Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/07/03/watch-time-warner-cable-programming-on-your-xbox-360/
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শুক্রবার, ৫ জুলাই, ২০১৩
Watch Time Warner Cable programming on your Xbox 360
In March of this year, I purchased (and reviewed) the new Roku 3 because I could use it to add Time Warner Cable programming to my bedroom TV without needing to rent a cable box. ?I now have sharp, clear cable channels on that TV that supplements the over-the-air network channels I get using an [...]
বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৭ জুন, ২০১৩
Gay rights supporters erupt in cheers over ruling
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Chanting "DOMA is Dead," supporters of same-sex marriage burst into cheers and some wept openly upon hearing word of the Supreme Court's decision Wednesday striking down a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Some in the crowd hugged and others jumped up and down just after 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday when the decision was announced. Many people were on their cell phones monitoring Twitter, news sites and blogs for word of the decision. And there were cheers as runners came down the steps with the decision in hand and turned them over to reporters who quickly flipped through the decisions.
Chants of "Thank you" and "USA" came from the crowd as plaintiffs in the cases descended the court's marbled steps
Sarah Prager, 26, cried and was shaking when she heard the news, and she and a stranger hugged. Prager, who married her wife in Massachusetts in 2011, said she was in shock. "Oh that's so good. It's just really good," she said.
"I'm in shock. I didn't expect DOMA to be struck down," she said through tears and shaking. Prager was referring to the Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. Gay rights activists had argued that the law effectively denied same-sex married couples the federal benefits that heterosexual couples enjoyed.
Amanda Klinger, 29, and Caroline Hunt, 26, of Washington, DC, were awaiting the ruling anxiously.
Hunt said she cried and jumped up and down when she heard the news from a neighbor in the crowd, said she felt "relieved." Klinger said she no longer feels like "a second class citizen." The two are planning a wedding in Massachusetts in August and planned a civil ceremony in DC before. They said they planned to celebrate Wednesday's decisions by going to the D.C. courthouse and applying for a marriage license.
A large crowd had thronged to the high court's plaza earlier to await not only the decision on DOMA, but also a ruling on whether a constitutional amendment in California prohibiting gay marriage could stand the test of challenge.
In that second case, the justices cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California by holding that defenders of California's gay marriage ban did not have the right to appeal lower court rulings striking down the ban.
The court's 5-4 ruling in that case left in place the initial trial court declaration that the ban was unconstitutional. California officials probably will rely on that ruling to allow the resumption of same-sex unions in about a month's time.
Most of the people who spilled across the sidewalk in front of the court were gay marriage supporters. One held a rainbow flag and another wore a rainbow shawl, and a number of people carried signs with messages including "2 moms make a right" and "'I Do' Support Marriage Equality." Others wore T-shirts including "Legalize gay" and "It's time for marriage equality." At several points the crowd began a call and response: "What do we want? Equality. When do we want it? Now."
Larry Cirignano, 57, was in the minority with a sign supporting marriage only between a man and a woman. He said he drove four hours from Far Hills, N.J., because he believed all views should be represented. He said he hopes the court follows the lead of 38 states that have defined marriage as between one man and one woman
George Washington University student Philip Anderson, 20, came to the court with a closet door that towered above his head. He had painted it with a message opposing the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman and which the court is considering. His door read: "This used to oppress me. Repeal DOMA; Now. No more shut doors."
Thirty-four-year-old Ian Holloway of Los Angeles got to the court around 7 a.m. to try to get a seat inside the courtroom. Holloway said he and his partner had planned to get married in March but when the justices decided to hear the case involving California's ban on gay marriage they pushed back their date.
He said, "We have rings ready. We're ready to go as soon as the decision comes down." Holloway said he was optimistic the justices would strike down Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-rights-supporters-erupt-cheers-over-ruling-142802499.html
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বুধবার, ২৬ জুন, ২০১৩
Ten thousandth near-Earth object discovered in space
June 25, 2013 ? More than 10,000 asteroids and comets that can pass near Earth have now been discovered. The 10,000th near-Earth object, asteroid 2013 MZ5, was first detected on the night of June 18, 2013, by the Pan-STARRS-1 telescope, located on the 10,000-foot (convert) summit of the Haleakala crater on Maui. Managed by the University of Hawaii, the PanSTARRS survey receives NASA funding.
Ninety-eight percent of all near-Earth objects discovered were first detected by NASA-supported surveys.
"Finding 10,000 near-Earth objects is a significant milestone," said Lindley Johnson, program executive for NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "But there are at least 10 times that many more to be found before we can be assured we will have found any and all that could impact and do significant harm to the citizens of Earth." During Johnson's decade-long tenure, 76 percent of the NEO discoveries have been made.
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that can approach the Earth's orbital distance to within about 28 million miles (45 million kilometers). They range in size from as small as a few feet to as large as 25 miles (41 kilometers) for the largest near-Earth asteroid, 1036 Ganymed.
Asteroid 2013 MZ5 is approximately 1,000 feet (300 meters) across. Its orbit is well understood and will not approach close enough to Earth to be considered potentially hazardous.
"The first near-Earth object was discovered in 1898," said Don Yeomans, long-time manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Over the next hundred years, only about 500 had been found. But then, with the advent of NASA's NEO Observations program in 1998, we've been racking them up ever since. And with new, more capable systems coming on line, we are learning even more about where the NEOs are currently in our solar system, and where they will be in the future."
Of the 10,000 discoveries, roughly 10 percent are larger than six-tenths of a mile (one kilometer) in size -- roughly the size that could produce global consequences should one impact the Earth. However, the NASA NEOO program has found that none of these larger NEOs currently pose an impact threat and probably only a few dozen more of these large NEOs remain undiscovered.
The vast majority of NEOs are smaller than one kilometer, with the number of objects of a particular size increasing as their sizes decrease. For example, there are expected to be about 15,000 NEOs that are about one-and-half football fields in size (460 feet, or 140 meters), and more than a million that are about one-third a football field in size (100 feet, or 30 meters). A NEO hitting Earth would need to be about 100 feet (30 meters) or larger to cause significant devastation in populated areas. Almost 30 percent of the 460-foot-sized NEOs have been found, but less than 1 percent of the 100-foot-sized NEOs have been detected.
When it originated, the NASA-instituted Near-Earth Object Observations Program provided support to search programs run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory (LINEAR); the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NEAT); the University of Arizona (Spacewatch, and later Catalina Sky Survey) and the Lowell Observatory (LONEOS). All these search teams report their observations to the Minor Planet Center, the central node where all observations from observatories worldwide are correlated with objects, and they are given unique designations and their orbits are calculated.
"When I began surveying for asteroids and comets in 1992, a near-Earth object discovery was a rare event," said Tim Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center. "These days we average three NEO discoveries a day, and each month the Minor Planet Center receives hundreds of thousands of observations on asteroids, including those in the main-belt. The work done by the NASA surveys, and the other international professional and amateur astronomers, to discover and track NEOs is really remarkable."
