NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? The acting police chief in Kenya's capital says an explosive device set off in a Sunday school class killed one child and seriously wounded three.
Moses Ombati said he suspects sympathizers with the Somali militant group al-Shabab were behind the attack at an Anglican church in Nairobi.
Kenya has seen a series of attacks on churches ever since Kenyan forces moved into Somalia to fight al-Shabab last year. Kenyan forces kicked the rebels out of their last stronghold, Kismayo, on Friday.
Grenades are often used in the attacks; Ombati is describing the cause of Sunday's attack as an explosive device.
One church member, Julius Macharia Maina, brought four children to the hospital. One child's head was cut open; the others had bruises. Maina described the attack "emotional and very scary."
Community members are invited to cheer on the Park High School girls volleyball teams while supporting cancer research.
The upcoming Dig Pink Rally will benefit the Side-Out Foundation, which in turn benefits breast cancer research groups and organizations that support cancer patients and their families.
The event includes a silent auction, raffle, and recognitions during that evening?s matches.
It takes place at 7 pm. Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the Park High School gymnasium.
In another face of the ever turning world of patent battles, Reuters reports Microsoft has snagged a victory over Motorola as the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in its favor today. Motorola had obtained an injunction in Germany against Microsoft products -- including the Xbox 360 and Windows 7 -- based on its h.264 patents back in May, but today the court upheld a previous decision putting enforcement on hold because of Microsoft's existing lawsuit against Moto for breach of contract. Microsoft's push to leverage its patents into licensing payouts from manufacturers of Android devices have seen the two at each other's throats since at least 2010, when the folks from Redmond lodged an ITC complaint over nine patents and followed up with another suit accusing Motorola of charging unfair license fees for its patents. Motorola fired back with its own pair of lawsuits -- all of this a year before we heard it would be acquired by Google -- and the battle was on. Whether or not this moves us any closer to any resolution remains to be seen, but at least Bavarian gaming consoles are safe, for now.
After an exhaustive 72-month long search in which we literally sacrificed the best years of our young lives combing through and examining reams and reams of articles, spread sheets and op-eds, and wading through countless more hours of supposed expert opinions miring us in endless conjecture on the subject, we finally found the simple solution for saving the music industry. Wouldn't you know it, right when we gave up the ghost, there it was, plain as the nose on your face, in a box tucked away in our crawl space sandwiched between two other random CDs that have likewise been out of sight and out of mind for more than a decade. Who would've thought that Columbia Records had the answer all along?
See also: Train at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 9/19/12
Yessir! There you have it. The simple solution to a vexing problem in thirteen words. We're not the brightest bulbs in the box, but if the once almighty music overlords put their fucking money where their mouth is, instead of wringing their hands and wracking their brains about surviving in the digital era, problem solved. That simple, yes? What if every album came with a guarantee like this? You love it, or your money back? Or what if a band offered the same sort of qualitative assurance?
That would mean bands would strive to write better music, and A&R reps would have to be more discerning with the music they endorsed, only putting forth things they truly believed in, music that moved them rather than mass-produced, homogenized pablum they trade in these days. (Yes, we're well aware of the irony that this guarantee was affixed to a CD from Train, which many folks would agree fits that qualifier.)
Of course, you're always going to have the requisite assholes who buy the disc, burn it and then return it. There's no accounting for that. But if the music truly resonates, folks will hold on to it. It will move with them. They'll save it from a fire. Doubt it? Try to find a used copy of A Love Supreme on vinyl sometime.
In this case, Columbia -- or, more specifically, Don Ienner -- believed in this record, so much so, that the label was willing to underwrite fans' investment. Well, for a limited time, until September 30, 2001, that is. If you didn't notice, there was an expiration date on that shit. You bet there was. Ienner was no dummy.
According to the band's recent Behind the Music episode, Ienner recognized the song's potential immediately after hearing just a rough demo. He must've also anticipated that by fall, six months after the record was released, radio would play the living hell out of the album's title track until everybody in the country was literally sick to death of hearing Train, and would subsequently demand all of their money back, along with reparations for any associated pain and suffering.
So there you have it, the simple solution to saving the music industry.
There never existed a better time in our economy to buy real estate. This is a very profitable market and comes with lower rates and a lower investment to begin with. The advice provided in this article will assist you in finding a property that is both affordable and profitable.
When you are buying a property, have some extra money so that you can pay for costs that you did not expect. Buyers will often calculate the final closing costs by combining the amount for the down payment, any points that go to the bank, as well as any prorated taxes for real estate. You have to keep in mind that the closing costs might include other items like school taxes or improvement bonds.
Ask for closing cost assistance from the seller to save yourself some up front expenses. For example, you could ask for a seller to buy down your interest rates for a limited period of time. Keep in mind, though, if you request financial incentives from the seller, he will probably be less willing to negotiate on the home?s selling price.
TIP! Keeping an approval letter with you will make you much more attractive to your sellers. If you wait to get an approval, it will lengthen the amount of time it takes to buy the home, which could cost you more in the end.
Assume that needed repairs are a given when you are considering purchased any foreclosed home. Many of the foreclosed homes that are on the market have been vacant for quite some time. Regular maintenance has more than likely not been done on the home, which means significant repairs should be expected. Foreclosed homes often will require HVAC systems installed, and may be infested with pests.
If you get any home you are looking to buy appraised, accept an appraiser with no less than five years of experience. Don?t hire appraisers recommended by real estate agents. There is possibly a pretty stern conflict of interest. The appraiser that you hire must be state-certified or state-licensed.
