Hangout Music Festival: Go Behind The Beach With Vinny!

'Jersey Shore' star talks to Ra Ra Riot and photobombs just about everyone in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
By Michael Ayers

Vinny Guadagnino at the Hangout Festival
Photo: MTV

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707616/hangout-festival-vinny-guadagnino.jhtml

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Sierra Club signs onto lawsuit to stop Timberline ... - Bike Portland

"We really do not have a problem with mountain biking at all. In fact, we would affirmatively support mountain bike access on Mt. Hood and we'd love to build allegiances with those folks, but we just don't believe this is the proper place for this development."
? Rhett Lawrence, Conservation Director, Sierra Club (Oregon Chapter)

Plans to build a mountain bike park on Mt. Hood have taken another turn. Yesterday, four non-profit organizations filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to stop the project. The plaintiffs on the suit are Bark, Friends of Mt. Hood, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, and the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club.

In the 56-page lawsuit (PDF), that coalition says the area of Mt. Hood where RLK & Company wants to build the Timberline MTB Park is, "ecologically significant" and consists of ,"fragile alpine ecosystems" that feed directly into Still Creek and the west fork of the Salmon River. The plaintiffs also claim that the Forest Service did not adhere to adequate public processes as defined by federal environmental review laws.

The project would build 17 miles of new, lift-assisted mountain bike trails on a 12 20-acre parcel of land. In November of 2012, the Forest Service approved RLK's permit to build the park. In doing so, a USFS rep said he believes that mountain biking at Timberline, "represents yet another new opportunity for play in every season of the year." An appeal of that decision made by an even larger coalition of environmental groups was denied back in March (it's interesting to note that some groups on the original appeal have chosen not to join this new lawsuit).

In a statement (read full text below), Bark's Lori Ann Burd said, "The fragile alpine soils at Timberline are the wrong place for a downhill lift-assisted mountain bike park." Dennis Chaney with Friends of Mt. Hood referred to the project as an "adventure park" and said it would jeopardize Mt. Hood, "... by allowing high-speed downhill biking, races, and more development."

The Sierra Club's participation in the lawsuit, with their 580,000 members nationwide and 20,000 members in Oregon, is significant. They're walking a very fine line given their history in working with mountain bike advocacy groups on national wilderness policy. In their "Park City Agreement" with the International Mountain Bicycling Association, Sierra Club says they see mountain biking as, "a legitimate form of recreation and transportation on trails, including single track, when and where it is practiced in an environmentally sound and socially responsible manner."

Image from Timberline Mountain Bike Park brochure.

In a statement about the lawsuit, Sierra Club Oregon Conservation Director Rhett Lawrence was careful to not say anything against mountain biking specifically. Their opposition has more to do with the USFS process and a general lack of trust that RLK/Timberline have been ? and will be ? good land stewards. In an email to BikePortland about the lawsuit, Lawrence explained that, "Though they may not believe it, we really do not have a problem with mountain biking at all. In fact, we would affirmatively support mountain bike access on Mt. Hood and we'd love to build allegiances with those folks, but we just don't believe this is the proper place for this development."

Portland resident Billie Cleek plans to end his Bark membership due to their continued opposition to this project. He contacted us after we shared news of this lawsuit via Twitter yesterday. Cleek is a frequent visitor to Mt. Hood for hiking, snowboarding, and mountain biking. He calls himself a "preservationist" and he wants to see more areas designated as wilderness (which prohibits mountain biking). But "Mt. Hood is not wilderness," he says, "It's a national forest." As such, he thinks it should be used for recreation. "Seventeen miles of single track below one of the lifts at Timberline lodge is not much. Modern trail building techniques result in significantly less run-off than many people realize. The trail system at Sandy Ridge [a few miles down the mountain from Mt. Hood] is a great testament to our ability to build solid trail without significant run-off."

"I have yet to see an explanation from Bark, Friends of Mount Hood, or Sierra Club that makes a strong case against the park; most arguments they are making seem to be based on faulty assumptions and/or fear. I'm more concerned about clear cuts, high grading, and ATV use throughout Mt. Hood National Forest than I am about a small mountain bike park in an already developed section of the mountain," added Cleek.

For more coverage of this issue ? including a guest article from Bark explaining their opposition in more detail ? browse our Timberline MTB Park story archives.