Within a dozen years, the program achieved its goal of discovering 90 percent of near-Earth objects larger than 3,300 feet (1 kilometer) in size. In December 2005, NASA was directed by Congress to extend the search to find and catalog 90 percent of the NEOs larger than 500 feet (140 meters) in size. When this goal is achieved, the risk of an unwarned future Earth impact will be reduced to a level of only one percent when compared to pre-survey risk levels. This reduces the risk to human populations, because once an NEO threat is known well in advance, the object could be deflected with current space technologies.
Currently, the major NEO discovery teams are the Catalina Sky Survey, the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS survey and the LINEAR survey. The current discovery rate of NEOs is about 1,000 per year.
NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program manages and funds the search for, study of and monitoring of asteroids and comets whose orbits periodically bring them close to Earth. The Minor Planet Center is funded by NASA and hosted by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA. JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is available at: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/, http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch and via Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/asteroidwatch .
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/YH3ceC95U68/130625112104.htm
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Gettysburg residents seek black history museum
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) ? Gettysburg's small African-American community proudly tells stories of ancestors who fought in the Civil War, of a young woman who shook President Abraham Lincoln's hand and of the men who buried thousands of bodies after the battle.
But they also speak of a struggle to preserve that history and of discrimination that continued long after the war ended ? even where Lincoln himself reminded Americans of our defining ideal: that all men are created equal.
"Our story here in this town, and in this state, and in this country has not been told," said Mary Alice Nutter, 68, who has been working to fulfill her mother's dying wish for an African-American history museum in the town where Union soldiers turned the tide of the Civil War, helping to end slavery in the United States.
A century and a half after the Battle of Gettysburg, the nascent museum project is aimed not only at chronicling the deeds of the black soldiers who fought there and those who buried the dead, but also the experiences of their descendants who can recall a civil rights struggle that persists in living memory.
Nutter and other members of the community have been collecting photographs, historical records, and oral histories for the museum project currently housed in a small temporary space.
One picture shows William Francis Penn, a Gettysburg battlefield guide, posing with a group of well-dressed African-Americans in front of a 1920s auto. Another is of Cecilia Eliza Jane Biggs ? who shook Lincoln's hand ? in a Victorian dress. There's the story of local veterinarian Basil Biggs, who was one of the men who received four cents per body to bury the dead after the battle, and the white Wert family, who aided the Underground Railroad.
Nutter, whose great-great grandfather, Lloyd F. A. Watts, served in the Union Army toward the end of the war and went on to become a respected teacher and preacher, said the project aims to correct a historical oversight: when she grew up local schools didn't mention that African-Americans fought during the Civil War ? or that segregation was being openly practiced in Gettysburg until the 1960s.
The path hasn't always been easy, but about two years ago she found Ron Bailey, a partner with new skills and energy. After retiring from a career with IBM, Bailey has used his organizational and people skills to tirelessly campaign for the museum.
"What we do have is one of the most amazing stories of black people in the U.S.," Bailey said. "We're looking for an angel donor."
Dick Peterson, a former Gettysburg borough council president who is white, said many local people are "coming to realize" that the stories of African-Americans haven't been properly told.
"We've given short-shrift to the black community in terms of their contribution to the war," said Peterson, 82, who called efforts to create the museum "exceedingly important."
James Paradis, a historian and author of the book "African-Americans and the Gettysburg Campaign," said many black families visited the battlefield to pay their respects in the decades after the Civil War, but numbers declined as more emphasis was placed on military strategy and Confederate forces. For example, reconciliation was a key theme at the 50th anniversary of the battle in 1913, and so Confederate veterans were invited.
"But the irony is just so bitter ? the black veterans were not invited to the 50th anniversary," Paradis said. "That's symbolic of what's happened. If you had been there at the time of the battle you would have seen thousands of blacks on both sides," serving as aides, cooks and other staff.
Nutter said the lofty ideals of the Gettysburg Address ? given to dedicate the Soldiers' National Cemetery ? was a mandatory topic in school, but the reality for African-Americans was, and is, different.
"What President Lincoln said is beautiful. Love it. Deep down love it. But this country, to this day, nationally, we're not living it," Nutter said.
Indeed, only a few years after the war a separate cemetery for black veterans was created in Gettysburg because they were "denied burial in the National Cemetery because of segregation policies," according to a historical marker placed in 2003.
The Rev. John Spangler of the Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary agreed that the stories of local African-Americans "have been far too invisible," even at the seminary, which was founded in 1826. "We haven't had the pride to tell it often and proudly enough," he said, though that's changing with new exhibits.
Nutter said she wouldn't change her childhood in Gettysburg "for anything" and spoke of support from friends in the white community. But she also remembered a time when blacks weren't allowed to sit downstairs in the local theatre, and that her mother used to tell stories about the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses in the yards of local families.
Jessie Smith, 64, recalled one local tavern that wouldn't allow African-Americans to enter by the front door. Once inside, they had to sit on buckets, not chairs.
"My growing up, there was a lot of prejudice and racism," she said.
Gettysburg wasn't alone, according to Pennsylvania's official Black History program, which notes that such discrimination continued through the 1950s and 1960s in many areas, including large cities.
"While there were no 'White Only' and 'Colored Only' signs to indicate a segregated facility in Pennsylvania, public places of business and recreation continued their distinctive Jim Crow approach that was informally in place," the program notes.
Other Gettysburg African-Americans said there have been improvements in recent decades.
"I didn't have many issues getting a job," said Stephanie Moses, 47, who credits older African-Americans for breaking down racial barriers.
Nutter said the museum aims to communicate untold stories in order to "bring some semblance of peace and understanding" to Gettysburg's complex racial legacy. Ultimately, it's a message for people of all races, she said.
"All of us, we're mixed with white, anyway," Nutter said. "And today, at our reunions... there are mixed marriages like you wouldn't believe. Who cares what color, or whatever, any more."
"I hope this enlightens all people," Nutter said of the museum. "I'm looking for love and peace and kindness among all people, regardless of race."
But she added that "you've got to try and see things from other people's viewpoint" in order to get that peace.
___
Follow Kevin Begos at http://twitter.com/kbegos
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gettysburg-residents-seek-black-history-museum-194424508.html
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RCI? Stirs up a Crowd at the Shanghai World Travel Fair ...
Shanghai (June 24, 2013) ? RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), partnered with four of its affiliated resorts in China to participate in the Shanghai World Travel Fair 2013, held on May 9-12, 2013. RCI worked with affiliated resorts Club Vac, Iconic Vacation Club, Shanghai Freedom Vacation Club and Shanghai Runner Vacation Club as part of its continuous efforts to promote the benefits of vacation ownership.
Shanghai World Travel Fair is one of the most influential tourism events in China. It is designed to be a platform for both domestic and international tourism players to showcase their travel services to the vast market in China. The recently-concluded fair featured more than 500 exhibitors from more than 50 countries and welcomed a total of 77,000 visitors.
