EU data protection reform to replace national laws

BRUSSELS (AP) ? The European Union wants to replace a mishmash of national laws on data protection with one bloc-wide reform, updating laws put in place long before Facebook and other social networking sites even existed.

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Monday that social networks must become more open about how they operate. Under her proposals, businesses ? including Internet service providers ? would have additional responsibilities, such as having to inform users of what data about them is being collected, for what purpose, and how it is stored.

EU regulators have been concerned about how commercial online services use customers' personal data to attract advertisers, saying they want to make sure that citizens' Internet privacy rights are respected.

"All social network service providers active in the EU must fully comply with EU data protection laws," Reding said. "Companies have a specific responsibility when personal data is their main economic asset,"

Existing EU laws date to 1995, long before Facebook and other social networking sites existed. EU officials expect the draft legislation to be ready early next year, and after that, it could take up to 18 months for the bill to become law.

The EU has to iron out differences between its members over privacy issues. Countries like France and Germany favor stronger protections for privacy, while Ireland, Britain and others prefer more market-friendly rules.

A Eurobarometer survey this summer found that 75 percent of Europeans are worried about how companies ? including search engines like Google and social networks like Facebook or LinkedIn ? use their private information.

The proposed reform also would help businesses by replacing the current patchwork of 27 national regulations, she said.

"They need ... to have a 'one-stop-shop' when it comes to data protection matters, one law and one single data protection authority," Reding told the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU. "I want to drastically cut red tape."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-28-EU-Data-Protection/id-77a7f5ea9d5248ad8c1c15bf7a8dcc55

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Bahrain report: excessive force in crackdowns

A Bahraini woman walks down a narrow street in the western Shiite village of Malkiya, Bahrain, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, painted and repainted with anti-government graffiti and hung with religious banners for the Islamic month of Muharram, a time of Shiite mourning for Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's founding prophet Mohamed. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

A Bahraini woman walks down a narrow street in the western Shiite village of Malkiya, Bahrain, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, painted and repainted with anti-government graffiti and hung with religious banners for the Islamic month of Muharram, a time of Shiite mourning for Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's founding prophet Mohamed. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

A Bahraini boy plays in a narrow street in the western Shiite village of Malkiya, Bahrain, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, painted with graffiti urging political prisoners to be freed. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

A Bahraini child peers from a home in the western Shiite village of Malkiya, Bahrain, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Graffiti on the side of the building reads: "For sure, victory is coming." (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) ? With Bahrain's king watching, the chief investigator asked to probe his government's crackdowns gave a blow-by-blow reckoning Wednesday of torture, excessive force and fast-track justice in attempts to crush the largest Arab spring uprising in the Gulf.

The investigator, Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, also said there was no evidence of Iranian links to Bahrain's Shiite-led protests. That was a clear rebuke Gulf leaders, who accuse Tehran of playing a role in the 10-month-old showdown in the Western-allied kingdom.

The 500-page study ? authorized by Bahrain's Sunni rulers in a bid to ease tensions ? marks the most comprehensive document on security force actions during any of the revolts that have flared across the Arab world this year. It also displayed a stunning image of a powerful Arab monarch facing a harsh public reckoning, as King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa listened somberly to a bullet-point summary of the report's conclusions.

Bassiouni's summary read like a checklist of complaints by rights groups since February: Middle-of-the-night raids to "create fear," purges from workplaces and universities, jail house abuses including electric shocks and beatings and destruction of Shiite mosques that "gave the impression of collective punishment."

At least 35 people have been killed in violence related to the uprising, including several members of the security forces.

It appeared unlikely that even the strong criticism would satisfy opposition forces, who accused the Sunni monarchy of using all methods at its disposal to avoid sharing power with the nation's Shiite majority. Just hours before the long-awaited report was released, security forces used tear gas and stun grenades in the latest of nearly daily clashes on the strategic island, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

"What is really needed is to hold the perpetrators responsible and bring them to justice," said Khalil al-Marzooq, a senior official with the biggest Shiite opposition party, Al Wefaq, which pulled out of parliament this spring to protest the harsh tactics against protesters.

There were no immediate signs of escalating street protests after the report was issued. In one area, protesters blocked roads and chanted slogans against the ruling family.

In Wahington, the White House commended the king for appointing the commission and said in a statement that it is "incumbent upon the government of Bahrain to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and put in place institutional changes to ensure that such abuses do not happen again."

The inquest was seen as a bold step in a region of monarchs and sheiks who rarely acknowledge shortcomings or face uncomfortable criticism in public.

Bahrain's government promised "no immunity" for anyone suspected of abuses and said it would propose creating a permanent human rights commission.

"All those who have broken the law or ignored lawful orders and instructions will be held accountable," said a government statement, adding that the report notes that the "systematic practice of mistreatment" ended shortly after martial law was repealed on June 1.

Bahrain's Shiites comprise about 70 percent of the island nation's 525,000 citizens. They have complained of widespread discrimination such as being blocked from top government or military posts. The monarchy has offered some concessions, but refused to bow to protest demands to surrender control of all top positions and main policies.

"A number of detainees were tortured ... which proved there was a deliberate practice by some," said Bassiouni, whose report covered the period between Feb. 14 and March 30.

