Tuesday, April 30, 2013

As South Korea and US end military drills, how will North Korea react?

Many Korea watchers speculated that once joint military drills ended, so would increased tensions with North Korea. But at least one analyst says this might the moment the North lashes out again.?

By Steven Borowiec,?Correspondent / April 30, 2013

US military vehicles cross Unification bridge, which leads to the demilitarized zone separating North Korea from South Korea near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday. The US-South Korean annual military drills ended Tuesday without incident.

Ahn Young-joon/AP

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The US-South Korea annual military exercises ended without incident on Tuesday, perhaps allowing a chance for weeks of tensions on the Korean peninsula to enter an indefinite period of calm.

Skip to next paragraph Steven Borowiec

Korea Correspondent

Since 2009, Steven Borowiec has reported from Seoul, South Korea on politics, socio-economics, and culture. He is a deputy editor at South Korea?s Hankyoreh newspaper and a features writer for Yonhap News Agency.?

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The annual military defensive exercises are intended to act as a deterrent to North Korea through shows of military prowess.?North Korea, however, called the two month-long exercises an aggressive invasion threat and promised military retaliation if provoked directly.

But now that the exercises are over, the North could tell its people that its own military successfully warded off the threat, conceivably allowing it enter dialogue with the South without appearing to lose face.?But some analysts argue that as the general atmosphere has cooled, action by North Korea could actually be more likely.

?Now that the exercises are over, this is an opportune time for a missile launch,? says Sung-yoon Lee, professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. ?Now that their adversaries have their guard down, they could go ahead with a launch now, ahead of the upcoming summit between Obama and Park Geun-hye, to put pressure on Park.?

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was inaugurated on Feb. 25, is scheduled to meet with US President Obama in Washington on May 7. North Korea has been known to purposely raise tensions in an effort to rattle new administrations in Seoul or Washington.?

"The drill is over, but the South Korean and US militaries will continue to watch out for potential provocations by the North, including a missile launch," said Kim Min-seok, a spokesperson for South Korea?s Ministry of National Defense.

The two-month long exercises started up shortly after the North's third nuclear test in February and involved around 10,000 US troops and 200,000 South Korean forces. Throughout the exercises, some impressive weaponry was shown off, including B-52 bombers and a nuclear-armed submarine. After the exercises began, the North announced it was scrapping an armistice agreement that effectively put the Korean War on hold, and said it was?entering a "state of war." The North also cut two hotlines to South Korea, symbols of North-South cooperation, but left a joint economic region alone until April.?

The jointly-operated Kaesong industrial park, the last major symbol of cooperation between South and North?was designed to economically benefit both sides, providing South Korean companies with cheap labor, and North Koreans with much needed income. Since it was started in 2004, it has survived years of chilly inter-Korean relations.?

But North Korea unexpectedly barred South Koreans from entering the area early in April and then withdrew all its workers shortly thereafter. Though some South Korean workers stayed at the complex, many went back to South Korea.

The situation at Kaesong is one aspect of the crisis that appears set to continue.

Yesterday, 43 of the final 50 South Korean workers in Kaesong returned home. Seven stayed behind to deal with some unpaid wages, as North Korea has not approved their departure yet, according to Chosun. There is not yet any indication that Seoul and Pyongyang will cooperate in finding a way to get operations at the complex back underway. The complex brought in about $80 million in revenue for North Korea in 2012, so there is a large financial incentive for the North to restart business there.?

Today South Korean Minister of Unification Ryoo Kihl-jae said that while the South is interested in restarting operations at Kaesong, Seoul wouldn?t accept just any conditions demanded by North Korea.

"It is pointless to normalize operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex if it entails accepting unreasonable claims and preconditions," Minister Ryoo said.

All throughout the war games, many analysts speculated that North Korea?s intention was to stir tensions and pull back at the last minute from any kind of engagement in an effort to strengthen its bargaining position when it returns to the table at some later date.?

?The general principle is to escalate tensions in order to later be able to negotiate from a position of strength,? Leonid Petrov, a researcher in Korean studies at Australian National University, told the Monitor on Apr. 10.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/mCw340oEnTc/As-South-Korea-and-US-end-military-drills-how-will-North-Korea-react

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Monday, April 29, 2013

World's longest-running plant monitoring program now digitized

Apr. 29, 2013 ? Researchers at the University of Arizona's Tumamoc Hill have digitized 106 years of growth data on individual plants, making the information available for study by people all over the world.

Knowing how plants respond to changing conditions over many decades provides new insights into how ecosystems behave.

The permanent research plots on Tumamoc Hill represent the world's longest-running study that monitors individual plants, said co-author Larry Venable, director of research at Tumamoc Hill.

Some of the plots date from 1906 -- and the birth, growth and death of the individual plants on those plots have been periodically recorded ever since.

The century-long searchable archive is unique and invaluable, said Venable, a UA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who has been studying plants on Tumamoc since 1982.

"You can see the ebb and flow of climate, and you can see the ebb and flow of vegetation," he said.

Lead author Susana Rodriguez-Buritica said, "Long-term data sets have a special place in ecology."

The records have allowed scientists to estimate life spans for desert perennials, some of which are very long-lived, Venable said.

In addition, data from the plots on Tumamoc Hill reveal changes in the Sonoran Desert and have been important to key advances in the science of ecology.

For example, the Tumamoc plant censuses helped overturn the long-standing idea that plant communities progress through a series of steps to a stable collection of species known as a climax community.

"The desert wasn't progressing toward a climax community," he said. Instead of being in synch, each species and plot was changing to its own rhythm.

Rodriguez-Buritica, a postdoctoral research associate in the UA department of ecology and evolutionary biology, Venable and their co-authors Helen Raichle and Robert H. Webb of the U.S. Geological Survey and Raymond M. Turner, formerly of USGS, have published a description of their data in the Ecological Society of America's journal Ecology and archived the data set with the society at http://www.esapubs.org/archive/ecol/E094/083/.

The title of their paper is, "One hundred and six years of population and community dynamics of Sonoran Desert Laboratory perennials." The National Science Foundation, the USGS and the U.S. National Park Service funded the archiving.

Landmark research on the physiology and ecology of desert plants has been conducted on Tumamoc Hill ever since the Carnegie Institution of Washington established the Desert Laboratory there in 1903 to study how plants cope with living in the desert.

The first permanent plots, generally 33 feet by 33 feet (10 meters by 10 meters), were established in 1906 by Volney Spalding; nine of his original plots remain to this day. Additional plots were established by Forrest Shreve in the 1910s and 1920s. Two more plots were added in 2010. Currently, there are 21 plots.

For every perennial plant within each plot, the ecologists recorded the species, the area the plant covered and its location. Even seedlings were identified and mapped.