TIP! When negotiating with a seller, make a reasonable offer. A lot of people adopt an aggressive attitude in the hope that the other party will cave.
Always obtain home warranty protection. It doesn?t matter whether you are buying a new home from the person who builds it or from a previous owner. You should still ask them for a home warranty. Any quality builder will stand behind the home he or she has built for a certain period of time. Prior owners of your newly-purchased home should have no problem providing a home warranty of some duration as a way of compensating you for repairs that may need to be made.
When you are plunging into real estate, make sure you have clear goals in mind. Categorize your long-term and short-term goals. If the investment doesn?t match the goals you have in place, don?t bother with it. If you don?t consider your own needs before investing, you?re likely to lose money on the deal or get frustrated with your investment.
Be pre-qualified for a mortgage loans before looking at houses. You don?t want to end up coming across the house of your dreams to be told that you can?t get a large enough loan to buy it. Also, getting a loan can be a long process that you do not want to wait until last minute to begin.
TIP! When purchasing a foreclosed home, it is wise to assume that there will be repairs that will need to be made. Most foreclosed properties are in need of repair, because they have not been maintained for a very long time.
If you are interested in a home with a beautiful view, don?t pay that much more because of the viewing possibilities. Even though you might appreciate the view, in the long term, potential buyers may not. Therefore, you can buy the house with the view, just make sure you don?t overpay for it.
Get a professional to look at the building you want to buy. It will cost a bit of money, but do not have a friend or relative inspect the home, because should they miss something, there is nothing you can do.
Those who are wise and jump into this swirling market should follow the above article closely. It will help you avoid trouble and walk away with real estate that is under-priced and growing constantly in value. The key is to purchase the property and hold until the time is right before you make your big
TIP! If you?re thinking about relocating, you may want to consider looking online at the neighborhood of the house you?re thinking of purchasing. There is a wealth of information available on the Internet, even for small cities and towns.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama blocked on Friday a privately owned Chinese company from building wind turbines close to a Navy military site in Oregon due to national security concerns, and the company said it would challenge the action in court.
The rare presidential order to divest interests in the wind farms comes as Obama campaigns for a second term against Republican Mitt Romney, who has accused him of being soft on China.
Ralls Corp, which had been installing wind turbine generators made in China by Sany Group, has four wind farm projects that are within or in the vicinity of restricted air space at a naval weapons systems training facility, according to the Obama administration.
"There is credible evidence that leads me to believe" that Ralls Corp, Sany Group and the two Sany Group executives who own Ralls "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States," Obama said in issuing his decision.
Ralls Corp had filed a lawsuit against the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for ordering it to stop all construction and operations at its projects while the government panel completed its investigation and finalized its recommendation to Obama.
After the decision was announced on Friday, the company said it was confident that the courts would vindicate Ralls Corp's rights under the law and the Constitution.
Although CFIUS reviews dozens of foreign investment deals for potential national security concerns every year, the president is rarely called upon to issue a formal order as companies usually abandon their deals or divest assets when the panel takes issue with their transaction.
The last time a president formally blocked a deal on national security grounds was in 1990 when then President George H.W. Bush stopped a Chinese aero-technology company from acquiring a U.S. manufacturing firm.
"This is a big deal because it is the first time since 1990 that the president of the United States has either blocked a transaction from occurring or divested a transaction that has occurred," said Clay Lowery, a former assistant secretary at Treasury who oversaw the CFIUS process and now is with Rock Creek Global Advisors.
DIVEST
Ralls Corp had hired the George W. Bush administration's top lawyer Paul Clement to help represent the company as well as a former U.S. assistant attorney general, Viet Dinh, who helped the Republican administration develop the Patriot Act. But that appeared to do little to convince the current administration to allow the company to resume operations.
The presidential order gives the Chinese company 90 days to divest all its interests in the projects. However, sources close to Ralls Corp said the company was still evaluating the order and had no immediate plan to unwind its activities.
Only one of the four wind farms was in restricted airspace and CFIUS never came up with a plan that would require the company to only divest interests in that particular project, the sources said.
In addition, the sources said there are other wind farms in the same area that are also operated by foreigners, albeit one company is from Denmark and the other from Germany.
NOT A PRECEDENT
Obama's decision comes as two other Chinese companies are vying for CFIUS approval.
The Treasury Department stressed that Obama's decision was not a precedent for other investments from China or any other country. Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank said the United States generally welcomed investment from China but not in every case.
"Particularly when you're talking about China, but there's other countries where this is true too, one has to be worried about national security concerns," Blank said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations earlier on Friday.
China's state-owned oil company CNOOC Ltd is trying to buy Canada's Nexen in a $15.1 billion deal and Chinese auto parts company Wanxiang Group Corp is about to takeover U.S. battery maker A123 Systems Inc. Both Chinese firms are waiting for the government panel's decision and CFIUS experts see the Ralls case as a one-off decision.
"There have been many Chinese investments in the U.S. that have gone through without trouble," said Benjamin Powell, a former general counsel to the director of national intelligence who is now a partner at Wilmer Hale.