The report also was highly critical of a special security court created under martial law that "overtook the national system of justice" and issued harsh sentences ? including life in prison and death row rulings ? that "denied most defendants elementary fair trial guarantees."

The document spotlighted abuses at the island's main hospital, the state-run Salmaniya Medical Center. The authorities saw its mostly Shiite staff as opposition sympathizers. Dozens of doctors and nurses who treated injured protesters were detained during crackdown. Many were sentenced to five to 15 year prison sentences. Their appeal will be heard in a civilian court.

"All reports indicated that there were protests, and indeed chaos, in the SMC," the report says. It adds, "The hospital generally continued to function normally" through the unrest.

Bahrain has abolished the security court. Bassiouni urged Bahrain to review all the security court verdicts and drop charges against all those accused of nonviolent acts such as joining or supporting the protests.

"You found real shortcomings from some government institutions," Bahrain's king told Bassiouni, an Egyptian-born professor of international criminal law and a former member of U.N. human rights panels.

But the king lashed back at finding that Iran did not influence the uprising, saying his government could not provide clear evidence but insisting Tehran's role was clear to "all who have eyes and ears."

Bahrain is a critical U.S. all,y and Washington has taken a cautious line because of what's at stake: urging Bahrain's leaders to open more dialogue with the opposition, but avoiding too much public pressure.

In a statement Wednesday, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said the report is an important moment for Bahrain that has lived through a year of events that were "highly traumatic."

"Political reform in Bahrain will not come easily, but it is critical for the healing process," Kerry said.

For Gulf leaders, led by powerful Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is seen as a firewall to keep pro-reform protests from spreading further across the region. Sunni Gulf rulers have rallied behind the kingdom's embattled monarchy and sent in military reinforcements during the height of the crackdowns and Saudi-led units still remain.

___

Murphy reported from Dubai.

Online: http://files.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-23-ML-Bahrain/id-179c6e1e57be4ebdb30d3f320c3ad364

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Tumor-specific pathway identified

ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2011) ? A research team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists has identified an atypical metabolic pathway unique to some tumors, possibly providing a future target for drugs that could reduce or halt the spread of cancer.

Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis, senior author of the study published Nov. 20 in Nature, likened the newly discovered pathway to traffic that is rerouted during a highway construction project.

"If we hone in on this reverse pathway, then we may be able to prevent the growth of certain types of cancer," said Dr. DeBerardinis, assistant professor of pediatrics and a physician scientist in the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development. "It's long been thought that targeting tumor-specific metabolic pathways would lead to an effective way to treat cancer. This is one of the few metabolic pathways that may actually exist specifically in tumors."

The pathway involves the Krebs cycle, a series of chemical reactions that generates energy and is considered one of the most familiar and widely studied processes in biology. In the normal cycle, energy is derived by the breakdown of acetate from ingested carbohydrates, fats and proteins into carbon dioxide and water.

For more than 70 years, biology textbooks have depicted the Krebs cycle as running clockwise in normal cells. UT Southwestern researchers found that in some tumors the cycle runs in reverse.

The discovery is the latest milestone in a long line of scientific inquiry that began in the 1920s when biochemists first recognized metabolic differences between cancer cells and normal cells. Scientists since have thought they could stop the growth of cancer cells with drugs that target only tumor-specific pathways, leaving normal cells unaffected.

Researchers have identified only a few such therapeutic windows, the latest of which appears to be the reverse Krebs cycle pathway identified by Dr. DeBerardinis and colleagues in this investigation.

"There is no pathway that has been more extensively studied over the years than the Krebs cycle," Dr. DeBerardinis said. "The fact that with relatively modest manipulation, it can run in reverse is incredibly fascinating."

Dr. James K.V. Willson, director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, said the findings are significant.

"We are learning that certain cancers have previously unrecognized mutations in genes controlling metabolism -- and these abnormalities are providing new therapeutic opportunities," he said.

Andrew Mullen, a graduate student in genetics and development at UT Southwestern, was first author of the paper. Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study were Dr. Eunsook Jin, instructor in the Advanced Imaging Research Center; Pei-Hsuan Chen, graduate student in integrative biology; and Dr. Tzuling Cheng, a postdoctoral researcher in pediatrics. Scientists from Northwestern University and from the National Cancer Institute also participated.

The project was funded in part with a grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by UT Southwestern Medical Center.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Andrew R. Mullen, William W. Wheaton, Eunsook S. Jin, Pei-Hsuan Chen, Lucas B. Sullivan, Tzuling Cheng, Youfeng Yang, W. Marston Linehan, Navdeep S. Chandel, Ralph J. DeBerardinis. Reductive carboxylation supports growth in tumour cells with defective mitochondria. Nature, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/nature10642

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111122113006.htm

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Egypt's latest uprising has a more violent feel

A protester overwhelmed by tear gas, center, is aided by two men on a motorcycle during clashes with Egyptian riot police, not pictured, near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Egypt's ruling military moved up the date for transferring power to a civilian government to July next year and consulted Tuesday with political parties on forming a new Cabinet. But the major concessions were immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square threatening a "second revolution." (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

