Utah-to-Boston passenger denies child porn charge (AP)

BOSTON ? A University of Utah professor has pleaded not guilty to viewing child pornography on his laptop during a flight from Salt Lake City to Boston.

Grant Smith, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, was ordered held on $75,000 bail Monday and told to have no unsupervised contact with children.

Massachusetts State Police say the 47-year-old Smith was sitting in first class Saturday afternoon when another passenger saw pornographic images, alerted a flight attendant and emailed a relative who contacted law enforcement.

Smith was arrested after landing on a charge of possession of child pornography. His lawyer says he has no criminal record.

Smith is a professor in the materials science and engineering department at Utah. He has been placed on administrative leave.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_re_us/us_plane_arrest_child_porn

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Retiring Cop Who Overcame Cancer Foils iPhone Theft

MANHATTAN ? Not even advanced cancer could hold him back.

A tough-as-nails detective who overcame stage IV lymphoma helped derail an iPhone thief in the Times Square subway station just days before his retirement, police said yesterday.

"This is a fitting culmination of an outstanding career," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Det. First Grade Nelson Dones, a 31-year veteran of the force, who is assigned to the anti-crime task force in the Manhattan Transit Unit, had been part of a team that was monitoring an officer posing as a straphanger Saturday evening.

Dones, who is set to retire Tuesday, and the other officers spotted the suspect, Fernando Francis, 26, of Brooklyn, approach the decoy from behind as she went from the N/Q/R platform to the Times Square Shuttle.

That's when Dones saw Francis allegedly grab an iPhone from the detective's backpack and put it into the front pocket of his sweatshirt.

Just after 6 p.m., the officers moved in and took Francis, who has prior arrests for assault, criminal contempt and criminal possession of a weapon, into custody.

He was charged with grand larceny.

Dozen of new decoy officers were trained in recent weeks to address a spike in thefts in the subway system, cops said.?

Decoys mimic behavior of likely victims of theft and often ensnare repeat offenders, police said.

Dones was diagnosed in 2000 with advanced cancer of his lymph nodes that had spread to his bone marrow, but was able to overcome the disease with the help of a bone marrow transplant from his brother.

Five years later, after extensive rehabilitation, he returned to work full time as a Field Training Officer ? a senior officer who act as mentors for younger members of the force.

He was honored in 2010 with the Theodore Roosevelt Award for Continued Service After Overcoming Severe Medical Hardship.

RELATED CONTENT

Source: http://www.dnainfo.com/20111127/midtown/retiring-cop-who-overcame-cancer-foils-iphone-theft

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Dyslexic adults have more trouble if background noise levels are high

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Dyslexia affects up to 17.5% of the population, but its cause remains somewhat unknown. A report published in the Nov. 23 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE supports the hypothesis that the symptoms of dyslexia, including difficulties in reading, are at least partly due to difficulty excluding excess background information like noise.

In the study of 37 undergraduate students, the researchers, led by Rachel Beattie of the University of Southern California, found that the poor readers performed significantly worse than the control group only when there were high levels of background noise.

The two groups performed comparably at the prescribed task when there was no background noise and when the stimulus set size was varied, either a large or a small set size.

According to Dr. Beattie, "these findings support a relatively new theory, namely that dyslexic individuals do not completely filter out irrelevant information when attending to letters and sounds. This external noise exclusion deficit could lead to the creation of inaccurate representations of words and phonemes and ultimately, to the characteristic reading and phonological awareness impairments observed in dyslexia."

###

Beattie RL, Lu Z-L, Manis FR (2011) Dyslexic Adults Can Learn from Repeated Stimulus Presentation but Have Difficulties in Excluding External Noise.PLoS ONE6(11): e27893. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027893

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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115460/Dyslexic_adults_have_more_trouble_if_background_noise_levels_are_high

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Top Marine spends Thanksgiving in Afghanistan

In this photo taken with a cell phone, Marine Gen. James Amos visits Combat Outpost Geronimo in southern Afghanistan Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011, as he visits troops. The U.S. Marines' top general, James Amos, sprinted up and down the Helmand River Valley in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, visiting frontline Marines at nine remote outposts to share Thanksgiving and applaud their gains against the Taliban in a region where al-Qaida hatched the 9/11 plot a decade ago. (AP Photo/Bob Burns)

In this photo taken with a cell phone, Marine Gen. James Amos visits Combat Outpost Geronimo in southern Afghanistan Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011, as he visits troops. The U.S. Marines' top general, James Amos, sprinted up and down the Helmand River Valley in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, visiting frontline Marines at nine remote outposts to share Thanksgiving and applaud their gains against the Taliban in a region where al-Qaida hatched the 9/11 plot a decade ago. (AP Photo/Bob Burns)

FILE - In this July 29, 2011 file photo, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos speaks with reporters about the Marine Corps need for the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. Amos, the U.S. Marines' top general, sprinted up and down the Helmand River Valley in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011, visiting frontline Marines at nine remote outposts to share Thanksgiving and applaud their gains against the Taliban in a region where al-Qaida hatched the 9/11 plot a decade ago. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

COMBAT OUTPOST HANSON, Afghanistan (AP) ? A turkey trot it was not.

The U.S. Marines' top general, James Amos, sprinted up and down the Helmand River Valley in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, visiting frontline Marines at nine remote outposts to share Thanksgiving and applaud their gains against the Taliban in a region where al-Qaida hatched the 9/11 plot a decade ago.

Traveling mostly in an MV-22 Osprey, the hybrid that flies like an airplane and takes off and lands like a helicopter, Amos began shortly after daylight and finished 14 hours later ? and, improbably, managed to confront just one turkey dinner.

At one point the 65-year-old Amos referred to his unusual daytrip as the "Bataan death march," a reference to the gruesome forced march of American POWs in the Philippines during World War II.

Amos shook hands with hundreds of Marines, all veterans of tough fighting in Helmand Province, which has been a focal point of the U.S.-led strategy to counter the Taliban and other insurgent groups. The Marines have vastly improved security in Helmand over the past year, but with President Barack Obama having ordered 33,000 U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan by next September, the prospects for sustaining those gains are uncertain, and the subject of debate at home.

At each stop Amos struck similar themes in pep talks to his Marines: they are coming close to winning, and when the Marine Corps leaves Afghanistan it will shift its focus to the Pacific, where he said "a whole lot of opportunities" will await a Corps no longer bogged down by land wars in the greater Middle East. He also said Thanksgiving is a time for Marines to reflect on "the unique fraternal bond" among men and women at war.

