Tuesday 31 January 2012

T-Mobile keen to help iPhone users, plans to offer new procedures for unlocked phones

The iPhone might not officially be on the magenta network, but T-Mobile isn't about to turn its back on a million paying customers, either. According to a document obtained by TmoNews, the network plans to offer new "common procedures, information about feature and specifications and other basic device questions" to iPhone users starting Monday. T-Mobile has long had an open-door policy for customers with unlocked iPhones, since it doesn't have its own to sell -- though T-Mo CTO Neville Ray is hoping really hard that will change. Someday.

T-Mobile keen to help iPhone users, plans to offer new procedures for unlocked phones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/29/t-mobile-keen-to-help-iphone-users-plans-to-offer-new-procedure/

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Should Justin Bieber Remake 'Fear'? Reese Witherspoon Weighs In!

Actress talks dishes about rumors during 'MTV First: This Means War,' airing tonight at 7:56 p.m. on MTV and MTV.com!
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


Justin Bieber
Photo: Scott Legato/ FilmMagic

A few weeks back, a rumor hit the Internet that Justin Bieber wanted to remake "Fear," his pal Mark Wahlberg's classic thriller. Being that Wahlberg and Bieber already have a project in the works, it wouldn't be too off base for the teen star to try his hand at the creepy film that follows a young man (Walhberg) who becomes obsessed with his teen girlfriend (Reese Witherspoon) and goes on a dangerous rampage when the romance turns sour.

Witherspoon will sit down with MTV News on Tuesday (January 31) for an exclusive interview and premiere of a previously unseen clip from her upcoming film, "This Means War." The special, "MTV First: This Means War," will air at 7:56 p.m. ET on MTV and MTV.com. And, during that chat, she has an interesting reaction to the news that her film may get a new-millennium remake.

"Oh, really? Fine, great. That'd be cool. Would he be playing me, or is he playing Mark Wahlberg?" she wondered. "Is it like a girl who harasses the family, like a stalker who can't leave him alone? That would be good, right? I mean girls get crazy about him. Yeah, he's very talented."

Much like MTV First: Reese Witherspoon" hits MTV on Tuesday at 7:56 p.m. ET, check out Reese's first-ever, totally adorable MTV interview, when she opened up in 1991 at the age of 14 about what drew her to Hollywood. And make sure to stick with Reese's chat when it moves to MTV.com after an exclusive clip premieres Tuesday on MTV!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678210/justin-bieber-fear-remake-reese-witherspoon.jhtml

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At New Orleans comic event, mere humans become heroes (Reuters)

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) ? Vampires drenched in fake blood mingled with sword-toting ninjas. Martian manhunters rubbed elbows with Batman and Wonder Woman.

For the thousands of comic-culture fans who circulated around acres of exhibits at the New Orleans Comic conference on Saturday, the event was a chance to meet, or temporarily become, a hero.

"When I walk out in regular clothes, no one pays any mind," said attendee Jeff Kent, who was dressed in the gleaming white, robot-like garb of a "Star Wars" storm trooper. "But when I put this on, all of a sudden I'm a rock star."

The event, one of several staged around the country by comic book and digital publisher Wizard World, continued on Sunday.

Celebrities on hand to meet fans included actors William Shatner ("Star Trek"), Adam Baldwin ("Full Metal Jacket"), Mary McDonnell ("Battlestar Gallactica"), James Marsters ("Buffy: The Vampire Slayer") and Lou Ferrigno (Incredible Hulk"), along with

legendary comic book creator Stan Lee and a host of comic artists.

Cartoonist and comic book creator Larry Marder, who has published his "Tales of the Beanworld" comics for almost 40 years, told Reuters that at one time the primary focus of these conventions were the comic books and novels that shaped this peculiar segment of American culture.

"It used to be that the stories came first, and people read their monthly comics and were loyal to them," he said. But over the years, characters like Superman, Batman and Spiderman became brands that reached far beyond their book origins.

"It's almost as if the characters were real and they had agents who exploited their likenesses across many platforms - like movies, games, TV shows and breakfast cereal," he said.

Marder said that the launch of "Star Wars" by movie producer George Lucas set the stage for a merchandising industry that widened into toys, video games and action figures. The expansion of the industry made a host of characters into household names, and turned fictional heroes into megapersonalities.

"Superheroes are essentially power fantasies, and the superhero fan has become the backbone of our industry," Marder said.

Fans such as Chris Labrad support that theory. The Jackson, Mississippi, resident came to the comic conference with fellow members of the Mississippi Mandalorians, a "Star Wars" club he joined four years ago.

"I always saw those characters on television and thought, 'I wish I could meet those guys,'" he said.

Costumed as a S.H.I.E.L.D Sniper from Marvel Comics' Avenger Universe at the convention, Labrad said he is also a devoted "Star Wars" fan and has three different Jedi costumes, including Luke Skywalker.

"Events like this give us an excuse to dress up and be these people for a while," he said.

Many of the fan groups build their activities around charitable causes, with members donning their costumes for fund-raising events.

The man best known for his 1960s television portrayal of a 23rd-century starship commander has a theory about why certain types of people flock to events such as the New Orleans event.

