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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
McDonald's Will Stop Using Pink Goop Beef in Its Burgers [Food]
Monday, January 30, 2012
Djokovic wins Australian Open in longest final
Novak Djokovic of Serbia makes a forehand return to Rafael Nadal of Spain during their men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia makes a forehand return to Rafael Nadal of Spain during their men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Rafael Nadal of Spain makes a forehand return to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia serves to Rafael Nadal of Spain during the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
Rafael Nadal of Spain makes a backhand return to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain during the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Novak Djokovic wore down Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam singles final in the history of professional tennis, winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 after 5 hours, 53 minutes to claim his third Australian Open title.
Djokovic wrapped it up at 1:37 a.m. local time on Monday, becoming the fifth man since the Open Era began in 1968 to win three straight Grand Slam finals.
The 24-year-old Djokovic tore off his shirt in celebration after the riveting final. He went to his support camp and repeatedly thumped the side of the arena in front of them in delight and relief.
Nadal leaned on the net, while Djokovic sat on his haunches before the trophy presentation. Eventually, an official brought them chairs and a bottle of water each.
"We made history tonight and unfortunately there couldn't be two winners," Djokovic said.
Djokovic maintained his mastery of Nadal, who has lost seven straight finals against the Serb since March last year. The Spainiard became the first man in the Open Era to lose three straight major finals. He lost in four sets to Djokovic at last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open.
Having reduced Roger Federer to tears when he won the title over five sets in 2009, Nadal maintained his composure during the on-court speeches ? and even managed a joke.
"Good morning, everybody," Nadal said, earning laughs and loud applause from the crowd. "Congratulations to Novak and his team. They deserve it. They are doing something fantastic, so congratulations."
After coming back from 5-3 down to win the fourth-set tiebreaker, Nadal was up a break at 4-2 in the fifth set against Djokovic, who seemed to be tiring.
But the No. 1-ranked Djokovic, who needed almost five hours to win his semifinal against Andy Murray, somehow responded. He broke for a 6-5 lead and saved a break point before finally claiming the win.
The previous longest major singles final was Mats Wilander's win over Ivan Lendl at the U.S. Open in 1988, which lasted 4 hours, 54 minutes.
The longest Australian Open final also involved Wilander in 1988, when the Swede beat Pat Cash. Sunday's match was also the longest in the tournament's history.
A tense, error-strewn opening set offered no indication of the high drama to follow. In hot, humid conditions, both players struggled for consistency.
After an exchange of breaks, Nadal took it after 80 minutes ? two minutes short of the entire women's final the previous day.
Nadal had only lost one match of his previous 134 in Grand Slams after winning the first set, but he found his serve coming under increasing pressure as the match wore on.
As if to demonstrate the pervading tension of the occasion, Djokovic double-faulted at break point down while serving for the second set at 5-3 before Nadal returned the favor by double-faulting in the next game to give the Serb the second set.
By the time Djokovic took a 3-1 lead in the third set, Nadal's shoulders were visibly slumping and he was talking to himself more often, unable to stop his opponent from peppering the baseline with his returns to take control of the points.
At 5-2, his uncle and coach Toni Nadal moved to the front row of the players' box to try to get some positive messages to his nephew.
It didn't work. Nadal lost his serve again ? at love.
But in the fourth set, Nadal dug in, drawing on his renowned fighting spirit, and the match really came alive when he recovered from 0-40 down in the eighth game with two spectacular winners, two unreturnable serves and an ace.
Then came a rain shower and a brief delay for the roof to close, robbing Nadal of his momentum.
He regained it the tiebreaker, though, reeling off four straight points from 5-3 down, taking the match into a decider when Djokovic's forehand dropped wide.
The tennis, almost unbelievably, seemed to improve in the fifth set as the match ticked past five hours.
At 4-4, Djokovic looped a backhand long after a 31-shot rally ? the longest of the match ? and then collapsed with his arms and legs spread wide.
He struggled to pick himself and his racket up, but he broke two games later when Nadal, finally showing signs of fatigue, netted a backhand.
Still, Nadal wasn't quite done. Djokovic had to save a break point with a cross-court backhand, crossing himself as he limped back to the baseline, before finally claiming victory with his 57th winner of the match.
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HBT: Rangers will meet with Oswalt on Monday
Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers are going to meet with Roy Oswalt on Monday. There?s no offer on the table, but there is a meeting.
This, combined with the multiple denials from the Cardinals that they were, as previously reported, close to a deal with Oswalt, could suggest that Texas is making a move. ?But then again, the Rangers met with Prince Fielder too, and see how that turned out.
So, my guess: Oswalt signs a $200 million deal with Detroit. Because that?s how this works, right?
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Gingrich discounts polls suggesting Romney's up by double digits in Florida (Washington Bureau)
IMF chief presses for more cash to fight crisis (AP)
DAVOS, Switzerland ? The head of the International Monetary Fund appeared to be making headway Saturday in her drive to boost the institution's financial firepower so that it can help Europe prevent its crippling debt crisis from further damaging the global economy.
Christine Lagarde, who replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the fund six months ago, is trying to ramp up the IMF's resources by $500 billion so it can help if more lending is needed in Europe or elsewhere. The IMF is the world's traditional lender-of-last-resort and has been involved in the bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Insisting that the IMF is a "safe bet" and that no country had ever lost money by lending to the IMF, Lagarde argued that increasing the size of the IMF's resources would help improve confidence in the global financial system. If enough money is in the fund the markets will be reassured and it won't be used, she said, using arguments similar to those that France has made about increasing Europe's own rescue fund.