A protester overwhelmed by tear gas, center, is aided by two men on a motorcycle during clashes with Egyptian riot police, not pictured, near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Egypt's ruling military moved up the date for transferring power to a civilian government to July next year and consulted Tuesday with political parties on forming a new Cabinet. But the major concessions were immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square threatening a "second revolution." (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

An Egyptian riot police officer, center, throws a stone towards protestors near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Egypt's military leader promised a faster transition to civilian rule, saying Tuesday that presidential elections will be held by the end of June 2012. But the major concession was immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square who responded with chants of "leave, leave" now. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters chant slogans during clashes near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Egypt's ruling military moved up the date for transferring power to a civilian government to July next year and consulted Tuesday with political parties on forming a new Cabinet. But the major concessions were immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square threatening a "second revolution." (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A protester looks on as he wears a mask during clashes with the Egyptian riot police near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Egypt's ruling military moved up the date for transferring power to a civilian government to July next year and consulted Tuesday with political parties on forming a new Cabinet. But the major concessions were immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square threatening a "second revolution." (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters run for cover from tear gas during clashes with the Egyptian riot police near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Egypt's civilian Cabinet has offered to resign after three days of violent clashes in many cities between demonstrators and security forces, but the action failed to satisfy protesters deeply frustrated with the new military rulers. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

CAIRO (AP) ? Not everyone was pleased Tuesday when crowds in Tahrir Square revived chants of "Peaceful! Peaceful!" that were heard nine months ago during the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

A group of young men, their eyes and noses red from tear gas fired at rock-throwing protesters nearby, shook their heads.

"Enough 'peaceful' already!" one said.

The latest demonstrations against the military leaders who replaced Mubarak are more explosive and violent than those in January and February ? something that pro-democracy activists had warned might happen as the ruling generals stumbled in carrying out sweeping reforms.

Protesters hurl rocks and firebombs. Security forces fire tear gas, rubber bullets and bird shot. The number of wounded piles up at an average of 80 per hour. Angry cries of "thuggery" and "dirty government" echo among the buildings. The death toll has risen steadily.

The violence Monday and Tuesday centered around the headquarters of the Interior Ministry, which runs the police, in the side streets a few blocks from Tahrir Square.

In the earlier demonstrations, protesters rarely approached the headquarters. But in a sign of the greater aggression in the past four days, they have marched repeatedly on the building and were met by a heavy response. Police and military around the ministry fired tear gas and moved in, beating and dragging away some of the activists.

The protests have reignited as feelings arose among many Egyptians that their revolution has been undermined by the military. Trials of former regime members have stalled, the economy has deteriorated, streets are less secure, activists have been hauled before military tribunals, and the generals have been reluctant in giving an exact date for transferring power to a civilian government and parliament.

There are also complaints that little has been done to reform the security forces, which rights groups say still torture detainees. The lack of trials for those behind the deaths of about 850 people in last winter's uprising also has led protesters to target the Interior Ministry.

Many say the violence against protesters brought them back to the square.

"We can't accept the same humiliating, inhuman treatment by the police. Enough," said Saad Abdel-Hamid, who showed up after work Tuesday, still in a sport coat. "Egyptians want a real, democratic country, but we realize this won't come easy. People are still making sacrifices every day."

It's clear that some of the protesters and the black-clad police ? a hated symbol of the Mubarak era ? are acting as if they have scores to settle from January and February.

While a feeling of uncertainty loomed over the first uprising because many Egyptians at the time thought the ouster of Mubarak to be a nearly impossible task, the Tahrir protesters this time around are determined not to leave until Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi steps down along with the rest of the generals on the ruling council.

Before the death toll started rising, protesters spoke only of their demand that power be transferred from the military council to an elected president no later than April 2012. After the deaths, they called for an immediate transfer, although there is no consensus on who should receive it.

Some want a civilian council to be chosen from Tahrir. Democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei and Islamist moderate Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotuh are among the names floated as members of such a council.

Politicians who try to take a stage or hold a loudspeaker are shouted down. On social network sites, activists call for setting fire to podiums and not allowing anyone to "hijack the revolution."

Also unwelcome is Egypt's most organized and influential group ? the Muslim Brotherhood ? and its political arm. Protesters heckled and threw water bottles at the party's spokesman, Mohammed el-Beltagi, when he visited the square Monday.

The Brotherhood refused to join the protests, saying that the parliamentary election due to start Nov. 28 is the way to transfer power. The group is set to win more seats in parliament than any other political party.

The new dynamics in Tahrir Square began to take shape after four days of confrontations, and the determination of the protesters suggests they won't be leaving soon ? unless security forces try to clear the area.

Teams of volunteers provide medical aid, food and blankets, and motorcycles rush the wounded to field clinics. Youths in gas masks and goggles take shifts. Some have slings, while others make firebombs from soft drink bottles filled with gasoline.

A half-naked young man took his position over a charred car with an Egyptian flag in one hand as he flashed a V-for-victory sign with the other. He signaled when protesters should stand fast and when they should flee the tear gas.

A few yards (meters) of no man's land covered with rocks and ashes separated the two sides, with protesters chanting, "Say it! Don't be afraid! The marshal must leave!"

Tires are set ablaze so demonstrators can hide behind the thick, black smoke.

