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Source: http://lobiahmed.blogspot.com/2013/03/utah-wildlife-network-view-topic-rac.html
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Sunday, March 31, 2013
Police: Man forced 13-year-old into prostitution, tattooed her eyelids
By NBCMiami.com
A 13-year-old girl, who was forced to work as a prostitute, was branded with eyelid tattoos that read ?Suave? and ?House,? an arrest report said.
The girl told authorities she met Roman C. Thomas III, 25, at USA Flea Market in Liberty City, a Miami neighborhood, on March 12. After they talked for a while, she agreed to go with Thomas to his Miami Shores motel, where he told her that he was pimp, and that he wanted her to prostitute herself, the Miami Police arrest report said.
At the motel, the girl met Shanteria Sanders, 23, who has a tattoo of the word ?Suave? across her chest, authorities said.
Thomas and Sanders coerced the girl to become a prostitute, and eight sexually provocative photographs were taken of the girl and used in an ad on Backpage.com, the report said.
Thomas, who was arrested along with Sanders on March 18, described her as a ?new girl? and called her ?Sparkle,? the report said.
She told authorities Thomas told her to charge men $50 for 15 minutes of sex, $70 for 30 minutes, and $100 for an hour, the report said.
He gave her condoms and taught her how to talk to the men, authorities said. He also told her where to hide the money in the motel room, and he waited outside with Sanders while the act was performed, the report said.
The girl said Thomas beat her when he found less money than he anticipated, according to authorities.
? ?he placed duct tape on her mouth and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave him,? the report read.
Besides tattooing her eyelids, he gave the girl alcohol, marijuana and other drugs, police said.
The girl said although she never had sex with either Thomas or Sanders, the two of them had sex while she was in the motel room, and invited her to participate, the report said. Sanders then told Thomas to leave the girl alone, the report said.
Both Thomas and Sanders face charges including human trafficking, false imprisonment, lewd and lascivious exhibition and delivery of a controlled substance to a child under 18. They both deny the allegations.
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Robotic ants successfully mimic real colony behavior
Mar. 28, 2013 ? Scientists have successfully replicated the behaviour of a colony of ants on the move with the use of miniature robots, as reported in the journal PLOS Computational Biology. The researchers, based at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (Newark, USA) and at the Research Centre on Animal Cognition (Toulouse, France), aimed to discover how individual ants, when part of a moving colony, orient themselves in the labyrinthine pathways that stretch from their nest to various food sources.
The study focused mainly on how Argentine ants behave and coordinate themselves in both symmetrical and asymmetrical pathways. In nature, ants do this by leaving chemical pheromone trails. This was reproduced by a swarm of sugar cube size robots, called "Alices," leaving light trails that they can detect with two light sensors mimicking the role of the ants' antennae.
In the beginning of the experiment, where branches of the maze had no light trail, the robots adopted an "exploratory behaviour" modelled on the regular insect movement pattern of moving randomly but in the same general direction. This led the robots to choose the path that deviated least from their trajectory at each bifurcation of the network. If the robots detected a light trail, they would turn to follow that path.
One outcome of the robotic model was the discovery that the robots did not need to be programmed to identify and compute the geometry of the network bifurcations. They managed to navigate the maze using only the pheromone light trail and the programmed directional random walk, which directed them to the more direct route between their starting area and a target area on the periphery of the maze. Individual Argentine ants have poor eyesight and move too quickly to make a calculated decision about their direction. Therefore the fact that the robots managed to orient themselves in the maze in a similar fashion than the one observed in real ants suggests that a complex cognitive process is not necessary for colonies of ants to navigate efficiently in their complex network of foraging trails.
"This research suggests that efficient navigation and foraging can be achieved with minimal cognitive abilities in ants," says lead author Simon Garnier. "It also shows that the geometry of transport networks plays a critical role in the flow of information and material in ant as well as in human societies."
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Journal Reference:
- Simon Garnier, Maud Combe, Christian Jost, Guy Theraulaz. Do Ants Need to Estimate the Geometrical Properties of Trail Bifurcations to Find an Efficient Route? A Swarm Robotics Test Bed. PLoS Computational Biology, 2013; 9 (3): e1002903 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002903
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/tNBJskzfrCY/130329090614.htm
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Saturday, March 30, 2013
Elite Eight Schedule: NCAA Tournament 2013 Regional Finals To Be Played Saturday, Sunday
Mike Rosario
Mike Rosario (3) dunks against Florida Gulf Coast during the second half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Mike Rosario, Michael Frazier II
Florida's Mike Rosario (3) and Michael Frazier II (20) react during the second half of a regional semifinal game against Florida Gulf Coast in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Mike Rosario
Florida's Mike Rosario (3) reacts during the second half of a regional semifinal game against Florida Gulf Coast in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Scottie Wilbekin, Bernard Thompson
Florida's Scottie Wilbekin (5) is defended by Florida Gulf Coast's Bernard Thompson (2) during the second half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, right, talks to Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo after their regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Indianapolis. Duke won 71-61. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Tyler Thornton, Adreian Payne
Duke guard Tyler Thornton (3) grabs a rebound as Michigan State forward Adreian Payne (5) misses a dunk during the second half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Indianapolis. Duke won 71-61. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Tyler Thornton, Derrick Nix, Adreian Payne
Duke guard Tyler Thornton (3) and Michigan State forward Derrick Nix (25) reach for a rebound as Michigan State forward Adreian Payne (5) misses a dunk during the second half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Indianapolis. Duke won 71-61. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Branden Dawson, Tom Izzo
Michigan State forward Branden Dawson (22) reacts as he walks past head coach Tom Izzo during the second half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Indianapolis. Duke won 71-61. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Scottie Wilbekin, Sherwood Brown
Florida's Scottie Wilbekin (5) shoots as Florida Gulf Coast's Sherwood Brown (25) defends during the second half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Tyler Thornton
Duke guard Tyler Thornton (3) reacts after a regional semifinal against Michigan State in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Indianapolis. Duke won 71-61. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Scottie Wilbekin, Chase Fieler
Florida's Scottie Wilbekin (5) and Florida Gulf Coast's Chase Fieler (20) go after a loose ball during the second half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Rasheed Sulaimon, Adreian Payne
Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon grabs a rebound in front of Michigan State forward Adreian Payne during the second half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Michael Frazier II, Eddie Murray, and Scottie Wilbekin
Eddie Murray (23) is defended by Florida's Michael Frazier II (20) and Scottie Wilbekin (5) during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Casey Prather
Florida's Casey Prather (24) shoots in traffic during the first half of a regional semifinal game against Florida Gulf Coast in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Mike Krzyzewski
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and players on the bench react during the second half of a regional semifinal against Michigan State in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Eddie Murray, Erik Murphy
Florida Gulf Coast's Eddie Murray (23) dunks as Florida's Erik Murphy (33) defends during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Tom Izzo
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo reacts during the first half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Denzel Valentine
Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine (45) reacts during the first half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Adreian Payne, Mason Plumlee
Michigan State forward Adreian Payne (5) reacts as he dunks during the first half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. Watching at left is Duke's Mason Plumlee (5). (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Billy Donovan
