Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/24pCYPOHLas/
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Samsung Galaxy Note: Does the World Really Need a 5-Inch Phone With a Stylus?
The Samsung Galaxy Note's gigantic 5.3-inch, Super AMOLED display makes it the largest "smartphone" we've seen so far. It's practically a mini-tablet. Does the world really need a phone quite this large?
Monday, January 30, 2012
Canon's president steps down as earnings outlook falters (Reuters)
TOKYO (Reuters) ? Canon Inc said on Monday its president Tsuneji Uchida would step down and his role would be taken on by chairman and chief executive Fujio Mitarai after the camera and printer maker forecast much weaker-than-expected earnings growth for this year.
Like other Japanese exporters, Canon, which makes 80 percent of its revenue overseas, has been buffeted by the strong yen, a weak economic outlook and the floods in Thailand, although it has been quite aggressive in countering these challenges by cutting costs and increasing automation.
"Owing to the historically high valuation of the yen combined with the effects of the earthquake and floods, all of Canon's businesses faced extremely demanding conditions throughout the year," the company said in a statement.
Canon said Uchida would resign effective March 29, to be replaced by Mitarai, who served as president from 1995 to 2006 but has since held the post of chairman.
Canon forecast a full-year operating profit of 390 billion yen ($5.1 billion) for the current year to December 2012, below expectations of a 470 billion yen profit based on the average of 20 estimates by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company also posted a slightly better-than-forecast 14 percent rise in fourth-quarter operating profit to 94.6 billion yen, in line with consensus expectations.
Operating profit for the full year to December was 378.1 billion yen, down from 387.5 billion yen in the previous year but beating the average of 20 analyst forecasts for a profit of 372 billion yen.
Canon, which competes with Xerox in printers and Nikon and Sony Corp in cameras, aims to sell 9.2 million interchangeable lens cameras and 22 million compact cameras in the year to December, compared with 7.2 million and 18.7 million, respectively, last year.
Its shares have fallen about 18 percent since the start of last year, slightly worse than the benchmark Nikkei average's 14 percent drop.
Xerox lowered its outlook for 2012 this month, on expectations that the debt crisis in Europe would hurt its business.
($1 = 76.67 yen)
(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Edwina Gibbs)
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UN nuclear inspection gets under way in Iran (AP)
TEHRAN, Iran ? Iran's foreign minister expressed optimism Sunday that a visit by U.N. inspectors to Iran's nuclear facilities would produce an understanding, despite world concerns that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons.
The three-day inspection tour by the International Atomic Energy Agency team comes during spiking tension. The West is imposing new sanctions to try to force Iran to slow or halt its nuclear program, and Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passage, in retaliation.
Visiting Ethiopia, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi appeared to be trying to defuse the crisis.
"We are very optimistic about the mission and the outcome" of the IAEA mission, Salehi was quoted as saying by Iran's semiofficial Mehr news agency.
"We've always tried to put transparency as a principle in our cooperation with IAEA," Salehi said. "During this visit, the delegation has questions and the necessary answers will be given,"
The findings from the visit could greatly influence the direction and urgency of U.S.-led efforts to rein in Iran's ability to enrich uranium ? which Washington and allies fear could eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran has declined to abandon its enrichment labs, but claims it seeks to fuel reactors only for energy and medical research.
The team is likely to visit an underground enrichment site near the holy city of Qom, 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Tehran, which is carved into a mountain as protection from possible airstrikes. Earlier this month, Iran said it had begun enrichment work at the site, which is far smaller than the country's main uranium labs but is reported to have more advanced equipment.
The U.N. nuclear agency delegation includes two senior weapons experts ? Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa ? suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations that it seeks nuclear warheads.
In unusually blunt comments ahead of his arrival, the IAEA's Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts ? who is in charge of the agency's Iran file ? said he wants Tehran to "engage us on all concerns."
Iran has refused to discuss the alleged weapons experiments for three years, saying they are based on "fabricated documents" provided by a "few arrogant countries" ? a phrase authorities in Iran often use to refer to the United States and its allies.
"So we're looking forward to the start of a dialogue," Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport. "A dialogue that is overdue since very long."
In a sign of the tensions that surround Iran's disputed nuclear program, a dozen Iranian hard-liners carrying photos of slain nuclear expert Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan were waiting at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport early Sunday.
Iranian state media allege that Roshan, a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, was interviewed by IAEA inspectors before being killed earlier this month in a bomb attack that Iran claims is part of an Israeli-led covert campaign of sabotage and slayings. Roshan was at least the fourth member of Iran's scientific community to be assassinated.
In Vienna, the IAEA said it did not know Roshan and never talked to him.
The IAEA team wants to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of working on a weapons program. They also plan to inspect documents related to nuclear work and secure commitments from Iranian authorities to allow future visits.
It's unclear how much assistance Iran will provide, but even a decision to enter a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from Iran's frequent simple refusal to talk about them.
Iran also has accused the IAEA in the past of security leaks that expose its scientists and their families to the threat of assassination by the U.S. and Israel.
The visit was set to coincide with a vote in Iran's parliament on a bill that would require the government to immediately cut the flow of crude oil to Europe in retaliation for sanctions. Lawmakers postponed the vote Sunday to further study the bill, and no date for a vote has been set.
The draft bill is Iran's response to an EU decision last week to impose an embargo on Iranian oil. The measure is set to take full effect in July.
The head of Iran's state oil company said Sunday that pressures on Iran's oil exports ? the second biggest in OPEC ? could drive prices as high as $150 a barrel.
"It seems we will witness prices from $120 to $150 in the future," Ahmad Qalehbani was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. He did not give a timeframe for the prediction, nor any other details.
The price of benchmark U.S. crude on Friday was around $99.56 per barrel. About 80 percent of Iran's foreign revenue comes from exporting around 2.2 million barrels of oil per day.
Oil prices have been driven higher in recent weeks by Iran's warnings that it could block the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, the route for about one-fifth of the world's oil. Last week, the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, joined by French and British warships, entered the Gulf in a show of strength against any attempts to disrupt oil tanker traffic.
___
Associated Press writer George Jahn in Vienna contributed to this report.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Researchers find cancer in ancient Egyptian mummy (AP)
CAIRO ? A professor from American University in Cairo says discovery of prostate cancer in a 2,200-year-old mummy indicates the disease was caused by genetics, not environment.
The genetics-environment question is key to understanding cancer.
AUC professor Salima Ikram, a member of the team that studied the mummy in Portugal for two years, said Sunday the mummy was of a man who died in his forties.
She said this was the second oldest known case of prostate cancer.
"Living conditions in ancient times were very different; there were no pollutants or modified foods, which leads us to believe that the disease is not necessarily only linked to industrial factors," she said.