In addition to the written records, repeated photographs of the plots have been taken since 1906. Those photographs are in the Desert Laboratory Collection of Repeat Photography at the USGS in Tucson, Ariz.

Over the years, botanists and ecologists have helped census and re-census the plots. Co-author Turner took over the work when he came to the UA as a botany professor in 1957, continued while a botanist for USGS and continues to do in retirement. In 1993, co-author Webb took up the project and is keeping the censuses going.

Sorting through data recorded from 2012 back to 1906 was a huge challenge, said Rodriguez-Buritica. She had something to build on: Janice Bowers of USGS had begun to archive the records but retired before finishing. Initially, Rodriguez-Buritica and Venable thought a year would do it -- but the task ended up taking much longer.

The records were in several places -- some at the library or in storage at Tumamoc and some in the UA library's Special Collections.

One of the challenges Rodriguez-Buritica faced is that methods of collecting and recording information about plants have changed over time.

Spalding, who established the very first plots in 1906, worked long before the age of computers -- he recorded his observations in a small notebook. Ecologists continued to record their field observations in paper notebooks and created maps on graph paper well into the latter part of the 20th century.

All those paper records had to be digitized.

Only in the last 20 years have scientists been pinpointing plant locations and other observations directly onto a map within their computers by using GPS and GIS technology.

Upon reviewing and checking the data, Rodriguez-Buritica realized that she needed to standardize the information collected over a century so that other scientists could analyze it. Her expertise in applied statistics and spatial ecology was perfect for the job.

She also computerized the series of maps created over time so new investigators could see all the plant location maps created since 1906.

By putting all the information into a standardized digital format and making it easily accessible on the Web, Rodriguez-Buritica, Venable and their colleagues have ensured that other researchers can build on and expand this unique data set.

Tumamoc Hill is one of the birthplaces of plant ecology, Venable said.

"In the first half of the 20th century, all the great plant ecologists either worked here or came though here," he said. "Plant ecologists from the Desert Lab were key in founding the Ecological Society of America and its flagship journal, Ecology. It is satisfying to see the project come full circle and be permanently archived 100 years later by the journal that these researchers started."

The Desert Lab and Tumamoc Hill have been designated as a National Environmental Study Site, a National Historic Landmark, an Arizona State Scientific and Educational Natural Area and are on the National Register of Historic Places.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Arizona. The original article was written by Mari N. Jensen.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Susana Rodriguez-Buritica, Helen Raichle, Robert H. Webb, Raymond M. Turner, Larry Venable. One hundred and six years of population and community dynamics of Sonoran Desert Laboratory perennials. Ecology, 2013; 94 (4): 976 DOI: 10.1890/12-1164.1

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/gB0eib4XVUM/130429154218.htm

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Paranoid Android teases in-app pop-up window multitasking (video)

Paranoid Android teases inapp popup window multitasking

As advanced as multitasking gets on smartphones, many times you're still left to completely switch between apps. Paranoid Android is looking to set things into overdrive with in-app, multiple-window multitasking for its skin of Android, going beyond the similar (but limited) functionality seen in the likes of Samsung's basked-in Galaxy apps. PA's Paul Henschel recently posted a demo to YouTube highlighting the feature working with various apps on both an Android tablet and a Nexus smartphone, with a post to Google+ saying it shows less than 10 percent of the planned functionality. If that weren't enough, the post further clarifies PA's drive to build out its version stating: "We think these [Samsung, Cyanogen & Cornerstone] implementations suck and we want to get it right this time." Thirsty for more info? Hit the source link and the video after the break, while we eagerly wait further updates.

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Rear seat design: A priority for children's safety in cars

Apr. 29, 2013 ? A research report released today from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) provides specific recommendations for optimizing the rear seat of passenger vehicles to better protect its most common occupants -- children and adolescents. By bringing technologies already protecting front seat passengers to the rear seat and modifying the geometry of the rear seat to better fit this age group, the US could achieve important reductions in serious injury and death. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for children older than 4 years and resulted in 952 fatalities in 2010 for children age 15 and younger.

"Our review of the current science and data regarding rear seat occupant safety found clear evidence that use of a child restraint system (CRS) is protective for younger children. However, older children who have outgrown child safety seats and booster seats are at greater risk of injury," says Kristy Arbogast, PhD, lead author of the report and director of engineering at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at CHOP. "Many technologies that protect front seat passengers, such as load limiters and pretensioners, are not commonly found in the rear seat even though sled tests and computer modeling suggest that these seat belt features have the potential to reduce the risk of serious head and chest injury for rear seated occupants."

In addition to front seat restraints, CHOP researchers suggest that cues can be taken from booster seat design to determine how to keep kids who have outgrown boosters properly positioned in vehicle seat belts so the restraint can perform properly. They propose that adjustments to the geometry of the rear seat -- including shorter seat cushions, lower seat belt anchorages and contoured seats -- could increase comfort, keep the shoulder belt in position and, in side impact crashes, reduce lateral movement.

"For children under age 13, the rear seat is still the safer seating position as compared to the front seat of passenger vehicles," says Dr. Arbogast. "But we can do a better job at protecting children who have outgrown add-on restraints."

The report authors recommend the development of regulatory procedures or vehicle performance assessment programs for consumers that evaluate protection of rear seat occupants. Common vehicle rating systems do not evaluate the safety of rear seat occupants in frontal crashes. In addition to engineering solutions, the report also recommends policies and programs to increase rear seat restraint use, which remains lower than front seat restraint use and is a key risk factor for dying in a crash. Additional research is needed to further inform these priorities.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

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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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/IAXBeoPuxK0/130429094654.htm

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Don't blame Canada: Former ambassador to Iran on Argo, America, and nukes

Canada's envoy to Tehran at the time of the Islamic revolution and the US hostage crisis, says Argo disappointed him and that he's worried about where Iran's nuclear program might lead.

By Ariel Zirulnick,?Staff writer / April 26, 2013

Former Canadian Ambassador to Iran Ken Taylor and his wife Pat, pose for photographers at the premiere of the film Argo in Washington, Oct. 2012. Taylor, who protected Americans at great personal risk during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, has achieved some name recognition in the US since the 2012 movie 'Argo' swept theaters and the Academy Awards.

Cliff Owen/AP/File

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Former Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor is neither the James Bond lookalike he hoped might portray him in the Hollywood blockbuster "Argo" nor is he quite the Austin Powers double he says might have been a more accurate choice.

Skip to next paragraph Ariel Zirulnick

Middle East Editor

Ariel Zirulnick is the Monitor's Middle East editor, overseeing regional coverage both for CSMonitor.com and the weekly magazine. She is also a contributor to the international desk's terrorism and security blog.?

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But he's achieved some name recognition in the US since the 2012 movie swept theaters and the Academy Awards, and he has plenty to say about Iran in 1979 and the country it has become since.?

