Sunday, April 28, 2013

North Korea Says It Will Indict An American Citizen For Alleged Hostile Acts Against Country

PYONGYANG, North Korea ? North Korea said Saturday it will soon put a detained American on trial for allegedly trying to overthrow the government, further complicating already fraught relations between Pyongyang and Washington.

The indictment of Kenneth Bae comes in the middle of something of a lull after weeks of war threats and other provocative acts by North Korea against the U.S. and South Korea. It has expressed rage over U.N. sanctions over a February nuclear test and ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills, though analysts say Pyongyang's motive is to get its Korean War foes to negotiate on its own terms.

Bae, identified in North Korean state media by his Korean name, Pae Jun Ho, is a tour operator of Korean descent who was arrested after arriving with a tour on Nov. 3 in Rason, a special economic zone bordering China and Russia.

He is the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009. The other Americans were eventually deported or released after high-profile diplomatic interventions, including some involving former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Analysts say the North will likely soon hand Bae a harsh punishment to use him as a bargaining chip in possible negotiations with the United States.

"The preliminary inquiry into crimes committed by American citizen Pae Jun Ho closed," the official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief report. "In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it. His crimes were proved by evidence."

DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Under North Korea's criminal code, terrorist acts include murdering, kidnapping and injuring the country's citizens can lead to a death sentence or life in jail.

North Korea and the United States fought the 1950-53 Korean War and still don't have diplomatic relations. The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the United States.

KCNA didn't say when Bae's trial will take place or what the charges were.

North Korea's state media and the U.S. government have made little information about Bae public.

But his friends, colleagues and South Korean activists specializing in North Korea affairs said Bae is a Christian missionary based in a Chinese border town who frequently made trips to North Korea to feed orphans there. It is not known whether he tried to evangelize while in North Korea.

Officially, North Korea guarantees freedom of religion. In practice, authorities crack down on Christians, who are seen as Western-influenced threats to the government. The distribution of Bibles and secret prayer services can mean banishment to a labor camp or execution, defectors from the country have said.

In 2009, American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for trespassing and unspecified hostile acts. They were freed later that year after former President Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang to negotiate their release.

__

Associated Press reporter Sam Kim contributed from Seoul, South Korea.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/north-korea-indict-american_n_3167485.html

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Return to sender? Maybe not as Somalia to restart mail 22 years on

GENEVA (Reuters) - Somalis may soon be receiving letters from abroad for the first time in more than 20 years after a deal was struck with the United Nations' postal agency, the latest step towards ending Somalia's isolation following two decades of civil conflict.

But the challenges to bringing the Horn of Africa country back into the global postal community are manifold - there are no functioning post offices, only the main roads are named and most houses do not have a number.

Add to that the ongoing struggle with al Qaeda-linked insurgents, who still control much of the countryside, and parts of the coastline infested with pirates, and it is clear the U.N.'s Universal Postal Union (UPU) and its partners have their work cut out.

The Swiss-based UPU said in a statement on Friday that international postal services could start operating again in Somalia within the next few months.

Somalia's Minister of Information and Communication Abdullahi Hirsi signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Post Group this week for Dubai to act as a hub for handling mail destined for Somalia, it said.

The UPU, which brokered the deal, said its 192 member countries could resume sending mail to Somalia once the arrangements were finalized.

About 2 million Somalis live abroad and 9.9 million in Somalia, served by a postal network that is "basically inexistant", the UPU said, having dwindled from 100 post offices in 1991.

UPU spokesman Rheal LeBlanc said Somalia had created an office at the airport to handle mail moving in and out of the country, initially to service the government, embassies and universities, "but they seem to have plans to phase in postal services across the country over the next few months and years".

Hirsi said his country would need help getting the post going again.

"We ask for all means of assistance as we have to start from ground zero," the UPU statement quoted him as saying.

In the latest sign of optimism that Somalia was emerging from its violent recent past, Britain opened an embassy at Mogadishu airport on Thursday after its previous mission closed in 1991 as civil war broke out.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/return-sender-maybe-not-somalia-restart-mail-22-134237473.html

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PFT: Jaguars looking to move second-round pick

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After assessing each team?s draft needs, offensive and defensive approaches and the prospects still left on the board, here is PFT?s Round Two mock draft:

33. Jaguars: Cornerback Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State

34. 49ers: Nose tackle John Jenkins, Georgia

35. Eagles: Quarterback Geno Smith, West Virginia

36. Lions: Offensive guard Brian Winters, Kent State

37. Bengals: Cornerback Darius Slay, Mississippi State

38. Cardinals: Outside linebacker Cornelius Washington, Georgia

39. Jets: Quarterback Ryan Nassib, Syracuse

40. Titans:?Wide receiver Justin Hunter, Tennessee

41. Bills: Tight end Zach Ertz, Stanford

42. Raiders: Quarterback Matt Barkley, USC

43. Buccaneers: Cornerback Jamar Taylor, Boise State

44. Panthers: Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Connecticut

45. Chargers: Nose tackle Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State

46. Bills: Offensive tackle Menelik Watson, Florida State

47. Cowboys: Running back Eddie Lacy, Alabama

48. Steelers: Linebacker Manti Te?o, Notre Dame

49. Giants: Tight end Gavin Escobar, San Diego State

50. Bears:?Defensive tackle Kawann Short, Purdue

51. Redskins: Linebacker Kevin Minter, Louisiana State

52. Patriots:?Wide receiver Robert Woods, Southern California

53. Bengals: Safety Johnathan Cyprien, Florida International

54. Dolphins: Cornerback Will Davis, Utah State

55. Packers: Nose tackle Jesse Williams, Alabama

56. Seahawks:?Running back Andre Ellington, Clemson

57. Texans: Outside linebacker Damontre Moore, Texas A&M

58. Broncos: Defensive end Margus Hunt, Southern Methodist

59. Patriots: Center Barrett Jones, Alabama

60. Falcons: Defensive end Tank Carradine, Florida State

61. 49ers: Cornerback David Amerson, North Carolina State

62. Ravens: Wide receiver Keenan Allen, California

UPDATE 12:54 p.m. ET on Friday, April 26: A new addition to the mock is Florida International safety Johnathan Cyprien ? surely a well-regarded prospect, as some have mentioned in the comments. After further review, he?s in. This bumped down Andre Ellington to No. 56. Also, I switched picks Nos. 40 and 41.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/26/jags-want-to-make-a-deal-at-top-of-round-two/related/

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Stupid Writer Tricks - NYTimes.com

Draft is a series about the art and craft of writing.

One day a couple of years ago, when I found my desk drawer so full of microphone headsets that it would no longer close, I realized it was time for an intervention. I could no longer deny it: I needed to stop reading interviews with authors.

The Believer, Salon, The Guardian ? these were like the bars in which I could never resist just one more drink. My most dangerous source of interviews, though ? my home liquor cabinet ? was The Paris Review. These interviews, which Dwight Garner has rightly called ?about as canonical, in our literary universe, as spoken words can be,? are treacherous things for an aspiring writer. The Paris Review has been conducting them since the ?50s, and the entire collection is online, so whole days, weeks, months can disappear as you read about why Ray Bradbury has no use for college writing programs or consider the fact that Janet Malcolm no longer smokes while she writes.

The most serious danger in reading these sorts of interviews, for me, was not that they?d waste my time ? I have a whole cosmos of ways to do that ? but that they?d inspire me. Literary interviews are inevitably packed with the nuts and bolts of how writers do their work, and there?s very little that aspiring writers do more readily than fling other people?s nuts and bolts into their toolboxes. I might learn, say, that Alice Munro writes her first drafts with a scribbler (must find out what a scribbler is, then purchase). Or that Philip Roth writes at a standing-desk (this is apparently for lumbar, rather than literary, reasons, but no matter: begone, chair!). Or that Haruki Murakami feels it necessary to exercise like a marathoner in order to sustain his novel-writing momentum. Or that Don DeLillo once typed each paragraph on its own piece of paper.

I had, for a long time, a profound vulnerability to hearing about these sorts of routines. Of course I knew that writing was terrifically hard work, and that there was no secret code, as in a video game, that would unlock Tolstoy-mode, enabling me to crank out canon-worthy novellas before lunch. But I persisted in believing that I might one day come upon some technique, some set of tricks, that would vault me irreversibly onto the professional plane. I didn?t have a working printer, but I agreed wholeheartedly with Joan Didion that I needed to be sleeping in the same room as my manuscript, so as never to lose touch with it. It would be years before I?d written so much as a single chapter of a novel, but I knew that when I finished a book, I would, like Anthony Trollope, begin my next one on the very same day.

Not all of the techniques I took up were worthless.

There was the era, inspired by Hemingway, of carrying around bound notebooks in my front-right pocket, with the intention of capturing inspirations as soon as they arrived, whether in the dentist?s waiting room or on the stalled Q train. (This worked reasonably well until the rain and the molding properties of my leg transformed the notebooks into sodden lumps of ink-smeared pulp.)

There was the era, inspired by Saul Bellow, when I would, at great peril to myself, attempt headstands in the corner of my office. (This may have done something for my balance, if nothing for my writing.)

Then there was the era of dictation software, inspired by Richard Powers, whom I envisioned lying in bed, eyes gently shut, streams of literature flowing from his lips into his headset. (Be careful with this closing-your-eyes business. It happened more than once that I?d crack open my eyes for a peek at my river of prose only to discover that I?d forgotten to hit the little red ?dictate? button.)