A statement from AUC says the oldest known case came from a 2,700 year-old skeleton of a king in Russia.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Daniel Radcliffe dishes on post `Potter' life (AP)
NEW YORK ? Daniel Radcliffe had to decide what his first starring film role would be after the "Harry Potter" franchise ended in 2011, and he didn't make that decision lightly.
Despite demonstrating his acting range by starring in "Equus" and "How to Succeed in Business" on Broadway, the pressure was on for Radcliffe to prove he could play more than Potter on the big screen.
He chose "The Woman in Black," a dark thriller about a recently widowed father who is haunted by his wife's death. The movie will be in theaters Feb. 3.
"I never expected the first thing I did after `Potter' to be a horror film or anything like that. That was one of the reasons it was intriguing to me as well because it was so unexpected," Radcliffe said in a recent interview. He also talked about growing up fast, getting praise from actor Sean Connery, who starred in James Bond films, and why he isn't ready to marry his longtime girlfriend.
AP: You knew the world was watching to see what movie you picked after "Harry Potter" ended. Why did you decide on "The Woman in Black"?
Radcliffe: This film is a film that has a great story but it is driven by characters at the heart of it. It fit in perfectly. It was going to be filming when I was on break from finishing "Potter" and starring in "How to Succeed," so it was perfectly timed out. Also, when I was reading the script, I was surprised to be enjoying a horror film because I have never gravitated towards that in my own life.
AP: Did any former child stars, or people who have made the transition from doing iconic roles to having diverse careers give you advice about how to avoid being typecast?
Radcliffe: Not particularly, but I did hear the other day from a friend of mine who is friends with Sean Connery and apparently Sean Connery asked him to pass along to me how well he thought I was doing and how well I seem to be handling everything and making good choices. For me, that was great because he is a great actor. He had this amazing start to his career in Bond and managed to create a fantastic career for himself outside that, so to hear that from him was very flattering.
AP: You play a father in this role. Did you feel that was a stretch?
Radcliffe: It is very hard to create that chemistry with a 4-year-old boy who you have never met before and who is stepping onto a film set going, "What in the hell is all of this?" That was one of the reasons that I suggested (director) James (Watkins) audition my real-life godson who auditioned and was great and is great in the film. At the time when we were filming, I was so obsessed with him having a good time and making sure he wasn't cold or wasn't freaking out that I didn't really pay attention to the fact that he is actually quite a good little actor.
AP: This movie is dark, but it is also about love. Did you think about the love you have for your longtime girlfriend, Rosanne Coker, for inspiration?
Radcliffe: At the time we had been filming this we had only been going out for a couple of months. There is actually one shot in the film where Rosie had to play the woman in black because we didn't have a double for her that day so she is actually in one of the reveal shots in the film. She is going to kill me for telling you that. I don't think I probably drew on things at that time, but I am sure now I will probably use ? the fear of losing her will be a very good motivating tool.
AP: Are you thinking of marriage?
Radcliffe: Who knows. God, I am not even thinking about that for a long time.
___
Online:
http://danradcliffe.com/
___
Alicia Quarles is the AP's global entertainment editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/aliciaquarles
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I Want to Work On This Vespa Workstation [Video]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/bzth-S4Ol_w/i-want-to-work-on-this-vespa-workstation
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Iran revives Gulf threats after EU sanctions (AP)
TEHRAN, Iran ? Senior Iranian lawmakers stepped up threats Monday that Islamic Republic warships could block the Persian Gulf's oil tanker traffic after the latest blow by Western leaders seeking to rein in Tehran's nuclear program: A punishing oil embargo by the European Union that sharply raises the economic stakes for Iran's defiance.
The EU decision in Brussels ? following the U.S. lead to target Iran's critical oil exports ? opened a new front against Iran's leadership. Pressure is bearing down on the clerical regime from many directions, including intense U.S. lobbying to urge Asian powers to shun Iranian crude, a nose-diving national currency and a recent slaying in what Iran calls a clandestine campaign against its nuclear establishment.
In response, Iranian officials have turned to one of their most powerful cards: The narrow Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf and the route for a fifth of the world's oil. Iran has rattled world markets with repeated warnings it could block the hook-shaped waterway, which could spark a conflict in the Gulf.
Military experts have questioned whether Iran has the naval capabilities to attempt a blockade. But the U.S. and allies have already said they would take swift action against any Iranian moves to choke off the 30-mile (50-kilometer) wide strait ? where the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with British and French warships, entered the Gulf on Sunday without incident.
The British Ministry of Defense said the three nations sought to "underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage under international law."
Earlier this month, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Iranian forces could block shipping through the strait "for a period of time," but added "we can defeat that" and restore the flow of oil and other commerce. He did not offer details on a U.S. military response, but the Pentagon is believed to have contingency plans for such a scenario.
A member of Iran's influential national security committee in parliament, Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, said Monday that the strait "would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way." He went on warn the U.S. against any "military adventurism."
Another senior lawmaker, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, said Iran has the right to shutter Hormuz in retaliation for oil sanctions and that the closure was increasingly probable, according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency.
"In case of threat, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is one of Iran's rights," Falahatpisheh said. "So far, Iran has not used this privilege."
The lawmakers' comments do not directly reflect the views of Iran's ruling clerics, but they echo similar statements made earlier this month by military commanders with close ties to the theocracy.
At the same time, however, Iran has tried to ease tensions by offering to reopen nuclear talks with the U.S. and other world powers after a one-year gap, and backing off warnings about U.S. naval operations in the Gulf ? where the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet has a base in Bahrain.
On Monday in Brussels, the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged Iran to offer "some concrete issues to talk about."
"It is very important that it is not just about words; a meeting is not an excuse, a meeting is an opportunity and I hope that they will seize it," she said as the EU adopted its toughest measures on Iran with an immediate embargo on new oil contracts and a freeze of the country's Central Bank assets. About 90 percent of the EU's nearly $19 billion in Iranian imports in 2010 were oil and related products, according to the International Energy Agency.
It follows new U.S. sanctions enacted last month that target the Central Bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad. The U.S. has delayed implementing the sanctions for at least six months, worried about sending the price of oil higher at a time when the global economy is struggling. On Monday, benchmark crude pushed above $99 a barrel after the EU sanctions and the renewed threats to close the Strait of Hormuz.
"This is not a question of security in the region," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. "It is a question of security in the world."
In Washington, a joint statement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the EU move "will sharpen the choice for Iran's leaders and increase their cost of defiance" over the country's nuclear program.