"It's part of our need for heroes," Shatner told fans who had jammed into a meeting room for a question-and-answer session with the star of the original "Star Trek" television series and movies. "This is our participation in the mythology of 'Star Trek.'"

While "Star Trek" and subsequent movie series "Star Wars" were among the older cultural phenomena represented at the convention, their still-strong fan base made Shatner a big draw.

"Star Trek" devotees will never forget the actor's portrayal of the morally grounded commander of the Starship Enterprise, Captain James T. Kirk. Shatner purports to be sick of his decades-long association with Kirk, but he clearly enjoys having fun with it.

"Do you boldly go where no man has gone before?" a fan asked him, hearkening to the mission of the Starship Enterprise.

"It depends on the girl," the 80-year-old Shatner quipped.

(Reporting by Kathy Finn; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/us_nm/us_comedy_neworleans

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[OOC] Bleach: Royal Guard arc

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Monday 30 January 2012

NKorea's young leader gets rock star treatment

(AP) ? North Korea's young new leader gets rock star treatment when he visits his troops ? just as his father did. But while the late Kim Jong Il mostly stayed aloof in dark shades, his son holds hands and hugs his soldiers.

Kim Jong Un seems to want to bond with his country's people.

The style harkens back to Kim Il Sung, his grandfather and revered founder of the country and ruling dynasty, and may reflect an attempt to turn a corner on the periods of hardship and famine under Kim Jong Il, analysts say. Kim Il Sung's image as a daring young general fighting Japanese colonial troops is powerfully engraved in the minds of North Koreans.

Cheers, applause and calls of "Hurrah!" greet Kim Jong Un as he examines the heating systems of soldiers' quarters, the pressure of their water faucets, the books stacked in their libraries ? even the taste of their food.

The North Korean state media reports and video footage of such "guidance visits" provide rare windows into the personalities of North Korea's leaders for outsiders and for the country's people alike. Few North Koreans, for instance, even knew what the elder Kim's voice sounded like, analysts say, despite his ruling for 17 years until his death Dec. 17.

In visits made so far by Kim Jong Un, believed to be in his late 20s, North Korea specialists have detected more warmth in his approach than the dour tours made in recent years by Kim Jong Il.

The younger Kim may be trying to emulate Kim Il Sung and move away from his father, who ruled during a famine in the mid- to late-1990s that killed hundreds of thousands, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea professor at Seoul's Dongguk University. North Korea also has faced international condemnation and sanctions for its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"He'll try to look comfortable among the masses. He'll try to form an intimacy with the people, perhaps more than his father did," Koh said.

Imitating Kim Il Sung is a "positive for Kim Jong Un, because memories of his father Kim Jong Il aren't very good among ordinary people," Koh said. "People fondly remember the days of Kim Il Sung."

Kim Il Sung often was pictured surrounded by children, and Kim Jong Un resurrected that image during a recent visit to the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School.

As children in military uniforms cheered and clapped, a documentary on state TV showed Kim embracing one child's face with his hands. During lunch, Kim patted students in encouragement and watched with a grin as two women ladled out soup for students; he poured a drop of sauce on his thumb so he could taste it.

His main emphasis, however, has been on military posts ? with a half dozen such visits since the New Year. They seek to show citizens that their new leader is firmly in command of the country's most important institution, its 1.2 million-strong military, and that he is loved and respected by young troops and elderly generals alike.

While Kim Jong Il had two decades to prepare for leadership, Kim Jong Un was only publicly unveiled as heir in 2010, and outside observers have raised doubts about Kim Jong Un's ability to lead a country locked in a nuclear standoff with its neighbors and Washington and with a history of attacking South Korea.

Animosity is still high between the Koreas. Six decades after the Korean War, the peninsula remains in a state of war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to deter potential North Korean aggression.

Bloodshed spiked in 2010 when a South Korean warship exploded in disputed waters, killing 46. South Korea said the North torpedoed the warship; the North denied the allegation. North Korea also attacked a front-line South Korean island, killing four.

Kim Jong Un clearly has made attempts to appear active and engaged with his soldiers, and this "helps raise troops' morale and his profile," said Kim Yeon-su, a North Korea expert at Korea National Defense University. "North Korea is telling its people that Kim Jong Un is capable of doing all these military activities himself."

Kim Jong Un's first reported military visit after his father's death came on New Year's Day. He appeared at ease, laughing and clapping, pulling officers close to give them words of advice, inspecting bunks and testing water faucets.

State television has also played a documentary on Kim Jong Un meant to highlight his military experience, showing him in the cockpit of a tank, galloping by on horseback and poring over documents at night.

Despite his youth, Kim Jong Un often plays the part of a solicitous father during his meticulously documented military tours.

Wearing a dark overcoat similar to one Kim Il Sung favored as a young man or a light-colored parka like the one Kim Jong Il wore, he exchanges handshakes with cheering soldiers and takes group photos, often holding hands with the officers on either side of him.

He asks about the soldiers' warmth, their eating and sleeping arrangements, listens with apparent enjoyment to their musical performances, observes their "militant spirit of training," offers guidance to officers and takes "care of the soldiers' living as their real father would do," according to state media.

He even tastes their bean paste.

