Sunday, March 31, 2013

8 Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

Think allergies end in April or May? Guess again.

Those sneezy, itchy-eyed, congested months can last well into late fall, as different trees, then grasses and, finally, weeds bombard the air with pollen. If that weren't irritating enough, outdoor mold starts to release airborne spores starting in summer and continuing through fall, which can cause further irritation. In fact, reactions to mold (fungi that thrive in warm, moist, humid climates both outdoors and in) as well as ragweed may be even more of a problem in certain parts of the country this summer because of heavier-than-usual rainfall.

If you're sneezing like crazy, don't just wait for a drop in the temperature to stamp out your allergy misery. Here's how to stay outside, active, and virtually symptom free?all allergy season long.

6 Surprising Allergy Triggers

Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

Rethink Your Exercise Plan

You breathe harder and suck in more air when you're exercising than when you're, say, watching TV. The more air you inhale, the more airborne pollen and mold spores you suck in too. That's why it's important to take your workout indoors when your allergies are acting up or on days with very high pollen or mold counts. Check here for daily local levels.

Love walking or running outside? You don't have to give it up entirely, but try to minimize your exposure. To help ease symptoms, take a nondrowsy antihistamine before you exercise or plan to spend significant time outdoors. Pick a path that's less likely to expose you to allergens?walk on a school track, for example, instead of through your tree-lined neighborhood. And steer clear of major roads and highways. Chemical irritants from exhaust can worsen allergy symptoms, says Dr. Malcolm N. Blumenthal, director of the Asthma and Allergy Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.

Top US Cities For Outdoor Exercise>

Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

Watch for Nonseasonal Allergies

The more allergens you're exposed to at a given time, the higher your allergenic load and the worse your symptoms.

If you're allergic to cats and dust mites in addition to pollen and mold, for example, visiting a cat-owning friend on a summer evening can make that load virtually unbearable. Here are some tips to help you limit your exposure to these top offenders:

Dust mites: Cover flooring with washable throw rugs instead of carpets, which, like blankets, down comforters, and curtains, are favorite mite habitats. Launder rugs, bed linens and curtains in hot water (more than 130?F) to kill mites. Dust often with a damp cloth. Get zippered, allergyproof covers for your mattress and pillows.

Dog and cat dander: If pet owners come to visit, be sure to vacuum couches or chairs they've used after they leave. Their clothes may carry their furry friends' dander, which can be deposited in your home and aggravate symptoms.

Indoor mold: Get a dehumidifier to dry out your basement, and use exhaust fans in other areas prone to dampness and mold, such as the kitchen and bathroom. Wash bath mats often, and keep houseplants to a minimum (mold loves potting soil).

Is The Air In Your Home Making You Sick?

Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

Shun synthetic materials for natural ones like cotton?your nose and eyes will thank you. Who knew? When synthetic fabrics rub against one another, they create an electrical charge that attracts pollen, which, as it turns out, is also electrically charged, says Dr. Gailen D. Marshall, director of clinical immunology and the division of allergy at the University of Mississippi. Natural fibers such as cotton also breathe better, so they stay drier and less hospitable to moisture-loving mold.

Toss just-washed clothes and bedding in the dryer?don't hang them outside on a clothing line. Avoid contacts when your eyes feel itchy, and feel free to splurge on a pair of jumbo sunglasses?they'll help shield your peepers from airborne irritants.

Make This Your Healthiest Spring Ever!

Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

Get Smart About Gardening

Got killer allergies? The best way to deal with yard work is to have someone else do it. Failing that... Take an antihistamine or cromolyn sodium about half an hour before you head outdoors, and wear a pollen mask whenever you dig around in dirt, rake leaves, or mow the lawn?activities is all but guaranteed to stir up pollen and mold. Keep your lawn cut short, so it's less likely to sprout pollen-producing flowers or weeds. If you have a compost heap?a major mold breeding ground?consider getting rid of it or moving it far away from the house.

Finally, consider replacing plants that produce lots of offending pollen with more benign varieties. Rules of green thumb: Choose showy, flowering trees and shrubs such as apple and cherry trees and azaleas; they produce waxy pollen that's too heavy to ride the breeze. On the lawn, opt for nonpollinating ground cover such as myrtle or ivy rather than grass.

How To Allergy-Proof Your Backyard

Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

Give Yourself a Good Scrubbing

Showering more often may keep allergy invasions at bay.

While you're outside, pollen and mold spores can parachute onto your hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and skin. To give them the boot and minimize your exposure, do the following once you cross the threshold: Wash your hands, rinse your eyes, and shower (before bed, or right away if you've done yard work).

Same goes for your pet. Even if you're not allergic to your pup, he can become an allergy magnet after running around outdoors. Brush off his fur before you give him free reign of the house again.

Keep The Pet, Lose The Allergies

Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

Consider a Stronger Treatment

OTC meds like antihistamines and decongestants can significantly relieve symptoms, but if your nose is still running, it may be time for an upgrade.

If you've got a faucet for a nose and are constantly congested, ask your doctor about a steroid nasal spray, which relieves these symptoms better than an antihistamine, says Dr. David Shulan, FAAAI, vice president of Certified Allergy & Asthma Consultants, a practice in Albany, NY. The catch: You need to use it on a regular basis, and it can take up to 2 weeks to have an effect. A spritz every once in a while is useless, Shulan says.

If pollen, ragweed, or dust mites are your main problem, think about getting allergy shots (immunotherapy). Injections of very small, safe amounts of the chemicals you're allergic to will help your immune system become resistant to the allergens, so your body doesn't launch a full-out attack every time you inhale a pollen particle. You get shots once or twice a week for several months in gradually increasing doses, and periodic maintenance shots after that for 3 to 5 years.

"Not enough people who could benefit from allergy shots consider them," says Dr. John R. Cohn, chief of the adult allergy section at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University. "They may help if you don't respond to usual treatments because they reduce your sensitivity to allergens instead of only treating symptoms. I find that about 80% of patients see an 80 percent improvement." Unfortunately, the shots are not as effective for most mold allergies, said Shulan"

Is Your Medication Making You Sick?

Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

The wonder cup just got even more wonderful. Yep, heart-healthy, cancer-quashing green tea may battle allergies too.