I know how a confession like this is supposed to end. I?m meant, like Dumbo flinging aside his feather, to realize that all the tricks and tools are unnecessary, and that what writing requires is grit, and patience, and the willingness to produce and then discard such a number of pages that you would seem, to a curious alien, to be in the garbage-generating business. And all that is manifestly true. I?ve sold all but one of my microphones, put away my mini-notebooks, stopped scouring the Internet for scraps of wisdom.

But I?m not quite ready to retire to a bare room armed only with a stack of blank paper and a sharpened No. 2 pencil (though that might, come to think of it, be something I read about in an interview). Writing is a sufficiently lonely and mysterious pastime that I don?t begrudge myself a talisman or two, so long as they don?t become ways of distracting myself from the glum inescapability of actual work.

Among my magic feathers at the moment: a writing program called Scrivener, which I have been known to tout until my wife has to kick me underneath the table.

Also: albums of binaural sounds, which help to create an inner padded room on days when my attention is particularly restless.

In the imaginary author interviews I occasionally conduct with myself while brushing my teeth, I very happily expound on these techniques and a dozen others. But I also take care to note that the important thing is not the techniques, but the spirit in which you take them up. If you reach out, as I spent all those years doing, like a drowning man for a scrap of wood, then you?ll most likely flail until you and your technique sink together in an unhappy mass. If, though, you can reach out from a position of calm, as a swimmer reaches out for a kickboard before turning to begin his next lap, then you might find yourself feeling what all the tricks and tips are finally pointing toward: freedom. You might surprise yourself ? roll onto your back, do a flutter kick, or just float for a while. The water, after all, is the point, and not how you scratch away it.


Ben Dolnick is the author of the forthcoming novel, ?At the Bottom of Everything.?

Source: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/stupid-writer-tricks/

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Monday, April 15, 2013

Musicians who learn a new melody demonstrate enhanced skill after a night's sleep

Apr. 15, 2013 ? A new study that examined how the brain learns and retains motor skills provides insight into musical skill.

Performance of a musical task improved among pianists whose practice of a new melody was followed by a night of sleep, says researcher Sarah E. Allen, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.

The study is among the first to look at whether sleep enhances the learning process for musicians practicing a new piano melody.

The study found, however, that when two similar melodies were practiced one after the other, followed by sleep, any gains in speed and accuracy achieved during practice diminished overnight, said Allen, an assistant professor of music education in SMU's Meadows School of the Arts.

"The goal is to understand how the brain decides what to keep, what to discard, what to enhance, because our brains are receiving such a rich data stream and we don't have room for everything," Allen said. "I was fascinated to study this because as musicians we practice melodies in juxtaposition with one another all the time."

Surprisingly, in a third result the study found that when two similar musical pieces were practiced one after the other, followed by practice of the first melody again, a night's sleep enhanced pianists' skills on the first melody, she said.

"The really unexpected result that I found was that for those subjects who learned the two melodies, if before they left practice they played the first melody again, it seemed to reactivate that memory so that they did improve overnight. Replaying it seemed to counteract the interference of learning a second melody."

The study adds to a body of research in recent decades that has found the brain keeps processing the learning of a new motor skill even after active training has stopped. That's also the case during sleep.

The findings may in the future guide the teaching of music, Allen said.

"In any task we want to maximize our time and our effort. This research can ultimately help us practice in an advantageous way and teach in an advantageous way," Allen said. "There could be pedagogical benefits for the order in which you practice things, but it's really too early to say. We want to research this further."

The study will be published in the journal Psychology of Music.

New study builds on earlier brain research in rats and humans

Researchers in the field of procedural memory consolidation have systematically examined the process in both rats and humans.

Studies have found that after practice of a motor skill, such as running a maze or completing a handwriting task, the areas of the brain activated during practice continue to be active for about four to six hours afterward. Activation occurs whether a subject is, for example, eating, resting, shopping or watching TV, Allen said.

Also, researchers have found that the area of the brain activated during practice of the skill is activated again during sleep, she said, essentially recalling the skill and enhancing and reinforcing it. For motor skills such as finger-tapping a sequence, research found that performance tends to be 10 percent to 13 percent more efficient after sleep, with fewer errors.

"There are two phases of memory consolidation. We refer to the four to six hours after training as stabilization. We refer to the phase during sleep as enhancement," Allen said. "We know that sleep seems to play a very important role. It makes memories a more permanent, less fragile part of the brain."

Allen's finding with musicians that practicing a second melody interfered with retaining the first melody is consistent with a growing number of similar research studies that have found learning a second motor skill task interferes with enhancement of the first task.

Impact of sleep on learning for musicians

For Allen's study, 60 undergraduate and graduate music majors participated in the research.

Divided into four groups, each musician practiced either one or both melodies during evening sessions, then returned the next day after sleep to be tested on their performance of the target melody.

The subjects learned the melodies on a Roland digital piano, practicing with their left hand during 12 30-second practice blocks separated by 30-second rest intervals. Software written for the experiment made it possible to digitally recorde musical instrument data from the performances. The number of correct key presses per 30-second block reflected speed and accuracy.

