Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/316099392?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, June 30, 2013
Wedding day for 91 year old
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Saturday was a wedding day for 91 year old Springfield educator and civil rights leader Chester Gibbs. He married 81 year old Lorraine Collins in Springfield's historic Bethel AME church.
Chester Gibbs had been a Massachusetts commission against discrimination commissioner and school committeeman in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lorraine Collins had also been active in the civil rights movement here in Western Massachusetts.
Dozens of well wishers filled the 165 year old Church.
Chester Gibbs spoke with 22News about the future. ??Well it's been a long time coming I'm looking forward to it. Some obstacles and God made it possible for us to be together for the rest of our lives,? said Gibbs.
Chester Gibbs has been a widower since 2011 when his wife of 59 years, Lucille Gibbs, passed away.
Source: http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/hampden/wedding-day-for-91-year-old-chester-gibbs
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
State Dept. identifies American killed in Egypt
JERUSALEM (AP) ? The State Department has identified the American killed in Egypt during violent clashes between government supporters and opponents.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, traveling with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the Middle East, says Andrew Pochter was killed Friday in Alexandria. The department has issued a warning advising Americans to defer nonessential travel to Egypt because of the continuing violence there.
Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, says in a statement on its website that Pochter was a 21-year-old student from Chevy Chase, Md., working in Egypt as an intern for a non-profit education organization.
The State Department says the young American was killed while photographing battles between supporters and foes of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Details were not available.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/state-dept-identifies-american-killed-egypt-084749398.html
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Why People Aren't Buying into Organic Food Products
Although the organic market has grown, it is still a small slice of the pie
PURE MARKETING: Changing perceptions about just how much healthier organic foods are than nonorganic foods are impacting the growth of the sector. Image: iStockPhoto
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Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
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Dear EarthTalk: I understand that, despite the popularity of organic foods, clothing and other products, organic agriculture is still only practiced on a tiny percentage of land worldwide. What?s getting in the way??Larry McFarlane, Boston
Organic production may still represent only a small fraction of agricultural sales in the U.S. and worldwide, but it as been growing rapidly over the last two decades. According to the latest global census of farming practices, the area of land certified as organic makes up less than one percent of global agricultural land?but it has grown more than threefold since 1999, with upwards of 37 million hectares of land worldwide now under organic cultivation. The Organic Trade Association forecasts steady growth of nine percent or more annually for organic agriculture in the foreseeable future.
But despite this growth, no one expects organic agriculture to top conventional techniques any time soon. The biggest hurdle for organics is the added cost of sustainable practices. ?The cost of organic food is higher than that of conventional food because the organic price tag more closely reflects the true cost of growing the food,? reports the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF). ?The intensive management and labor used in organic production are frequently (though not always) more expensive than the chemicals routinely used on conventional farms.? However, there is evidence that if the indirect costs of conventional food production?such as the impact on public health of chemicals released into our air and water?were factored in, non-organic foods would cost the same or as much as organic foods.
Other problems for organic foods include changing perceptions about just how much healthier they are than non-organics. ?Many devotees of organic foods purchase them in order to avoid exposure to harmful levels of pesticides,? writes Henry I. Miller in Forbes. ?But that?s a poor rationale: Non-organic fruits and vegetables had more pesticide residue, to be sure, but more than 99 percent of the time the levels were below the permissible, very conservative safety limits set by regulators?limits that are established by the Environmental Protection Agency and enforced by the Food and Drug Administration.?
He adds that just because a farm is organic doesn?t mean the food it produces will be free of potentially toxic elements. While organic standards may preclude the use of synthetic inputs, organic farms often utilize so-called ?natural? pesticides and what Miller calls ?pathogen-laden animal excreta as fertilizer? that can also end up making consumers sick and have been linked to cancers and other serious illnesses (like their synthetic counterparts). Miller believes that as more consumers become aware of these problems, the percentage of the agriculture market taken up by organics will begin to shrink.
Another challenge facing the organic sector is a shortage of organic raw materials such as grain, sugar and livestock feed. Without a steady supply of these basics, organic farmers can?t harvest enough products to make their businesses viable. Meanwhile, competition from food marketed as ?locally grown? or ?natural? is also cutting into organic?s slice of the overall agriculture pie.
Organic agriculture is sure to keep growing for years to come. And even if the health benefits of eating organic aren?t significant, the environmental advantages of organic agriculture?which are, of course, also public health advantages?make the practice well worth supporting.
CONTACTS: Organic Trade Association, www.ota.com; OFRF, www.ofrf.org.