Unlike the January and February uprising, the square is not family-friendly. The crowd is mostly poor and middle class Egyptians with a grudge against military rule. Others are those wounded by police in the earlier protests and relatives of those who were killed, demanding that those responsible face justice.

Two other groups are present: violent, die-hard fans of two of Egypt's top soccer clubs, el-Ahly and Zamalek; and ultraconservative Salafists who defied clerics' orders to stay away from the protests.

> __

Associated Press writer Ben Hubbard contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-22-ML-Egypt-New-Dynamics/id-1c7da616999e45b0a8a0eeb79d42eaae

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In Baltimore, Mapping The World Of Addiction

Dr. Debra Furr-Holden/Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Addicts' movements around Baltimore are mapped onto images like this, showing levels of violence in each neighborhood. Other maps track things like visible drug use and vacant housing ? all factors that may contribute to an addict's decision to use drugs.

In East Baltimore, not far from rows of abandoned homes and empty warehouses, there's a space-age high rise housing an unusual methadone clinic.

"People come here and participate in studies, and in return they get treatment," Dr. Kenzie Preston tells Laura Sullivan, host of weekends on All Things Considered.

The lab is part of the National Institutes of Health. Preston, who heads research at the lab, and her colleagues provide methadone and drug testing to addicts who come here. Unlike other rehab programs, addicts don't get thrown out if they relapse. That's because researchers want to study those relapses and what makes them happen.

Preston says the 80 participants in her current study carry something very important: a smartphone that's programmed to let them track when they crave drugs, and when they use.

The phones are also set to beep randomly three times a day, and ask a series of questions: Where are you? What are you doing? How are you feeling?

"We want to know the events surrounding that," Preston says. "We're really interested what's triggering drug use, relapse."

The phones are partially disabled to reduce their street value, but associate scientist David Epstein says they don't have a problem with phones being lost or stolen.

"We tell them, if you lose or break one of these, we'll replace it and that's fine," he says. "But if you lose or break a second one, we're going to detox you from the methadone and you can't be in the study anymore. And we hardly ever have to do that. People know that they'd rather stay with us."

The point of the study is to understand why, at the precise moment, an addict decides to use. Epstein says if you ask someone about a relapse after the fact, he or she is going to have trouble recalling it accurately.

"People, whether it's someone who's addicted to drugs or anyone else in the world, make up stories that sort of explain their behavior," he says. "But if you could've been monitoring them in real time, you would see that things didn't happen quite the way they remembered."

Epstein says it's not lying, it's just the way the brain works. The smartphones enable researchers to capture that data in real time.

There's another component to the study: Along with the smartphones, addicts carry GPS loggers, about the size of a pager, that track their movements.

That means Epstein and his colleagues can follow on a map as an addict is sober for weeks, but one day after visiting a particular house or block, that person breaks down and relapses.

Knowing where addicts are when they use ? or even when they're just thinking about using ? gives researchers information about the kinds of places that make addicts want to use drugs. That's where Dr. Debra Furr-Holden comes in.

She's the head of the Drug Investigations, Violence and Environmental Studies lab at Johns Hopkins University. She and her team canvass Baltimore, block by block, looking for clues ? such as discarded vial caps ? about the character of each neighborhood.

"Oftentimes when people purchase heroin, they will flip the cap off the top between where they purchase and where they're using," she says. "And then we consider those to be the bread crumbs."

Abandoned houses, makeshift memorials to murder victims, visible evidence of drug use ? these are all things Furr-Holden catalogues. Then, she turns that data into maps of Baltimore's neighborhoods.

Combining Furr-Holden's maps with the GPS data about addicts' movements could produce unique insights into how those neighborhoods affect people moving through them.

And, says Epstein, it could lead to new treatments, possibly using the smartphones.

"A sort of clinician in your pocket," he says. "You can give them on the spot feedback... and that does seem helpful."

For example, if an addict reports that he's in a high drug-use neighborhood and feeling stressed, the smart phone can flash a reassuring message: Most cravings only last 20 minutes. Hang in there.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/20/142554574/in-baltimore-mapping-the-world-of-addiction?ft=1&f=1007

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Supercommittee Failure Confirms What Most Americans Believe About Congress (Atlantic Politics Channel)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/165275364?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Maya Ana Callender: Don't Forget About Those New York Jets

"J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets!! Jets!!!" This is what every person yells who bleeds green and white on a football day or night because they know the New York Jets are in their flight mode, or as Santonio Holmes likes to say, 'Tone Time,' ready to win this game so they're a step closer holding the Lamordi Trophy. Because everyone knows, when a team holds the Lombardi Trophy, they have every right to say they were the best in the world that year. Yes, the Jets deserve to say that!

I'm definitely not the one who is going to talk bad about the NY Jets because I believe they are strong, tough, fun trash-talkers, intelligent nice guys who all need a Super Bowl ring and many more. The flight boys can make some mistakes every now and again but making mistakes helps people learn to make better choices on and off the field.

The offense is coming together in ways that we may not always have to count on defense to win games. No one really talks about quarterback Mark Sanchez's weapons, so I will! He goes from wide receivers Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes to Jeremy Kerley, then to his tight end number 81, Dustin Keller (remember this name!) and if he wants to run the ball, running backs Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson are there backing him up. While Sanchez is busy throwing the ball, he has the best center, Nick Mangold, leading the offensive line.

