Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Dinosaur predecessors gain ground in wake of world's biggest biodiversity crisis

Apr. 29, 2013 ? Many scientists have thought that dinosaur predecessors missed the race to fill habitats emptied when nine out of 10 species disappeared during Earth's largest mass extinction, approximately 252 million years ago. The thinking was based on fossil records from sites in South Africa and southwest Russia.

It turns out that scientists may have been looking for the starting line in the wrong places.

Newly discovered fossils from 10 million years after the mass extinction reveal a lineage of animals thought to have led to dinosaurs taking hold in Tanzania and Zambia in the mid-Triassic period, many millions of years before dinosaur relatives were seen in the fossil record elsewhere on Earth.

"The fossil record from the Karoo of South Africa remains a good representation of four-legged land animals across southern Pangea before the extinction event. But after the event animals weren't as uniformly and widely distributed as before. We had to go looking in some fairly unorthodox places," said Christian Sidor, University of Washington professor of biology. He's lead author of a paper appearing the week of April 29 in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The new insights come from seven fossil-hunting expeditions since 2003 in Tanzania, Zambia and Antarctica, funded by the National Geographic Society and National Science Foundation, along with work combing through existing fossil collections. The researchers created two "snapshots" of four legged-animals about 5 million years before and again about 10 million years after the extinction event at the end of the Permian period.

Prior to the extinction event, for example, the pig-sized Dicynodon -- said to resemble a fat lizard with a short tail and turtle's head -- was a dominant plant-eating species across southern Pangea. Pangea is the name given to the landmass when all the world's continents were joined together. Southern Pangea was made up of what is today Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia and India. After the mass extinction at the end of the Permian, Dicynodon disappeared and other related species were so greatly decreased that newly emerging herbivores could suddenly compete with them.

"Groups that did well before the extinction didn't necessarily do well afterward," Sidor said. "What we call evolutionary incumbency was fundamentally reset."

The snapshot 10 million years after the extinction event reveals, among other things, that archosaurs were in Tanzanian and Zambian basins, but not distributed across all of southern Pangea as had been the pattern for four-legged animals prior to the extinction. Archosaurs are the group of reptiles that includes crocodiles, dinosaurs, birds and a variety of extinct forms. They are of interest because it is thought they led to animals like Asilisaurus, a dinosaur-like animal, and Nyasasaurus parringtoni, a dog-sized creature with a five-foot tail that scientists in December 2012 announced could be the earliest dinosaur, or else the closest relative found so far.

"Early archosaurs being found mainly in Tanzania is an example of how fragmented communities became after the extinction event," Sidor said. And the co-authors write: "These findings suggest that . . . archosaur diversification was more intimately related to recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction than previously suspected."

A new framework for analyzing biogeographic patterns from species distributions, developed by co-author Daril Vilhena, a UW biology graduate student, provided a way to discern the complex recovery, Sidor said.

It revealed that before the extinction event 35 percent of four-legged species were found in two or more of the five areas studied, with some species having ranges that stretched 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers), encompassing the Tanzanian and South African basins. Ten million years after the extinction event, the authors say there was clear geographic clustering and just 7 percent of species were found in two or more regions.

The techniques -- new ways to statistically consider how connected or isolated species are from each other -- could be useful for other paleontologists and modern day biogeographers, Sidor said.

In the early 2000s Sidor and some of his co-authors started putting together expeditions to collect fossils from sites in Tanzania that hadn't been visited since the 1960s and in Zambia where there'd been little work since the '80s. Two expeditions to Antarctica provided additional materials, as did long-term efforts to examine museum-held fossils that had not been fully documented or named.

Other co-authors from the UW are graduate students Adam Huttenlocker and Brandon Peecook, post-doctoral researcher Sterling Nesbitt and research associate Linda Tsuji; Kenneth Angielczyk of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago; Roger Smith, of the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town; and S?bastien Steyer from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Funding was also received from the Evolving Earth Foundation, the Grainger Foundation, the Field Museum/IDP Inc. African Partners Program and the National Research Council of South Africa.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Washington. The original article was written by Sandra Hines.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Christian A. Sidor, Daril A. Vilhena, Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Adam K. Huttenlocker, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Brandon R. Peecook, J. S?bastien Steyer, Roger M. H. Smith, and Linda A. Tsuji. Provincialization of terrestrial faunas following the end-Permian mass extinction. PNAS, April 29, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1302323110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/t4B8Gs8a5mE/130429154059.htm

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3 dead in Mich. school golf team van crash

DETROIT (AP) ? A minivan carrying six members of a Michigan high school boys' golf team collided with another van on a rural road, killing the coach and a 17-year-old golfer, and a 27-year-old woman in the other vehicle.

Four other members of the Grayling High School golf team were in critical condition after Monday morning's crash in Kalkaska County's Excelsior Township, 25 miles east of Traverse City.

The condition of a fifth golfer was not immediately available. The names of the victims were not released.

"It was pretty horrific," Michigan State Police Sgt. Don Bailey said of the crash.

Bailey told The Associated Press he came upon the crash shortly after it occurred about 11:30 a.m. Monday in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula. He had to use a fire extinguisher to put out a fire in one of the vehicles.

"There were three ejections and those bodies were laying around," he said.

Excelsior Township is about 15 miles west of Grayling, which is in Crawford County.

The golf team was in a silver minivan and left Grayling for an invitational tournament in Traverse City. The minivan was northbound on Crawford Lake Road when it smashed into the side of a white minivan traveling east on County Road 612.

"Our initial investigation shows the white van may have been speeding," Bailey said. "There's also a question if the silver van stopped at a stop sign."

A woman driving the white minivan was in serious condition, while a 3-year-old girl in that vehicle appeared to be unhurt. Bailey said the girl was in a child restraint seat.

Students at Grayling High School were notified of the crash Monday afternoon, and events and practices were canceled, according to Joe Powers, superintendent of the Crawford AuSable Schools.

Crisis team counselors will be at the school Tuesday.

"We do have classes because we believe the students need each other," said Powers.

"We will delay the formal start of school to have an opportunity for students to talk to each other. We will have counselors throughout the building, including the hallway, so students can lean on adults they know and who they are comfortable with."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mich-golf-team-van-collides-2nd-van-3-213301388.html

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'Mortal Instruments' Actor Robert Sheehan Makes Magic Out Of The Mundane

Actor takes MTV News behind the scenes of upcoming 'City of Bones' adaptation.
By Amy Wilkinson, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706470/mortal-instruments-city-of-bones-simon.jhtml

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Police say 4 people stabbed at Albuquerque church

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? Police say a 24-year-old man stabbed four people at a Catholic church in Albuquerque as a Sunday mass was nearing its end.

Police spokesman Robert Gibbs says Lawrence Capener jumped over several pews at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church around noon Sunday and walked up to the choir area where he began his attack.

The injuries to the four church-goers weren't life-threatening. All four were being treated at hospitals.

An off-duty police officer and others at the church subdued Capener and held him down until police arrived.

Some of those who were stabbed were members of the choir.

Gibbs says Capener is now being interviewed by police and is expected to face felony charges.

It's not yet known whether Capener has an attorney.

Gibbs says investigators don't yet know the motive for the stabbings, whether Capener had ties to the victims or whether he regularly attended the church.

The stabbings occurred as the choir had just begun its closing hymns.

Archbishop of Santa Fe Michael Sheehan released a statement saying he was saddened by the attack.

"I pray for all who have been harmed, their families, the parishioners and that nothing like this will ever happen again," Sheehan said.

The church didn't immediately return calls seeking comment on Sunday afternoon.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-4-people-stabbed-albuquerque-church-224409447.html

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Jane Fonda Cements Her Spot In Hollywood History (VIDEO)

Jane Fonda Cements Her Spot In Hollywood History (VIDEO)

Jane Fonda Chinese Theater honorAcademy Award-winning actress Jane Fonda celebrated outside the Chinese Theater as she took part in the hand and footprint ceremony, with celebrities Jim Carey and Eva Longoria in attendance. Fonda was very emotional at the ceremony, especially knowing that she was making her mark in Hollywood history right beside her late father Henry Fonda’s hand ...

