Ark. AG: Schools can't arm teachers, staff

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) ? Arkansas school districts can't use a little-known state law to employ teachers and staff as guards who can carry guns on campus, the state's attorney general said Thursday in an opinion that likely ends a district's plan to arm more than 20 employees when school starts later this year.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat, wrote in a legal opinion issued by his office that a state board that licenses private security agencies didn't have the authority to allow districts to employ their teachers and staff as security guards. A state lawmaker requested the opinion a day after The Associated Press reported on a plan by the Clarksville School District in western Arkansas to use more than 20 teachers and staff as volunteer security guards armed with concealed 9 mm handguns.

"Simply put, the code in my opinion does not authorize either licensing a school district as a guard company or classifying it as a private business authorized to employ its own teachers as armed guards," McDaniel wrote.

David Hopkins, Clarksville's superintendent, said he had spoken with McDaniel earlier Thursday about the opinion. Hopkins said he was still reviewing the opinion but that "it sounds like he's saying that we can't do the program."

"Obviously we're going to comply with the law. We're not going to break the law," said Hopkins, who had appeared on NBC's "Today" show Thursday morning to tout the program. "We wanted to provide the training and give the sense of a secure place for our parents and students. I tell you, this has really thrown a monkey wrench into it."

The idea of arming schoolhouses against gunmen was hotly debated across the country after the school shooting in Connecticut last December that left 20 children and six teachers dead. The National Rifle Association declared it the best response to serious threats. But even in the most conservative states, most proposals faltered in the face of resistance from educators or warnings from insurance companies that schools would face higher premiums.

Participants in Clarksville's program are given a one-time $1,100 stipend to purchase a handgun and holster. Hopkins said the district is paying about $50,000 for ammunition and for training by Nighthawk Custom Training Academy, a private training facility in northwest Arkansas.

The 53-hour training program included roleplaying drills of school shootings, with teachers and staff using "airsoft" pellet guns, with students wearing protective facemasks and jackets.

The Lake Hamilton School District has been using the same law for years to train a handful of administrators as security guards, but the guns are locked away and not carried by the administrators during the school day.

Lake Hamilton Superintendent Steve Anderson said he was talking with local prosecutors, school attorneys and other officials about how to proceed. Anderson said the district has had its license for 25 years.

"We'll take appropriate measures and I imagine this is something that will eventually be settled in a court of law or the Legislature," Anderson said.

Bill Sadler, a spokesman for Arkansas State Police, said pending applications by two or three districts for similar licenses have been put on hold because of McDaniel's opinion. Later Thursday, Sadler said any pending applications for entities or businesses that aren't security companies were also on hold.

Sadler said it will be up to the licensing board on what to do with the 13 existing licenses.

"We've got to hear from the board what they want us to do with the existing licenses that are out there," Sadler said. "Until we hear that and get some clear guidance from the board, we're in a holding pattern"

McDaniel said his opinion wouldn't affect districts' ability to contract with private security companies or to use law enforcement as school resource officers. He also noted that the Legislature has the power to change the law prohibiting school employees from carrying guns on campus.

A House panel in February rejected a bill that would have allowed some school employees to carry concealed handguns on campus after completing a 40-hour course at a state law enforcement training academy.

McDaniel's non-binding opinion also said that it's up to prosecutors whether or how to proceed against school employees who are relying on the licenses to carry concealed weapons on campus.

McDaniel noted that the districts were seeking licenses under a provision of the law that applies to private security firms and guard companies.

"If a school district were indeed functioning as a 'guard company,' then, it would be organized to provide services to any and all 'customers' purely for the purpose of generating income ? a private business motivation that is self-evidently anathema to a school district's purely public functions," he wrote.

___

Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ark-ag-schools-cant-arm-teachers-staff-204340761.html

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Canada hurting itself with protectionist practices in agriculture: report

OTTAWA ? Canada is only hurting itself by maintaining high protectionist barriers on its agriculture sector, says a report which cites Canadian tariffs on agricultural imports as among the highest among food exporting nations.

The paper, from the Conference Board, notes that Canada has talked a good game about liberalized trade ? particularly on launching free trade talks with major economies in Europe and Asia ? but has not acted when it comes to the highly-protected agricultural sector.

The report argues there is a big potential payoff in freeing trade in food, particularly as Canada already exports significantly more food products than imports, by a ratio of about 60 to 40 per cent.

?The Canadian food industry can become more prosperous by serving fast-growing markets? and consumers benefit from a greater variety of food products at lower costs,? said Michael Burt, the director of industrial economic trends for the Ottawa-based think-tank.

The only thing preventing Canada from gaining these benefits is ourselves

?The only thing preventing Canada from gaining these benefits is ourselves.?

The report makes clear, however, that liberalizing trade would result in some losers as well as winners, with the highly protected dairy industry falling squarely in the former category.

?A (deal) between Canada and the European Union, with complete trade liberalization of the food sector, would lead to resources shifting from the production of milk and dairy to other segments such as grains, oilseeds and other processed food,? it explains.