"It's for that reason that I am here, with my little bag, to actually collect a bit of money," she said at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps town of Davos.
Her plea appeared to find a measure of support from ministers of Britain and Japan, sizable IMF shareholders that would be expected to contribute to any money-raising exercise.
George Osborne, Britain's finance minister, said there is "a case for increasing IMF resources and ... demonstrating that the world wants to help together to solve the world's problems," provided the 17 countries that use the euro show the "color of their money."
European countries have said they're prepared to give the IMF $150 billion, meaning that the rest of the world will have to contribute $350 billion. However, many countries, such as Britain and the U.S., want Europe to do more, notably by boosting its own rescue fund.
Osborne said he would be willing to argue in Parliament for a new British contribution, though he may encounter opposition from some members from his own Conservative Party.
Japan's economy minister, Motohisa Furukawa, said his country would help the eurozone via the IMF, too, even though Japan's own debt burden is massive. Unlike Europe's debt-ridden economies, Japan doesn't face sky-high borrowing rates, partly because there's a very liquid domestic market that continues to support the country's bonds.
Europe once again dominated discussions on the final full day of the forum in Davos. Despite some optimism about Europe's latest attempts to stem the crisis, fears remain that turmoil could return.
Whether the markets remain stable could rest for now on if Greece, the epicenter of the crisis, manages to conclude crucial debt-reduction discussions with its private creditors. It's also seeking to placate demands from its European partners and the IMF for deeper reforms.
A failure on either front could force the country, which is now in its fifth year of recession, to default on its debt and leave the euro, potentially triggering another wave of mayhem in financial markets that could hit the global economy hard.
One German official even said Saturday that Greece should temporarily cede sovereignty over tax and spending decisions to a powerful eurozone budget commissioner to secure further bailouts. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because talks on the idea are confidential.
"The fact that we're still, at the start of 2012, talking about Greece again is a sign that this problem has not been dealt with," Britain's Osborne said.
For Donald Tsang, the chief executive of Hong Kong, efforts to deal with the 2-year-old debt crisis have fallen short of what is required. The failure to properly deal with the Greek situation quickly has meant the ultimate cost to Europe has been higher, he said.
"I have never been as scared as now about the world," he said.
Most economic forecasters predict that the global economy will continue to grow this year, but at a fairly slow rate. The IMF recently reduced its forecasts for global growth in 2012 to 3.3 percent, from the 4 percent pace that the IMF projected in September.
Lagarde sought to encourage some countries that use the euro to boost growth to help shore up the ailing eurozone economy, which is widely expected to sink back into recession, adding that it would be counterproductive if all euro countries cut their budgets aggressively at the same time.
"Some countries have to go full-speed ahead to do this fiscal consolidation ... but other countries have space and room," Lagarde said.
Though conceding that there aren't many such countries, Lagarde said it is important that those that have the headroom explore how they can boost growth. She carefully avoided naming any countries, but likely had in mind Germany, Europe's largest economy and a major world exporter. She didn't specify how to boost growth or how one eurozone country could help others grow.
Lagarde said members of the eurozone should continue the drive to tie their economies closer together. On Monday, European leaders gather in Brussels in the hopes of agreeing on a treaty that will force member countries to put deficit limits into their national laws.
Britain's Osborne said eurozone leaders should be praised for the "courage" they have shown over the past few months in enacting austerity and setting in place closer fiscal ties, but said more will have to be done if the single currency is to get on a surer footing.
Fiscal transfers from rich economies to poorer ones will become a "permanent feature" of the eurozone, Osborne predicted.
While politicians and business people were discussing the state of the global economy within the confines of the conference center, protesters questioned the purpose of the event as income inequalities grow worldwide.
Protesters from the Occupy movement that started on Wall Street have camped out in igloos at Davos and were demonstrating in front of City Hall to call attention to the needs of the poor and unemployed.
In a separate protest, three Ukrainian women were arrested when they stripped off their tops ? despite temperatures around freezing ? and tried to climb a fence surrounding the invitation-only gathering of international CEOs and political leaders.
"Crisis! Made in Davos," read one message painted across a protester's torso.
Davos police spokesman Thomas Hobi said the three women were taken to the police station and told they weren't allowed to demonstrate. He said they would be released later in the day.
___
Frank Jordans and Edith M. Lederer in Davos, and Juergen Baetz in Berlin contributed to this report.
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Survey suggests family history of psychiatric disorders shapes intellectual interests
Survey suggests family history of psychiatric disorders shapes intellectual interests
Friday, January 27, 2012A hallmark of the individual is the cultivation of personal interests, but for some people, their intellectual pursuits might actually be genetically predetermined. Survey results published by Princeton University researchers in the journal PLoS ONE suggest that a family history of psychiatric conditions such as autism and depression could influence the subjects a person finds engaging.
Although preliminary, the findings provide a new look at the oft-studied link between psychiatric conditions and aptitude in the arts or sciences. While previous studies have explored this link by focusing on highly creative individuals or a person's occupation, the Princeton research indicates that the influence of familial neuropsychiatric traits on personal interests is apparently independent of a person's talent or career path, and could help form a person's basic preferences and personality.
Princeton researchers surveyed nearly 1,100 students from the University's Class of 2014 early in their freshman year to learn which major they would choose based on their intellectual interests. The students were then asked to indicate the incidence of mood disorders, substance abuse or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their family, including parents, siblings and grandparents.
Students interested in pursuing a major in the humanities or social sciences were twice as likely to report that a family member had a mood disorder or a problem with substance abuse. Students with an interest in science and technical majors, on the other hand, were three times more likely to report a sibling with an ASD, a range of developmental disorders that includes autism and Asperger syndrome.