But there are no signals from Iran that the tougher sanctions will force concessions on the core dispute: Iran's ability to enrich uranium.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted by state TV as calling the EU sanctions "psychological warfare" to try to halt Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's leaders have consistently portrayed the country's nuclear fuel labs as a symbol of national pride and part of efforts to become the Muslim world's center for homegrown technology, including long-range missiles and rockets capable of reaching orbit. Iran says it seeks reactors only for energy and research, but the U.S. and others worry that the uranium enrichment will eventually lead to warhead-grade material.
Earlier this month, Iran said it was beginning enrichment at a new facility buried in a mountainside south of Tehran.
"Iran's right for uranium enrichment is nonnegotiable," said conservative Iranian lawmaker Ali Aghazadeh. "There is no reason for Iran to compromise over its rights. But Iran is open to discussions over concerns about its nuclear program."
Russia ? which strongly opposed the EU sanctions ? said in a statement: "Under pressure of this sort, Iran will not make any concessions or any corrections to its policies."
On the U.S. side, President Barack Obama may also be wary about political fallout from any negotiations in an election year.
No date has been set to resume talks. A more pressing task for OPEC's No. 2 producer is assessing the sting from the EU slap.
The 27-nation bloc imposed an immediate halt to all new contracts for Iranian crude and petroleum products while existing ones are allowed to run until July. It also placed a freeze on the assets of Iran's Central Bank.
About 80 percent of Iran's oil revenue comes from exports, and any measures that affect its ability to export oil could hit hard at its economy, which is already staggering from widespread unemployment and a sinking currency that has sharply driven up the relative costs for imported goods.
Theodore Karasik, a security expert at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, called the struggling Iranian economy a potential "weak spot" for the ruling system as the country moves toward parliamentary elections in early March.
Reflecting the uncertainties, the Iranian rial fell Monday to a new low of nearly 21,000 to the dollar, a 14 percent drop since Friday, currency dealers said. A year ago, the rial was trading at 10,500 to the dollar.
Samuel Ciszuk, a consultant at KBC Energy Economics in Britain, said the sanctions will likely cause crude prices to rise in Europe and soften in Asia in the short term as more Iranian oil heads east. The sanctions will make it even harder for Iran to find customers for its oil and shipping companies willing to carry it.
"Iranian crude is being made the last choice. ... You may be able to get it at a discount (outside the West), but how stable is the supply?" he said.
In order to sell supplies once destined for Europe, Iran may need to offer discounts to its main buyers in Asia such as Japan, South Korea and China. Ciszuk said there hasn't been much sign Tehran is willing to do this so far, and it may prefer for now to divert the excess into storage.
U.S. officials, meanwhile, have been pressing Tehran's main Asian oil markets to turn away from Iran.
China ? which counts on Iran as its third-biggest oil supplier ? has rejected sanctions and called for negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
South Korea, which relies on Iran for up to 10 percent of its oil supplies, was noncommittal on the U.S. sanctions. Japan, which imports about 9 percent of its oil from Iran, gave mixed signals but most recently expressed concern about how the sanctions would affect Japanese banks.
But all three nations sent high-profile delegations ? including one led by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao ? to oil-rich Gulf Arab states this month for talks that left Iran fearful of efforts to undercut its crude exports.
Within Iran, meanwhile, security officials are on higher alert over what they claim is a covert campaign led by Israel's Mossad and backed by U.S. and Britain. On Jan. 11, a magnetic bomb placed on a car killed scientist who worked at Iran's main uranium enrichment facility. It was at least the fourth targeted killing of a nuclear-related researcher in two years.
The U.S. denied any role in the January attack, but Israel's military chief hinted that Iran could face incidents that happen "unnaturally."
After the sanctions vote, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a joint statement urging Iran to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities.
"Our message is clear," the statement said. "We have no quarrel with the Iranian people. But the Iranian leadership has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon."
___
Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Don Melvin in Brussels, Robert Burns in Washington and Adam Schreck in Dubai contributed to this report.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
James funeral planned; Al Sharpton to eulogize (AP)
NEW YORK ? A public viewing will be held Friday for singer Etta James, and the Rev. Al Sharpton will eulogize the late legend at a private funeral Saturday.
A statement from Sharpton's representative Tuesday said the funeral will include performances by celebrities, but those names were not announced.
James died last Friday at age 73 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She was most famous for her classic "At Last," but over her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate singing voice.
The public viewing will be held in Inglewood and the funeral will be held in Gardena, both in the Los Angeles area.
The family is asking that any donations be sent to the Philadelphia-based Rhythm & Blues Foundation.
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Gingrich wins South Carolina primary
Gingrich wins South Carolina primary
AP
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at Tommy's Country Ham House, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Greenville, S.C., on South Carolina's Republican primary election day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at Tommy's Country Ham House, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Greenville, S.C., on South Carolina's Republican primary election day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich takes part in a TV interview during a campaign event at the Grapevine Restaurant in Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, the unpredictable voting day of the South Carolina presidential primary. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks at The Citadel Patriots Dinner in Charleston, S.C., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks during a campaign stop at Tommy's Country Ham House, where former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also scheduled an appearance on South Carolina's Republican primary election day in Greenville, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Republican presidential candidate former, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, seen with his wife Callista at center, campaigns at a Chick-Fil-A in Anderson, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, on South Carolina's Republican primary election day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Newt Gingrich has won the South Carolina Republican primary. The former House speaker has defeated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to gain the victory in a dramatic turnaround from his earlier, poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. Florida holds the next GOP contest on Jan. 31.
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Minn. bear delivers at least 2 cubs on Internet
ELY, Minn. (AP) ? A 3-year-old bear in Minnesota has given birth to two cubs before an Internet audience.
Lynn Rogers of the Wildlife Research Institute, affiliated with North American Bear Center, said in a news release that Jewel gave birth in a den near Ely to the first cub at 7:22 a.m. Sunday, and a second at 8:40.
It's not the first time Rogers and his colleagues have monitored hibernating pregnant black bears.
In 2010, they recorded the birth of a bear named Hope in 2010. A Hunter killed Hope last year.
Jewel is the younger sister of Hope's mother, Lily.
Lily also gave birth last year to two cubs named Faith and Jason.
___
Online:
North American Bear Center: http://www.bear.org
___
Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com
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Monday, January 23, 2012
PCE in drinking water linked to an increased risk of mental illness
Friday, January 20, 2012
The solvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE) widely used in industry and to dry clean clothes is a neurotoxin known to cause mood changes, anxiety, and depression in people who work with it. To date the long-term effect of this chemical on children exposed to PCE has been less clear, although there is some evidence that children of people who work in the dry cleaning industry have an increased risk of schizophrenia. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health found that exposure to PCE as a child was associated with an increased risk of bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
From 1968, until the early 1980s, water companies in Massachusetts installed vinyl-lined (VL/AC) water pipes that were subsequently found to be leaching PCE into the drinking water supply. Researchers from Boston University followed the incidence of mental illness amongst adults from Cape Cod, born between 1969 and 1983, who were consequently exposed to PCE both before birth and during early childhood.
