Peter Staley: Is This My Beautiful Life?

In recent months I've had the honor of being part of the Medius Working Group, described as "a disparate group of activists who seek to honor their late friend Spencer Cox, an activist keenly aware of the unique needs and concerns of AIDS-generation survivors." Last week in New York we held a large community forum titled "Is This My Beautiful Life? Perspectives From Survivors of the AIDS Generation."

The panel discussion that got the night going was remarkable, and a video of the event will be posted online soon. My fellow panelists (pictured above, from left to right) included Jesus Aguais, Dr. Mark Brennan-Ing, Dr. L. Jeannine Bookhardt-Murray, Jim Eigo and Joe Jervis. The evening was hosted by the Tony Award-winning star of Angels in America Stephen Spinella and moderated by Dr. Perry N. Halkitis.

Here are my opening remarks:

This all started for many of us on that Tuesday morning in December. Three days before, Spencer was making a seemingly strong recovery, and we thought he was out of the woods. Then everything went to shit, and we all rushed to that hospital none of us had ever heard of at the very tip of Manhattan. Spencer Cox was one of the youngest of ACT UP's alumni, and his death at only 44 sent a shockwave to all of us, not just the current and former activists but our generation, our AIDS generation, men and women, positive and negative.

A huge and largely healthy discussion ensued, with long phone calls, dinners with friends we hadn't seen in recent years, Facebook threads, blog postings and even a long article in a Sunday New York Times. A kind of bubble had burst. What did this say about us? How are we doing now? How are we treating each other? Is there a community that even cares about us?

The memorial was beautiful. It was funny, campy, moving, a little trashy at times, tearful and even sexy (thank you, David Drake). But most of all it felt communal, in a way many of us miss dearly. After a short break some of Spencer's friends formed the Medius Working Group to see if there were ways to highlight the issues he often raised in his final years. TAG is working with Dr. Judith Rabkin at Columbia University on a possible study, hoping to survey a couple hundred former AIDS activists in an attempt to quantify how we're doing. Alan Klein has organized some ACT UP alumni that hope to pull off a series of more regular reunions structured as social events.

And tonight is for some much-needed venting. For purists who always want narrowly defined discussion points with clearly defined goals, tonight is probably not your night. It's too early in this process to say assuredly "these are our issues."

I'm sure a lot of the discussion will be about our challenges and grievances. I know I've got some to share. As I said at Spencer's memorial, many of us in some way have unprocessed grief, or guilt, or an overwhelming sense of abandonment from a gay community that turned its back on us and increasingly stigmatizes us, all in an attempt to pretend that AIDS isn't its problem anymore. Many of us see our national gay rights groups and our gay foundations and big gay money focused entirely on the feel-good battle for marriage equality. As worthy as that battle is, aren't we shooting ourselves in the foot with this singular focus? Silence may no longer equal death on the scale it once did, but it's certainly feeding an alarming rise of HIV infections in young gay men, especially in apparently easy-to-ignore young gay men of color. Where are they in these happy marriage pictures?

So, yes, let's discuss these feelings of abandonment, or unprocessed grief, or loneliness, or addiction. But let's also recognize our strengths, what we've overcome, our resilience. I'm fascinated by the brilliant work of Dr. Ron Stall from the University of Pittsburgh, who has been studying the health of gay men for many years. He writes a lot about syndemics, a group of epidemics interacting synergistically to lower the overall health profile of a population. So he studies the burdens and fallouts a lot, including the self-loathing we were taught as kids, or living through the plague years. But what amazes him the most is our resilience through all this. It's the glass-half-full metaphor. Yes, let's examine the empty half and the reasons behind it, but let's also acknowledge our pool of strengths. Where does that resilience come from, and can we build on it?

Thanks for turning out tonight. I'm really honored to be on this panel and hope the conversation we start here with all of you will continue in the months ahead.

?

Follow Peter Staley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@peterstaley

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-staley/is-this-my-beautiful-life_b_3268402.html

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HP SlateBook x2: An Android Notebook With Sweet Tegra 4 Guts

On the heels of its very first Android tablet after a long affair with webOS, HP's just announced its second device running the Google operating system, and it's ushering in that Android notebook fad we've all heard whispers about. Enter the SlateBook x2, the first Tegra 4-powered, 10-inch Android convertible.