EarthTalk? is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/chemistry/~3/hvBFJuqq1eA/article.cfm
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Friday, June 28, 2013
It's complicated: Lots to sort out on gay marriage
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Two landmark Supreme Court rulings that bolster gay marriage rights don't remove all barriers to same-sex unions by a long shot. Where gay couples live still will have a lot to do with how they're treated.
Some questions and answers about Wednesday's court rulings:
Q: Can you boil down these two big rulings ? 104 pages in all ? to the basics?
A: In one case, the court said legally married gay couples are entitled to the same federal benefits available to straight couples. In the other, it cleared the way for gay marriages to resume in California, where voters banned them in 2008.
Q: What type of benefits are we talking about?
A: More than you'd expect. There are more than 1,000 federal laws in which marital status matters, covering everything from income and inheritance taxes to health benefits and pensions. In states where gay marriage is legal, same-sex couples may actually be looking forward to filing their income taxes next April ? married, filing jointly.
Q. Why does it matter where a gay couple lives?
A: Even with Wednesday's ruling, where legally married gay couples live still may affect the federal benefits they can obtain, at least for now. Social Security survivor benefits, for example, depend on where a couple is living when a spouse dies. If that happens in a state that bans or does not recognize the union, it's not for sure that the surviving spouse will be entitled to the payments. Immigration law, meanwhile, only looks at where people were married, not where they live. It's complicated.
Q: What does the U.S. marriage map look like right now?
A: It's a patchwork. Same-sex marriage is legal in 12 states and the District of Columbia ? representing 18 percent of the U.S. population. When gay marriage resumes in California, the figure will jump to 30 percent. Twenty-nine other states have constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage. Six states have laws that ban it. Two states neither allow gay marriage nor ban it.
Q: How many same-sex couples in the U.S. have been legally married?
A: The numbers are squishy. The Pew Research Center estimates there have been at least 71,000 legal marriages since 2004, when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize them, but says there are almost certainly more. The Williams Institute, a UCLA-based think tank, says approximately 114,000 couples are legally married and more than 108,000 are in civil unions or registered domestic partnerships. In California alone, 18,000 same-sex couples were married during the 142-day period when gay unions were legal there in 2008.
Q: What's all this talk about DOMA?
A: DOMA is the federal Defense of Marriage Act, enacted in 1996. The court on Wednesday struck down a section of that law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman for purposes of federal law. That's what had denied legally married gay couples access to a host of federal benefits and programs that are available to straight couples.
Q: Why all of the focus Wednesday on California?
A: The second case that the court addressed related to a 2008 state ballot proposition that added a ban on gay marriage to the California Constitution. The court didn't rule on the merits of that ballot proposal, but it left in place a trial court's declaration that the proposition is unconstitutional. That means same-sex weddings could resume in California in about a month, although a federal appeals court there said it may continue to bar gay marriages even longer if proponents of Proposition 8 ask for a rehearing.
Q: What more could the Supreme Court have done?
A: Tons. It could have given gay Americans the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals. Instead, it sidestepped the looming question of whether banning gay marriage is unconstitutional.
Q: What's President Barack Obama's take on all of this?
A: He welcomed the ruling striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act and directed Attorney General Eric Holder to make sure federal laws are in sync with the ruling. (Obama, who endorsed gay marriage last year, broke with his Republican and Democratic predecessors and declined to defend the law in court.) Already, the Defense Department says it is beginning the process to extend health care, housing and other federal benefits to the same-sex spouses of members of the military.
Q: How does the public feel about gay marriage?
A: Public support has grown dramatically in the last few years, with a majority now favoring legal marriage for gay couples. There's even broader support for extending to gay couples the same legal rights and benefits that are available to married straight couples. An Associated Press-National Constitution Center poll last fall found 63 percent favored granting gay couples the same legal benefits straight couples had. And 53 percent favored legal recognition of same-sex marriages.
Q: What happens next?
A: Supporters of gay marriage will keep pressing to legalize same-sex unions in all 50 states. That means more battles in individual states, and more visits to the Supreme Court.
___
Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nbenac
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/complicated-lots-sort-gay-marriage-204458634.html
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BlackBerry CEO Confirms No BB10 Update For The Aging PlayBook Tablet
Here's a Friday morning PSA for you BlackBerry PlayBook owners: if you were feverishly clutching your tablet in hopes that BlackBerry would finally update it with a shiny new OS, you can finally put them down. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins just confirmed during the company's Q1 earnings call that the BlackBerry 10 won't be coming to your aging doodad. Tough break, folks.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/CL83eqPTJ3I/
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Microsoft unveils latest Windows adjustments
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Microsoft on Wednesday released a preview version of an update to Windows 8, aiming to address some of the gripes people have with the company's flagship operating system.