Japanese researchers found that EGCG, the abundant antioxidant compound in green tea, may help stop your body from mounting an immune response to a wide range of allergens, including pollen, pet dander, and dust. Steeping two or three cups a day of green tea helps bolster the body's defenses, especially as you age, suggests Lester A. Mitscher, PhD, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas and author of The Green Tea Book: China's Fountain of Youth.

5 Steps To A Perfect Cup Of Tea

Ways to Outsmart Your Allergies

Weave yoga into your workout plan, and you can say namaste to your allergies.

"Stress promotes inflammation, which can heighten your body's allergic response," says Dr. Tina Sindwani, an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. "Yoga is proven to reduce stress, so it may bring relief. Also, various yoga breathing techniques can help open your stuffed-up nasal passages, and certain poses can expand your lungs." Take a class or do a DVD up to 3 times a week during allergy season.

Yoga Tips For Beginners

***

More from Prevention:

4 Natural Allergy Remedies

6 Seasonal Allergy Solutions

How To Allergy-Proof Your Home

Is It A Cold?Or The Flu?

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Allergies/ways-outsmart-allergies/story?id=18840620

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Phil Ramone, Grammy-winning producer, dead at 72

NEW YORK (AP) ? Phil Ramone, the Grammy Award-winning engineer and producer whose platinum touch included recordings with Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Paul Simon, has died at 72.

Ramone's son, Matt Ramone, confirmed the death. The family did not immediately release details of the death, but Matt Ramone says his father was "very loving and will be missed."

Few producers had a more spectacular and diverse career. Ramone won 14 Grammy Awards. He worked with Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, Elton John and Tony Bennett.

He produced three records that went on to win Grammys for album of the year ? Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years," Joel's "52nd Street" and Charles' "Genius Loves Company." He was a pioneer of digital recording who produced what is regarded as the first major commercial release on compact disc, "52nd Street," which came out on CD in 1982.

He thrived producing music for television, film and the stage. He won an Emmy for a TV special about Duke Ellington, a Grammy for the soundtrack to the Broadway musical "Promises, Promises" and a Grammy for the soundtrack to "Flashdance."

Ramone made an art out of the "Duets" concept, pairing Sinatra with Bono, Luther Vandross and other younger artists, Bennett with McCartney and Barbra Streisand, and Charles with Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison. In Ramone's memoir, "Making Records," he recalled persuading a hesitant Sinatra to re-record some of his signature songs.

"I reminded Frank that while Laurence Olivier had performed Shakespeare in his 20s, the readings he did when he was in his 60s gave them new meaning," Ramone wrote. "I spoke with conviction. 'Don't my children ? and your grandchildren ? deserve to hear the way you're interpreting your classic songs now?'"

A native of South Africa, he seemed born to make music. He had learned violin by age and was trained at The Julliard School in New York. Before age 20, he had opened his own recording studio.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/phil-ramone-grammy-winning-producer-dead-72-171128987.html

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Bitcoin: How An Unregulated, Decentralized Virtual Currency Just Became A Billion Dollar Market

imagesHang around in the tech industry long enough and you or someone you know will be heard saying, "that's so crazy it just might work." Two years ago, if you'd have told me that an open-source, P2P currency would soon be a thriving, billion-dollar market, I would've told you that you were on a lonely bus headed to CrazyTown, U.S.A. But today, Bitcoin officially became a crazy idea that's actually working. Today, all the Bitcoin in circulation -- some 10.9 million of them -- have collectively crossed the billion-dollar mark. As it is wont to do, the value of Bitcoin (and its exchange rate) has fluctuated wildly today. At one point, it hit a dollar value around $78, then pushed into the mid-nineties. As of this minute, it's hovering around $90.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3yp-1RktKQ0/

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Source: http://accessconference.org/of-use-facts-about-consulting-business/

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson goes 2-1 at jiu-jitsu tournament

UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will fight Gilbert Melendez on April 20, but he took on other competitors over the weekend. Henderson competed in the 2013 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships. He won his first two matches, but lost 8-0 to Jaime Soares Canuto.

Henderson, a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, decided to do the tournament for fun. It wasn't a break from training for the bout with Melendez. Henderson's coach said he did six rounds of MMA sparring on Saturday before competing on Sunday. Instead, it was just a little bit of competition.

He tweeted about the tournament:

What are your thoughts on Henderson competing just weeks before his fight? Speak up in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-lightweight-champ-benson-henderson-goes-2-1-200528627--mma.html

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Egyptian president sees elections in October: MENA

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mursi-sees-parliamentary-vote-october-mena-063926965.html

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Monday, March 25, 2013

Spain police involved in 2 large cocaine raids

MADRID (AP) ? Spanish, Portuguese and British police boarded a ship loaded with nearly two tons of cocaine destined for sale in Europe and arrested nine people, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

Specialist agents, including members of Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency, conducted a dawn raid on March 15 while the ship was in the Atlantic Ocean, some 700 miles southwest of Portugal's Cape Verde islands.

"It is the largest operation so far in 2013 in our fight against drug trafficking," said Ignacio Cosido, Spain's director general of police.

Five crew aboard, four Brazilians and one Korean, were arrested and four alleged organizers ? including the suspected Venezuelan mastermind ? were rounded up the next day in the northern Portuguese city of Porto.

"He is a well-known person," Cosido said of the main suspect. "He has a background in drug trafficking and is an important member of that world."

Cocaine bales hidden in a bow locker and a backpack with a large amount in U.S. dollars were seized. The cocaine arrived at the naval dockyard of the Canary Island port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Saturday, Cosido said.

The gang included a large group of Venezuela-based cocaine suppliers, the ministry statement said.

Earlier Saturday Spanish authorities said they had also seized 590 kilograms (1,300 pounds) of cocaine discovered inside a sailboat moored at a private dock and arrested two Eastern European men aboard.

The suspects were identified only as a 60-year-old Bulgarian and a 30-year-old from Serbia, one of whom was armed with a loaded 9mm pistol.

The operation began when a suspicious vessel sailing in international waters was found heading toward Spain's Mediterranean coast.

Agents observed the yacht entering the Sotogrande marina in southwestern Spain without lights and tying up at a private jetty. Investigators acting under instruction from a court in San Roque also searched several houses in that city and in Marbella.

