By BETH J. HARPAZ

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Pity the War of 1812. Its bicentennial is at hand and events are planned for all over North America, from Canada and the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic and the South. But good luck finding someone who can explain in 10 words or less what the war was about.

Some historians see the war as a last gasp by England to control its former colonies, and it’s sometimes called the Second War of Independence. At the time, Americans viewed the war “as an opportunity for us to throw off Britain once and for all,” said Troy Bickham, author of a new book out in June called “The Weight of Vengeance: The United States, the British Empire and the War of 1812.”

But in Canada, the War of 1812 is seen as an attempted land grab by the U.S. The U.S. invaded Canada and at one point controlled Toronto, but the British, seeking control of the Great Lakes, won Detroit and other important ports.

The War of 1812 was also complicated by what Bickham calls “parallel wars.” The British were fighting the Napoleonic Wars in Europe at the time, while the U.S. battled Native Americans allied with Britain for control of frontier territories from Michigan to Alabama.

Amid the muddle, a few important episodes stand out, from decisive battles to the burning of the White House. Some events are being commemorated with programs, exhibits and military re-enactments, from now through the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans, in 2015. Other key moments from the war involve important artifacts or historic sites that can be seen any time. Here are some details.

THE FLAG: The War of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” after soldiers at Fort McHenry in Baltimore raised an American flag to mark a victory over the British on Sept. 14, 1814. The fort is now a National Park site, http://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm. The original manuscript for the song will be part of a War of 1812 exhibit at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St., in Baltimore, opening June 10.

Also in Baltimore, a June 13-19 “Star-Spangled Sailabration” will include a parade of 40 tall ships and naval vessels, an airshow featuring the Blue Angels and other festivities, http://www.starspangled200.com/. The flotilla is one of several organized by Operation Sail, Inc., which has partnered with the U.S. Navy to mark the War of 1812 bicentennial, with additional tall ship events scheduled for May 23-30 in New York City, June 1-12 in Norfolk, Va., June 30-July 5 in Boston and July 6-8 in New London, Conn. The OpSail and Navy commemorations started in New Orleans in April.

In Washington, D.C., you can see the flag that inspired the national anthem, tattered with age and on display in a darkened room to help preserve it, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, http://americanhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/. At the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, paintings of key figures from the war will be part of a show called “1812: A Nation Emerges,” opening June 15.

THE WHITE HOUSE: When the British burned down the White House on Aug. 24, 1814, First Lady Dolley Madison famously refused to leave until the portrait of George Washington was saved. The painting, by Gilbert Stuart, hangs in the White House today, and there seem to be no lingering hard feelings against England. As President Obama joked during a recent visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron: “It’s now been 200 years since the British came here to the White House under somewhat different circumstances. They made quite an impression. They really lit the place up! But we moved on.”

USS CONSTITUTION: Britain had 600 ships while the U.S. had just 17, including the USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, which Bickham says was the most important ship in our fleet. You can visit the ship in Charleston, Mass., just outside of Boston, http://www.history.navy.mil/ussconstitution/history.html.

ALABAMA: One of the biggest U.S. victories of the war took place in Horseshoe Bend, now a National Park site in Alabama, about 100 miles southwest of Atlanta, http://www.nps.gov/hobe/index.htm. Here Andrew Jackson led the slaughter of the Creek Red Sticks tribe, ending a longstanding conflict with the natives and securing 23 million acres of territory for the U.S.

NEW ORLEANS: Jackson also led the final American victory of the war at the Battle of New Orleans, which took place on the Chalmette Battlefield, now part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, http://www.nps.gov/jela/chalmette-battlefield.htm. Jackson’s triumphs in Alabama and New Orleans made him a national hero and he was eventually elected U.S. president.

GREAT LAKES: Many of the war’s important battles were fought as Britain sought control of Great Lakes territories and states including parts of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.

Fort Dearborn, located where Chicago is now, was destroyed during the war. Fort Mackinac on Michigan’s Mackinac Island in Lake Huron, which was captured by the British early in the war, is still standing and is hosting a variety of programs for the bicentennial, http://www.mackinacparks.com/.

The Americans retook Michigan after the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 off the coast of Ohio, and a re-enactment is planned on the water next year. The reconstructed flagship Niagara, which was commanded by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry during the battle, is based in Erie, Pa., though it sails to other ports during the summer; a schedule can be found at http://www.flagshipniagara.org/. Northwest Pennsylvania also just launched the Perry 200 Commemoration with flag-raisings at 150 sites in the region; 30 events are planned over the next 18 months, http://www.perry200.com.

Ohio is home to a 352-foot monument, Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, which towers over Lake Erie on South Bass Island in Put-in-Bay, http://www.nps.gov/pevi/. Events there include education programs, May 22-24, a “Re-Declaration of War,” June 18, and a birthday party for Perry, Aug. 18-19. Fort Meigs, in nearby Perrysburg, Ohio, is a War of 1812 battlefield with a reconstructed fort; it marks the 199th anniversary of a siege from the war May 26-27.