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/04/jane-fonda-cements-her-spot-in-hollywood-history-video/

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Monday, April 29, 2013

'Iron Man 3' Boasts $195 Million Overseas Ahead Of U.S. Debut

Michael Bay's 'Pain & Gain' topped the Stateside box office with $20 million.
By Ryan J. Downey


A scene from "Iron Man 3"
Photo: Marvel

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706453/box-office-iron-man-3-world-wide.jhtml

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Ukraine says too early to consider pardoning Tymoshenko

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukraine's presidential pardon commission said on Saturday it was too soon to consider pardoning Yulia Tymoshenko, the president's main political rival whose continuing detention is a major obstacle to improved ties with the West.

The commission said that as some criminal charges against Tymoshenko were still being investigated and the courts had not yet ruled, the "issue of her pardon is premature."

On Thursday, foreign ministers of several EU countries visited Ukraine and said there was unlikely to be rapid progress on free trade and political association deals, citing the Tymoshenko case as a major obstacle.

Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison in October 2011 for crimes related to a 2009 gas deal with Russia which Yanukovich says saddled Ukraine with exorbitant energy prices.

Since last May, Tymoshenko, who served twice as prime minister before narrowly losing the 2010 presidential run-off to Yanukovich, has been receiving treatment for back trouble in a state-run hospital in the city of Kharkiv.

Yanukovich himself says he cannot order her release because Tymoshenko is due to be tried on tax evasion and embezzlement charges and is being investigated in a murder case. She denies all the charges.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-says-too-early-consider-pardoning-tymoshenko-141529303.html

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The Rise And Fall Of Apple And The Tech Sector - Seeking Alpha

By John Nyaradi

A sea change is underway for Apple Computer and the tech sector and major dangers and opportunities will unfold as this tidal wave rolls ashore. Long before Apple Computer (AAPL) became the most watched stock in the world, a book called The Personal Computer Book by Peter McWilliams was published back in 1982.

qqq, xlk, tech sector, apple computer, apple, aapl, nasdaq:aapl, spy, qqqApple still makes headlines today but many of the exciting companies, which were introduced to us in The Personal Computer Book, have either died or they have been consumed by other corporations (in the manner that Compaq was cannibalized by Hewlett Packard (HPQ)). Kaypro Computer, the manufacturer of a metal-encased unit which was as portable as a sewing machine, filed for bankruptcy in 1992. Digital Equipment Corporation (or DEC) was consumed by Compaq in 1998 before Compaq was eaten by HP in 2002. Commodore International, which brought you the Commodore 64 and the Amiga, was laid to rest in 1994.

The central character of The Personal Computer Book was a little company in Seattle named Microsoft (MSFT), which developed a "disk operating system" called MS-DOS at the request of IBM. IBM (IBM) wanted to start manufacturing a product line called personal computers. Their entire PC line was built around computer chips called "central processing units" or CPUs which were manufactured by a company named Intel (INTC).

By 2013, Microsoft, IBM and Intel appear to be heading to the same - or similar - fate as the other companies mentioned in The Personal Computer Book. Worse yet, a company named Dell Computer, (DELL) which developed a massive customer base by direct sales of PCs to customers through ads in such magazines as Computer Shopper and PC, now faces an uncertain fate after founder, Michael Dell first announced plans to take the company private, with the assistance of a private equity firm named Silver Lake Partners. As it turns out, the large-stake shareholders are not happy with the $13.65-per-share buyout price. On August 22, 2008 - just before the collapse of Lehman Brothers - Dell was trading at $25.50 per share. Dell hasn't been traded for $18 per share since February 21, 2012.

The fate of the personal computer extends beyond the good - or bad - fortunes of any particular company. At this point in American history, the personal computer is headed for the same fate as the Leisure Suit. It is rapidly becoming antiquated technology.

Smartphones and pads are replacing the clunky units with their spinning metal-disk hard drives, as consumers are increasingly entrusting their most private, personal information, photos and videos (yes - that kind, as well) to complete strangers who operate mainframe computers known as the cloud.

This sea change in digital technology is changing the entire tech sector from the investment standpoint. Microsoft, which just found its way back to $32 per share after spending most of the post-Lehman years in the $25 range (with the exception of last year's spring fever) is increasingly becoming a target for ridicule.

In fact, an online dispute arose at a popular news website after one commentator characterized Apple as "the new Microsoft". (Oh, snap!) As die-hard Apple investors stubbornly clung to their positions while the share price plunged from $702 on September 19 to $390 on April 19, it is easy to understand why.

The fate of Intel Corporation is inexorably linked to the well-being of its biggest customers in the PC manufacturing industry. At this time last year, Intel was clawing its way back to $29 per share. These days, you are lucky if you can unload those shares at $22.

A good number of investors who survived the dot-com bubble, which came to grief in March of 2000, are nervously fretting about what to do with their technology sector shares. Because the entire tech sector rises and falls with the prices of those four relics of the PC era, many see the entire sector as radioactive.

Which brings the discussion to Apple Computer, the tech industry darling which is now locked in a significant bear market as it struggles to maintain its dominance.

The company's recent earnings report was lackluster, at best, as iPhone sales decline and margins shrink. Apple stock has taken a sharp decline from the lofty peaks in the $700/share range to close on Friday at $417.

Numerous brokers have cut their price targets for Apple and now there's a wide range of targets between $400-$800 per share.

The company reported revenues that were better than expected and good sales for the iPad. However, Apple reported declining profits for the year over year period and declining gross margins. Slowing growth is bad news for an innovation leader like Apple and the rest of the world seems to be catching up with Samsung (SSNLF.PK) pressing them in the phone market and Amazon (AMZN) in the tablet world.

Apple is losing market share as its iPhone sales grew just 7% year over year while Samsung shipped more than 60 million smartphones in the first quarter, giving it 30% of the global smartphone pie compared to Apple's 37 million phone sales and 17% of the market.

Apple also issued lower guidance for the upcoming quarter and that it has no new products to release until autumn, another bad news omen for a company that depends on innovation and invention.

Apple's big announcement during the earnings call was that it's going to give shareholders $100 billion in buybacks and dividends, which is a departure from previous practice and obviously an attempt to offset the pain of a a 40% decline in the value of Apple stock.

The sea change in tech from personal computers to mobile and tablets is accelerating minute by minute and which companies will be winners and which will be losers remains very much in doubt. Key players include Apple, Amazon and Google (GOOG) and, of course, the old line names like Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Hewlett Packard, who will struggle to stay relevant and not become dinosaurs in this new age.

For investors, stock picking in this new age could become treacherous, at best, as the battle for survival and supremacy plays out. Here is a list of some ETFs you may want to consider as alternatives to investments in individual tech sector companies:

For tech bulls:

PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ): This ETF, formerly known as the "Nasdaq 100 Tracking Stock", invests in all of the stocks in the Nasdaq 100 Index, which includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization.

Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK): This ETF invests in all of the equity securities of the Technology Select Sector Index in the same proportion as the investments in those companies made by the index itself.

For tech bears:

ProShares Short QQQ ETF (PSQ): This ETF seeks daily investment results which correspond to the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of the NASDAQ 100 Index. QQQ invests in derivatives which ProShares Advisors believes, in combination, should have similar daily return characteristics as the inverse (-1x) of the daily return of the index.

ProShares UltraShort QQQ ETF (QID): This ETF seeks daily investment results which correspond to two times the inverse (-2x) of the daily performance of the NASDAQ 100 Index. QID invests in derivatives which ProShares Advisors believes, in combination, should have similar daily return characteristics as two times the inverse (-2x) of the daily return of the index.