The judicial authority ordered the suspects' imprisonment. The arrest took place last week but an exact date was not given.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spain-police-involved-2-large-cocaine-raids-175633253.html

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State weighs first abortion insurance mandate in US | The Columbian

photo

OLYMPIA -- In 1970, Washington became the first -- and remains the only -- state in the country to legalize elective abortions by a popular vote.

A generation later, and 40 years removed from the landmark United States Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling that extended abortion access nationwide, Washington is once again poised to stand out.

With 21 states having adopted bans or severe restrictions on insurance companies from paying for abortions, Washington is alone in seriously considering legislation mandating the opposite.

The Reproductive Parity Act, as supporters call it, would require insurers in Washington state who cover maternity care -- which all insurers must do -- to also pay for abortions.

The bill passed the state House earlier this month by a vote of 53-43, though it faces an uncertain future in the Senate. A similar bill in the New York state Assembly has been introduced each session for over a decade but has never received a public hearing.

"This is a core value for Washingtonians," said Melanie Smith, a lobbyist for NARAL Pro-Choice Washington. "We should protect it while we still have it and not leave access to basic health care up to an insurance company."

The proximate cause of Washington state's measure is the federal Affordable Care Act. Thanks to language in it pushed by congressional Republicans, insurers selling their plans on the state exchanges taking effect next year will have to segregate the premiums they collect for abortion coverage.

In addition to that built-in disincentive to insuring abortion, the law also invites states to enact stricter rules of their own. Thus far, 16 states have followed suit, barring or restricting insurance companies on their exchanges from covering the procedure. Three of those states are joining the five that have barred or limited all insurers from covering abortions since the early 1980's.

Supporters of Washington state's proposed abortion insurance mandate are careful to stress that it wouldn't lead to a dramatic uptick in abortions or require carriers with a religious bent to cover the procedure. They also note that a pair of federal plans that will be sold on all 50 state exchanges will be barred from covering elective abortions.

"It's not expanding abortion coverage," said Democratic Rep. Eileen Cody of West Seattle, the bill's primary sponsor. "It's ensuring the rights of women to get what they're paying for now and to continue their freedom of choice."

Opponents counter that the measure would require businesses and individuals to pay for abortion coverage they'd rather not have.

"Washington state would be the only state in the country that would force employers to pay for abortion," said Peggy O'Ban, spokeswoman for Human Life of Washington.

If passed, she said, it would amount to "the first conscience coercion act in American history."

Its passage, however, is not assured.

Proponents of the measure say they have the votes they need in the state Senate, but it's not clear that Senate leaders will allow it to get to the floor. It is scheduled to receive a public hearing in the Senate Health Care Committee on April 1.

Ironically, the man bill supporters will likely blame if it fails to get a Senate vote counts himself as a proud backer of the measure.

Sen. Rodney Tom of Medina, a fiscal conservative and social moderate, and one other like-minded Democrat crossed party lines to caucus with Republicans in December, handing a one-vote majority to the GOP. Seizing power for the first time in nearly a decade, elated Senate Republicans reciprocated by installing Tom as Majority Leader.

Last month, Tom addressed about 250 advocates rallying for the measure's passage on the state Capitol steps.

"I'm down here making sure that my 17-year-old daughter has the kind of protections that we need in Washington state and that all of our kids have those same kinds of protections," Tom said to cheers.

Moments later, Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat and fellow bill supporter, delivered a not-so-subtle challenge to Tom's political will.

Washington state "deserves a vote in the state Senate on the Reproductive Parity Act," Inslee said. "We are going to insist that we are not going to let anybody close the door to democracy in this state."

Another irony: though the bill has proved to be among the most hotly contested of the session, its broader impact if passed may be less than sweeping.

For one thing, most abortions are paid for out-of-pocket. According to the Guttmacher Institute, only 12 percent of abortions nationwide are paid for by private insurers, with 20 percent footed by Medicaid.

For another, because most abortions cost less than a live birth -- the procedure typically runs about $500, though late-term abortions are far more expensive -- insurers may be disinclined to stop covering them.

At present, all major insurers in Washington state cover abortions, and Cody, the bill's sponsor, said she knows of no carrier with plans to change. Insurers new to Washington state on its exchange may be tempted to adopt different policies, she said.

No matter its immediate impact, said Elizabeth Nash, states issues manager with the Guttmacher Institute, the bill's passage would be a watershed event.

"It would be a model for other states to follow," she said.

Source: http://www.columbian.com/news/2013/mar/23/wash-weighs-1st-abortion-insurance-mandate-in-us/

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Saturday, March 23, 2013

Swoon Overload: Hot Celebs with Their Pups

Hollywood is full of animal lovers! See more pics of celebrities spending time with their furry friends.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/star-snapshots-celebrities-their-dogs/1-b-527677?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Astar-snapshots-celebrities-their-dogs-527677

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One killed in shooting at Quantico Marine Base

By Denise Ono, Staff Writer, NBC News

One person was killed in a shooting at the Marine base Quantico, Va. Thursday night, officials told NBC News.

The shooting was reported at around 11 p.m. Prince William County and military police responded to the scene.

A suspect is believed to be isolated in the barrack of the Officer Candidate School campus and the base is in lockdown, Lt. Agustin Solivan told NBC News.

A message posted on Quantico's Facebook page told residents to remain in their homes with their doors locked.

This is a breaking news story - check back for more information.

NBC's Christopher Nelson contributed to this story.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29daff4c/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C220C1740A92640Eone0Ekilled0Ein0Eshooting0Eat0Equantico0Emarine0Ebase0Dlite/story01.htm

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Friday, March 22, 2013

Stunning new view of 'oldest light'

A spectacular new map of the "oldest light" in the sky has just been released by the European Space Agency.

Scientists say its mottled pattern is an exquisite confirmation of our Big-Bang model for the origin and evolution of the Universe.

But there are features in the picture, they add, that are unexpected and will require ideas to be refined.

The map was assembled from 15 months' worth of data acquired by the 600m-euro (?515m) Planck space telescope.

It details what is known as the cosmic microwave background, or CMB - a faint glow of microwave radiation that pervades all of space.