Musicians who learned a single melody showed performance gains on the test the next day.

Those who learned a second melody immediately after learning the target melody didn't get any overnight enhancement in the first melody.

Those who learned two melodies, but practiced the first one again before going home to sleep, showed overnight enhancement when tested on the first melody.

"This was the most surprising finding, and perhaps the most important," Allen reported in the Psychology of Music. "The brief test of melody A following the learning of melody B at the end of the evening training session seems to have reactivated the memory of melody A in a way that inhibited the interfering effects of learning melody B that were observed in the AB-sleep-A group."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Southern Methodist University. The original article was written by Margaret Allen.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. S. Allen. Memory stabilization and enhancement following music practice. Psychology of Music, 2012; DOI: 10.1177/0305735612463947

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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/2vn0RBQzd9c/130415124804.htm

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Events Driving Unemployment, Housing - Political Calculations ...

28 weeks ago, on 23 September 2012, a new trend in the seasonally-adjusted number of new jobless claims filed each week began. That trend has been characterized by extreme volatility, affected by such factors ranging from California's inability to process large numbers of claims in early October 2012, the impact of Hurricane Sandy from early November through early December 2012, a carry-over effect from December 2012's fiscal cliff event that ran from mid-January through mid-March 2013. And for 30 March 2013, perhaps a spike from the new seasonal adjustment factors that were just introduced in the last several weeks.

Residual Distribution of Seasonally-Adjusted Weekly Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims, 19 November 2011 through 30 March 2013

Let's get into the fiscal cliff carry-over effect, which we're considering as a hypothesis for what we observe in the data. Here, approximately 500 publicly-traded companies issued special or extra dividend payments to benefit their investors, who were seeking to avoid the risk of having dramatically higher taxes imposed upon them after the end of the year thanks to the "fiscal cliff" political impasse in Washington D.C., where the absence of a deal would hike the tax rate on dividends from 15% to as high as 43.4% with the looming expiration of the Bush-era 2003 tax cuts.

At the same time, many investors also sold off stocks at the end of the year to avoid a similar tax spike for capital gains, whose tax rate was set to rise from 15% to as high as 23.8%. Stock prices fell in response to this kind of selling in two phases. The first phase began following the re-election of Barack Obama as U.S. President on 6 November 2012, which continued through 15 November 2012. This phase was then interrupted by the actions of U.S. companies to issue extra or special dividend payments following the close of business that day, the reaction to which initiated a strong rally in stock prices as it created an incentive to hold stocks - at least through the time for when those dividend payments would be made before the end of the year.

Political  Calculations

Political Calculations

Political Calculations is a site that develops, applies and presents both established and cutting edge theory to the topics of investing, business and economics.

Be the first to read Political Calculation's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com delivered each morning to your inbox.

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2013/04/14/events-driving-unemployment-housing-n1567167

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Cabrera comes up big again _ but just shy in major

AAA??Apr. 14, 2013?8:59 PM ET
Cabrera comes up big again _ but just shy in major
By PAUL NEWBERRYBy PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer?THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES?

Angel Cabrera tosses his putter in the air after he misses his birdie putt on the second playoff hole on the 10th green to lose the Masters on Saturday, April 13, 2013, in Augusta. Adam Scott then made his birdie putt to win the Masters for his first major victory. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal Constitution, Curtis Compton)

Angel Cabrera tosses his putter in the air after he misses his birdie putt on the second playoff hole on the 10th green to lose the Masters on Saturday, April 13, 2013, in Augusta. Adam Scott then made his birdie putt to win the Masters for his first major victory. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal Constitution, Curtis Compton)

Angel Cabrera, right, reacts with his son Angel Cabrera Jr., who caddies for him, after he almost chipped in for birdie on the first hole of a playoff during the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 14, 2013, in Augusta. Cabrera was defeated by Adam Scott in the playoff. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT

Adam Scott and his caddie Steve Williams reacts to his putt dropping on the second hole of a playoff to win the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 14, 2013, in Augusta. Runner-up Angel Cabrera watches in the background. Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT

Angel Cabrera, right, of Argentina, hugs Adam Scott, of Australia, after Scott made a birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the Masters golf tournament Sunday, April 14, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Angel Cabrera, of Argentina, congratulates Adam Scott, of Australia, while being hugged by caddie Steve Williams after his birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the Masters golf tournament Sunday, April 14, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

(AP) ? Angel Cabrera usually comes up big in these situations.

He did again.

It just wasn't enough to win his second green jacket.

Cabrera forced a playoff with a brilliant iron shot to 3 feet on the 72nd hole of the Masters, but he lost to Adam Scott on the second hole of a playoff when the Australian rolled in a 12-foot putt.