Marine Sgt. Maj. Michael Barrett, the top enlisted Marine, who accompanied Amos, said that for most troops Thanksgiving was just another day at war ? until they finished their work.

"Then they'll have a meal of a lifetime," he said.

The feast was finally set for Amos when he arrived after dark at Camp Dwyer, the southern-most stop on his trip. He helped heap plates with roast turkey, baked ham and prime rib ? with all the traditional fixings ? and then sat amongst the troops to finish it off.

Amos said "Happy Thanksgiving" at each Marine outpost, but the troops did not seem in a festive mood ? at least in the presence of their commandant. The business of war does not take a holiday. When he asked the Marines what was on their minds, they asked about the future of the Corps, the latest of Washington's stalled budget debate, the possibility of seeing some of their retirement benefits go away, and internal Marine issues.

Some conveyed a sense of confidence that Afghanistan would soon be behind them.

At Combat Outpost Hanson, one member of the 3rd battalion, 6th Marine Regiment asked, "Who do you want us to fight next, sir?" Amos said he did not know, but he reassured the Marine that there would be no shortage of security crises in the years ahead.

At Combat Outpost Alcatraz, in Sangin district where fierce fights against the Taliban have waned only recently, the top overall commander of the war, Marine Gen. John Allen, joined Amos for a pep talk to several dozen Marines.

Allen said Marines will "go home under the victory pennant," but he stressed that the struggle to degrade Taliban influence and build up Afghan security forces ? in Helmand and throughout Afghanistan ? is far from over.

"As big as this is, and as hard as it has been, we are going to be successful here," Allen said. "We're going to win this. We're going to liberate these people, we're going to set this country up to be a free country in one of the toughest regions in the world."

There are now about 97,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. All are scheduled to leave by the end of 2014.

Amos clearly relished the chance to see so many combat Marines, but his trip was no joy ride. His itinerary was a closely-held secret, and the aircraft on which he flew was heavily armed.

As a CH-53 helicopter lifted off from a barren field across a dirt highway in the northern Helmand village of Puzeh, with Amos and part of his entourage aboard, a bearded special operations Marine quipped, "Cross your fingers." And then, as the chopper rose above a billowing wall of powdery dust, the Marine added, only half jokingly, "Whew! Getting the commandant shot down at your (outpost) would not be a good thing."

___

Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-24-AS-Thanksgiving-Marines-at-War/id-b311cc90ddfd47dfb996ad63240087f2

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SmackDown live results: Nov. 25, 2011

Refresh for the latest SmackDown results:

Daniel Bryan def. Randy Orton, Wade Barrett and Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes (Fatal 4-Way World Title No. 1 Contender?s Match) (WATCH | PHOTOS)

Ted DiBiase def. Heath Slater (WATCH | PHOTOS)

Sheamus & Zack Ryder def. United States Champion Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger (WATCH | PHOTOS)

Divas Champion Beth Phoenix & Natalya def. AJ & Kaitlyn (WATCH | PHOTOS)

Hunico def. Justin Gabriel (WATCH | PHOTOS)

Daniel Bryan just cashed in Money in the Bank on World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry! But, he did not walk out with the World Title, due to a technicality. (WATCH | PHOTOS) Later tonight, Bryan will face Wade Barrett, Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton in a Fatal 4-Way Match. The winner will take on Mark Henry on Tuesday?s LIVE holiday SmackDown on Syfy at 8/7 CT!

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/2011-11-25/live-results

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A Dangerous Method

It makes sense that David Cronenberg, one the great cinematic thinkers about sexuality, repression, violence, death, and other riddles of bodily existence, would be drawn to the idea of making a film about the break between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. What?s surprising is that the resulting movie, A Dangerous Method (Universal Pictures), doesn?t include, say, a fantasy sequence in which a polyp growing in Jung?s mouth takes on a life of its own, invades Freud?s body and infects it with a slow poison, thereby literalizing the student?s death wish for his mentor.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=3149130cd475c5bf80600a647e4ac0b7

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European shares fall on Merkel comments (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? European shares fell for the sixth consecutive session in low volume on Thursday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel restated her position against changing the role of the European Central Bank to ease the euro zone debt crisis.

The market trimmed gains after the comments by Merkel about the ECB as well as remarks that she remained opposed to the use of jointly issued euro bonds to combat the region's debt crisis.

"The comments about the ECB were a clear message to the market not to expect anything in the short-term," Veronika Pechlaner, a fund manager on the Ashburton European equity fund, said.

"The market is looking toward the ECB as it only has the firepower necessary to help the situation. The question is how much systemic risk do you get before something is done."

Banks (.SX7P), which have been in focus due to their exposure to the region's sovereign debt, pared earlier gains.

But after a sell-off of 10 percent over the past five days many banking stocks were in "oversold" territory after the (.SX7P) Relative Strength Index (RSI) came close to 30 on Wednesday and technical factors kept the (.SX7P) up 1 percent.

The RSI is a technical momentum indicator comparing the magnitude of recent rises with recent falls to determine "oversold" or "overbought" conditions. A reading of 30 or below is considered "oversold," while 70 and above is "overbought."

The main mover in the banking sector was Belgian lender Dexia (DEXI.BR), up 27.9 percent, after a French Finance Ministry source said an agreement to guarantee the troubled bank's financing would be reached within days.

Dexia's RSI fell into oversold territory at the beginning of October and is down 65.9 percent since October 4 after it emerged it would need state aid from France and Belgium.

On Wednesday Dexia's RSI was at 22.8, but had risen to 34.8 on Thursday.

Portuguese banks featured heavily on the downside in the banking sector after Fitch downgraded Portugal's credit rating to junk status because of its large fiscal imbalances, high debt and concerns about its austerity programme.

A Reuters poll showed that economists have slashed growth forecasts for the periphery countries from next year and 2013 and expect it will be years before the debt ridden countries recover from the crisis.

Portugal's PSI 20 (.PSI20) was down 0.9 percent underperforming the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) index of top shares which closed down 0.3 percent at 899.50 points in choppy trade, having been up as much as 913.13 and down as low as 894.37.

Volume on the FTSEurofirst 300 index was low at 76.8 percent of its 90-day daily average due to a public holiday in the United States.