Mr. Taylor was Canada's ambassador to Tehran in 1979 when the US embassy there was stormed and dozens of Americans were taken hostage. Six Americans escaped and spent months holed up with him, waiting for their extraction.

Those months are the premise of the Ben Affleck-directed movie, which Taylor mildly says took ?a bit of poetic license.?

Speaking before a gathering of the New England Canada Business Council in Boston yesterday, Taylor, who now lives in New York, joked that after friends saw "Argo" at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival, they called him and said, ?I thought Canada was involved.?

According to Taylor, he replied, ?That?s odd, So did I.?

As the tense months of being trapped inside the embassy wore on, Taylor tried to reassure the Americans that they would be home by Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then the Super Bowl. He warned the US that ?they?re going to wonder if Washington forgot about them.?

Taylor revealed little about the actual operation that got the six men and women safely back to the United States. But, he joked, at least the movie showed that he ?opened the front door of the embassy with great dexterity.?

Iran then

When Taylor arrived in Tehran in 1977, ?the country was booming.?

There were rumors that Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi ? more commonly referred to as simply ?the Shah? ? was preparing to buy Pan American Airways. It did not seem like the ?stalwart of the West? was going anywhere.

For all the blame heaped on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for not predicting the Islamic Revolution, almost nobody saw it coming, he said. Afterward, the Ayatollah?s secular advisers told Taylor that even they didn?t expect the Shah?s government to fall like it did. ?

Revolutionary fervor did not sweep up the whole country the way it seemed to be portrayed in "Argo." And Taylor said a great disappointment for him was the way the movie portrayed Iranians, some of whom became ?marvelous friends? with him during his posting in Tehran.

?The movie was too heavy handed,? he said. ?It gave no idea that there is another side to the Iranian character. Everybody isn?t on the street. Everybody isn?t part of the revolution.?

Too many sanctions, too little talking

He is on board with the growing chorus of voices in Washington urging the Obama administration to ease up on its sanctions-heavy approach to negotiations with Iran although he acknowledges that Iran needs to give ground too.

Sometimes sanctions work, he says, citing South Africa during the apartheid era, but ?sometimes they strengthen resolve.?

When asked his opinion of whether Tehran has nuclear weapon ambitions, he cautions that ?Iran is an opaque society,? and there?s too little information to guess.

?I think they?ve got some military use in the back of their mind,? he says. ?But they don?t want to destroy themselves ? Maybe they are working at capabilities, but not necessarily producing [a nuclear weapon].?

That the military option for halting Iran?s nuclear development is ?on the table? worries Taylor, who points to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as cautionary for anyone considering going to war with Iran.

"A bombing mission would be a fatal error. It would solve nothing,? he says. ?It would postpone [Iran?s nuclear program] for two to three years,? but nothing more, because Iran?s nuclear facilities are too dispersed.

He says, ?I wake up every morning hoping [the military option] is still on the table? ? instead of being used.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/hjWdZ6cfd7U/Don-t-blame-Canada-Former-ambassador-to-Iran-on-Argo-America-and-nukes

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Higher expectations for digital media at NewFronts

NEW YORK (AP) ? Last year, the inaugural Digital NewFronts didn't skimp on the hype.

Google, Hulu, Yahoo and others made brash, glitzy presentations to advertisers trumpeting their ascendancy in a rapidly changing media landscape. Even Jay-Z dropped by.

There will be plenty of the same this week in New York at the second Digital NewFronts, the digital world's take on the annual TV "upfront" tradition. But ahead of this year's five-day-long overture to Madison Avenue, the talk is of both the great progress of digital entertainment and unrealized promises.

"It was absolutely a learning experience," Doug McVehil, senior vice president of content and programming for the music video destination Vevo, says about last year's NewFronts."I know there's some things we can do better this year both at the presentation itself and in terms of follow-up. But we're all fairly new at this. This is a young thing for the digital media industry."

In 12 months' time, the industry has come a long way. Netflix's first major original series, "House of Cards," proved that streaming video can compete with the most prestigious cable programs. Google's YouTube rolled out its 100-plus funded channels in a bid to bring higher quality videos (and thus advertisers) to its platform. One of the biggest TV stars, Jerry Seinfeld, launched a handsome Web series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."

But some of the digital series touted last year have disappointed. Although Yahoo's "Bachelor"-spoof "Burning Love" has proved a modest hit, its Tom Hanks animated sci-fi series, "Electric City," didn't live up to its creator's reputation. While the top YouTube channels have grown considerably, several of its star-driven efforts have fizzled.

"Last year, there were some big promises about not only the quality but the volume of shows that people are going to make," says Eric Berger, executive vice president of digital networks for Sony Pictures TV, which owns the video site Crackle. "If you look back over the course of the year, as we talked to brands and agencies, there're some questions about quality and about the volume of things that were actually produced."

Crackle didn't participate in the NewFronts last year but will this year. It will be promoting, among other shows, an upcoming second season of Seinfeld's series.

Naturally, growing pains are inevitable, especially when so much is changing so fast. The wide array of NewFront presenters this year exhibits the evolving nature of media companies.

New presenters include The Wall Street Journal and Conde Nast, both venerable publishers known for their print products. But Conde Nast earlier this year launched online series slates for two of its magazines (GQ and Glamour), with plans to do the same for its other properties, including Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. The Journal, more than any other newspaper, has developed live video programing with its "WSJ Live" app.

"The Journal has really transformed itself since News Corp.'s acquisition into a complete content provider and not just business, finance and economics," says Michael Rooney, chief revenue officer for The Journal, explaining its entry to the NewFronts. "The world still needs to learn and understand about that and what we have to offer."

Yahoo will come into its presentation on the heels of acquiring the rights to archival clips to all 38 years of "Saturday Night Live." YouTube recently announced that in May it will begin a series of theme weeks to highlight its premium channels, starting with comedy. On Sunday night, Vevo will kick off the fourth year of its flagship program "Unstaged," a concert live stream. (Vampire Weekend will perform with Steve Buscemi directing the webcast.)

Performances will play a big part of Vevo's presentation, with appearances by Carly Rae Jepsen, Kendrick Lamar and Jessie Ware. But McVehil says at this year's NewFronts, brands want more than a good show.

"As we mature, I think it's going to be about people looking hard at real numbers and performance and judging companies based on that more than how sexy their presentation was," McVehil says.

Some companies are going it alone. NBCUniversal's digital division, having been a part of the NewFronts last year, held a separate event in New York last week, as did the gaming network Machinima. The talent agency CAA will preview its clients' digital projects this week, but not in an official NewFront.

Still, there are close connections for several of the 18 media companies in the NewFronts. Disney Interactive has several YouTube channels and in February partnered with Vevo to produce family friendly music content.