When I watch the Jets offense, it gives me the idea that if I put my mind to something, the end results will be fantastic. Touchdown! The Jets defense, though, teaches me to never give up and be tough.

Where should I even begin with their defense? Rex Ryan had made comments about how it would be sweet if his defense were better than the 85 Chicago Bears defense. But 26 years from now, people will want their team to be like the 2011 Jets defense. When I finally own a NFL team in my future, I would want it so bad; I might beg linebackers Bart Scott, David Harris cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and Darrelle Revis to be on my team.

I love number 51 on defense, Aaron Maybin. He is a role model that people should look up to. He dealt with some personal issues in football and out of football by being labeled as a burst to losing a child. To escape from problems, he draws. He doesn't cause issues and I think doesn't want to be a part of any problems unless it involves hitting the quarterback.

Also, Eric Smith and Jim Leonhard are the best safeties in the league. I mean, they would never let a rookie catch a touchdown pass; cough cough, Troy Polamalu.

But one thing I want to tell everyone, including New England Patriot fans: Just because your team won against the Jets before does not mean you guys are the best football team ever and the Jets suck. It means you were better that day. Repeat this in your head a couple of times!

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maya-ana-callender/dont-forget-about-those-n_b_1100161.html

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Australia lifts oil spill fines to $11 million (AP)

CANBERRA, Australia ? Australia has increased maximum fines for ships that spill oil from $1 million to $11 million (US $11 million) in response to a Chinese coal carrier grounding on the Great Barrier Reef.

Parliament passed new laws late Monday for the discharge of oil or oil residue by ships in Australian waters. Shipping companies will also have to contribute to cleanup costs.

The change follows last year's grounding on the world's largest chain of coral reefs by the Shen Neng 1, which spilled nearly 3 tons of fuel oil. The ship's officers were fined about $50,000.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_bi_ge/as_australia_oil_spills

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Ronan Farrow, Son Of Mia Farrow And Woody Allen, Named Rhodes Scholar

NEW YORK (AP) ? The son of actress and activist Mia Farrow and director Woody Allen has been chosen as a Rhodes Scholar.

Ronan Farrow is among 32 American students who will be awarded scholarships to study at Oxford University. It's not the first academic distinction for Farrow, who is a special adviser to the Secretary of State for global youth issues.

He had started college as a child, graduating from Bard College in 2004 when he was 15. He started Yale Law School when he was 17 and graduated in 2009.

He's also worked as special adviser for humanitarian and NGO affairs in the State Department's Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Rhodes scholarships provide all expenses for study at the prestigious university in England.

See more famous Rhodes Scholarship recipients below:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/20/ronan-farrow-son-of-mia-f_n_1103919.html

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Say hello to the iShred, snowboarders' tribute to Steve Jobs (video)

Every third Thursday, the team at California based Signal Snowboards like to spice things up some and make something a little more outside the box. This time around the team decided on creating a fitting tribute to Steve Jobs -- a custom ride complete with built-in iPad -- and thus the iShred was born. By no means a cut-and-shut affair, the team take inspiration from the simple, yet creative, design principles that led to ideas like the iPad Smart Cover. A layer of ABS with a cut out for the screen sits atop an all aluminum base, sandwiching an Apple-esque illuminated Signal logo -- presumably so you know when your WiFi is on while heading off-piste. Power is cleverly supplied only when contact is provided by the presence of a rider. If you think this is all just for show, think again, as they final product gets taken out on the slopes and put through its paces, complete with a bit of après-ski Facetime.

Continue reading Say hello to the iShred, snowboarders' tribute to Steve Jobs (video)

Say hello to the iShred, snowboarders' tribute to Steve Jobs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/19/say-hello-to-the-ishred-snowboarders-tribute-to-steve-jobs-vi/

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Obama cites jobs payoff from Asia trip

BALI, Indonesia?? After a nine-day trip through Asia in which he showed command on the world stage, President Barack Obama headed back Sautrday to debt-deadlocked Washington, where he'll confront fresh reminders of the limits of his power at home.

Obama departed from Bali's international airport Saturday afternoon for a 21-hour flight that, factoring in time-zone changes, was to return him to the White House before dawn Sunday. He'll be arriving days ahead of a deadline for a congressional supercommittee to produce recommendations to attack the country's yawning deficit.

But even though the president spoke to the supercommittee leaders from Air Force One as he headed out of town and urged them to get a deal, the panel is no further along than when Obama left Washington: frozen stuck along partisan lines.

If no agreement is reached, steep cuts would be enacted across the federal government that both sides say they want to avoid, particularly to the defense budget. But no end game was in sight as Obama made his way back home from the other side of the globe.

Also awaiting him are presidential politics heading into the 2012 election year, something Obama largely avoided while traveling in Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia. And with his opponents on the attack over his stewardship of the listless economy, Obama will renew his largely futile efforts to get Congress to pass his jobs bill as he aims to cast Republicans as the ones to blame.

For Obama, it may amount to something of a harsh homecoming after playing proud host in his native Hawaii to a summit of Pacific Rim nations, and traveling on to two countries where he remains highly popular and received warm welcomes.