At a conference in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that the company pushed hard to get people to adopt a radical new tile-based "Modern" user interface in Windows 8. Microsoft is now back-pedaling, making it easier to reach and use the older "desktop" interface.
"Let's make it easier to start applications the way we're used to," Ballmer told the audience of software developers. "What we will show you today is a refined blend of our Desktop experience and our Modern experience."
Microsoft made the preview of Windows 8.1 available for free as a download.
Windows 8.1 will allow people to boot up in Desktop mode. There, they'll find a button that resembles the old Start button. It won't take users to the old Start menu, but to the new "Modern" Windows 8 start screen. Still, the re-introduction of the familiar button may make it easier for longtime Windows users to get accustomed to the changes. A common complaint about Windows 8 is that it hides features and functions, and replaces buttons with gestures and invisible click zones that have to be memorized.
Other new features of Windows 8.1 include more options to use multiple apps. People will be able to determine how much of the screen each app takes while showing up to four different programs, rather than just two. The update will also offer more integrated search results, showing users previews of websites, apps and documents that are on the device, all at once.
The preview version of Windows 8.1 is meant for Microsoft's partners and other technology developers, but anyone can download it. The release comes exactly eight months after desktops, laptops and tablets with Windows 8 went on sale. The version of the Windows 8.1 update meant for the general public will come later in the year, though the company hasn't announced a specific date.
Julie Larson-Green, the head of Microsoft's Windows division, said the update, rapid by Microsoft standards, "shows how much more responsive our engineering has become."
Many of the new features have been shown already. A three-day Build conference, which started Wednesday in San Francisco, gives Microsoft developers a chance to learn more about the new system and try it out. It also will give the company a chance to explain some of the reasoning behind the update and sell developers on Microsoft's ambitions to regain relevance lost to Apple's iPad and various devices running Google's Android software.
Windows 8, released Oct. 26, was meant to be Microsoft's answer to changing customer behaviors and the rise of tablet computers. The operating system emphasizes touch controls over the mouse and the keyboard, which had been the main way people have interacted with their personal computers since the 1980s.
Microsoft and PC makers had been looking to Windows 8 to revive sales of personal computers, but some people have been put off by the radical makeover. Research firm IDC said the operating system actually slowed down the market. Although Microsoft says it has sold more than 100 million Windows 8 licenses so far, IDC said worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 14 percent in the first three months of this year, the worst since tracking began in 1994.
Windows 8 was also supposed to make Microsoft more competitive in the growing market for tablet computers. But Windows tablets had less than a 4 percent market share in the first quarter, compared with 57 percent for Android and 40 percent for Apple's iPad.
One big problem is the fact that Windows 8 doesn't work well on smaller screens, making Windows tablets less competitive with cheaper tablets such as Apple's iPad Mini, Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD. Microsoft built Windows 8 primarily to run on tablets with 10-inch to 12-inch screens, and it is trying to address that shortcoming in Windows 8.1.
It's crucial that Microsoft sets things right with Windows 8.1 because the outlook for the PC market keeps getting gloomier. IDC now expects PC shipments to fall by nearly 8 percent this year, worse than its previous forecast of a 1 percent dip. IDC also anticipates tablets will outsell laptop computers for the first time this year.
Microsoft is addressing that shift by banking its future on touch controls. Its strategy calls for having just one operating system work on both tablets and traditional computers. That allows popular Windows programs such as Office to work well on tablets, too. But in making Windows easy for touch screens, mouse and keyboard commands are more complex to use and figure out.
Apple and Google, on the other hand, believe people use those machines differently and have opted to keep their operating systems separate. Apple, for instance, believes that it can be tiresome to have to constantly move your arm to touch a desktop or laptop screen. That's not a problem with tablets because you're already holding it.
As for the growing interest in smaller, cheaper tablets, Microsoft has said the company is working with other manufacturers to make some. At the conference, it didn't confirm reports that it is making its own.
Microsoft also said very little about Windows RT, the Windows 8 variant that's designed to run on the same phone-style processors that let the iPad and Android tablets be lighter and have longer battery lives than Windows 8 tablets with PC-style Intel processors. Windows RT has been hamstrung by a lack of applications, since it won't run older Windows programs.
At the conference, Microsoft showed off an Acer tablet with an 8-inch screen ? a size that would be a good fit for an RT device ? but it ran full-blown Windows 8 instead.
Microsoft Corp. just cut the effective price of its Surface tablet with Windows RT by including a keyboard cover for free. The cover sells for $120 or $130 on its own.