___

Associated Press writer Sam Kim contributed to this report from Seoul. Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/samkim_ap and twitter.com/APklug.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-30-AS-NKorea-Leader's-Visits/id-a6c0ff665d224e2ca72096962244e7ab

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Video: What the ##$%!@!

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/46180570#46180570

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Chinese workers held by Sudan rebels

By msnbc.com news services

Rebels in Sudan's oil-producing border state of South Kordofan said on Sunday they were holding Chinese workers for their own safety after a battle with the Sudanese army.

The army has been fighting rebels of the SPLM-N in South Kordofan bordering newly independent South Sudan since June. Fighting spread to the northern Blue Nile state in September.


"We are holding 29 Chinese workers after a battle with the army yesterday," a spokesman for the SPLM-N said. "They are in good health. We are holding them for their own safety because the army was trying to strike again."

The army said rebels had attacked the compound of a Chinese construction company operating in the area between the towns of Abbasiya and Rashad in the north of the state and captured 70 civilians.

"Most of them are Chinese. They (the rebels) are targeting civilians," said army spokesman Sawarmi Khalid Saad.

He said there had been no battle in the area and the army was now trying to rescue the civilians.

China's foreign ministry urged Sudan to guarantee the safety of Chinese personnel during the search and rescue process, according to a statement released in Beijing.

South Kordofan is the main oil-producing state in Sudan, while Blue Nile is rich in minerals such as chrome.

The fighting in both states has forced about 417,000 people to flee their homes, more than 80,000 of them to South Sudan, according to the United Nations.

Both states contain large groups who sided with the south in a decades-long civil war, and who say they continue to face persecution inside Sudan since South Sudan seceded in July.

The SPLM is now the ruling party in the independent south and denies supporting SPLM-North rebels across the border.

Events in South Kordofan and Blue Nile are difficult to verify because aid groups and diplomats are banned from areas where fighting takes place.

SPLM-North is one of a number of rebel movements in underdeveloped border areas who say they are fighting to overthrow Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and end what they see as the dominance of the Khartoum political elite.

Sudan and South Sudan, which still have to resolve a range of issues including the sharing of oil revenues, regularly trade accusations of supporting insurgencies on each other's territory.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/29/10262850-chinese-workers-held-by-sudan-rebels

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Brain Likely Encodes the World in Two Dimensions

Head Lines | Mind & Brain Cover Image: January 2012 Scientific American MagazineSee Inside

Our internal representation of the world is flat

Image: Corbis

When we drive somewhere new, we navigate by referring to a two-dimensional map that accounts for distances only on a horizontal plane. According to research published online in August in Nature Neuroscience, the mammalian brain seems to do the same, collapsing the world into a flat plane even as the animal skitters up trees and slips deep into burrows.

?Our subjective sense that our map is three-dimensional is illusory,? says Kathryn Jeffery, a behavioral neuroscientist at University College London who led the research. Jeffery studies a collection of neurons in and around the rat hippo?campus that build an internal representation of space. As the animal travels, these neurons, called grid cells and place cells, respond uniquely to distance, turning on and off in a way that measures how far the animal has moved in a particular direction.

Past research has focused on how these cartographic cells encode two-dimensional space. Jeffery and her col?leagues decided to look at how they respond to changes in altitude. To do this, they enticed rats to climb up a spiral staircase while the scientists collected electrical recordings from single cells. The firing pattern encoded very little in?formation about height.

The finding adds evidence for the hypothesis that the brain keeps track of our location on a flat plane, which is defined by the way the body is oriented. If a squirrel, say, is running along the ground, then scampers straight up a tree, its internal two-dimensional map simply shifts from the horizontal plane to the vertical. Astronauts are some of the few humans to de?scribe this experience: when they move in space to ?stand? on a ceiling, they report a moment of disorientation before their mental map flips so they feel right side up again.

Researchers do not know yet whether other areas of the brain encode altitude or whether mammals simply do not need that information to survive. ?Maybe an animal has a mosaic of maps, each fragment of which is flat but which can be oriented in the way that?s appropriate,? Jeffery speculates. Or maybe in our head, the world is simply flat.


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=d451ae3619079c3ca2817479ef587b90

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Sunday 29 January 2012

Grape Seed Extract Kills Head and Neck Cancer Cells, Leaves ...

Source: Medical Express

Nearly 12,000 people will die of head and neck cancer in the United States this year and worldwide cases will exceed half a million.

A study published this week in the journal Carcinogenesis shows that in both cell lines and mouse models, grape seed extract (GSE) kills head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

?It?s a rather dramatic effect,? says Rajesh Agarwal, PhD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

It depends in large part, says Agarwal, on a healthy cell?s ability to wait out damage.

?Cancer cells are fast-growing cells,? Agarwal says. ?Not only that, but they are necessarily fast growing. When conditions exist in which they can?t grow, they die.?

Grape seed extract creates these conditions that are unfavorable to growth. Specifically, the paper shows that grape seed extract both damages cancer cells DNA (via increased reactive oxygen species) and stops the pathways that allow repair (as seen by decreased levels of the DNA repair molecules Brca1 and Rad51 and DNA repair foci).

?Yet we saw absolutely no toxicity to the mice, themselves,? Agarwal says.

Again, the grape seed extract killed the cancer cells but not the healthy cells.