Florida head coach Billy Donovan during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Adreian Payne, Mason Plumlee, Rasheed Sulaimon
Michigan State forward Adreian Payne (5) reacts as he dunks during the first half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. Watching are Duke players Mason Plumlee (5) and Rasheed Sulaimon (14). (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Casey Prather, Christophe Varidel
Florida's Casey Prather (24) dunks as Florida Gulf Coast's Christophe Varidel (5) defends during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Casey Prather, Christophe Varidel
Florida's Casey Prather (24) shoots over, Florida Gulf Coast's Christophe Varidel (5) during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Adreian Payne, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly
Michigan State forward Adreian Payne (5) goes up with a shot against Duke forward Mason Plumlee during the first half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. Watching is Duke's Ryan Kelly (34). (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Scottie Wilbekin, Brett Comer
Florida Gulf Coast's Brett Comer (0) is defended by Florida's Scottie Wilbekin (5)during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Adreian Payne, Rasheed Sulaimon
Michigan State forward Adreian Payne, right, grabs a rebound against Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon during the first half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Keith Appling, Seth Curry
Michigan State guard Keith Appling (11) blocks a shot by Duke guard Seth Curry (30) during the first half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Billy Donovan
Florida head coach Billy Donovan during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
A Florida Gulf Coast cheerleader takes the court during the first half of a regional semifinal game against Florida in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Adreian Payne
Michigan State forward Adreian Payne (5) reacts during the first half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Chase Fieler
Florida Gulf Coast's Chase Fieler (20) reacts against Florida during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Seth Curry
Duke guard Seth Curry (30) reacts during the first half of a regional semifinal against Michigan State in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Will Yeguete, Eddie Murray
Florida's Will Yeguete (15) and Florida Gulf Coast's Eddie Murray (23) go after a loose ball during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Will Yeguete, Eddie Murray
Florida's Will Yeguete (15) and Florida Gulf Coast's Eddie Murray (23) go after a loose ball during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Andy Enfield
Florida Gulf Coast head coach Andy Enfield reacts to action against Florida during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Denzel Valentine, Tyler Thornton
Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine and Duke guard Tyler Thornton (3) scramble for a loose ball during the first half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Adreian Payne, Ryan Kelly
Michigan State forward Adreian Payne (5) drives the ball past Duke forward Ryan Kelly during the first half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Naadir Tharpe, Ben McLemore
Kansas' Naadir Tharpe, left, and Ben McLemore right react in the lockeroom after losing 87-85 to Michigan in overtime of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Tom Izzo
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo reacts as he directs his team during the first half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Elijah Johnson, Kevin Young, Perry Ellis, Jamari Traylor
Kansas' Elijah Johnson, left, Kevin Young (40), Perry Ellis (34) and Jamari Traylor (31) sit in the lockeroom after losing 87-85 to Michigan in overtime of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Patric Young, Chase Fieler, Erik Murphy
Florida's Patric Young (4), Florida Gulf Coast's Chase Fieler (20) and Erik Murphy (33) go after a loose ball during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Mike Krzyzewski
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski talks to his players during a time out in the first half of a regional semifinal against Michigan State in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Branden Dawson, Rasheed Sulaimon
Michigan State forward Branden Dawson (22) blocks a shot by Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon (14) during the first half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Keith Appling
Michigan State guard Keith Appling (11) reacts to a call during the first half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Fred Richardson III (5)
Oregon guard Fred Richardson III (5) scores past the defense of Oregon forwards E.J. Singler (25) and Ben Carter (32) during a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. Louisville won 77-69. (AP Photo/ The Oregonian, Bruce Ely) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; THE MERCURY OUT; WILLAMETTE WEEK OUT; PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP OUT.
Tom Izzo
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo directs his team during the first half of a regional semifinal against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Derrick Nix, Tyler Thornton
Michigan State forward Derrick Nix (25) and Duke guard Tyler Thornton (3) fight for a rebound during the first half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Keith Appling, Quinn Cook
Michigan State guard Keith Appling, left, and Duke guard Quinn Cook battle for a loose ball during the first half of a regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Mike Krzyzewski
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski directs his team during the first half of a regional semifinal against Michigan State in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Corey Person, Trey Burke
Michigan's Trey Burke, second from left, is lifted by Corey Person after beating Kansas 87-85 in overtime of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Glenn Robinson III, Caris LeVert, Nik Stauskas
Michigan's Glenn Robinson III (1), Caris LeVert (23) and Nik Stauskas (11), celebrate after beating Kansas 87-85 in overtime of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/30/elite-eight-schedule-ncaa-tournament-2013_n_2982688.html
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Mystery elf door in park sparks attention on the Web
A tiny addition in San Francisco?s Golden Gate Park is getting big attention on the Web. A photo on the neighborhood site Richmondsfblog.com first published a photo of a teeny wooden door that mysteriously appeared at the bottom of a tree with a small, gnome-sized gap.
The door has opened up plenty of interest on the Internet?and spurred visitors to the urban oasis to explore the door that's not on any map. It can be found by searching for the grove of old trees in the park's concourse near the Golden Gate Band Shell between the de Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.
Creative theories about how it got there abound?mostly as fanciful as the mystery door itself. An elf? A fairy? A house for a mouse?
Kids and kids at heart weighed in with ideas. As ?Dude? joked on the neighborhood website, ?It?s a very tiny coffee shop. It?s already played out.?
Another commenter, "Hobbit," suggested, ?Looks like a squirrel with a [k]nack for architecture."
Everyone seems to agree, it?s cool.
Over on Twitter, K L ?@miss_kr15 posted, ?I totally dragged my bf to the park & hunted that door down after seeing it in your blog. Seriously the coolest thing ever!?
Allyson E-B ?@allysoneb added, ?My daughter left some candy, when we came back 2 hours later it was gone. Fairies!?
The Editor of RichmondSFBlog, Sarah Bacon, noted to Yahoo News in an email that the tree door has been the site's most popular topic ever. ?It?s really captured people's imaginations and has gotten more attention than we ever expected. It's a delightful and magical gift someone gave to the park.?
She added, ?We're thrilled by the response to the story?I think it's proof that everyone has a child inside that enjoys whimsy and fantasy. It's these little finds that make our neighborhood so special.?
The little find has inspired lots of speculation, but nobody so far has come forth to take credit for building the opening. The good news: The minidoor won?t be closed down anytime soon.
Acknowledging the interest in the door sized for sprites, Andy Stone, Golden Gate Park's department?s section supervisor, wrote in an email to Yahoo News, "We do not encourage such doors but will leave it in place unless it causes problems."
The tiny tree door is not the first to mysteriously appear in a park. Commenters have pointed out there?s the Elf Tree near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis that also has a tiny door in a living tree. Kids leave messages and candy for the invisible resident.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/mystery-elf-door-park-sparks-attention-182312844.html
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Friday, March 29, 2013
Jumbo Squid-Cam Uncovers Secrets of Elusive Creature
To see firsthand how an elusive species of jumbo squid lives, scientists have strapped video cameras to the carnivorous sea creature in the eastern Pacific.