Senior researcher Sam Wang, an associate professor in Princeton's Department of Molecular Biology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, said that the survey ? though not exhaustive nor based on direct clinical diagnoses ? presents the idea that certain heritable psychiatric conditions are more closely linked to a person's intellectual interests than is currently supposed.
During the past several decades, Wang said, various researchers have found that, in certain people and their relatives, mood or behavior disorders are associated with a higher-than-average representation in careers related to writing and the humanities, while conditions related to autism exhibit a similar correlation with scientific and technical careers.
By focusing on poets, writers and scientists, however, those studies only include people who have advanced far in "artistic" or "scientific" pursuits and professions, potentially excluding a large group of people who have those interests but no particular aptitude or related career, Wang said. He and lead author Benjamin Campbell, a graduate student at Rockefeller University, selected incoming freshmen because the students are old enough to have defined interests, but are not yet on a set career path. (Princeton students do not declare a major until the end of sophomore year.)
"Until our work, evidence of a connection between neuropsychiatric disorders and artistic aptitude, for example, was based on surveying creative people, where creativity is usually defined in terms of occupation or proficiency in an artistic field," Wang said. "But what if there is a broader category of people associated with bipolar or depression, namely people who think that the arts are interesting? The students we surveyed are not all F. Scott Fitzgerald, but many more of them might like to read F. Scott Fitzgerald."
The Princeton research provides a new and "provocative" consideration that other scientists in this area can build upon, said Kay Redfield Jamison, a psychiatry and behavioral science professor at Johns Hopkins University and co-director of the university's Mood Disorders Center.
Jamison, who is well known for her research on bipolar disorder and her work on the artistic/mood disorder connection, said that while interests and choice of career are presumably related, Wang and Campbell present data suggesting that intellectual interests might also be independently shaped by psychiatric conditions, which provides the issue larger context.
In addition, the researchers focused on an age group that is not typically looked at specifically, but that is usually included in analyses that span various ages. Such a targeted approach lends the results a unique perspective, she said. Though the incidence of psychiatric conditions in the Princeton study was based on the students' own reporting and not definitive diagnoses, the rates Wang and Campbell found are not different from other populations, she noted.
"This is an additional way of looking at a complex problem that is very interesting," said Jamison, who played no role in the research project. "This work provides a piece of the puzzle in understanding why people go into particular occupations. In this field, it's important to do as many different kinds of studies as possible, and this is an interesting initial study with very interesting findings. It will provoke people to think about this question and it will provoke people to design other kinds of studies."
An implied connection between psychiatric conditions and a flair for art or science dates to at least Aristotle, who famously noted that those "eminent in philosophy, politics, poetry and the arts have all had tendencies toward melancholia."
Modern explorations of that relationship have examined the actual prevalence of people with neuropsychiatric disorders and their relatives in particular fields.
Among the most recent work, researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry in November that of the 300,000 people studied, people with bipolar disorder, as well as their healthy parents and siblings, were more likely to have a "creative" job ? including a field in the arts or sciences ? than people with no familial history of the condition. Parents and siblings of people with schizophrenia also exhibited a greater tendency to have a creative job, though people with schizophrenia did not.
Various other studies in the past few decades have found a similar correlation between psychiatric disorders and "creativity," which is typically defined by a person's career or eminence in an artistic field such as writing or music. In their work, however, Wang and Campbell present those criteria as too narrow. They instead suggest that psychiatric disorders can predispose a person to a predilection for the subject matter independent of any concrete measure of creativity.
Jamison, in an editorial regarding the Karolinska study and published in the same journal issue, wrote that "having a creative occupation is not the same thing as being creative." Wang and Campbell approached their project from the inverse of that statement: Being creative does not necessarily mean a person has a creative occupation.
"A person is not just what they do for a living," Wang said. "I am a scientist, but not just a scientist. I'm also a guy who reads blogs, listens to jazz and likes to cook. In that same respect, I believe we have potentially broadened the original assertion of Aristotle by including not just the artistically creative, but a larger category ? all people whose thought processes gravitate to the humanistic and artistic."
As past studies have, Wang and Campbell suggest a genetic basis for their results. The correlation with interests and psychiatric conditions they observed implies that a common genetic path could lead relatives in similar directions, but with some people developing psychiatric disorders while their kin only possess certain traits of those conditions. Those traits can manifest as preferences for and talents in certain areas, Wang said.
"Altogether, results of our study and those like it suggest that scientists should start thinking about the genetic roots of normal function as much as we discuss the genetic causes of abnormal function. This survey helps show that there might be common cause between the two," Wang said.
"Everyone has specific individual interests that result from experiences in life, but these interests arise from a genetic starting point," Wang said. "This doesn't mean that our genes determine our fate. It just means that our genes launch us down a path in life, leading most people to pursue specific interests and, in extreme cases, leading others toward psychiatric disorders."
###
Princeton University: http://www.princeton.edu
Thanks to Princeton University for this article.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
How climate change, urbanization are changing disaster aid (Reuters)
LONDON (AlertNet) ? Picture this: a terrible drought forces you to abandon your meager plot of farmland, so you migrate to a city where the jobs are, only to end up living in a slum regularly submerged by floods.
It's a scenario that's going to become more and more familiar in coming years as climate change and rapid urbanization play an ever-greater role in shaping humanitarian crises, according to an AlertNet poll of the world's biggest aid organizations.
To adapt to the new reality, aid agencies will need to invest more in disaster prevention and learn a trick or two from the private sector about how to make more efficient use of limited resources, the survey of 41 relief organizations shows.