Microsoft also said this month that it would give buyers of the RT version of Surface the Outlook email and calendar program at no extra charge ? joining other Office freebies Excel, Word and Power Point ? and sweetening the offer for the device that is priced starting at $499. The new programs will come as part of the Windows 8.1 update.
___
Online:
Build conference: http://www.buildwindows.com
Windows site: http://windows.microsoft.com
Windows 8.1 site:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/products-and-technologies/windows-8-1/default.aspx
___
AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson contributed from New York.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-unveils-latest-windows-adjustments-182607246.html
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Review: Ouya brings indie games to your TV
The ongoing explosion in independently developed, low-budget video games has been a boon for players who travel. Whether I'm on the road with an iPad, an Android smartphone or a laptop, I know there's a huge library of games to play.
When I get home, though, I want to play on a bigger screen. That's where the Ouya comes in. It promises to deliver the best in inexpensive indie gaming on a high-resolution screen, through a small device that runs the Android operating system designed for phones and tablets.
Ouya costs just $100 ? a few hundred dollars less than what you'd pay for a major game console. Thousands of gamers and game developers got Ouyas over the past few months after contributing at least $95 to Ouya's creators through the group-fundraising site Kickstarter. The device went on sale more broadly on Tuesday.
Ouya runs Google's Android system and is built around Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor, used mostly in smartphones and other mobile devices. That should make it easy to port over the thousands of games already made for Android phones and tablets, but for now you're limited to software specifically designed for Ouya. Nearly 180 games are available so far through Ouya's online store, with many more expected.
Each game has a version you can download for free. If you like what you see, you can download a full version for a few bucks. By contrast, games for one of the big three consoles can cost as much as $60 each ? usually with no free trial.
The device itself is a cube measuring 3 inches on each side, with slightly rounded corners on the bottom. The controller is a bit chunkier. It resembles what's available with Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation, with two exceptions: The Ouya controller has a touchpad in the middle (although none of the games I sampled took advantage of it), and its grips are longer, each accommodating an AA battery. One controller comes with the Ouya, and extra ones cost $50 each.
Setup is easy once you connect the Ouya to your high-definition television set using a supplied HDMI cable. When you turn on the console, it automatically searches for Wi-Fi connections. You can also connect to the Internet through an Ethernet cable, which you have to provide yourself. Once connected, you need to create an account and supply credit card information.
Then you're taken to a simple menu with four options: play, discover, make and manage. "Make" takes you to an area for potential game developers, while "manage" lets you tinker with system settings.
"Discover" takes you to Ouya's game store. You can find games by genre, such as role-playing, sim/strategy and "meditative." You can also check out showcases such as "couch gaming with friends."
Download speeds aren't bad; it took about 20 minutes for me to transfer a 725-megabyte file over Comcast high-speed Internet. Smaller games are, of course, much faster. The device has 8 gigabytes of internal storage, and you can add more by connecting an external hard drive to the Ouya with a USB cable.
Once you have your game, clicking "play" on the home page takes you to your personal library. Compared with the sometimes daunting menus on the Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, Ouya's displays are clean and elegant.
The offerings on the Ouya store vary wildly in quality and ambition. Android is an open platform, so anyone can write software for it. That means you have professionally executed games such as the beloved "You Don't Know Jack" competing head-to-head with the sloppy trivia game "Quizania." Some popular console games, including "The Bard's Tale" and "Final Fantasy III," have been adapted for the Ouya, but it isn't the place for blockbuster titles such as the latest "Call of Duty" and "Grand Theft Auto."
More prevalent are games that have been cult hits on PCs and smartphones, including "Canabalt," ''Saturday Morning RPG" and "Organ Trail." There are a few Ouya exclusives, including the 3-D puzzler "Polarity" and the multiplayer archery game "TowerFall."
Ouya offers high-resolution displays in 1080p, comparable to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii U. Most of the Ouya's offerings are fairly low-def, though, and if you're looking for the wide-screen majesty of "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" or "BioShock Infinite," you won't find it here. If your video-game habit dates back to the 1970s, you'll notice a distinct retro feel to the Ouya's library. That's not a complaint; there's something refreshing about taking on a simple running-and-jumping game such as "Canabalt" after you've survived a grueling epic like Sony's PS3 hit "The Last of Us."
Indeed, some of the more satisfying indie releases of the last few years ? say, "Fez," ''Hotline Miami" or "Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine" ? have combined old-school graphics with game play that's more sophisticated than most big-budget console releases offer. Nothing currently on Ouya matches the quality of those games, but if the system can attract that level of talent, it will be a console to be reckoned with.
If you're a hardcore gamer, it won't replace your Xbox or PlayStation, but for $100 it's a worthy supplement.