Cabrera just missed a chip-in from off the front of the green at the first extra hole, and his 15-footer on the second playoff hole stopped right next to the cup. He flipped his putter in the air and caught it, then tapped in for par.

At that point, all he could do was watch Scott make his birdie and become the first Aussie to win the Masters.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-14-GLF-Masters-Runner-up/id-de648e85a2604e0183bb0e3247aec02b

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Hispanics, Well ... Turn Out to Be Democrats (talking-points-memo)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/298784651?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Flanagan best US hope in Boston Marathon in years

BOSTON (AP) ? Shalane Flanagan grew up in nearby Marblehead watching her father run the Boston Marathon.

On Monday, the three-time Olympian will be on the course herself to give the U.S. its best hope for a victory in years.

The 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters, Flanagan will make her Boston debut. She finished second at the New York City Marathon in 2010, then won the Olympic trials last January. She finished 10th in London

Flanagan says it's always been a dream of hers to run Boston. Her father had a personal best of 2 hours, 18 minutes, and her mother, Cheryl Treworgy, held the marathon record in 1971.

No American man or woman has won the Boston race since Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flanagan-best-us-hope-boston-marathon-years-200705587--spt.html

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Saturday, April 13, 2013

Russia warns U.S. on human rights law, seeks to limit damage

By Denis Dyomkin

BLAGOVESHCHENSK, Russia (Reuters) - The forthcoming publication of a list of Russians barred from the United States over alleged human rights abuses will severely strain relations, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said on Friday, but he also sought to limit the damage.

"The appearance of any lists will doubtless have a very negative effect on bilateral Russian-American relations," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters while accompanying Putin on a trip to eastern Siberia.

"At the same time, these bilateral relations are very multifaceted, and even under the burden of such possible negative manifestations ... they still have many prospects for further development and growth."

President Barack Obama must submit to U.S. lawmakers by Saturday a list of Russians to be barred entry to the United States under a law penalizing Moscow for alleged human rights abuses. Their assets in the United States will also be frozen.

The Magnitsky Act is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in a Moscow jail in 2009 while awaiting trial on tax evasion charges. Relatives and former colleagues say he was jailed by the same officials he had accused of stealing $230 million from the state through fraudulent tax rebates.

His death underscored the dangers of challenging the Russian state and deepened Western concerns about human rights and the rule of law in Russia.

Passage of the Magnitsky Act in December added to tension in ties already strained by disagreement over issues ranging from the conflict in Syria to Russia's treatment of Kremlin critics and Western-funded non-governmental organizations since Putin returned to the Kremlin for a six-year term last May.

Moscow has warned it will respond to a U.S. list by naming Americans barred from Russia under retaliatory legislation signed by Putin, and the spat threatens to cast a shadow over a visit to Russia by Obama's national security adviser Tom Donilon, who is to hold high-level talks in Moscow on Monday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Ministry Sergei Ryabkov, a point man for U.S. ties, said Russia's response to the Magnitsky Act would be measured.

"We will not rush ahead of the Americans in terms of the number of individuals who will be included on our list, but we will respond in parity," Ryabkov said, according to state-run news agency Itar-Tass.

Peskov's comments appeared aimed to signal that Russia wants to limit the impact of the dispute, and suggested Russia was leaving the door open to progress in resolving a standoff over an anti-missile shield, which the United States is deploying in Europe with cooperation from NATO.

A U.S. decision to scrap plans for a new interceptor missile that would have been deployed in Europe could help address Russia's complaint that the shield would threaten its security, and missile defense is to be discussed at Donilon's talks.

(Reporting by Denis Dyomkin; Writing by Steve Gutterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-warns-u-human-rights-law-seeks-limit-080408094.html

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Monday, April 8, 2013

This Terrifying Condom Slingshot Is the Most Effective Birth Control

Bill Gates has posted a $100,000 bounty to the person or team that finds a way to improve the age old design of the condom. Including "designs that are easier to properly apply" which inspired our favorite weapons designer Joerg Sprave to of course apply his expertise in slingshots to the problem. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/vEZzmKPRHmI/this-terrifying-condom-slingshot-is-the-most-effective-birth-control

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Reducing waste of food: A key element in feeding billions more people

Apr. 7, 2013 ? Families can be key players in a revolution needed to feed the world, and could save money by helping to cut food losses now occurring from field to fork to trash bin, an expert said in New Orleans on April 7. He described that often-invisible waste in food -- 4 out of every 10 pounds produced in the United States alone -- and the challenges of feeding a global population of 9 billion in a keynote talk at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

"We will need another 'Green Revolution' to feed the world by 2050," said John Floros, Ph.D., referring to the development of high-yield, disease-resistant breeds of grain and other agricultural innovations that took root in the 1960s. "That will mean scientific innovations, such as new strains of the big three grains -- rice, wheat and corn -- adapted for a changing climate and other conditions. It also will require action to reduce a terrible waste of food that gets too little attention."