We only got to spend a little time with the SlateBook x2, but enough to see that everything ran plenty smooth on top of that supercharged quadcore Tegra 4 and the 1920 x 1200 IPS display was crisp and clear. Though having a keyboard sitting in front of your Android tablet is admittedly a little weird, but we could get used to it. Maybe.

Just like the Slate 7 tablet, HP's SlateBook x2 will be rocking an almost pure version of Android. Its Jelly Bean 4.2.2 base will be augmented with just a few extra apps, but some pretty useful ones like a file explorer, a text editor, and some stuff that HP hopes will help bridge the gap between tablet and notebook mode.

Squirreled away inside the keyboard base, there's a second battery to both help extend the battery life and weight down the otherwise top-heavy little rig. You'll also find a touchpad on there, so you aren't stuck with just touch in notepad mode. It weighs in at 2.8 pounds and has two USB ports with its dock in tow.

Alongside the SlateBook x2, HP is also rolling out the Split x2, a Windows 8 convertible. With its 1366 x 768, 13.3-inch IPS display, it's a bit bigger than its Android twin, and takes after last year's slightly smaller Envy x2. The tablet itself has an SSD, with an option for 500 GB more hard drive space in the keyboard, if you want it. And like the Envy x2, it's got Intel guts?your choice of a Core i3 or i5?but we're talking Ivy Bridge, for the first run anyway.

Both the convertibles are due out this August, with the SlateBook coming in at $480 and the Split at $800. HP's already jumped into the cheaper end of the Android pool with its budget $169 Slate 7, but the SlateBook x2 looks like that high-end HP tablet we heard rumors about. So who knows, maybe that phone is real too.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/hp-slatebook-x2-an-android-notebook-with-sweet-tegra-4-505963207

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DIY Kitchen Remodels for Investment Properties | AOL Real Estate

By ProfessorBaron.com

If you are an investor who is buying rental properties, are a do-it-yourself type or want to renovate your kitchen, there are many things you can do to reduce your costs on doing some updating. Note that most renovations run way over budget and encounter issues, regardless of where DIY, semi-DIY, or having a contractor do the job. Make sure you estimate plenty of contingency funds for those guaranteed cost overruns.

Also, be cautious about spending a lot of money on kitchen renovations. While any property renovation will add value to the property, it's unlikely to add as much value as it costs. For example, if you spend $20,000 on a kitchen, it might only add $12,000 in value. Finally, again be cautious on how much you spend as it probably won't dramatically increase your rental amount, but it probably will increase the length of time that your tenants stay at the property, and smart landlords love long-term tenants.

Some fixer-upper options:

Cabinets ? If the cabinets are in good shape, but old and gray, a fresh coat of paint from a skilled painter can add a world of life to the kitchen. But the painter needs to take the cabinets off, sand them lightly, brush paint them with the proper type of brush and paint, and re-install them. And of course sand and paint the cabinet exterior fascias too! A nice job of painting on an average kitchen probably runs $750 ? $1,000 if done right. And don't forget to paint the inside and bottoms!

You can also put new hinges onto the cabinet doors if they are the ones that show on the exterior of the cabinet when the door is closed. Word of caution: If the existing holes don't match the new hinges, it can end up being a big headache and probably won't be worthwhile. Brushed nickel hinges are $2-$4/hinge.

And new handles on those cabinets are a must. You can buy the 20/30 packs of brushed nickel handles at the home renovation stores. They're about $2-$3 per handle and look great.
If the cabinets are past their useful life, you can check into cabinet re-facing or cabinet replacing ? both are expensive options. If you are going to replace them, make sure to look at the in-stock and "special order" cabinets available at the stores, before you jump into custom-made cabinets. If you are going to re-face or replace, make sure to get several bids for the work.