"The rising trend in the number of disasters over the past five years shows no sign of slowing down," said Gareth Owen, humanitarian director at Save the Children UK.
"Year on year, we are responding more frequently and on a larger scale to increasing numbers of disasters."
Asked to rank the factors most likely to intensify humanitarian needs, 28 of 41 aid agencies put the risk of more frequent and destructive climate-related floods, droughts and storms at the top.
This was followed by mass displacement due to climate change and environmental damage, urbanization, high and volatile food prices, and the expectation of more failing states.
With needs expected to grow and national budgets squeezed by the global financial crisis, some rich donor states are pressing the charities they fund to boost value for money in relief efforts.
One way to do that is to slash the overheads, bureaucracy and transaction costs of U.N. agencies that often lead aid operations, many of those polled said.
Other suggestions included investing in disaster-prone communities to make them more resilient and adopting the bottom-line approach of big business.
"We need to increase competition and create an aid 'market', where donors don't need a budget breakdown but rather a set of outcomes they will pay for based on how many are achieved," said Francesco Paganini, director of disaster response for World Relief.
Another U.S.-based agency echoed the need for a hard-nosed, performance-based approach.
"If our industry could find a way to create a compensation system that provides personal financial reward for results -- as is found in for-profit businesses -- it could radically alter the approach to delivering value to beneficiaries," said one program manager, who declined to be identified.
The survey by AlertNet (www.trust.org/alertnet), a global humanitarian news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation, targeted the world's biggest aid groups by spending and operational scope, excluding U.N. agencies.
The agencies included Oxfam, Save the Children, CARE, Danish Refugee Council, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Muslim Aid and World Vision, as well as the global Red Cross movement.
AlertNet asked experts to assess the future of humanitarian need, the challenges of delivering relief, spending and funding trends, and value for money in the international aid system.
IT HAS TO BE SEXY
More than half the agencies said focusing more on disaster risk reduction (DRR) -- everything from building more durable houses and schools in safer places to teaching children to swim -- would help the sector cope better in the long run.
Experts have long argued that it makes more economic sense to pour money into helping local governments and communities minimize their exposure to disasters than mopping up afterwards.
In its 2009 yearly "World Disasters Report," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said $1 spent on prevention saves $4 on emergency response.
But rallying donor interest is hard, some aid groups said.
"Funding for disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness is not very 'sexy' for donors -- global, domestic and private," said Jouni Hemberg, director of international cooperation for FinnChurchAid.
For many donors, installing a city drainage system or devising a program to help coastal villagers cope with rising sea levels just doesn't sound as appealing as distributing food rations to 100,000 earthquake survivors or vaccinating 20,000 children in a refugee camp.
Lack of donor interest in risk reduction was reflected in the poll. Of the 23 agencies that disclosed what proportion of their annual spending goes to this activity, 16 said it was 10 percent or less.
However, 25 of the 41 said they planned to increase this kind of spending or would like to if the money could be found.
WHERE IS THE MONEY?
In 2010, governments gave $12.4 billion in humanitarian aid, almost three times as much as private contributions, which amounted to $4.3 billion, according to estimates from Global Humanitarian Assistance, a British-based aid monitoring group.
But 22 agencies forecast a drop in government funding for humanitarian aid over the next five years.
Of those, 10 expected private contributions would also decrease while 12 thought donations from individuals and companies would make up the shortfall.
The remaining 19 agencies predicted that governments would still provide the bulk of humanitarian funding as they do today.
Asked about the main challenges to effective delivery of aid, many agencies cited the exploitation of aid for political ends, increasingly complex disasters, squeezed government budgets and violence against aid workers.
Tackling these problems means raising public awareness about delivering aid according to the key humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality, and giving local communities more say in managing aid, some experts said.
Others argued the sector should rely less on government donors, and seek longer-term, more flexible funding.
But according to IFRC's Matthias Schmale, the best way to increase value for money was simple: "Provide more credible leadership through less marketing and spinning, and ensure actions match words."
(AlertNet is a humanitarian news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation. Visit http://www.trust.org/alertnet)
(For more on the future of humanitarian aid, including info-graphics, videos, stories, blogs and full poll results, visit http://futureofaid.trust.org)
(Editing by Tim Large and Sonya Hepinstall)
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Amanda Holden Gives Birth To Baby Girl After Delivery Scare
Amanda Holden Gives Birth To Baby Girl After Delivery Scare
“Britain’s Got Talent” judge Amanda Holden gave birth to a baby girl on Monday. Holden delivered baby Hollie Rose, who weighed in at 6lbs., 1oz, [...]
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/qsHZJILNWPI/
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Cavalry Arrives ? Climate Science Legal Defense Fund established ...
January 25, 2012
Bullying, intimidation, and threats are the currency of the climate denial movement .
NYTimes:
There is a ripple of unease among many scientists who study the warming of the planet these days. Some have faced harassment, legal challenges and even death threats related to their research, the American Association for the Advancement of Science reports.
On Tuesday, the board of directors of the association, which publishes the journal Science, released a?strongly worded statement??vigorously opposing? such attacks on researchers, saying that the tactics inhibited the free exchange of scientific ideas.
?Reports of harassment, death threats and legal challenges have created a hostile environment that inhibits the free exchange of scientific findings and ideas, and makes it difficult for factual information and scientific analyses to reach policy makers and the public,? the board said. ?This both impedes the progress of science and interferes with the application of science to the solution of global problems.?
Climate scientists like Mike Mann, Ben Santer, and Phil Jones have born the brunt of this behavior unassisted for more than a decade. Now there?s help.