Its precise configuration, visible in the new Planck data, is suggestive of a cosmos that is slightly older than previously thought - one that came into existence 13.82 billion years ago.

This is an increase of about 50 million years on earlier calculations.

The map's pattern also indicates a subtle adjustment is needed to the Universe's inventory of contents.

It seems there is slightly more matter out there (31.7%) and slightly less "dark energy" (68.3%), the mysterious component thought to be driving the cosmos apart at an accelerating rate.

"I would imagine for [most people] it might look like a dirty rugby ball or a piece of modern art," said Cambridge University's George Efstathiou, presenting the new picture here at Esa headquarters in Paris.

"But I can assure you there are cosmologists who would have hacked our computers or maybe even given up their children to get hold of this map, we're so excited by it."

Planck is the third western satellite to study the CMB. The two previous efforts - COBE and WMAP - were led by the US space agency (Nasa). The Soviets also had an experiment in space in the 1980s that they called Relikt-1.

Continue reading the main story

How Planck's view hints at new physics

  • The CMB's temperature fluctuations are put through a number of statistical analyses
  • Deviations can be studied as a function of their size on the sky - their angular scale
  • When compared to best-fit Big Bang models, some anomalies are evident
  • One shows the fluctuations on the biggest scales to be weaker than expected
  • Theorists will need to adjust their ideas to account for these features

The CMB is the light that was finally allowed to spread out across space once the Universe had cooled sufficiently to permit the formation of hydrogen atoms - about 380,000 years into the life of the cosmos.

It still bathes the Earth in a near-uniform glow at microwave frequencies, and has a temperature profile that is just 2.7 degrees above absolute zero.

But it is possible to detect minute deviations in this signal, and these fluctuations - seen as mottling in the map - are understood to reflect the differences in the density of matter when the light parted company and set out on its journey all those years ago.

The fluctuations can be thought of as the seeds for all the structure that later developed in the cosmos - all the stars and galaxies.

Scientists subject the temperature deviations to a range of statistical analyses, which can then be matched against theoretical expectations.

This allows them to rule in some models to explain the origin and evolution of the cosmos, while ruling out a host of others.

The team that has done this for Planck's data says the map is an elegant fit for the standard model of cosmology - the idea that the Universe started in a hot, dense state in an incredibly small space, and then expanded and cooled.

At a fundamental level, it also supports an "add-on" to this Big Bang theory known as inflation, which postulates that in the very first moments of its existence the Universe opened up in an exponential manner - faster than light itself.

But because Planck's map is so much more detailed than anything previously obtained, it is also possible to see some anomalies in it.

One is the finding that the temperature fluctuations, when viewed across the biggest scales, do not match those predicted by the standard model. Their signal is a bit weaker than expected.

Continue reading the main story

Planck's new numbers

  • 4.9% normal matter - atoms, the stuff from which we are all made
  • 26.8% dark matter - the unseen material holding galaxies together
  • 68.3% dark energy - the mysterious component accelerating cosmic expansion
  • The number for dark energy is lower than previously estimated
  • The new age - 13.82 billion years - results from a slower expansion
  • This is described by a value known as the Hubble Constant
  • It too is revised to 67.15 km per second, per megaparsec (3.2 million light-years)

There appears also to be an asymmetry in the average temperatures across the sky; the southern hemisphere is slightly warmer than the north.

A third significant anomaly is a cold spot in the map, centred on the constellation Eridanus, which is much bigger than would be predicted.

These features have been hinted at before by Planck's most recent predecessor - Nasa's WMAP satellite - but are now seen with greater clarity and their significance cemented.

A consequence will be the binning of many ideas for how inflation propagated, as the process was first introduced in the 1980s as a way to iron out such phenomena.

The fact that these delicate features are real will force theorists to finesse their inflationary solutions and possibly even lead them to some novel physics on the way.

"Inflation doesn't predict that it should leave behind any kind of history or remnant, and yet that's what we see," Planck project scientist Dr Jan Tauber told BBC News.

Continue reading the main story

CMB - The 'oldest light' in the Universe

  • Theory says 380,000 years after the Big Bang, matter and light "decoupled"
  • Matter went on to form stars and galaxies; the light spread out and cooled
  • The light - the CMB - now washes over the Earth at microwave frequencies
  • Tiny deviations from this average glow appear as mottling in the map (above)
  • These fluctuations reflect density differences in the early distribution of matter
  • Their pattern betrays the age, shape and contents of the Universe, and more

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21866464#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Obama calls Ben-Gurion U. brain research a 'great idea'

Obama calls Ben-Gurion U. brain research a 'great idea' [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 21-Mar-2013
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Contact: Andrew Lavin
andrewlavin@alavin.com
516-944-4486
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

JERUSALEM, March 21, 2013 -- President Obama today gave accolades to researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) who presented two brain-focused technologies at the Israel Museum technology showcase as part of his Israel trip.

Accompanied by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Obama saw brain activation technology by ElMindA, which he called "a great idea."

The company, which has worked with the Pittsburgh Steelers on preventing concussions, is a start-up company founded by Prof. Amir Geva of BGU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

BNA measures brain state and brain changes and can potentially be applied to assess a wide spectrum of neurological, psychiatric and physical conditions, including concussions, sports injuries, and central nervous system-related diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. In addition, the technology serves as a valuable tool in the development of treatments for these diseases, in rehabilitation from sports injuries, and in evaluating when physical activity can be resumed. BNA is currently being used with leading partners in the United States.

One of the research showcase highlights was MinDestkop, a hands-free, thought-controlled computer developed by three BGU graduate students. To demonstrate, a student "patient" wore a cap with 14 EEG connect points that sense brain activity. A second student explained that as the patient thought of different items -- a flower, music or an automobile -- the patient could manipulate the cursor to specific colors on a computer screen that controlled what the patient wanted to do.

According to the Newsweek/Daily Beast, Obama said to Netanyahu of the MinDesktop inventors, "These guys have deeper thoughts probably than the two of us." The computer is being designed to help disabled people communicate with just their thoughts.