The footage has helped reveal some remarkable secrets of the Humboldt squid: They are capable of amazing bursts of speed, up to nearly 45 mph (72 km/h); they "talk" to each other by changing their body color; and they hunt in big synchronized groups.
Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) ? which can grow to more than 6 feet (2 meters) in length and 100 pounds (45 kilograms) in weight ? have razor-sharp beaks and toothed suckers. Mass strandings of the species and reports of aggression toward humans have spooked beachgoers for decades, but the jumbo squid are not man-eaters ? they usually feed on small fish and plankton that are no more than a few inches in length, though they sometimes cannibalize each other.
For all the squid's captivating features, scientists still have many questions about the species' behavior, so biologists at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station turned to the National Geographic Society's Crittercam, which has been used to study animals ranging from penguins to hyenas. [Image Gallery: Humboldt Squid Stranding]
Attaching a quart-sized device with a camera and sensors to a squid presents some technical problems. The trick is to find a big enough squid and fix the Crittercam onto a child's bathing suit so that it can be slipped over the creature's fins like a spandex sleeve, Stanford biologist William Gilly explained in a video.
The resulting video footage and data from echosounding studies showed that Humboldt squid can jet-propel themselves at speeds comparable to the fastest ocean fish. They hunt in tightly coordinated groups, a behavior that's usually associated with fish rather than invertebrates (animals without a backbone) like squid, the researchers found. And smaller squid tend keep their distance from the bigger ones, likely to avoid being cannibalized.
Jumbo squid are known to have pigmented cells, called chromatophores, which allow them to change color in response to neural impulses. The cameras allowed the researchers to watch the squid flashing like a strobe light in their natural habitat. Gilly said the only time the squid seem to make these red-and-white color signals is when they encounter another individual of their species.
"We don't know exactly what those discussions mean," Gilly said in a video from Stanford. For now, interpreting those interactions is like trying to decipher what two people are saying to each other just by watching their mouths move, he added.
Humboldt squid live in the eastern Pacific Ocean from the tip of South America up to Mexico, but have been moving farther north in recent years. Scientists believe the species might be migrating up the coast as warming oceans are creating larger low-oxygen zones deep below the surface, environments where the squid live.
Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us?@OAPlanet, Facebook?or Google+.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jumbo-squid-cam-uncovers-secrets-elusive-creature-012118255.html
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However court rules, gay marriage debate won't end
NEW YORK (AP) ? However the Supreme Court rules after its landmark hearings on same-sex marriage, the issue seems certain to divide Americans and states for many years to come.
In oral arguments Tuesday and Wednesday on two cases involving gay couples' rights, the justices left open multiple options for rulings that are expected in June. But they signaled there was no prospect of imposing a 50-state solution at this stage. With nine states now allowing same-sex marriages and other states banning them via statutes or constitutional amendments, that means a longer spell with a patchwork marriage-rights map ? and no early end to bruising state-by-state battles in the courts, in the legislatures and at the ballot box.
A decade ago, opponents of same-sex marriage were lobbying for a nationwide ban on gay nuptials. They now seem resigned to the reality of a divided nation in which the debate will continue to splinter families, church congregations and communities.
"It's a lot more healthy than shutting off an intense debate at the very moment of its greatest intensity," said John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage and a law professor at Chapman University in Orange, Calif.
By contrast, supporters of same-sex marriage believe a nationwide victory is inevitable, though perhaps not imminent. Many of them see merit in continuing an incremental hearts-and-minds campaign, given that many opinion polls now show a majority of Americans supporting their cause.
"No matter what the Supreme Court decides, we are going to be in a stronger place in July than where we before," said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry.
"We have the momentum and we have the winning strategy," Wolfson said. "We are going to win the freedom to marry, whether in June or in the next round, when we go back to the court with more states, more public support and perhaps new justices."
Even if the Supreme Court shies away for now from any broad ruling in favor of marriage rights for gay couples, its decisions in June could produce major gains for gay-rights activists.
In one case, the justices could strike down a section of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that denies legally married same-sex couples a host of federal benefits available to straight married couples. In the other, concerning California's Proposition 8 ballot measure banning same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court could leave in place a lower court ruling striking down the ban. That would add the most populous state to the ranks of those already recognizing gay marriages: Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington, plus the District of Columbia.
With California included, that group would account for about 28 percent of the U.S. population.
Meanwhile, legislative efforts to legalize same-sex marriage are under way in Illinois, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Delaware, and lawsuits by gay couples seeking marriage rights have been filed in several other states. In Oregon, gay-rights activists hope to place a measure on next year's ballot that would overturn a ban on gay marriage approved by voters in 2004. Legislators in Nevada are debating a bill that could lead to repeal of a similar ban there.
In advance of the Supreme Court hearings, gay-marriage backers mustered support from a broad array of interest groups, including labor and religious leaders, major corporations, even dozens of prominent Republicans who co-signed a brief filed with the high court. In the past few weeks, a parade of politicians have publicly endorsed same-sex marriage for the first time, including Republican Sen. Rob. Portman of Ohio and Democratic Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana and Mark Warner of Virginia.
Former President Bill Clinton chimed in, too, writing that he now regretted his decision to sign the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 and urging that it be struck down. President Barack Obama's administration also asked that DOMA be declared unconstitutional and that Proposition 8 be struck down.
For gay-marriage opponents, it's been an occasionally daunting period as they watch a steady stream of prominent politicians and institutions join the rival side.
The conservative American Family Association's website, for example, listed some of the many well-known corporations that are now supporting same-sex marriage ? including Google, Microsoft, Citigroup, Apple, Nike, Facebook and Starbucks. The website suggests that Americans opposed to gay marriage should boycott these companies, but the president of the Mississippi-based association, Tim Wildmon, acknowledges that would be impractical.
"There's too many of them to effectively boycott," he said in a telephone interview.
Wildmon expects the U.S. to remain divided over gay marriage for a long time and hopes neither Congress nor the courts try to interfere with the right of states to set their own policies.
"That's just the way it's going to be," he said. "If you want to be a homosexual married couple, move to a state that accepts it."
Such interstate moves could indeed occur, but with a potential cost for the states being forsaken, said gay rights lawyer Jon Davidson of Lambda Legal. "Maybe that's what some states want, but the outpouring of business support for us indicates a lot of businesses don't want that to happen," he said. "It creates all sorts of problems."
Among some conservatives, there's been frustration at the frequent exhortation from gay-rights activists that the Supreme Court should be "on the right side of history" by endorsing same-sex marriage.
"It requires no courage, at this point in history, to side with gay marriage advocates," Maggie Gallagher, a co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, wrote in a commentary. "Respecting the rights of the millions of Americans who disagree, and respecting the boundaries of our Constitution, is staying on the right side of history."
Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, on his show Wednesday, suggested the spread of same-sex marriage was indeed inevitable. He cited signs of increasing divisions among Republicans on the issue.
"Whether it happens now at the Supreme Court or somehow later, it is going to happen," Limbaugh said. "It's just the direction the culture is heading. ... The opposition that you would suspect exists is in the process of crumbling on it."
In any case, it's unlikely that some of the most conservative states ? those that adopted gay-marriage bans by overwhelming margins ? will recognize same-sex marriages unless forced to by the courts.
A likely result is a steady stream of state-level lawsuits by gay couples, according to Boston-based lawyer Mary Bonauto, whose work with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders helped legalize same-sex marriage in several New England states.
"There are committed gay couples in every state who want to stand up and make that legal commitment to marriage," Bonauto said. "They're not going to go away. ... They believe our national promise of equal protection under the law applies to them, too, not just to the East and West coasts and Iowa."
Depending on how such lawsuits fare, Bonauto said, "I think this issue could be back at the Supreme Court in a number of years."
___
Follow David Crary on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CraryAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/however-court-rules-gay-marriage-debate-wont-end-065436742--politics.html
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Prostate cancer breakthrough: Q&A | Science | guardian.co.uk
Scientists have hailed the "single biggest leap forward" in their understanding of the genetic causes of prostate cancer, from a huge study involving more than 1,000 scientists.
The research has also brought significant advances in unravelling the genetics of breast and ovarian cancers. This is how the Guardian's science correspondent Ian Sample described the research:
The study, the largest ever to look for faulty DNA that drives the cancers, revealed scores of genetic markers that can identify people most likely to develop the diseases at some point in their lives.
Doctors said a simple ?5 spit-test based on the markers could provide patients with a personalised "risk profile" for the diseases and pave the way for individually tailored screening, with those most at risk having more regular health checks.
The findings have major implications for the treatment of prostate cancer. A test based on genetic markers for the disease could identify men whose lifetime risk was a staggering 50%, nearly five times the national average.
Ros Eeles, professor of cancer genetics at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, described the results as "the single biggest leap forward" in understanding the genetics of the disease.
A screening service could be offered within five years, and would transform medical treatment for the most common cancer among British men. More than 40,000 men a year are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Britain, and almost 11,000 die from the disease.
We have invited Prof Douglas Easton, director of the Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Group at the University of Cambridge, who worked on the studies, to answer your questions about their significance and the implications for future genetic tests for the diseases and potential treatments.
Here are a selection of your questions answered by Prof Easton:
JennM
My father was treated successfully for prostrate cancer - they caught it early and he only had one operation that I can recall - something about freezing the prostrate - It that possible? It was a while ago, and since there were no complications, it seemed a very benign cancer. I see now that it is dangerous, but perhaps it is important to catch it early.
My question is, with the new discovery, could there be vaccinations against this cancer (and other cancers) like the current vaccination against cervical cancer?
Prof Easton:
@JennM - so far there has been no evidence that prostate cancer is caused by a virus. The new discoveries should provide a lot of information about how prostate cancer develops, by studying the genes that are involved, and potentially what causes it. Unfortunately we still know very little about what actually causes prostate cancer.
James Sherry
Does this test relate to the promise of genetic therapy for the disease?
Prof Easton:
@James Sherry - the discoveries not relate directly to any type of therapy - they tell us about markers that increase the risk of disease. However, the next step is to understand how these markers increase risk and, in particular, which genes that affect. This information could be used to develop drugs (or, in some cases, there may already be drugs that target the genes on interest). There are already examples of this for other diseases. But it is likely to be a long process.
Rasputin9000
It is easy to imagine that if someone is told they have a whole lot of cancer-promoting genes, they might decide (in the future when such techniques are more perfected, say in 10 years) to use IVF instead of natural impregnation, and to kill off the fertilised eggs that turn out to contain the genes.
Is it likely, if people then succeeded in reducing the incidence of these cancer-promoting genes, that it would have a negative impact on the gene pool, as the same genes could also affect something else?
Prof Easton:
@Rasputin9000 - it is certainly possible that the genetic markers linked to cancer risk could also be linked to something else (indeed we already know examples of this, where for example they are linked to the risk of diabetes).
However I dont think there any question of utilising this type of information for preimplantation testing. That can be appropriate for certain "single gene" disorders with a high risk of a particular disease, but will is not (to my my mind at least) ever be a realistic possibility for these common disease with many many genetic variants, even if it was desirable.
SarahCadge
I'm in my 30's and am screened annually due to an increased risk of breast cancer; that risk is due to familial incidence - no one affected has tested positive for BRCA1, BRCA2 or TP53. What is this development likely to mean for me, if anything?
Prof Easton:
@SarahCadge - at the moment annual screening from a young age is recommended (by NICE) for women with a strong family history of the disease. The new markers will help to identify better who would benefit from this type of screening. The idea will be to use a combination of the genetic markers, family history and other important risk factors to define a woman's risk more accurate. But this will take some time before we have a system in place to do this.
missm3
Are there any patents or patent applications on these genetic markers, similarly to Myriad's BRAC1? Are these genetic markers complete gene coding DNA sequences or incomplete?
Prof Easton:
@missm3 - thanks for opportunity to clarify this. No there are no patent applications, the markers that we have published are freely available for use in genetic tests. With a few exceptions, most of the markers are not in genes and do not therefore change the actual gene sequence. They lie in non-coding regions and probably act by regulating the expression of nearby genes.
profundorosso
When are we likely to see this test available in the UK?
Prof Easton:
@profundorosso - this is very hard to say. There will be some use of risk based screening, using these genetic markers, for some women and men on a trial basis soon (in fact some studies are already underway, like the PROFILE study in prostate cancer for men with a family history, run by Ros Eeles). But widespread use of risk-based screening will take a while to implement, there are many issues to resolve - if I had to guess, at least 3 years but less than 10.
pidge1310
Who would a screening test be available for? and also would it be an economically viable use of a strained NHS budget?
Prof Easton:
@pidge1310 - indeed this all needs to be worked out with further research and this will take some time. In the short term, I think it is most likely that testing for risk using these markers will be offered to individuals who may already have an increased cancer risk, because they have a family history and are having genetic counselling.
With regard to the costs, this is clearly an important factor. However, it quite possible that including this type of risk assessment may not cost much and may even save money, because it may reduce, for example, the number of women at low risk getting mammographic screening, or the number of men at low risk getting unnecessary PSA tests or biopsies.
scubadoc
Why a "breakthrough"? Medical screening is characterised not by success, but largely by a poor understanding of sensitivity, specificity, receiver-operator curves and lead-time bias...
Prof Easton:
@scubadoc - It is true that these measures, like sensitivity and specificity, are important measures to consider in deciding whether a screening programme is worthwhile.
There has been a long debate about whether, for example, breast cancer screening by mammography is worthwhile - it detects the disease early and reduces the number of deaths from the disease, but it increases the number of women given unnecessary biopsies and treatment. What the genetic and other risk markers offer is a way of improving the equation, targeting screening on those women most likely to benefit, making the screening programme smarter.