A quick look at a chart of QQQ offers insight into the current condition of the tech sector:

qqq, aapl, tech sector, apple

In this chart of QQQ we can see how the index (candlesticks) has been in an uptrend and the blue line of Amazon closely tracks the direction of the QQQ index.

However, we can see how the black line of Apple stock prices has wildly diverged from the overall sector.

Apple makes up a significant percentage of the weighting in QQQ and so it's unlikely that this divergence can continue. It's very likely that either Apple will have to rally or that QQQ will decline to a point where the two are again in synch with each other.

Bottom line: In today's world, the rate of change will only continue to accelerate as mobile and tablets and the cloud crowd out PCs, mainframes and semi-conductor based computing products. Picking individual winners and losers will be a gamble, at best. However, tech index ETFs like QQQ and PSQ will offer investors opportunity to profit from both the rise and fall of the tech sector tide.

Disclosure: Wall Street Sector Selector actively trades a wide range of exchange traded funds and positions can change at any time.

Disclaimer: The content included herein is for educational and informational purposes only

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1379441-the-rise-and-fall-of-apple-and-the-tech-sector?source=feed

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Algeria president in France for tests after minor stroke

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was transferred to France for medical tests on Saturday night after suffering a minor stroke, Algeria's official news agency said.

Bouteflika, who has ruled over the North African oil and gas producer for more than a decade, had an "transient ischemic attack" or mini-stroke on Saturday but his condition was not serious, the APS agency said, quoting the prime minister.

The 76-year-old is part of an older generation of leaders who have dominated politics in a country that supplies a fifth of Europe's gas imports and cooperates with the West in combating Islamist militancy.

He has rarely appeared in public in recent months, prompting speculation about his health.

"The president felt unwell and he has been hospitalised but his condition is not serious at all," Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal was quoted as saying by APS.

The president was then moved to France, on the recommendation of his doctors.

Bouteflika and other members of Algeria's elite have controlled Algeria since it won independence from France in a 1954-62 war.

In the early 1990s, the military-backed politicians overturned an election which Islamists were poised to win and then fought a conflict with them in which about 200,000 people were killed.

They also saw off the challenge of Arab Spring protests two years ago, with Bouteflika's government defusing unrest through pay rises and free loans for young people.

Bouteflika has served three terms as president of the OPEC member and is thought unlikely to seek a fourth at an election due in 2014.

U.S. diplomatic cables leaked in 2011 said Bouteflika had been suffering from cancer but it was in remission.

More than 70 percent of Algerians are under 30. About 21 percent of young people are unemployed, the International Monetary Fund says, and many are impatient with the gerontocracy ruling a country where jobs, wages and housing are urgent concerns.

A transient ischemic attack is a temporary blockage in a blood vessel to the brain. it typically lasts for less than five minutes and "usually causes no permanent injury to the brain", the American Stroke Association said on its website.

The attacks should be seen as a warning as a third of people who experience them go on to have a full stroke within a year, the organisation added. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/algeria-president-france-tests-minor-stroke-082652028.html

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Bangladesh owner is at nexus of politics, business

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? When the cracks in the building appeared early Tuesday afternoon, a stocky man in his early 30s, a feared political operative who a neighbor says dropped out of school in seventh grade, quickly arrived at the scene in this crowded industrial suburb of the capital.

By then, fear had spread through the 3,200 people who worked in the five clothing factories that jammed the upper floors of Rana Plaza, and the handful of shops on the lower ones. Most of the workers had gathered in the street out front. Few wanted to go back in. Inspectors said the eight-story building should be closed until it could be inspected.

But Mohammed Sohel Rana scoffed.

"The building has minor damages," Rana, the building's owner, told gathering reporters. "There is nothing serious."

The next morning, many of the building's shops and a first-floor bank remained closed. But the factories' 8 a.m. shift began as usual. About 45 minutes into the shift, the building suddenly collapsed, killing at least 362 people in a fury of falling concrete. It was the worst industrial accident in the history of Bangladesh. More than three days later, rescuers are still crawling through the wreckage, hoping to find anyone who has managed to survive so long. By Saturday, nearly all the people being carried out were dead.

By that point, though, Rana had disappeared. Local media reports said he left his basement office in Rana Plaza just before the collapse, drove away and dropped from sight. He was arrested Sunday as he tried to cross the border into India.

For years, though, Rana had sat at the nexus of party politics and the powerful $20 billion garment industry that drives the economy of this deeply impoverished nation. This intersection of politics and business, combined with a minimum wage of $9.50 a week that has made Bangladesh the go-to nation for many of the world's largest clothing brands, has made dangerous factory conditions almost normal, experts say.

Government officials, labor activists, manufacturers and retailers all called for improved safety standards after a November garment factory fire in the same suburb, when locked emergency exits trapped hundreds of workers inside and 112 people died. But almost nothing has changed.

"Successive Bangladeshi governments have paid lip service to worker safety but in reality it is only the factory owners who have the ear of policymakers," Brad Adams, the Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "How many factory tragedies will it take before the Bangladeshi government ends its cozy relationship with powerful company owners and prioritizes worker safety?"

Before the collapse, Rana was little known outside of the few blocks of his tiny empire, a grid of poorly paved streets in the crowded industrial suburb of Savar, built up over the past decade or so around hundreds of garment factories.

The son of a local businessman with political connections, Rana became a neighborhood force by working as an organizer for the two political parties that have competed for power for decades in Bangladesh, according to local politicians, as well as someone who grew up near Rana and still lives in the area.

While Rana is currently a leader of the youth group of the ruling Awami League, he has also worked for that party's archrival, the Bangladesh National Party.

"He doesn't belong to any particular political party," said Ashrafuddin Khan Imu, an Awami League leader and longtime Rana rival. "Whatever party is in power, he is there."

In essence, these people say, Rana is a neighborhood political enforcer, regularly ordering thousands of people into the streets for rallies. Most recently, Imu said, he has been working for Awami League lawmaker Talukder Touhid Jang Murad. When Murad was asked about Rana after the collapse, Murad denied any connections. The next day, Dhaka newspapers printed photographs of Murad kissing Rana on the forehead after a successful rally earlier this year.

"He used to intimidate people whenever he needed them, like bringing people out for street marches in support of the lawmaker," said the neighbor, who spoke on condition he not be named, fearing Rana would send his men to beat him up after having been threatened once before. "Neighbors would avoid him ... No one wanted to upset him."

Money came with his political connections, with wealth built upon a string of government-owned properties he acquired at reduced prices, according to local media reports. He built a small apartment building and a small commercial building, where a Bata shoe store is now on the ground floor. In 2010 he built Rana Plaza on land that had once been a swamp. He had a permit to erect a five-story building, but built three additional stories illegally.

Until Wednesday, he lived just a few blocks from Rana Plaza, in a five-story red-brick building he owns at the end of a narrow alley. The ground floor has a hand-painted medieval scene, with an aristocratic woman, or perhaps a bride, being carried by scowling bearers in a covered palanquin. The neighbor says he is married, and has two children. The buildings indicate he is a man of considerable stature locally, but is almost certainly not a member of the country's tiny elite.

After the cracks appeared in the building, witnesses say Rana quickly went to work. On Wednesday morning, he and a number of factory managers ordered nervous workers into the building shortly before the collapse, according to the neighbor, who was present at the scene, and local press reports.

"I was too afraid to go inside the building. But the factory officials assured us they would also be in the factory, so there should not be any problem," said Kohinoor Begum, a factory worker who survived but whose hands were injured.

Cheers went up at the scene of the collapsed building when his arrest was announced over loudspeakers. After Rana disappeared, authorities detained his his wife, apparently to convince him to surrender.

What will happen to him? At first glance, the situation doesn't look good: His political allies have abandoned him, Bangladesh's most powerful garment industry association says he ignored their warnings to shut the building and the prime minister called for his arrest.