Scott Mandia:
Washington, DC ? The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) has found a non-profit home in Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) which provides it fiscal sponsorship and logistical support. CSLDF lets scientific colleagues and the public directly help climate scientists protect themselves and their work from industry-funded legal attacks.
In recent years, these legal attacks have intensified, especially against climate scientists. The fund is designed to help scientists like Professor Michael Mann cope with the legal fees that stack up in fighting attempts by climate-contrarian groups to gain access to private emails and other correspondence through lawsuits and Freedom of Information Act requests at their public universities.
The project is co-directed by physical sciences Professor Scott Mandia of Suffolk County Community College and Joshua Wolfe, co-author of ?Climate Change: Picturing the Science.? The Fund started this past fall after Prof. Mandia posted a ?Dear Colleague? appeal for support which generated more than $10,000 in less than 24 hours (http://bit.ly/qzg7X4). To date, CSLDF has raised $25,000. All contributions to CSLDF are tax-deductible.
?Academic salaries are not designed to support ongoing legal expenses in fights with corporate-funded law firms and institutes,??said Prof. Mandia.??These legal battles also have taken many of our brightest scientific minds away from their research.?
?Our goal is not only to defend the scientist but to protect the scientific endeavor,??explained Wolfe.??The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund was established to make sure that these legal claims are not viewed as an action against one scientist or institution but as actions against the scientific endeavor as a whole.?
In addition to its core mission of defraying legal fees, CSLDF will ?
? Educate researchers about their legal rights and responsibilities on issues surrounding their work;
? Serve as a clearinghouse for information related to legal actions taken against scientists; and
? Recruit and assist lawyers representing these scientists.
?The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund dovetails with the mission of PEER ? to protect those who protect our environment,??stated PEER executive Director Jeff Ruch.??When individual researchers find themselves under intense legal assault, they often have few resources. Their universities do not necessarily represent their interests and may be disinclined to resist corporate fishing expeditions. We are stepping into this void to provide direct aid to both the scientists and their institutions.??
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Dropped heart successfully transplanted in Mexico
MEXICO CITY?? A heart that was dropped on the ground while being transported to a hospital has been successfully transplanted into a 28-year-old hair stylist.
However Dr. Jaime Saldivar said Erika Hernandez doesn't yet know that her new heart made national news when a medic stumbled and the plastic-wrapped heart tumbled out of a cooler onto the street two weeks ago.
Saldivar said it would be up to the family to tell her.
Video: Watch the moment the heart fell out (on this page)-
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'Miracle' baby born from single frozen sperm
A rosy-cheeked Hernandez spoke briefly with reporters on Tuesday and thanked the donor's family, saying "I have no words to express what I'm feeling right now."
Hernandez was born with a congenital heart defect. She received the heart of a man who died in a car accident.
The heart was taken from Guanajuato state to Mexico city, a distance of 280 miles, traveling in an ambulance, then a plane, and then a helicopter, according to The Guardian newspaper. The nation's media followed every step of the journey.
'Rapid, precision maneuver'
Mexico City police had described the operation to deliver the heart as a "rapid, precision maneuver."
Everything appeared to be going smoothly as traffic was stopped to allow the helicopter to land near the hospital.
However, after leaving the helicopter one of the two medics wheeling the cooler that contained the plastic-wrapped heart stumbled.
The lid of the cooler came off and the heart fell out onto the street.
Story: Heart patients have higher hospital readmission ratesThe medics are seen on video hurriedly pushing it back inside, leaving some ice packs behind, and continuing the short journey to the hospital.
In one of the more printable online comments made after the incident, newspaper reader Christian Sabido said that, "Anybody can make a mistake, but with this type of thing you should be careful."
At the time, doctors said the transplant operation had gone ahead, but added that they wanted to wait to confirm it had been successful.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46127543/ns/health-heart_health/
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Iranian film in running for foreign language Oscar (AP)
LONDON ? Their settings span the globe, but this year's foreign-language Academy Award nominees are united in giving local stories a universal resonance.
The five finalists range from World War II Poland to modern-day Israel and Quebec, from an Iranian divorce court to the bruising world of Belgian cattle-rearing.
Front-runner among the contenders announced Tuesday in Los Angeles is "A Separation," the story of a marital breakdown and its far-reaching consequences from Iranian writer-director Asghar Farhadi.
The widely praised film ? hailed by some as a vital cultural bridge at a time of souring relations between Iran and the West ? has already won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film, and also gained Farhadi an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.
Farhadi said in a statement that it was a very personal project ? a sentiment echoed by other nominated filmmakers.
"For a long time I had this picture carved inside my head," he said. "I don't know how it got there, but once it was there I just knew I had to make this film and here we are today with not one but two nominations."
"A Separation" is up against four other films, including "Footnote," a mordant tale of rivalry between father-son Talmudic scholars by Israel's Joseph Cedar.
Cedar said there was "something poetic" in the fact that Israeli and Iranian films were both nominated. The two countries are bitter enemies, and Israel has been a leading voice in international calls to halt Iran's nuclear program.
Cedar, who was Oscar nominated in 2008 for "Beaufort," said it was "very flattering" to be nominated in what he called "a great year for foreign film at the Oscar."
Lior Ashkenazi, who plays the son, said he was shocked to hear the film had been nominated given its subject ? "two Talmudic scholars, the most drab thing that could be."
"Who could imagine it?" he told Israel Radio. "It's not exactly an action movie."
Israel has emerged as a surprising powerhouse in the foreign film category, garnering four Oscar nominations since 2007. Two of those nominations have gone to Cedar.