FUND MANAGERS CAUTIOUS

Fund managers were wary about investing in banks because they were "oversold."

"Banks are not investable in the euro zone at the moment. Clearly there are people trading the banks shares, but there is no clarity on the quality of the balance sheets," David Coombs, fund manager at Rathbone Brothers, which has $24.2 billion under management, said.

(Reporting by Joanne Frearson, Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111124/bs_nm/us_markets_europe_stocks

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Electronic Contact Lens Displays Pixels On the Eye

An anonymous reader writes "The future of augmented-reality technology is here ? as long as you're a rabbit. Bioengineers have placed the first contact lenses containing electronic displays into the eyes of rabbits as a first step on the way to proving they are safe for humans. The bunnies suffered no ill effects, the researchers say."

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/dMgsHRqVUT4/electronic-contact-lens-displays-pixels-on-the-eye

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Herbicide may affect plants thought to be resistant

ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2011) ? Purdue University researchers have discovered a fine-tuning mechanism involved in plant root growth that has them questioning whether a popular herbicide may have unintended consequences, causing some plants to need more water or nutrients.

Angus Murphy, a professor of horticulture, and Wendy Peer, an assistant professor of horticulture, study the movement of auxin, a plant hormone essential for plant development. They showed that ABCB4, a protein responsible for moving auxin into cells, also removes the hormone when too much has accumulated.

"We knew that the protein took auxin up, but found that it switched to removing auxin when a threshold is reached," said Murphy, whose findings appeared in the early online version of The Plant Journal. "It starts transporting the hormones out."

That fine-tuning mechanism is integral to proper development of plant root hairs, which extend from the main plant root and are where most water and minerals enter.

"The root hairs are doing all the heavy lifting for bringing the water into the plant," Peer said. "And ABCB4 maintains the right auxin levels to keep root hairs growing optimally."

The herbicide 2,4-D, a synthetic form of auxin, could have unintended consequences for the protein, Murphy and Peer said.

The herbicide is used to kill broadleaf weeds, which are dicots, while monocot grasses, such as sorghum and corn, are more resistant. That's because grasses inactivate 2,4-D inside the plant, while broadleaf dicots do not.

But ABCB4 is located on the root surface and can be switched into intake-only mode, disabling its ability to remove excess auxin from cells, before 2,4-D can be inactivated inside the plant. This results in shorter root hairs.

"This suggests that ABCB4 is an unexpected target of 2,4-D action," Murphy said. "It's something that we have to be aware of with the commercial introduction of 2,4-D resistant soybeans and other dicot crops."

Murphy said laboratory testing of ABCB4 in yeast, tobacco and human cells subjected to 2,4-D all showed that ABCB4 could be locked into the uptake-only mode. The root hairs of mutant plants that had ABCB4 removed were not affected by application of 2,4-D.

"It was very clear that what was happening in the plant was what was happening in the cell cultures," Murphy said.

Murphy said the findings suggest that application techniques that limit 2,4-D entry into soils are important to ensure that production with engineered 2,4-D resistant crop plants does not require additional fertilizer and/or water inputs.

The Department of Energy funded the study. Murphy and Peer partnered with scientists at the Institute of Experimental Botany at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Purdue University. The original article was written by Brian Wallheimer.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Martin Kube?, Haibing Yang, Gregory L. Richter, Yan Cheng, Ewa M?odzi?ska, Xia Wang, Joshua J. Blakeslee, Nicola Carraro, Jan Petr??ek, Eva Za??malov?, Kl?ra Hoyerov?, Wendy Ann Peer, Angus S. Murphy. The Arabidopsis Concentration-Dependent Influx/Efflux Transporter ABCB4 Regulates Cellular Auxin in the Root Epidermis. The Plant Journal, 2011

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111122133318.htm

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Blago ally Rezko gets 10 1/2 years, minus time served (AP)

CHICAGO ? A former top fundraiser for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, convicted of pressuring firms for kickbacks as part of a political pay-to-play scheme, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 1/2 years in prison but will get credit for time served.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko spent 3 1/2 years in custody awaiting sentencing on his 2008 convictions for fraud, money laundering and plotting to squeeze $7 million in kickbacks from companies that wanted to do business with the state during Blagojevich's tenure

Attorneys for the former Chicago real estate developer and fast-food entrepreneur had asked that he be set free, arguing that he had served more time than others who were convicted as part of the federal investigation of Blagojevich have or are expected to.

But U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve told Rezko that his "selfish and corrupt actions" had damaged the trust people have in their government.

"You defrauded the people of Illinois, you engaged in extensive corruption throughout the state of Illinois," the judge said, adding that she hoped other politicians would take note of the penalty for corruption.

"This sentence must send a message that enough is enough," she said.

Rezko asked St. Eve for mercy and apologized to the court, his friends and family.

"I deeply regret my conduct," he said. "I take full responsibility for my actions."

Rezko told the judge his brother, sister and favorite cousin passed away during his incarceration, and no punishment could be greater than the guilt he feels for not being with them when they were dying.

A gaunt Rezko, clad in a prison uniform and shackled at the ankles, bore little resemblance to the robust millionaire whose trial was held more than three years ago, a transformation even St. Eve mentioned.

"Just looking at you physically is evidence of the great fall that you have had," she said to Rezko, who stood before her with his arms crossed.

Rezko showed no initial reaction when the sentence was handed down, but several relatives began crying. As he was led out of the courtroom, family members called out, "We love you," and "You're the best."

Defense attorney Joe Duffy called the sentence disappointing but said he was not sure yet about appealing.

"We think this sentence is harsh. I understand why the judge wants to send a message, and a message should be sent to the community," he said, but added that the message and punishment "should go to the public officials who have abused the public trust."

Prosecutors had asked that Rezko get between 11 and 15 years, and said prisoners generally serve 85 percent of their full sentences.

U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called Rezko sentence "stiff and appropriate." He said it is unusual to see such a long sentence for corruption and said it appeared the sentences are getting longer.

He would not say what he thought Rezko's penalty might mean for Blagojevich's sentence.

The former governor is set to be sentenced next month and had been expected to get about 10 years. He was convicted this year on charges that included trying to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's old Senate seat.

Rezko, 56, also was a political fundraiser for Obama during his campaigns for Illinois senator, though not for his presidential campaign. Obama has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case, but his relationship with Rezko became an issue during the 2008 election.