But in the streets of Savar, many note that while three managers have been arrested in connection with the Tazreen fire, the factory owner remains free.

___

Sullivan reported from New Delhi, India. Julhas Alam in Dhaka contributed to the report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-owner-nexus-politics-business-051832391.html

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

More Heresy from The Economist (Powerlineblog)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/302170019?client_source=feed&format=rss

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iPlayer for Android update brings improved experience on Galaxy S III, Note 2 and Nexus 4, tablets to follow

iPlayer for Android update brings improved experience for Galaxy S III, Note 2 and Nexus 4, tablets to follow

Excuse us while we interrupt your episode of The Archers, but we thought users of BBC's iPlayer might like to know about the latest Android app update. Amongst the usual bug fixes, the update promises to offer a "much improved" viewing experience on big hitting devices such as Samsung's Galaxy S III and Note 2, plus the Nexus 4. The Beeb stopped short of spilling further details, but it does go on to confirm that it'll continue to apply spit-and-polish to the playback experience for as much hardware as it can, without having to wait for app updates. We hope this doesn't mean it'll be treading on any toes, of course. Fans of slightly bigger screens (which is more of you, apparently) can expect some attention soon, with a hat tip about a tablet update coming in the next release.

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Source: Google Play

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2LAmXIerDTM/

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Russia detains 140 suspected Islamic extremists

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian police and security agents detained 140 people at a mosque in Moscow on Friday on suspicion of involvement with Islamic extremism.

A statement from the Federal Security Agency reported by Russian news agencies said among those detained were 30 citizens of unspecified foreign countries.

The detentions come a week after the two suspects in the fatal Boston Marathon bombings were identified as Russian-born ethnic Chechens who sympathized with Islamic extremists.

There were no immediate reports of charges being filed. The security agency referred The Associated Press to a district office, where the telephone was not answered.

The reports cited the agency as saying the mosque previously has been visited by people who had been involved in preparing or carrying out terrorist attacks.

A Chechen separatist insurgency that began in the 1990s increasingly took on a fundamentalist Muslim character and spread to neighboring Russian Caucasus regions, including Dagestan, where Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and their family lived for a period before emigrating to the United States in 2002 or 2003.

The Tsarnaevs' parents later returned to Dagestan, and Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout with police last week, made a long visit in 2012. Investigators are trying to find out details of what he did on the six-month sojourn, especially whether he met with any extremists.

Caucasus extremists have carried out gruesome attacks on civilians in Russia, including the 2004 seizure of a school in the town of Beslan that ended in the deaths of 330 people, about half of them children. They also claimed responsibility for the 2011 bombing of Russia's busiest airport, killing 36 people.

In 2011, U.S. authorities questioned Tamerlan Tsarnaev at Russia's request, but found nothing that sparked their interest and stopped watching him.

On Friday, officials briefed on the investigation told the AP that U.S. intelligence agencies had added the mother of the suspects, Zubeidat, to a government terrorism database 18 months before the bombings. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly about the ongoing case.

The mother called the information "lies and hypocrisy" and said she has never been linked to crimes or terrorism.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-detains-140-suspected-islamic-extremists-164928030.html

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Motherhood, Humility and Empty Vessels | - Generation Cedar


It?s the one and only two preggo pictures for this, my 10th baby. You know you gotta have one. When I say ?tenth baby? it?s so hard for me to believe I have ten children. I?m glad and thankful, just surprised and never imagined it for my life. It doesn?t feel like it sounds, apparently. Because when I?m out by myself and someone asks me ?is this your first baby? and I say ?no?, and then it?s inevitable that I must answer the hyper-ventilating-invoking question, the response feels more dramatic than my life feels.

I understand the surprise, that ten children is not exactly common. But compared with my actual life, we?re just a regular family who drives a small bus. And shares clothes. And hugs more than the average times per day. And doesn?t stress anymore about germs. And, oddly enough, is more excited at the announcement of a new baby than just about anything else on earth. And shares the housework so that really, everybody probably does less work than normal. And has to take turns talking or it can get a little out of hand at the dinner table.

But other than that, I don?t feel different until we all go out in public.

Mostly, at this stage in my life, I?m humbled more than ever. And where I?m not, I?m praying to be. Andrew Murray said, in his book our family is reading again?Humility:

?True humility comes when before God we see ourselves as nothing, have put aside self, and let God be all. The soul that has done this, and can say, ?I have lost myself in finding You,? no longer compares itself with others.?

I think a lot about how motherhood can be so ?emptying? and how maybe that?s why our culture has become a consistent enemy of motherhood, at least of the motherhood that would threaten to empty. As my husband read that sentence, I thought of how contrary it is to every message around us?even to our own flesh, and why then, there is such a gulf between what God has said is ?right and good? and what everything else poses as ?right and good?.

Pregnancy (since I?m here in this time of reflection) is, literally speaking, a body who ?empties? part of itself to contain another human being. It?s a perfect picture of a ?life-giving vessel?, emptied so it can be filled.

And so it is with us in spirit. God can only fill an empty vessel, a surrendered heart. And then, the miracle of that filling! It is only when we can reach our hands to Heaven and say with Christ, ?Not my will, but Thine be done?, that we can walk in perfect peace, knowing He truly orders our steps.

So when another person says to me, ?pregnancy is just so hard on your body?, intending to persuade me that I?ve ?done? a silly thing by carrying another person, I can exhale with a calm knowing of the greater rewards of being emptied. I?ve had similar, encouraging epiphanies about motherhood and broken vessels. When my back hurts and round ligament pain makes me wince, I tell my children, I did it for you and it was so worth it. I don?t want pain to always be associated with something to be avoided.

Today is the anniversary of the tornado that ripped away all our earthly things. Emptying. Painful. And I can truly say I?m grateful for that life-changing event. It has helped me empty my hands of the more meaningless things in life (although I?m still working on it), to be able to hold what is most dear. I whisper a word of praise to the Father for that too, His perfect will. As a side note, I looked at some of those posts and re-read your comments the other day. Tears just streamed down my face?I probably wasn?t completely cognizant the first time I read them?and they were SUCH a huge blessing to me, two years later, as I reflected on your love and God?s goodness to put things in our lives in order to reveal such love. Thank you again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Along the lines of equipping ourselves to see past this world?s idea of success or happiness?to become WOMEN OF VISION?I highly recommend ?The Best of Visionary Womanhood?. Packed with articles full of wisdom, solid truth and a burning vision, it will help you keep focused when all around you seem to be getting off track.

BUT?even though you can buy it now for $5.00, why not wait until Monday when you can get 96 additional, INCREDIBLE books for $29.97?! Keep them all, give some as gifts, but it?s a deal you don?t want to pass up.

Related posts:

  1. Motherhood, Fear & Resolving to Fight
  2. ?When Motherhood Feels Too Hard? (Ebook) is FINALLY HERE!
  3. Humility: The Only True Mark
  4. Loving Motherhood in an ?I?m Bored? Society
  5. Joyful Motherhood

Source: http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2013/04/motherhood-humility-and-empty-vessels.html

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Obama chides lawmakers over flight delay fix, budget conflict

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama chided Republicans on Saturday for approving a plan to ease air-traffic delays caused by federal spending cuts while leaving budget cuts that affect children and the elderly untouched.

The Senate and the House of Representatives backed a plan this week to give the Department of Transportation flexibility to cover immediate salaries of air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration who had been furloughed as part of budget cuts known as "sequester.

The furloughs, which started Sunday, led to take-off and landing delays at airports nationwide.

"This week, the sequester hurt travelers, who were stuck for hours in airports and on planes, and rightly frustrated by it. And, maybe because they fly home each weekend, the members of Congress who insisted these cuts take hold finally realized that they actually apply to them too," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

"So Congress passed a temporary fix. A Band-Aid. But these cuts are scheduled to keep falling across other parts of the government that provide vital services for the American people," he said.