Belgian director Michael R. Roskam gained a nomination for his feature debut "Bullhead," a crime drama set in the world of cattle rearing and hormone dealing.
Producer Bart Van Langendonck welcomed the recognition for a film that "was written so it could be appreciated all over the world, even if the theme of the cattle mafia is extremely Belgian."
The nominees also include the gritty, realistic "In Darkness" by Poland's Agnieszka Holland, based on the true story of Leopold Socha, a Polish petty criminal who hid Jews from the Nazis in the sewage canals of Lviv during World War II.
Holland uses the character to explore the ambiguous attitudes of Poles toward Jews during the Nazi occupation of their country. Some Poles were deeply anti-Semitic and helped the Nazis track down Jews for extermination, but others risked to own lives to help Jews.
The director dedicated the film to the more than 6,000 Poles, including Socha, named by Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial as "Righteous Among the Nations," an honor reserved for non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews.
It's a third Oscar nomination for 63-year-old Holland, one of the country's best-known directors, after "Europa Europa" and "Angry Harvest," both of which also dealt with the Holocaust.
Holland said she felt the nomination defied a "stereotype" that everything has already been said about the Holocaust.
"People react emotionally both in Poland and in the United States. And afterward, the film goes from the heart to the mind and awakens thoughts," she told news channel TVN24. "People feel the film is enriching."
The fifth contender is "Monsieur Lazhar," Canadian director Philippe Falardeau's story of an Algerian immigrant substitute teacher who helps a group of children get over a death.
It's the second straight year a filmmaker from Quebec has made the shortlist. Denis Villeneuve was nominated last year for his war drama "Incendies."
Falardeau said he was overwhelmed by the recognition for the French-language film, adapted from a play by Evelyne de la Cheneliere.
The director likened himself to "a hockey player trying to describe the feeling after he wins the Stanley Cup ? he looks stupid because it is indescribable and unbelievable."
"So there you are: indescribable and unbelievable," he said.
"I think I rejoice myself in the fact that an intimate film like 'Monsieur Lazhar' can exist alongside major Hollywood productions in the biggest gala in the world," Falardeau said. "I think it says a lot about the fact that we have to make the movie that we have inside of us and not try to imitate any kind of recipe."
But he admitted the looming ceremony left him with a dilemma ? "I don't have a tux."
This year's Oscars contest already has an international flavor. The race is led by Martin Scorsese's Parisian fantasia "Hugo," with 11 nominations, and "The Artist," a French-made silent tale of old Hollywood, with 10.
Winners of the 84th annual Oscars will be announced at a Feb. 26 ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
___
Associated Press writers Raf Casert in Antwerp, Belgium, Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
____
Online: http://www.oscars.org
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Election night numbers can signal fraud
Too many high-turnout landslides suggests ballot stuffing
Web edition : 4:58 pm
Election fraud comes in many flavors, but there?s a new taste test for one sort of trickery. Scientists analyzing data from several recent international contests, including the questionable 2011 parliamentary elections in Russia, have proposed a new mathematical measure to discern fraudulent elections from fair ones.
The researchers examined voter turnout and votes received by the winning party for recent parliamentary elections in Russia, Austria, Finland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and for presidential elections in Uganda and the United States. Graphing the relationship between turnout and votes for the winner revealed unusual peaks in the data for the elections in Russia and Uganda ? a signature of funny business, the scientists contend.
Ballot stuffing best explains the data, says study coauthor Peter Klimek, a complex systems scientist at the Medical University of Vienna.
?Of course, this is a statistical detection technique, not conclusive proof,? says Klimek, who, along with Stefan Thurner and other University of Vienna colleagues, reported the analysis online January 15 at arXiv.org. But the numbers need explaining, ?and nothing explains them as cleanly as the fraud hypothesis,? Klimek says.
Thousands of precincts in Russia and districts in Uganda reported 100 percent voter turnout with 100 percent of those votes for the winning party, the researchers found. Graph these data various ways? and the fraud signature pops out, notes Klimek. Plotting votes for the winner against voter turnout, for example, reveals a line that slopes off into a plateau for most countries, but for Russia and Uganda those lines keep climbing right off the graph.
Similar analyses of the recent elections for the Russian legislative body, the State Duma, have also found statistical aberrations suggesting the elections weren?t fair. In fact, the Russian online newspaper Gazeta.ru ran photographs of thousands protesting the elections, including a mathematician whose sign depicted one of the telltale graphs of the results. ?If United Russia were an NFL team, they would win 5 percent of their games with a score of 1,000 to zero,? says Klimek.
There are possible explanations for the Vienna researchers? results besides fraud. Some districts are ?special places,? notes Walter Mebane of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, a statistician, political scientist and expert on Russian elections. When nearly 100 percent of the voters who turn out vote for the same party or candidate, that doesn?t necessarily indicate ballot stuffing, Mebane says. The demographics of each area have to be taken into account; for example, a very militarized area might have very high support for one party.
And there are many ways to commit fraud besides ballot stuffing. Making it difficult for particular groups of people to vote, manipulating campaign finance laws and good old coercion are just some of the other tactics that can turn an election.
Political scientist Judith Kelley of Duke University, who has been investigating election monitoring around the world, says the new analysis is ?very clever.?
?I?m all for these methods ? we can never have eyes everywhere,? says Kelley. ?Of course the guys that are really good at stealing elections don?t really do it when counting votes. They have a much broader apparatus.??