Obama set out in his Asia-Pacific tour to deepen U.S. engagement in a fast-growing region that the White House views as increasingly critical to America's security and economic prosperity. He achieved some successes, including progress on a regional free-trade deal that could pay off with U.S. jobs, and a new military agreement with Australia that will boost the U.S. defense posture in the region by deploying more marines and U.S. aircraft to Australia.

Obama also announced he was dispatching his secretary of state to Myanmar in a significant step to prod forward reforms in that country, and throughout the trip the complexities of the U.S. relationship with China were on display.

But domestic issues were on Obama's mind as he wrapped up his trip. Obama focused his Saturday morning radio and Internet address on the trade deals he presided over and the jobs they were likely to create back home, including a multi-billion-dollar Boeing sale of commercial planes to Indonesia and a deal to export General Electric engines.

He portrayed his trip around the Pacific Rim as a hunt for new markets.

"As the fastest-growing region in the world, no market is more important to our economic future than the Asia Pacific ? a region where our exports already support five million American jobs," he said.

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In a further reminder of what awaits Obama in Washington, Saturday's Republican address focused on the work of the supercommittee. Sen. Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania, a member of the panel and architect of one of the central GOP proposals, said that despite the fast-approaching deadline he remained hopeful lawmakers could still accomplish some deficit reduction.

"We have what is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pass legislation that will generate millions of jobs, create a simpler, fairer tax system with lower rates for everyone, and put our government on a path toward fiscal sanity," he said.

On China, throughout his trip Obama sent both public and private signals to the rising giant, cementing American power in a manner seen to counter China, and scolding Chinese leaders about the need to play by the rules economically.

On the final day of his trip, Saturday in Indonesia, Obama held a surprise meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of an East Asia summit, focusing on the economic matters that have prompted disputes between the two major world powers.

White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon told reporters that Obama stressed the importance of China adjusting the value of its currency, which the United States contends is deeply undervalued, and he said Obama and Wen also briefly discussed territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

China's state broadcaster, CCTV, reported that Wen told Obama the grim global economic picture made it practical and necessary for the U.S. and China to strengthen their economic and trade relationship.

He said more trade and investment would help ease the Sino-U.S. trade imbalance. Wen also restated Beijing's call for the U.S. to relax restrictions on high-tech exports to China, CCTV reported.

China, Wen said, had made strides in reforming its currency exchange and would continue to do so, the broadcaster said.

Later, Obama and leaders at an East Asia summit retreat raised the issue of maritime security, prompting Wen to respond. A senior U.S. administration official told reporters aboard Air Force One that Wen's remarks signaled a gradual evolution toward resolving quarrels with Asian neighbors over the major shipping route. He said U.S. officials were encouraged by Wen's response.

Donilon downplayed tensions and rejected suggestions that the nine-day mission in the Asia-Pacific was designed to thwart a rising China. The U.S. policy, Donilon said, was about rebalancing U.S. interests and focusing once more on the Asia-pacific region.

"This has nothing to do with isolating or containing anybody," he said.

? 2011 msnbc.com

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45364413/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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To get your kids ahead in life, get a degree

Wichita Eagle via AP

Wichita State graduates walk to the graduation ceremony for the college of liberal arts in Wichita, Kan., last year.

By Allison Linn

We like to think of the United States as the type of place where anyone with a strong work ethic and healthy dose of ambition can make it to the top.

A better predictor seems to be whether Mom and Dad have a college degree.

Researchers from the Russell Sage Foundation and the Pew Economic Mobility Project have found that American kids are much more likely to succeed if their parents are more educated.

What?s more, the relationship between your parents? education level and your future success is higher in the United States than in any other countries they looked at, including Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Canada.

Erin Currier, project manager for Pew?s Economic Mobility Project, said that when polled, Americans say that hard work and ambition are the factors that get you ahead in life. They also believe things like parental background aren?t as important.

??All of our data shows the opposite,? Currier said. ?It shows the power of family background for really predicting where in the income (distribution) you would fall.?

Currier said the group looked at parents? education levels because people with more education tend to make more money and have other advantages. They saw it as a good proxy for socioeconomic status.

The opportunities to help kids get ahead start very early, with access to programs such as pre-kindergarten. Currier said the other countries in the study, which showed less correlation between parents? education and kids? success, have been more likely to offer broad support for those kinds of programs.

The United States also supports low-income families with programs like Head Start, and Currier said she sees this data as evidence that those programs can help less advantaged kids get ahead.

But the study also shows that the house you are born in ? or at least the degree hanging on the wall ? makes a difference from birth.

?It?s important even before pre-kindergarten,? she said. ?Prenatally, we know there are advantages.?

Related:

College degree's value: $1 million

Want to go to college? Check the home value

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/17/8862485-to-get-your-kids-ahead-in-life-get-a-college-degree

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Source: http://twitter.com/normanlamb/statuses/137921387254906880

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Ant-like robots poised to invade the marketplace

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

Kilobot is a low-cost, easy-to-use robotic system for advancing development of "swarms" of robots.

By John Roach

Swarms of robots modeled on the behavior of social insects such as ants are set to invade the research and education marketplace, the university engineers who designed the technology announced Thursday.