I should also add that the gain in knowledge here is not just about identifying people at risk, it is also perhaps more importantly about understanding the biology of how cancer develops. In the long term, that may be more important.
Damien
A general question really. With all these advancements where do you expect to see Cancer Research in 20/30/40 years time? It seems we've progressed a great deal in just 10/20 years. Do you expect the rate of progress to continue, get faster, slow down?
Prof Easton:
@Damien - that is an interesting general question. I think there will be a lot of progress over the next 10-20 years. The technology for studying cancer has improved so dramatically over the last few years, in terms of being able to study the human genome, imaging, being able to study cells in far more depth than before, utilising the power of modern computing etc.etc. it hard to believe that there will not be enormous strides over the next few years.
For more questions and answers see the comment thread below. Or you can click on Prof Easton's username DougEaston to see all his comments and the comments he replied to.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2013/mar/27/prostate-cancer-breakthrough-douglas-easton
PFT: Palmer reportedly prefers release to paycut
Getty ImagesFormer NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia working with Jets starter-for-now Mark Sanchez seems like a legitimate opportunity for a man well-versed in the West Coast Offense to share his wisdom.
Throw in JaMarcus Russell, and it sounds like a punch line that?s looking for a joke.
But Garcia said he was impressed with the work Sanchez was doing, as he gets used to the changes new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is bringing to the Jets.
?He?s doing an excellent job ? the progress Mark has made over the past three weeks is definitely very positive,? Garcia told Jim Corbett of USA Today. ?It shows Mark is committed to bettering himself and getting himself more mentally prepared.
?
?The most important thing for Mark is to take that tough season last year as a learning experience from the standpoint of how he can get better and give his team the best chance to win. That has to be done in terms of being confident in his ability to run this system and speak the language correctly. So now when he takes the field in OTAs, he?ll be in that much more comfortable of a place.?
Garcia?s a good tutor for the system, and he threw for career-best numbers under Mornhinweg?s tutelage in San Francisco in 2000.
?Marty and I communicated a few weeks ago [about] what he?d like to introduce to Mark,? Garcia said. ?Mark is definitely getting more comfortable speaking the West Coast terminology. He had a brief glimpse of the West Coast system at USC.
?The toughest thing is this will be Mark?s third offensive coordinator in six seasons. The guy has had to learn a new system just about every other year. From a consistency standpoint, that just doesn?t translate to success in the NFL. You really need to be secure in what you?re doing mentally in order to compete at the highest level.?
Speaking of which, Garcia said Russell?s trying to get in shape for a pro day in a month or so, hoping to get another chance.
?Granted his back is against the wall,? Garcia said of the former first-overall pick. ?This is a situation where if he doesn?t do it now, it may never happen. But if you look at where he was two months ago to where he is today, he?s come a long way in demanding more out of himself than he ever did.?
If he had done that the first time through, he might not be a reclamation case.
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Controversial worm keeps its position as progenitor of humankind
Mar. 27, 2013 ? Researchers are arguing about whether or not the Xenoturbella bocki worm is the progenitor of humankind. But new studies indicate that this is actually the case.
Swedish researchers from the University of Gothenburg and the Gothenburg Natural History Museum are involved in the international study. The results have been published in Nature Communications.
The Xenoturbella bocki worm is a one-centimetre long worm with a simple body plan that is only found regularly by the west coast of Sweden. The worm lacks a brain, sexual organs and other vital organs.
Zoologists have long disagreed about whether or not the Xenoturbella bocki worm holds a key position in the animal tree of life. If it does have a key position, it is very important for the understanding of the evolutionary development of organs and cell functions, such as stem cells, for example. The question is therefore not only important in the field of biology, but also for potential biomedical applications.
"It's absolutely fantastic that one of the key evolutionary organisms in the animal kingdom lives right on the doorstep of the University of Gothenburg's Centre for Marine Research. And this is actually the only place in the whole world where you can do research on the creature," says Matthias Obst from the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg.
Genetic studies indicate that the Xenoturbella bocki worm belongs to the group of deuterostomes, the exclusive group to which human's belongs.
"So maybe we're more closely related to the Xenoturbella bocki worm, which doesn't have a brain, than we are to lobsters and flies, for example," says Matthias Obst.
Even though the worm does not particularly resemble man, development biologists have referred to the fact that the early embryonic development of the worm may display similarities with the group to which man belongs. But the problem has been that no one has previously been able to see the development of the creature.
But now a group of researchers at the Sven Lov?n Centre for Marine Sciences and the Gothenburg Natural History Museum have succeeded in doing what no one else has done before: to isolate newly born little Xenoturbella bocki worms.
"And these new-born worms revealed absolutely no remnants at all of advanced features! Instead, they exhibit similarities with quite simple, ancient animals such as corals and sponges," says Matthias Obst.
The studies also reveal the value of the University of Gothenburg's marine stations for important basic research.
"The Lov?n Centre at the University of Gothenburg is the only place in the whole world where you can study this paradoxical animal (in Swedish called 'Paradox worm'). That's one reason why researchers come from all over the world to Gullmarsfjorden to solve one of the great mysteries in the evolution of animal life," says Matthias Obst.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Gothenburg, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Hiroaki Nakano, Kennet Lundin, Sarah J. Bourlat, Maximilian J. Telford, Peter Funch, Jens R. Nyengaard, Matthias Obst, Michael C. Thorndyke. Xenoturbella bocki exhibits direct development with similarities to Acoelomorpha. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1537 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2556
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Americans able to use homes as cash machine - Financial Post
More American homeowners will be able to use their properties as cash machines again after real estate equity jumped last year by the most in 65 years.
Where do Canada's mortgage rates go from here?
They can?t go lower, can they? And what if mortgage rates start to climb? Could that be the last straw for the housing market? Read more
Property owners recaptured US$1.6 trillion as home values climbed to the highest levels since 2007. The amount by which the value of the houses exceeds their underlying mortgages rose to US$8.2 trillion last year, a gain of 25%, according to Federal Reserve data.
Tuesday, the S&P/Case Shiller composite index showed U.S. single-family home prices rose in January, starting the year with the biggest annual increase in six-and-a-half years in a fresh sign the housing market recovery remains on track.
The index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 1% month-on-month in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, topping expectations for 0.9%. Prices have been gaining since last February.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, prices rose 0.1%.
Prices in the 20 cities climbed 8.1% year-over-year, also beating expectations for 7.9%. It was the biggest yearly increase since June 2006, when housing prices were on their way down as the market was starting to collapse.
An expanding group of homeowners is able to get cash from their properties as banks show more willingness to make home equity loans with the market?s recovery. Originations for so-called junior, or second, mortgages should rise 10% to almost US$83 billion this year, from about US$75 billion in 2012, said Shaun Richardson, a vice president at Icon Advisory Group, a mortgage analytics firm in Greensboro, North Carolina. About 6% of lenders eased equity-mortgage standards at the end of 2012, the most in 18 months, according to the Fed.