___
About Ouya:
The $100 device plays games designed for it on high-definition screens. Although it runs the Android operating system used in smartphones and tablets, games need to be specifically adapted to work on Ouya. Nearly 180 games are available through Ouya's online store.
Initially available only to people who made donations through Kickstarter, Ouya is now sold through Ouya's website as well as Amazon.com, Target, Best Buy and GameStop.
___
Online:
Ouya: http://www.ouya.tv
___
Follow Lou Kesten on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lkesten
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/review-ouya-brings-indie-games-tv-072100546.html
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Friday, June 21, 2013
Guest post: consumers as well as the state power Russia's ...
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Thursday, June 20, 2013
Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions
No one is predicting an easy road ahead for the peace talks. One key question: How united are the Taliban?s political and military wings behind this latest reconciliation effort?
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai (r.) shakes hand with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen after a joint news conference in Kabul, June 18, 2013. Afghanistan will send a team to Qatar for peace talks with the Taliban, Karzai said on Tuesday, as the U.S.-led NATO coalition launched the final phase of the 12-year war with the last round of security transfers to Afghan forces.
Omar Sobhani / Reuters
EnlargeThe announcement by US officials Tuesday of imminent peace talks between the Afghan government and representatives of the Taliban adds an additional hopeful note to a day when NATO formally announced the full turnover of security leadership to Afghan forces.
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The announcement of talks reaches toward the US goal of advancing Afghan reconciliation before the departure of all US-led NATO troops from Afghanistan by December 2014. Still, no one is predicting an easy road ahead, let alone guaranteed success after years of sputtering peace initiatives.
Even US officials announcing the upcoming talks were cautious about prospects for a dialogue that is to start with US-Taliban discussions as early as Thursday. That dialogue would be quickly followed by direct negotiations between Afghan officials and Taliban representatives.
Tuesday?s developments ?represent an important first step towards reconciliation -- a process that, after 30 years of armed conflict in Afghanistan, will certainly promise to be complex, long, and messy,? a senior Obama administration official said, adding, ?Nonetheless, this is an important first step.?
One reason for the US optimism ? as tempered as it may be ? is that the Taliban released a statement committing to two principles that the United States had been calling on the Taliban to publicly adopt: One is simply that the Taliban support an Afghan peace process, while the second is that they oppose the use of Afghan soil to threaten other countries.
In other words, Al Qaeda shouldn?t expect to look to the Taliban for support to return to Afghanistan.
The Taliban released the statement in Doha, Qatar, where they will open an office and where the talks will start.
Yet the announcement of talks leaves unanswered a number of other key questions that are likely to determine prospects for a peace process. Among them:
- How united are the Taliban?s political and military wings behind this latest reconciliation effort??
- Will Afghanistan?s influential neighbors ? first among them Pakistan, but also Iran and even India ? see fit to support (or instead, sabotage) a promising peace process?
- What becomes of the three preconditions for Afghan peace talks that the US long insisted the Taliban had to accept: renouncing violence, cutting all ties with Al Qaeda and its affiliates, and abiding by the Afghan Constitution and Afghan laws, including concerning the rights of women?
US officials now say that the ?outcome? of any peace process must be full adherence by the Taliban and other insurgent groups to those three conditions ? characterized by a senior administration official on Tuesday as ?end conditions.?
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Engadget HD Podcast 354 - 06.18.13
The E3 and WWDC news surges have finally calmed, so now we're back into the normal weekly groove. This week, Ben details his time using an Oculus Rift to watch recorded video and Richard attempts to ride out E3 as long as possible with our roundup. All that and more is ready to stream straight to your ears below.
Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)
Producer: Joe Pollicino (@akaTRENT)
Hear the podcast
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/OP6jP79DJSY/
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Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Two new Chinese ambassadors signed by Nike Golf
Nike Golf has announced that China's Hao-Tong Li and Xin-Jun Zhang have been added to its already extensive portfolio of players.
As ambassadors, Li and Zhang will represent Nike and use clubs, balls, footwear, gloves, apparel, headwear and accessories throughout their multiyear deals.
26-year old Zhang turned professional in 2010, and quickly had a remarkable 13th place finish in the 2011 Shanghai HSBC Championship. Most recently he won two gold medals and one silver in Chinese professional tournaments in 2011 and 2012. Prior to this, in 2007, Zhang was selected to represent China for international tournaments as a Chinese national team member.
Li turned professional in 2011 at the age of 16, and his most recent achievements include competing in this year's Australian PGA Championship and the New Zealand PGA Championship where he finished 39th and 5th respectively. Before turning professional, Li took home nine gold medals and six silver medals in the Asian games, and was named best amateur player in 2011. He also represented the Chinese national team in 2010 and 2011.