While there was no increase seen in the incidence of depression, regardless of PCE exposure, people with prenatal and early childhood exposure to PCE had almost twice the risk of bipolar disorder, compared to an unexposed group, and their risk of PTSD was raised by 50%.
Dr Ann Aschengrau from Boston University School of Public Health warned, "It is impossible to calculate the exact amount of PCE these people were exposed to - levels of PCE were recorded as high as 1,550 times the currently recommended safe limit. While the water companies flushed the pipes to address this problem, people are still being exposed to PCE in the dry cleaning and textile industries, and from consumer products, and so the potential for an increased risk of illness remains real."
###
BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com
Thanks to BioMed Central for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116907/PCE_in_drinking_water_linked_to_an_increased_risk_of_mental_illness
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Abandoning Ship: an Etiquette Guide
Yes, but they say nothing about gender or age. The International Maritime Organization has issued fairly extensive rules about the location and size of lifeboats a cruise ship must offer, and how quickly a company should be able to clear its ship. If an evacuation alarm sounds, cruise-ship passengers are supposed to proceed to the loading area and board a lifeboat that was assigned to them based on their cabin numbers. Some evacuations are far more chaotic than that, and the crew just loads whoever is ready to go. In those emergency situations, men sometimes step aside for the women to go first, but it?s not a matter of maritime law, nor is the tradition observed in many parts of the world. Similarly, the captain has no obligation to go down with the ship, and he or she doesn?t have to be the last person to step into a lifeboat. (In many cases, like the Costa Concordia incident, people go unaccounted for, so requiring the captain to be the last person off would be a death sentence.) Nevertheless, it?s possible that Captain Francesco Schettino failed in his duty to his passengers. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea requires the captain to exercise his professional judgment to protect passenger safety, and most maritime experts would agree that presence on the ship is a prerequisite for to fulfilling that obligation.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=907238c753fa6df271a4cab4652f8dee
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PFT: Tebow shows how far he has to go
Getty ImagesFor six seasons, Alex Smith was the No. 1 overall pick that looked like a fourth-rounder.
For his first two seasons, Vernon Davis looked like the most physically gifted tight end in the league. But he also looked like a guy who may never ?get it? and become a star.
On a magical Saturday evening in San Francisco, Smith and Davis created their own 49ers history.
There is so much to talk about after this instant classic. But it?s hard not to come back to Smith and Davis combining for two touchdowns in the final two minutes to win.
Smith has a reputation as a ?game manager? but he was absolutely sensational with the pressure on in the final minutes. Smith dropped a gorgeous 37-yard pass in the bucket to Davis up the sideline with 3:14 left.
That set up The Run, an Alex Smith 28-yard touchdown around the left end to give the 49ers the lead.
MDS started writing what was going to be a beautiful post about The Run as a memorable game-winner. ?Until the Saints quickly scored a touchdown and Smith had to win the game again.
After the Saints score, we thought the 49ers were finally done. They had pulled off one amazing late drive; they thought they won and now had to do it again. Nothing about their offensive performance all day indicated they could do it so quickly.
Smith did it again, of course. He found Davis for a 47-yard gain to set up the 14-yard game-winner with nine seconds left that reminded us so much of the T.O.?s playoff moment in San Francisco. ?Davis finished 180 yards and two scores.
?I want to see all good things happen to [Smith] because he?s a warrior,? Davis said after the game.
These weren?t ?game manager? throws. They were perfectly thrown gutsy tosses into small windows. The 49ers had a chance to play for the tie at the end of the game. Instead, they played aggressively like they did all afternoon.
The 49ers drafted Alex Smith first overall in 2005. Since then, Smith has seen two contracts, three head coaches, three personnel chiefs, and six offensive coordinators.?The team drafted Davis eighth overall the following year.
It took a great head coach, a lot of patience, and a lot of?perseverance?from Smith to finally get to this moment.
Smith-to-Davis may not quite be Montana-to-Clark, but this generation of 49ers accomplished something special on Saturday.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/15/tebow-shows-how-far-he-has-to-go/related/
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Post Apocalyptica...What a sh*thole
Post apocalyptica?What a shithole. Everyone had their theories about how the world was gonna end. Zombies this, meteors that. Well no-one had the sense to combine them all, cause if they did, they?d have a much clearer picture about what they?d be dealing with.
It all started so innocently, with genetic testing. If that?s the innocent start, you know that what lies to come is pretty bad. Anyways, the scientist pigs of the former U.S. of A. were trying to unlock the secrets of genesplicing, a method of mixing animal genes with human ones. They did the obvious stuff first, like dogs and birds, trying every combination available. It wasn?t until some super genius, a psycho named Phillipe Irving, created a so called ?Philosophers Stone? to solve the bonding problems the scientists had been having.
See, even though a person may share like 90% or something of their DNA with say, a rat, that other 10 or so percent can cause some pretty big changes. The first human ever spliced lasted a week before he came apart at the seams, literally. Like, the enzymes in his body broke down the lining of his skin and he melted. That was a human-chimp mixture, the closest damn thing we?ve got to a genetic ancestor. Anyways, after Irving introduced his miracle cure to the problem, genesplicing was just the start.
Werewolves? No problem. Bird-men? Cake. There wasn?t a creepy gene splice scientists couldn?t do. Soon, it wasn?t enough for them to just make hybrids. They wanted war machines, like any self-respecting anonymous science branch of a corrupt government would. Within a week, they were pumping out soldiers that could jump ten stories, take small arms fire and be none the worse for wear, and flip cars like they were made of cardboard. But was that enough? No. They needed more. More craziness, more bells and whistles! Enter?me. I was the first of my kind, but also the last. My name is Karma. Fitting.
So, a bit about me. My skin is harder than any known substance known, and the texture of a nice granite. My eyes can pick out a fly at seven hundred yards with the sun in my face. My nose is like a bloodhound?s. I?ve got ears that can hear a heartbeat through a steel wall. I can feel the magnetic field of the earth and use it to navigate more accurately than any bird in the sky. Those are the good qualities I?ve got. The bad makes it seem a little more balanced.