?Lenders are starting to come back into the marketplace,? said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate Inc. ?We?re not going back to the wild, Wild West we saw during the real estate boom, but we are going to see more people spending their equity.?
Americans went on a spending spree in the five years before the 2006 peak of the real estate market, tapping about US$800 billion of their rising equity to spend on everything from cars and televisions to debt consolidation and college tuition.
Declared Worthless
At the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008, close to US$1 trillion of the loans were outstanding at U.S. banks and credit unions, an all-time high, according to the Fed. In the housing crash that followed, banks wrote off, or declared worthless, about US$251 billion of home equity loans, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The year-old real estate recovery is helping to ease defaults. The volume of equity loans 90 days or more overdue dropped 25% in the fourth quarter to US$3.2 billion from the prior period, according to the FDIC. As a result, banks are beginning to view equity lending as a potential source of income, rather than losses, said Stuart Feldstein, president of SMR Research Corp., a consumer-lending research firm in Hackettstown, New Jersey.
?This could be the year banks see the home-equity business return to black ink, as long as defaults continue to decline,? Feldstein said.
Home-equity mortgages held by banks probably will yield a 0.2% return on assets this year, which is the after-tax income on outstanding loans, Feldstein said. Improvements in home prices and credit quality over the next two years should put profit back to the pre-bust level of 1% to 1.5% return on assets, he said.
Banks Retain
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc., the top four U.S. banks by assets, hold US$319.6 billion of the loans, about half of the outstanding balance of US$652.6 billion, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Bank of America has the most home-equity loans, at US$102.6 billion.
Unlike first-lien mortgages, banks retain most of their equity originations on their books. Only about 2% are securitized on the secondary market, said Feldstein. There are two kinds of home-equity mortgages: lines of credit, known as Helocs, and closed-end loans borrowed in lump sums.
Helocs are adjustable loans tied to the prime rate, the interest charged by banks to their most creditworthy customers, with the addition of a margin pre-determined by the lender. The national average prime rate has been 3.25% since the end of 2008, as measured by Bloomberg.
Average Rates
The average rate for a Heloc last week was 5.11%, down from 5.22% a year ago, according to Bankrate.com, an interest-rate aggregator in North Palm Beach, Florida. That puts the average margin at close to 2%.
Closed-end loans, sometimes called He-loans, are usually fixed-rate junior mortgages. The average U.S. rate for a closed- end loan was 6.13% last week, according to Bankrate. A year ago, the rate was 6.39%. Lenders usually require borrowers to retain at least 20% equity, meaning the junior mortgages added to the primary loan can?t exceed 80% of a home?s value, Bankrate?s McBride said.
About US$6.5 trillion of residential real estate value evaporated after a wave of mortgage defaults sparked the 2008 financial crisis. The median U.S. home price hit bottom in 2012 after a 33% drop, as measured by the National Association of Realtors. In February, the median price was up 12% from a year earlier, the trade group said last week.
Take Risks
?Owners who have been sitting in their homes and watching their equity go up will be more likely to borrow and to spend, and more likely to take risks like looking for another house,? said Craig Focardi, senior research director at CEB TowerGroup. ?Having home equity is a financial cushion to the average consumer?s personal balance sheet.?
A reviving real estate market added to gross domestic product last year for the first time since 2005, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis in Washington. The economy probably will grow at a 1.9% pace in 2013, the fourth year after the end of the recession, according to the median forecast of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Household Spending
Still, not everyone is spending. The amount households have in bank deposits, savings bonds, fixed-income mutual-funds and municipal securities increased US$500 billion last year, equaling the most since 2007, according to FTN Financial, based on Fed data, while net household debt increased US$10 billion, the least since 2005.
?You might qualify for a home equity loan, but still have concerns about the economy or job security,? said Icon Advisory?s Richardson. ?Or, you might be in that large group of people who need prices to come back a lot more before they qualify.?
Fed policy makers for four years have driven down fixed home-loan rates by purchasing mortgage-backed bonds to stimulate demand. Last week, the central bank said it would continue to buy securities at a pace of US$85 billion a month in their third round of so-called quantitative easing.
At the end of 2012, the average rate for a 30-year fixed primary mortgage fell to an all-time low of 3.3%, according to home-loan financier Freddie Mac in McLean, Virginia. Falling rates helped to boost home sales to 4.7 million last year, a gain of 8.4% from 2011.
?When we see some more history of home-price stability and improving employment data, there will be more people thinking about using their equity,? said Focardi, of CEB TowerGroup. ?Having equity gives a boost to confidence.?
With files from Reuters
Bloomberg.com
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Monday, March 25, 2013
Junior dos Santos on Mark Hunt: ?If I feel I have to take him down, I will do that and will be looking to submit him.?
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Palestinians cool to partial settlement freeze
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? A senior Palestinian official rejected on Sunday the idea of a partial Israeli settlement freeze as a way of restarting peace talks, a sign of tough times ahead for the Obama administration's new attempt to bring the sides together.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met separately late Saturday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to talk about ending a deadlock of more than four years over settlements.
Abbas says he won't return to negotiations without an Israeli construction freeze, saying Israel's building on war-won land pre-empts the outcome of talks on a border between Israel and a future state of Palestine. Abbas last held talks with Netanyahu's predecessor in late 2008.
Netanyahu has refused to halt construction and instead calls for an immediate return to negotiations. President Barack Obama sided with Israel's position during a visit to the region last week, saying the Palestinians should return to talks to sort out the settlement issue.
The U.S. has not spoken publicly about possible compromises in recent days, though there has been some speculation it would propose a partial construction stop in the West Bank heartland, east of Israel's separation barrier.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Sunday that the Palestinians do not seek a confrontation with the Obama administration, but appeared to suggest that nothing short of a full freeze will bring them back to negotiations.
The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in 1967. Since that war, Israel has built dozens of settlements ? considered illegal by much of the world and now home to more than half a million Israelis ? in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Much of the construction takes place in so-called "settlement blocs" close to Israel and in east Jerusalem. Israel's separation barrier cuts off east Jerusalem and some of the settlement blocs from the rest of the West Bank.
Asked if Abbas would accept a partial freeze, east of the barrier, Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio: "Absolutely not. It is rejected."
"First of all, 90 percent of the building in settlements is going on in the blocs," he said. "If we accepted that, we would be committing two crimes. The first is legalizing what is illegal, which is settlement construction, and the second is accepting the Israeli policy (of) dictation."
Israel agreed to a 10-month slowdown in settlement construction early in Obama's first term, allowing talks to resume briefly in 2010. The talks fizzled out after Netanyahu refused to extend the slowdown, which had halted approvals for new homes but allowed previously started construction to continue.
Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who will oversee any negotiations with the Palestinians, said it remained to be seen what would bring about a new round of talks.
"We are after four years of stalemate, of distrust, and we need to see how we restart, what we will discuss," she told Army Radio.
Erekat said the Palestinians would wait for two to three months to see if the Obama administration can come up with a way out of the deadlock. "We want to cooperate with the U.S. administration, not clash with it," he said.