Rezko's sentencing was delayed after he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Blagojevich and others. He also offered to testify at the corruption trials of Blagojevich and millionaire businessman William Cellini, who was convicted Nov. 1 of conspiring with Rezko and others to shake down the Oscar-winning producer of "Million Dollar Baby."

But the government said he ultimately did not yield any useful information, and prosecutors said they eventually concluded Rezko's persistent lies long after he was charged would have made him a vulnerable, ineffective witness.

St. Eve noted he had even lied to her, once insisting in a letter that prosecutors were "overzealous" and trying to get him to make up allegations about Blagojevich that weren't true. In the letter, he also said he had never engaged in illegal conduct with Blagojevich, she said.

Rezko's lawyers had offered a picture of the Syrian immigrant as an eager philanthropist who was "shocked" by Blagojevich's proposed brainstorming on ways to profit from his gubernatorial decisions.

Duffy also noted Rezko's anonymous contributions to his church, his participation on charity boards and his financial support to relatives.

The government countered that his generosity came at taxpayers' expense as he schemed with Blagojevich and others to put the state up for sale.

Prosecutor Chris Niewoehner again described Rezko standing before the then-governor and other confidants at an office chalkboard, diagramming various scams.

During Rezko's trial, prosecutors said he raised over $1 million for Blagojevich and got so much clout in return he could control two powerful state boards. They accused him of plotting with admitted political fixer Stuart Levine to squeeze payoffs from money management firms that sought to invest the assets of the $40 billion state Teachers Retirement System and said he plotted with Levine to get a $1.5 million bribe from a contractor who sought state approval to build a hospital.

Levine pleaded guilty and was the government's star witness at the Rezko and Cellini trials. Rezko's lawyers complained that, in exchange for Levine's cooperation, prosecutors had recommended a prison term of just 5 1/2 years. But prosecutors say Levine's cooperation with the government started sooner, lasted longer and reaped more dramatic results.

Rezko spent nine months in solitary confinement in the federal holding center in Chicago, rarely getting fresh air. After his lawyers complained, he was moved to the jail in Dodge County, which wasn't equipped to house him for so long. He's lost 80 pounds, according to a recent defense filing.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_us/us_illinois_corruption_fundraiser

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Get Rid of Bumpers, Stuffed Animals in Baby's Crib (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- A comfortable and safe sleep environment is crucial for infants and could mean the different between life and death, pediatricians say.

Sudden infant death syndrome remains the leading cause of death for children younger than one year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There's been a significant decline in the number of SIDS-related deaths since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that all babies be placed on their backs.

But sleep-related deaths caused by entrapment, suffocation and asphyxia have increased, leading the AAP to expand its sleep safety guidelines.

"These new guidelines will help enlighten parents about what items and behaviors can lead to infant sleep-related deaths," Dr. Lisa Martin, a pediatrician at Loyola University Health System and an associate professor of pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, said in a Loyola news release.

"Infants, especially young infants, are completely dependent on their caregivers to provide a safe sleep environment, since they don't have the ability to roll away from objects that are restricting their breathing," she noted.

As well as always placing infants on their backs to sleep, the AAP says babies should be placed on a firm sleep surface and the crib should be free of objects such as loose bedding, bumper pads, pillows and stuffed animals.

"There are numerous products out there that are not necessary and could even become death traps for a baby. Items like bumper pads and sleep positioners have not been shown to prevent injuries, and the concern is that an infant can get trapped and suffocate," Martin said.

"Babies don't care if they have a boring crib; they do care if it's safe. The more objects in a sleeping space, the more dangerous it is for a baby," she added.

A good rule of thumb for keeping babies warm is to dress them in one additional layer of clothing above what a parent is wearing, Martin advised. For example, if a parent is wearing two layers, a baby will need three.

Another AAP recommendation is to offer infants a pacifier at nap and bedtime.

"Pacifiers have been shown to protect against SIDS, but if a mother is planning on breast-feeding, wait to offer it until the baby is three or four weeks old and make sure breast-feeding habits have been established," Martin said.

More information

Here's where you can find the complete list of AAP recommendations for reducing the risk of SIDS.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111122/hl_hsn/getridofbumpersstuffedanimalsinbabyscrib

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How to Deal with the New Crap You Can Expect from the TSA This Holiday Travel Season [Travel]

Flying during the holidays is never fun thanks to the crowds, but airport security policies are going to make things even more unpleasant. If you're prepared for this year's security theater hijinks, however, you can avoid some of the misery. Here's how you can deal with all the crap at the airport this holiday season.

Airport Security Is Unpleasant, But You Shouldn't Be

Despite how it may seem, it's not the Transport Security Administration's (TSA) intention to make your holiday travel miserable. While we think many of the policies they put into action are a little ridiculous, and security theater at best, your experience at the airport is going to be worse if you approach the situation with anger and frustration. The TSA agents are people, too, and they most likely know you're not looking forward to the security process. One of the best things you can do for yourself and everyone else in the security line is be kind and polite. Airport security isn't fun, but you can always expect it to be awful if your approach is decidedly negative. This post is about easing the pain, and not getting frustrated over what may seem like (and probably are) stupid policies. With that in mind, here's what you need to know before you set foot in an airport this holiday season.

Don't Wrap Your Gifts

According to the Consumerist, the TSA warns that you shouldn't wrap your gifts if you plan to take them through security. This sounds pretty ridiculous, but the TSA's explanation is actually reasonable:

Wrapped gifts are screened just like any other item. We can see through the paper just like we can see through luggage, but just as we have to open a bag when it requires a search due to an anomaly or an alarm, we have to open wrapped items as well if they alarm or require additional screening.

We want your gift to arrive wrapped just as much as you do. Just know the possibility is there that if the item alarms, we might have to open it to resolve the alarm. We don't enjoy unwrapping presents that aren't for us, but if an anomaly is detected inside, we'll have to unwrap it in order to determine what it is so we can clear it for travel.

Basically, don't travel with a knife set or bomb making kit and you'll probably be fine with a little wrapping. That said, be prepared to re-wrap your gift should a TSA agent feel the need for further inspection.

Use the Right Security Line

Are you traveling alone? You probably don't want to deal with the massive family in front of you who's trying to dump their bulk package of juice boxes before heading through the scanners. If you're a family, you probably don't want to be rushed by all the single people either. In most cases your airport security checkpoint should now have separate lanes for regular travelers and families:

[Family lanes are] designed to let families take their time and ask questions without feeling rushed by the experienced frequent flyers who can zip through a checkpoint in no time. Also anybody carrying medically necessary liquids, aerosols and gels in excess of 3.4 oz may be directed to a Family Lane.