?(Overall) as a result of a more efficient use of our resources, the food sector would see a significant increase in both output and exports,? the report concludes.

Agriculture is a key sticking point holding up a free trade agreement with the European Union, although sources suggest the impediment involves European barriers to imports of beef and pork from Canada.

Canada is believed to have agreed to lower tariffs on European cheese exports if a deal is finalized, but the federal government has insisted it will not sacrifice the supply-management regime that protects Quebec and Ontario dairy farmers.

Agriculture also figures to be one of the more difficult issues to crack in the TransPacific Partnership talks and negotiations with Japan, two other free trade fronts Canada has opened in an effort to diversify its exporting sector.

In an interview, Burt does not advocate unilaterally dropping tariffs, noting that other nations also protect their food sector. But says Canada?s walls are unusually high compared to other like nations that are significant net food exporters.

Through the controversial supply-management regime, Canada imposes 246.8 per cent tariffs on dairy imports. It also maintains high tariffs barriers on animal products (30.5 per cent); cereals and preparations (20.3 per cent) and even 10.4 per cent levies on coffee and tea.

Meanwhile, other net food exporting nations like Australia, New Zealand and Chile have chopped its tariffs to single-digits.

Canada fares better in a comparison that includes non-tariff barriers, although the report says that measure is more difficult to assess, since it is based on existing trade flows.

As well, the paper calculates that Canadian tariffs are comparable to the U.S. and the EU, although levels vary depending on the sector being protected.

But overall, Burt says Canada?s walls against food imports are too high, and in some cases ? such as with wheat, barley, beef and veal ? unnecessary.

Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/01/canada-hurting-itself-with-protectionist-practices-in-agriculture-report/

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Cool heads likely won't prevail in a hotter, wetter world: Climate change will likely exacerbate violence

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Researchers report that even slight spikes in temperature and precipitation greatly increase the risk of personal and civil violence, and suggest that more human conflict is a likely outcome of climate change.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/zujPWL3OP2c/130801142422.htm

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SanDisk Connect: Share and Stream Your Mobile Media Anywhere (For Less)

When was the last time you held a roll of 35mm film in your hands? For a vast majority of folks, it's been a while seeing as how most cell phones now pull triple duty as our comms, our cameras, and our pocket computers). But getting photos and files off your phone has always been a sticking point?you either have to run cables to your computer, email yourself the files, or entrust your sensitive data to some company's insecure cloud. With SanDisk's new Connect line, you'll never have to deal with cables or clouds again. And they won't anchor down your wallet, either.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/7JBFM3O8mes/sandisk-connect-share-and-stream-your-mobile-media-any-838758031

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Get the Sony Xperia Z Ultra for $913

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Source: www.ibtimes.com --- Sunday, July 21, 2013
In the recent days, Sony announced their most powerful, rather the Most Powerful Android Phone yet. The Sony Xperia Z Ultra has the deadliest of specifications, beating up every phone in the market. So the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is available for pre-order for just $913. Well, that's a huge amount a money to spend in a phone, but you see the phone is huge too. ...

Source: http://www.ibtimes.comhttp:0//www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/492921/20130722/sony-xperia-z-ultra-913.htm

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Chris Christie says his TV gigs are good for NJ

BRICK TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) ? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says his regular television appearances generate positive publicity for the state.

Christie says when he became governor in 2010 the state's image was being shaped by the mob drama "The Sopranos" and reality shows "Jersey Shore" and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." Christie, who has become a national figure in his three years as governor, says people now have a more positive image of the state.

The Republican has slow-jammed the news with NBC's Jimmy Fallon, munched a doughnut with CBS' David Letterman and last week taped a segment for Michael J. Fox's forthcoming sitcom.

His opponent in the governor's race, Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono, has criticized Christie for being more intent on building his national brand than governing the state.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chris-christie-says-tv-gigs-good-nj-203554230.html

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China says flooding has killed 337 this year

BEIJING (AP) ? Flooding in China this year has left at least 337 people dead and 213 missing, due mainly to unusually wet summer weather, the government said Sunday.

Floods this year have struck across 30 provinces and municipalities and affected more than 47 million people, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

A relative of a victim who died in a flooding-related landslide weeps at the scene in Sanxi Village of Dujiangyan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province earlier this month. Pic: AP.

The headquarters said landslides have accounted for 202, or about 60 percent, of the confirmed deaths.

China saw an average of 165.4 millimeters (6.51 inches) of rain between June 1 and July 15. That was 5 percent more than usual and the most during that period in five years. Central China has been hardest hit, receiving 40.1 percent more rain than usual during that six-week period.

China?s worst floods in recent history were in 1998, when 4,150 people died, most along the Yangtze River, China?s mightiest.

The Three Gorges Dam, the world?s largest hydropower project, was intended to control renewed flooding along the river. But water levels in the massive reservoir behind the dam stood at more than 149 meters (489 feet) on Sunday, 4 meters (13 feet) above the flood warning mark.

Source: http://asiancorrespondent.com/110920/china-says-flooding-has-killed-337-this-year/

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