(Additional reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Vicki Allen and Claudia Parsons)
Optical mammography sheds new light on breast cancer Public release date: 27-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Alex Reid Alexander.Reid@tufts.edu 617-627-4173 Tufts University
Tufts tests new technology that could aid in breast cancer diagnosis & treatment
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. New optical imaging technology developed at Tufts University School of Engineering could give doctors new ways to both identify breast cancer and monitor individual patients' response to initial treatment of the disease. A five-year clinical study of the procedure, funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, is now underway at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
The non-invasive technology uses near infrared (NIR) light to scan breast tissue, and then applies an algorithm to interpret that information. Differences in light absorption allow identification of water, fats, and oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor tissue, the primary structures in breast tissue.
"The consensus is that x-ray mammography is very good at detecting lesions but it's not as good at determining which suspicious lesions are really cancer," says Professor of Biomedical Engineering Sergio Fantini, Ph.D., who is leading the research effort. The Tufts NIR technique could complement standard mammography, particularly for women younger than 40 who may have dense breast tissue that tends to obscure detail in x-rays.
Because it does not use ionizing radiation, the NIR technique can be applied multiple times over a short period without risk of radiation exposure, Fantini notes. Another advantage of the technology is that, unlike other breast imaging methods, it can obtain functional real-time images of metabolic changes, such as levels of hemoglobin concentration and oxygenation.
"It's been reported that patients who respond to breast cancer chemotherapy show a decrease in hemoglobin and water concentration and an increase in lipid concentration at the cancer site," explains Fantini. "This suggests that NIR imaging can be valuable not only in diagnosing breast cancer but in monitoring individual response to therapies without requiring repeated x-rays. For example, it could help determine if a patient is responding to neoadjuvant chemotherapy administered to shrink a tumor before surgery."
Optical mammography is also more comfortable than traditional mammograms. The patient's breasts are only lightly compressed between two horizontal glass panels and then illuminated by NIR light. A specialized software program displays real-time images of the breast as the optical system scans back and forth. A light detector within the system displays the intensity of the NIR beam as it is transmitted through the breast.
By using an algorithm based on the optical information, the technology generates breast images using the intensity of the transmitted light. The images are displayed automatically and can be read soon after the procedure, as is the case with x-ray mammograms. The technology can be packaged into compact, portable and handheld devices.
Clinical Testing
In collaboration with Roger Graham, M.D., director of Tufts Medical Center's Breast Health Center, and Marc Homer, M.D., chief of mammography at Tufts Medical Center, Fantini and his team conducted "proof of concept" tests to see if their procedure could corroborate information gathered with x-rays on two patients who each had suspicious lesions in one of their breasts.
The optical imaging was successful in enabling the team to identify cancerous tissue. "The test results were compatible with what we found in the x-ray mammography," Graham explains. "It was also painless for the patients and eliminated radiation exposure."
The team also includes Eric Miller, Ph.D., professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering and Misha Kilmer, Ph.D., professor of mathematics within the School of Arts and Sciences.
The NIH-funded study will investigate healthy women, women with breast cancer and women with benign breast lesions in an effort to examine the effectiveness of optical mammography in detecting breast cancer and distinguishing between malignant and benign tumors. The study will also look at breast cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy in order to characterize the power of optical mammography to determine patient response at the beginning of therapeutic treatment.
###
Fantini and his colleagues have published numerous papers on optical mammography: http://ase.tufts.edu/biomedical/research/fantini/publications/opticalMammography.asp.
This research is listed under award number 5R01CA154774-02
About Tufts University School of Engineering
Located on Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus, the School of Engineering offers a rigorous engineering education in a unique environment that blends the intellectual and technological resources of a world-class research university with the strengths of a top-ranked liberal arts college. Close partnerships with Tufts' excellent undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, coupled with a long tradition of collaboration, provide a strong platform for interdisciplinary education and scholarship. The School of Engineering's mission is to educate engineers committed to the innovative and ethical application of science and technology in addressing the most pressing societal needs, to develop and nurture twenty-first century leadership qualities in its students, faculty, and alumni, and to create and disseminate transformational new knowledge and technologies that further the well-being and sustainability of society in such cross-cutting areas as human health, environmental sustainability, alternative energy, and the human-technology interface.
About Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children Tufts Medical Center is an exceptional, not-for-profit, 415-bed academic medical center that is home to both a full-service hospital for adults and Floating Hospital for Children. Conveniently located in downtown Boston, the Medical Center is the principal teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. Floating Hospital for Children is the full-service children's hospital of Tufts Medical Center and the principal pediatric teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine. Tufts Medical Center is affiliated with seven community hospitals and with New England Quality Care Alliance, its community physicians' network.
[ | E-mail | 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.
Optical mammography sheds new light on breast cancer Public release date: 27-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Alex Reid Alexander.Reid@tufts.edu 617-627-4173 Tufts University
Tufts tests new technology that could aid in breast cancer diagnosis & treatment
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. New optical imaging technology developed at Tufts University School of Engineering could give doctors new ways to both identify breast cancer and monitor individual patients' response to initial treatment of the disease. A five-year clinical study of the procedure, funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, is now underway at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
The non-invasive technology uses near infrared (NIR) light to scan breast tissue, and then applies an algorithm to interpret that information. Differences in light absorption allow identification of water, fats, and oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor tissue, the primary structures in breast tissue.
"The consensus is that x-ray mammography is very good at detecting lesions but it's not as good at determining which suspicious lesions are really cancer," says Professor of Biomedical Engineering Sergio Fantini, Ph.D., who is leading the research effort. The Tufts NIR technique could complement standard mammography, particularly for women younger than 40 who may have dense breast tissue that tends to obscure detail in x-rays.