If the deadlock persists, the Palestinians will move ahead with their quest for international recognition, he said. "We have to focus on the steadfastness of our people, and we have 63 international agencies we can join," he said.
In November, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly recognized a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, despite objections by the U.S. and Israel. The recognition paved the way for Palestinians to seek membership in U.N. agencies and other international organizations.
Earlier Sunday, Israel dismantled a tent camp Palestinians set up during Obama's recent visit to protest Israeli plans to build a large West Bank settlement near Jerusalem.
During his visit, Obama singled out the settlement, known by its planning name E-1, as particularly problematic. The settlement of more 3,500 apartments would close one of the last open spaces between east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Before dawn Sunday, about 200 Israeli police officers removed some 40 demonstrators from the tent camp, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Three protesters were arrested, but no injuries were reported, Rosenfeld said.
The encampment is part of a new Palestinian tactic to protest against Israeli settlement expansion.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/palestinians-cool-partial-settlement-freeze-084612569.html
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Sunday, March 24, 2013
Self Improvement | Exercise Addiction: The Never-Ending Treadmill ...
By Matt Keck
We all know the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle. But as the old adage reminds us, there can be too much of a good thing. Especially at a time when even our government has declared ?war on obesity?, the pressure to exercise has become even more intense. Yet exercise addiction can have more acute health consequences than obesity, and is less likely to be identified or questioned by others. In fact, over-exercisers often receive praise and awe for the limits to which they are able to push their bodies. So, how does one know when exercise has gone beyond an activity to maintain health and has become an unhealthy addiction?
Below are some signs that exercisers can lookout for that indicate exercise has run away with them:
* Exercise has an inflated value in your life. The person chooses exercise over things like family, friends or relationships. An example of this would be a parent who chooses to exercise during their child?s sporting events instead of supporting the child.
* When exercise is unavailable, mood changes occur. The person obsesses over a missed workout, or becomes angry when the exercise routine becomes altered, if even for a day. When exercise becomes rigid and punitive, it has stopped being a positive influence.
* Exercising despite having injury or pain. The person does not allow their body time to heal, or they exercise to the point that weight drops below medically safe levels.
* Quantities of exercise become unreasonable. The person may spend hours a day exercising, or may exercise multiple times a day. They may begin to hide exercise from others who disapprove, and deny or lie about the amount of exercise.
These are all indicators that exercise addiction may be present. Some of these may be grey areas for elite athletes, who rely on their body to perform above most accepted standards. However, even elite athletes will not train when injured, and will take appropriate care of their bodies. Elite athletes cannot perform successfully if they are underweight or if their emotional well-being is jeopardized by their athletic activity. The same is true for exercisers of all levels. Remember that exercise is meant to feel good and to make your body feel good. When it begins to have the opposite effect, the role of exercise in your life has to be re-evaluated.
Get off the never-ending treadmill and aim at a balanced and healthy life-style.
Matt Keck, MFT, is the Clinical Director of Cielo House located at Belmont and San Jose, California. Cielo House offers intensive, professional eating disorder treatment in a comfortable home-like setting. Cielo House is a special kind of treatment program, offering a unique combination of professional treatment delivery in a welcoming, personal environment. http://www.CieloHouse.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Keck
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Source: http://theselfimprovementblog.com/self-improvement/featured/exercise-addiction-the-never-ending-treadmill/
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Saturday, March 23, 2013
Dye Me a River: How a Revolutionary Textile Coloring Compound Tainted a Waterway [Excerpt]
When aniline dye was synthesized from coal tar, few studied what the manufacturing process left behind
Image:
Excerpted from Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, by Dan Fagin. Copyright ? March 19, 2013, Bantam Books.
The very big idea that would transform Toms River and reshape the global economy was born in 1856 in the attic laboratory of a precocious eighteen-year-old chemistry student named William Henry Perkin, who lived with his family in London?s East End. It was Easter vacation, and Perkin was using the time off to work on some coal tar experiments suggested by his mentor at the Royal College of Chemistry, August Wilhelm von Hofmann.
No one in the world knew more about the chemical properties of coal tar than Hofmann, and coal tar was a very important compound to know about. It was, arguably, the first large-scale industrial waste. By the mid-1800s, coal gas and solid coke had replaced candles, animal oils, and wood as the most important sources of light, heat, and cooking fuel in many European and American cities. Both coal gas and coke were derived from burning coal at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, a process that left behind a thick, smelly brown liquid that was called coal tar because it resembled the pine tar used to waterproof wooden ships. But undistilled coal tar was not a very good sealant and was noxious, too, and thus very difficult to get rid of. Burning it produced hazardous black smoke, and burying it killed any nearby vegetation. The two most common disposal practices for coal tar, dumping it into open pits or waterways, were obviously unsavory. But Hofmann, a Hessian expatriate who was an endlessly patient experimenter, was convinced that coal tar could be turned into something useful. He had already established a track record of doing so at the Royal College of Chemistry, where he was the founding director. Knowing that the various components of coal tar vaporized at different temperatures as it was heated, Hofmann spent years separating its many ingredients. In the 1840s, his work had helped to launch the timber ?pickling? industry, in which railway ties and telegraph poles were protected from decay by dipping them in creosote, made from coal tar. But the timber picklers were not interested in the lighter and most volatile components of coal tar, which were still nothing but toxic waste?more toxic, in fact, than undistilled coal tar. So Hofmann and his students kept experimenting.
One of those students was young William Perkin. Hofmann had him working on a project that involved breaking down some key components of coal tar to their nitrogen bases, the amines. Hofmann knew that quinine, the only effective treatment for malaria and thus vital to the British Empire, was also an amine, with a chemical structure very similar to that of several coal tar components, including naphtha. He also knew that bark from Peruvian cinchona trees was the only source of quinine, which is why the medicine was costly and very difficult to obtain. But what if the miracle drug could be synthesized from naphtha or some other unwanted ingredient of coal tar? Hofmann did not think it could, but he considered it a suitable project for his promising teenage prot?g?.
Perkin eagerly accepted the challenge; like his mentor Hofmann, he was an obsessive experimenter. Perkin set to work during his Easter vacation, while Hofmann was in Germany. Laboring in a small, simple lab on the top floor of his family?s home, Perkin decided to experiment with toluene, a toxic component of coal tar that would later play a major role in Toms River. Perkin isolated a derivative called allyl-toluidine, then tried to transform it into quinine by oxidizing it in a mixture with potassium dichromate and sulfuric acid. When he was finished, his test tube contained a reddish-black powder, not the clear medicine he was hoping to see. So Perkin tried again, this time choosing a simpler amine called aniline, which was derived from benzene, another coal tar component that would become notorious later. Once again, he mixed it with potassium dichromate and sulfuric acid, and again the experiment flopped. This time, a black, gooey substance was at the bottom of his test tube, and it certainly was not quinine.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=13d38831b3c6ca324f0b5115f9c524c9
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China's new leader visits Russia on first foreign trip
By Thomas Grove
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent a signal to the United States and Europe on Friday by visiting Russia on his first foreign trip as president, underlining the importance of Beijing's growing alliance with Moscow.