This was the first time RCI partnered with its affiliated resorts to participate in a consumer travel event, and the combined presence generated great interest in vacation ownership. Visitors to the booth received a goodie bag, travel vouchers and a chance to win one of several prizes for completing a simple survey. A total of 30 prizes were given away at the booth, generating positive attention from both the media and the general public.
?The World Travel Fair is an effective avenue to generate publicity and positive interest for both RCI and our affiliates,? said Gavin Cheong, director of business development for RCI. ?It is a win-win collaboration and we look forward to working together with our affiliates to participate in future events.?
As Chinese consumers? disposable income continues to rise, Chinese citizens are increasingly travelling for leisure purposes. There is great potential for China?s vacation ownership market to grow and benefit consumers, developers, and supporting industries. Today, RCI is leading the industry to build cohesiveness, credibility and momentum with players in the vacation ownership industry. The company is working alongside Chinese government bodies to capture the opportunities and to facilitate the industry?s healthy growth and sustainable development.
For more information, visit www.RCIAffiliates.com.
About RCI
RCI is the worldwide leader in vacation exchange with more than 4,000 affiliated resorts in approximately 100 countries. RCI pioneered the concept of vacation exchange in 1974, offering members increased flexibility and versatility with their vacation ownership experience. Today, through RCI? Weeks, the traditional week-for-week exchange system, and RCI Points?, the industry?s first global points-based exchange system, RCI provides flexible vacation options to its approximately 3.7 million RCI subscribing members each year. RCI?s luxury exchange program, The Registry Collection?, is the world?s largest program of its kind with more than 200 affiliated properties either accessible for exchange or under development on six continents. RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals and the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN). For additional information visit our media center, rciaffiliates.com or The RCI Blog. RCI also can be found on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
SOURCE: RCI
Source: http://www.insidethegate.com/2013/06/rci-stirs-up-a-crowd-at-the-shanghai-world-travel-fair/
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মঙ্গলবার, ২৫ জুন, ২০১৩
Acer's 8.1-inch Iconia W3 tablet now on sale in the US
If you've wanted full-blown Windows 8 in bite-size form, you now have your chance: the Acer Iconia W3 is on sale in the US. The 8.1-inch slate is in stock at both Office Depot and Staples, starting at $350 for a 32GB model at both outlets. Don't count on the 64GB version being available -- it's still listed as an online-only pre-order at Office Depot. There's also no word on inventory at Amazon or other competing retailers. Should you not be picky about capacities or store choices, however, you can take the W3 home today.
Source: Office Depot, Staples
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সোমবার, ২৪ জুন, ২০১৩
Massive Online Open Courses could revolutionize university education
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 24-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Ana M Herrera
oic@uc3m.es
Carlos III University of Madrid
This news release is available in Spanish.
MOOCs are linked to the appearance of digital culture in all the areas of our lives, from the way we listen to music to the way we take photos, read the newspaper or watch movies. "Before, you had to have a radio, and a camera, go to the newsstand to buy the newspaper or go to the cinema, but now there are applications that enable us to do everything digitally," said the coordinator of the eMadrid network, Carlos Delgado Kloos, during the opening of this conference, dedicated to the transformational effect that the technology of MOOCs has on education; it was held on the Legans campus of the UC3M, and had over two hundred registered participants.
This disruptive process, in which technology is continually transforming our daily lives, also affects the world of teaching, which is faced with the dilemma of having to adapt to this new educational model, characterized by massification and progressive personalization of the contents being taught, or remaining faithful to its traditional model of lecture classes. Faced with this scenario, various questions arise: How will new technological developments affect Higher Education? Will teaching continue to be done in person or will it be done online instead? Will other educational methods arise? Will syllabi disintegrate into small, rapidly consumed pieces? Who will be responsible for certifying studies and evaluating which are the best teaching tools? Will there be new alliances among institutions? What will the university's role be? And the professor's?
Higher education and, especially, the university will have to try to respond to these questions and adapt to these new times, where new technologies, accessibility, mobility and a new type of social interaction through networks are becoming are taking on a major role. According to the researchers, MOOCs are democratizing education, enabling hundreds of thousands of students to sign up for these open courses, because they only need access to internet to do so. "This is not about replicating a lecture class online, because that can be done using a video; rather it is about choosing the parts of the educational process that can be implemented with these platforms, keeping the figure of the professor, who continues to be necessary in this context," explains Carlos Delgado Kloos, who is a tenured professor in UC3M's Telematic Engineering Department.
New spaces
One of the consequences of the appearance of MOOCs is the "deterritorialization" of the educational process. This is shaking up the key role played by universities' geographic proximity when enrolling students, which, according to the researchers, begs the question of whether equalizing the possibilities of access to the most important universities and the less renowned won't be detrimental to the latter. One way to avoid this risk is for institutions to work together to form joint platforms where they can offer MOOCs; in Spanish, among other platforms, Mirada X and UniMOOC can be found. In the United States students can use Udacity, Coursera and edX.
The eMadrid network is a program of activities among research groups subsidized by the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which promotes R+D+i Technology-Enhanced Learning. The project is coordinated by UC3M in partnership with the Universidad Autnoma of Madrid, the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, the Politcnica of Madrid, the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and the UNED (National Distance Learning University). In addition, other universities and companies from the sector also participate in the project. This year the eMadrid network held its IV Conference on June 13th and 14th on UC3M's Legans campus. Titled "MOOCs, the transformational effect of technology on education", this conference presented a panoramic view of Technology Enhanced Learning and its evolution.
###
Further information: http://www.emadridnet.org
VIDEO: http://youtu.be/cEd_xjIGJlI
[ | 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.
Public release date: 24-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Ana M Herrera
oic@uc3m.es
Carlos III University of Madrid
This news release is available in Spanish.
MOOCs are linked to the appearance of digital culture in all the areas of our lives, from the way we listen to music to the way we take photos, read the newspaper or watch movies. "Before, you had to have a radio, and a camera, go to the newsstand to buy the newspaper or go to the cinema, but now there are applications that enable us to do everything digitally," said the coordinator of the eMadrid network, Carlos Delgado Kloos, during the opening of this conference, dedicated to the transformational effect that the technology of MOOCs has on education; it was held on the Legans campus of the UC3M, and had over two hundred registered participants.
This disruptive process, in which technology is continually transforming our daily lives, also affects the world of teaching, which is faced with the dilemma of having to adapt to this new educational model, characterized by massification and progressive personalization of the contents being taught, or remaining faithful to its traditional model of lecture classes. Faced with this scenario, various questions arise: How will new technological developments affect Higher Education? Will teaching continue to be done in person or will it be done online instead? Will other educational methods arise? Will syllabi disintegrate into small, rapidly consumed pieces? Who will be responsible for certifying studies and evaluating which are the best teaching tools? Will there be new alliances among institutions? What will the university's role be? And the professor's?