Countertop ? If you are going to keep the cabinets, a new countertop will be a big help. But, if you're not ready to replace the cabinets just yet, wait on the countertop, too. Countertops can run $15-$65 per square foot. I like the giant granite squares that can be found at your home renovation store. They are installed at 18 inches wide and 24 inches deep, so they're much better than the 12 inch by 12 inch standard granite square tiles. Cost of these installed is probably $22-$30 per square foot; granite is $10-$15 per square foot. Note: Use dark grout for rentals! You can also buy brand-new laminate counter tops, which are less expensive and easy to do.

Sink/faucet ? If you are replacing the countertop, it's time to do the sink and faucet! Most home repair stores offer a stainless sink and faucet combination for about $200-$300. Make sure you buy the "combo pack."

Flooring ? Flooring really should be tile (which isn't cheap) or linoleum ? which doesn't last that long. It's essential to use dark grout for tile in rental floors, and a tougher grade of linoleum is best if you go that route. Skip the carpets or wood laminate flooring for any kitchen/bathroom floors.

Appliances ? If you need to replace the appliances, go with moderate grade appliances. Most appliances will last a long time. I've bought many properties with 20-year old appliances working fine, but they look terrible and could be energy inefficient, so I replaced them.

Lighting ? Kitchen lighting can be easily updated from an extensive selection at the home improvement stores. They're usually easy to install. Check out the ones with low energy bulbs.

Water/Electrical ? If the property is older, it's probably a good time to bring in the plumber and electrician. Change out old water valves and update the kitchen switches and electrical outlets to new GFCI circuits for water-related safety.

All the items above cost money whether you DIY the job or semi-DIY it. But an updated kitchen will help in the most important goal in rental property ownership, which is to keep your tenants as long as possible. Just like you, your tenants want to live in a nice place too and a nice kitchen will inspire them to stay a long time!

More on Zillow:
What's the Best Way to Earn Wealth in Real Estate?
Rental Property Investing 101
Rental Homes: Making More Money by Keeping Your Tenants Happy

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
Find homes for rent.

Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook.

Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/14/diy-kitchen-remodels-for-investment-properties/

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Family drama adds intrigue to Ill. governor's race

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) ? Politics has long been a family business in Illinois, a place where who you know ? and who you're related to ? matters more than most. But the family drama shaping up around the next governor's race adds a new layer of intrigue in a Capitol already grappling with huge financial problems.

Though the election is a year away, the possible candidates include both a Daley and a Madigan ? two surnames that represent the royal families of Illinois politics, the local equivalent of the Kennedys or Bushes.

One is the son and brother of the all-powerful former Chicago mayors. The other is the daughter of the immensely powerful speaker of the House for the past 28 years, who's also head of the Illinois Democratic Party.

While intra-party battles aren't uncommon in the Democratic stronghold that produced Barack Obama, the possibility that one or both heirs could challenge the incumbent governor is creating a buzz over the final weeks of the legislative session.

"When you lay it all out, you say 'Oh my goodness,'" said Thom Serafin, a consultant and operative in Illinois politics for three decades.

Among the questions: Would voters want a Daley, youngest son of the big-city dynasty, to run the whole state? Could a daughter be governor while her father wields such great power at the Statehouse? And how much turmoil would a primary challenge to the sitting governor cause in an otherwise dominant Democratic party?

Both William Daley, the former White House chief of staff, and Lisa Madigan, the Illinois attorney general, say they haven't decided whether to run. But both are acting a lot like candidates, and both have the potential to win.

At 46, Madigan has become one of the state's most popular office holders, winning her last two elections by more than 30 percentage points. Her resume and forceful speaking voice show a toughness that belies her petite frame: She's taught Zulu girls in South Africa during apartheid, started after-school programs in some of Chicago's roughest neighborhoods and as attorney general took on now-imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Her ballooning campaign fund has stirred talk about her intentions and raised questions about her father ? a man often compared to a chess master for his ability to quietly outmaneuver his rivals. After 42 years in the House, Madigan still has a firm grip on power, and his spokesman dismissed any talk of the speaker possibly stepping down as "a lot of speculation."