The deal between Harvard University and K-Team Corporation, a Swiss manufacturer of mobile robots, will allow educators and researchers to develop and test sophisticated algorithms that control thousands of robots in a physically-grounded setting.

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The relatively simple algorithms currently developed in research labs are mostly validated by computer simulations and a few dozen robots at a time due to the?limitations of time and cost, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard noted in a news release.

The quarter-wide robots, called Kilobots, stand on three toothpick?like legs and are powered by a lithium-ion battery. Vibration motors on either side allow left, right, and forward mobility. Transceivers on their undersides allow them to communicate and coordinate movements.

The following video shows a Kilobot collective of up to 29 robot demonstrating some popular collective behaviors such as follow-the-leader and foraging.

The video above, for example, shows small groups of robots programmed to leave their "nest," find "food" and return to the nest, mimicking the behavior of ants. Other experiments in the video show how the robots can follow a leader, disperse, and synchronize their movements.

The hope is that such robots will eventually be able dig through piles of rubble to look for earthquake survivors, remove contaminants from the environment, and even self-assemble to form support structures in a collapsed building.

More on biologically-inspired robots:

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John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

?

As the over-65 population expands, new gadgets and systems will allow seniors to live at home and receive improved healthcare. From sleep-sensing beds to robots piloted by grandchildren, we look at how "health surveillance" can improve quality of life.

?

Source: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/18/8880915-ant-like-robots-poised-to-invade-the-marketplace

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Research firm: Amazon sells $199 tablet at a loss (AP)

NEW YORK ? Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire tablet, which started shipping this week, costs $201.70 to make, a research firm said Friday. That's $2.70 more than Amazon charges for it.

The analysis by IHS indicates that Amazon is, at least initially, selling the tablet at a loss that it hopes to cover through sales of books and movies for the device. The manufacturing cost of a new gadget usually comes down over time as chips become cheaper.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told The Associated Press in September that the company's goal was to make a small profit from the hardware, but as a retail company, Amazon was willing to live with a smaller margin than most electronics companies would.

"We want the hardware device to be profitable and the content to be profitable. We really don't want to subsidize one with the other," Bezos said.

IHS's estimate includes the cost of components and assembly, but not the costs of development, marketing or packaging. The most expensive part of the Kindle Fire is the 7-inch color touch screen, which costs $87.

Amazon kept the cost of the tablet low compared to Apple Inc.'s iPad and similar tablets by making it smaller ? the screen is half the size of that for the iPad ? keeping the amount of memory low and excluding a camera and microphone.

But the difference in manufacturing cost is much smaller than the difference in retail price: IHS puts the cost of the basic iPad 2 model at just under $300, while Apple sells it for $499.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111118/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_amazon_kindle_fire

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Gingrich welcomes scrutiny as front-runner; defends consulting, plays down work with Freddie Mac (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Justice Dept. to probe Miami police shootings

MIAMI?? The U.S. Justice Department is launching a civil investigation into the policies and training involving deadly force in the Miami Police Department following the deaths of seven black men in officer-involved shootings.

The "pattern and practice" probe will focus on whether systemic flaws made the shootings, which occurred over an eight-month period between July 2010 and February 2011, more likely.

"The department?s investigation will seek to determine whether there are systemic violations of the Constitution or federal law by officers of MPD," the Justice Department said in a statement.

Thomas E. Perez, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, and Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer, announced the investigation at a news conference Thursday.

"We hope to strengthen the confidence of the citizens in the police department," Ferrer said, adding that a preliminary inquiry began in the spring after they received several calls from concerned citizens.

Read the original story on NBC Miami

Of the seven shootings, all but one is still being investigated by the State Attorney's Office and police.

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder in August asking for a Justice Department investigation into the force. Regalado's request came several months after similar requests from groups like the ACLU and NAACP, as well as individuals like U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson and Reverend Al Sharpton.

The shootings happened under the leadership of former Chief Miguel Exposito, who was fired in September for insubordination. Exposito had said the shootings were justified, though some of the victims were found to be unarmed.

Exposito released a statement Thursday, saying he had invited he Justice Department to participate in all post-shooting meetings, and adding that the number of shootings in his first year as chief were no more than the last year of the previous chief.

Exposito said violent crimes like robberies and sexual assaults "dropped to levels not seen in Miami in over 40 years" as a result of his doubling the number of tactical officers on the streets.

"I trust that this is not an attempt by the U.S. Attorney?s office to politicize what should otherwise be an apolitical process," Exposito said.

The Justice Department investigation will focus on training methods, leadership and practices, and won't be a criminal investigation.

Ferrer and Perez met with Regalado and new Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa Thursday morning and were meeting with officers in the afternoon.

Perez and Ferrer said they're not looking at individual conduct but rather the system, and that if any wrongdoing or violations are found, they would be turned over to the civil rights division and could lead to potential criminal charges.

They said they didn't know when the investigation would conclude.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45339566/ns/local_news-miami_fl/

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Perry: Obama policies have made border less safe (AP)

NEW YORK ? Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry on Friday criticized President Barack Obama for policies Perry said have endangered agents patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, the latest attempt by the Texas governor to shift the focus from his GOP rivals and his struggling campaign to the Democratic incumbent.

