel said.

"DEEPLY IN LOVE"

In his affidavit, Pistorius said he was "deeply in love" with Steenkamp, leading Roux to stress his client had no motive for the killing.

Pistorius contends he reached for a 9-mm pistol under his bed because he felt particularly vulnerable without his prosthetic limbs.

According to police, witnesses heard shouting, gunshots and screams from the athlete's home, which sits in the heart of a gated community surrounded by 3-m- (yard-) high stone walls topped with an electric fence.

In a magazine interview a week before her death, published on Friday, Steenkamp spoke about her three-month relationship with the runner, who won global fame last year when he reached the semi-final of the 400 meters in the London Olympics despite having no lower legs.

"I absolutely adore Oscar. I respect and admire him so much," she told celebrity gossip magazine Heat. "I don't want anything to come in the way of his career."

Police pulled their lead detective off the case on Thursday after it was revealed he himself faces attempted murder charges for shooting at a minibus. He has been replaced by South Africa's top detective.

Pistorius's arrest stunned the millions around the world who saw him as an inspiring example of triumph over adversity.

But the impact was greatest in South Africa, where he was seen as a rare hero for both blacks and whites, transcending the racial divides that persist 19 years after the end of apartheid.

(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pistorius-bail-hearing-resumes-pretoria-081415979--spt.html

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eBay for Windows 8 Gets Plenty of Updates, Download Here

eBay for Windows 8 has been around for a while, but the developers behind this project have rarely updated the app, even though it?s one of the most popular items in the Windows Store.

Well, a major update is now waiting for your download, coming with new features and performance enhancements.

First of all, the new features include access to some eBay options straight from the Metro UI, such as my eBay messages, my eBay purchase history, ask seller a question, save a seller and view seller?s other items.

In addition, users can now pin eBay lists and items to the Start Screen and receive information on your listing using the live tile support.

?We will be adding more live tiles and seller functionality for creating listings in the near future, and continuing to add features based on the feedback we receive,? developers said.

Click here to view the new eBay product page in your browser.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/eBay-for-Windows-8-Gets-Plenty-of-Updates-Download-Here-331594.shtml

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Analysis: Japan's mission impossible: to spend $100 billion in 15 months

TOKYO (Reuters) - What do you buy the nation that already seems to have everything?

That is the question facing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he aims to spend more than $100 billion on infrastructure in the next 15 months to help revive his country's economy. But with its gleaming bullet trains, jungles of elevated highways and strings of man-made islands, ultra-modern Japan doesn't appear to want for much.

"We cannot simply continue to build roads and infrastructure the way we used to at a time when the population is ageing and shrinking," says Takayoshi Igarashi, a public policy professor at Japan's Hosei University who has advised the previous Democrat administration on rebuilding from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear accident.

Infrastructure spending tops Abe's economic agenda alongside nudging the central bank into more aggressive steps to end deflation. Since he took power in December, Abe has earmarked 10 trillion yen ($107 billion) for new infrastructure and upgrades over the next 15 months - half of it funded by government debt.

That is equivalent to a quarter of the amount that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates the entire world needs to spend on transport infrastructure each year.

Government spending is a classic remedy for weak growth. But it is one Japan has tried over and over - pouring roughly $2 trillion into concrete and steel since 1990 in a vain effort to resuscitate the economy, now in its fourth recession since 2000.

Economists warn that, without reforms to lift Japan's long-term growth potential, more such spending will produce only a temporary jolt that swells a government debt already worth more than double national output.

"The impact should be substantial but also a short-term one," said Tomo Kinoshita, chief economist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo. Kinoshita estimates that every 10 trillion yen of spending would add only about 11 trillion to GDP.

But even getting that sort of bang for the buck will be difficult, because so much has already been built. Though Abe swept to power promising to wield a new broom, his Liberal Democratic Party's decades-long addiction to concrete has left Japan bristling with reminders of the pork-barrel policies that have helped establish its political dominance since 1955.

The world's 61st largest country, Japan has 1.2 million km (745,000 miles) of roads, the world's fifth-largest network. It has 680,000 bridges, almost 10,000 tunnels, 250 bullet trains and 98 airports. Government critics have long derided many as white elephants - unnecessary, costly and environmentally harmful.

The airport in Ibaraki, 85 km (53 miles) north of Tokyo, for example, opened in 2010 at a cost of about $225 million as a hub for low-cost carriers. Today, it handles just six flights a day. Construction of the nearly $5 billion Yanba Dam in northwest Japan began in 1967 to help power the needs of a growing population. With Japan's population now shrinking, it remains unfinished 45 years later.

When the Democratic Party ousted the LDP in 2009, it tried to shelve such projects as part of a campaign to cut waste and shift the government's focus "from concrete to people".

Abe's government says it may be resurrecting public works, but not past mistakes. "We need to keep in mind that there are benefits when infrastructure is being built, but maintenance costs and debt remain after the projects are completed," Economics Minister Akira Amari told a recent TV talk show. "We won't do public work projects only for the sake of building."

THE BRIDGE AND TUNNEL CROWD

But if building more "white elephants" is out of the question, the government risks missing its spending goals and it could fail to achieve the desired stimulus. In short, it is unclear just what Japan needs to spend $100 billion on.