Higher education and, especially, the university will have to try to respond to these questions and adapt to these new times, where new technologies, accessibility, mobility and a new type of social interaction through networks are becoming are taking on a major role. According to the researchers, MOOCs are democratizing education, enabling hundreds of thousands of students to sign up for these open courses, because they only need access to internet to do so. "This is not about replicating a lecture class online, because that can be done using a video; rather it is about choosing the parts of the educational process that can be implemented with these platforms, keeping the figure of the professor, who continues to be necessary in this context," explains Carlos Delgado Kloos, who is a tenured professor in UC3M's Telematic Engineering Department.
New spaces
One of the consequences of the appearance of MOOCs is the "deterritorialization" of the educational process. This is shaking up the key role played by universities' geographic proximity when enrolling students, which, according to the researchers, begs the question of whether equalizing the possibilities of access to the most important universities and the less renowned won't be detrimental to the latter. One way to avoid this risk is for institutions to work together to form joint platforms where they can offer MOOCs; in Spanish, among other platforms, Mirada X and UniMOOC can be found. In the United States students can use Udacity, Coursera and edX.
The eMadrid network is a program of activities among research groups subsidized by the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which promotes R+D+i Technology-Enhanced Learning. The project is coordinated by UC3M in partnership with the Universidad Autnoma of Madrid, the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, the Politcnica of Madrid, the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and the UNED (National Distance Learning University). In addition, other universities and companies from the sector also participate in the project. This year the eMadrid network held its IV Conference on June 13th and 14th on UC3M's Legans campus. Titled "MOOCs, the transformational effect of technology on education", this conference presented a panoramic view of Technology Enhanced Learning and its evolution.
###
Further information: http://www.emadridnet.org
VIDEO: http://youtu.be/cEd_xjIGJlI
[ | 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.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ciuo-moo062413.php
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South Africa Says Nelson Mandela's Condition Critical - Health Care ...
South Africa's iconic former leader Nelson Mandela has lapsed into
critical condition after spending more than two weeks in a Pretoria
hospital to treat a lung infection, according to a statement from the
president's office.
President Jacob Zuma and deputy president of the ruling African National Congress, Cyril Ramaphosa, visited Mr. Mandela at the hospital Sunday evening.
critical condition after spending more than two weeks in a Pretoria
hospital to treat a lung infection, according to a statement from the
president's office.
President Jacob Zuma and deputy president of the ruling African National Congress, Cyril Ramaphosa, visited Mr. Mandela at the hospital Sunday evening.
The medical team treating Mr. Mandela told the pair of visitors the condition of the 94-year-old former president had "become critical over the past 24 hours," according to the president's office.
"The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable," Mr. Zuma said referring to Mr. Mandela by his clan name.
For the past two weeks, the presidency has described Mr. Mandela's condition as "serious but stable." On Sunday, Mr. Zuma's spokesman Mac Maharaj described a sharp deterioration of Mr. Mandela's condition but wouldn't provide details, citing the ailing leader's privacy.
"His condition is clearly worse than serious, and clearly he's receiving intensive care treatment," Mr. Maharaj said. "What form that takes I'm not in a position to go into."
Mr. Mandela was admitted on June 8 for treatment of a lung infection, one in a long series of respiratory ailments he has battled since contracting tuberculosis during his 27 years in prison for opposing South Africa's former white-minority apartheid regime.
This is his fourth hospitalization since December. The visits have caused ripples of anxiety in South Africa, where Mr. Mandela has long been a unifying figure in a racially-polarized nation.
Mr. Mandela became the country's first black president after leading his African National Congress party to power in the 1994 elections on a platform of forgiveness and racial reconciliation. He served one five-year term before stepping down to focus on charity and advocacy work.
He retired from public life in 2004, and his appearances have been rare. At the opening of 2010 World Cup soccer tournament, which South Africa hosted, Mr. Mandela was driven around the stadium in a golf cart to rapturous applause.
In a statement, Jackson Mthembu, a spokesman for the ANC, said: "the African National Congress joins the presidency in calling upon all of us to keep President Mandela, his family and his medical team in our thoughts and prayers during this trying time."
Though Mr. Mandela doesn't figure as a politician any more, he remains a symbol of the promise unfulfilled by party and a country that is going through wrenching economic and political change.
Economic growth has slowed to under 1% in the first quarter of this year and unemployment among young people is close to 80%. Many young black South Africans, born after the dawn of democracy in 1994, are channeling their frustration toward the ruling ANC.
Protests in predominantly black townships have erupted over poor public services and a dearth of opportunity.
In his statement announcing Mr. Mandela's deteriorating condition, Mr. Zuma also defended the care he has received. CBS News reported over the weekend that the ambulance carrying Mr. Mandela to the hospital on June 8 broke down, leaving him lying in critical condition on a Johannesburg highway until he could be transferred to another vehicle.
Mr. Zuma's office confirmed that Mr. Mandela had needed to be transferred to a second ambulance, but denied his care was compromised. "There were seven doctors in the convoy who were in full control of the situation throughout the period," Mr. Zuma said. "He had expert medical care."
Source: http://planehealth.blogspot.com/2013/06/south-africa-says-nelson-mandelas.html
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New player is critical to unleashing T cells against disease
June 23, 2013 ? A major study from researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology provides new revelations about the intricate pathways involved in turning on T cells, the body's most important disease-fighting cells, and was published today in the scientific journal Nature.
The La Jolla Institute team is the first to prove that a certain type of protein, called septins, play a critical role in activating a calcium channel on the surface of the T cell. The channel is the portal through which calcium enters T cells from the blood stream, an action essential for the T cell's survival, activation, and ability to fight disease.
Patrick Hogan and Anjana Rao, Ph.D.s, are senior authors on the paper and Sonia Sharma and Ariel Quintana, Ph.D.s, are co-first authors. Drs. Sharma, Rao and Hogan are former researchers at Harvard Medical School with high-level genetics expertise who joined the La Jolla Institute in 2010. Dr. Quintana conducted advanced microscopy that was a major aspect of the study.
Dr. Hogan describes the discovery as another important step in understanding the overall functioning of T cells -- knowledge from which new, more precisely targeted drugs to treat diseases ranging from cancer to viral infections can emerge. "It's like working on an engine, you have to know what all the parts are doing to repair it," he says. "We want to understand the basic machinery inside a T cell. This will enable us to target the specific pressure points to turn up a T cell response against a tumor or virus or to turn it down in the case of autoimmune diseases."
The findings were published in a Nature paper entitled "An siRNA screen for NFAT activation identifies septins as coordinators of store-operated Ca2+ entry."
"We have found that the septin protein is a very strong regulator of the calcium response, which is essential for activating immune cells," says Dr. Sharma, who was recently appointed to a faculty position, and now leads her own independent laboratory at the La Jolla Institute, in addition to serving as scientific director of the newly established RNAi screening center.