In my experience, these lanes are often unmarked but tend to fall on the left or right side of the checkpoint. It's always best to ask, but if you're unable to find anybody to help you then just look for the line with lots of children. Chances are that's the one you should join if you're a family and avoid if you're not.

Don't Take Your Kids' Shoes Off

Good news! Your kids' shoes aren't bomb-laden, presuming they're 12 years or younger. The TSA has decided that young children can leave their footwear attached to their feet when passing through security. Although this is a generally positive change, the TSA warns that your kids may be asked to remove their shoes under certain circumstances and they may receive a pat-down if they cause an alert. (The TSA is using the word "alert" to mean security concern, by the way, so keep that one in your vocabulary.) So if your child looks particularly evil or forgets to pack his/her pocket knife, remember to prepare them for a pat-down. Parents are allowed to be present, and it's a great opportunity to have that good-touch-bad-touch conversation, right?

Don't Worry About Embarrassment from Body Scanners

Remember all the fuss about the body scanning machines that showed some unpleasant renderings of what we look like underneath out clothes? The TSA actually paid attention and offered somewhat of a compromise. When you go through these new scanners you're no longer naked-ish:

TSA has upgraded all millimeter wave body scanner units nationwide with new software to further enhance privacy protections by eliminating the image of an actual passenger and replacing it with a generic outline of a person. You step into the Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machine and the new software will auto-detect potential threats and show their location. The image is on a monitor that is attached to the AIT unit in public view so that passengers can see what the officer sees. Because this eliminates privacy concerns, we no longer have to place an officer in a separate room to view the images.

This still doesn't eliminate the concerns of having a fairly frequent low-level x-ray, but at least you'll look more like a cartoon than a fat blob to your onlooking TSA agent.

For more information about holiday travel, the TSA has posted a full guide. We've covered the important stuff, but if you want a look at some of the basics and enjoy bad turkey jokes you should check out their post. Additionally, if you're still not sure what you can and cannot bring on a plane and have a smartphone, you might want to grab the MyTSA app. It'll let you type in an item and see if it is approved. Now all that's left is making sure you picked the right days to fly. Happy travels everyone!

Photo by Baloncici.

---

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. ?Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/6MyYcyQ6I5M/how-to-deal-with-all-the-crap-you-can-expect-from-the-tsa-this-holiday-travel-season

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Breast Cancer: The last day of radiation ? Feminist Philosophers

When I was arguing that I?d prefer a lumpectomy over radiation, the breast surgeon and the plastic surgeon both took radiation as the big down side to a lumpectomy.? With a mastectomy I wouldn?t need radiation, though women with more advanced cancer often do.? I remember after the surgery I told the surgeon I was happy with the results.? ?Well,? she said, ?we?ll see what you say after radiation.?? O thanks.

I had the accelerated Canadian protocol, as it is called in the States, but still it was 5 days a week for 4 weeks.? Sometimes there were long waits since the machines were down; it usually took minimally 2 hours, including driving back and forth, waiting for the car, etc.? Patients getting radiation were given free valet parking!

Those?waiting for treatment sit in a small area.? Everyone brought in some snacks for their last day, and we?d sit and tell our stories and sometimes munch.? Many women had also had chemo and had lost their hair.? There were very amazing women.? Women with very little hair can look like medieval saints.

The first picture has me in the kit we tended to wear to the radiation machine.? You won?t be able to miss the machine.? That big thing moves up and over one; for most of my treatment I got rays from two different angles.? It isn?t really frightening, but I felt it should be.

At my cancer center you ring a bell the last day of treatment, as in the picture below.? The technicians joined me and my partner.? This center apparently picks staff who are very friendly and upbeat; sometimes they seem to carry one?s mood forward.? The young man to the far left is in training, and he?s still permanently in a state of mild shock.

? If I look uphappy it was because (1) by this time in radiation one is often slowed down and not exactly chirpy; I had had in four weeks the dosage that most women are given in six, and I count myself fortunate that I have had only one automobile accident; ?(2) I had been up to 2 am the night before because my child, who lives a thousand miles away, contacted us with an exceptionally serious medical problem, and my husband was getting a flight the next day to go see him; (3) I am investigating filing a complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act, among other things.? Collecting documentation of a history of alleged adverse treatment is profoundly depressing.? It?s also the last thing I want to be doing.

It is astonishing what negative actions will?be taken against ?women on medical leave for cancer treatment.?

On the positive side, the Missoni sweater I have on cost 25% of its regular price, and I?m considered something of a miracle person since the radiation left my skin and breast looking almost exactly as they did before.? So there, breast surgeon and plastic surgeon!

I haven?t yet gotten around to investigating whether women with cancer have more problems on leave than men do.? One problem is that a lot of people get cancer after 40-50, and so their employers may be figuring that any excuse to replace them is not an opportunity to be missed.? The cancer center has all sorts of advisors on these sorts of issues, so I was often suggesting people contact them.? In effect, having cancer may just make one a good target whatever one?s gender.

I have an indirect connection with an organization that does documentaries, and when I get my strength back, I may look into seeing if one could be done about the women getting radiation at a major cancer center.? Everyone is going on going on, and finding a way to do so.??Since the group is very mixed in race, class, education and religion, the ways people were finding to keep going are very different.??? Many, many of them had much worse reactions that I had; one young woman of 23 was being treated for reoccurrent breast cancer, and her whole chest and much of her neck was bright red and very itchy.???? She will probably burn and peel for?two more weeks.? She is here alone, as indeed are many people who come from around the world.? I gave her my name and phone number and said she could call me at any time about anything except spiders.

Another woman had cancer that also grew on the outside; she discovered it about 3 months ago, and she went immediately into palliative care.? There is no hope for her survival, and managing quite intense pain is the main objective of her treatment.

If I got the documentary organized, I?d looked at a number of different things, including some of the interesting research going on at my university.? But my main motivation is that I think the four weeks spent with these women forms a really valuable part of my life.? It is such a cliche to find deep value in the circumstances surrounding painful and scary treatment.? This time at least it was very true for me.

Next up for me is five years of what I think of as a mild poison.? Bone loss, joint pain and hot flashes are its major bad side effects.