That sum is roughly four times the 2.466 trillion yen ($26 billion) spent to build the Kansai international airport on an artificial island off Osaka. A 10-year project to build a 254-km (158-mile) stretch of highway by Mt. Fuji will cost just $47 billion, says its operator Central Nippon Expressway.

That means Abe's 10 trillion yen is enough to build another 500 km (311 miles) of expressways, four major international airports or 20 dams.

And the plan doesn't include 6 trillion yen the government has added to its 19 trillion yen post-quake reconstruction budget, just over half of which has been spent.

Yet the money represents only what Abe hopes to spend by April 2014. He has suggested spending similar sums every year for a decade - if he holds onto power that long. With the private sector and local communities expected to match government investment, this would add up to 200 trillion yen ($2.16 trillion) over 10 years - or roughly 40 percent of GDP.

Abe says the goal is to spur growth and improve Japan's ability to withstand disasters such as the quake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, killing nearly 20,000 people.

Many of Japan's roads, bridges, tunnels and dams were built during the post-war boom and need fixing, as tragically illustrated in December when a 1970s era tunnel 80 km (50 miles) west of Tokyo collapsed, killing nine people.

But a study published in 2010 by Japan's Land Ministry estimated that costs of upgrading Japan's infrastructure, which generally include making structures more disaster-resistant, would keep rising and add up to 190 trillion yen by 2060. But annual outlays, including repairs and maintenance, would be reaching just over 5 trillion yen - half what Abe plans to spend - by the end of this decade.

Investing in unnecessary infrastructure, beyond what is necessary to keep Japan safe, makes little economic sense, said Atsushi Miyawaki, public policy professor at Hokkaido University. "There is a question of how much contribution to the economy would come from massive domestic investment," he said.

Economists also question whether the government could borrow as much as Abe will need. "We should not take the 200 trillion yen figure at face value, said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

"I don't think that's realistic."

BUILD IT, BUT THEY WON'T COME

It is not even clear who would use all of the new infrastructure, or even who would build it.

Thanks to Japan's low birthrate, the population is declining by more than quarter of a million a year, government statistics show, with its working-age population shrinking at double that pace. According to Health Ministry projections the number of Japanese is expected to fall by nearly a third, to below 90 million, by 2060.

That means fewer cars on Japan's roads. Japanese automotive research company Fourin Inc. estimates car sales in Japan will fall from nearly 5.4 million last year to 4.5 million in 2020, and to about 3 million a year by 2040.

Japan's construction workforce is also shrinking: today it is a third smaller than in 1997 and building firms are already having trouble finding workers to rebuild areas from the 2011 disaster. ($1 = 93.5200 Japanese yen)

(Editing by Wayne Arnold and Mark Bendeich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-japans-mission-impossible-spend-100-billion-15-210533886--business.html

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Possible 6-inch mammoth tooth found waters off NH

RYE, N.H. (AP) ? A New Hampshire fisherman has discovered whale vertebrae, porpoise skulls and an old fuel tank that he thought was a treasure chest. Now, he may have hit the big time: a possible mammoth tooth.

Mike Anderson, of Rye, was fishing for scallops near Rye Harbor, N.H., on Tuesday when he noticed a 6-inch, triangular object.

Will Clyde, a University of New Hampshire associate professor of geology, says it may be a fossilized mammoth tooth.

He says mammoth and mastodon bones have been dragged up before in nearby waters, although they're more commonly found in the western and southern parts of the country. He wants to take a closer look.

Anderson tells the Portsmouth Herald (http://bit.ly/15xDlOr) he wants to find a tusk next.

___

Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/possible-6-inch-mammoth-tooth-found-waters-off-214553430.html

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Clone new Dell 1TB Windows 8 system to 256GB SSD?

? Forum Topics Posts Last?Post Mod(s) ? ?Reflect v5?? ? Community

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by:?Admin ? ? Statistics ? 2716 of 3989 Members have made 21517 posts in 11 forums, with the last post on February 22 2013 20:40:25 by: arizonaed. There are currently 4876 topics and 35 active topics since you last visited. Please welcome our newest member: wyattonline.

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BP civil settlement remains elusive as trial nears

FILE - In this June 12, 2010 file photo, crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill washes ashore in Orange Beach, Ala. The U.S. Justice Department and the five Gulf coast states most affected by a massive 2010 oil spill have all indicated they would like to reach a settlement on civil claims against BP PLC that would avoid a trial scheduled to start next week. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

FILE - In this June 12, 2010 file photo, crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill washes ashore in Orange Beach, Ala. The U.S. Justice Department and the five Gulf coast states most affected by a massive 2010 oil spill have all indicated they would like to reach a settlement on civil claims against BP PLC that would avoid a trial scheduled to start next week. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

FILE -In this Wednesday, May 5, 2010 file photo, A shrimp boat is used to collect oil with booms in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, La. The U.S. Justice Department and the five Gulf coast states most affected by a massive 2010 oil spill have all indicated they would like to reach a settlement on civil claims against BP PLC that would avoid a trial scheduled to start next week. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? The U.S. Justice Department and the five Gulf coast states affected by a massive oil spill nearly three years ago have indicated they would like to settle their environmental and economic claims with BP PLC ahead of a trial scheduled to start next week.