"Today, we were stars, and it is so incredibly gratifying to be able to present two examples of the cutting-edge technology being developed and commercialized by BGU," says Doron Krakow, executive vice president, American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev based in New York City. "We are proud of the two groups from ElmindA and MinDesktop who are fulfilling Ben-Gurion University's mission to develop technologies that are helping people in Israel, in the United States and around the world."

###

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision, creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. With some 20,000 students on campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sede Boqer and Eilat in Israel's southern desert, BGU is a university with a conscience, where the highest academic standards are integrated with community involvement, committed to sustainable development of the Negev. AABGU is headquartered in Manhattan and has nine regional offices throughout the U.S. For more information, please visit http://www.aabgu.org .


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?


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


Obama calls Ben-Gurion U. brain research a 'great idea' [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 21-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Andrew Lavin
andrewlavin@alavin.com
516-944-4486
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

JERUSALEM, March 21, 2013 -- President Obama today gave accolades to researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) who presented two brain-focused technologies at the Israel Museum technology showcase as part of his Israel trip.

Accompanied by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Obama saw brain activation technology by ElMindA, which he called "a great idea."

The company, which has worked with the Pittsburgh Steelers on preventing concussions, is a start-up company founded by Prof. Amir Geva of BGU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

BNA measures brain state and brain changes and can potentially be applied to assess a wide spectrum of neurological, psychiatric and physical conditions, including concussions, sports injuries, and central nervous system-related diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. In addition, the technology serves as a valuable tool in the development of treatments for these diseases, in rehabilitation from sports injuries, and in evaluating when physical activity can be resumed. BNA is currently being used with leading partners in the United States.

One of the research showcase highlights was MinDestkop, a hands-free, thought-controlled computer developed by three BGU graduate students. To demonstrate, a student "patient" wore a cap with 14 EEG connect points that sense brain activity. A second student explained that as the patient thought of different items -- a flower, music or an automobile -- the patient could manipulate the cursor to specific colors on a computer screen that controlled what the patient wanted to do.

According to the Newsweek/Daily Beast, Obama said to Netanyahu of the MinDesktop inventors, "These guys have deeper thoughts probably than the two of us." The computer is being designed to help disabled people communicate with just their thoughts.

"Today, we were stars, and it is so incredibly gratifying to be able to present two examples of the cutting-edge technology being developed and commercialized by BGU," says Doron Krakow, executive vice president, American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev based in New York City. "We are proud of the two groups from ElmindA and MinDesktop who are fulfilling Ben-Gurion University's mission to develop technologies that are helping people in Israel, in the United States and around the world."

###

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision, creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. With some 20,000 students on campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sede Boqer and Eilat in Israel's southern desert, BGU is a university with a conscience, where the highest academic standards are integrated with community involvement, committed to sustainable development of the Negev. AABGU is headquartered in Manhattan and has nine regional offices throughout the U.S. For more information, please visit http://www.aabgu.org .


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

?


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


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/aabu-ocb032113.php

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Lawyer to celebs guilty in NJ racketeering case

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A once-prominent New Jersey defense attorney whose clients included entertainers and rap stars was convicted Monday of operating a racketeering enterprise that included the murder of a witness and engaged in prostitution, drugs, and witness tampering.

A federal jury deliberated for a full day and parts of two others before coming back with guilty verdicts on all 23 counts against Paul Bergrin, a pugnacious former federal prosecutor who once represented an Army reservist charged in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, celebrities Queen Latifah and Lil' Kim, and the group Naughty By Nature.

Three of the counts, including two related to the murder of a federal witness in 2004, carry a mandatory life sentence.

Bergrin, who represented himself during the trial, didn't say anything after the verdict was read. Lawrence Lustberg, an attorney who has been advising Bergrin through this trial and a previous one that ended in a hung jury, said afterward that his client would file an appeal. Lustberg called the verdict surprising.

"We thought the jury would take much longer given the number and complexity of the charges," he said. "We're concerned that all the nuances of the evidence weren't considered."

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, who worked briefly alongside Bergrin when both were assistant U.S. attorneys in New Jersey, said the verdict reflected a "stunning fall from grace."

"I take no joy from this verdict," Fishman said. "But his conduct over many years was a betrayal of his law enforcement colleagues and of the court."

One of the alleged murder plots was hatched in 2004, when Bergrin was representing a client in a drug case, prosecutors said. A potential witness, Kemo Deshawn McCray, was gunned down on a Newark street. Bergrin was alleged to have told his client's confederates, "No Kemo, no case."

Another plot allegedly involved a drug case in Monmouth County in 2008. In that one, Bergrin was recorded allegedly telling an informant posing as a hit man to "make it look like a robbery."

Bergrin has been in jail since his arrest in 2009 along with several other defendants, including another attorney. All have pleaded guilty, and several testified against him over the course of two trials.

A key turning point in the nearly 4-year-old prosecution came last June when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia took the rare step of removing the judge from Bergrin's first trial from the case, citing questions raised by prosecutors over his impartiality.

U.S. District Judge William J. Martini initially threw out the racketeering counts, but they were reinstated on appeal. He also severed two murder counts from the original indictment, and excluded some evidence from the first trial. That trial ended in a hung jury in the fall of 2011.

For the recent trial, U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh allowed the government to try Bergrin on all counts he faced, except several tax fraud charges that will be considered separately.

"This time the jury got to evaluate the full measure of all the conduct with which Bergrin was charged," Fishman said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawyer-celebs-guilty-nj-racketeering-124457688.html

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Google Is Making An Evernote-Killer - Business Insider

Google is working on a product that is similar to note-taking service, Evernote.

The new service, called Google Keep seems to sync with Google Drive and allows users to save website snippets directly. Android Police?first reported the leak, discovered by Google+ page,?1E100.??

Over the weekend, a desktop version of Google Keep went live but was quickly taken down.

Here's a screenshot of the service:

?

The Next Web?was able to try out the service before it was removed too and it points out how basic the website looks and speculates that it could have been meant for mobile.

The first traces of Google Keep were discovered last year via another Google+ page:

Google knows a thing or two about search so integrating a notes service into its suite of products could prove to be useful, productive, and pull users away from popular note-taking service, Evernote.