"We are excited to welcome these two young and talented athletes to the Nike Golf family," said Mark Thaxton, global director of sports marketing operations at Nike Golf. "Hao-Tong and Xin-Jun are our first head-to-toe atheletes in China and they will make great additions to our stable of athletes at a global level."
blog comments powered bySource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SportsProDailyDeal/~3/7lY2ScFuL-4/
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HTC Butterfly s revealed: 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, UltraPixel camera sensor (video)
HTC's just pulled back the proverbial curtains on the Butterfly s at its Taiwan launch event. It'll arrive boasting a familiar-sounding 5-inch 1080p display, front-facing BoomSound stereo speakers and Sense 5 as expected. When it comes to internals, the Butterfly s runs Android Jelly Bean on a quad-core 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 (faster than the HTC One), an impressive 3,200mAh battery, quad-band HSPA/WCDMA radio, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, expandable once again through microSD. As for imaging, alongside that primary UltraPixel camera and Zoe software features, there's a 2.1-megapixel wide-angle shooter on the front. It's currently scheduled for a release in July in Taiwan, accompanied by a NT $22,900 (roughly $766) price tag, but no word when (or even if) it'll reach foreign shores.
Update: Our Chinese sister site just spent some hands-on time with the device. Check out their first impressions right here. We've also added an official video right after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
Source: Engadget Chinese
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/mcGAGh6ZRMI/
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Style Plus Curves: Plussize Lingerie Shopping Guide: Hips and ...
It's time for another post highlighting plussize lingerie and where to buy it! Looking for the perfect outfit for a steamy or romantic night with your partner? Time to visit one of my favorite sexy lingerie online shops, Hips and Curves.
Each piece on this site is unapologetically sexy and built especially to show off curves to their best advantage. I've been a fan of this site for years, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to review a few of their pieces. I could not turn down the Strappy Stretch Lace Bra and the Midnight Rendezvous Stretch Lace Garter Belt. HOTT!!
This demi bra is so ridiculously sexy! The half cups hit just above the middle of the breast, and the straps stretch across the cup and join the support straps at the shoulder. This structure hints at bondage...but in a sweet and playful way.The fit was perfect, so order your true size. Also, it comes in a number of different colors, so pick the one that turns you on!
Love the label!
And then we have the adorable black lace garter belt! The lace stretches easily across your hips, and the clasps can be adjusted according to the length of the thigh highs you're wearing with it.
Worn together, this is a sexy look that's liable to make your partner stop in his/her tracks. Or...if you're daring, wear it during the day under one of your pencil skirts and feel the thrill of keeping a sexy little secret!?
There are SO many other sexy items to choose from at Hips and Curves...bra and panty sets, corsets, bustiers, lingerie and hosiery galore! Even costumes! Go now and have fun imagining the possibilities!Source: http://www.stylepluscurves.com/2013/06/plussize-lingerie-shopping-guide-hips.html
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Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Exposure to high pollution levels during pregnancy may increase risk of having child with autism
June 18, 2013 ? Women in the U.S. exposed to high levels of air pollution while pregnant were up to twice as likely to have a child with autism as women who lived in areas with low pollution, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). It is the first large national study to examine links between autism and air pollution across the U.S.
"Our findings raise concerns since, depending on the pollutant, 20% to 60% of the women in our study lived in areas where risk of autism was elevated," said lead author Andrea Roberts, research associate in the HSPH Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The study appeared online June 18, 2013 in Environmental Health Perspectives.
Exposure to diesel particulates, lead, manganese, mercury, methylene chloride and other pollutants are known to affect brain function and to affect the developing baby. Two previous studies found associations between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and autism in children, but those studies looked at data in just three locations in the U.S.
The researchers examined data from Nurses' Health Study II, a long-term study based at Brigham and Women's Hospital involving 116,430 nurses that began in 1989. Among that group, the authors studied 325 women who had a child with autism and 22,000 women who had a child without the disorder. They looked at associations between autism and levels of pollutants at the time and place of birth. They used air pollution data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to estimate women's exposure to pollutants while pregnant. They also adjusted for the influence of factors such as income, education, and smoking during pregnancy.
The results showed that women who lived in the 20% of locations with the highest levels of diesel particulates or mercury in the air were twice as likely to have a child with autism as those who lived in the 20% of areas with the lowest levels.
Other types of air pollution -- lead, manganese, methylene chloride, and combined metal exposure -- were associated with higher autism risk as well. Women who lived in the 20% of locations with the highest levels of these pollutants were about 50% more likely to have a child with autism than those who lived in the 20% of areas with the lowest concentrations.