Related:

Whole Grape ? Seed and Skin ? May Be Perfect Colon Cancer Fighting Food

Grape-Seed Extract Kills Laboratory Leukemia Cells

?

Source: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Grape_Seed_Extract_Kills_Head_and_Neck_Cancer_Cells,_Leaves_Healthy_Cells_Unharmed/17627/0/38/38/Y/M.html

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British police arrest 4 in tabloid bribery probe (AP)

LONDON ? British police say they have arrested four people, including a police officer, on suspicion of corruption as part of an investigation into police bribery by a tabloid newspaper.

London's Metropolitan Police said two men aged 48 and one aged 56 were arrested early Saturday at homes in and around London.

The fourth, a 29-year-old police officer, was arrested at the London station where he works.

The investigation is running parallel to a police inquiry into phone hacking by Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World.

Police said the arrests were made as a result of information provided by Murdoch's News Corp.

A dozen people have now been arrested in the bribery probe, though none has yet been charged.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_phone_hacking

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Saturday 28 January 2012

IAEA team heads to Iran to seek nuclear answers (Reuters)

VIENNA (Reuters) ? Senior United Nations nuclear inspectors headed to Tehran on Saturday to press Iranian officials to address suspicions that the Islamic state is seeking atomic weapons.

The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency hopes Iran, which has indicated readiness to discuss the issue for the first time since 2008, will end years of stonewalling on intelligence pointing to an intention to develop nuclear arms technology.

"We are trying ... to resolve all the outstanding issues with Iran, in particular we hope that Iran will engage with us on our concerns regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program," IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts told reporters as he prepared to depart from Vienna airport.

But Western diplomats, who have often accused Iran of using such offers of dialogue as a stalling tactic while it presses ahead with its nuclear program, say they doubt Tehran will show the kind of concrete cooperation the IAEA wants.

They say Iran may offer limited concessions and transparency in an attempt to ease intensifying international pressure on the country, a major oil producer, but that this is unlikely to amount to the full cooperation that is required.

The outcome could determine whether Iran will face further international isolation, or whether there are prospects for resuming wider talks between Tehran and the major powers on the nuclear dispute that has sparked fears of war.

The United States and its allies suspect the program has military aims but Tehran says is for peaceful electricity generation.

"The chances of the IAEA's success may depend on how badly Iran wants to avoid harder sanctions," said nuclear expert Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Remarks by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top adviser on international affairs on Saturday suggested Iran was not in the mood for concessions.

"Iran's stance towards its nuclear issue has not changed in term of fundamentals and principles," Ali Akbar Velayati said, according to the ISNA news agency.

"One important principle is that Iran would not relinquish or withdraw from its peaceful nuclear activities."

The six-member IAEA team of senior officials and experts, headed by Nackaerts, was due to arrive in Tehran early on Sunday.

The three day visit comes at a time of soaring tension between Iran and the West. The IAEA issued a report in November with details of suspected research and development activities in Iran relevant to nuclear weapons.

The West has seized on the report to ratchet up sanctions aimed at Iran's lifeblood oil exports. Iran hit back on Friday warning it may halt oil exports to Europe next week.

"APPEARING TO COOPERATE"

The IAEA team is expected to seek explanations to the issues raised in the report, including information that Iran appears to have worked on a nuclear weapon design, and demand access to sites, officials and documents relevant to the agency's probe.

The IAEA says Iran, which has rejected the allegations as forged and baseless, has not engaged with the agency in a substantive way on these issues since August 2008 and that it keeps receiving intelligence data adding to its concerns.

"There were a huge number of questions raised by the November report. They will be seeking to answer those questions, and it's incumbent on Iran to be supportive," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said this week.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano has called on Iran to show a "constructive spirit" in the meeting and Iran has said it is willing to discuss "any issues" of interest to the U.N. agency, including the military-linked concerns.

Iran's Press TV state television said on its website the IAEA visit was aimed at bolstering cooperation between the two sides "by resolving ambiguities," language Tehran has also used in the past.

The English-language station cited Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, as saying the main objective was to "thwart plots by enemies who are leveling unfounded allegations" against Iran and to prove its nuclear transparency.

Hibbs said Amano would want to see a "significant step" from Iran, for example by agreeing to more intrusive IAEA inspections or by explaining issues related to the weapons suspicions.

"I'm not very optimistic," Hibbs said. "Iran's track record is of appearing to cooperate whenever they are threatened by penalties."

(Additional reporting by Hashem Kalantari in Tehran; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_nuclear_iran_iaea

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Philippines studying U.S. offer to deploy spy planes (Reuters)

MANILA (Reuters) ? The Philippines is considering a U.S. proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft on a temporary, rotating basis to enhance its ability to guard disputed areas in the South China Sea, the Philippine defense minister said on Friday.

Ongoing talks in Washington on security ties between the two allies include plans to deploy more littoral combat ships and spy aircraft, said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

An expanded U.S. military presence in the region should raise the Philippines' capability to deter border intrusions, he said.

"I would rather look at it from the positive point of view that there would be stability in the region, that we would have enough deterrent," Gazmin told reporters.

"Without a deterrent force, we can be easily pushed around, our territories will be violated. Now that we have a good neighbor on the block, we can no longer be bullied," he said, referring to the United States.