The Daley in the picture is a deal-maker in a smoother, more traditional business sense than his famously dictatorial father, Mayor Richard J. Daley, or his often tongue-tied brother, Richard M. Daley. Always well-pressed in the sharp suits of a banker and lawyer, Bill Daley ? as he is typically called ? helped negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and served as secretary of commerce under President Bill Clinton.

Daley, 64, has said he is "seriously looking" at running and has made a point of saying the state has "a problem right now in leadership at the Capitol."

Republicans, who've been shut out of most of Illinois' top political positions for the past decade, are looking at the unfolding scene with incredulity.

"I can't understand why in a state with 13 million people, how we can't find a couple people that aren't related to hold some of the highest positions in state government," state Sen. Matt Murphy said. "If you took that script to Hollywood, they would laugh you out of town. And yet here it's a serious question."

All the fuss over Lisa Madigan and Bill Daley threatens to overshadow Gov. Pat Quinn, the plain-spoken incumbent who inherited his job from the disgraced Blagojevich. The 64-year-old casts himself as an everyday populist determined to clean up Illinois government, yet he has some of the lowest approval ratings of any governor.

Critics say he lacks the leadership qualities for the job, and they point to Quinn's use of a cartoon snake known as "Squeezy the Pension Python" to portray the seriousness of the state's worst-in-the-nation pension crisis. But Quinn also boldly defied Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel by vetoing a casino for his city.

In the first three months of 2013, Madigan raised $4.4 million, almost three times what Quinn reported on April 1.

"She is taking the steps necessary to ensure that she has the financial and political resources necessary for another campaign, whatever that may be," Gina Natale, a Madigan campaign aide, said in a statement.

Daley did not respond to requests for comment.

While the all-in-the-family field of potential candidates may seem to some like yet another Illinois political oddity, it isn't so striking to former U.S. Sen. Adlai Stevenson III, whose own Illinois family tree includes a vice president, secretary of state and a governor.

"My father used to say he was born with an incurable, hereditary case of politics," Stevenson said. "You're born into a life of service, and sometimes you're just conditioned to carry on."

___

Associated Press Writer Sophia Tareen contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/family-drama-adds-intrigue-ill-governors-race-185502470.html

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U.N. watchdog, EU's Ashton to press Iran in nuclear dispute

By Fredrik Dahl and Parisa Hafezi

VIENNA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Iran faces international pressure over its nuclear program in two separate meetings on Wednesday, but no breakthrough is expected with the Islamic state focused on next month's presidential election.

In Vienna, the U.N. nuclear agency will once again urge Iran to stop stonewalling its inquiry into suspected atomic bomb research by Tehran, which denies any intent to make such arms.

The talks started around 10 a.m. (4 a.m. EDT) at Iran's diplomatic mission in the Austrian capital.

"Differences remain but we ... are determined to solve these issues," Herman Nackaerts, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters.

Later over dinner in Istanbul, the European Union's top diplomat will meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator - also now a presidential candidate - to discuss a broader diplomatic effort bid to resolve a row that could ignite war in the Middle East.

The two sets of talks represent distinct diplomatic tracks but are linked because both center on suspicions that Iran may be seeking the capability to assemble nuclear bombs behind the facade of a declared civilian atomic energy program.

Any movement in the decade-old standoff will probably have to wait until after Iranians vote on June 14 for a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, analysts and diplomats say.

Even though it is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who decides Iran's nuclear policy, the conservative leadership may want to tread cautiously ahead of a poll in which loyalists will be challenged by two major independents.

With the election coming up, "the Iranians will do everything to keep everything stable," one Western envoy said.

SPECTRE OF MILITARY ACTION

Israel and the United States have threatened possible military action if diplomacy and increasingly tough trade and energy sanctions fail to make Iran curb its nuclear program.

Tehran says its nuclear activity has only peaceful purposes and that it is Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, that threatens peace and stability.

The IAEA has been trying for more than a year to coax Iran into letting it resume an inquiry into what the U.N. watchdog calls the "possible military dimensions" of its nuclear work.

Wednesday's talks in Vienna will be the 10th round of negotiations between the two sides since early 2012, so far without a framework agreement that would give the IAEA the access it wants to sites, officials and documents.