Because it does not use ionizing radiation, the NIR technique can be applied multiple times over a short period without risk of radiation exposure, Fantini notes. Another advantage of the technology is that, unlike other breast imaging methods, it can obtain functional real-time images of metabolic changes, such as levels of hemoglobin concentration and oxygenation.
"It's been reported that patients who respond to breast cancer chemotherapy show a decrease in hemoglobin and water concentration and an increase in lipid concentration at the cancer site," explains Fantini. "This suggests that NIR imaging can be valuable not only in diagnosing breast cancer but in monitoring individual response to therapies without requiring repeated x-rays. For example, it could help determine if a patient is responding to neoadjuvant chemotherapy administered to shrink a tumor before surgery."
Optical mammography is also more comfortable than traditional mammograms. The patient's breasts are only lightly compressed between two horizontal glass panels and then illuminated by NIR light. A specialized software program displays real-time images of the breast as the optical system scans back and forth. A light detector within the system displays the intensity of the NIR beam as it is transmitted through the breast.
By using an algorithm based on the optical information, the technology generates breast images using the intensity of the transmitted light. The images are displayed automatically and can be read soon after the procedure, as is the case with x-ray mammograms. The technology can be packaged into compact, portable and handheld devices.
Clinical Testing
In collaboration with Roger Graham, M.D., director of Tufts Medical Center's Breast Health Center, and Marc Homer, M.D., chief of mammography at Tufts Medical Center, Fantini and his team conducted "proof of concept" tests to see if their procedure could corroborate information gathered with x-rays on two patients who each had suspicious lesions in one of their breasts.
The optical imaging was successful in enabling the team to identify cancerous tissue. "The test results were compatible with what we found in the x-ray mammography," Graham explains. "It was also painless for the patients and eliminated radiation exposure."
The team also includes Eric Miller, Ph.D., professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering and Misha Kilmer, Ph.D., professor of mathematics within the School of Arts and Sciences.
The NIH-funded study will investigate healthy women, women with breast cancer and women with benign breast lesions in an effort to examine the effectiveness of optical mammography in detecting breast cancer and distinguishing between malignant and benign tumors. The study will also look at breast cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy in order to characterize the power of optical mammography to determine patient response at the beginning of therapeutic treatment.
###
Fantini and his colleagues have published numerous papers on optical mammography: http://ase.tufts.edu/biomedical/research/fantini/publications/opticalMammography.asp.
This research is listed under award number 5R01CA154774-02
About Tufts University School of Engineering
Located on Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus, the School of Engineering offers a rigorous engineering education in a unique environment that blends the intellectual and technological resources of a world-class research university with the strengths of a top-ranked liberal arts college. Close partnerships with Tufts' excellent undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, coupled with a long tradition of collaboration, provide a strong platform for interdisciplinary education and scholarship. The School of Engineering's mission is to educate engineers committed to the innovative and ethical application of science and technology in addressing the most pressing societal needs, to develop and nurture twenty-first century leadership qualities in its students, faculty, and alumni, and to create and disseminate transformational new knowledge and technologies that further the well-being and sustainability of society in such cross-cutting areas as human health, environmental sustainability, alternative energy, and the human-technology interface.
About Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children Tufts Medical Center is an exceptional, not-for-profit, 415-bed academic medical center that is home to both a full-service hospital for adults and Floating Hospital for Children. Conveniently located in downtown Boston, the Medical Center is the principal teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. Floating Hospital for Children is the full-service children's hospital of Tufts Medical Center and the principal pediatric teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine. Tufts Medical Center is affiliated with seven community hospitals and with New England Quality Care Alliance, its community physicians' network.
[ | E-mail | 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.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two loud explosions targeted one of Syria's top military command buildings in the capital Damascus on Wednesday, engulfing the building in flames, residents and state-television said.
They said the explosions struck the General Staff Command Building (Hay'at al Arkan) in the Umayad Square in central Damascus, which is one of the top military headquarters in the country.
There was no immediate word on casualties but ambulances could be heard racing to the sealed-off area.
The Syrian information minister said the attack had caused "only material damage" and that security forces were chasing "armed terrorists" - a term the authorities use to refer to insurgents waging a violent uprising to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Gunfire and other smaller blasts could be heard after the explosions, as well as the sound of ambulance sirens. Many roads in the center of the capital were blocked, residents said.
The explosions were heard around 7.00 am (11.45 p.m. EDT on Tuesday), before regular working hours start in Syria.
"The explosions were very loud. They shook the whole city and the windows of our house were shuddering," one resident reached by telephone said.
"Black smoke was seen rising from the area near the army staff building," the resident, who declined to be named, said.
A Damascus bomb attack on July 18 killed several top security officials, including Assad's brother-in-law, the defense and interior ministers. That attack paved the way for a rebel advance into the center of the capital, although they have since been pushed back to the outskirts.
MAJOR STRIKE?
Another resident said: "I was woken up at four minutes to seven by the first loud explosion. Five or six minutes later there was a second."
"We're used to the sound of artillery but these were very big - bigger than usual. I can hear gunfire still," he said, speaking an hour and a half after the blasts.
He said one of the blasts appeared to have been in the area of the General Staff Command.
He said he could see soldiers stationed on the roof of the nearby Air Force Intelligence building.
Syria's conflict, once a peaceful protest movement, has evolved into a civil war that the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said was "extremely bad and getting worse." He said the stalemate in the country could soon "find an opening", without elaborating.
Even Damascus has become a battleground between Assad's forces and opposition fighters.
Activists say more than 27,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old uprising against Assad.