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Source: http://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/breast-cancer-the-last-day-of-radiation/

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Pro Specialties NFL Shield Breast Cancer Awareness Pin

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USAID Impact ? Improving Teachers' Pay, Investing in the Future

The end of 2010 was marked by teachers? strikes in Kyrgyzstan, as the nation?s educators took to the streets to protest their miserable wages.? The average monthly salary was $75 despite the fact that, by Kyrgyz law, the minimum teacher?s salary should be no less than the average national salary of $144 per month. International assessments have shown that low teacher pay and low motivation correspond with poor student achievement. It became clear to the Kyrgyz government that drastic measures were needed to increase the status and salary of teachers in order to improve the quality of education.

The Ministry of Education and Science asked USAID for help. USAID had already been supporting the Ministry to improve teaching practices and reform how schools are financed and managed. Together, they devised a new model for paying teachers. The model increases teachers? salaries to be in line with legislation, introduces performance incentives to attract young teachers and motivates all teachers to produce results. New salaries consist of three parts: a base salary for teaching and out-of-classroom work, which includes lesson preparation; pay adjustments for rural and mountainous regions; and bonuses of up to 10% to be paid based on performance. On average, monthly salaries now range from $150-$185.

The new remuneration system started in May 2011. It has already found broad support across the country and especially amongst teachers, who returned to their schools even before the system was formally launched. ?Since the day the Government?s Decree on the new teacher remuneration was published, three young teachers have come to me asking to work at our school,? said the Aralsky school principal in Chui region with satisfaction. It is hoped that higher wages will bring back former teachers, many of whom are homemakers, work in the bazaars or have left Kyrgyzstan.? There remains a critical shortage of teachers ? 3,160 more are needed this school year just to fill the current classrooms.

According to Kanybek Tentimishev, a former teacher, ?Now I earn more than $200 per month as an electrician, but at school I earned only $40. I started as a young specialist and the local government promised me a lot. But I got nothing? and I left after two and a half years because I had to take care of my family.? Now Kanybek is waiting for the new school year to start and hopes to return to teaching. ?I want to transfer what I?ve learned to children in order to benefit my village,? says Kanybek. By investing in its teachers, Kyrgyzstan invests in a brighter future for generations to come.

Source: http://blog.usaid.gov/2011/11/improving-teachers%E2%80%99-pay-investing-in-the-future/

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Congress about to kill high-speed train program (tbo)

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Seeing the Big (and Small) Picture: Panoramic Tool Lets Users Observe Dynamic Imagery

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For most of us, the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening, and that is the extent of the change that we notice in its appearance. But our host star is no static, glowing orb, as solar physicists well know--it is a roiling, convecting, chaotic mess.

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Piranhas bite toes off swimmers in Brazil

SAO PAULO?? Thousands of flesh-eating piranhas have infested a river beach popular with tourists in western Brazil and have bitten at least 15 unwary swimmers, authorities said Wednesday.

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Officials in the city of Caceres in Mato Grosso state said this is the first time they have had a problem with piranhas at the Daveron beach on the Paraguay river, where the aggressive fish began schooling about two weeks ago.

"People have got to be very careful. If they're bitten, they've got to get out of the water rapidly and not allow the blood to spread," firefighter Raul Castro de Oliveira told Globo TV's G1 website.

Elson de Campos Pinto, 22, was bitten Sunday.

"I took a dip in the river and when I stood up, I felt pain in my foot," Pinto told G1. "I saw that I had lost the tip of my toe. I took off running out of the river, afraid that I would be further attacked because of the blood. I'm not going back in for a long time."

City officials said the beach will remain open because it's an important draw for tourists in Brazil's Pantanal region, known for its ecotourism.

Each September, Caceres hosts what local officials bill as Brazil's biggest fishing festival, a weeklong event that draws 200,000 people for fishing tournaments and concerts.

Gonzaga Junior, a spokesman for the city government, said he didn't think the piranha attacks would hurt that event since it is many months away.

He tried to put the best face on the problem.

"Everyone knows there are piranhas in the region and have always taken the necessary precautions," he said. "What is different this time is that they've appeared where they never appeared before."

The city has seen far fewer people than normal use the beach recently because of the piranha attacks. It was deserted Tuesday, a national holiday in Brazil, normally a heavy beach day.

Officials have put up large signs warning swimmers about the piranhas, reading in blood red letters: "Attention swimmers. Area at risk of piranha attacks. Danger!"

Local fisherman Hildegard Galeno Alves said that when he throws out a fishing net near the beach of late he catches numerous piranhas.

"I come here with my kids and I always see blood on the river banks," he told G1. "The worst is that the attacks are in shallow water, next to the bank."

Despite making his living off the river, Alves left no doubt about his feelings for the water.

"I would never even think of going in there," he said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45328989/ns/world_news-americas/

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Gametel Gaming Controller Turns Any Android Phone Into An ...

For many of us, the Xperia Play just wasn?t quite tempting enough to throw out your PSP or 3DS, but there?s no doubt that mobile gaming is on its way to the big leagues. The dedicated D-Pad was an excellent idea, but there simply weren?t enough games supported to make it a worthwhile investment. But what if you could slap a game controller onto your phone and play to your hearts? desire, only to remove the controller when it?s time to make a call or head out of the house? That would be lovely wouldn?t it?

Meet Fluctel?s Gametel Gaming Controller ? a bluetooth controller that latches on to any Android phone that runs Android 2.1 or higher. Oh, and did I mention that it?ll support over 50 games straight out of the box, including Cordy, Asphalt 5 HD, Reckless Getaway, Guns?n?Glory, MotoX Mayhem, Happy Vikings and Zenonia.

According to PocketGamer, the Gametel Gaming Controller offers about nine hours of battery life and automatically shuts down after six minutes of inactivity. The controller connects to the phone via Bluetooth, which means that you can also disconnect the controller and play from afar. A handful of powerful Android devices sport kickstands these days so that?s an option, but if your phone supports HDMI out then you?re in for a real treat. No console, no expensive games ? just you, your phone, and the gaming controller duking it out on the big screen.

The controller sports spring-loaded clamps and rubberized grips to lock your phone into place, but that surely can?t protect against gamer rage, so no throwing this controller across the room, OK?

The truth is, no matter how excellent your phone?s graphics are or how fast your processor is, some games are just annoying using on-screen controls. That?s why the Xperia Play was such a brilliant idea, and why the Gametel Gaming Controller is an even better one.