Found in: Numbers and Science & Society
Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337838/title/Election_night_numbers_can_signal_fraud
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Cambodia rebuffs U.N. on new judge for Khmer Rouge trial (Reuters)
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) ? Cambodia refused on Monday a U.N. call to reconsider its veto of a new judge on the Khmer Rouge war crime tribunal, saying it reserved the right to reject unsuitable candidates under a 2003 agreement with the world body.
A government spokesman said the United Nations did not fully understand the terms of the agreement to prosecute former Khmer Rouge officials after the world body said Cambodia was in breach of the pact.
In a statement on Friday, the United Nations expressed "serious concern" over Cambodia's decision not to appoint Swiss Laurent Kasper-Ansermet as a joint investigating judge and called on the government to accept him immediately.
Cambodian government spokesman Keo Remy responded on Monday by saying Cambodia's judicial bodies had full authority to reject judges if they did not consider them suitable.
"It is the authority of the Supreme Council of Magistracy whether or not to appoint him," Keo Remy said.
"It's important that there is integrity between ourselves: that the U.N. respects Cambodia's integrity and Cambodia respects the U.N.'s integrity," he added.
The recently appointed special expert on U.N. assistance to the Khmer Rouge trials, David Scheffer, was due to hold discussions with the Cambodian government on Tuesday.
Cambodia's decision to block Kasper-Ansermet's appointment is the latest in a series of disputes over the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), which have spent more than $150 million and handed down just one sentence since 2005.
That was a 35-year jail term commuted to 19 years for Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, for his role in the deaths of more than 14,000 people at a torture centre in Phnom Penh. He has appealed against the ruling.
CONTROVERSIAL CASES
The ECCC is currently hearing case 002, involving three top members of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge regime, accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity for their role in a brutal revolution that prosecutors say claimed between 1.7 and 2.2 million lives from 1975 to 1979.
Judicial watchdogs and rights groups say there is overwhelming evidence to pursue two more cases but the government is firmly opposed to further indictments.
The statement said Cambodia had raised ethical concerns about Kasper-Ansermet, which the United Nations had determined were unfounded. It did not spell out the concerns.
According to Cambodian officials, the government felt Kasper-Ansermet was unsuitable because he had used his Twitter account to draw attention to a debate over whether the ECCC should try two Khmer Rouge military commanders.
The vacancy on the tribunal arose after German judge Siegfried Blunk resigned, citing political interference. Blunk had blocked moves to pursue the two cases without giving an explanation.
The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, an umbrella group of 23 Cambodian non-governmental organizations, said a new judge should be appointed immediately and called for an independent probe into the conduct of national and international judges at the ECCC.
"Without such an inquiry, the legacy of this tribunal will be seriously damaged," it said.
(Editing by Martin Petty)
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Kochs push back against Obama attack (Daily Caller)
In an effort to rally the base and go on the offensive following the killing of the Keystone XL?pipeline plan, President Barack Obama turned on the pro-free market Koch brothers, releasing a campaign ad that refers to ?secretive oil billionaires attacking President Obama.? The effort did not escape the attention of Koch Industries, which promptly released a statement saying that it is ?unfortunate that the president demonizes Koch and other job creators for political gain rather than create an environment that will promote job growth and help businesses and the people they employ flourish.? (RELATED:?Obama re-election ad targets Koch brothers, touts ?green tech? jobs)
?President Obama?s first TV advertisement of the 2012 political season refers obliquely to Koch while claiming credit for a thriving energy sector,? wrote Philip Ellender, president of government and public affairs at Koch Companies Private Sector. ?It?s a message that is divorced from the facts, and only makes sense to a federal bureaucrat or a campaign focus group. In reality, the administration has been ambivalent or, more often, outright hostile to many of the affordable and practical solutions that would increase America?s domestic energy supplies, including pipelines and offshore drilling permits.??(Left-wing activists cited as ?independent watchdogs? in new Obama ad [VIDEO])
?While the Obama 2012 campaign pays political consultants to create misleading ads and talking points, Koch employs nearly 50,000 American workers who create value every day and contribute to the economic prosperity of their communities and our nation,? the statement continued. ?With the nation?s unemployment rate at more than 8 percent, it is unfortunate that the president demonizes Koch and other job creators for political gain rather than create an environment that will promote job growth and help businesses and the people they employ flourish.?
The Kochs donate large amounts of money to free market causes. Since the rise of the tea party, they have come under increased scrutiny from leftists who allege that they are behind a conservative and libertarian surge in the United States.
Join the conversation
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Kochs push back against Obama attack
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Add a Weight-Stabilizing Hook to Your Camera Tripod [Photography]
Shooting from a camera mounted to a tripod rather than handheld usually results in better images as the camera is more stable and less likely to move during the shot. A heavier tripod generally is more stable, but you don't want to lug one around on an outdoor shoot. Instead, attach a weight-bearing hook to the center column of your tripod. Now you can hang your camera bag, your backpack, or even a workout weight onto the the hook and enjoy the stability provided by a heavier tripod.
Instructables user Andrew Axley came up with the design. Simply drill a hole through the center column of your tripod, use a bolt and nut to fit the hole you've drilled, bend the top of an S-hook to fit inside the center column, and hang the S-hook from the the bolt. Of course, complete directions and step-by-step photos can be found at the source link below.
This mod gives you a sturdy hook that you can attach any convenient object to stabilize your tripod. It's definitely a nice upgrade for a cheap tripod.
Tripod Stabilizer Weight Hook | Instructables
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Romney stance on DREAM Act is magnified in Florida (AP)
MIAMI ? Mitt Romney's promise to veto a measure that would create a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants threatens to turn off some Hispanic voters, whose support could be critical in a general election match-up against President Barack Obama.