Ad agency Universal McCann predicted deals at the NewFronts could reach $1 billion. That's still a fraction of what broadcast upfront presentations pull in, but few don't expect digital media to continue to increase their share of the advertising pie.

"We're bigger this year, both in terms of the scope of the event and the amount of content," says Mark Walker, senior vice president of Disney Interactive Entertainment. "We had a few programs before and some speculation. Now, we have conclusively demonstrated that there's a robust audience demand for the kind of high quality video content that we're producing."

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/higher-expectations-digital-media-newfronts-131732617.html

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Daily Chronicle | Are lesbians more accepted than gay men?

CHICAGO ? It may be a man?s world, as the saying goes, but lesbians seem to have an easier time living in it than gay men do.

High-profile lesbian athletes have come out while still playing their sports, but not a single gay male athlete in major U.S. professional sports has done the same. While television?s most prominent same-sex parents are the two fictional dads on ?Modern Family,? surveys show that society is actually more comfortable with the idea of lesbians parenting children.

And then there is the ongoing debate over the Boy Scouts of America proposal to ease their ban on gay leaders and scouts.

Reaction to the proposal, which the BSA?s National Council will take up next month, has been swift and often harsh. Yet amid the discussions, the Girl Scouts of USA reiterated their policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, among other things. That announcement has gone largely unnoticed.

Certainly, the difference in the public?s reaction to the scouting organizations can be attributed, in part, to their varied histories, including the Boy Scouts? longstanding religious ties and a base that has become less urban over the years, compared with the Girl Scouts?.

But there?s also an undercurrent here, one that?s often present in debates related to homosexuality, whether over the military?s now-defunct ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? policy or even same-sex marriage. Even as society has become more accepting of homosexuality overall, longstanding research has shown more societal tolerance for lesbians than gay men, and that gay men are significantly more likely to be targets of violence.

That research also has found that it?s often straight men who have the most difficult time with homosexuality ? and particularly gay men ? says researcher Gregory Herek.

?Men are raised to think they have to prove their masculinity, and one big part about being masculine is being heterosexual. So we see that harassment, jokes, negative statements and violence are often ways that even younger men try to prove their heterosexuality,? says Herek, a psychologist at the University of California, Davis, who has, for years, studied this phenomenon and how it plays out in the gay community.

That is not, of course, to downplay the harassment lesbians face. It can be just as ugly.

But it?s not as frequent, Herek and others have found, especially in adulthood. It?s also not uncommon for lesbians to encounter straight men who have a fascination with them.

?The men hit on me. The women hit on me. But I never feel like I?m in any immediate danger,? says Sarah Toce, the 29-year-old editor of The Seattle Lesbian and managing editor of The Contributor, both online news magazines. ?If I were a gay man, I might ? and if it?s like this in Seattle, can you imagine what it is like in less-accepting parts of middle America??

One of Herek?s studies found that, overall, 38 percent of gay men said that, in adulthood, they?d been victims of vandalism, theft or violence ? hit, beaten or sexually assaulted ? because they were perceived as gay. About 13 percent of lesbians said the same.

A separate study of young people in England also found that, in their teens, gay boys and lesbians were almost twice as likely to be bullied as their straight peers. By young adulthood, it was about the same for lesbians and straight girls. But in this study, published recently in the journal Pediatrics, gay young men were almost four times more likely than their straight peers to be bullied.

At least one historian says it wasn?t always that way for either men or women, whose ?expressions of love? with friends of the same gender were seen as a norm ? even idealized ? in the 19th century.

?These relationships offered ample opportunity for those who would have wanted to act on it physically, even if most did not,? says Thomas Foster, associate professor and head of the history department at DePaul University in Chicago.

Today?s ?code of male gendered behavior,? he says, often rejects these kinds of expressions between men.

We joke about the ?bro-mance? ? a term used to describe close friendships between straight men. But in some sense, the humor stems from the insinuation that those relationships could be romantic, though everyone assumes they aren?t.

Call those friends ?gay,? a word that?s still commonly used as an insult, and that?s quite another thing. Consider the furor over Rutgers University men?s basketball coach Mike Rice, who was recently fired for mistreating his players and mocking them with gay slurs.

If two women dance together at a club or walk arm-in-arm down the street, people are usually less likely to question it ? though some wonder if that has more to do with a lack of awareness than acceptance.

?Lesbians are so invisible in our society. And so I think the hatred is more invisible,? says Laura Grimes, a licensed clinical social worker in Chicago whose counseling practice caters to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender clients.

Grimes says she also frequently hears from lesbians who are harassed for ?looking like dykes,? meaning that people are less accepting if they look more masculine.

Still, Ian O?Brien, a gay man in Washington, D.C., sees more room for women ?to transcend what femininity looks like, or at least negotiate that space a little bit more.?

O?Brien, who?s 23, recently wrote an opinion piece tied to the Boy Scout debate and his own experience in the Scouts when he was growing up in the San Diego area.

?To put it simply: Being a boy is supposed to look one way, and you get punished when it doesn?t,? O?Brien wrote in the piece, which appeared in The Advocate, a national magazine for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

Joey Carrillo, a gay student at Elmhurst College in suburban Chicago, remembers trying to be as masculine as possible in high school. He hid the fact that he was gay, particularly around other athletes. As a wrestler, he says he never wanted to hear someone say, ?Oh, THAT?S why he wrestles.?

In fact, though more gay and lesbian athletes are coming out in college, gay male professional athletes in major sports have waited to do so until they have left their sport, one of the more recent being Robbie Rogers, an American soccer player who played professionally in England. There have been reports that gay male athletes who are currently playing may be on the verge of going public.

But women have already done so with little backlash.

U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, for instance, came out right before she played in last year?s Olympics. WNBA star Seimone Augustus and the league?s No. 1 draft pick, Brittney Griner, are some of the more recent female athletes to follow suit.

In Hollywood in recent years, both openly gay men and lesbians have had successful careers. And when it comes to television and movies, it appears there are more high-profile gay male characters.

Still, while many see the two dads on the ?Modern Family? sitcom as groundbreaking, others have a sense that the societal discomfort with gay men as parents is at the root of many of the jokes.

?A good portion of that is for comedic effect,? says Don Todd, a 32-year-old father in a two-dad family in Orange, Calif. He doesn?t think most people would think it was as funny if the characters were two moms.

Herek, the researcher at UC-Davis, has, in fact, found in surveys that heterosexuals think lesbians would be better parents than gay men.

Nancy Dreyer, a mother in a two-mom family, has noticed this in her own life.

?With gay male friends of ours who have kids, people will say, ?My gosh, who takes care of this baby?? ? as if they?re not capable,? says Dreyer, whose 57 and lives in suburban Boston.

The assumption, she says, is that men aren?t nurturing. And if they?re too nurturing, she says, people get suspicious, noting that no one has ever questioned her and her partner about their ability to raise their son, who?s now in college.