U.S. and Philippine officials are discussing the expansion of military cooperation as the Philippines grapples with the growing assertiveness of China.

The talks with the Philippines, a U.S. ally which voted to remove huge American naval and air bases 20 years ago, follow Washington's announcement of plans to set up a Marine base in northern Australia and possibly station warships in Singapore.

The Obama administration describes the moves as part of a "pivot" toward economically dynamic Asia designed to reassure allies who felt neglected during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

But China sees the deployments as part of a broader U.S. attempt to encircle it as it grows into a major power.

The South China Sea could be a flash point.

China claims the entire sea, while the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan all have claims to parts of the area believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.

PROTEST

Gazmin confirmed a U.S. offer to deploy surveillance aircraft in the Philippines but he said there was no plan for any new U.S. bases. The Philippines has a constitutional ban on foreign military bases on its soil.

Gazmin said there would be more exercises with U.S. forces and a rotating presence through port visits for exercises, repairs and resupply.

Since 2002, about 600 U.S. commandos have been stationed in the south of the Philippines to help train and advise Philippine

troops in fighting a small Islamist militant group with ties to al Qaeda.

A Philippine military source told Reuters the head of the U.S. Pacific Command had proposed last August the deployment of P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft.

More talks are due in Washington in March.

Left-wing Philippine groups are planning to hold protests outside the U.S. embassy in Manila on Saturday to denounce what they describe as the "treacherous" negotiations with the United States.

"They say that they will not bring back the U.S. bases but the proposal aims for virtual basing just the same," Renato Reyes, secretary-general of left-wing Bayan (Nation) group, said in a statement.

The Philippines hosted major U.S. military facilities with tens of thousands of airmen and sailors for nearly a century until 1992 when U.S. forces pulled out after a vote in the Philippine Senate to terminate the bases treaty.

In 1998, the Philippines and the United States signed a Visiting Forces Agreement that allows U.S. troops to visit for exercises and rest and recreation.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also said the talks would not include the creation of any new U.S. bases.

(Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Robert Birsel)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_philippines_usa

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The Father of webOS Jon Rubinstein Is Leaving HP [Hp]

Jon Rubinstein, the former Apple exec, godfather of webOS and ex-CEO of Palm, has left HP, reports AllThingsD. The move isn't too surprising as the writing has been on the wall since he left HP's Palm unit last summer to move to a lesser role at HP's Personal Systems Group. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/TjT3lMAbNOQ/jon-rubinstein-is-leaving-hp

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GOP Candidates' Wives: Mitt Romney Mentions Ann's MS, Cancer

The 2012 Florida Republican debate took a very personal turn Thursday night when Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul waxed poetic about their wives, making the case for why their better-halves would make the best first lady.

The question, posed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer?in Jacksonville, introduced a juicy topic that has been little noted in Republican presidential debates but has been extensively covered by the media. One by one, the candidates touted the compassion of their spouses in a bragging competition that was both poignant and a plug for their best-selling books.

Mitt Romney? gushed over his wife, Ann, a mother of five and cookbook author, with adoring words. The former Massachusetts governor said she would make an excellent first lady because of her courage and conviction battling cancer and multiple sclerosis.

"She's a real champion," the former Massachusetts governor said of Ann. "She was diagnosed in 1997 with MS and with breast cancer in 2008 ... as first lady she'll be able to reach out to people who are struggling and suffering."

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As the camera focused on Ann, who looked like she was holding back tears, Romney said she would also reach out to young people about "the importance of getting married before they have babies."

Before Gingrich talked about his third wife, Callista, he said all the women "would be terrific first ladies. These are fabulous people."

Gingrich divorced his first wife, Jackie, when she had cancer and his second, Marianne, after she was diagnosed with MS -- a fact left unmentioned but perhaps implied by Romney when he mentioned his own wife's struggles.

He said Callista, whose blonde bob and permanent grin have been at her husband's side the entire campaign, would bring "artistic flair" to the presidency.

"She sings ... she really cares about the arts," said Gingrich, adding that his wife also has a best-selling children's book and has produced and hosted several movies. "I'd be thrilled to hang out with her at the White House."

Santorum descibed his wife, Karen, as his "hero." The former Pennsylvania senator asserted that her book about their dead son, "Letters to Gabriel," saved "hundreds of lives" because it made people realize the child they were carrying should be loved and treated with dignity.

Santorum and his wife have both been public about a baby son they lost shortly after his birth in 1996, a story Santorum says is behind his strong anti-abortion stance. "We've been through a lot together, losing a child, having a child with a disability," he said. His 3-year-old daughter, Bella, has Edwards syndrome.

Karen Santorum was also an intensive care nurse for five years, "but when she got married she gave that up. She did something she felt she was caused to do, to be a wife, to have children."

On his wife of 54 years, Ron Paul bragged that Carol is famous for penning "The Ron Paul Family Cookbook," an unorthodox but adorable campaign strategy that incorporates the Republican candidate's family history along with recipes and photos.

"She's a mother to five and a grandmother to 18," Paul said of Carol.