With no foreseeable prospect of foreign intervention and diplomacy stuck, outgunned rebels have relied increasingly on attacks with homemade bombs, striving to level the playing field against a state using fighter jets, artillery and tanks.
At the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York, French President Francois Hollande sought to shake up international inertia over Syria's crisis by calling for U.N. protection of rebel-held areas to help end Syria's bloodshed and rights.
"The Syrian regime ... has no future among us," Hollande said in a speech. "Without any delay, I call upon the United Nations to provide immediately to the Syrian people all the support it asks of us and to protect liberated zones."
PROTECTION ZONES
Protection for "liberated" areas would require no-fly zones enforced by foreign aircraft, which could stop deadly air raids by Assad's forces on populated areas. But there is little chance of securing a Security Council mandate for such action given the continuing opposition of veto-wielding members Russia and China.
The United States, European allies, Turkey and Gulf Arab states have sided with the Syrian opposition while Iran, Russia and China have backed Assad, whose family and minority Alawite sect have dominated the major Arab state for 42 years.
But Western powers have shied away from supplying military aid to the rebels to an extent that could turn the tide of the conflict, in part out of fear of arming Islamist militants who have joined the anti-Assad revolt.
In another speech to the General Assembly, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said Arab nations should intervene in Syria given the Security Council's failure to stop the civil war.
Qatar, which backs the rebels, called on big powers to prepare a "Plan B" within weeks and set up a no-fly zone to provide a safe haven inside Syria in case international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi fails to make headway.
The Qatari emir said he believed Arab and European countries would be ready to take part, despite their public wariness of committing the forces needed for such a mission.
Addressing the General Assembly, U.S. President Barack Obama accused Iran of helping keep a dictatorship in power in Syria.
"Just as it restricts the rights of its own people, the Iranian government props up a dictator in Damascus and supports terrorist groups abroad," Obama said in a reference to Assad.
"We again declare that the regime of Bashar al-Assad must come to an end so that the suffering of the Syrian people can stop, and a new dawn can begin."
The British-based charity Save the Children released a harrowing report about abuse of Syrian refugee children.
Khalid, 15, said he was hung by his arms from the ceiling of his own school building and beaten senseless. Wael said he saw a 6-year-old starved and beaten to death, "tortured more than anyone else in the room.
U.N. investigators say Syrian government forces have committed human rights violations "on an alarming scale", but have also listed multiple killings and kidnappings by armed rebels trying to oust Assad after 12 years in power.
The children that Save the Children spoke to in refugee camps in neighboring countries said they had witnessed massacres and seen family members killed during the conflict.
Humanitarian conditions are worsening as the violence drags on. The president of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which has been the only relief group on the ground the entire 18 months of conflict, said it was in dire need of supplies.
"We need to concentrate mostly on health and shelter because there are 1.5 million displaced people," Abdul Rahman Attar told Reuters during a visit to Oslo. "We need more of everything."
(Additional reporting by Rania El gamal and Sami Aboudi in Dubai, Dominic Evans and Oliver Holmes, Writing by Samia Nakhoul; editing by Patrick Graham)
Are continuing education and training in irreversible decline in America?? Tell us your thoughts.
LERN has tracked 28 member continuing education organizations that have simply been shut down in the last two years, more we are sure are gone.? Mergers and consolidations of continuing education units are on the way.? The community education movement in the United States, once in 1,500 public schools, now in fewer than 500 and declining.
And now this forecast: that companies will no longer train their employees, in part because of the more frequent shifting of the workforce now (Time to Start Thinking, Edward Luce, page 39).
What do you think??
Photo: a 5 foot tall beaver dam, biggest one I have ever had to haul my canoe over, on Muskrat Creek in Wisconsin.
Twenty minutes of vigorous exercise daily over just three months, can reduce a child?s risk of diabetes as well as his total body fat ? including dangerous, deep abdominal fat, researchers have said.
?If exercise is good for you, then more exercise ought to be better for you and that is what we found for most of our outcomes,? Dr. Catherine Davis, clinical health psychologist at the Institute of Public and Preventive Health at Georgia Health Sciences University, Twenty minutes.
Pediatric and adult studies have shown the metabolic benefits of aerobic activity, but had yet to dissect differences in the dose response, or the amount of activity needed to elicit a given benefit.
The study looked at 222 overweight, previously inactive 7 to 11-year olds in the Augusta, Georgia, area and found more is better.
All you need to know about juvenile diabetes
?Obesity is a growing public health crisis that is affecting youth throughout the United States, and we know that obesity can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes,? Dr. Michael Lauer, Director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Division of Cardiovascular Sciences of the National Institute of Health, said.
?This research adds to the body of evidence that physical activity improves children?s health, that longer periods of exercise provide a greater benefit and that increased physical activity among overweight and obese children could stave off the onset of type 2 diabetes,? he added.
A third of the study participants maintained their typically sedentary lifestyle; a third began a 20-minute heart-rate-raising, after-school exercise routine for three months; and a third exercised for 40 minutes after school.
While their primary focus was insulin resistance, a risk factor for diabetes, the researchers also measured total body fat, visceral fat and aerobic fitness over the study?s course.
Children who exercised for 40 minutes had a 22 percent reduction in insulin resistance versus the controls, while the 20-minute group experienced an 18 percent reduction, study?s lead author, Davis said.
How to boost your child?s immunity
The extra 20 minutes also helped the children lose more total body fat and visceral fat while fitness, which appeared driven by intensity rather than duration, gained a similar boost from both time periods.