She?s noticed the different ways society treats gay men and lesbians, partly because she has a brother, Benjamin Dreyer, who?s gay. The Dreyer siblings say it?s difficult to compare their experiences because Benjamin came out in college, and Nancy in her early 30s.

So he was the first to tell their parents. ?They yelled at me. They took you to dinner,? Benjamin Dreyer, who?s 54 and works in publishing in New York City, now jokes with his sister.

Truth was, as a young gay man coming of age as the AIDS epidemic took hold, his parents simply worried, and with good reason, his sister says.

There?s little doubt, they both say, that AIDS influenced the perception of gay men.

Benjamin Dreyer says he dealt with societal bias by avoiding it, and surrounding himself with people he knew would be supportive, including his parents, eventually.

But he?s also realizing how quickly the need to do that is disappearing. He was surprised and pleased, for instance, when he attended his nephew?s high school graduation last year. There, he saw a gay male graduate with his boyfriend, open and accepted by all his peers.

?It?s mind-boggling,? Benjamin Dreyer says. ?It?s wonderful.?

Carrillo, too, decided to live openly when he arrived at Elmhurst College. He joined a fraternity and even painted a rainbow ? a common symbol of the gay community ? on his fraternity paddle. To his surprise, there was some backlash from a couple of his straight fraternity brothers who feared people would think their fraternity was the ?gay fraternity.?

?There?s a long way to go,? says Carrillo, who graduates next month. But he still feels hopeful.

?Honestly, I see it ? everywhere there?s progress.?

___

Martha Irvine is an AP national writer. She can be reached at mirvine(at)ap.org or at http://twitter.com/irvineap

There are 33 hours, 6 minutes remaining to comment on this story.

Source: http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2013/04/27/are-lesbians-more-accepted-than-gay-men/ao2g0gn/

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Facebook CEO reaped $2.3B gain on stock options

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reaped a gain of nearly $2.3 billion last year when he exercised 60 million stock options just before the online social networking leader's initial public offering.

The windfall detailed in regulatory documents filed Friday saddled Zuckerberg, 28, with a massive tax bill. He raised the money to pay it by selling 30.2 million Facebook Inc. shares for $38 apiece, or $1.1 billion, in the IPO.

Facebook's stock hasn't closed above $38 since the IPO was completed last May. The shares gained 71 cents Friday to close at $26.85.

The 29 percent decline from Facebook's IPO price has cost Zuckerberg nearly $7 billion on paper, based on the 609.5 million shares of company stock that he owned as of March 31, according to the regulatory filing. His current stake is still worth $16.4 billion.

Zuckerberg, who started Facebook in his Harvard University dorm room in 2004, has indicated he has no immediate plans to sell more stock.

The exercise of Zuckerberg's stock options and his subsequent sale of shares in the IPO had been previously disclosed. The proxy statement filed to announce Facebook's June 11 shareholder meeting is the first time that the magnitude of Zuckerberg's stock option gain had been quantified.

The proxy also revealed that Zuckerberg's pay package last year rose 16 percent because of increased personal usage of jets chartered by the company as part of his security program.

Zuckerberg's compensation last year totaled nearly $2 million, up from $1.7 million last year. Of those amounts, $1.2 million covered the costs of Zuckerberg's personal air travel last year, up from $692,679 in 2011.

If not for the spike in travel costs, Zuckerberg's pay would have declined by 17 percent. His salary and bonus totaled $769,306 last year versus $928,833 in 2011.

Zuckerberg will take a big pay cut this year. His annual salary has been reduced to $1 and he will no longer receive a bonus, according to Facebook's filing. That puts Zuckerberg's current cash compensation on the same level as Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page, whose stake in his company is worth about $20 billion.

The Associated Press formula for determining an executive's total compensation calculates salary, bonuses, perquisites, above-market interest that the company pays on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock and stock options awarded during the year. The AP formula does not count changes in the present value of pension benefits or stock option gains such as those recognized by Zuckerberg did last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-ceo-reaped-2-3b-gain-stock-options-232622585.html

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Thanks to rare alpine bacteria, researchers identify one of alcohol's key gateways to the brain

Thanks to rare alpine bacteria, researchers identify one of alcohol's key gateways to the brain

Friday, April 26, 2013

Thanks to a rare bacteria that grows only on rocks in the Swiss Alps, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the Pasteur Institute in France have been the first to identify how alcohol might affect key brain proteins.

It's a major step on the road to eventually developing drugs that could disrupt the interaction between alcohol and the brain.

"Now that we've identified this key brain protein and understand its structure, it's possible to imagine developing a drug that could block the binding site," said Adron Harris, professor of biology and director of the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction at The University of Texas at Austin.

Harris and his former postdoctoral fellow Rebecca Howard, now an assistant professor at Skidmore College, are co-authors on the paper that was recently published in Nature Communications. It describes the structure of the brain protein, called a ligand-gated ion channel, that is a key enabler of many of the primary physiological and behavioral effects of alcohol.

Harris said that for some time there has been suggestive evidence that these ion channels are important binding sites for alcohol. Researchers couldn't prove it, however, because they couldn't crystallize the brain protein well enough, and therefore couldn't use X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of the protein with and without alcohol present.

The advance came when Marc Delarue and his colleagues at the Pasteur Institute sequenced the genome of cyanobacteria Gloeobacter violaceus. They noted a protein sequence on the bacteria that is remarkably similar to the sequence of a group of ligand-gated ion channels in the human brain. They were able to crystallize this protein. Harris saw the results and immediately got in touch.

"This is something you never would have found with any sort of logical approach," he said. "You never would have guessed that this obscure bacterium would have something that looks like a brain protein in it. But the institute, because of Pasteur's fascination with bacteria, has this huge collection of obscure bacteria, and over the last few years they've been sequencing the genomes, keeping an eye out for interesting properties."

Harris and Howard asked their French colleagues to collaborate, got the cyanobacteria, changed one amino acid to make it sensitive to alcohol, and then crystallized both the original bacteria and the mutated one. They compared the two to see whether they could identify where the alcohol bound to the mutant. With further tests they confirmed that it was a meaningful site.

"Everything validated that the cavity in which the alcohol bound is important," said Harris. "It doesn't account for all the things that alcohol does, but it appears to be important for a lot of them, including some of the 'rewarding' effects and some of the negative, aversive effects."

Going forward, Harris and his lab plan to use mice to observe how changes to the key protein affect behavior when the mice consume alcohol.

They're also hoping to identify other important proteins from this family of ligand-gated ion channels. In the long term, he hopes to be involved in developing drugs that act on these proteins in ways that help people diminish or cease their drinking.