On Lake Ontario in New York, important locations connected to the War of 1812 include Sackets Harbor, N.Y., where a major U.S. naval base fended off a British attack in 1813, http://www.sacketsharborbattlefield.org/, and Old Fort Niagara, which was a base for the U.S. invasion of Canada but was captured by the British in 1813. A ceremony marking the bicentennial of the declaration of war is scheduled for Fort Niagara June 16, http://oldfortniagara.org/events/.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN: The British also sought to control Lake Champlain, but they were thwarted by an unexpected American victory in Plattsburgh, N.Y., in September 1814. The town is scheduling re-enactments, lectures and other events starting later this year, http://www.champlain1812.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: The website http://www.visit1812.com lists many events and historic sites connected to the War of 1812. Canada is also hosting major commemorations of the bicentennial, including a War of 1812 Heritage Trail, http://www.discover1812.com, and ongoing living history programs at Fort Malden, in Amherstburg, Ontario, 20 miles from Detroit, http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/malden/index.aspx.

___

May 18, 2012 12:06 PM EDT

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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In the recorded remarks from the lunch, Boehner and the President briefly touched on their positions on the matter, and they are diametrically opposed, as expected. The President will submit a proposal to Congress for a debt limit increase that does not enumerate any new spending cuts, while Speaker Boehner is insisting that such spending cuts and reforms are included to offset the amount of the debt limit increase.

In an election-charged environment, the debt limit debate is certain to be a display of Washington-style gridlock and posturing on a level that may have never been seen before. Interestingly, the Senate rejected President Barack Obama’s budget proposal by a vote of 99-0 on Wednesday, which means that not a single member of Congress voted in favor of the President’s budget proposals following a 414-0 vote in the House in March.

If the GOP stands firm against a debt limit increase without significant spending cuts, and the White House believes that it has the support of the American electorate in wanting an increase without cuts, it’s going to be an interesting end to the summer. Perhaps the most intriguing element of the upcoming debate will be exactly how Mitt Romney’s team crafts his narrative around the debate. A mistake in messaging around the debt limit increase could actually be catastrophic for Romney so close to the November election.

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HTC’s new Android flagships, the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE, have reportedly been stalled at U.S. customs, and may not hit American stores as early as hoped, perhaps due to an International Trade Council (ITC) exclusion order… granted to Apple last December.

Apple sued HTC for patent infringement over their Android implementation, and HTC has countersued Apple. This particular legal delay could be over HTC’s use of hyperlinks in the messaging app and browser. HTC has reportedly worked around these “trivial” issues, but in keeping with the ITC order, customs is going to check and make double-dog sure. If everything works out, and provided customs doesn’t take their sweet time over it, our friends over at Android Central shouldn’t have too long to wait before they get their droidy little hands on them.

Here’s HTC’s statement:

The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.

Apple’s lawsuits against HTC — and Samsung and Motorola — stem from Apple’s feeling that Android was “grand theft” of iPhone intellectual property. Basically, they believe Google partnered with Apple, had their then-CEO Eric Schmidt on Apple’s board, and then not only stole Apple’s ideas about smartphone technology, but gave them away “promiscuously“.

The late Steve Jobs reportedly vowed to go “thermonuclear” over Android, and spend every dime in Apple’s tens of billions of dollars in the bank to reap horrible vengeance upon them.

Current Apple CEO Tim Cook has thus far been much calmer, but every bit as deadly about patent litigation, saying Apple shouldn’t be the developers for the whole world.

Results to date have varied for Apple — literally they’ve won some and lost some — but few if any decisive rulings have been made.

As Jerry Hildenbrand often says, this will all likely be resolved in the future by one rich company trading money with another rich company.

In the meantime, HTC’s next generation of Android phones are on hold, drinking border coffee. Yikes.

Source: The Verge, Android Central

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- Joy Pecknold, Passport blog editor

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Seas0nPass, the popular jailbreak tool for the 2010 Apple TV (720p) has just received an update that will allow it to jailbreak the latest Apple TV software. Apple has just released the Apple TV software update taking it to version 5.0.1; it is actually version 5.1.1 inline with other iOS devices but Apple still files the version numbers differently for whatever reason. Unfortunately the jailbreak is a tethered type which means if your device needs to be rebooted, it will need to be plugged into a PC or Mac as part of the reboot process.

Seas0nPass 0.8.4 released. Adds [tethered] support for ver. 5.0.1 (iOS 5.1.1) on ATV2. ATV3 update still in progress

Unfortunately there is still  no sign of a jailbreak for the 2012 Apple TV (1080p), that is still in progress and must be proving a little tricky as its taking quite a while to get out. Strangely enough, the lack of an Apple TV (1080p) jailbreak is pushing the resale value of the Apple TV (720p) up to nearly double its original price in some cases. eBay has been awash with them recently and they appear to be selling for much more than their original price.