The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Source: ANI
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: Diabetes mellitus type 2, fitness, juvenile diabetes, Obesity, Physical exercise, Sify Health
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
5 Goose Haven Court ? Natomas Short Sale at a Great Value
I?m bracing myself for the mountain of emails and calls I?m about to get from interested buyers and agents on my new Natomas Short Sale.? 5 Goose Haven Court is a 1-story with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and almost 1,800 square feet. It?s in good condition and has wood floors?nice upgrade!? It?s in a great Natomas location with good freeway access and a nice neighborhood.? All for $190,000!
This is probably the most competitive real estate market I?ve seen and I?ve been selling real estate for 14 years!? Bring your highest and best/clean offer for your best chance of getting this house into contract.
I?ll work with the lender, HSBC to get this Natomas short sale approved ASAP.? 70% of my business is short sales.? Short sales are much more complex than traditional sales.? They require diligence, follow-up, and perseverance from the listing agent so they are not lost in the shuffle.? Banks deal with thousands of short sales at a time.? It?s easy to be overlooked.? As a short sale specialist, I don?t let that happen!
Short sales come with a lot of questions.? Don?t be afraid to ask?I?m here to help!
5 Goose Haven Court ? Natomas Short Sale at a Great Value
Electronic Arts continues to beef up its cloud-based gaming offerings. Today it was announced that it is buying ESN, developers of the Planet web-based games framework, for an undisclosed sum. The two companies had already been working together, namely on Battlelog, an online social-web component for EA?s Battlefield 3. The news was announced on ESN?s blog.
?We couldn?t be more excited about this opportunity and the team is looking forward to focus all of its energy on DICE [EA's existing Swedish studio], Battlelog and the Battlefield series,? the company?s founders write.
In addition to the Planet framework for web applications, ESN has two other products for games developers looking to publish content on the web: Beaconpush and Sonar. The first of these, Beaconpush, is a push service for developers creating real-time web apps using HTML5 WebSockets and Comet. Sonar, meanwhile, is a?cloud-based hosted service, available via an API, that developers can use to integrate voice communication into their online games.
Taken together, this couldbe a sign that EA could use the platforms to bring in more third-partly publishers under the EA umbrella, but it could also be a way for EA to build up its own games. We understand from a source that EA is likely, at least at first, to use it more for the latter. EA has been using ESN?s technology for the Battlelog web component of Battlefield, and ?that?technology is very valuable to EA and its systems,? our source says. Nevertheless, it?s a small team of under 25 people and is unlikely to be a massive acquisition. The acquisition, we?ve heard, was actually completed back in June, but the companies only decided to announce it today.
We are reaching out to EA for a comment on how ESN will fit in with its strategy. The company has confirmed the acquisition to TechCrunch on the phone ? but it has declined to elaborate on how the acquisition will fit with its strategy, or how large the deal size is.
In the blog post announcing the deal, ESN also notes that it is on the lookout to hire more developers.
EA already had Dice in Sweden so this is a sign that the two will continue to work together in the country. We are reaching out to ask more questions, as well as to see if we can get more clarity on the financial terms of the deal.
Electronic Arts, which started as a games publisher for consoles, has over the last few years been trying to reposition itself to be closer to where its audience is moving: into online social and casual gaming and mobile. In that, it has had some run-ins with other companies also trying to keep strong positions in those spaces. It is currently suing Zynga, alleging that the social games maker?s The Ville is a ripoff of its Sims Social Facebook game.
Buying studios like ESN are a large part of how it hopes to continue beefing up its digital, online gaming business. In the last quarter, Q1 FY2013, EA noted that GAAP net revenues for its digital business were $342 million, compared to $592 million for net publishing packaged goods revenues.
The move to rethink its games as ?services? rather than packaged goods has also meant some restructuring, as CEO John Riccitiello pointed out in its quarterly earnings call in May. Just yesterday it was announced that it was closing the Dublin office of PopCap, making nearly 100 employees redundant, as part of a bigger re-org and downsizing of the Seattle-based studio, which EA bought in July 2011 for $750 million, with a potential earnout taking that to $1.3 billion.
In July, the company said that Q1 FY GAAP net revenues were $4.1 billion. EA expects to have lower GAAP net revenue in the current quarter, of between $3.90 to $4.05 billion.
For such a tiny village, Nyangwete has big challenges. On the shores of Lake Victoria, below the Homa Hills, the remote fishing village was isolated by location and lack of power. Extreme poverty forc...
For such a tiny village, Nyangwete has big challenges. On the shores of Lake Victoria, below the Homa Hills, the remote fishing village was isolated by location and lack of power. Extreme poverty forc...
IBM Canada Leadership Data Centre is designed to help organisations manage growth while reducing costs and securely mitigating risk
IBM has partnered with the Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Barrie to build a new computing facility, the IBM Canada Leadership Data Centre.
The new data centre uses advanced modular and green design for maximum efficiency to help organisations manage growth while reducing costs and securely mitigating risk, the company said.
The 25,000ft? facility will allow the company to provide advanced data storage space, security and disaster recovery services.
The $90m centre will offer 'cloud' computing capabilities to support research initiatives at the IBM Canada Research and Development Centre.
IBM Canada president John Lutz said: "This new facility provides a flexible foundation ingrained in best-practices so we can deliver essential services to help organizations and partners better manage data, reduce operating costs, improve productivity and gain competitive advantage."