The controller isn?t available yet, but the company has an email notification sign-up on its website. The controller will retail for around ?49.95 (US $67), and should show its D-Padded face in December.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/17/gametel-gaming-controller-turns-any-android-phone-into-an-xperia-play-but-better/

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Coach K alone atop Division I list (AP)

NEW YORK ? Cheek to cheek, Mike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight hugged, a player and his coach celebrating a big win ? one it's safe to say might never happen again in college basketball.

The man known simply as "Coach K" became Division I's winningest coach when No. 6 Duke beat Michigan State 74-69 on Tuesday night in the State Farm Champions Classic.

The Blue Devils gave Krzyzewski his 903rd win, breaking the tie with Knight, Krzyzewski's college coach at Army and his mentor throughout his professional career.

With Knight sitting across the court at the ESPN broadcast table, and with several former players in the stands ? many able to attend because of the ongoing NBA lockout ? Krzyzewski moved to the top of the list in front of a sellout crowd of 19,979 at Madison Square Garden.

Krzyzewski went right across the court to hug Knight when the game ended. Krzyzewski, tears in his eyes, broke away, and Knight pulled him back, hands on his shoulders, then there was one final slap of the shoulder.

"I just told Coach I love him," Krzyzewski said. "I wouldn't be in this position without him. It's a moment shared. I know he's very proud, and I'm very proud to have been somebody who's worked under him and studied him and tried to be like him.

"I'm not sure how many people tell him they love him but I love him for what he's done for me and I thanked him. He said `Boy, you've done pretty good for a kid who couldn't shoot.' I think that means he loves me too. At least that's how I'm taking that."

Junior guard Andre Dawkins had 26 points for Duke (3-0), which took control with a 20-1 run that gave the Blue Devils a 61-41 lead with 9:17 to play. Then it was just a matter of counting down the minutes ? except for a late run by Michigan State that made it a five-point game in the final minute ? until the celebration could get under way.

It wasn't the Cameron Crazies cheering their coach on after a few nights waiting and sleeping in Krzyzewskiville. But a pro-Duke crowd started to get loud as the Blue Devils took control in the second half, as well as the fans from Michigan State, Kentucky and Kansas and a bunch of regular old New Yorkers including flimmaker and New York Knicks fan Spike Lee.

"The basketball gods are good ... they put two guys who've done a lot in the game together, special moments, and tonight is another one of those special moments," Krzyzewski said of Knight's presence at the historic game.

The former players in attendance read like a Who's Who of great college basketball players in the last three decades.

And they were all there for one reason.

"I can't say I'm surprised because I saw firsthand the level of preparation, the level of passion he put into his program every single day," said Shane Battier, who won a title with Krzyzewski. "I know if you gave him enough opportunity he'd give Bobby Knight a run for his money. It's just amazing to be here on this night to see the culmination of this work."

Like many others, Battier doesn't think Krzyzewski will be done adding to the win total for several years.

"He's ageless. He looks great. He looks the same as when I was a freshman," Battier said. "There's no reason to think he won't be around for many years to come."

Dawkins, who had six 3-pointers, and Ryan Kelly hits 3s to start Duke's big run. As Michigan State (0-2) kept missing shots down low, Seth Curry hit another 3 for Duke and then the Blue Devils closed the run by making 6 of 6 attempts at the free throw line.

The Spartans kept Krzyzewski coaching to the final minute. They finally started hitting shots and forcing turnovers to close to 74-69 with 12.9 seconds left.

Curry had 20 points while Kelly added 14 for the Blue Devils, who were 10 of 21 from 3-point range.

"It's a special moment," Krzyzewski said of his family and former players being there. "At halftime I wasn't sure we were going to have this moment. We beat a really good team, and I'm glad now we can just move on and just develop our team."

Krzyzewski used the New York Yankees to explain how hard it is to keep a program on top because of players changing every four years, or even earlier with the NBA draft looming overhead.

"We don't have Jeter or Rivera for 15 straight years and you have to do it in intense competition in a great school," he said. "We never have problems because usually we can develop a team. They want to be one, and I don't have to fight that which is great."

Keith Appling had 22 points for Michigan State, and Brandon Wood added 15. The Spartans finished with 21 turnovers.

"I was in a no-win situation," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I was either going to be the guy who threw the ball to Henry Aaron for the record breaker of the guy who shot Bambi."

Krzyzewski's latest win had a very similar plot to the previous 902 as the Blue Devils were patient in a spread offense that got them open 3s and they moved the ball around against a tired bunch of Spartans and finally found a way to the free throw line.

The Blue Devils finished 30 of 41 from the line.

Krzyzewski moved to the top of the list in his 37th season, all but five at Duke. He also coached at West Point, his alma mater where Knight molded a point guard into a coach for the ages.

Knight won his 902 games in 42 seasons, six at Army, 29 at Indiana and seven at Texas Tech. Krzyzewski has four national championships while Knight has three.

Krzyzewski and Knight both led the United States to an Olympic gold medal, Knight in 1984 and Krzyzewski in 2008. Coach K will have a chance at a second gold when he leads the team of NBA players again in London next summer.

Another number they both had in common was high graduation rates throughout their careers.

Duke led 34-33 at the end of a sloppy first half. The Blue Devils were 6 of 11 from 3-point range while the Spartans were just 2 of 6. Michigan State was able to offset 11 turnovers by dominating inside, outscoring the Blue Devils 16-4 in the paint, including a 6-1 advantage in second-chance points.

Duke is 26-15 all-time, including a 21-7 mark under Krzyzewski, at Madison Square Garden and the Blue Devils have won 12 of their last 14 there. Under Krzyzewski, Duke is 453-71 in non-conference games.

"I know I'm a very good coach and I get really good guys and then it's up to us to fight like hell to win," Krzyzewski said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111116/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/bkc_t25_duke_michigan_st

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French consul injured after Israeli raid on Gaza (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) ? France's consul to the Gaza Strip, his wife and 13-year-old daughter were injured during an Israeli air strike on Sunday night, French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

Valero told reporters the three were hit by shrapnel at their residence in Gaza, which is located 200 meters from the site of an Israeli missile attack, he added.

"France condemns the consequences of the raid," he said. "While we are all for Israeli security, France recalls the utmost necessity to avoid civilian harm," Valero said, without specifying the nature of their injuries.