If you have a 2010 Apple TV (720p) and need help jailbreaking it, be sure to check out our full how-to guide.

Source: @firecore

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There is always more to think about. This particular session has lasted well over half an hour, and I’ve physically felt every passing minute, a very real, constant wrenching in my gut. Not pain, not pleasure, the feeling is just there, always. Time happens to be among the few living things which refuses to forget about me, and I appreciate her for this, while secretly acknowledging the lethality of her proximity.

As I’m thinking of all the moments I’ve spent with Time, suddenly there is an abundance of rustling noises coming from behind me. The silence has been broken by this disturbance, and I turn my head back. in the direction of the scattered trees at my rear, attempting to catch glimpse of an animal. Perhaps a squirrel or a bird; the caliber of the noise was not large. I survey the area, and sure enough, standing there among a cluster of saplings is a tiny brown dog, almost entirely camouflaged by merit of the color of its fur and the abundance of dead leaves. It’s clearly staring in my direction, but its body does not project a reaction of fight, or even flight, although it should be clear to any animal as tiny as this one that I could be a formidable adversary. Surprisingly, it begins to walk closer towards the wall; I analyze its movements carefully. Its confidence is unmistakable, but its curiosity, obvious. With my day dream broken, and my own wonder of the creature growing, I turn around completely, and while gripping the wall tightly, lower myself enough to kick off and land a couple of feet away from it.

I close in on it slowly, and can appreciate that its delicate little frame and small but bulgy eyes give it an amusing look. With all that call this forest, hills, and valley home, one can only wonder how such a miniscule animal manages to survive here, much less keep a bold attitude. Perhaps it’s been fed by someone or something else, kept in life support until recently. Here it is now in front of me, certainly looking for help. After staring at each other for some time, I decide it is healthy and friendly enough to approve reaching down and picking it up, so I place it into my arms to examine it closer. It’s a he. The little thing is more muscular than expected, though that isn’t saying much given its bony appearance. He seems considerate enough with my presence, and has not made a single noise beyond its prior rustling of leaves. Perhaps we’ll grow to understand each other after all, despite the sudden acquaintance. I decide to name the dog Woody, a tribute to his appearance and uncanny similarity to that of the wooden saplings next to which I first spotted him.

So I grab Woody in a tight, safe hold, turn around, and make my way to the far edge of the concrete wall. I reach the narrow steps I had long grown accustomed to avoiding, climb them carefully until I’m at the top, and settle down at my favorite section. I get comfortable and stare at the valley, just as before, only now with some company. The dog seemingly appreciates this enough, and he becoming visibly sleepy, blinking slowly and lowering his head. It’s interesting how light seems to cause his eyes to twinkle as they close; it looks as if small watery tears form after every blink.

The atmosphere has clearly changed as it is evening now, and the sun is beginning to set among the valley, beyond the hills. I feel as if Time would be proud, but I can’t say for sure, because as I’m staring into the mesmerizing colors of the sky, I notice she is absent from this moment. The view in front of me is beautiful, and I can’t deny that it is infinitely much more so in the presence of a new companion.

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While that doesn’t openly require that advertisers refrain from buying air time with NBC, the message is clear. Of course, the Parents Television Council is probably only serving America’s Got Talent and Howard Stern by making these sorts of public overtures. Controversial, polarizing characters drive television ratings, regardless of the format. America’s Got Talent is going to remain a family show, except that now it is also going to attract a more edgy audience who wants to see Stern perform on prime time television.

And once he demonstrates the ability to navigate the confines of prime time television while maintaining his sharp wit and honesty, it’s going to be extremely difficult for advertisers to stay away. Even the promos for America’s Got Talent have an almost Disney-like quality to them. NBC has been playing up Stern’s edginess, but it will be his heartfelt honesty and everyman qualities that will win over the masses when the show premieres on May 14.

Whether Stern’s presence is enough to move the needle for AGT remains to be seen. But the potential is there for huge success and a completely new level of fame and recognition for Howard Stern.

Buzzle: Entertainment & Media

- Joy Pecknold, Passport blog editor

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In the ad, Kutcher appears in traditional Indian garb, and has brown makeup on and a mustache. The ad itself has been removed from the Popchips website and other online channels after it almost immediately drawing the ire of those who had viewed it. Anil Dash, the tech entrepreneur, was probably the most outspoken in his criticism, noting, “I can’t imagine I have to explain this to anyone in 2012, but if you find yourself putting brown makeup on a white person in 2012 so they can do a bad ‘funny’ accent in order to sell potato chips, you are on the wrong course.”

At this point, Kutcher himself has not responded to the controversy, but Keith Belling, founder and CEO of Popchips, posted on the company’s website to apologize. In the noted, he stated, “We received a lot feedback about the dating campaign parody we launched today and appreciate everyone who took the time to share their point of view. Our team worked hard to create a light-hearted parody featuring a variety of characters that was meant to provide a few laughs. We did not intend to offend anyone. I take full responsibility and apologize to anyone we offended.”

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