This isn't the first time the search giant has tried its luck with note-taking. Previously Google had a similar service called "Google Notebook", but it was discontinued. Google Notebook was a browser based service, which?user to write notes, clip text and images, and save links from pages during a browser session. Google discontinued "Notebook" in 2009 after being available for three years.?

The news of a new Google product arrives just as another one, Google Reader, was just discontinued last week.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-making-an-evernote-killer-2013-3

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Why so much discontent over EA's SimCity?

Can we have a calm conversation about SimCity for a moment? If not, by all means take your preformed opinion to the comment section below and hammer away (I can take it). But if you?d like to have an adult conversation about what?s been happening here and why channeling your outrage measuredly matters, keep reading.

First, to those of you furious with EA for not making SimCity a single-player game, I get it, I really do. You didn?t get the game you wanted. Neither did my boss ? a devoted?SimCity fan who?d been skeptical of EA?s ability to pull off always-online from the start. I?m sympathetic. When?Seal released a cloying club-ready paean to Heidi Klum in his 2010 album?Commitment, I didn?t get what I wanted either. I hear you.

And more importantly, when SimCity?met the world on March 6 with all the grace of a freight train rocketing over half-collapsed trestlework before plummeting into the abyss below, I condemned the company?s lack of preparedness. SimCity?didn?t work at launch and continued not to for days thereafter ? a catastrophe by any measure exacerbated by the fact that this was SimCity, one of the most beloved PC game franchises of all time. What?s more, while EA claimed the problem was essentially resolved early last week, TIME Tech?s Doug Aamoth continued to have difficulty finding a stable server. Anecdotal reports suggest people are still have intermittent issues queuing into servers or getting the game to run consistently as we near the close of the game?s second week. Two weeks is an eternity in gaming-dom. If you haven?t yet returned the game for a full refund, this is me raising a glass to both your patience and tenacity.

EA Maxis? Lucy Bradshaw?has been working to mitigate player backlash by penning regular blog updates on the status of the game?s retooling as well as to address assumptions about what the game could (or should) have been in terms of its design maxims. Whether she?s been successful is for you to decide, but I want to focus on one dispatch in particular: Last Friday Bradshaw published a post titled??SimCity Update: Straight Answers from Lucy.?

In that post, Bradshaw defends EA Maxis? decision to make SimCity an ?always online? game, noting that ?[in] many ways, we built an MMO.?

So, could we have built a subset offline mode? Yes. But we rejected that idea because it didn?t fit with our vision. We did not focus on the ?single city in isolation? that we have delivered in past SimCities. We recognize that there are fans ? people who love the original SimCity ? who want that. But we?re also hearing from thousands of people who are playing across regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality. The SimCity we delivered captures the magic of its heritage but catches up with ever-improving technology.

This is causing virtual paroxysms with diehard SimCity fans, especially the allusion to SimCity being MMO-like. One blog called it ?tone deaf.??Another hyped it with a provocative (and, for the record, irresponsibly presumptive) headline: ?EA lied about SimCity not being offline-capable.??Even Joystiq jumped in with its??MMO Week in Review: You keep using that word.?

Joystiq makes a reasonable point about over-broad application of genre descriptors (though I get nervous when the word police come out ? ask 100 people what an ?MMO? is and you?ll get 100 different answers), but the rest just reads like nerd-rage. EA was never, ever obliged to make SimCity a single-player game, nor do these accusations (accurate or no) from modders that the existing code is just a few steps away from being a single-player game?hold much water when it comes to EA?s obligations. So what if the game could have been a single-player game. EA made its design intentions clear over a year ago and hasn?t wavered since ? love it or leave it.

You can ask, you can even petition, but?I?d like to think we?re not at the point where we?re now telling painters, musicians, writers and artists of whatever stripe ? game designers included ? what they have to do.

You can?t have it both ways. You can?t shake your fist indignantly and shout ?but games are art!? then hold game designers to a different standard. SimCity may not be the game you wanted, the game my boss wanted or the game?I frankly wanted, but accusing EA of lying and double-dealing and speculating like a bunch of anti-government conspiracy nuts just makes us seem petty and juvenile. No one?s forcing us to buy the game or making our sense of self-satisfaction contingent on SimCity conforming to our personal tastes (the latter?s all us).

Didn?t we just go through this with Mass Effect 3??Where does this entitlement mentality come from? Why isn?t it sufficient to vote with our wallets? Where did artists or designers releasing games that aren?t tailored precisely to our standards morph into a mandate to launch vulgar, ad hominem-laced screeds?

I?m not defending EA?s train-wreck of a game launch, nor on a conceptual level defending their decision to make SimCity an ?always-online? game. But I can say ?thanks but no thanks? and walk away (or just go back to playing earlier versions ? GOG?s offering SimCity 2000: Special Edition for $6, for instance). Hurling churlish accusations, hopping on mob-bandwagons, using rhetoric like ?EA lied? ? it says more about us than the object of our scorn, in the end.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sorry-ea-never-obliged-simcity-single-player-game-163023554--finance.html

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Monday, March 18, 2013

More an immigrant holiday, St. Patrick's Day has come home to Ireland

Writer Jason Walsh in Dublin says he cannot recall the modern-day holiday hoopla in the Ireland of his youth.?

By Jason Walsh,?Correspondent / March 17, 2013

Children dressed as St. Patrick in a St. Patrick's Day parade in Limerick, Ireland.

Peter Morrison/AP

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Half a million people will parade in Dublin today to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but since when did Irish people celebrate this holiday?

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March 17 has always meant a lot to the Irish diaspora, particularly those who themselves had left the country seeking a better life abroad. It was a day to celebrate Irishness, to reminisce about home, and to stand together in solidarity. Public gatherings, and particularly parades, have always been part of the annual celebration of Irishness.

In recent years, though, St. Patrick's Day has come home: The Irish, the actual Irish in Ireland, now celebrate St. Patrick's Day with as much enthusiasm as their cousins in the US and Britain. Half a million people will take to the streets of Dublin today to watch the parade.

In fact, it's not just St. Patrick's Day, it's now a week-long?St. Patrick's Festival. Slick branding, float parades, giant green foam hands, buildings lit in green, fun fairs, stand-up comedy, and street performers: This is not how I remember things.