Floros cited estimates that in many developing countries up to half of the food harvested from farmers' fields is lost before reaching consumers. He is dean of the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University. That waste can occur due to spoilage from improper storage of grain during transportation or from pests. Rats and mice alone eat or spoil 20 percent of the world's food supply due to contamination with their urine and feces.

"A different kind of waste occurs in the United States and some other developed countries," Floros said. "Developed countries have much more efficient systems for preserving, storing, transporting and protecting food from spoilage and pests. But as a nation -- households, supermarkets, restaurants, other food-service providers -- we throw away about 4 out of every 10 pounds of food produced each year."

Government studies show, for instance, that the average family in the United States throws away 20 pounds of food a month, more than $2,000 worth every year for a family of four. It includes food that has gone uneaten and spoiled in refrigerators and on pantry shelves, as well as food that people throw away after cooking. Uneaten food actually rivals paper, plastic and other refuse as the No. 1 material in some municipal landfills.

Scientists know that food waste in landfills, for instance, releases methane gas as it decomposes. Methane is about 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas that fosters global warming. Floros pointed out that reducing food waste would contribute to solving other great global challenges that society faces in the 21st century, beyond feeding a booming population. Wasting food wastes the freshwater needed to grow it, at a time when 1.2 billion people lack access to clean water. It also wastes energy, fertilizers, pesticides and other resources used in the food supply.

Supplying more food, however, is only part of the challenge, Floros emphasized. "Millions of people in some developing countries are becoming more affluent. In the past, people were satisfied with food that filled them up and sustained life. Increasingly, they will demand food that is convenient to prepare, certified as safe and highly nutritious and tastes good."

He cited the People's Republic of China as an example. The middle class in China is now larger than the U.S. population and is increasing in size year by year. And people in China are now consuming almost 3 times as much meat compared to a few decades ago. Demand for convenience foods also is rising with the growth of the urban population.

Several other food-related challenges lie ahead, Floros pointed out. Water, for instance, is becoming scarcer, as is fertile farmland. Global climate change may stress those resources even further. The demand for sustainable energy may divert more cropland to production of crops for biofuel production. Economic conditions threaten less investment in agricultural research and development. Drought and other extreme weather could impact food production. And consumption of too much food and less nutritious foods underpins epidemics in obesity and type 2 diabetes.

"We're not doing enough to resolve these complex issues that are critical for providing 9-10 billion people with a nutritious diet," said Floros. "Consumers, industry, universities and governments all need to pitch in. The first step is more awareness of these issues and the need for action on multiple levels of society."

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/YlxbTCcUqSo/130407183539.htm

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Sunday, April 7, 2013

Griner, McGraw are AP player and coach of the year

(AP) ? Brittney Griner has had no equal in her stellar career at Baylor. Now she's part of a very select group.

The 6-foot-8 senior star earned The Associated Press player of the year award for the second straight season Saturday. Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw was selected coach of the year.

Griner is just the third player to earn the award in consecutive years, joining Seimone Augustus of LSU and Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee. Connecticut's Maya Moore won it twice in a three-year span.

"Those names are pretty big; to have my name in there is an honor," Griner said.

The three-time All-American got 37 votes from the 40-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Stanford's Chiney Ogwumike received two votes while Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins earned the other.

Griner helped hand McGraw's team its only loss of the season back in early December. The Irish haven't lost since, winning a school record 30 straight games. Not bad for a team that graduated three starters from last season.

"I think she's one of the best players to play the game," McGraw said. "She definitely has been a really dominating presence in every way."

McGraw, who also won the award in 2001, received 24 votes. She did one of her best coaching jobs this season, getting the Irish back to the Final Four for a third straight season.

"She's well deserving of the award this year with what we lost," Diggins said. "To keep us winning like this that means a lot. She's a great person and knows how to win and motivate her players to give their all for her. When you have someone who cares about you, you'll do anything."

McGraw was happy to share the award with her coaching staff and team who were in attendance for the ceremony and let out a loud cheer when she accepted it.

Last year's winner, Griner's coach Kim Mulkey, was second with seven votes. Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who guided the Golden Bears to their first Final Four, was third.

"It's certainly an honor and truly a staff award," McGraw said. "I got the best staff in women's basketball and we definitely are a great team."

McGraw, who also won the award in 2001, became the second coach to win it multiple times. She joined UConn's Geno Auriemma ? a seven time recipient.

Griner averaged 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 blocks this season. She shot 61 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free throw line. Griner's father, godfather and brother were with her when she accepted the award. Griner said she will put it with the one she won last year.

She really appeared to be having a lot more fun on the court this season. Griner had 11 dunks, including three against Florida State in the second round of the NCAA tournament. She finished her career with 18; only six other women have ever dunked in a college game and the group had 15 combined.

Her college career ended sooner than expected, though, after Baylor lost to Louisville in the NCAA tournament regional semifinals.