"So why do some people drink moderately and some excessively?" he said. "One reason lies in that the balance between the rewarding and the aversive effects, and that balance is different for different people, and it can change within an individual depending on their drinking patterns. Some of those effects are determined by the interactions of alcohol and these channels, so the hope is that we can alter the balance. Maybe we can diminish the reward or increase the aversive effects."

###

University of Texas at Austin: http://www.utexas.edu

Thanks to University of Texas at Austin for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127966/Thanks_to_rare_alpine_bacteria__researchers_identify_one_of_alcohol_s_key_gateways_to_the_brain

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'Arena of the Street Fighter' for Martial Arts School ... - BBCWire

NewMediaWire via Webwire

GORILLA PICTURES, THE MARTIAL ARTS HISTORY MUSEUM, TRADITIONZ APPAREL AND ?MARTIAL ARTS SHOW BIZ TV TEAM UP FOR THE HIGH-IMPACT RELEASE OF "ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER"? HITTING THEATERS AND VIDEO ON DEMAND ON JUNE 6TH.

LOS ANGELES ? MARCH 1, 2013 ? Gorilla Pictures, The Martial Arts History Museum, Traditionz Apparel and Martial Arts Show Biz TV have teamed up to promote the highly anticipated film 'Arena of The Street Fighter' to audiences throughout the United States in 2013.

Multimedia Release available at:?http://mamuseum.cms.ipressroom.com/news/the-martial-arts-history-museum-to-host-a-special-vip-screening-of-the-highly-anticipated-arena-of-the-street-fighter-for-martial-arts-school-owners-and-celbrities-at-6pm-on-saturday-may-4th-2013

The vicious and blood thirsty "Slater" runs the most violent gang in the land. There are those who dare not to join gangs; like Mike and his friends. But when Mike's brother is killed; he will fight to take vengeance on those who killed his brother & end their reign of violence in "Arena of The Street Fighter".

Issac Florentine (Director of Undisputed 2 + 3 and Ninja.) hails the film's star, Mike M?ller, as "the European answer to Jet Li and Tony Jaa..." The film features "Some of the most spectacular fights around! These guys know how to deliver top class action" exclaims Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2, Ninja).?

The non-stop Martial Arts Action is a perfect fit for Martial Arts Entertainment Media's various and well known platforms. Danny and Theresa Zaino, hosts of Martial Arts Show Biz TV will personally cover some of the key release events during the June 2013 Theatrical release in Los Angeles. Theresa Zaino confirms, "We are excited to team with Gorilla in bringing a movie with this level of Martial Arts Action to American Audiences". Danny Zaino in his direct fun loving style says, "This movie won't win an Academy Award, but it's Bitchin'... Love it!" And Gorilla Pictures' founder Bill J. Gottlieb states, "We're thrilled to have the Zaino's full-throttle, fun style of story behind the story brand of promotion behind this movie."

The Internationally known Martial Arts History Museum is hosting the VIP Screening event (which is the first preview of the film on the west coast) for Martial Arts school owners and celebrities.?? The museum's founder and president, Michael Matsuda has endorsed the movie and says, 'Arena is the best action import from Germany ? EVER ? it's Martial Arts at its best and we are very proud to be part of the launch team for this incredible movie!' ?Tradionz Apparel and Don 'The Dragon' Wilson (11 time kick-boxing world champion) are sponsoring the VIP Screening event at the museum.? Don is passionate about the film and says, 'If you love action?this movie delivers!'

The film was awarded "Best Action Film" at the Sarasota International Film Festival & continues in Festival competition in April 2013.? See the trailer at www.streetfighterthemovie.com.'Arena of The Street Fighter' hits theatres on Thursday, June 6th?with a coast to coast release.? To view trailer go to? streetfighterthemovie.com .

About Gorilla Pictures
Gorilla Pictures was founded in 1999 alongside Gorilla Digital by award winning on-air promotions leader Bill J. Gottlieb with the intent to develop high quality feature films. After an extensive career in commercial writing and production, Gottlieb was well prepared to move into the world of film. Focusing on a combination of action and animation has made for a winning formula for which Gorilla Pictures' films can currently be seen in theaters, as well as in broadcast and on DVD throughout North America and Europe. For more information, visit?www.gorillapictures.net.

About Martial Arts Show Biz TV
Full Service Online Multi Media Company for Entertainment and Martial Arts Industries.Martial Arts Show Biz TV, Radio and Magazine's goal is to provide the best possible way to reach customers with their powerful media packages that offer Radio, Magazine, TV, and explosive E-News Email Campaigns all designed around clients' advertising needs. Whether you are the Producer of a Movie, TV Show or Commercial,?Promoter of a Martial Arts Tournament, Instructional Seminar, Training Conference or Hall of Fame, or a Martial Arts Business that offers products or services to the martial arts community, Martial Arts Show Biz TV, Radio and Magazine can help reach the widest audience.

CONTACT
Carolyn HolmesX-Treme Media, and Gorilla Pictures
818-425-4116 or? Carolyn.Holmes@gorillapictures.net

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Source: http://www.bbcwire.com/host-a-special-vip-screening-of-the-highly-anticipated-arena-of-the-street-fighter-for-martial-arts-school-owners-and-celbrities-at-6pm-on-saturday-may-4th-2013/

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Bangladesh building collapse toll nears 300

By Ruma Paul and Serajul Quadir

DHAKA (Reuters) - Rescuers pulled dozens of survivors from the rubble of Bangladesh's worst industrial accident on Friday, but the death toll rose towards 300 after the collapse of a building housing factories that made low-cost garments for Western brands.

Almost miraculously, 62 people trapped beneath the rubble since the eight-storey building collapsed on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, on Wednesday were rescued alive overnight, police and government officials said.

However, there were fears between 300 and 400 people were still inside. "Some people are still alive under the rubble and we are hoping to rescue them," deputy fire services director Mizanur Rahman said.

Junior local government minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak said the death toll had reached 292 and H. T. Imam, an adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said it could top 350.

Anger over the working conditions of Bangladesh's 3.6 million garment workers, the overwhelming majority of them women, has grown steadily since the disaster, with thousands taking to the streets to protest on Friday.

Nanak said 41 people were pulled alive from one room on the fourth floor overnight, almost 40 hours after the Rana Plaza building collapsed with more than 3,000 people inside.

Around 2,300 people have been rescued so far, at least half of them injured, from the remains of the building in the commercial suburb of Savar, about 30 km (20 miles) from Dhaka.

An industry official has said 3,122 people, mainly female garment workers, had been inside the building despite warnings that it was structurally unsafe.

Bangladesh is the second-largest exporter of garments in the world but many factories remained closed for a second day on Friday, with angry garment workers protesting against poor conditions and demanding the owners of the building and the factories it housed face harsh punishment.

Police and witnesses said protesters set fire to a number of vehicles and damaged other garment factories.