Despite the chiding, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Friday that Obama would sign the bill.

In his address, broadcast on Saturday morning, Obama noted that the cuts were affecting social programs and should be replaced with less arbitrary spending reductions.

"There is only one way to truly fix the sequester: by replacing it before it causes further damage," Obama said, adding he hoped members of Congress would feel the same sense of urgency they felt with the FAA cuts on other programs.

"They may not feel the pain felt by kids kicked off Head Start, or the 750,000 Americans projected to lose their jobs because of these cuts, or the long-term unemployed who will be further hurt by them. But that pain is real," he said.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-chides-lawmakers-over-flight-delay-fix-budget-100301455.html

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Baidu foresees rising costs as competition heats up

By Melanie Lee

(Reuters) - Baidu Inc, China's largest search engine, will increase marketing expenditures for the rest of the year to counter competition from rival Qihoo 360 Technology, which may further put the brakes on profit growth.

Baidu posted on Friday its slowest quarterly profit growth since end-September 2008, citing a rise in traffic acquisition costs, or what a search engine pays to partner websites and software applications to show its search box or results.

Traffic acquisition costs for the quarter were equivalent to about 10.2 percent of total revenue, up from 7.8 percent a year ago, and Baidu said it expects that margin to rise until the end of the year.

"We have said very clearly that this year we will put a big emphasis on sales and marketing promotional expenses to push our products through the systems," Baidu's chief financial officer, Jennifer Li, said on an earnings conference call.

"At this stage of the company's life, we do not focus on managing toward a specific margin target," Li said. "We target strategically important areas that make sense for us to invest."

Baidu disappointed investors and reported net income for the quarter ended March 31 increased 8.5 percent year-on-year to $328.9 million, or 95 cents per American Depositary Share, short of the $1.03 per ADS analysts had expected. It was the second consecutive quarter that profit growth eased.

Revenue in the first quarter rose 40 percent to $961 million, also short of the $969.3 million expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"It was the bottomline that people were disappointed about, in terms of the high expenses," said Dick Wei, a Hong Kong-based JP Morgan analyst.

Qihoo's share of the search market remains relatively small compared to Baidu's 80 percent holding, but it has ramped up its search monetization products this year to better compete.

Industry analysts warn that rapidly changing user habits and competition in the search market could weigh on revenue.

Shares of Baidu, which have fallen about 12 percent since the start of the year, were down more than 8 percent at $84.83 in after-hours trading on Thursday.

In addition to the increase in costs, the consolidation of the results from Baidu's loss-making online video unit, iQiyi, also ate into profit margins.

Analysts said they do not envision iQiyi being profitable in the near future given the high costs of the online video sector.

In the first quarter, content costs associated with iQiyi were at 1.6 percent of revenue. Li said she expects content costs to trend downward for the rest of the year.

Baidu's sales and marketing costs increased 77 percent while research and development costs rose 83 percent for the quarter.

For the second quarter, Baidu estimated revenue of $1.187 billion to $1.216 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had an average forecast of $1.2 billion.

On Thursday, local media reported that Baidu was in the process of acquiring Chinese online video firm, PPS Net TV, for between $350-$400 million. Baidu declined to comment about the report.

(Additional reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang and Miral Fahmy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/baidu-first-quarter-profit-misses-wall-street-targets-003257904--sector.html

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FACT CHECK: Did FAA have to furlough controllers?

WASHINGTON (AP) ? With disgruntled passengers complaining about airline flight delays, Republican lawmakers and the airline industry pounced on the Obama administration. The glitch was invented by the White House for political reasons, they charged, and officials waited until the last minute to warn Congress and the airlines of the impending upheaval.

They were wrong on the first count, and partly right on the second.

The FAA has no choice but to cut $637 million as its share of $85 billion in automatic, government-wide spending cuts that must be achieved by the end of the federal budget year on Sept. 30.

The cuts are required under a law enacted two years ago as the government was approaching its debt limit. Democrats were in favor of raising the debt limit without strings attached so as not to provoke an economic crisis, but Republicans insisted on substantial cuts in exchange. The compromise was to require that every government "program, project and activity" ? with some exceptions, like Medicare ? be cut equally.

"It was intentionally designed to provide no discretion whatsoever," said Stan Collender, a former House and Senate budget committee staffer, and author of "The Guide to the Federal Budget."

At the time, it was thought the prospects of the cuts would be so dreadful that it would force both sides to negotiate a more sensible plan to resolve the government's budget woes. But that didn't happen, and the first of the cuts kicked in on March 1.

As a result, the FAA has reduced the work schedules of nearly all of its 47,000 employees by one day every two weeks, including 15,000 air traffic controllers, as well as thousands of air traffic supervisors, managers and technicians who keep airport towers and radar facility equipment working. That's a 10 percent cut in hours and pay.

The House voted overwhelmingly Friday to allow the FAA to shift money among budget accounts to avoid controller furloughs, following quick approval Thursday in the Senate. The White House has said President Barack Obama would go along with the move.

Republicans and the airline industry insist the FAA could find other places to cut in its nearly $16 billion annual budget. Two airline trade associations have filed a lawsuit trying to halt the furloughs.

"They (the White House) want to cause the most pain to the American people out there so they will put pressure on Congress to back away from sequestration (spending cuts)," said Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "This should be laid right at the president's feet."

But the budget law doesn't allow steeper cuts in one program in order to offset cuts in another. Air traffic control is part of the FAA's operations account, 70 percent of which goes toward employee salaries. The FAA plans to cut $485 million from operations, about $220 million of which will come from furloughs, said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

Shuster points to contracts, consultants and travel as other expenditures that could be cut instead. But that's not as simple as it may sound.

Travel already has been reduced, mainly to trips to keep the air traffic system functioning, like sending a technician to a facility to resolve an equipment problem, Huerta said. Overtime is being preserved for emergencies.

The largest of the agency's operations contracts is to provide and maintain a communications system for air traffic operations. The second-largest contract is for provision of weather, information on flight restrictions and other services to pilots. And the third-largest pays companies to provide controllers for towers at small airports. The FAA's proposal to save money by shutting down 149 of the towers already has drawn complaints from lawmakers in both parties who don't want airports in their states and districts to lose towers.

"I would have to take the administration's position on this," said Bill Hoagland, a former Republican Senate Budget Committee aide who helped write a 1985 budget law that was the model for the current budget-cutting law. "They are administering the law as written."

The budget law is specifically worded so that cuts are spread evenly across programs, making it difficult for the FAA to use money for contracts, for example, to make up for payroll cuts even through both are in the same budget "account," he said.

At a news conference Thursday, congressional Republicans said if the FAA had to furlough controllers, it should have furloughed more of them in places like Waterloo, Iowa, instead of at big hub airports.

The FAA decided against doing that because it would mean picking winners and losers among airlines and regions of the country, Huerta said. Also, the air traffic system is by its nature interconnected ? small airports are needed to feed passengers to the bigger hubs, he said.

Lawmakers also have complained that the FAA didn't warn them air traffic disruptions were coming.

"How come you didn't tell us about this beforehand, the sequester, impact on the layoffs, the furloughs? Not a word. Not a breath," House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., angrily demanded of Huerta at a hearing this week.

Airline and airport officials say they didn't receive specific information from the FAA about how the furloughs might affect air travel until a meeting called by the agency on April 16, six days before the furloughs took effect. Airport officials said they weren't invited and had to push the FAA to allow them to come to the meeting.

In fact, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA officials have been warning Congress and airlines since February that the furloughs were coming and that they could cause major delays. LaHood even held a news conference at the White House. Administration officials also discussed the impending furloughs at congressional hearings in March and earlier this month.

But lawmakers and industry officials also have a point. In none of those hearings did FAA or Transportation Department officials go out of their way to disclose to Congress the extent of the anticipated flight delay mess, even though they had that information in hand at three hearings last week. Nor did they solicit help from Congress to avoid the furloughs. Rather, officials emphasized that safety would be maintained.