Modular data centre design uses small increments of standardised components to match business requirements with IT requirements and only add data centre capacity when needed.
They can be expanded in half the time of a traditional data centre to accommodate growing demand and also help clients save up to 30% energy costs per year compared to traditional centres.
The new facility will provide 25,000 square feet of initial capacity with option to extend it to 100,000 square feet. It will provide synchronous replication of data with another centre 100km apart ensuring reliability of data recovery and immunity from disaster.
Last we heard from Mophie, it revealed its upcoming Juice Pack case for Samsung's Galaxy S III. While there's still no further info for that model, the company recently took to its Facebook and Twitter accounts to announce it's new $40 Juice Pack Reserve Micro. The palmable battery pack is nearly identical to the 30-pin friendly Juice Pack Reserve, but, as the Micro in its name implies, this one charges Micro-USB devices. The unit features a key chain loop and stores a total load of 1,000mAh, which gets re-filled via its secondary USB 2.0 plug. There's more info at the source links below -- here's to hoping for a Lightning variant soon.
Some 23 states have or are considering laws to mandate voter IDs, toughen voting restrictions, or cull noncitizens from voter rolls. According to a new study, the laws could deter many eligible Hispanic voters.
By Warren Richey,?Staff writer / September 24, 2012
Pennsylvania state Rep. Robert Freeman speaks to educate and inform on the topic of the Voter ID law in Centre Square on Sept. 15 in Easton, Pa.
Stephen Flood/The Express-Times/AP
Enlarge
New restrictive voting laws in 23 states could make it more difficult for a significant number of Latino voters to cast ballots in the November presidential election, according to a new study released on Monday.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Voter ID laws, tougher voter registration requirements, and efforts by state officials to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls could intimidate or deter many Latinos from exercising their right to vote, the report says.
The study, produced by the civil rights group Advancement Project, says there are more than 10 million eligible Latino voters ?who could be deterred or prevented from voting in the 2012 elections? because of new voting laws enacted or proposed in 23 states.
The new measures include a photo ID law currently under court review in Pennsylvania. Florida and Colorado are cited for attempting to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls by comparing information from the state?s driver?s license database with information in a federal immigration database.
Political analysts believe Latino voters could prove decisive in the coming presidential election depending on turnout. Polls show President Obama enjoys a significant advantage among Hispanic voters over Republican rival Mitt Romney.
The president has pursued issues favored by Latinos, including launching a legal challenge to Arizona?s controversial immigration law, Senate Bill 1070. The Obama administration also authorized an executive branch version of the DREAM Act, which has stalled in the Senate. It allows 1.7 million children of illegal immigrants to avoid the threat of deportation.
Voter turnout among Hispanics has historically not been high, and it remains unclear whether they will vote in large numbers in November.
In the meantime, Republican lawmakers in several swing states featuring potentially tight races have enacted new voting laws that critics say are intended to suppress Latino and African-American votes. They say the new measures are part of a partisan attempt to undercut electoral support for Mr. Obama.
Authors of the report agree. The report is entitled: ?Segregating American Citizenship: Latino Voter Disenfranchisement in 2012.?
?Voter suppression laws and policies threaten to relegate eligible Latino voters to second-class citizenship and impede their ability to participate fully in American democracy,? the report says. ?Like African-Americans, Latinos have experienced decreased access and correspondingly lower levels of voter registration and participation than non-Hispanic whites.?
Penda Hair, a co-director of the Advancement Project, told reporters during a teleconference that the new state voting laws amounted to the ?greatest assault on voting rights throughout our history.?
Some critics, including Attorney General Eric Holder, have compared voter ID laws to a new version of Jim Crow-era poll taxes.
Ms. Hair said the group would fight ?to ensure that communities of color are not intimidated or silenced.?
State officials have defended their new voting laws as legitimate efforts to fortify the election process against fraud. They say photo ID is necessary to travel by jetliner or enter a federal office building. The security of voting is no less important, they say.
The Advancement Project?s report urges the repeal of all ?voter suppression laws and policies.?
?Election officials should be working to increase voter registration and participation, as opposed to implementing voter suppression laws,? the report says.
ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2012) ? What if you woke up every day to find that the closest grocery store had moved several miles farther away from your home? Over time, you would have to travel hundreds of extra miles to find essential food for yourself and your family. This is potentially a scenario faced by thousands of marine animals affected by climate change.
A new study published in Nature Climate Change examines the distribution of various open ocean animals in the North Pacific and explores how that could change over the next century as global ocean temperatures increase and productivity levels shift. The researchers conclude that some critical ocean habitats could undergo significant changes in location, moving more than 600 miles from where they are now, while other habitats could remain relatively unchanged.
Among large animals, loggerhead turtles, some sharks and blue whales may face the harshest impacts of climate change while some seabirds may actually benefit. Not only are species at risk, but also coastal communities and industries could feel the impact since top predator habitat shifts can result in the displacement of fisheries and ecotourism, such as whale watching.
"For species already stressed by overfishing or other human impacts, increased migration time and loss of habitat could be a heavy blow," said Elliott Hazen, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researcher on the project who is affiliated with the Center for Ocean Solutions at Stanford. "But if we can build some plausible scenarios of how marine ecosystems may change, this may help efforts to prioritize and proactively manage them."
In order to carry out their study, the authors employed complex mathematical models with data from the decade-long "Tagging of Pacific Predators" (TOPP) project, in which 4,300 electronic tags placed on 23 species from 2000 to 2009 created unprecedented insight into migration patterns and hotspots of predator species in the northern Pacific.