The world's largest energy producer, Russia, and its biggest consumer, China, want particularly to bolster their clout as a financial and geopolitical counterweight to Washington, whose "Asia pivot" regional strategy worries Beijing.
Xi and President Vladimir Putin, who meet at 3:00 p.m. (1100 GMT), may preside over deals that would make Beijing Russia's top customer for oil, although they are not expected to sign a long-sought agreement on supplies of pipeline gas to China.
Just before Xi arrived with first lady Peng Liyuan, a $2 billion deal was announced by Russian and Chinese companies to develop coal resources in eastern Siberia, which underlined the countries' intentions.
Putin has said he wants to "catch the Chinese wind in our economic sail" and that desire will grow stronger if China overtakes the United States as the world's largest economy during Xi's 10-year term.
Perhaps symbolically, Xi's visit overshadowed a meeting between leaders of the Russian government and the European Union's Commission that was also taking place in Moscow.
Putin and Xi, less than a year apart in age, echoed one another in interviews before the visit, each saying the Chinese leader's choice of Moscow as his first destination was evidence of the "strategic partnership" between the nations.
A smiling Xi, 59, recalled that he read Russian literature in his younger days. Putin, 60, said Russian-Chinese relations were at "the best in their centuries-long history".
The two U.N. Security Council members' solidarity on important global issues has strengthened in recent years.
They have joined forces three times to block Western-backed measures on the conflict in Syria despite talk of grumbling in Beijing, and Russia has followed China's lead on North Korea - two issues likely to come up in Friday's talks.
They have negotiated alongside the West on Iran's nuclear program, but have watered down past sanctions in the Security Council and opposed new punitive measures as counterproductive.
Russia has added to Japan's woes over territorial disputes with Beijing by playing up its control of an archipelago claimed by Tokyo. Beijing and Moscow have also stood side-by-side in rejecting Western criticism of their record on human rights.
But the lockstep movement on the global stage has not translated into easy agreement on bilateral energy deals, underlining the limits that persist in the relationship.
NEW PRESIDENT, NEW IMPETUS
A huge business complex on the edge of Moscow, decorated with Chinese paintings and red silk armchairs, is the kind of enterprise Xi wants to nurture in Russia.
Just off the traffic-choked highway ringing Moscow, a jumble of Chinese and Russian firms, a 400-room hotel and conference venues sprawl over the 200 square km (77 square mile), $350 million Greenwood complex, which was built by a Beijing-controlled consortium with materials shipped from China.
Xi's presidency is seen as a chance to put new impetus into such projects and into ties with Russia as a whole, although Putin said this week that bilateral trade had more than doubled in five years and reached $87.5 billion in 2012.
But the trade volume is still about five times smaller than Russia's with the European Union, and also far smaller than China's trade with the United States.
The rising influence of China, with its proximity to Russia's sparsely populated eastern parts and nearly 10 times more people, has also given rise in Russia to worries that China may one day challenge Moscow's influence on its own territory.
Russia has created a separate ministry to channel resources to its far east, which complains of neglect and underfunding more than 20 years after the Soviet Union collapsed.
Defense analysts say Russian efforts to allocate military resources, including air defenses and nuclear submarines, to its eastern coast is an effort to counter China's rising military might - even as Russia sells weapons to its neighbor.
Like their populations, their economies are uneven. China's gross domestic product grew 7.8 percent last year, while Russia's growth was about 3.5 percent and was close to stagnating in February, with 0.1 percent year-on-year growth.
Xi and Putin are expected to attend a summit next week of the BRICS group of emerging market economies, another vehicle for their efforts to counter Western clout, and the Chinese leader will visit African nations Beijing is courting.
(Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-leader-meet-russias-putin-first-foreign-trip-000812374.html
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Require Design Tips? We Now Have Them - Shopping and Product ...
Require Design Tips? We Now Have Them
It can be difficult to keep stylish when you are not used to it. Choosing a beginning point is harder than it looks. There are numerous points you need to know. This post involves some design recommendations to obtain started in creating your own style.
To keep bright white apparel clean, include bleach towards the laundry normal water. Simply use it cautiously or you could threat yellowing your best outfits.
Use a little bit of mousse to add volume level to slim hair, but utilize a light-weight fingers which means you don?t overdo. Actually big, substantial locks that was preferred through the 80s may be in fashion, but it?s challenging to pull off and often brings about an unflattering look.
Drink lots of water to help stop lack of fluids. Moisture is a vital factor to protecting against your cuticles and nails from come to be overly dried out. Since the air in winter time is usually dry and chilly, it is recommended you retain yourself hydrated. Moisturize your fingernails or toenails and cuticles with shea butter a couple of times each day. If you use shea butter or a heavy lotion to your hands and wrists on the inside some mitts, it is possible to hydrate when you sleeping.
Be on the lookout for the dimensions of clothes. Never ever get some clothing with out initial trying it on. Dimensions aren?t usually a similar. Various manufacturers have diverse measurements and styles. Use the sizing graph provided by most online stores to be certain your garments will match correctly if you buy them on the internet. Also look into their return guarantee.
Individuals occasionally say negative things simply to give you lower. It?s not a necessity that you simply seem like a Hollywood movie superstar. Design is about looking great and confident in whatever you decide to use and generating your very own type selections.
The hair tells individuals a great deal about who you are. Consequently, ensure how you dress in hair is a good reflection of yourself. If, for instance, you happen to be serious enterprise female, consider using a vintage including the bob that is each specialist and easy to look after. If you are a mother with tiny free time, opt for as an alternative a design which is an easy task to scrub and go.
Ensure your type is unison with the persona. Plenty of instances people will use clothing basically because it is preferred. As an alternative, enable your individual likes to do business with the buzz so you feel and look comfy. It does not matter should your certain type is timeless or grunge, be yourself.
Work a apparel allowance into your budget. This helps you construct your clothing without having to spend a lot of. Even though you may reduce yourself, you must nonetheless have the ability to afford the parts you want, especially if you regular income.
Add more color to the locks in order to use a vivid look in the summer season. Ensure that you attempt to maintain it thus it doesn?t appear washed out. A terrific way to hold the shade for longer is to discover a great conditioner to make use of in your locks. Very hot-essential oil therapies are perfect for trying to keep the colour lively.
Usually do not wait to try new stuff even though it goes against recent fashion trends. You can expect to never ever determine if anything is useful should you not try it out. Merge various hues and materials to see what looks very best. You can make positive changes to look in exclusive techniques with various sections that seem to be fantastic.
When you struggle with your personal style, you could shortage assurance. Make use of the info right here and offer yourself a makeover. Using the guidance from this article will guarantee that you?re usually making style-conscious options.
Thanks for reading. For more great tips chicforless?s fashion blog men
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Source: http://shopping-product-reviews.com/require-design-tips-we-now-have-them-2/
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