As a child in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the 1980s, St. Patrick's Day was little more than one of many days of religious observance. Church-goers went to church and wore shamrocks on their lapels, and Irish republicans paraded, much to the chagrin of pro-British unionists. My family was not religious so we didn't do much, though we did pin shamrocks to our jackets.

Later, but still a child, in the Republic of Ireland it was much the same, though the parades were less politically-charged state affairs.

In neither case did leprechaun hats, green beer, and the rest of the tidal wave of Paddywhackery feature. Of course, memory is notoriously?faulty, but I think it's unlikely I mistook pious Mass-goers with hard-partying fun-seekers. Difficult as it is to believe, in Ireland St. Patrick's Day was once a day of temperance, with the only overindulgence being in sugary-sweets as a kind of cheating break from severe Lenten fasting.

Reportedly things weren't much different in rural Ireland. My colleague Cian Ginty grew-up in Mayo in the west of Ireland and the parades he remembers were not slick affairs.

"Tractors. That's my memory of St Patrick's Day. You get tractors, or at least used to in parades in the country down here," he says.

It's not that I'm a killjoy. If people want to have a New York-style parade, floats and all, through Dublin and then head to an Irish pub, authentic or otherwise, it's no skin off my nose. Headlines such as St. Paddy's Day FAILS: Beer, Booze And Barfing?get on my nerves, but that's life. If I was to react to everything that irked me I'd have had an embolism years ago.

Nor am I a Catholic seeking a return to the true meaning of St. Patrick's Day. After all, what is the meaning of St. Patrick's Day? He didn't drive snakes out of Ireland and his explanation of the Trinity using a shamrock is a romantic fabrication from the eighteenth century.?Patrick the man, if his confession is anything to go by, cut a pious and stern figure, arguably closer to Protestant Rev. Ian Paisley than the green-festooned and cheery miter-wearing?bishop that we Irish tend to portray him as.

Bernie Whelan, second-generation Irish living in Britain, says she remembers when St. Patrick's Day had real meaning to the London Irish. Today, though, the Irish are just like everyone else.

?"The Irish community in North London has dispersed. I was an advice worker in the London Irish women's center in Stoke Newington until it closed. To be honest couldn't justify funding any more," she says.

As Ireland has modernized, the ongoing economic crisis notwithstanding, the idea of a unique Irish ethnicity has come to look increasingly threadbare. There is, no doubt, such a thing as Irish culture, but Ireland is also part of the modern, developed world and shares a universal culture with the rest of Europe, the US, and other countries. Irish identity, at least the version long defined by political oppression and poverty makes less sense than ever.

This hasn't stopped the marketing, though. In fact, the absence of bombs and bullets makes Irishness much easier to sell, abroad and at home, even if the beer-soaked mawkishness is now harder to explain. And so, on St. Patrick's Day we're told that everyone has a bit of Irish in them. Actually, they don't. Don't take it as an insult, it's just a fact. Besides, despite the attempt to turn Irishness into some kind of universal character trait, it's really just a nationality and, like all nationalities, means less than we tend to ascribe to it.

One thing, though: It's Paddy's day, not Patty. Patty is a female name, and don't start on the Patrick doesn't contain the letter "d". The Irish-language (Gaelic to you) P?draic does.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day if you like. Have fun. Just don't for a moment think it's authentic.

As for me? ?I'll be celebrating that we're just like everyone else.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/GcoSNYgkaOY/More-an-immigrant-holiday-St.-Patrick-s-Day-has-come-home-to-Ireland

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Madonna dresses as Boy Scout, rips gay ban

By Kurt Schlosser, TODAY

Madonna dressed as a Boy Scout Saturday night at the GLAAD Media Awards in New York and said the organization should "change their stupid rules" banning gay Scouts and Scout leaders.

Larry Busacca / Getty Images

Anderson Cooper and Madonna at the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York on Saturday, March 16.

The Material Girl was on hand to present Anderson Cooper with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's?Vito Russo Award, honoring openly gay media professionals who have made a difference in promoting equality.

"I wanted to be a Boy Scout, but they wouldn't let me join," Madonna said. "I think that's f---ed up. I can build a fire. I know how to pitch a tent. I have a very good sense of direction. I can rescue kittens from trees.

"I want to do good for the community. But most importantly I know how to scout for boys."

Madonna said she was a Girl Scout but that she got kicked out because her "skirt was too short" and she "never sold enough cookies."

The 52-year-old pop star took on bullying, homophobia and inequality in a speech that ran nearly 12 minutes before presenting Cooper with his award. "The reason I love you is you are a freedom fighter," she told Cooper, before he came on stage for a kiss.

You can watch all of Madonna's speech on YouTube. Be warned, there is some adult language.

According to a GLAAD press release, the group's Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.

Other winners Saturday night include (full list is over here):

  • Outstanding Drama Series: "Smash"?(NBC)
  • Outstanding Documentary: "How to Survive a Plague"?(Sundance Selects)
  • Outstanding Reality Program: "The Amazing Race" (CBS)
  • Ally Award: Brett Ratner (presented by Russell Simmons)

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/03/17/17347535-madonna-dresses-as-boy-scout-rips-organizations-gay-ban?lite

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Red Nose Day fiddles whilst Rome according to our writer

It seemed to go on for ever.

?

Like a nightmare vision of the future with James Corden and his merry men let loose on the TV wearing bits of red stuff for charity. and, er, that was it.

?

It was hours of very rich celebs asking you to cough up charity and loads of people wearing red noses with comedians you had managed to avoid for years suddenly ramming their bloated faces back into your consciousness and making no effort to be funny because, well, it?s for charity.

?

Yeah, I know it?s all for charity and we should be grateful that the loaded showbiz world are giving up valuable time etc for the needy but there is something about Red Nose Day that is really irritating.

?

For a start it seems to be an excuse for the worst comedians and the usual millionaires against poverty mob of family entertainers to spend hours of TV time being even worse than usual with endless painful, unfunny sketches where they implore us for our hard earned as they polish their brands in the full glare of the public spotlight.

?

It?s also an annual excuse to murder a musical classic in the name of charity. This year Simon Cowell boy band One Direction have mugged the Undertones classic Teenage kicks and Blondie?s One Way Or Another in the assault on the number one spot. Murdering two songs all at once, that takes some doing! and once you have drained all the sex, excitement and life out of the two great songs and clogged up the arteries of the mainstream with your turgid cholesterol pop and pumped up your crummy brand you still want us all to clap you for you charitable loveliness.