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Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/288420/20120126/gop-candidates-wives-who-make-best-first.htm

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Immigration Limbo (Theagitator)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/192350108?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Friday 27 January 2012

One million children in Sahel at risk, UNICEF warns (Reuters)

GENEVA (Reuters) ? More than 1 million children in the Sahel are at risk of severe malnutrition and urgent action is needed to avert starvation akin to that in Somalia, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday.

The agency appealed for $67 million for 8 countries in the region where it said instability fueled by increasing activities of al-Qaeda and Boko Haram was compounding humanitarian needs. They are Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and the northern regions of Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal.

"In the Sahel we are facing a nutrition crisis of a larger magnitude than usual with over 1 million children at risk of severe, acute malnutrition," Rima Salah, acting UNICEF deputy executive director, told a news briefing.

"The countries in the Sahel, for example, if we do not now attend to their needs, it will become like Somalia and other countries," she said. "We have to prevent it before it becomes a disaster."

She was referring to the anarchic Horn of Africa country where the U.N. says 250,000 still live in famine conditions due to drought and conflict and a total of 4 million need aid.

More than nine million people in five countries in Africa's Sahel region face food crisis next year, following low rainfall, poor harvests, high food prices and a drop in remittances from migrants, aid agency Oxfam said last month.

The funds for the Sahel, for an initial six-month phase, will provide therapeutic feeding to malnourished children and campaigns to prevent the spread of epidemics including cholera. Some families will receive cash to cover higher food prices.

It is part of UNICEF's overall appeal of $1.28 billion for 98 million women and children in 25 countries. Somalia and other Horn of Africa countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya) account for nearly one-third of the total amount sought.

"There is growing instability in the Sahel region, fuelled by the Arab Spring and increasing activities of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram, all compounding the humanitarian needs of children and women in the region," UNICEF's report, "2012 Humanitarian Action for Children," said on Friday.

The Libyan civil war might have given militant groups in Africa's Sahel region like Boko Haram and al Qaeda access to large weapons caches, according to a U.N. report released in New York on Thursday.

The U.N. report on the impact of the Libyan civil war on countries of the Sahel region that straddle the Sahara - including Nigeria, Niger and Chad - also said some national authorities believe the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which killed more than 500 people last year and more than 250 this year in Nigeria, has increasing links to al Qaeda's North African wing.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Maria Golovnina.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_africa_sahel_un

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Automotive Crash Pieces OEM As opposed to AM

by mike on January 26, 2012

When you have wrecked your vehicle a short while ago chances are you?ll have already faced this ordeal. This short article can help educate you for a customer over the variances of automotive crash substitute elements. I hope it will make it easier to make a more informed resolution when faced with this particular.

With the car system restore firm there are actually a few alternatives for substitute elements in the market currently. First you?ve got OEM ( Genuine Devices Producer ), they are elements made the vehicle?s authentic manufacturer and therefore are bought at neighborhood dealerships. These elements meet factory specifications regarding match, end and corrosion protection also as crash worthiness. They?re the very same elements which were set up in your vehicle when it was created with the classiques pari turf factory. In addition they carry the vehicle?s manufacturer?s guarantee.

Next you?ve got A/M or aftermarket elements. They?re frequently termed offshore elements. The vast majority of these elements appear from Asian nations. These elements are not made with the vehicle?s authentic manufacturer, meaning they do not go below the very same rigorous testing, nor do they carry the very same guarantee. Non-OEM elements were revealed in lots of circumstances to get diminished tolerances for match and end, corrode faster and supply you with lower crash resistance than factory approved elements. Moreover, the use of these elements may perhaps void your vehicle?s guarantee in locations that may be impacted by their use. These elements will not restore your vehicle back again to it can be pre-accident condition meaning a possible reducing of the vehicle?s price.

Lastly you?ve got used, salvage, or LKQ elements. The expression LKQ stands for Like, Variety, Outstanding. This expression was coined with the insurance policies trade. If, and that is a large if, the LKQ component has no prior damage, plus the restore store de-trims the component for painting, then treats the component with corrosion protection , chances are you?ll have got a component which will restore your vehicle back again to it can be pre-accident condition. A very good salvage garden will supply you with a guarantee on LKQ elements. LKQ elements really are a more inexpensive option to repairs for the vehicle operator. Some LKQ elements might never be used. For example, any suspension or welded on component mustn?t be used if LKQ. Cutting a welded component from a salvage vehicle plus the subsequent operations needed to set up claimed component will weaken the steel. Suspension elements have bearing and joints that have on may perhaps not be visible, but does exist.

With all this in intellect, the ideal elements to implement undoubtedly are OEM. Some insurers will use them on motor vehicles that are destroyed inside of two years of manufacture. People insist over the cheaper, inferior offshore elements basically to lower the cost of the loss, regardless of maintaining the vehicle?s price. A simple alternative could be to offer the insured a rider on their policy to insure the use of OEM elements by pick of the vehicle operator. I?m not mindful of this as an option now.

The author of this post has become inside car system firm considering 1977 and now owns an automotive system store.

Source: http://www.londonsportscouncil.org/general/automotive-crash-pieces-oem-as-opposed-to-am/

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5 Things Tech-Savvy Business Travelers Need (ContributorNetwork)

With close to half of business travelers now from Generation X and Generation Y, gadgets geared toward the tech-savvy business traveler now cater to nearly every tech niche. Whether your travel-tech packing list includes an entire mobile office or just a mobile phone, here are five tech gadgets every business traveler needs.