Griner was the second all-time scorer in women's NCAA history, with 3,283 points. She is the top shot blocker ever, shattering both the men's and women's college marks with 748.

Her play has drawn the praise of LeBron James.

"She's dominating that sport, the women's side of the game," he said. "There's really no one that can match her right now."

___

Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-06-AP%20Awards/id-54852cefa694453ba29f10937cdf7ddf

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Jack Hoffman: Nebraska Let 7-Year-Old Cancer Patient Score ...

Seven-year-old Jack Hoffman befriended Rex Burkhead during his battle with brain cancer. On Saturday, Nebraska brought him on the field to run for a touchdown wearing Burkhead?s No. 22 during their Spring Game. Sports can be awful, but they can also bring moments like this.

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Source: http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/04/07/jack-hoffman-nebraska-let-7-year-old-cancer-patient-score-touchdown-in-spring-game/

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Friday, April 5, 2013

NY judge makes morning-after pill available to all

This undated image made available by Teva Women's Health shows the packaging for their Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, one of the brands known as the "morning-after pill." In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and must end within 30 days. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York means consumers of any age could buy emergency contraception without a prescription _ instead of women first having to prove they're 17 or older, as they do today. And it could allow Plan B One-Step to move out from behind pharmacy counters to the store counters. (AP Photo/Teva Women's Health)

This undated image made available by Teva Women's Health shows the packaging for their Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, one of the brands known as the "morning-after pill." In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and must end within 30 days. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York means consumers of any age could buy emergency contraception without a prescription _ instead of women first having to prove they're 17 or older, as they do today. And it could allow Plan B One-Step to move out from behind pharmacy counters to the store counters. (AP Photo/Teva Women's Health)

This undated handout photo provided by Judge Edward Korman shows U.S. District Judge Korman of New York. In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and must end within 30 days. The ruling by Korman means consumers of any age could buy emergency contraception without a prescription _ instead of women first having to prove they're 17 or older, as they do today. And it could allow Plan B One-Step to move out from behind pharmacy counters to the store counters. (AP Photo/Judge Korman's Office)

(AP) ? In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and must end within 30 days.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York means consumers of any age could buy emergency contraception without a prescription ? instead of women first having to prove they're 17 or older, as they do today. And it could allow Plan B One-Step to move out from behind pharmacy counters to the store counters.

The Justice Department didn't immediately say whether it would appeal the ruling.

"We are reviewing the decision and evaluating the government's options," said F. Franklin Amanat, a lawyer for the government.

It's the latest twist in a decade-long push for easier access to emergency contraception, which can prevent pregnancy if taken soon enough after unprotected sex.

The Food and Drug Administration actually was preparing to lift all age limits on Plan B One-Step in late 2011 when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in an unprecedented move, overruled her own scientists. Sebelius said some girls as young as 11 are physically capable of bearing children but shouldn't be able to buy the pregnancy-preventing pill on their own. President Barack Obama said he supported the decision, also citing concern for young girls.

That move shocked women's groups ? and in his ruling, Korman blasted Sebelius for what he called an "obviously political" decision.

"This case is not about the potential misuse of Plan B by 11-year-olds," Korman wrote, saying the number of young girls using such drugs "is likely to be minuscule."

Yet the sales restrictions are making it hard for women of all ages to buy the pills, especially young and low-income ones, he said.

Moreover, Korman noted that numerous over-the-counter drugs are dangerous for children, but are still sold nevertheless without age requirements, while "these emergency contraceptives would be among the safest drugs sold over-the-counter."

"It has been clear for a long time that the medical and scientific community think this should be fully over the counter and is safe for women of all ages to use," said Dr. Susan Wood, who resigned as FDA's women's health chief in 2005 to protest Bush administration foot-dragging over Plan B.

"Having worked on this for many years, the judge really wanted to make it clear that FDA had come to a scientific determination and was once again overruled, and that is not acceptable," she added.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed suit against the age restriction, and other groups have argued that contraceptives are being held to a different and non-scientific standard than other drugs and that politics has played a role in decision-making.

"I think this is a landmark decision in terms of providing women and girls in the United States access to a safe and effective form of birth control," said attorney Andrea Costello with the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.

Social conservatives criticized the ruling.

"This ruling places the health of young girls at risk," said Anna Higgins of the Family Research Council. "There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to young girls, under coercion or without their consent. The involvement of parents and medical professionals act as a safeguard for these young girls. However, today's ruling removes these commonsense protections."

The judge said the FDA decided after 11 months, 47,000 public comments and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars spent, that it did not need rulemaking on the subject.

"The plaintiffs should not be forced to endure, nor should the agency's misconduct be rewarded by, an exercise that permits the FDA to engage in further delay and obstruction," he wrote.

Four years ago, Korman was highly critical of the Bush administration's initial handling of the issue when he ordered the FDA to let 17-year-olds obtain the medication, instead of setting the age at 18. At the time, he accused the government of letting "political considerations, delays and implausible justifications for decision-making" cloud the approval process.