Satellite measurements of sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a (used to estimate surface productivity) were combined with the tracking data to identify "key habitat areas" for a variety of different ocean predators. The researchers then used climate models of ocean temperature and productivity to ascertain how those key habitat areas might change in the face of ocean warming.
One of these key habitat areas, known as the North Pacific Transition Zone, marks the interface between cold, nutrient-rich polar water to the north and warmer, nutrient-poor water to the south. This region is used by a variety of ocean predators, including marine mammals, tunas and seabirds, as a corridor across the Pacific Ocean basin. The study suggests that this critical region could shift by as much as 600 miles, resulting in a 20 percent loss of species diversity in the region.
Other critical habitat areas, however, may experience little or no impact. The California Current, which runs along the west coast of North America, supports a variety of open ocean predators each year, when cold, nutrient-rich water creates regions of high productivity. This so-called upwelling cycle would likely continue despite ocean warming. "The fact that tagging indicates this is the number one lunch stop in town along the most populous coast in the nation -- and stabilizes in a warming world -- increases our opportunity to consider how to protect these hot spots," said Barbara Block, the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Professor in Marine Sciences at Stanford, who is heavily involved in TOPP.
Among the Pacific's top predators, turtles, sharks and marine mammals such as whales appear to be most at risk from habitat shifts associated with Pacific warming. In some cases, predicted losses in essential habitat ranged as high as 35 percent.
But animals such as seabirds and tunas may benefit from climate-change-related shifts that could actually increase their potential habitat for foraging due to their broader tolerances to temperature.
"The differences from one species to another is their ability to adapt to temperatures and to use multiple ocean areas," said Hazen. "Having multiple sources of food, migration corridors and areas to call home provides a buffer against climate variability and change."
"Modeling of future scenarios is used in national security, financial investing and other critical areas," said Larry Crowder, the science director of the Center for Ocean Solutions, who was involved in the study.
"Here we use it to envision climate change impacts on large predators in the Pacific so that steps can be taken to better manage species that are important both commercially and for conservation goals," he said.
Based on these predictions, marine and coastal managers may alter fishing catches or revamp marine protected areas.
The research was a collaboration including Salvador Jorgensen of Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station, Ryan Rykaczewski of the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and Steven Bograd of NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center.
The Center for Ocean Solutions is a collaboration among Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment and Hopkins Marine Station, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Elliott L. Hazen, Salvador Jorgensen, Ryan R. Rykaczewski, Steven J. Bograd, David G. Foley, Ian D. Jonsen, Scott A. Shaffer, John P. Dunne, Daniel P. Costa, Larry B. Crowder, Barbara A. Block. Predicted habitat shifts of Pacific top predators in a changing climate. Nature Climate Change, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1686
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? The Taliban published a video Monday they say shows insurgents preparing for the brazen attack on a major NATO base earlier this month, just as NATO forces released data showing that insurgent attacks decreased in August.
The twin releases are a reminder of the escalating battle for public opinion between the insurgency and the international military as U.S. and allied troops draw down. The Taliban continue to contend that they are fighting at full force while the international alliance says that they have been weakened.
In the Sept. 14 attack on Camp Bastion in Helmand province, 15 insurgents dressed in U.S. Army uniforms breached the base's perimeter fence then used automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers to fire on planes and people around the base's airstrip. They managed to kill two Marines and destroy six fighter jets costing tens of millions each before they were stopped. All but one of the assailants were killed in the fighting.
The Taliban video shows men wearing U.S. Army uniforms as they practice cutting through a chain-link fence and charging through the opening. One man indicates targets with a pointer and a whiteboard showing drawings of planes and fortifications. He speaks Pashtun, a major language in southern Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan. Words on the whiteboard are written in Urdu, a language more common in Pakistan.
A Taliban spokesman emailed the link to the video to the media but it was not possible to verify the authenticity of the footage. Nothing in the video indicates when or where it was filmed.
The NATO statistics showed that insurgent attacks decreased 9 percent in August, compared with the same month last year ? continuing a falloff that started in July after a spike in attacks in May and June.
NATO said the shortened poppy harvest in the spring meant that the usual summer fighting season started earlier. Regionally, attacks decreased in the east and south, but increased in the west and north, according to the data.
Overall, NATO's figures show insurgent attacks are down 5 percent for the year so far, compared with the same period of 2011.
Australian Army Brig. Gen. Roger Noble, deputy to the deputy chief of staff for operations of the U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan, told reporters in Kabul earlier this month that fighting in the south ? the Taliban strongholds of Kandahar and Helmand provinces ? has moved away from the bigger towns and cities.
"If you think back to 2010, people were talking about central Helmand being the center of fighting, but it's been pushed out and away from most of the major population centers," he said. "But there is still plenty of fighting and it is dangerous and having a direct effect in casualties on the coalition and also, increasingly, on the Afghan security forces."
Nearly two years after President Barack Obama announced that he was sending another 33,000 troops to take on the Taliban, those reinforcements have just completed their return to the United States. That leaves about 68,000 American troops, along with their NATO allies and Afghan partners, to carry out an ambitious plan to put the Afghans fully in the combat lead as early as next year.
____
Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report from Kabul.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Sep-2012
Share ] 
Twenty minutes of vigorous exercise daily over just three months, can reduce a child?s risk of diabetes as well as his total body fat ? including dangerous, deep abdominal fat, researchers have said.