Most pollutants were associated with autism more strongly in boys than girls. However, since there were few girls with autism in the study, the authors said this finding should be examined further.
Senior author Marc Weisskopf, associate professor of environmental and occupational epidemiology at HSPH, said, "Our results suggest that new studies should begin the process of measuring metals and other pollutants in the blood of pregnant women or newborn children to provide stronger evidence that specific pollutants increase risk of autism. A better understanding of this can help to develop interventions to reduce pregnant women's exposure to these pollutants."
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Friday, June 14, 2013
Director, Faculty Professional Development ? Charles R. Drew ...
Forbes names 2U as one of the Top 10 startups that will change the world:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2012/05/09/10-startups-changing-the-world-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them/
What We?re Looking For
The Healthcare Recruiter is responsible for creating strategic partnerships with hospitals and hospital systems nationwide for placing Nursing Master?s students in appropriate settings for clinical placements as part of the students? nursing education and to produce to create a wholesale source for students for the online program.
The execution of these responsibilities will include:
Managing all aspects of clinical placement and field sales for the Georgetown University Master?s in Nursing program delivered online for specified territory
Developing relationships with hospitals, hospital systems and private practices for clinical placements
Creating strategy for long term placement relationships as well as fulfill ?one off? placement requirements from students
Matching preceptors with students in the clinical setting
Working with counterpart at Georgetown University on vetting clinical sites and coordinating site visits
Working with counterpart at Georgetown University and legal team on contract execution of clinical partnership agreements
Developing partnerships with hospitals, hospital systems and private practices to deliver new students to the program
Things That Should Be In Your Background
Bachelor?s degree required
Minimum of 3+ years experience providing strategic direction to growing operations with focus on a proactive, forward thinking, scalable approach to creating processes
Previous experience in Education and/or Healthcare industry preferred
Experience in recruiting nurses into clinical settings strongly preferred
Other Attributes That Will Help You in This Role
General knowledge of hospital system structure and hierarchy
General knowledge of clinical setting and preceptor role
Highly self motivated and able to work autonomously
Strong sense of system orientation and focus on providing ?white glove? service to our students and faculty
Ability to forecast, track, monitor and quantify needs of Student Support team
Enthusiasm and the ability to thrive in an atmosphere of constant change
Ability work and contribute in a team environment
About
Founded in 2008 by a unique team of education veterans with unparalleled experience, 2U, Inc., formerly known as 2tor, Inc., partners with preeminent institutions of higher education to deliver rigorous, selective degree programs online to students globally.
2U supplies universities with the tools, expertise, capital, and global recruiting needed to build and support programs of quality and scale.
Technology: 2U develops state-of-the-art technology platforms that give universities the ability to deliver traditional offline curricula in a unique online learning environment.
Instructional Design : Our instructional designers work closely with faculty to translate classroom courses into a compelling combination of synchronous and asynchronous online and real-world experiences, using the best educational and social technologies available. We work side-by-side with professors to evolve those courses. We make improvements as usage and learning patterns emerge and new technologies become available.
Infrastructure: 2U provides the support infrastructure and the logistical components of our partners? online programs. This includes comprehensive student support services from enrollment through graduation and beyond, as well as practical learning experiences in communities around the world.
Resources: 2U makes an upfront investment of over $10 million in each of our partner programs. By supplying capital and global marketing capabilities, we enable universities to give high-performing students around the world a transformational educational experience.
Since our founding, 2U has partnered with some of the most prestigious research universities to deliver groundbreaking online degree programs. You can read about our partners here ( www.2U.com/partners ).
And if you?re ready to help our team ( www.2U.com/team ) build the next great movement in higher education, consider joining us ( www.2U.com/careers ).
Why It?s Great to Join Our Team
There are plenty of reasons, but here are a few:
Benefits ? at 2U we offer a great benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability and 401k. We also offer paid time off and company holidays. That?s not all! Admissions Counselors receive a 100% paid tuition benefit for themselves, their spouse and their legal dependants.
Our Culture ? We are a highly energetic, innovative start-up company with room to grow. We don?t take ourselves too seriously, and strive to maintain a casual, professional and highly productive work environment for our team. 2U employees enjoy many perks, including the ability to wear jeans to work every day.
Note: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time-to-time, as needed.
2U is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against applicants or employees and ensures equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of their race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, marital status, disability, citizenship, military or veterans? status, or any other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. 2U?s equal opportunity policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, job benefits, pay, and dismissal.