The morning-after pill contains a higher dose of the female progestin hormone that is in regular birth control pills. Taking it within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. But it works best within the first 24 hours.

If a woman already is pregnant, the pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that scientists ? and Korman, in his ruling ? said has been discredited.

___

Neumeister reported from New York. AP Writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-05-Morning-After%20Pill/id-02b2bea454f74cf580208fbd80c34c1c

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Accidental discovery may lead to improved polymers

Accidental discovery may lead to improved polymers [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 5-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Terry Lavender
terry.lavender@utoronto.ca
416-978-4498
University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

TORONTO, ON Chemical Engineering Professor Tim Bender and Post-Doctoral Fellow Benoit Lessard's discovery of an unexpected side product of polymer synthesis could have implications for the manufacture of commercial polymers used in sealants, adhesives, toys and even medical implants, the researchers say.

Bender and Lessard discuss their discovery in "Boron subphthalocyanine polymers by facile coupling to poly (acrylic acid-ran-styrene) copolymers and the associated problems with autoinitition when employing nitroxide mediated polymerization," a paper published this month in Macromolecular Rapid Communications and online at MaterialsView.com.

"People in polymer synthesis would be very interested in the process described in our paper, as we document the discovery of a side-product. This side-product is quite unexpected based on our current knowledge of polymer chemistry," Bender said.

Bender and Lessard describe a synthesis of Boron subphthalocyanines (BsubPcs) containing polymers that can be used in organic electronic devices. What makes the article significant is that it also describes their discovery of a new side product of a common polymer synthesis technique, which would not have been observed without the addition of the BsubPc to this standard polymer.

"Currently BsubPc polymers do not have any commercial applications. However, by studying their properties and finding new and inexpensive ways to synthesize them, we are able to open the door for potential applications in the field of organic electronics," Lessard said.

Commercial polymers may also contain this particular side product, Bender and Lessard wrote. If the side product can be reduced or eliminated, more of the polymer could be produced with more consistent quality.

Bender and Lessard are also investigating the optical and electrical properties of BsubPc polymers for possible use in organic electronic devices, such as organic field-effect transistors, organic light emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics. Applying polymers in organic electronics may lead to more flexibility, lighter weight and lower manufacturing costs, they wrote.

###

To read Bender and Lessard's article, visit http://www.materialsviews.com/boron-subphthalocyanine-polymers/

For more information, please contact:

Terry Lavender
Communications & Media Relations Strategist
Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, University of Toronto
Tel: 416-978-4498
Email: terry.lavender@utoronto.ca
Web: http://www.engineering.utoronto.ca


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Accidental discovery may lead to improved polymers [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 5-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Terry Lavender
terry.lavender@utoronto.ca
416-978-4498
University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

TORONTO, ON Chemical Engineering Professor Tim Bender and Post-Doctoral Fellow Benoit Lessard's discovery of an unexpected side product of polymer synthesis could have implications for the manufacture of commercial polymers used in sealants, adhesives, toys and even medical implants, the researchers say.

Bender and Lessard discuss their discovery in "Boron subphthalocyanine polymers by facile coupling to poly (acrylic acid-ran-styrene) copolymers and the associated problems with autoinitition when employing nitroxide mediated polymerization," a paper published this month in Macromolecular Rapid Communications and online at MaterialsView.com.

"People in polymer synthesis would be very interested in the process described in our paper, as we document the discovery of a side-product. This side-product is quite unexpected based on our current knowledge of polymer chemistry," Bender said.

Bender and Lessard describe a synthesis of Boron subphthalocyanines (BsubPcs) containing polymers that can be used in organic electronic devices. What makes the article significant is that it also describes their discovery of a new side product of a common polymer synthesis technique, which would not have been observed without the addition of the BsubPc to this standard polymer.

"Currently BsubPc polymers do not have any commercial applications. However, by studying their properties and finding new and inexpensive ways to synthesize them, we are able to open the door for potential applications in the field of organic electronics," Lessard said.

Commercial polymers may also contain this particular side product, Bender and Lessard wrote. If the side product can be reduced or eliminated, more of the polymer could be produced with more consistent quality.

Bender and Lessard are also investigating the optical and electrical properties of BsubPc polymers for possible use in organic electronic devices, such as organic field-effect transistors, organic light emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics. Applying polymers in organic electronics may lead to more flexibility, lighter weight and lower manufacturing costs, they wrote.

###

To read Bender and Lessard's article, visit http://www.materialsviews.com/boron-subphthalocyanine-polymers/

For more information, please contact:

Terry Lavender
Communications & Media Relations Strategist
Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, University of Toronto
Tel: 416-978-4498
Email: terry.lavender@utoronto.ca
Web: http://www.engineering.utoronto.ca


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uotf-adm040513.php

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