Dhaka District police chief Habibur Rahman identified the owner of the Rana Plaza building as Mohammed Sohel Rana, a leader of the ruling Awami League's youth front.

Imam, the prime minister's adviser, said Rana had "vanished into thin air".

"People are asking for his head, which is quite natural. This time we are not going to spare anybody," Imam said.

STRING OF FATAL INCIDENTS

Wednesday's building collapse was the third major industrial incident in five months in Bangladesh. In November, a fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory on the outskirts of Dhaka killed 112 people.

Such incidents have raised serious questions about worker safety and low wages in Bangladesh and could taint the poor South Asian country's reputation as a producer of low-cost products and services.

North American and European chains, including British retailer Primark and Canada's Loblaw, said they were supplied by factories in the Rana Plaza building.

Mohammad Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said the proprietors of the five factories inside the building had ignored the association's warning not to open on Wednesday after cracks had been seen in the building the day before.

"We asked not to open the factories and told them we will send our engineer, and until you get the green signal don't open the factories," Islam told Reuters.

"But unfortunately they violated our instructions," he said. A bank in the building did close on Wednesday after the warning.

PRAYERS, MOURNING

Savar residents and rescuers dropped bottled water and food on Thursday night to people who called out from between floors. Nearby, relatives identified their dead among dozens of corpses wrapped in cloth on the veranda of a school.

Special prayers were offered for the dead, injured and missing at mosques, temples and pagodas across Bangladesh on Friday.

Ten labour groups called for a strike on Sunday by workers at garment factories across the country.

Sixty percent of Bangladesh's garment exports go to Europe. The United States takes 23 percent and Canada takes 5 percent.

Primark, a unit of Associated British Foods, has confirmed one of its suppliers occupied the second floor of the building. Danish retailer PWT Group, which owns the Texman brand, said it had been using a factory there for seven years.

Canada's Loblaw, a unit of food processing and distribution firm George Weston Ltd, said one factory made a small number items for its "Joe Fresh" label.

Primark, Loblaw and PWT operate under codes of conduct aimed at ensuring products are made in good working conditions.

Documents including order sheets and cutting plans obtained by Reuters appeared to show that other major brands such as Benetton had used suppliers in the building in the past year.

A Benetton spokesman said none of the factories were suppliers to the company. Spain's Mango said it had an unfulfilled sample order at the plaza with Phantom Apparel.

(Additional reporting by Anis Ahmed in Dhaka, John Chalmers in New Delhi, Jessica Wohl and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago, Solarina Ho in Toronto, Robert Hertz in Madrid and Mette Kronholm Fraende in Copenhagen; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dozens-rescued-hundreds-missing-bangladesh-toll-tops-270-055126500--sector.html

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Obama: Chemical weapons use in Syria would be "game changer"

By Jeff Mason and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama warned President Bashar al-Assad on Friday that any use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war would be a "game changer" but cautioned that intelligence assessments that such weapons had been deployed were still preliminary.

Speaking a day after the White House said for the first time that Assad's government had likely used chemical weapons on a small scale, Obama talked tough while appealing for patience as he sought to fend off pressure at home and abroad for a swift U.S. response.

Saying that confirmation was still needed to provide conclusive proof, Obama stopped short of declaring that Assad had crossed a "red line" he had warned earlier would unleash unspecified consequences, widely interpreted to include possible U.S. military intervention.

"Horrific as it is when mortars are being fired on civilians and people are being indiscriminately killed, to use potential weapons of mass destruction on civilian populations crosses another line with respect to international norms and international law," Obama told reporters at the White House as he met with Jordan's King Abdullah.

"That is going to be a game changer. We have to act prudently," he said. "We have to make these assessments deliberately. But I think all of us ... recognize how we cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilian populations."

Obama said the chemical weapons threat had added "increased urgency" in the Syrian crisis but cautioned that it would time to sort things out.

In a shift from a White House assessment just days earlier, U.S. officials said on Thursday the intelligence community believed with "varying degrees of confidence" that the chemical nerve agent sarin was used by Assad's forces against rebel fighters.

The administration insisted, however, that Obama needed definitive proof before he would take action, making clear it he was mindful of the lessons of the start of the Iraq war more than a decade ago.

Then, the George W. Bush administration used inaccurate intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq in pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons that turned out not to exist.

While some more hawkish U.S. lawmakers have called for a U.S. military response, several leading congressional voices called for a calmer approach on Friday after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry briefed them.

"This is not Libya," said Nancy Pelosi, the senior Democrat in the House of Representatives. "The Syrians have anti-aircraft capability that make going in there much more challenging."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Friday the United States was continuing to study evidence and would not set a deadline for corroborating reports.

"We are continuing to work to build on the assessments made by the intelligence community, that the degrees of confidence here are varying, that this is not an airtight case," he said.

In response to a question, Carney said Obama would consider a range of options including - but not exclusive to - military force, should it be determined that Syria has used chemical weapons.

"He retains all options to respond to that, all options," Carney said. "Often the discussion, when people mention all options are on the table, everyone just talks about military force. It's important to remember that there are options available to a commander in chief in a situation like this that include but are not exclusive to that option."

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-chemical-weapons-syria-game-changer-193841854.html

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Nutrino is a virtual nutritionist for iOS, we go hands-on

Nutrino is a virtual nutritionist for iOS, we go handson

As a recovering food addict, I've been told on numerous occasions that washboard abs are created in the kitchen, not in the gym. That's why we were intrigued to take a look at Nutrino, an iOS app that promises a "virtual nutritionist" service to help slice away the adipose from our stomach. We spent some time putting the software through its paces, and if you're thinking of making the leap, head on past the break to learn more.

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Source: Nutrino

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Fired TV anchor who dropped f-bomb becomes Web star

(Adds later picks) NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - Selections in the first roundof the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday (picknumber, NFL team, player, position, college): 1-Kansas City, Eric Fisher, offensive tackle, Central Michigan 2-Jacksonville, Luke Joeckel, offensive tackle, Texas A&M 3-Miami (from Oakland), Dion Jordan, defensive tackle, Oregon 4-Philadelphia, Lane Johnson, offensive tackle, Oklahoma 5-Detroit, Ezekiel Ansah, defensive end, Brigham Young 6-Cleveland, Barkevious Mingo, linebacker, LSU 7-Arizona, Jonathan Cooper, guard, North Carolina 8-St. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/fired-tv-anchor-dropped-f-bomb-becomes-star-171303940.html

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

John McCain: focus on flight delays shows 'upside down' sequester concerns

Sen. John McCain, speaking at a Monitor breakfast Thursday, said it is 'criminal and scandalous' that Congress is ignoring the effect of the 'sequester' on national defense.

By David T. Cook,?Staff writer / April 25, 2013

Senator John McCain speaks at a Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor

Enlarge

Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona says it is ?criminal and scandalous? that Congress is ignoring the effect of budget cuts on national defense, while actively hunting for a way to offset spending cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration.