Dr. Hogan says the discovery took the research team by surprise. "We knew septins existed in the cellular plasma (surface) membrane, but we didn't know they had anything to do with calcium signaling," he says. Septins are known to build scaffolding to provide structural support during cell division.
This finding builds on Dr. Rao and Dr. Hogan's groundbreaking discovery in 2006 showing that the protein ORAI1 forms the pore of the calcium channel. The channel's entryway had been one of the most sought after mysteries in biomedical science because it is the gateway to T cell functioning and, consequently, to better understanding how the body uses these cells to fight disease.
To the research team's surprise, the septins were forming a ring around the calcium channel. "We aren't sure why, but we theorize that the septins are rearranging the cellular membrane's structure to "corral" the key proteins STIM and ORAI1, and maybe other factors needed for the calcium channel to operate," says Dr. Hogan.
Dr. Sharma adds that, "essentially we believe the septins are choreographing the interaction of these two proteins that are important in instigating the immune response." Without the septins' involvement, T cell activation does not occur.
In the study, the researchers devised a simple visual readout of activity in a main pathway responsible for activation of T cells -- the same pathway that is targeted by the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A that is used clinically -- and looked for impairment of the activity when individual genes were, in effect, deleted. After sorting through the roughly 20,000 human genes, they turned up 887 gene "hits," says Dr. Hogan.
With further experiments, they should be able to classify those hits into genes that affect the calcium channel itself and genes that act later in the pathway. "We are hopeful that one or more of these genes can be used as a clinical target for new drugs to treat transplant rejection and immune diseases, some of the same indications now treated with cyclosporine A," adds Dr. Hogan. He believes that a medication aimed at an early step of calcium entry through the ORAI channel could be more effective and have fewer side effects than cyclosporin A, which targets a later step in the pathway and can cause complications such as kidney disease.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/uf267gV8CMA/130623144925.htm
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Week 8 of Jackson trial features experts, emotion
FILE - In this March 5, 2009 file photo, US singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, which he announced at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert testified on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Los Angeles that Jackson was suffering from total sleep deprivation at the time of his death in June 2009 and the condition would have shortened his life unless it was properly treated. The Harvard University sleep researcher testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)
FILE - In this March 5, 2009 file photo, US singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, which he announced at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert testified on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Los Angeles that Jackson was suffering from total sleep deprivation at the time of his death in June 2009 and the condition would have shortened his life unless it was properly treated. The Harvard University sleep researcher testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)
This handout photo released by the LA Superior Court and presented as evidence shows an undated thank you note from 2009 written by Paris Jackson to chef Kai Chase, thanking her for gifts bought for the family at Disneyland. Chase testified on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, about the lives of Michael Jackson?s children and their father?s devotion to them. Her recollections came in a trial in Los Angeles being pursued by Jackson?s mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live LLC, claiming the company failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009. (AP Photo/LA Superior Court)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A look at key moments this past week in the wrongful death trial in Los Angeles between Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and concert giant AEG Live LLC, and what is expected at court in the week ahead:
THE CASE
Jackson's mother wants a jury to determine that the promoter of Jackson's planned comeback concerts didn't properly investigate Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a criminal jury for Jackson's June 2009 death. AEG's attorney says the case is about personal choice, namely Jackson's decision to have Murray serve as his doctor and give him doses of a powerful anesthetic as a sleep aid. Millions, possibly billions, of dollars are at stake.
WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEK
? Jackson's personal chef Kai Chase told jurors about Jackson's relationship with his children as well as her impressions that the singer appeared weaker in the final weeks of his life. She recounted numerous tender moments, including a party Jackson threw for his daughter Paris on her 11th birthday, complete with a private circus.
? Charles Czeisler, an expert sleep researcher from Harvard University, told jurors that Jackson was totally sleep-deprived by the time of his death because the singer's use of propofol was not giving him actual sleep but was akin to being in a drug-induced coma.
WHAT THE JURY SAW
? Jurors got their first glimpse of Jackson's oldest children, Prince and Paris, testifying. An AEG lawyer played short clips of the pair to challenge testimony offered by Chase. The two-minute clip of Paris Jackson's testimony showed her alternately looking down and at an AEG Live attorney as she described her father's rocky relationship with her former nanny.
? The jury was shown several images related to how Jackson raised his children, including a handwritten note that Paris wrote Chase thanking her for several gifts she bought for the family while at Disneyland.
QUOTABLE MOMENTS
? "It was the most beautiful expression of love I've ever seen," Chase said about a Cirque du Soleil-style circus that Jackson hired for Paris' 11th birthday.
? "The meticulous detailing of his deterioration here was both profound and sad," Czeisler said of emails documenting Jackson's missed rehearsals and inability to perform songs and dance moves without tour worker being afraid he would hurt himself.
WHAT'S NEXT
? Jurors will hear from an expert in medical conflict of interest cases and may also hear testimony from Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of AEG Live's parent company, the Anshutz Entertainment Group. Leiweke's testimony may be shown to jurors from his videotaped deposition.
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Four Egyptian Shi'ites killed in attack by Sunni Muslims
CAIRO (Reuters) - Four Egyptian Shi'ites were killed on Sunday in an attack by Sunni Muslims fearing the spread of Shi'ite Islam in Egypt, according to reports by state media, witnesses and security sources.
Residents of the town of Zawiyat Abu Muslim in Giza province on the outskirts of Cairo surrounded the home of a prominent Shi'ite after learning he was hosting a religious gathering, witnesses and security sources told Reuters.
The residents beat the guests and threw petrol bombs at the house, setting it on fire, the sources said. The state newspaper al-Ahram said four Shi'ites had been taken to hospital, and the Health Ministry later said four people injured in the attack had died.
President Mohamed Mursi and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood have this month thrown their weight behind a call for jihad in Syria by fellow Sunni Islamists across the Middle East, heightening awareness of sectarian frictions in Egypt, where Shi'ites are a small minority.
Tension among Egypt's hardline Sunnis over the spread of Shi'ism has been increased by a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called for a strategic alliance with Egypt.
Nothing came of that proposal, but around 100 Sunni Islamists demonstrated in front of a senior Iranian diplomat's residence in April to protest against Egypt's decision to admit commercial flights from Iran.
(Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/four-egyptian-shiites-killed-attack-sunni-muslims-215919629.html
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Bret Michaels survives bus crash
5 hours ago
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Bret Michaels.
Bret Michaels is one lucky guy.
After a string of health scares and another bus accident back in 2009, the singer has escaped serious injury again, after his tour bus hit several deer on the way to his show in Biloxi, Miss., Friday morning.
NEWS: Bret Michaels talks trashing a hotel room with Charlie Sheen
"Except for some bumps and bruises I am thankful there were no serious injuries," Michaels told Celebuzz. "It is unfortunate for the deer, but thankfully due to modern RV technology and a steel firewall we are all OK. I have every intention to make tonight's show in Biloxi and the tour will continue."
The former Poison frontman only sustained minor cuts and bruises, according to the site.
This is just the latest in a series of scares for Michaels.