People always look at one thing on me the first time they meet me, and it?s not my breasts. It?s my eyes. My damned eyes. They?re a sickly cream color, no pupils or iris, and they
glow. I?ve heard ?em described in many ways, but I think the most accurate is ?like fuckin? lanterns?. You see, I?m a ghoul, the perfect killer. Once dead, but brought back to life through some science-y voodoo, and upgraded to do some death-dealing of my own. I don?t breathe, my heart is still, and I feed on the dead. I?m immortal, in the truest sense of the word.?But Karma! You said you were gonna talk about what?s bad about you! Immortality is super cool?except for the feeding part? That?s right. To keep myself going strong, I?ve got to eat the people I kill. Goody goody. However, I?m the only one that survived the ghoulification, and since they did such a good job, the scientists couldn?t re-kill me to study why I succeeded. Stupid men.
Audio log #1, Year 2153, Karma~
All quiet on the home front. A lone raven cawed in the distance, rising to the appearance of the sun. On the roof of a desiccated skyscraper, a bundle of rags shifted about. Slowly, a woman unfolded herself and stood up straight, stretching towards the sky with a groan. She smacked her lips and blinked sleepily, scratching her back as she scanned the horizon. With a sigh, she approached the ledge of her temporary home and looked over, peering at the ground far below. Small shapes moved around aimlessly, occasionally clashing and squabbling, but never for very long.
?Breakfast,? grinned the woman as she simply stepped off the ledge, plummeting straight down like a rock. After freefalling for around ten seconds, she slammed into the pavement at ground level so hard that she was buried up to her knees. However, she was unfazed and pulled herself out as if she was simply stuck in loose sand. The shambling, rotting creatures around her looked at her blankly for a second before resuming their business.
Karma scoffed in disdain. ?Fuckin? zombies. No fun attol,? she spat. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a bit of movement and turned to her left. One zombie had turned and was shambling quicker in a general ?away-from-her? direction. Karma smiled a bit as she trotted after it, hoping it would run. When the rotter noticed its hungry pursuer chasing after it, the creature broke into a full fledged sprint. This one must have been recently turned, as it was making little fear noises and had pretty good balance and speed. No matter.
Like a hungry dog, Karma dropped to a sprinters stance and took off, using all fours to catch up. Her arms elongated to assist in her gait, and her fingers and bare toes dug little divots into the concrete as she tore after the prey. Right as she entered leaping distance, the zombie was splattered by a group of bandits in a buggy. Karma didn?t miss a beat, however and pursued her new targets.
?OI! GUNTER! Got ourselves a chaser! Get rid ovit!? barked the driver, having noticed Karma in his side mirror. The gunner looked over his shoulder, swinging his gatling gun into view and spooling up the weapon. As soon as it was ready, he jammed down on the triggers and sent a blistering lead wind downrange at his pursuer. Unfortunately for him, Karma took that exact moment to pounce, and she cleared the little buggy, landing on the hood gracefully.
Karma turned around and grinned at the driver, exposing her obsidian teeth?all of them, in their sharpened, unholy glory. The bandit screamed high pitched like a little girl and swerved, trying to shake her off. Adopting a ?silly man? facial expression, Karma punched through the steel mesh that served as the windshield and ground her fingers into the man?s skull. His passenger opened up with a hand cannon, blasting at her fruitlessly. The ghoul?s nails elongated into talons, extending into the man?s head and causing him to scream even louder and incidentally wet himself.
?Yummy. I like screamers,? she giggled, before pulling the front half of the man?s skull through the windshield. The buggy slowly revved down and ground to a stop, at which point the bandits spilled out of the car and surrounded her, guns pointed but not firing. Karma ignored them, instead focusing on her breakfast. She glanced at one of the bandit men before popping one of their former leader?s eyes into her mouth and squishing it with her slate grey tongue, sending eyeball jelly out of her open lips and all over the hood of the car. One of the bandits vomited.
Karma tossed the remnant of the face onto the buggy, sporting a disappointed expression. ?Too fresh, he was. Makes me a bit sick inside. No matter. It?ll pass.? She stood up and brushed off her raggedy pants, turning to the men with a blood-stained smile. ?So?What?s new then, hey??
[This is Part one...I guess. Lemme know what you think!]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/vk7Izvvv25k/viewtopic.php
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No link found between prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke and autism, Swedish study finds
ScienceDaily (Jan. 12, 2012) ? A large population-based study in Sweden indicates that there is no link between smoking during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children. The study, led by Dr. Brian Lee, an assistant professor at Drexel University and a team of international collaborators, will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and was published online in December.
Researchers have considered a variety of chemical exposures in the environment during pregnancy and early life as possible contributing factors in the development of autism spectrum disorders. Many have considered prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke a possible cause due to known associations with behavioral disorders and obstetric complications. Past studies of maternal smoking and autism have had mixed results.
"We found no evidence that maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of autism spectrum disorders," said Lee, an epidemiologist at Drexel's School of Public Health, who led the research in collaboration with researchers from Sweden's Karolinska Institute and the University of Bristol (Bristol, UK). "Past studies that showed an association were most likely influenced by social and demographic factors such as income and occupation that have associations with both the likelihood of smoking and with the rate of autism spectrum disorders."
In the new study, Lee and colleagues analyzed data from Swedish national and regional registries for a set of 3,958 children with autism spectrum disorders, along with a control set of 38,983 children born during the same period who did not receive an ASD diagnosis. Overall, 19.8 percent of the ASD cases were exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy, compared to 18.4 percent of control cases. These rates showed an association between maternal smoking and the odds of an autism spectrum disorder, in unadjusted analyses. However, the association disappeared when the analysis was adjusted for sociodemographic factors such as the parents' income level, education, and occupation.
The report helps to reassure mothers who smoked during pregnancy that their behavior wasn't likely responsible for their child's autism, Lee said, and "crosses off another suspect on the list of possible environmental risk factors for ASD." He cautioned, however, that smoking during pregnancy is still unhealthy for mothers and has other known risks for their children.
Lee received his Ph.D. and M.H.S. degrees in Epidemiology from The Johns Hopkins University, and graduated Cum laude with an A.B. in Biological Anthropology from Harvard College. His research interests include the epidemiology of neurological development, maintenance and decline, including prenatal environmental exposures and autism risk; gene-environment interaction; and epidemiological methods including causal inference methodology, data mining and machine learning algorithms.
Lee was recently awarded a 3-year grant from Autism Speaks to study whether early immune system abnormalities are associated with the risk of autism spectrum disorders.
The maternal smoking risk study was funded by a grant from the Stockholm County Council.
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Journal Reference:
- Brian K. Lee, Renee M. Gardner, Henrik Dal, Anna Svensson, Maria Rosaria Galanti, Dheeraj Rai, Christina Dalman, Cecilia Magnusson. Brief Report: Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2011; DOI: 10.1007/s10803-011-1425-4
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112193220.htm
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
The best TV and home theater gear at CES
David Friedman / msnbc.com
By Gary Merson
HD Guru
The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show was packed with new and innovative home theater products as?the major home entertainment manufacturers debuted their latest ?product lines. HD Guru and Geoff Morrison spent the week scouring news events and company booths seeking out the best new HDTV, 3-D TV, Blu-ray player, streaming media player, sound bar and the HD Guru Best In Show.