But several of Perry's claims against Obama are either exaggerated or misrepresented.

Perry, in New York City to accept an award from the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation, said inadequate funding and "bureaucratic bungling" by Washington had made the southern border more dangerous.

He singled out Operation Fast and Furious, an arms trafficking probe run by the Justice Department that allowed AK-47s and other weapons to leak into the black market.

"Our own federal government provided more than 2,000 firearms to some of the most dangerous criminals in North America," Perry said, adding that Attorney General Eric Holder should show the same courage and sense of responsibility as agents in the field.

Holder has acknowledged mistakes in the operation, which focused on gun shops in Phoenix and tried to track gun-smuggling beyond straw purchasers to previously unreachable gun-running kingpins. Officials say agents lost track of nearly half of the 2,000 guns. Some of the firearms were recovered at crime scenes in Mexico.

The operation came to light after two assault rifles purchased by a buyer under scrutiny in the operation turned up at the scene of an Arizona shootout that killed a Customs and Border Protection agent.

Many Republicans have sharply criticized Operation Fast and Furious and some have called on Holder to resign.

The Associated Press has reported that an investigation into the operation has turned up Justice Department documents indicating that the so-called "gun walking" tactic also was used during the Republican administration of George W. Bush.

Perry's advisers hope his stepped-up criticism of Obama and Washington could help reinvigorate Perry's lagging effort less than seven weeks before Iowa's caucuses on Jan. 3.

Polls show Perry badly trailing several of his rivals in Iowa, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Georgia businessman Herman Cain.

Perry's latest campaign ad took out of context a comment Obama made and gave viewers the impression that the president had said all Americans are lazy. Obama was talking about the U.S. record of attracting foreign investment.

In an interview with Fox News, Perry wrongly claimed that Obama came from a privileged background and didn't understand ordinary people's problems.

"He never had to really work for anything. He never had to go through what Americans are going through," Perry said. "We need a president who has been through their ups and downs in life and understands what it's like to have to deal with the issues of our economy that we have today in America."

Obama was raised by a single mother who, at times, used food stamps, and his grandparents in a modest apartment in Honolulu.

Democrats are responding to Perry's new strategy by tweaking him for his well-publicized flubs.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi answered Perry's invitation to meet and debate his proposal for a part-time Congress by ridiculing a debate performance in which Perry forgot the name of the third federal agency he would dismantle.

"He did ask if I could debate here in Washington on Monday," Pelosi said. "Monday I'm going to be in Portland in the morning, I'm going to be visiting some of our labs in California in the afternoon, and I can't remember what the third thing was."

___(equals)

Elliott reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Pete Yost in Washington also contributed to this report.

___

Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bfouhy

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Philip_Elliott

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111118/ap_on_el_pr/us_perry_obama

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'Expendables 2' Poster: Stallone, Schwarzenegger And Willis Team Up

The first poster for "The Expendables 2" looks like the result of a Photoshop contest called, "Make a one-sheet for the most ridiculous action movie of all time."
Posed with the challenge of fitting all of Hollywood's past and future action movie kings into a single image, the "Expendables 2" poster, which debuted over at JoBlo, [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/11/18/expendables-2-poster-stallone-schwarzenegger-and-willis-team-up/

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Video: What?s behind Gingrich?s ratings rise?

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45320348#45320348

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The Acoustic Ruler iPhone App Is More Useful Than The Sonic Screwdriver

iPhone hacks are pretty cool and this is one of the cooler of the cool ones. It's an app that sends out an acoustic wave in order to measure the distance between two phones or between the phone and a microphone. While it's not completely accurate, it's still pretty fun.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/C4C-eh1F1R4/

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Fannie, Freddie cut lenders' risk in refinance program (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB), the largest sources of U.S. housing finance, both said on Tuesday they would relieve lenders from certain risks associated with refinanced loans in an effort to help a government program reach more distressed homeowners.

In new guidelines for the Home Affordable Refinance Program, both companies said separately they are relieving lenders of certain representations and warranties that are related to the value and condition of mortgaged property.

HARP seeks to provide refinancing options for borrowers who have little or no equity in their homes. It is open only to loans sold to Fannie and Freddie.

The changes are designed to encourage lenders to participate by reducing their potential liability for bad loans.

The Obama administration program aims to help troubled borrowers get new loans at lower rates. So far, it has helped about 894,000 borrowers, far fewer than the White House had hoped.

Fannie Mae, in its revised HARP guidelines, said, "The lender is not responsible for any of the representations and warranties associated with the original loan."

Freddie Mac said the changes in its policies regarding representation and warranties is mainly for mortgages valued at more than 80 percent of a property's worth.

Around 11 million U.S. homeowners owe more than their homes are worth.

The change dampens the "put-back risk" for lenders, which is the possibility that the bank originating or refinancing a loan will have to repurchase it from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because the underwriting violated the mortgage finance giant's guidelines.

Previously, lenders were held responsible if any problems occurred with the loans or if they defaulted. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have actively sought to force lenders to repurchase loans.

The changes should limit the costs and simplify the process for borrowers refinancing through HARP, according to analysts.

(Reporting by Margaret Chadbourn; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111115/bs_nm/us_usa_housing_mortgages

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