The problem is that they haven't been able to agree on the possible terms of such an agreement. Months of negotiations have failed to resolve lingering differences ? not just with the London-based oil giant, but among themselves.

The Justice Department convened a meeting with Gulf Coast state officials in Washington late last week in an effort to hammer out an offer to resolve the outstanding civil claims, but an agreement wasn't reached, said a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said reaching a settlement that satisfies all states' competing interests has been difficult.

"We just want to make sure we get our fair share," he said. "We had more economic damage than probably any state because of the loss of all the tourism we had in 2010. So it's very important that the people of Alabama are compensated for the losses related to the oil spill."

Bentley said representatives of his office attended the meetings in Washington last week, but he declined to comment on the talks.

"We are ready to go to trial," he said Wednesday.

An 11th-hour settlement still could be reached before the trial starts Monday ? or even after it has begun ? but it is not surprising that a deal has proved elusive thus far in such a complex case, said David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief of the Justice Department's environmental crimes section.

"It's extraordinarily difficult to negotiate any type of multiparty settlement, particularly when the sums involved reach into the tens of billions of dollars," he said. "The stakes are high. There are a lot of competing interests. Different parties may have different incentives to settle."

BP faces penalties under the Clean Water Act ranging from $5.4 billion to $21.1 billion, based on the government's estimate of how much oil spilled into the Gulf. Among the company's motivations to settle before a trial would be to avoid the higher end of that range, which U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier could impose if he ruled the company acted with gross negligence before the well blowout on April 10, 2010, that triggered an explosion, killing 11 workers and spawning the nation's worst offshore oil spill. With so much money at stake, "It's a high-stakes gamble to go to trial," Uhlmann said.

BP didn't participate in last week's talks, and pledged this week to take the case to trial. In a statement released Tuesday, the company's general counsel, Rupert Bondy, said BP has been open to settlements on "reasonable terms" but was "faced with demands that are excessive and not based on reality or the merits of the case."

In its most recent quarterly earnings report, released earlier this month, BP said state and local governments have formally presented the company with more than $34 billion in claims. The report claimed those figures are inflated and based on "seriously flawed" methodologies.

A key sticking point among the states themselves has been deciding how much money BP would pay in Clean Water Act penalties and how much it would pay through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process. The NRDA process, authorized by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, only funds environmental-restoration projects and uses scientific research to assess spill damage and decide how to fix it.

A settlement that funnels more money into NRDA projects could mean a greater share of the funding would flow into Louisiana, which bore the brunt of the spill's ecological impact.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder last week, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., urged the Justice Department not to settle with BP over Clean Water Act penalties without agreeing on NRDA payments.

Louisiana officials, however, don't appear to be uniformly in favor of a NRDA-heavy approach to a settlement. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., joined senators from other Gulf states in signing an Oct. 5, 2012, letter to the White House that expressed "grave concerns" about a settlement that would boost NRDA payments at the expense of Clean Water Act penalties.

The RESTORE Act, which Landrieu sponsored and Congress approved last year, dictates that 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties paid by BP be divided among Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas. Not only would a large chunk of that money be spread out evenly among the Gulf states, but the legislation also gives them some flexibility in deciding how the money is spent.

"Circumventing the will of Congress by shortchanging the RESTORE Act is wholly unacceptable to us. We urge you to reject such an approach," the senators wrote.

The civil trial set for Monday originally was scheduled for February 2012, but Barbier delayed it to allow BP to wrap up a settlement with a team of private attorneys representing residents and businesses that claimed economic losses from the spill.

The trial's first phase, which could last up to three months, is designed to identify causes of the blowout and assign percentages of blame to the companies involved. The second phase would determine how much oil spilled into the Gulf.

Bondy, the BP attorney, said the company will "vigorously" defend itself against gross-negligence allegations.

"This was a tragic accident, resulting from multiple causes and involving multiple parties," he said.

He also disputed the federal government's estimate of how much oil spilled into the Gulf, claiming it's inflated by at least 20 percent.

The Justice Department and the Plaintiffs Steering Committee, the lead private attorneys in the case, have vowed to prove at trial that BP was grossly negligent and that it engaged in willful misconduct in causing the spill.

"We remain as determined as ever to hold those responsible accountable," Department of Justice spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said in a statement.

A team of scientists working for the government estimated that more than 200 million gallons of oil spewed from BP's blown-out Macondo well from April to July 2010.

BP already has reached a settlement with the Justice Department resolving its criminal liability for the spill. The company has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges and agreed to pay $4 billion in criminal penalties.

Rig owner Transocean Ltd. reached a separate settlement with the federal government, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreeing to pay $1.4 in civil and criminal penalties.

___

Associated Press reporter Phillip Rawls in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this report.

Follow Michael Kunzelman at https://twitter.com/Kunzelman75.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-20-Gulf%20Oil%20Spill-Trial/id-c8da7230ac554d5b82b18af03ff66b67

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