This year?s HDTV products are ?the most innovative we?ve seen in years, with much larger screen sizes, new big screen display technology, new remote controls and much more. On to the winners ...
Gary Merson / HD Guru
Best HDTV
Picture improvements came from almost every major TV maker, and that?gave us a long lists of finalists to consider. However, the improvements in the 2012 Panasonic top-of-the-line VT50 plasma series are significant. Last year?s VT30 series took top honors for picture performance. In 2012 Panasonic raised the bar with a new way to drive the pixels that lowers the black level to the deepest ever, and better motion clarity using its new 2500 focused field drive circuit, according to a Panasonic spokesperson.
In a side-by-side comparison of the VT30 and VT 50 plasmas on the show floor, the improvements were clear. The VT50 had the best image quality of any 2012 plasma or LED LCD we saw at the show.
Best media player
LG?s SP820 Smart Upgrader turns any HDTV into a Smart TV providing instant streaming from Vudu, Amazon Instant, Cinema Now, Internet browser and more. In addition there are many apps available from LG?s app shop. This 2012 version adds Flash, HTML5 content viewing capability and LG?s Magic Motion remote that allows control by buttons, moving and tilting or with a wheel. The SP820 will ship this spring.
Best sound bar
Sharp is no stranger to the audio business, making audio components for decades. This year it is introducing the innovative HT-SL77 2.1 system. The midrange and tweeter sections can be placed horizontally below the screen and come with extensions to match the width of 46-, 52-, 60- or 70-inch HDTVs. The HT-SL77 can also be separated into?sections as left and right vertical towers and includes an attachable base for each speaker. The height can be set to match 60- or 70-inch flat panels.
The HT-SL77 also includes a wireless subwoofer. The HDMI output supports the Audio Return Channel feature found within 2011 and 2012 Sharp and many other major brand HDTVs to direct the audio from multiple HDMI sources such as HD cable box, game console and Blu-ray player to the sound bar seamlessly. The H-SL77 ships in April with a retail price of $449.99.
Gary Merson / HD Guru
Best Blu-ray player
The Panasonic DMP-BBT01 is like no other Blu-ray player Panasonic has ever produced. It is heavily featured with Panasonic?s latest video processor, offers Smartphone remote control capability, a new touchpad remote control, 3-D disc play, 2-D-to-3-D up-conversion, and Internet streaming through Panasonic?s VieraConnect system. The player comes wrapped in a new, small, slim design with a slot-in drive that allows you to insert a disc without the need for a tray. The DMP-BBT01 player comes with a stand and can be operated vertically or horizontally.
Best 3-D TV
The LG 84LM9600 is loaded with industry firsts. It is the largest consumer flat panel HDTV?for sale. It is the first to offer a screen with four times the resolution of HDTV (3840?2160). LG calls it UHD. The cherry on top is the 84LM9600 is the first 3-D TV using inexpensive, lightweight passive 3-D glasses to maintain full HD vertical resolution (1080 as half of 2160), overcoming our biggest objection regarding passive 3-D technology.
The 3-D image is not only big, but bright and beautiful because?it doesn?t have the visible lines when viewing 3-D that to date has been associated with all other passive 3-D TVs. As the top series in LG?s 2012 LED LCD HDTV line, this giant screen set includes Internet streaming and apps, and LG?s best new Magic Motion remote with voice and gesture control. It all comes wrapped in a slim, brushed aluminum bezel. The 84 converts all content to its 4K resolution and will accept future 4K sources through its HDMI input. Scheduled for release in spring, LG has not yet revealed pricing.
Gary Merson / HD Guru
Best In Show
OLED (organic light emitting diodes) is the first new big screen flat panel tech since 1997. The 55EM9600 delivers everything big screen OLED promises ? vivid color, fantastic contrast, 180-degree viewing angle and pitch black blacks. Coming from a 4mm-thick design, the OLED image beat out everything else at CES.
The 55-Inch 55EM9600 has two configurations. One is a table stand version with the speakers and electronics built into the base. The other is a wall mount version with the electronics and downward firing speakers housed within a backpack that sits between the wall and the screen. This OLED is a full-featured HDTV with 1080p resolution, Smart TV with voice and gesture remote and 3-D. Expect to see it yourself in Q3, at a priced to be announced.
Have a question for the HD Guru??Email
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Source: http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/12/10143645-the-best-tv-and-home-theater-gear-at-ces
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
People's Choice Awards Preview: 'Hunger Games' Cast, Demi Lovato, More Set To Hit Stage
Stars of 'Twilight' and 'Harry Potter' also on star-studded lineup for show airing tonight on CBS at 9 p.m. ET.
By John Mitchell
Jennifer Lawrence
Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
The People's Choice Awards may be one of the more democratic awards shows of the season. After all, it's fans, and not a faceless "academy" of industry professionals, that decide who'll take home the big PCA prizes in categories like Favorite Tour Headliner, Favorite TV Celebreality Star and Favorite Movie Star Under 25. And it's all happening tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
Host Kaley Cuoco, herself a nominee for her turn on "The Big Bang Theory," promised a fun-filled evening, telling Ryan Seacrest on his radio show, "I'm really looking forward to it and there are a lot of great musical numbers and it's going to be fun." She also joked with the "American Idol" host that she plans on "changing 47 times, 47 dresses. I'm changing every five minutes. I want to go down in the Hall of Fame with that. So we'll see how many times I can possibly change."
So who can fans expect to see on the red carpet? Only some of the biggest A-listers from the worlds of film, TV and music, including "Twilight" stars Robert Pattinson and Ashley Greene; "Hunger Games" leads Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson; as well as Emma Stone, Vanessa Hudgens, Chloe Grace Moretz, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Julianne Hough and "Glee" stars Lea Michele and Cory Monteith.
Also expected to attend are Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Tom Felton of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," which leads all nominees this year. "Potter" heads into the awards with nine nominations for Favorite Movie and Favorite Action Movie, Favorite Actor (Radcliffe), Favorite Movie Star Under 25 (Radcliffe, Grint, Felton and Watson), Favorite Ensemble Movie Cast and Favorite Book Adaptation.
One notable absence is nominee Katy Perry, who was set to make her first public appearance following the announcement of her divorce from Russell Brand at tonight's live event but canceled earlier this week. She apologized to her fans on Twitter, writing, "Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the People's Choice Awards. I want to thank u all for voting for me, fingers crossed! #KATYCATS."