The raid, which killed one policeman and wounded four others after Palestinian militants from the coastal territory fired a rocket into southern Israel, is likely to strain already difficult relations between Paris and Jerusalem.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has written to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm friendship despite what he refers to as their "differing views on the Middle East".

Sarkozy's comments, in a condolence message to Netanyahu for the death of his father-in-law, seemed to make an effort to try to clear the air a week after a reported gaffe this month at the G20 summit in Cannes, when he was overheard telling U.S. President Barack Obama he thought Netanyahu was "a liar".

(Reporting By Vicky Buffery; writing by John Irish)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111115/wl_nm/us_gaza_france_raids

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U.S. Marines Heading for Australia (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The U.S. Marines are heading for Australia. Under terms of a mutual security deal announced today by President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the force of 2,500 Marines would begin arriving early next year.

I suppose there is some logic to having a small detachment of Marines in that corner of the world. Obama said they would be strategically stationed to aid in natural disasters, according to an ABC News report, but in reality we need a rapid deployment force in that region. Australia is a good choice. It has a stable government and is a long-standing ally, unlike some of the other choices in that area.

At a time when we should be cutting back our foreign military base expenditures, Obama seems to want to expand it. He needs to take a serious look at the U.S. bases in Germany and other parts of Europe. We are being saddled with those defense costs at a time when the U.S. budget is strained. Who, exactly, is threatening Europe these days? Germany needs to take care of for its defense. That means it needs to pay for it too. For that matter, so does the rest of Europe.

Obama also agreed to greater cooperation between Australian forces and U.S. military assets in the region. It makes sense to use existing Australian military bases, as well as shared use of American aircraft with the latest technology. American air forces would coordinate with the Australian Air Force, according to the Pentagon. Using existing facilities will hopefully cut the cost to American taxpayers, although some initial expenditures are probably necessary.

According to Kiplinger, the U.S. military maintains 702 bases of various sizes in 63 countries. Really? That's a waste of resources and taxpayers' money. No other country has such a diverse military presence, and for good reason: There's no need for it. The true cost of operating these bases is buried inside the Pentagon budget and probably dozens of smaller lines across the sprawling federal budget.

It's a different world from the days of the Cold War and the evil Soviet empire. American military posturing has to change with that new world mentality lest we risk over-expansion of our capabilities.

Dan McGinnis is a freelance writer, published author and former newspaper publisher. He has been a candidate, campaign manager and press secretary for state and local political campaigns for more than 30 years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111116/us_ac/10455945_us_marines_heading_for_australia

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Australian PM says she favors vote on gay marriage (AP)

CANBERRA, Australia ? Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she favors allowing a parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage ? although she personally opposes changing the law.

In an opinion piece published Tuesday in the Sydney Morning Herald and other Australian newspapers, Gillard said lawmakers "should be free to vote in Parliament according to their own values and beliefs."

However, Gillard quickly came under attack from same-sex marriage advocates, who claimed the prime minister was endorsing a vote she knew was destined to fail in order to keep the status quo. Those advocates want Gillard and her ruling Labor Party to endorse same-sex marriage.

Gillard, on the other hand, wants her party to endorse her approach when the party meets for its annual national conference next month. The party currently opposes gay marriage, although several state branches have recently voted for that position to be reversed.

Greens party leader Bob Brown, who is openly gay, told ABC Radio Tuesday that there is no realistic chance of the same-sex marriage vote passing without support from Gillard and the Labor Party.

"My appeal to the prime minister is to get behind it," he said. "This is modern Australia ... It's time for the prime minister to lead that great change."

But Gillard said in her opinion piece that she won't support such changes to the country's Marriage Act, which prohibits same-sex marriage.

"My position flows from my strong conviction that the institution of marriage has come to have a particular meaning and standing in our culture and nation," she said, "and that should continue unchanged."

Currently, three Australian states recognize civil unions, which entitle same-sex couples to the same federal benefits as married couples. Recent polls indicate a majority of Australians favor allowing same-sex marriage.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111115/ap_on_re_as/as_australia_gay_marriage

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NFL Open Thread (Balloon Juice)

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Cable cos. to offer $9.95 broadband for poor homes

NEW YORK (AP) ? Cable companies said Wednesday that they will offer Internet service for $9.95 per month to homes with children that are eligible for free school lunches.

The offer will start next summer and is part of an initiative the Federal Communications Commission cobbled together to get more U.S. homes connected to broadband.

One third, or about 35 million homes, don't have broadband. That affects people's ability to educate themselves and find and apply for jobs, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said.

"The broadband adoption gap in the U.S. is very large, and the costs of digital exclusion are high and getting higher," Genachowski said.

The initiative, called Connect-to-Compete, also includes Microsoft Corp., which pledges to sell PCs with its Office software suite for $250 to low-income families. A firm called Redemtech is offering to sell refurbished computers for $150, including shipping.

For those who can't afford those prices, Morgan Stanley is pledging to develop a microfinance lending program for community-based financial institutions.

People are still signing up for broadband, but growth has slowed in recent years. For those who still haven't signed up, cost is a minor factor. Most say they're simply not interested or don't need it, according to a report by the Commerce Department based on Census Bureau data from last year.

To help address the lack of interest and computer skills, Best Buy Co., Microsoft and nonprofits such as America's Promise Alliance and United Way are promising to support the initiative with training.

All major cable companies are standing behind the $9.95 offer, which will be valid for two years. The price doesn't include taxes, but the companies are pledging to charge nothing for installation or modem rental.

The minimum download speed will be 1 megabit per second, less than one tenth of average cable speeds. Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, said it will be up to the individual cable companies to decide what speeds they provide.

The NCTA estimates that about 5.5 million homes that don't have broadband will be eligible for the offer. According to the Commerce Department study, 78 percent of households with school-age children already have broadband, making them far more likely to be connected than the average household.

The big broadband gap is between younger and older households: Only 45 percent of people older than 64 have broadband. Black and Hispanic households were less likely to have broadband, even when adjusting for income, according to the study.

Comcast Corp., the largest cable company and the country's largest Internet service provider, is already offering broadband to $9.95 to low-income families, with a 1.5 megabit per second download speed. It offered to do that so regulators would let it take control of NBC Universal.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2011-11-09-US-TEC-Cheap-Broadband/id-c9d6e8f87b0f4a00a0112cf15a4ba5bd

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