"We offered our apologies to them for the fact that we had not kept them informed about all of the things that we had been discussing," LaHood told reporters after a meeting Wednesday with Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the senior Republican member of the committee, to discuss possible legislation to resolve the situation.

___

Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at claims by political figures and how well they adhere to the facts.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fact-check-did-faa-furlough-controllers-131857662.html

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Time to negotiate for a raise? Here's how. - Ask Annie -Fortune ...

130409130440-women-equal-pay-614xa

FORTUNE -- Dear Annie: The article that appeared on your site about Gen Y women closing the pay gap resonated with me, because I am a 26-year-old female e-commerce manager making about 20% less than I'm worth on the open market -- at least, according to all the research I've done (and two recruiters I've spoken with). What happened was, I accepted this job at a low salary in 2009 because I had only about a year of experience at that point and because, in the worst of the recession, I felt lucky to be working at all.

Since then, I've expanded our business significantly, hired and trained some real stars, and made other important contributions, but I've still gotten just the standard 2.5% annual raise everybody here gets, and I think I deserve more. I love working here and would rather not leave, but my negotiation skills are not so great, and budgets are still tight. Can you recommend any specific things to say to my boss, or not say? --?Just Jill

Dear J.J.: You're not the only one who's "not great" at negotiating. Regardless of their position, 36% of men say they "always" ask for more money when they feel they've earned it, says a recent poll by Salary.com -- which is more than the 26% of women who say they do, but still hardly a majority.

Moreover, it seems that tech professionals (including e-commerce managers) leave $4,300 or more per year on the table by accepting the first offer a hiring manager makes, according to a new report from tech job site Dice.com. National average pay for techies is $85,619, and, says this poll of 838 hiring managers, most candidates would get at least 5% ($4,300) more if they just asked for it. Only 18% of the managers surveyed said their initial offer is set in stone.

MORE: Wall Street isn't bowing to caps on pay

"The only explanation for the lack of haggling is fear," observes Tom Silver, a Dice.com senior vice president. He suggests that people calm their nerves by keeping in mind that "a negotiation is simply a discussion aimed at reaching an agreement, which both sides want."

That's especially true since, from your description, you sound like someone your company would prefer to keep around. "But attitude is key," says Stuart Diamond, who teaches a popular course on negotiating at The Wharton School and wrote a book called Getting More: How You Can Negotiate to Succeed in Work and Life. "Going in as the injured party and being negative will not work. You have to be positive and upbeat."

You also have to be "collaborative," he adds. "Be ready to acknowledge, at some point in the conversation, that budgets are tight. Say something like, 'I know it must be tough for you with so many people wanting more money.' The last thing you want is to make your boss uncomfortable." A little empathy can go a long way.

Then, Diamond recommends these four tactics:

1. Ask the right questions. "First, ask your boss to tell you her perception of your work," Diamond says. "Then ask whether she thinks you're worth more than you're making. Explain that you know you're underpaid relative to the market outside the company, but are you also making less than other people of similar rank inside the company?"

You should also ask what the company's criteria are for giving bigger raises than the across-the-board 2.5%. "Seek out the standards they use," says Diamond. If that information isn't forthcoming, "focus on the company's needs in the future. Ask, 'What can I do for you going forward that would be worth the kind of raise I'm requesting?' The answer commits your boss to a standard and gives you something to shoot for." It might also be the basis for a performance bonus down the line.

2. Don't make it personal. "Instead of saying, 'I'm worth more than a 2.5% raise,' talk about what the job is worth" -- for example, how much your department contributes to revenues and profits. Says Diamond, "The conversation should center on the work, not on you. The less personal you make it, the easier it will be for your boss to justify a bigger raise to the people upstairs."

3. Be prepared to think incrementally. It's unlikely you'll get a 20% raise all at once. "So try for a smaller amount now and more later on," Diamond suggests. "The best negotiators don't have a home-run mentality. They go for lots of little wins. Bunts and singles are what win ball games."

4. Consider intangibles. Assuming the pay hike you're offered (for now) is a small one, have a few other possibilities in mind. "Be ready to ask for something else besides money that matters to you," Diamond says. Maybe it's extra vacation time, a window office, a health club membership, or the chance to telecommute a couple of days a week -- whatever would help close the pay gap, in your mind, and that would be a relatively easy "yes" for your boss.

MORE: Truck stop royal family falls on hard times

What can you do (besides quit) if you still hear "no"? "Start keeping a list of specific accomplishments -- date, time, and task -- and write down at least two or three items a week," Diamond suggests. "In particular, be sure to include anything that saves the company money." This way, when you ask again in six months or a year, "you'll have a detailed record of your contributions, which is hard for any boss to say 'no' to." He adds: "This is one of the surest ways to hear 'yes,' yet very few people do it."

Good luck.

Talkback: If you've asked for a raise recently and gotten it, what worked for you? Leave a comment below.

Source: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/25/time-to-negotiate-for-a-raise-heres-how/

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38 die in mental hospital fire outside Moscow

In this image taken from Ministry for Emergency Situations, Moscow region branch website, a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow is on fire early Friday morning, April 26, 2013. At least 38 people died in the fire in the psychiatric hospital outside Moscow late Thursday night. Police said the fire, which broke out at about 2 a.m. local time (6 p.m. Eastern, 2200 GMT) in the one-story hospital in the Ramenskoye settlement, was caused by a short circuit. (AP Photo/Ministry for Emergency Situations, Moscow region branch website) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In this image taken from Ministry for Emergency Situations, Moscow region branch website, a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow is on fire early Friday morning, April 26, 2013. At least 38 people died in the fire in the psychiatric hospital outside Moscow late Thursday night. Police said the fire, which broke out at about 2 a.m. local time (6 p.m. Eastern, 2200 GMT) in the one-story hospital in the Ramenskoye settlement, was caused by a short circuit. (AP Photo/Ministry for Emergency Situations, Moscow region branch website) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Ministry for Emergency Situations workers and fire fighters work at a site of a fire of a psychiatric hospital Friday morning, April 26, 2013. At least 38 people died in the fire in the psychiatric hospital outside Moscow late Thursday night. Police said the fire, which broke out at about 2 a.m. local time (6 p.m. Eastern, 2200 GMT) in the one-story hospital in the Ramenskoye settlement, was caused by a short circuit. (AP Photo/Pavel Sergeyev)

Map locates fire a psychiatric hospital outside of central Moscow

Ministry for Emergency Situations workers and fire fighters work at a site of a fire of a psychiatric hospital Friday morning, April 26, 2013. At least 38 people died in the fire in the psychiatric hospital outside Moscow late Thursday night. Police said the fire, which broke out at about 2 a.m. local time (6 p.m. Eastern, 2200 GMT) in the one-story hospital in the Ramenskoye settlement, was caused by a short circuit. (AP Photo/Pavel Sergeyev)

Ministry for Emergency Situations workers and fire fighters work at a site of a fire of a psychiatric hospital Friday morning, April 26, 2013. At least 38 people died in the fire in the psychiatric hospital outside Moscow late Thursday night. Police said the fire, which broke out at about 2 a.m. local time (6 p.m. Eastern, 2200 GMT) in the one-story hospital in the Ramenskoye settlement, was caused by a short circuit. (AP Photo/Pavel Sergeyev)

(AP) ? A fire swept quickly through a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow early Friday, killing 38 people, most of them sedated and in their beds, officials said.

The one-story brick-and-wood hospital building housed patients with severe mental disorders, Health Ministry officials said. An Emergencies Ministry official said the fire started in a wooden annex and then spread to the main brick building, which had wooden beams.

The patients were under sedatives and most of them did not wake up, Yuri Deshevykh of the Emergencies Ministry told RIA Novosti.

At least 29 people were burned alive, said Irina Gumennaya, a spokeswoman for the federal Investigative Committee.