UPDATE: 2:19 pm: The Executive Director of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association Kenji Sugahara has contacted Sierra Club leadership to express his "disappointment" with their decision. Read his email to Brian Pasko below:

Dear. Mr. Pasko,

On behalf of the 5,000+ members of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, I would like to let you know we are very disappointed
with the decision of Sierra Club to join in the lawsuit to stop Timberline Park.

As a progressive who has been a supporter of efforts by the Sierra Club to help the environment (coal trains etc), the lawsuit makes me question whether I should be supporting the Sierra Club. Most importantly the Sierra Club, by joining the lawsuit is damaging relationships that the Sierra Club should be looking to strengthen.

While I appreciate some of the concerns that were brought up by opponents, the work with IMBA ensures that trail building is done in
an environmentally conscious manner.

We request that you immediately withdraw from the lawsuit.

Sincerely,

--
Kenji Sugahara
Executive Director
Oregon Bicycle Racing Association
Phone: 503-278-5550

http://www.obra.org

UPDATE, 2:07 pm: In order to provide additional context to the positions of the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, I have pasted the full text of their press release about it below:

Coalition Files Suit to Protect Fragile Alpine Meadows on Mt. Hood
Destructive Mountain Biking Expansion at Timberline Lodge Threatens Summer Recreation Opportunities, Fish and Wildlife in Sandy River?s Headwaters

May 16, 2013 -- Today Crag Law Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of Friends of Mt. Hood, the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, and Bark challenging the U.S. Forest Service?s (USFS) decision to allow high-impact lift- assisted mountain biking that would harm fragile alpine habitat near Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. Over one million people visit Mt. Hood annually to climb, hike, ski, fish, bike, and play. Providing recreational opportunities and safeguarding our public land are at the core of the Forest Service?s mission, and the agency has an obligation to reject environmentally destructive development proposals.

?Mountain biking is growing in popularity and we support Forest Service efforts to provide environmentally-responsible, quality recreational opportunities for mountain bikers and other recreationists. However, the fragile alpine soils at Timberline are the wrong place for a downhill lift-assisted mountain bike park,? said Lori Ann Burd with Bark. ?The Forest Service has failed to meet its responsibility to the public. Bark has worked with mountain bikers to encourage the Forest Service to convert unused logging roads into trails, but the Forest Service has failed to take action to seize these opportunities. Instead it has approved the construction of 17 miles of new trails in the sensitive headwaters of Still Creek and the West Fork of the Salmon River, leaving us no choice but to go to court to stop this development.?

The area around Timberline Lodge is cherished for summertime recreation such as wildflower viewing in the shadow of Mt. Hood. ?Timberline Lodge in the summertime has always been a place to seek peace and quiet, and generations of families have treasured memories of hiking, picnicking, and sightseeing around Timberline,? said Dennis Chaney of Friends of Mt. Hood. ?This project would jeopardize this beloved place by allowing high-speed downhill biking, races, and more development that will further degrade this fragile alpine environment. A National Historic Landmark and the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail are not compatible with an adventure park."

Marla Nelson of the Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) noted: ?NEDC opposes this project because it would harm trout, salmon, and the aquatic environment that supports them.? She stated that the project will also:

- Increase sediment in Still Creek and the West Fork of the Salmon River, undercutting the significant investment of time and money in restoring downstream trout and salmon habitat
- Convert vegetation into bare mineral soils and encourage the further spread of noxious weeds
- Disturb wildlife, including elk, which rely on these high alpine meadows during calving season

?Timberline?s master plan to build a new day lodge, a new parking lot, and this mountain bike park was accepted by the Forest Service without adequate consideration of the cumulative effects on this fragile alpine environment,? said Rhett Lawrence, Conservation Director with the Sierra Club. ?Timberline has not been able to successfully restore the areas it has already damaged and any new construction would simply add to the area's degradation. The Forest Service needs to engage the public in a meaningful discussion of how to provide for ecologically responsible recreation on our public land, instead of taking more risks with Mt. Hood.?

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Posted on May 17th, 2013 at 12:36 pm. Filed under Front Page and tagged with , timberline mountain bike park. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Source: http://bikeportland.org/2013/05/17/sierra-club-signs-onto-lawsuit-to-stop-timberline-mtb-park-86966

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Idaho man heads to court after terrorism arrest

BOISE, Idaho (AP) ? An Uzbekistan national living in Idaho has been arrested on federal charges that he gave support, cash and other resources to help a recognized terrorist group in his home country plan a terrorist attack.

Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, is expected to make his first appearance in U.S. District Court Friday morning, one day after federal agents arrested him during a raid of his small Boise apartment.

Kurbanov was arrested after an extensive investigation into his activities in Idaho and Utah late last year and this year. A federal grand jury indictment charges Kurbanov with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and possession of an unregistered explosive device.

A separate federal grand jury in Utah also returned an indictment charging Kurbanov with distributing information about explosives, bombs and weapons of mass destruction.

Wendy Olson, the U.S. attorney in Idaho, said Kurbanov is the only person charged, and any potential threat was contained by his arrest.

"He was closely monitored during the course of the investigation," she said. "The investigation has been underway for some time."

Olson declined to share any specifics of Kurbanov's alleged activities, including whether any potential terrorist threat or targets were domestic or abroad.

A statement from the U.S. attorney's office said Kurbanov is in the United States legally, but Olson declined to give specific details about his immigration status.

It was unclear when he moved to Idaho or the extent of his activities in Utah. An Idaho telephone number registered to Kurbanov has been disconnected.

The Idaho indictment alleges that between August 2012 and May 2013, Kurbanov knowingly conspired with others to provide support and resources, including computer software and money, to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which the U.S. has identified as a terrorist organization. The group's purpose is to overthrow the government of Uzbekistan, said David B. Barlow, U.S. attorney in Utah.

The alleged co-conspirators were not named.

In count two, the indictment alleges Kurbanov provided material support to terrorists, knowing that the help was to be used in preparation for a plot involving the use of a weapon of mass destruction.

The indictment also alleges that on Nov. 15, 2012, Kurbanov possessed an explosive device, consisting of a series of parts intended to be converted into a bomb. Those parts included a hollow hand grenade, a hobby fuse, aluminum powder, potassium nitrate and sulfur.

Meanwhile, in Utah, federal investigators said that for a 10-day period in January 2013, Kurbanov taught and demonstrated how to make an "explosive, destructive device, and weapon of mass destruction."

The grand jury alleges that Kurbanov provided written recipes for how to make improvised explosive devices and went on instructional shopping trips in Utah showing what items are necessary to buy to make the devices, Barlow said. Kurbanov also showed Internet videos on the topic, Barlow said.

The prosecutor declined to say whom Kurbanov took on the shopping trips in Utah but said that information will come out as the case moves through the courts.

The indictment from Utah also alleges that Kurbanov intended that the videos, recipes, instructions and shopping trips be used to make an explosive device for the "bombings of a place of public use, public transportation system, and infrastructure facility."

The arrest, Barlow said, shows that "there is no priority that is more important than the protection of the public and the prevention and disruption of alleged terrorist activities ? wherever they might occur."

Although the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan started in the 1990s with the stated aim of overthrowing the Uzbek regime and establishing an Islamic government, its goals have expanded to creating a broader Central Asian caliphate.

The movement's fighters have a presence in Afghanistan's northern provinces and in Pakistan's Waziristan province. U.S. and Afghan officials say al-Qaeda has been building ties with the IMU.

Last year, an Uzbek named Ulugbek Kodirov was sentenced to a minimum 15 years in prison in Alabama for plotting to shoot President Barack Obama while on the campaign trial. Kodirov pleaded guilty, saying he was acting at the behest of the IMU.

According to Idaho's court system, Kurbanov has no criminal convictions but was ticketed for speeding violations twice in 2012 ? once in October, when he paid a $90 fine, and another instance in May when he paid $85.

___

Associated Press writers John Miller in Boise, Idaho, Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/idaho-man-heads-court-terrorism-arrest-071000168.html

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The Local News Discovers HIGH-INTENSITY EXER-GAMING - Kotaku

Remember when local news channels across the country discovered that HOLY SHIT WOMEN PLAY VIDEO GAMES??? Today they've had another revelation: HIGH-INTENSITY EXER-GAMING!!!

Brought to you by the same trite, recycled local news press release copy that brought you this fantastic report about the world of girl gamers, check out our supercut of local news reporters saying things like "HIGH-INTENSITY EXER-GAMING!!!" Video above.