PHOTOS: Bret Michaels tweets Eva Longoria birthday greetings with a picture of Kim Kardashian
In 2010, he was hospitalized for appendicitis, a stroke, and a brain hemorrhage, which he suffered after banging his head at the Tony Awards in 2009.
And in 2011, he underwent surgery after doctors found a hole in his heart.
Just call him Mr. Unbreakable.
PHOTOS: Check out Bret Michaels' big moments!
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/bret-michaels-survives-bus-crash-minor-injuries-6C10418979
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Iran state TV lauds new president's nuke stance
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's president-elect believes it's possible to strike a deal that would allow the Islamic Republic to keep enriching uranium while assuring the West it will not produce a nuclear weapon.
Hasan Rowhani also said his government would look for a win-win deal to resolve disputes with the United States, following three decades of estrangement between the two nations.
His remarks came in an interview recorded four months ago and rerun on Iranian state TV on Friday. The broadcast appeared to be intended to underline his pledge to follow a "path of moderation" and pursue greater openness over Iran's nuclear program.
Rowhani, Iran's former top nuclear negotiator, won a landslide victory in the June 14 presidential election. He is set to take office in August, when he will replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Although Iran's president cannot set policy on major decisions such as the nuclear program, he can influence views by the ruling clerics. Rowhani is considered a relative moderate but also has deep ties to Iran's Islamic establishment. In his campaign, he said he favors international outreach and efforts to ease sanctions over Iran's nuclear program.
In the interview, Rowhani suggested that under his presidency, Iran would seek to convince the U.S. and its allies that dialogue ? and not sanctions ? are the way forward.
"We have always told the West that we are ready for confidence building," he said.
On the issue of stalled nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers, Rowhani acknowledged "no practical results were achieved" and stressed that "a deal would represent a practical result."
The six ? U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China ? should work with the U.N. nuclear agency, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, to draw up a formula, Rowhani said.
The formula would allow Iran to keep enriching uranium ? a process that is a possible path to nuclear warheads ? while offering proof that it wasn't leading to nuclear arms.
For Iran, the goal is to find relief from international sanctions that have wreaked havoc on the country's economy. The West suspects Iran intends to build nuclear weapons and has imposed several rounds of draconian measures to force Tehran to account for the program.
Iran denies it is seeking to develop an atomic weapon and insists its nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful ? for generating power and medical research.
"We should reach a point where the West feels that continuing the sanctions would not be to their benefit and that there is a better solution," Rowhani said.
President Barack Obama and other Western leaders remain publicly committed to diplomat efforts though they stress military options against Iranian nuclear sites are not off the table.
"I don't believe in war. War is not to our benefits. It's not to America's benefits. I don't think that the Americans are after war at this point," Rowhani said. "If Americans show sincerity and are ready to resolve the problems between the two countries, a win-win deal is possible."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-state-tv-lauds-presidents-nuke-stance-142915853.html
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Death toll in Indian monsoon flooding exceeds 500
JOSHIMATH, India (AP) ? A top official in a northern Indian state hit by heavy monsoon rains says more than 500 people died in the flooding and landslides.
Uttrakhand's Chief Minister Vijay Bahguna says 556 bodies have been noticed buried deep in slush and the army was trying to recover them. He spoke to CNN-IBN television channel on Friday.
Rescuers also Friday found 40 bodies floating in the River Ganges near Haridwar, a Hindu holy city. The heavy rains caused by the annual monsoon have also stranded tens of thousands, mostly pilgrims, in the mountainous region.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/death-toll-indian-monsoon-flooding-exceeds-500-134837737.html
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BenQ RL2450HT
It's no secret that gaming enthusiasts rely on the fastest PC components available to stay competitive, but not all monitors can keep pace with today's fast moving RTS (Real-Time Strategy) games. To avoid motion smearing and lag you need a monitor with a fast pixel response; a monitor like the BenQ RL2450HT, for example. Designed for gaming, this 24-incher boasts a 2-millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response and a stand that lets you make all sorts of adjustments. It also offers special gaming specific settings and delivers a sharp picture. It uses a TN (twisted nematic) panel, which means you don't get the deep color saturation of an IPS panel, nor do you get the wide viewing angles that come with IPS technology. That said, if you don't mind making a few sacrifices, it is an affordable alternative to our favorite gaming monitor, the BenQ XL2420TX.
Design and Features
The RL2450HT has a design similar to its more expensive sibling, the XL2420TX. Both are housed in a matte black cabinet and both use a splash of red trim on the stand. Unlike the XL2420TX, which uses a wedge-shaped base, the RL2450HT has a round one. It has a Lazy-Susan swivel mechanism on the bottom and the mounting arm provides a little over 4-inches of height adjustability. The hinge used to attach the cabinet to the stand offers tilt maneuverability and allows you to pivot the panel 90 degrees.
The cabinet is 2.4-inches thick and sports 0.75-inch matte black bezels. On the right side of the cabinet are five function buttons and a power switch. The buttons aren't labeled but they don't need to be; pressing any one of them brings up on-screen labeling that corresponds to each button, making it easy to change settings in the dark. Three of the buttons are customizable hot keys that are set at the factory for changing Picture Mode, Display Mode, and Smart Scaling. Picture mode includes nine presets including the usual Standard, Movie, Photo, sRGB, and Eco modes. It also offers an RTS mode that is optimized for gaming; it's a hot picture that enhances shadow detail. There are three additional gamer modes that you can customize with your own specific settings. Display Mode allows you to change the aspect ratio and emulate various panel sizes, and Smart Scaling lets you save display size setting for future use.
The RL2350HT offers a boatload of picture setting options. In addition to brightness and contrast you can adjust sharpness, enhance dark shades with the Black eQualizer, choose one of five gamma settings, adjust the color temperature, and tweak hue and saturation levels. If you're experiencing lag while playing you can enable the Instant Mode option to enhance image processing and speed things up.
The rear of the cabinet is home to DVI, VGA, and HDMI inputs, and all are downward facing. There's also a headphone jack for use with an HDMI signal (the RL2450HT does not have speakers). The monitor comes with VGA and DVI cables but does not include an HDMI cable. It also comes with a three year parts, labor, and backlighting warranty.
Performance
The RL2450HT's color quality is good but could be better with some tweaking. I measured its color accuracy using a colorimeter, images from the DisplayMate LCD diagnostic utility, and SpectraCal's CalMan5 software. The chart below shows where red, green, and blue colors are in relation to the CIE (International Commission On Illumination) values for each color (inside the box is ideal). In this case, reds are a bit weak while greens and blues are slightly oversaturated. None of the colors are off by much, though, and tinting is not an issue.
Grayscale performance was good for a TN panel but not ideal; light and middle shades of grays on the 64-Step Grayscale test were well defined but the two darkest shades of gray were crushed (they appeared black). Viewing angle performance was typical of a TN panel; there was minor color shifting and darkening when viewed from an extreme side angle.