Iran's IAEA envoy, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said this week he expected progress to be made in the discussions. But Western diplomats voiced pessimism.

The Istanbul meeting between EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents six world powers, and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili follows a failed round of big-power diplomacy in Kazakhstan in early April.

The gap is wide: the powers want Iran to suspend its most sensitive nuclear activity. Iran wants them to recognize its "right" to refine uranium - which can have both civilian and military purposes - and to end tough economic sanctions.

(Additional reporting by Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-n-nuclear-agency-says-iran-talks-hard-081233523.html

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BlackBerry Is Bringing BBM to iOS and Android This Summer

Today, during the BlackBerry Live Keynote, the company announced that it will be launching BlackBerry Messenger?BBM?on iOS and Android this Summer. This is a big move for the company, which has found itself increasingly trapped in a badly-built prison of its own making.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/HO5TVagQt1w/blackberry-is-bringing-bbm-to-ios-and-android-this-summ-505593864

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Russia arrests US diplomat accused of spying

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it caught a CIA spy in Moscow who was posing as a US diplomat and trying to recruit a top Russian security officer with promises of up to $1 million a year.

The FSB's public relations center released details along with several photographs of the arrest Monday of the man it identified as Ryan Christopher Fogle, who it said was accredited in Russia as third secretary in the political department of the US embassy in Moscow. According to Russian media reports, the US embassy has so far declined to make any comment on the case. Mr. Fogle is set to be expelled from the country.

RECOMMENDED: Do you know anything about Russia? A quiz.

The FSB claims that it caught Mr. Fogle red-handed, with "special technical devices, written instructions for the Russian citizen being recruited, a large sum of cash and means of changing his appearance."

Fogle's spy paraphernalia, photos of which were released by the FSB, include his official diplomatic ID's, two different wigs, three pairs of glasses, a map of Moscow, and a folding knife.

The FSB claims he was in possession of a letter, addressed to the targeted Russian security official, which promised $100,000 -- the cash, in 500 euro notes, was also seized -- for an interview to discuss his qualifications, with a salary of up to $1 million a year "for long term cooperation, with extra bonuses if we receive some helpful information."

Experts say this is the first high-profile arrest of a US diplomat on spying allegations since the late Soviet era, although nobody thinks the former cold war spy games between Moscow and Washington ever ended. Three years ago several Russians accused of spying for the US were exchanged, amid a glaring public spotlight, for a group of 10 alleged Russian secret service moles who had been uncovered in the US.

SPY MONEY

Some of those alleged spies, especially the flame-haired femme fatale Anna Chapman, subsequently defied the old KGB dictum that exposed spies should disappear from view and launched high-profile public careers.

Russian experts say there may be a political subtext to the timing and scope of the FSB's revelations -- US-Russia relations are currently at their lowest point since the end of the cold war -- but that doesn't necessarily mean the allegations are false.

In 2006, at a particularly low point in Russia-British relations, the FSB publicly accused the British spy agency MI6 of carrying out espionage using high-tech devices disguised as rocks, allegations that British officials later admitted were true.

"Remember how we all laughed at the spy-rock story? But it turned out to be real enough, so we must admit that such things do happen," says Alexander Golts, a security analyst with the online newspaper Yezhednevny Zhurnal. "There are some peculiar aspects of this story as well, particularly the letter -- which has been reproduced in the Russian press -- promising this Russian $1 million per year for his cooperation. I really have trouble picturing what kind of information is worth that much money," he says.

After offering the money, the letter goes on to give detailed instructions to the Russian target on how to contact the CIA, including a G-Mail account that he should write to -- the tradecraft to avoid detection is all spelled out -- if he accepts the deal.

"One take-away from this is that there's little doubt that US secret services are still active on the territory of Russia," says Mr. Golts.

The FSB statement said the agency has registered an uptick in efforts by US secret services to recruit Russians from the security services of late.

Russia's Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that Fogle has been declared persona non grata. US ambassador Mike McFaul has been summoned to the Ministry Wednesday to explain the incident.

RECOMMENDED: Do you know anything about Russia? A quiz.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-arrests-us-diplomat-accused-spying-171900757.html

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