Book Stand

A decidedly low-tech gadget, a basic foldable book stand is the MacGyver of tech tools. For air travelers, a book stand can prevent neck strain and discomfort by holding an iPad or other tablet (as well as any business documents). More versatile than combination case/stands made for tablets, a book stand can support a tablet, any book or brochure, and most documents.

By positioning the reading material closer to eye level, you'll prevent the strain to your neck and back that results from bending your chin down toward your chest to read.

A book stand is useful even for laptop users. Use the stand to hold documents you need to refer to while typing or while contacting clients.

Many bookstores carry book stands (sometimes in the cookbook section).

Mobile Phone Battery Extender

Nothing kills productivity on the road like running out of power. For many travelers, the problem isn't forgetting about a depleted battery. Rather, many travelers know that, without some type of power source, their phone's power will run out before the traveler reaches his or her destination. For that reason, a handful of companies have begun marketing battery extender cases. Some models for smartphones claim to double battery life. For many travelers this would mean the difference between a productive journey and wasted time.

Noise-Canceling Headphones

One of the biggest productivity killers on the road is the distraction of ambient noise, such as the conversations of other passengers, engine noise, street noise, and so on. A good pair of noise-canceling headphones can help you stay focused on the business of your business travel (and prevent nighttime distractions, too).

Worried that you'll miss something or hate the hassle of pulling out your ear buds whenever you need to communicate? Technological advances now amplify ambient noise at the push of a button so you can hear the outside world. New models that use the "push-to-hear" technology have retail prices starting around $149.

Tech-friendly Carry-on Luggage

For the business person who travels with cell phone, laptop, tablet and digital camera in tow, a common problem is fitting all that technology into a carry-on bag. To keep yourself organized (and perhaps even extend battery life), check out the slate of new high-tech backpacks and briefcases. With plenty of options to organize and protect your technology tools, you shouldn't have much trouble finding a piece with the ideal mixture of storage space and features. There are backpacks available with power sources so you can charge on the go.

Slingbox

Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu have convinced some users to cancel their cable television service and move entirely to on-demand viewing. But for many business travelers, the worst part of leaving home is leaving behind access to cable service and the ability to watch favorite shows or sporting events live. Gadgets such as the Slingbox bridge this gap, letting users stream a feed from their home cable service to their mobile device.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120125/tc_ac/10883609_5_things_techsavvy_business_travelers_need

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Availability and use of sanitation reduces by half the likelihood of parasitic worm infections

Availability and use of sanitation reduces by half the likelihood of parasitic worm infections

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Availability and use of sanitation reduces by half the likelihood of parasitic worm infections

Access to sanitation facilities, such as latrines, reduces by half the risk of becoming infected by parasitic worms that are transmitted via soil (soil-transmitted helminths) according to a study published in this week's PLoS Medicine. These findings are important as infection with parasitic worms can cause diarrhea, weakness, and malnutrition, which in turn can impair physical and mental development in children; they reinforce the importance of increased access to sanitation (a Millennium Development Goal target) to improve health outcomes.

In an analysis of 36 relevant studies led by Kathrin Ziegelbauer and Benjamin Speich from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, in Basel, Switzerland, the authors found that compared to people without access to latrines, the chance (odds ratio) of infection with roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm among people who had access to latrines was 0.49. Furthermore, people who actually used a latrine were also half as likely (odds ratio 0.51) to be infected with these parasitic worms.

These findings confirm that sanitation is an effective control measure for parasitic worm infections and therefore, according to the authors, there should be more emphasis on improved access to adequate sanitation in control strategies, in addition to reinforcing the current control measures, such as regularly giving drugs that kill the worms (but do not prevent rapid reinfection) and health education.

The authors say: "Our findings, therefore, underscore what the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission stated more than 70 years ago?''Cure alone is almost useless in stamping out hookworm disease, because the patient can go out and immediately pick up more hookworms. The cure should be accompanied by a sanitation campaign for the prevention of soil pollution.''"

Importantly, increased access to sanitation would also improve the control of other neglected tropical diseases (such as schistosomiasis and trachoma) and would reduce the incidence of diarrhea and consequently child mortality in low-income countries.

The authors conclude that with the elimination of neglected tropical diseases coming to the forefront of global attention, integrated control approaches?using a combination of regular deworming; information, education, and communication campaigns; and improvements to basic sanitation and access to safe, clean water?cannot be overemphasized.

###

Ziegelbauer K, Speich B, M?usezahl D, Bos R, Keiser J, et al. (2012) Effect of Sanitation on Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS Med 9(1): e1001162. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001162

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 15 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117039/Availability_and_use_of_sanitation_reduces_by_half_the_likelihood_of_parasitic_worm_infections

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Thursday 26 January 2012

Davos elite: Capitalism has widened income gap

A woman cleans the floor prior to a session at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The overarching theme of the meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A woman cleans the floor prior to a session at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The overarching theme of the meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Brian T. Moynihan, Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of America speaks during a panel session on the first day of the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The overarching theme of the Meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)

Ben J. Verwaayen, Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent speaks during a panel session on the first day of the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. The overarching theme of the Meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)

Two participants pass by a mirror with the logo of the World Economic Forum, the day before the opening of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. The overarching theme of the Meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to Jan. 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott)

Protesters from the Occupy anti-capitalist movement release a banner reading ' Hey WEF! Where are the other 6.9999 billion leaders?' on the first day of the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

(AP) ? A four-year economic crisis has left societies battered and widened the gap between the haves and have-nots, financial leaders conceded Wednesday ? with one suggesting that Western-style capitalism itself may be endangered.