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?We?ve got our priorities upside down,? Senator McCain said Thursday at a Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters. ?If we are going to take care of airline passengers, why don?t we take care of our national security? The world is a more dangerous place than I have seen ... in many respects.?

The "sequester" ? the across-the-board spending cuts that took effect last month ? has posed budget dilemmas for the Pentagon and other government agencies providing national security, and it has also meant delays at airports. Starting this week, the FAA has furloughed some control-tower staff, resulting in widespread flight postponements.

?I am terribly uncomfortable with the delays of FAA. I think it is a terrible thing. I have been subject to it myself,? Arizona senator said. But McCain, a decorated war hero and longtime member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said, ?Every one of our uniformed service chiefs have said they can?t defend the nation if we continue with this sequester.???

Sen. Charles Schumer (D) of New York, vice chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, was also a guest at the breakfast. When asked what action should be taken regarding the FAA delays, he said, ?My best solution is to undo sequester and replace it with more rational types of cuts.? ?

He noted, ?Last night Jay Carney, the president?s spokesperson, said that he would be open to a solution just for FAA.? The White House and top Democrats had been holding out for a comprehensive solution to the sequester as opposed to piecemeal relief.

At Wednesday?s White House briefing, Mr. Carney said that if Congress ?wants to address specifically the problems caused by the sequester with the FAA, we would be open to looking at that.?

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) of West Virginia, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee; and the panel?s ranking Republican, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, met Wednesday with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, seeking a solution. ?I would certainly be open? to any proposal they develop, Senator Schumer said.

McCain said, ?I will go along with whatever the FAA thing is, but it is criminal and scandalous that we are ignoring the effect of sequestration on our national security."

? Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/jL8Dd1Z-I-U/John-McCain-focus-on-flight-delays-shows-upside-down-sequester-concerns

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Katie Couric: Being Wooed for Today Show Return?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/katie-couric-being-wooed-for-today-show-return/

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Pot-puffing pilot: Will he fly again?

Pot-puffing pilot was fired by Horizon Air after admitting regular use of marijuana for back pain. After an arbitrator ordered that he be rehired, Horizon Air is suing to keep the pot-puffing pilot out of the cockpit.

By Associated Press / April 24, 2013

Horizon Air, which is being rebranded by its parent company, which owns Alaska Air, fired a pilot for regular use of marijuana. Now, the airline has gone to court to avoid having to rehire the pot-puffing pilot.

Courtesy of Alaska Airlines

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Horizon?Air?wants a judge to stop a pilot who was fired for using marijuana from returning to the cockpit, a news website said.

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The Seattle-based airline fired pilot Brian Milam after he failed a random drug test in November 2011 and he acknowledged smoking to cope with back pain and other issues, seattlepi.com reported Monday (http://bit.ly/10bbkWh?).

The firing was challenged by the Airline Professionals Association and an arbitrator ruled in the union's favor, saying?Horizon?failed to fully review Milam's record before firing him.

Horizon?filed a lawsuit last week in federal court, asking the judge to throw out the arbitrator's ruling.

"Horizon?is not willing to place an impaired pilot back in the cockpit," said Mark Hutcheson, an attorney representing?Horizon. "Doing so would violate federal law and contravene a well-settled public policy prohibiting a pilot from flying while using drugs."

Milam was the first?Horizon?pilot to fail a drug test since the airline began testing in 1989, the lawyer said.

The union was displeased the case has gone to court.

"We are happy with the process that led to the arbitrator's decision in this case and are extremely disappointed with?Horizon?Air's?decision to file a lawsuit following the outcome," APA Teamsters Local 1224 President Daniel C. Wells said in a statement.

The drug test was conducted to meet federal requirements designed to ensure pilots are not abusing alcohol or using drugs illegally. Milam acknowledged the drug test was properly administered and that he had been smoking marijuana, but never on duty or the night before an early shift, the website reported.

Following the drug test, he successfully completed a treatment regime.

In the decision issued in February, arbitrator Cliff Freed found?Horizon?erred in the way it fired Milam.

The airline's employment rules allow employees to keep working if a substance abuse counselor agrees and a review of company records shows the worker's retention is in?Horizon's?best interest.

Freed noted Milam's drug counselor found him fit for work. But,?Horizon?did not review its own records before firing Milam, the arbitrator said.

Freed ordered that Milam be allowed to return to work.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/fjN2ljMUe8M/Pot-puffing-pilot-Will-he-fly-again

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EE has lured 318,000 customers to 4G since launching five months ago (updated)

EE draws 318,000 3 percent  of its customers to 4G, says its on track

EE's just released its Q1 2013 earnings, giving us a look at its first full quarter with 4G services. The carrier says it's on track to its goal of a million 4G customers by the end of the year, thanks to the addition or migration of 318,000 LTE customers since the service launched.. Despite those more profitable clients, however, total service revenue (excluding hardware sales) was down 1.5 percent for the period over last quarter, to £1.42 billion. On one hand, the number of 4G additions could be seen as disappointing considering the company's strong marketing push of the service -- though on the other, the company's only just activated numerous regions, making that one million 4G subscriber goal seem more likely than not. We'll just have to wait a bit longer to see if Brits are really in love with LTE's extra zip -- and willing to pay for it.

Update: This article originally stated that EE added 318,000 4G customers in Q1 this year, but that figure actually represents the number of users the carrier has added since launching its 4G service. five months ago

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Source: EE

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/23/ee-lured-318-000-customers-to-4g-in-q1-2013/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Jeff Bauman Gives Present to Fellow Boston Bombing Victim

Apr 24, 2013 6:27pm

ht sydney jeff baumer kb 130424 wblog Jeff Bauman Gives Present to Fellow Boston Bombing Victim

(Credit: Courtesy Celeste & Sydney Recovery Fund)

Sydney Corcoran, who was injured during the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, was still recovering at Boston Medical Center on Tuesday for her 18th birthday.

So fellow bombing?victim?Jeff Bauman stopped by to give her a present.

Bauman is the man in the wheel chair?pictured?in the now famous Associated Press photo taken shortly after the bombing.

Bauman, 27, lost both legs in the attack, and Corcoran is recovering from a severed femoral artery in a hospital.

Corcoran, a Lowell High School senior, was at the marathon with her parents when the bomb exploded. Her mother?s legs were badly damaged in the blast and had to be amputated below the knee, her cousin Alyssa Carter told ABCNews.com. Corcoran?s artery wound would have been fatal if strangers didn?t rush to stop the bleeding.

READ MORE:?Boston Bombing Amputee No Longer Fears ?Horrible Shin Splints?

SHOWS: Good Morning America

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/04/24/jeff-bauman-gives-present-to-fellow-boston-bombing-victim/

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