The issue is gaining prominence as the Republican front-runner heads toward the Jan. 31 primary in Florida, even though most of the state's Hispanics are Puerto Rican or Cuban-American and, thus, aren't affected by U.S. immigration law, nor view it as a priority. Still, it's a state where 13 percent of registered voters are Hispanic, where the nation's largest Spanish-language TV networks are based and where the nation's third-largest number of illegal immigrants live ? intensifying the focus on Romney's position.
"Latino voters, like all voters in this country, are interested in America being an opportunity nation," Romney said Monday night during a debate in South Carolina, when asked if his promise to veto the so-called DREAM Act was alienating voters. "In my view, as long as we communicate to the people of all backgrounds in this country that it can be better, and that America is a land of opportunity, we will get those votes."
Maybe not.
His veto promise ? first made in the days before the Iowa caucuses ? has hit a nerve with prominent Hispanics, and some Republicans worry that the position will turn off the growing number of Latino voters in swing-voting states, particularly in the west, who are now on the fence after backing Obama in 2008. These Republicans suggest that Romney was trying to curry favor with hardline Republican primary voters at the expense of Hispanics whose support he would need come the fall.
"If Romney's the nominee, he's going to have to come to the center and make some decisions about how to resolve that issue," said Republican Herman Echevarria, a Cuban-American who is the chief executive of a Miami-based bilingual advertising agency and a longtime local political player. "He's trying to be a conservative candidate. And if you don't become a conservative candidate, you cannot be the candidate of the Republicans. But you cannot be elected president just as a conservative candidate."
Already, there are signs of backlash.
For Colombia native Ana Rodriguez, a Miami-based graphic designer who received political asylum and will become a U.S. citizen this year, Romney's comments are precisely what motivated her to vote ? against him. "Because of what I went through," Rodriguez said, "I want more people (elected) who are interested in supporting immigrants and want a more equal and fair system of immigration."
Florida DREAM Act activists, who have been among the most visible in the nation, also are promising to keep the heat on Romney as his campaign comes to the state.
And last week, at El Tropical restaurant in Miami, Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who has endorsed Romney, told a group of mostly Cuban-American GOP primary voters that the former Massachusetts governor was the only candidate who could fix the economy and protect U.S. security interests. Then, a young Colombian immigrant stepped forward and asked Diaz-Balart, who has championed immigrants' rights including the DREAM Act, how the congressman could support Romney.
"You have been such a friend to us, I just don't understand," said Juan Rodriguez, a student at Florida International University who was among a half-dozen students who walked from Miami to Washington in the winter to raise awareness of the legislation.
The exchange was caught on tape by several Spanish-language media outlets that reach viewers around the world.
Romney has arguably the toughest immigration position of any of the Republican candidates. Newt Gingrich would give legal status to illegal immigrants who have deep roots in the U.S. and lived otherwise lawfully.
Conversely, Romney has been adamantly opposed to any type of amnesty for illegal immigrants since his first White House run in 2008. Previously, he called reasonable a bipartisan proposal to allow immigrants to seek green cards in exchange for certain penalties, though he says he never officially supported such legislation.
Last year, Romney objected to the DREAM Act. But he went further in the days before the Iowa caucuses when asked if he would veto the measure.
"The answer is yes," Romney told voters then, and later referred to the measure as a handout.
While he said he does not oppose creating a path for those who serve in the U.S. military to become permanent residents, he also said he doesn't believe such individuals should be able to adjust their status by attending school, nor should they receive in-state tuition.
Since narrowly winning the Iowa caucuses, Romney has been sending Hispanics mixed messages.
He's working to woo Hispanics and convince them he's sincere in fighting for their causes, recently launching TV commercials in Florida featuring Cuban-Americans Diaz-Balart and fellow U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, as well as his son Craig speaking in Spanish.
But, in South Carolina, he's also been campaigning with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the leading architect behind the tough Arizona-style immigration laws. Even many Latinos who support tougher immigration laws worry such measures will lead to racial profiling because they give broad leeway to law enforcement to stop anyone whom they suspect of being in the country illegally.
"This is all about his primary right now," said Benjamin Bishin, a University of California, Riverside political science professor who has long studied Cuban-American and other Latino political attitudes.
Jennifer Korn of the center-right Hispanic Leadership Network, which is co-hosting a GOP primary debate and Latino conference this month in Florida, said Romney took a risk in alienating Hispanic voters. But, she added, he's also made clear he wants to fix the broader immigration system.
"If he explains it correctly, he definitely has a chance to have the Hispanic community listen to what he has to say," she said.
He seemed to try to do just that during recent debates, saying: "I love legal immigration," but that "to protect our legal immigration system we have got to protect our borders and stop the flood of illegal immigration."
That appeared to be enough for Peter Gonzalez, a Cuban-American commercial attorney and fiscally conservative Democrat.
"It's nice to hear a guy who the media has said is taking a harsh turn to the right on immigration say they love legal immigration," he said.
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
The Help, Grey's Anatomy Lead Image Award Nominations (omg!)
The Help, ABC's Grey's Anatomy and BET's The Game led the 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards nominations, the organization announced Thursday.
Check out the rest of today's news
Starring Emma Stone and Viola Davis, The Help ? the critically acclaimed book turned film ? earned eight nods in film categories, including Outstanding Motion Picture. Grey's Anatomy and The Game snagged six nominations each, while Beyonc? and Jill Scott each received four nominations in the music categories.
The NAACP's Image Awards, which honor diversity in the arts, will be presented Friday, Feb. 17 at 8/7c on NBC.
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