?

We we won?t , because you are part of the problem and not the solution. Simon Cowell fiddles whilst Rome burns and the entertainment industries audacious arrogance fiddles even harder whilst Africa starves and the great British public, generous as ever, stick their hands in their pockets and pay millions towards helping then poor.

?

It seems less like any kind of addressing of the problem of why we have starvation in the world and more like another puffing up of flimsy showbiz careers.

?

The only winner is the Cowell brand and a load of lame comedians stumbling around TV studios on auto pilot. It?s a truly sorry spectacle. Simon Cowell, singer Jessie J, comedian Peter Kay and boy band One Direction all made appearances dancing on the bones of Africa?s broken homes. It was like the drooling death of everything, like the last days of Rome- a gladiatorial jamboree of feeding egos to the lions and patting their well fed backs for the effort.

?

Lovely stuff!

?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LouderThanWar/~3/uTBDbe-nmbA/

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CA-NEWS Summary

Zimbabweans vote to clip president's power

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabweans were expected to vote for a new constitution on Saturday that would clip presidential powers and pave the way for an election to decide whether Robert Mugabe extends his three-decade rule. Mugabe, Africa's oldest president at 89, has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980 and has been accused of carrying out harsh crackdowns on the opposition and weakening state institutions like the cabinet and parliament.

U.S. to bolster missile defenses to counter North Korea threat: Hagel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans on Friday to bolster U.S. missile defenses in response to "irresponsible and reckless provocations" by North Korea, which threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States last week. Hagel said the Pentagon would add 14 new anti-missile interceptors at Fort Greely in Alaska - an effective reversal of an early Obama administration decision - and move ahead with the deployment of a second missile-defense radar in Japan.

Focus on mission, stay true to the cross, pope tells cardinals

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday urged leaders of a Roman Catholic Church riven by scandal and crisis never to give in to discouragement, bitterness or pessimism but to keep focused on their mission. Since his election on Wednesday as the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years, Francis has signaled a sharp change of style from his predecessor, Benedict, and has laid out a clear moral path for the 1.2-billion-member Church, which is beset by scandals, intrigue and strife.

U.S. drone strikes violate Pakistan's sovereignty: U.N.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States has violated Pakistan's sovereignty and shattered tribal structures with unmanned drone strikes in its counterterrorism operations near the Afghan border, a U.N. human rights investigator said in a statement on Friday. U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, Ben Emmerson, visited Pakistan for three days this week as part of his investigation into the civilian impact of the use of drones and other forms of targeted killings.

EU rejects Franco-British push to arm Syrian rebels

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union governments on Friday rejected Franco-British efforts to lift an EU arms embargo to allow weapons supplies to Syrian rebels, saying this could spark an arms race and worsen regional instability. France and Britain found little support for their proposal at an EU summit in Brussels, diplomats said, but EU foreign ministers will consider the issue again next week.

China formally appoints top diplomats, defense minister

BEIJING (Reuters) - China formally appointed its two new top diplomats and defense minister on Saturday, positions which had already been flagged in advance as part of the new government of President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Outgoing foreign minister Yang Jiechi, ambassador to Washington from 2001-2005 and a polished English speaker, was promoted to state councilor with responsibility for foreign policy.

Kenya police fire teargas to disperse Odinga supporters

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Police fired teargas to disperse supporters of Kenya's defeated presidential contender Raila Odinga gathered in front of the Supreme Court on Saturday, hours before his lawyers were due to file a challenge to his election defeat. Odinga refuses to accept the slim first-round win by Kenya's richest man, Uhuru Kenyatta, and his allies have said he plans to present a petition alleging collusion between the president-elect and the electoral commission.

Congolese rebels surrender, flee after defeat by M23 rivals

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congolese insurgents loyal to the warlord Bosco Ntaganda have fled into neighboring Rwanda or surrendered to U.N. peacekeepers after being routed by a rival rebel faction, sources said on Saturday. M23 fighters loyal to Sultani Makenga seized control of the strategically important town of Kibumba, 30 km (19 miles) north of the provincial capital Goma, early on Saturday, rebel spokesman Vianney Kazarama told Reuters.

Obama won't trip over Netanyahu's Iran "red line"

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama visits Israel next week at the onset of spring - the "red line" previously drawn by his host, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to trigger an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. But an Israeli-Iranian war, Washington's nightmare as it tries to scale back defense commitments abroad and avoid a draining Gulf oil crisis, does not appear trip-wire imminent.

Venezuelans flood streets for another Chavez coffin parade

CARACAS (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans were on the streets again on Friday at a funeral parade for Hugo Chavez amid opposition protests that the government was exploiting his death to win the election. Chavez's remains were transported for about 12 miles through Caracas from an army academy to a military museum on a hillside where the former soldier launched his political career with a failed coup in 1992.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-000835390.html

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Android Game Review ? Basketball Free Throws

Today we present to you ?Basketball Free Throws? by new developer Utkarsh Vaidya. The name speaks for itself, since the goal is to score as many free throws as possible. With a slingshot. The game is quite self-explanatory and allows a quick and easy access. You shoot the ball by adjusting power and angle of the shot via touch-control. Unlike in other basketball games there is no line indicating the trajectory, which I actually prefer, since the game becomes a bit more challenging. All in all it sounds like a a solid game, but

There are some flaws in Utkarsh Vaidya?s developing debut. First of all there are the sloppily designed objects, for instance the slingshot.? The sounds are relatively realistic, yet repetitive, but the lack of music spoils the atmosphere. The scope is not overwhelming either: There is only one level and one gameplay mode. But the most annoying thing was, that from time to time your perfectly shot basketballs just disappear mid-air and you lose one of your 15 tries per game.

Despite its teething problems, ?Basketball Free Throws? was quite entertaining and trying to beat the record kept me busy for a while. But we can?t ignore the flaws, so all in all this leads to solid 14 points.

Reviewed by Dennis Heizmann

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/playandroidmagazin/~3/RJwCAPV7Xv8/

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