Investigators said the 38 dead included 36 patients and two doctors. They said a nurse managed to escape and save one patient, while another patient got out on his own. The Emergencies Ministry also posted a list of the patients indicating they ranged in age from 20 to 76. Gumennaya told Russian news agencies that most of the people died in their beds.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyev said some of the hospital windows were barred. Gumennaya cited the surviving nurse as saying that the doors inside the hospital were not locked.

Investigators said they are looking at violations of fire regulations and a short circuit as possible causes for the blaze that engulfed the hospital in the Ramensky settlement, some 85 kilometers (53 miles) north of Moscow.

Vadim Belovoshin of the Emergencies Ministry said that it took firefighters an hour to get to the hospital because a ferry across a canal was closed and they had to make a detour.

Vorobyev told Russian state television that the fire alarm seems to have worked, but the fire spread too quickly.

Russia has a poor fire safety record, with about 12,000 deaths reported in 2012. In January, a fire in an underground parking lot killed 10 migrant workers from Tajikistan who were working and living there. In a similar incident in September, 14 Vietnamese workers were killed by fire at a clothing factory near Moscow.

In one of the most high-profile cases of negligence, more than 150 people died in a night club in the city of Perm after a pyrotechnic show ignited a wooden ceiling.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-26-EU-Russia-Fire/id-f6e6b7129e8546068fdb8ec840807847

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Hagman's 'Dallas' belt buckle to be auctioned

Handout / REUTERS

Larry Hagman's ruby-adorned silver and gold belt buckle from "Dallas."

By Eric Kelsey, Reuters

A ruby-adorned silver and gold belt buckle from the U.S. television drama "Dallas" forms the centerpiece of an auction of personal items of late actor Larry Hagman, who played the conniving oilman J.R. Ewing on the hit series.

The buckle, with the initials "J.R.," is as garish and brazen as the character who wore it and is expected to fetch between $3,000 and $5,000 in a May 5 sale, Los Angeles auction house Bonhams said on Thursday.

The large buckle has four rubies framing the initials of the villain on the show that was first broadcast between 1978 and 1991.?

Hagman, who reprised his role in an updated version of "Dallas" in 2012, died at the age of 81 in November from complications of throat cancer. He rose to fame in the mid-1960s as a star on the TV comedy "I Dream of Jeannie."

Hagman's custom-made leather director's chair from "Dallas" is expected to fetch between $2,500 and $3,000, and dozens of cowboy hats owned by Hagman are expected to sell for hundreds of dollars each.

Also up for sale among the scores of cowboy and Western-themed items is an abstract landscape painting by Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins, estimated to sell between $400 and $600.?

Related content:

Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/04/26/17927248-larry-hagmans-dallas-belt-buckle-goes-up-for-auction?lite

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Newfound hormone holds hope for diabetes treatment

NEW YORK (AP) ? Scientists have identified a hormone that can sharply boost the number of cells that make insulin in mice, a discovery that may someday lead to a treatment for the most common type of diabetes.

People have their own version of this hormone, and the new work suggests that giving diabetics more might one day help them avoid insulin shots.

That would give them better control of their blood sugar levels, said Harvard University researcher Douglas Melton, senior author of a report published Thursday by the journal Cell.

Experts unconnected with the work cautioned that other substances have shown similar effects on mouse cells but failed to work on human ones. Melton said this hormone stands out because its effect is unusually potent and confined to just the cells that make insulin.

An estimated 371 million people worldwide have diabetes, in which insulin fails to control blood sugar levels. High blood sugar can lead to heart disease, stroke and damage to kidneys, eyes and the nervous system. At least 90 percent of diabetes is "Type 2," and some of those patients have to inject insulin. Melton said the newly identified hormone might someday enable them to stop insulin injections and help other diabetic patients avoid them.

As for its possible use to treat Type 1 diabetes, Melton called that a "long shot" because of differences in the biology of that disease.

Insulin is produced by beta cells in the pancreas.

Melton and co-authors identified a hormone they dubbed betatrophin (BAY-tuh-TROH-fin) in mice. When they made the liver in mice secrete more of it by inserting extra copies of the gene, the size of the beta cell population tripled in comparison to untreated mice. Tests indicated the new cells worked normally.

Melton said it's not known how the hormone works. Now the researchers want to create an injectable form that they can test on diabetic mice, he said. If all goes well, tests in people could follow fairly quickly.

Dr. Peter Butler, a diabetes researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, who had no role in the new work, cautioned in an email that no evidence has been presented yet to show that the hormone will make human beta cells proliferate.

But Philip diIorio, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, said he found the work to be "quite promising" because it offers new leads for research, and that it might someday help in building supplies of human beta cells in a lab for transplant into patients.

___

Online:

Cell: http://www.cell.com/

International Diabetes Federation: http://www.idf.org

___

Malcolm Ritter can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/malcolmritter

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/newfound-hormone-holds-hope-diabetes-treatment-161620482.html

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Shaping beauty with lingerie mogul, Rhonda Shear | Daily Loaf

Rhonda Shear should be the spokesmodel for the ever-changing shape of beauty and success. She parleyed her skill-set as a sultry television actress, standup comic, and Playboy model into a career as the figurehead of the lingerie empire, Shear Enterprises.

Much can be assumed about Shear from the fact that she won more than 40 beauty pageants growing up, including Miss Louisiana: she's attractive, talented, well spoken, comfortable on stage, and competitive. However, these titles obscure Shear's uncanny ability to flip failure into success.

While completing her communications degree at Loyola University in the mid-70s, Shear was stripped of one of her debutant titles for appearing in a clothed Playboy pictorial. Instead of cowering from this controversy, Shear ran with it. She used the press generated from this "sex scandal" to fuel her campaign for public office against the very man who confiscated her crown. She lost by only 135 votes, which was a win in itself considering that she was the first woman to ever run for public office in New Orleans. With a summer free from the responsibilities of school and an elected position, Shear went to Hollywood. That summer turned into a 26-year career.

Shear appeared on virtually every television show you remember from the late 80s and early 90s: Happy Days, The A Team, Dallas, Cheers, The Fall Guy... At first, Shear struggled against being typecast as the sexy, quirky blonde. Once she realized this was how Hollywood saw her, she embraced the stereotype. Her blonde hair got bigger and her spandex got tighter. She even posed nude a few times in Playboy. Capitalizing on her image, Shear appeared for more than eight years as the playfully sexy host of Up All Night. This celebrity helped Shear re-brand herself as a standup comedian.

At the turn of the century, Shear's career and love life went in a new direction. She got married, moved across the country to St. Petersburg, Fla., and started the intimate apparel company, Shear Enterprises. You may recognize Shear from her frequent appearances on home-shopping channels and infomercials, where her various talents, and her merchandise, are on full display. In 2011, her company earned around $73 million in sales, largely off the success of the Ahh Bra. Building on this momentum, Shear plans to add a line of slimming swimwear, fragrance, and cosmetics.

I recently had the chance to chat with Shear about her life, success, and the business of shaping beauty.

Was it a happy accident that Shear Enterprises is located in St. Petersburg alongside The Home Shopping Network (HSN), or was this a savvy business decision?

I was living in California the first time HSN invited us on. We went on and sold out with about 6,400 units. Every time we went back on, our business expanded. I was living in Beverly Hills at the time. My husband and I had only been married about a year at that point. We just thought it would cool to start up someplace neither of us had lived. We also thought that if we moved here our business would really grow, which it did ... We officially moved to St. Petersburg in 2006 and love it.

Obviously the type of clothes people wear in Beverly Hills is different than what people walk around in here. Have the styles of Tampa Bay influenced your designs?

It's very relaxed here. In Beverly Hills it's a dressy kind of relaxed. Everyone tries to look casual, but usually no one goes out without makeup on and their hair done. No doubt St. Petersburg has influenced me a little bit, but at the end of the day, women are women everywhere. It's all about comfort. I've gotten more into that being in this area and finding fabrics that are good for this weather and climate, but our style is universal.