As Europe struggles with its debt crisis and the global economic outlook remains gloomy at best, there's a sense at the heavily guarded World Economic Forum that free markets are on trial.

Many at the elite economic gathering in the Swiss Alps accept that more must be done to convince critics that Western capitalism has a future and that it can learn from its massive failures.

For David Rubenstein, the co-founder and managing director of asset management firm Carlyle Group, leaders must work fast to overcome the current crisis or else different models of capitalism, such as the form practiced in China, may win the day.

"As a result of this recession, that's lasted longer than anyone predicted and will probably go on for a number more years ... we're going to have a lot of economic disparities," Rubenstein said. "We've got to work through these problems. If we don't do in three or four years ... the game will be over for the type of capitalism that many of us have lived through and thought was the best type."

Some 2,600 of the world's most influential people came for the forum this week amid increasing worries about the global economy and social unrest due to rising income inequalities.

China has reaped the rewards of its transition to a more market economy and is now the world's second-largest economy. Unlike the capitalist systems in the U.S. and Europe, China's market transformation has been heavily guided by a state apparatus that continues to balk at widespread democratic reforms. Latin America, too, has seen success in the development of "state capitalism" in certain industries.

"You combine elements of private enterprise with public responsibility," said Colombia's mining and energy minister, Mauricio Cardenas.

Although Rubenstein's stark appraisal may be an outlier, there was a clear defensive posture among many participants on this opening day of the forum.

There were numerous references to the need to innovate, the need to consult with employees and the realization that power in the world is shifting from the west to the east. While the traditional industrial economies of the United States and Europe have limped through the last few years, often from one crisis to another, many economies in Asia and Latin America have been booming.

But Raghuram Rajan, a professor at the University of Chicago, doubted that the Chinese model was likely to last for too long.

State capitalism, he said, may be good if you're playing "catch-up" but it reaches its "natural limits" once that's been accomplished. Others worried about conflicts of interest as the same government officials run the companies and set industry regulations.

Mark Penn, global CEO of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, told The Associated Press that "the whole crisis has raised larger questions about how is capitalism working, how do you redefine fairness in the 21st century?"

Many rejected the suggestion by Sharan Burrow, the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, that capitalism has lost its "moral compass" and needed to be "reset." Business leaders insisted they were learning from the mistakes that dragged the world into its deepest economic recession since the World War II.

Bank of America's CEO Brian Moynihan said bank excesses in the run-up to the credit crunch of 2008 reflected the economies the banks were operating in, so it is important now that policymakers don't overreact.

Moynihan, whose bank had to back down on charging a $5 debit card fee after protests by the Occupy movement and others, said banks have "done a lot" to reduce earlier excesses. He also noted that boom and bust cycles are a part of the Western capitalist structure.

Many outside the confines of the Davos conference center disagree, after years of crisis in which hundreds of millions have lost their jobs even as top executives still reap huge pay packets.

Protesters on Wednesday sent aloft big red weather balloons carrying a huge protest banner reading "Hey WEF, Where are the other 6.9999 billion leaders?"

The activists were from the Occupy WEF movement, a small group camping out in igloos at Davos and following in the footsteps of the Occupy Wall Street movement that spread around the world.

Experts said protests must be expected after the excesses of the last decade.

"When you have a financial sector which is a casino, that's putting at risk taxpayers' money, you have a reaction," said Guillermo Ortiz, a former governor of the Bank of Mexico.

Policymakers around the world have sought to rein in the excesses of the banking sector by introducing new regulations requiring them to keep bigger capital buffers, but that's not done much to appease those voicing their discontent around Davos.

Although some protesters clearly have revolutionary goals like the overthrow of the capitalist system, many just want their aspirations and objectives met by an often-distant political and business elite.

The CEO of accounting giant Deloitte, Joe Echevarria, talked about developing "compassionate capitalism."

"You're going to have to deal with regulation ? balancing the need to protect society along with stifling growth," he told AP in an interview. "I think that has to manifest itself through the choices that governments and businesses make."

While the bigwigs debated at Davos, key Greek bondholders were holding closed-door meetings in Paris to discuss how ? and whether ? to continue talks central to resolving Europe's debt crisis that would forgive 50 percent of Greece's enormous debt.

Later Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to speak on Europe's crisis in her keynote speech at the forum. In an interview with six European newspapers, Merkel drove home the need for reform in debt-troubled eurozone nations instead of spending more to beef up the region's bailout fund.

Surveys ahead of the meeting showed pessimism among world CEOs, plunging levels of public trust in business and government leaders and concerns that fragility in the U.S. and European economies could hurt the global economy.

___

Frank Jordans, Martin Benedyk and Niko Price contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-25-EU-Davos-Forum/id-dbddbf869b6b413f986bcbb634d45a42

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