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Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Def Leppard Guitarist Vivian Campbell Battling Cancer
Def Leppard Guitarist Vivian Campbell Battling Cancer
Def Leppard’s rocker Vivian Campbell has revealed he is being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The guitarist has been receiving chemotherapy for two months and has four months of treatment left, but assures fans he will be performing in upcoming shows. Def Leppard are gearing up for their tour in Europe and North America and the ...
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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/06/def-leppard-guitarist-vivian-campbell-battling-cancer/
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Turtle Beach outs Xbox One headsets, Call of Duty: Ghosts- and Marvel-branded cans
In May, Turtle Beach shouted from the hilltops that it snagged Microsoft's blessing to craft Xbox One headsets, and now it's ready to show off the actual hardware. Based on the outfit's Seven Series, the pair of XO Ear Force cans will be available at the console's launch and feature 3.5mm jacks, detachable boom mics and deliver surround sound through wired connections to controller adapters. At $149, the XO Seven boasts a "premium finish," on-ear cups with noise-isolating memory foam cushions, interchangeable speaker plates and a breakaway cable with an in-line mic for use with mobile devices. Liberating $99 from your wallet, however, will net you the more budget-friendly XO Four, which can also be used with devices outfitted with 3.5mm ports.
Bringing other platforms into the mix, Turtle Beach unveiled a trio of Call of Duty: Ghosts-branded headsets, but remained mum on pricing. The wireless Ear Force Phantom boasts dual-band WiFi, rechargeable batteries and compatibility with the Xbox 360, PS3 and mobile devices. The wired Spectre and Shadow are presumably less pricey, and play nice with PC and Mac as well. Sure, E3 may be a video game bonanza, but comic fans are getting some love with an Ear Force Seven headset embellished with Marvel branding, a red accent and swappable speaker covers with different characters.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/1vF7tHLYFaE/
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Car bombs at market in central Iraq kill 14
BAGHDAD (AP) ? Back-to-back car bombings at a market in central Iraq killed at least 14 people on Monday, officials said, the latest in a spike in violence that has ravaged the country in recent weeks.
Three parked car bombs exploded virtually simultaneously, tearing through a wholesale vegetable and fruit market in the town of Jidaidat al-Shatt in Diyala province. The town is just outside the provincial capital of Baqouba, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad.
The explosions also wounded 34 people, said police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Iraq is facing a spike in violence, with recent monthly death tolls rising to levels not seen since 2008. According to the United Nations, at least 1,045 Iraqi civilians and security personnel were killed in May. The tally surpassed April's 712 killed.
The three car bombs used in Monday's attack were put in different locations in and around the town market in order to inflict most damage and casualties, the police officials said.
Medics said that some people died of their wounds in the hospitals. Provincial councilman Sadiq al-Husseini confirmed the casualty figures.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's attacks, but car bombs are a favorite method used by Sunni extremists.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/car-bombs-market-central-iraq-kill-14-080833753.html
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Monday, June 10, 2013
Suicide risk factors described
June 10, 2013 ? The study, a collaboration between Lund University in Sweden and Stanford University, showed that the rate of suicide among men is almost three times that of women. Being young, single and having a low level of education were stronger risk factors for suicide among men, while mental illness was a stronger risk factor among women. Unemployment was the strongest social risk factor among women, whereas being single was the strongest among men.
Because the study covered a range of different diseases in both in-patient and out-patient care as well as social factors, the researchers gained insight into which factors are particularly important to bear in mind when assessing the risk of suicide.
"Better strategies are needed for collaboration between different disciplines and wider society in order to reduce the risk of suicide for individuals who suffer from, for example, depression, anxiety, COPD, asthma and certain social risk factors," says principal investigator Professor Jan Sundquist.
Of those who committed suicide, 29.5% of women and 21.7% of men had visited a doctor in the two weeks prior to their suicide, and 57.1% of women and 44.9% of men had visited a doctor within the 13 weeks prior to their suicide.
"This shows that many had contact with the health service a relatively short time before committing suicide. The results have clinical significance for those working in both primary care and other out-patient and in-patient care, including psychiatry. Besides the health service, social support services may need to be involved in the work to reduce the number of suicides in society," concludes Jan Sundquist.
Results:
Depression (32-fold risk for suicide), anxiety (15-fold risk), COPD (3.05-fold risk), asthma (2.25-fold risk), stroke (1.67-fold risk) and cancer (1.72-fold risk). Those who have poor social networks are also at higher risk of suicide (e.g. divorced 2.25-fold risk).
About the study:
The researchers used the Swedish population and health register and were therefore able to follow over seven million adults between 2001 and 2008. Of these, 8,721 committed suicide.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/deqy_jC31Ds/130610084132.htm
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