Source: http://kotaku.com/the-local-news-discovers-high-intensity-exer-gaming-508282064

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How Europe can find its feet again

Now in its longest recession since World War II, Europe is the world economy's weakest link. But as it achieves financial stability, it must now focus on structural overhaul to spur innovation and worker retraining.

By the Monitor's Editorial Board / May 16, 2013

A worker taps a blast furnace in Duisburg at Europe's largest steel factory, part of Germany's industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG.

Reuters

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In recent surveys on both sides of the Atlantic, top business executives gave a similar forecast: Europe and the United States are both losing their competitive edge. Of the two economies ? which are the largest in the world ? Europe is struggling the most to restore its edge.

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It?s a struggle the rest of the world cannot ignore.

The Continent is dealing with its longest recession since World War II. Many of its major economies are shrinking, even France. Germany, despite past reforms, had only 0.1 percent growth last quarter, revealing just how much it relies on its neighbors.

The European economy still commands a fifth of the global economy, but it is now its weakest link. Japan and the US are sporting a growth rate of more than 2 percent. Unless Europe can retool its workers, liberate its entrepreneurs, and finance its small businesses, China will reach or pull ahead of it in innovation by 2023, say a majority of European business leaders in a survey done by Accenture consultancy.

While European leaders have been able to stabilize financial markets and start to whittle down government deficits, the hard work of structural reform is still in progress. France, for example, just passed a measure that allows employers more leeway to lay off unneeded employees and encourage worker mobility.

?Just because there is zero growth across Europe doesn?t mean there are not segments of good growth within that,? stated Mark Spelman, strategy chief at Accenture.

A refocus on Europe?s inherent strengths, such as design and engineering, are key. But so is lifting a gloom over the stark economic figures, such as unemployment at a record high of 12.1 percent.

Many European leaders look to the US for optimism. One of their models is Google and its operating approach. Its chief executive, Larry Page, offered advice this week to the high-tech industry that would apply to Europe as well:

?We should be building great things that don?t exist. Being negative is not how we make progress,? he said, adding that his industry has grown because it didn?t see its future as a zero-sum game.

That expansive attitude is what European industry needs right now. The Accenture survey of executives, for example, found business leaders want to end the Continent?s ?innovation deficit? with more public funding of research.

The two core countries of the European Union, Germany and France, also need to restore trust in the unified approach of the EU?s 27-member countries. A survey by the Pew Research Center in Washington found French support for the EU dropped from 60 percent last year to 41 percent today. In Germany, 60 percent still support the EU.

?[T]he French and the Germans differ so greatly over the challenges facing their economies that they look as if they live on different continents, not within a single European market,? stated the Pew report.

Europe is not alone in this struggle. A Harvard survey of 7,000 of its alumni in business found 58 percent expect US economic competitiveness to decline.

Americans need to both watch and support Europe as it finds its feet again. The global economy needs every link.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/sV48ZTH2zbI/How-Europe-can-find-its-feet-again

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Taj Jackson: I Was Molested as a Child, and Michael Helped Me Cope

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/taj-jackson-i-was-molested-as-a-child-and-michael-helped-me-cope/

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Wait Until You Hear Who the Turkish Prime Minister Reportedly Invited to Join His Entourage During U.S. Visit

Erdogan-Obama-Getty

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and President Barack Obama hold press conference at the White House May 16, 2013 (Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images)

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an allegedly invited a special personal guest to accompany him on his visit to the U.S. this week.

According to Turkish media, the father of one of the radical Islamist activists killed in Israel's raid on the Mavi Marmara in 2010 (the Gaza flotilla) was included as an invited guest in the prime minister's delegation in the hopes he might be able to meet President Barack Obama.

Furkan Do?an, a 19-year-old with both Turkish and U.S. citizenship, joined the Gaza flotilla where he expressed his desire for "martyrdom." His father now wants the U.S. government to sue Israel over the raid in which the IDF says its forces were defending themselves from what appeared to them to be an organized attack launched by passengers armed with knives and metal bars as the commandos boarded the ship.

Today's Zaman reports:

Ahmet Do?an, who asked Erdo?an to deliver a letter to US President Barack Obama, joined Erdo?an's delegation upon a request by the Turkish prime minister.

Do?an said Erdo?an told him: "I can give this letter [to him], but it is better if you give the letter to him yourself. I will include you among the members of the official delegation." Do?an also said the prime minister told him he should meet with Obama if they can arrange an appointment with him. The victim's father said he described Furkan and wrote about his son's life in the letter.