Perry is nominated for a whopping seven People's Choice Awards, including Favorite Female Artist, Favorite Song of the Year ("E.T."), Favorite Pop Artist, Favorite Animated Movie Voice ("The Smurfs") and Favorite Music Video for "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)." PCA executive producer Mark Burnett clearly sympathizes with Perry's decision not to attend, telling E! News that her choice was completely "understandable."
The show will include musical performances from Faith Hill and Demi Lovato as well as comedy sketches featuring Jimmy Fallon, Jane Lynch and the casts of "Parks and Recreation" and Cuoco's own "The Big Bang Theory."
Among the other major nominees are "Bridesmaids," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," "The Help," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "Potter" for Favorite Movie. Ryan Reynolds, Pattinson, Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, and Radcliffe will vie for Favorite Movie Actor, while Anne Hathaway, Emma Stone, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon are squaring off for Favorite Movie Actress.
In the music categories, the Favorite Male and Female Artist races are a who's who of MTV favorites, including Eminem, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Perry, Adele, new mom Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. The Song of the Year race includes Gaga's "The Edge of Glory," LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger," Perry's "E.T." and MTV's Best Song of 2011, Adele's "Rolling in the Deep."
Who are you rooting for on the 2011 People's Choice Awards? Tell us in the comments!
Catch the People's Choice Awards tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. And stick with MTV News for red-carpet coverage, winners, fashion and all the buzz.
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Friday, January 13, 2012
Scot Armstrong, 47, Georgetown, Texas
Scot Armstrong, 47, no longer suffering or in pain went home to be with the Lord, Thursday, January 5, 2012. Scot was married to the love of his life Linda for 21 years. Scot loved to work in the wood shop, golf and fish. For over 25 years Scot worked highway and heavy construction starting as a laborer and quickly moving up the ranks to the job he was born to do and most proud of as a crane operator.
Scot is survived by his parents, Jane Franklin of Georgetown and Melvin and Catherine Armstrong of Bastrop, Sisters Cathy Dickenson and husband Ken of Cypress, Jennifer Abreu and husband George of Humble, brother James Orlando of Virginia, 6 sister-in-laws and their spouses, numerous nieces and nephews and many friends who loved him dearly. Scot is preceded in death by his grandparents Helen Hickman Edgar, Doyle Hickman and Fred & Josie Armstrong.
A memorial service celebrating Scot's life will be held Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, Kyle, TX. Please come celebrate Scot's life. Donations can be made to the American Heart Association or the National Kidney Foundation.
Source: http://kxan.tributes.com/show/Scot-Armstrong-93059208
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Monday, January 9, 2012
Hawaii hit by number of endangered seal killings
In this Dec. 15, 2011 photo, a nearly blind, endangered Hawaiian monk seal swims at the Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu. Hoailona, also known as KP2, has spent the past two years at a California research lab. He was first rescued when federal officials found him suckling on a rock three days after his mother abandoned him on Kauai. Hawaiian monk seals are so rare and under so many environmental threats that they're on a path to go extinct in 50 to 100 years. As if that wasn't enough, anonymous humans appear to have deliberately killed at least three and maybe four seals on two islands in the past two months. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)
In this Dec. 15, 2011 photo, a nearly blind, endangered Hawaiian monk seal swims at the Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu. Hoailona, also known as KP2, has spent the past two years at a California research lab. He was first rescued when federal officials found him suckling on a rock three days after his mother abandoned him on Kauai. Hawaiian monk seals are so rare and under so many environmental threats that they're on a path to go extinct in 50 to 100 years. As if that wasn't enough, anonymous humans appear to have deliberately killed at least three and maybe four seals on two islands in the past two months. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)
HONOLULU (AP) ? Two Hawaiian monk seals were found bludgeoned to death on a remote coast of Molokai ? one was killed in mid-November and the other shortly before Christmas. Earlier this month, a dead seal showed up on Kauai. A fourth possible killing on Molokai is also under investigation.
No one knows who is killing the seals ? a critically endangered species ? or why.
But the deaths are coming as the federal government steps up its efforts to protect the seals, leading to simmering resentment among some fishermen who fear new regulations will trample upon their right to fish. The killings are also happening as the misguided notion spreads that the animals aren't native to Hawaii and don't belong here.
"It's really serious. This attitude, this negative attitude toward the seals has overpowered the concern that this is a species that's going to become extinct," said Walter Ritte, a Molokai resident and longtime activist who has sounded an alarm about the killings.
Like pandas, the seals are adored by many humans for being cute, though their lazy demeanor and pudgy appearance belies the strength of a wild animal. Also like pandas, the animal is dangerously close to disappearing. There are only 1,100 left in the world, and scientists say the seal is on course to vanish in 50 to 100 years.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last year proposed two initiatives to give the seals a better shot at surviving.
One would temporarily bring a few seals from the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ? where competition for food and predators mean only a dismal 20 percent of seal pups live to be adults ? to the main Hawaiian Islands.
There aren't as many sharks to prey on seal pups, or large fish to compete with seal pups for food, around Kauai, Oahu, Maui and other places in the main Hawaiian Islands. This gives seals in this area, which is also where the state's 1.4 million people live, an 80 percent chance of living to adulthood.
NOAA is also proposing to expand federally protected zones ? or critical habitat ? for the seal to include parts of the main Hawaiian Islands. Parts of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have been designated critical habitat since the 1980s.
Neil Kanemoto, a lifelong recreational fisherman, said he didn't know who was killing the seals. He pointed out the last person to be convicted of killing a seal, a 78-year-old man who shot a pregnant monk seal on Kauai in 2009, was not a fisherman.
But he said fishermen and locals are unhappy with the new regulations NOAA wants, and the agency wasn't doing enough to work with local people to manage the situation. People may end up taking out their frustration on the seals, Kanemoto said.
"The point is, don't shove this down people's throats," he said. "They're making it an issue, and as a result, the poor monk seal may ? I'm not saying it is ? may fall victim to repercussions from locals."
He said he wouldn't be surprised of if more seals were killed.
"It's not going to end. My position is, if the feds keep pushing in this way, it's going to increase," Kanemoto said.
Ritte said part of the problem was that older people, who didn't see many seals growing up or hear about them from their elders, are spreading the word that the seals don't belong in Hawaii.
A NOAA report released last year showed 35 percent of those surveyed at beaches and popular fishing areas on Kauai and Molokai believed the seals aren't native to the islands.
This is contradicted by archaeological digs that found monk seal bones in a human trash pit dating between the 15th and 18th centuries. The Hawaiian creation chant, the Kumulipo, also mentions a creature like a monk seal ? "a rat running beside the wave."