The 2-millisecond pixel response handled fast motion gaming wonderfully. I couldn't detect any ghosting or smearing while playing Company of Heroes and Far Cry 2, and game play was smooth and fluid with no discernable lag.
The RL2450HT used 25 watts of power during testing, which is average for a 24-inch panel. However, enabling Eco mode brought that number down to 15-watts without making the picture to dim. That kind of energy efficiency earns the RL2450HT our Greentech stamp of approval for low energy consumption.
The BenQ RL2450HT offers gamers a fairly reasonably priced monitor with a pixel response that can keep up with the fastest games. It also features plenty of game-centric presets so you don't have to tweak settings whenever you switch games. Its color quality is good, but you may need to calibrate the monitor if you require very accurate colors. A few extra features such as USB ports and speakers would be welcome here. That said, if you have an extra $200 to spend, the BenQ XL2420TX offers more features and better performance, and it is 3D ready, which is why it remains our Editors' Choice for mid-sized gaming monitors.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ePsMDDXWxlg/0,2817,2420785,00.asp
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NVIDIA's Shield now $300, arrives on June 27th (video)
Even before hitting store shelves, NVIDIA's Shield is shedding $50 from its original $350 asking price -- the little Android portable gaming console will cost $300 when it arrives at retail on June 27th. NVIDIA revealed both the new, lower price and release date today in a blog post which cited gamers asking for a lower price as the reason for the change. "We've heard from thousands of gamers that if the price was $299, we'd have a home run," the post reads. As such, the company's aiming for "a home run" with the new price point -- despite $300 being $50 more than a new PlayStation Vita, and just $100 short of a new PlayStation 4.
Folks who pre-ordered aren't out of luck, they'll just be charged $300 when their unit ships rather than $350. As for where you can pick a Shield up outside of NVIDIA's official website ... well, we're waiting on word from the company on supported retailers. We've dropped the video of our hands-on with the final Shield just below, should you wish to relive those memories with us.
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Peripherals, HD, Mobile, NVIDIA
Source: NVIDIA
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সোমবার, ২৯ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩
Syrian premier escapes bomb attack in Damascus
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian fire fighters extinguishing burning cars after a car bomb exploded in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 29, 2013. State-run Syrian TV says the country's prime minister has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy. The TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the attack in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian fire fighters extinguishing burning cars after a car bomb exploded in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 29, 2013. State-run Syrian TV says the country's prime minister has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy. The TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the attack in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian fire fighters extinguishing burning cars after a car bomb exploded in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 29, 2013. State-run Syrian TV says the country's prime minister has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy. The TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the attack in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian fire fighters extinguishing burning cars after a car bomb exploded in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 29, 2013. State-run Syrian TV says the country's prime minister has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy. Syrian TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the attack in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a Syrian man reacts after a car bomb exploded in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 29, 2013. State-run Syrian TV says the country's prime minister has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy. Syrian TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the attack. (AP Photo/SANA)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT -- This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrians carrying a charred body after a car bomb exploded in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 29, 2013. State-run Syrian TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqir has escaped unhurt in an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy. (AP Photo/SANA)
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Syria's prime minister escaped an assassination attempt Monday when a bomb exploded near his convoy in Damascus, state media reported, in the latest attack to target a top government official.
Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was not hurt in the explosion in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, state TV said. The TV showed video of heavily damaged cars and debris in the area as firefighters fought to extinguish a large blaze set off by the blast.
A government official said two people were killed and 11 wounded, while the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group said the explosion killed at least five, including two of al-Halqi's bodyguards and one of the drivers in his convoy.
The government official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements to reporters.
As evidence that the prime minister was unhurt, the state-run Al-Ikhbariya station said al-Halqi went into a regular weekly meeting with an economic committee just after the bombing. The station broadcast video of the prime minister sitting around a table in a room with several other officials.
But in the recorded comments after the meeting, al-Halqi made no reference to the bombing, nor was he asked about it by reporters, leaving doubt as to whether the video was shot before or after the bombing.
The state news agency quoted al-Halqi as saying that the assassination attempt exposed how armed groups "are bankrupt" after the latest advances made by Syrian troops around the country.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's suicide attack. Such bombings have been a trademark of Islamic extremists fighting in the rebel ranks, raising concerns about their role in Syria's civil war.
Syria's conflict started with largely peaceful anti-government protests in March 2011 but eventually turned into a civil war that has so far killed more than 70,000 people, according to the United Nations.
State TV quoted Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi as saying that targeting al-Halqi, who is in charge of carrying out the political program to end Syria's crisis, shows that some in the opposition "reject a political solution."
In January, al-Halqi formed a ministerial committee for dialogue with opposition groups. The dialogue is part of a peace plan, including a national reconciliation conference, that Assad outlined in a speech that month.
The opposition insists it will not accept anything less than Assad's departure, and no progress has been reported from the dialogue since it was announced.
A Syrian government official told The Associated Press that an improvised explosive device was placed under a car that was parked in the area and was detonated as al-Halqi's convoy passed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
The attack in the highly secure Mazzeh neighborhood took place only about 100 meters (yards) from the Swiss ambassador's residence. The posh area also is home to a major military air base. Security forces sealed off the area, allowing only pedestrians to get near the scene of the bombing.
Damaged cars, their seats soaked with blood, were surrounded by debris. A blackened shell of a school bus was left standing. A man told state TV that none of the students on board were hurt because the explosion went off shortly after they had left the bus and entered the school.
Later Monday, the Observatory reported that nine people, including four fighters and three civilians, were killed in government airstrikes on al-Halqi's home village of Jassem in the southern province of Daraa.
The attack was just the latest targeting a senior official in the Syrian capital during the past year.
On July 18, a blast at Syria's national security building in Damascus during a meeting of Cabinet ministers killed top four officials, including the defense minister and his deputy, who was Assad's brother-in-law. That attack also wounded the interior minister.
In December, a car bomb targeted the Interior Ministry in Damascus, killing several people and wounding more than 20, including Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar. Initially, Syrian state media said al-Shaar was not hurt in the Dec. 12 blast. News of his wounds emerged a week later, after he was taken to neighboring Lebanon to be treated for a serious back injury.
This month, Ali Ballan, head of public relations at the Ministry of Social Affairs and a member of Syria's relief agency, was shot dead while dining in a restaurant in Mazzeh.
Al-Halqi, a senior member of Assad's ruling Baath party, took office last year after his predecessor, Riad Hijab, defected to Jordan. Al-Halqi was Syria's health minister before taking the post.
Elsewhere in Syria, the Observatory reported fighting Monday near the Damascus International Airport south of the capital. The group said there were also clashes in the northern neighborhood of Barzeh and shelling of the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, south of Damascus.
The Observatory and another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, reported clashes and air raids around the military helicopter base of Mannagh near the border with Turkey in the northern province of Aleppo.