It's unknown if the father's letter was delivered to Obama or if he actually met the President during the trip. That the radical activist's father was with the prime minister's entourage was not addressed during the joint Obama-Erdo?an press conference Thursday or at the White House or State Department briefings of the past few days.

Furkan Do?an, along with eight Turkish activists, was killed in a battle with Israeli commandos who boarded the ship to enforce the naval blockade on Gaza, instituted after Palestinian terrorists were caught smuggling heavy weapons to the territory by ship.

Flotilla organizers claimed they were on a humanitarian mission, but an Israeli think tank reported that seven of the nine passengers killed had professed a desire to die as "martyrs" before the boat set sail to Gaza. Radical Muslim terrorists and their supporters often glorify the idea of martyrdom for Allah, achieved via jihad.

The Jerusalem Post cited the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center which reported a month after the raid that eight of the nine passengers killed were members of the IHH, a Turkish group that calls itself humanitarian but which the Israeli government along with some U.S. and European lawmakers characterize as radical Islamist in nature. The State Department has not included the IHH on its list of terrorist groups.

According to the Israeli think tank report, a Turkish newspaper printed this quote from 19-year-old Furqan Dogan's diary, in which he said he wanted to be a martyr, providing strong evidence his intentions were not peaceful: "These are the last hours before I join the sweet experience of being a shahid (martyr). Is there anything more beautiful than this?"

On his visit to Israel in March, President Obama convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to issue an apology to Turkey for the killing of the flotilla activists and to offer financial compensation for those killed. In exchange, Turkey was supposed to promise to drop any legal suits against the Israeli servicemen involved.

Ever since the apology, Turkey has appeared to backtrack on the deal personally brokered by Obama. Earlier this week, lawyers for the Turks killed filed a complaint against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. That venue is chosen when parties seek investigations of war crimes, genocide or crimes against humanity.

Officially, the suit was referred to the court by Comoros, a small African country in which the Mavi Marmara was registered. Michael Rubin of Commentary Magazine suggests Erdo?an wants "plausible deniability," that it's not the Turkish government filing the suit in defiance of Obama's request.

Rubin reveals that the law firm behind the ICC filing employs one principal who is "a long-time AKP party [Erdo?an's Justice and Development Party] activist and the other has been intimately involved in the IHH." Rubin writes:

Anyone who believes that Erdo?an seeks to bury that hatchet more than rub salt into the wounds of the last two years needs only to consider the special guest whom he has had join his delegation.[...]

It is actually quite amazing: Erdo?an has endorsed an Al Qaeda financier, embraced not only Hamas but the most militant faction within that terrorist organization, defended the Sudanese leader against charges of genocide, and has been the largest leak in multilateral efforts to sanction Iran. And yet, Obama will not only welcome him to the White House with the highest honors, but help fulfill the Turkish premier's blatant desire to use the White House as the backdrop to follow through on his pledge to bash Israel at every opportunity.

Erdo?an has already rejected a personal request from Secretary of State John Kerry to hold off on visiting the Gaza Strip. Positioned next to Obama, Erdo?an used the White House backdrop Thursday to announce the June timeframe for his trip to meet with Hamas leaders in Gaza, a group the U.S. defines as a terrorist organization.

At the press conference, Obama emphasized his strong relations with the Turkish leader. "This visit reflects the importance that the United States places on our relationship with our ally, Turkey, and I value so much the partnership that I've been able to develop with Prime Minister Erdogan," Obama said according to the White House transcript.

Just two days after Turkish citizens got the International Criminal Court to investigate a possible case against Israel, Obama took a moment to compliment Erdo?an for the steps he's taken to fulfill the arrangement Obama brokered between Israel and Turkey.

"Given our shared interest in peace, I want to note the Prime Minister's efforts to normalize relations with Israel," Obama said.

White? House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at his daily news briefing Tuesday, "Turkey is one of our strongest partners."

Besides meeting Obama, Erdo?an placed a foundation stone at a new Turkish-American cultural center in Maryland.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, Erdo?an said the center reflects the "alliance of civilizations."

"In a period marked by Islamophobia, this center will express the brotherhood showing how wrong [Islamophobia] is," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wait-until-hear-turkish-prime-minister-reportedly-invited-121210764.html

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