As a woman who profits off of shaping the idea of beauty, how do you walk the line between empowering women by helping them to feel sexy, and reinforcing the idea that in order for women to be sexy, they must look and dress a certain way?

I am totally about comfort. I am dressing people from the inside out with bras, under garments, and shaping pieces. It's totally empowering. We are involved in a number of charities, like helping women who have gone through breast cancer. We are also all about making these garments more comfortable. We make products without wires and utilize the latest fabric technologies. A lot of our things are knitted on really sophisticated machines that leave our products without seams, so there is nothing that itches or binds.

Also, all designers tend to design with themselves in mind. I've been everything from a size zero to a size twelve, so I know what a little person needs and I know what a larger gal needs to feel sexy.

Is lingerie more timeless than the seasonal trends of outerwear?

It depends. With lingerie there is what we call one-minute lingerie, which is what a guy buys a woman for his pleasure. Then there is the lingerie that she really uses and sleeps with that is comfortable or that she uses as a layering piece, as a top, a bottom, as leggings or as yoga wear. We focus on the kinds of pieces that she will pull out of her closet and go to a movie, lounge on the couch, or travel with. Pieces that fit into every woman's wardrobe and that can stick in her closet for awhile. Also, we design most of our intimate apparel pieces to be the kind of stuff she can wear outside as a top or underneath a business suit. Most of my pieces are very universal.

We are getting ready to design a line for Crystal Harris Hefner, the new Misses Hefner. She had actually opened a lingerie boutique. She had all this sexy stuff, but what sold was the comfy, cozy stuff. We asked her, "Well what do you like?" She liked the comfy, cozy stuff. The little, sexy pieces sell, but they don't sell the kind of volume as the items a woman wears every day.

Your catalogue features two busty models you might expect to see in a gentleman's magazine, as opposed to the kind of waifish female models featured in women's fashion magazines.

I really am not into waif thin. I don't think it's healthy. Even Twiggy, who was a fashion icon of the 60s and 70s, she thinks it's very unhealthy what women are doing now. I think for the most part, men and women would rather look at a curvier body than a stick figure. However, fashion designers often want there clothes to hang on their models?they call them hanger models.

Both of the gals that are in my catalogue are Playmates. We wanted to find bustier models, but it was very difficult. We went through ever single model we could find in this area and Miami, and everyone was just so tiny that it really didn't do our garments justice. The average American woman is a size 14. Our sizes go from extra small to 4X. I don't necessarily feel like I have to show a garment on all shapes and sizes, but I want consumers to look at my models and at least feel like they can relate to her. She is healthy. She is curvy. She is a real woman. That's just my preference. I don't go by what other designers do. I like a sexier model. I like long hair. I think it just fits with intimate apparel.

Considering that you once had a huge foot fetish following from Up All Night, have you considered designing accessories and shoes that appeal to foot fetishists?

I did capitalize on it during my Up All Night years. When I realized what was going on, I played to it for my foot fetish fans. To this day I get emails from a wide array of people who apparently still adore my feet. I like it. I understand the fetish from years of learning about it.

I am getting ready to put out more legwear, though not because of the foot fetish fans. There is just a demand for it. I am getting ready to launch a really big hosiery and legwear line. It just kind of went out of style for a while. To me, hosiery has always been sexy, and it always makes your legs look better. I am really excited to help bring it back.

I've never gotten into the shoe business, but I am going to be adding slippers and socks and things. I'm not saying I won't go into shoes, but at this point I like that my line is growing organically. A fashion shoe really wouldn?t go with what I?m doing now. But, I am doing hosiery, which I think will make all my foot fetish fans very happy.

Have you already filmed the pilot for your reality show?

We did a sizzle reel. It's being shopped around to different networks. I am really hopping it happens, but I just don't know if we're naughty enough. Well, I won't say naughty. We are certainly naughty. I don't know that we are dirty enough. The sizzle reel has my stand up comedy, my business, my models, my stepson and his tons of girlfriends. It has a lot going on. It will just depend on the networks. Right now some of them are really getting down and dirty. Personally I wouldn't want to go that direction.

How much of the opportunities you've had to work hard in order to be successful stemmed from the publicity you received when you were stripped of your pageant title for doing a clothed photo shoot in Playboy?

When it happened I was 21 and still in college. It wasn't a beauty contest. It was a kind of festival that I was the reigning queen of. Pseudo debutant kind of stuff. I was also the reigning Miss Louisiana, though they didn't care. I was supposed to represent the city and the festival organizers were shocked that I was in Playboy. I ended up running for public office against the guy who was the president of that organization. But we knew it was really the women, the wives of those guys, who really got up in arms about the Playboy thing. In the 70s, the connotation of Playboy was much different.

At that point, I wasn't necessarily looking for a career in show business. When that scandal hit the newspaper, it went over the AP wire, then went international. Playboy picked up on it too. Playboy loved the controversy. They doted on me for years after that. I ended up doing a few celebrity pictorials for them, though I was never a playmate.

If I had been looking for a career in show business, and if the Internet had been around, it could have been really cool. If something like that had happened today, I would have ended up with a reality show and all that. I did get a lot of press very quickly, but I was still in New Orleans and I didn't leave for another year. I was already known in the New Orleans area. So locally it didn't really do anything other than get people to say that I should run for public office. I was the youngest person to have ever run for public office at that time, and the first woman. It was kind of cool to be a trailblazer. Everything kind of came out of that whole craziness. But, it certainly did not spearhead my Hollywood career.

Though I did utilize controversy throughout my career. I did. Because, no matter what I did, I was always typecast as sexy. I really tried to play the girl next door, but I just never could. I never could. I was always typecast, so at some point I just started going with it. I just said, "You know what. Why fight it. If this is what I am going to get cast as, I'm going to go for it." That's when I landed Up All Night. That led to comedy. I have no regrets. I had fun ... I was in LA for 26 years and I worked the whole time with great people. I was dying to have my own sitcom, but I did have a long, happy, fruitful career.

It seems like you always appeared in one episode of TV shows as the sexy love interest of one of the main characters.

Right. I had a million of those parts and I would have thought that they would have eventually led somewhere more. If I would have stayed in it, and stayed in LA, who knows. A lot of my peers are now major producers and directors, and they cast their friends. But, I just felt like, after 40, I couldn't keep dragging around LA, knocking on doors and auditioning. If something came my direction now, I would jump on it. I will always love show business. But, at some point you have to give up the ghost and say, "It is what it is."

A lot of people don't reinvent themselves. I have friends that are still doing it, going to auditions in LA. All my stand up comedy friends are still on the road. I just can't see myself doing that at my age. I love what I'm doing now. I have one foot in show business and I have a supportive husband. I just did a comedy show at the Mahaffey Theater, and I may be looking to take that on the road a little. But now I'm not doing it for a living. It is for my pleasure. That makes it a lot easier. I'm in a really nice place right now.

It seems like you made a good choice. What were the profits of your company in 2011, something like $72 Million?

Yeah, I think it was $73 million ... We're in a really nice place right now. We're all over the world: China, Italy, Germany, UK, Canada. The infomercial on the Ahh Bra really catapulted our company, though a lot of people now think of us as just the bra company, which we are not. We have 5,500 items in our line. We are a fully vertical apparel and intimate company. We're known all over, but on the other hand, you know, we are not in a Macy's or Bloomingdales yet. Thirty-seven percent of our business is done online. A lot of women don't even want to go into a store to deal with intimate apparel.



To learn more about Shear and Rhonda Shear Intimates, visit RhondaShear.com, ShearEnterprises.com or follow her on Twitter, @RhondaShear and Facebook.

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Source: http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2013/04/24/shaping-beauty-with-lingerie-mogul-rhonda-shear

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