Also Monday, a new jihadi group calling itself the "Ahrar al-Bekaa Brigades" announced its establishment and warned the pro-Syrian Lebanese militant Hezbollah group to stop intervening in the Syrian civil war or face attacks in Lebanon.
According to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks Islamist extremist messages, the statement was distributed on pro-Syrian revolution Facebook pages Sunday.
In the statement, the previously unheard of group claimed that Hezbollah is acting on Iran's orders to "slaughter" the Syrian people. It pledged to prevent Hezbollah's intervention "with all means and ways, even if we have to move the fight to the inside of the Lebanese territory."
The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah is known to be backing regime fighters in Shiite villages near the Lebanon border against the mostly Sunni rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. The Syrian opposition accuses Hezbollah of taking part in the Syrian military crackdown.
___
Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed.
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Two bizarre endings mar UFC 159 prelims
The UFC debut of two Strikeforce light heavyweights was spoiled by a odd ending. Ovince St-Preux beat Gian Villante in a majority technical decision after the fight was stopped because of a poke to the eye.
After a back-and-forth, but not entirely thrilling bout, St-Preux threw a punch and accidentally poked Villante in the eye. Villante stepped back and crouched down, indicating to referee Kevin Mulhall that there was a problem with the eye. Mulhall asked Villante if he could see, and Villante said no, he couldn't see.
At that point, Mulhall waved his arms and the fight was stopped. Villante protested, but the fight was over. Because the round had started, it had to be judged. The scores were 30-28, 29-28 and 29-29 in St-Preux's favor.
?I couldn?t see. He did poke me in the eye so I don?t know," Villante said after the fight. "He said the fight was over and I didn?t expect that because I was just reacting to his question. I got poked and my eye was closed up so I thought he would stop it but he didn?t, he just kind of looked at me. I don?t understand how you score thirty seconds of a round and that?s how I lost? We were just getting going and I got poked in the eye. I don?t know what to say.?
Mulhall's stoppage adhered to the eyepoke rule, if not literally, then in spirit. When a fighter says he can't see, the fight is stopped. However, Mulhall could have used better communication and followed procedures. It would have been better if he explained to Villante that he didn't have time to recover and that the fight would be stopped if he said he couldn't see.
UFC 159's weird streak continued in the very next bout. Rustam Khabilov and Yancy Medeiros' fight was stopped halfway through the first round. Medeiros defended a Khabilov takedown attempt, but hit his hand awkwardly. His thumb ended up pointing a way thumbs are not supposed to point and the bout was stopped at 2:32 of the first round.
Two weird endings marred the preliminary card, but the UFC rarely lets a weird ending go. Quite often, these fights get a rematch, so don't be shocked if you see these fights happen again on a card this summer.
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Miss. man charged in ricin letters case
BRANDON, Miss. (AP) ? An ex-martial arts instructor made ricin and put the poison in letters to President Barack Obama and others, the FBI charged Saturday, days after dropping similar charges against an Elvis impersonator who insisted he had been framed.
The arrest of 41-year-old James Everett Dutschke early Saturday capped a week in which investigators initially zeroed in on a rival of Dutschke's, then decided they had the wrong man. The hunt for a suspect revealed tie after small-town tie between the two men and the 80-year-old county judge who, along with Obama and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, was among the targets of the letters.
Dutschke's house, business and vehicles in Tupelo were searched earlier in the week often by crews in hazardous materials suits and he had been under surveillance.
Dutschke (pronounced DUHS'-kee) was charged with "knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining and possessing a biological agent, toxin and delivery system, for use as a weapon, to wit: ricin." U.S. attorney Felicia Adams and Daniel McMullen, the FBI agent in charge in Mississippi, made the announcement in a news release Saturday.
Dutschke's attorney, Lori Nail Basham, said she had no comment. Earlier this week she said that Dutschke was cooperating fully with investigators and Dutschke has insisted he had nothing to do with the letters. He was arrested about 12:50 a.m. at his house in Tupelo and is expected in court Monday. He faces up to life in prison, if convicted.
He already had legal problems. Earlier this month, he pleaded not guilty in state court to two child molestation charges involving three girls younger than 16. He also was appealing a conviction on a different charge of indecent exposure. He told AP earlier this week that his lawyer told him not to comment on those cases.
The letters, which tests showed were tainted with ricin, were sent April 8 to Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Mississippi judge, Sadie Holland.
Wicker spokesman Ryan Taylor said since the investigation was ongoing, the senator couldn't comment.
The first suspect fingered by the FBI was Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, an Elvis impersonator. He was arrested on April 17 at his Corinth, Miss., home, but the charges were dropped six days later and Curtis, who says he was framed, was released from jail.
The focus then turned to Dutschke, who has ties to the former suspect, the judge and the senator. Earlier in the week, as investigators searched his primary residence in Tupelo, Dutschke told The Associated Press, "I don't know how much more of this I can take."
"I'm a patriotic American. I don't have any grudges against anybody. ... I did not send the letters," Dutschke said.
Curtis' attorney, Christi McCoy, said Saturday: "We are relieved but also saddened. This crime is nothing short of diabolical. I have seen a lot of meanness in the past two decades, but this stops me in my tracks."
Some of the language in the letters was similar to posts on Curtis' Facebook page and they were signed, "I am KC and I approve this message." Curtis' signoff online was often similar.
And Dutschke and Curtis were acquainted. Curtis said they had talked about possibly publishing a book on a conspiracy that Curtis insists he has uncovered to sell body parts on a black market. But he said they later had a feud.
Curtis' attorneys have said they believe their client was set up. An FBI agent testified that no evidence of ricin was found in searches of Curtis' home. Curtis attorney Hal Neilson said the defense gave authorities a list of people who may have had a reason to hurt Curtis and Dutschke came up.
Judge Holland also is a common link between the two men, and both know Wicker.
Holland was the presiding judge in a 2004 case in which Curtis was accused of assaulting a Tupelo attorney a year earlier. Holland sentenced him to six months in the county jail. He served only part of the sentence, according to his brother.
And Holland's family has had political skirmishes with Dutschke. Her son, Steve Holland, a Democratic state representative, said he thinks his mother's only other encounter with Dutschke was at a rally in the town of Verona in 2007, when Dutschke ran as a Republican against Steve Holland.
Holland said his mother confronted Dutschke after he made a derogatory speech about the Holland family. She demanded that he apologize, which Holland says he did.
On Saturday, Steve Holland said he can't say for certain that Dutschke is the person who sent the letter to his mother but added, "I feel confident the FBI knows what they are doing."
"We're ready for this long nightmare to be over," Holland told The Associated Press.
He said he's not sure why someone would target his mother. Holland said he believes Dutschke would have more reason to target him than his mother.
"Maybe he thinks the best way to get to me is to get to the love of my life, which is my mother," Holland said.
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Associated Press writer Jack Elliott Jr. in Jackson contributed to this report.
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Follow Mohr at http://twitter.com/holbrookmohr.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/miss-man-charged-suspicious-letters-case-195839113.html
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