By the early 1900s, however, most monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands had been hunted and killed for their meat and fur. Even until a decade ago, it was rare to encounter one in the main islands.
Ritte said the seals have been showing up regularly on Molokai, a rural island of just 7,000 people, for about the past seven years. They've started to compete with subsistence fishermen who are already catching less because pollution runoff and overfishing have depleted fish stocks in the area.
The issue is serious on Molokai, where the unemployment rate hovers over 15 percent and where people get one-third of their food from hunting, fishing, and gathering.
"So here you have a fisherman. He's been walking two to three hours to get to his fishing grounds over rough terrain. And then he runs into these seals. And it causes him to get only half his catch and a quarter of his catch," Ritte said. "I think that is the essence of why."
He said the NOAA's proposals are making things worse.
"It's like fuel to the fire," he said.
NOAA says moving a few seals to the main Hawaiian Islands was the only feasible and effective way to address the high mortality rate for seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Further, it says critical habitats aren't intended to prevent public access to beaches and oceans. The agency says it wants to continue talking to fishermen and to address their concerns.
Ritte believes no one would kill the seals if they understood the animals have been in Hawaii for millions of years.
He said the state and federal governments and environmentalists need to get the word out quickly that the seals belong here. Usually he would say everyone should focus on educating the children, so they'll grow up knowing better. But he said that approach may not work this time.
"I don't think we have that luxury because the seals might be gone by then. So we need to hit this generation. That's going to take a lot of effort," he said.
William Aila, the head of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the state was preparing a monetary award for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible. He said the department would also link its website to a page with information on the deep roots monk seals have in Hawaiian tradition.
"We have a responsibility to do our part to help this species recover," he said.
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Amazing photos show space station crossing moon
Two photographers have snapped spectacular portraits of the International Space Station streaking across the night sky, catching the orbiting lab crossing the moon and slipping by Jupiter.
In one series of photos, NASA photographer Lauren Harnett captured images of the moon at the exact moment that the space station passed across its face in what scientists call a "transit."
Harnett took the photos on Jan. 4 from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. She then combined several images into a composite view that shows the space station just before and after it crossed the moon's disk.
"She had to struggle with a window of visibility limited by fog and clouds, and I think she got some excellent results," said NASA spokesman Mike Gentry at the space center. [ See the space station and moon photos ]
The International Space Station is the largest spacecraft ever built, with a main truss that is longer than a football field. ?It is currently home to six men (three Russians, two Americans and a Dutch astronaut) and flies 240 miles above Earth at a speed of about 17,500 mph.
At its brightest, the space station can outshine the planet Venus and be easily spotted with the unaided eye by skywatchers who know where to look.
"The space station can be seen in the night sky with the naked eye, and a pair of field binoculars may reveal some detail of the structural shape of the spacecraft," NASA officials explained in an image description.
In Harnett's photos, the moon appears in crystal-clear detail, and the shape of the space station's huge solar arrays and backbone-like main truss can be recognized.
Harnett was not the only one to photograph the space station this week.
On Thursday, photographer Mike Killian spotted the space station from central Florida as it passed near the bright planet Jupiter.
The space station "made a six-minute pass over central FL last night," Killian told SPACE.com in an email. "Viewing conditions were perfect."
There are several websites that can help amateur and seasoned skywatchers alike prepare for a night of space station and satellite observing.
Another good site is this one, which provides real-time satellite tracking and shows at any given moment during the day or night where over Earth the space station or shuttle happen to be.????
The International Space Station is not the only satellite that can be spotted by the unaided eye. Other bright satellites, such as China's Tiangong 1 space laboratory, can be seen from the Earth without telescopes (as could NASA's space shuttles, before they were retired in 2011).
And seeing satellites from Earth is not a one-time event. The International Space Station, for example, has been orbiting Earth since 1998 and completes one trip around the planet every 90 minutes.
"It's certainly not something that's limited to happening just a few times a year," Gentry said.
Editor's note: If you snapped an amazing photo the space station or any other skywatching sight and would like to share it with SPACE.com, contact managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.
You can follow Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45911341/ns/technology_and_science-space/
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Saturday, January 7, 2012
Iran's currency crash a blow to Ahmadinejad
The Iranian currency ? the rial ? has been essential in shoring up a view of Iran as strong and independent in recent years. Now it's collapsing on President Ahmadinejad's watch.
As Iran experiences new, harsh US and international economic sanctions over its nuclear program ? a program considered by much of the country as a matter of national pride ? a stable currency has become a national security priority.
Skip to next paragraph?Even though it's not necessarily good for the economy, amidst sanctions a stable currency creates an illusion of strength,? says a veteran analyst in Tehran. ?It reflects how nonvulnerable the Iranian economy is to sanctions.?
But in the past week Iran's currency ? the rial ? dropped almost 30 percent after President Obama approved new sanctions targeting Iran's Central Bank. The rial has since rebounded significantly from a low of 17,800 rials to the dollar on Monday. However the Central Bank has tried to introduce a cap on the market rate of 14,000 rials to the dollar, and the government announced that anyone caught selling rials at a higher rate would be arrested.
A sign of national strength
In a country such as Iran, with a rich history of empire and a powerful literary tradition, national pride has remained strong even in the wake of growing discontent with the country's Islamic regime and mounting global isolation. A stable currency in recent years, in the face of economic sanctions, has shored up that pride.
Since Iran's 1979 revolution, which led to the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy and the eventual establishment of an Islamic Republic, Tehran has used massive state subsidies as a means of fulfilling its revolutionary promise to redistribute wealth and achieve ?economic justice? for all Iranians.
A stable, overvalued currency was considered a critical aspect of these programs. In the wake of the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980, a strong currency became a symbol to both the world and the Iranian population, which was beleaguered by war with Iraq throughout the 1980s ? that an Islamic government could keep the country as strong and stable as its imperial predecessor.
But the overvaluing of Iran's currency has come at a considerable price. It has worsened the country's imbalance in foreign trade by encouraging imports and discouraging non-oil exports. It has also reduced state spending on economic development programs, subsidized large-scale consumption of imported goods ? particularly among the country's wealthier urban classes ? and poured more of Iran's natural and state resources into commerce instead of production.
Bad for Ahmadinejad
For President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration, which has embarked on a controversial state program to cut national subsidies while engaging in large-scale government spending, a strong currency creates a sense of domestic economic strength and stability on the Iranian street, which is extremely sensitive to Iran's damaged standing in the eyes of the international community.
The recent precipitous decline of Iran's currency, has therefore been a big blow for the Iranian president ? and for Iranian pride.
?For Ahmadinejad, a strong rial is a part of this whole idea of, 'It's us against the world,'? the analyst in Tehran says. ?This breaks that image.?
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