What do killer whales eat in the Arctic?

Monday, January 30, 2012

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the top marine predator, wherever they are found, and seem to eat everything from schools of small fish to large baleen whales, over twice their own size. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance. New research published in BioMed Central's re-launched open access journal Aquatic Biosystems has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behaviour and diet in the Arctic.

Orca have been studied extensively in the northeast Pacific ocean, where resident killer whales eat fish, but migrating whales eat marine mammals. Five separate ecotypes in the Antarctic have been identified, each preferring a different type of food, and similar patterns have been found in the Atlantic, tropical Pacific, and Indian oceans. However, little is known about Arctic killer whale prey preference or behaviour.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is increasingly being used to supplement scientific observations. Researchers from Manitoba visited 11 Canadian Nunavut Inuit communities and collated information from over 100 interviews with hunters and elders.

The Inuit reported that killer whales would 'eat whatever they can catch', mainly other marine mammals including seals (ringed, harp, bearded, and hooded) and whales (narwhal, beluga and bowhead). However there was no indication that Arctic killer whales ate fish. Only seven of the interviewees suggested that killer whales ate fish, but none of them had ever seen it themselves.

The type of reported prey varied between areas. Most incidences of killer whales eating bowhead whales occurred in Foxe Basin and narwhal predation was more frequent around Baffin Island. Inuit were also able to describe first-hand how killer whales hunted, including several reports of how killer whales co-operated to kill the much larger bowhead. During the hunt some whales were seen holding the bowhead's flippers or tail, others covering its blowhole, and others biting or ramming to cause internal damage. Occasionally dead bowheads, with bite marks and internal injuries but with very little eaten, are found by locals.

'Aarlirijuk', the fear of killer whales, influenced prey behaviour with smaller mammals seeking refuge in shallow waters or on shore and larger prey running away, diving deep, or attempting to hide among the ice. Even narwhal, which are capable of stabbing a killer whale with their tusks (although this is likely to result in the deaths of both animals), will run to shallow waters and wait until the whales give up.

Killer whales are seasonal visitors to the area and have recently started colonising Hudson Bay (possibly due to loss of summer sea ice with global warming). Local communities are reliant on the very species that the orcas like to eat. Dr Steven Ferguson from the University of Manitoba who led this research commented, "Utilising local knowledge through TEK will help scientists understand the effects of global warming and loss of sea ice on Arctic species and improve collaborative conservation efforts in conjunction with local communities."

Aquatic Biosystems, (previously Saline Systems), which re-launches today, publishes basic and applied research on aquatic organisms and environments, bridging across freshwater and saline systems from gene systems to ecosystems.

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Prey items and predation behavior of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Nunavut, Canada based on Inuit hunter interviews
Steven H Ferguson, Jeff W Higdon and Kristin H Westdal
Aquatic Biosystems (in press)

BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com

Thanks to BioMed Central for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117170/What_do_killer_whales_eat_in_the_Arctic_

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Plan would help military families take leave (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration proposed new rules Monday to help military families care for service members when they are injured or called to active duty on short notice.

The proposal expands eligibility under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows employees to take unpaid leave for certain medical or family emergencies.

First lady Michelle Obama joined Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to announce the plan, which would let caregivers take leave to help family members up to five years after they leave the military. Current law does not cover service members who have left the armed forces.

"We want to recognize the extraordinary dedication, sacrifice and service of our nation's caregivers, not simply with words but with deeds," Obama said during a Labor Department ceremony attended by dozens of military members and their families.

The rules also would expand leave to cover families of those in the regular armed forces, not just families of National Guard members and reservists.

The proposal would allow spouses, children or parents take up to 12 weeks of leave from work to help a service member deployed on short notice. Family caregivers could attend military functions, deal with child care issues, or make financial and legal arrangements without fear of losing their jobs.

"Many service members come home stressed, ill and injured," Solis said. "They need attention, care and support from the people that love them most."

Family members also would get up to 26 weeks of leave to care for recent veterans who were injured or became ill in the line of duty. That includes conditions that don't arise until after a veteran has left military service.

The plan expands from five days to 15 days the amount of time an employee can take off work to spend with a service member who is on leave to rest or recuperate.

Labor officials will consider comments for the next 60 days before considering whether to make the proposed rules final.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_military_family_leave

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APNewsBreak: Police seek help on drugged driving

FILE - Sens. Charles Schumer of New York, left and Mark Pryor of Arkansas said Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 that federal funding in a pending transportation funding bill be used for research and to train police in identifying drugged drivers, who don't show the same outward signs of intoxication as drunken drivers do, such as slurred speech.

FILE - Sens. Charles Schumer of New York, left and Mark Pryor of Arkansas said Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 that federal funding in a pending transportation funding bill be used for research and to train police in identifying drugged drivers, who don't show the same outward signs of intoxication as drunken drivers do, such as slurred speech.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) ? The federal government should help police departments nationwide obtain the tools and training needed to attack a rising scourge of driving under the influence, two U.S. senators said Sunday.

Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Mark Pryor of Arkansas proposed that federal funding in a pending transportation funding bill be used for research and to train police. They said police have no equipment and few have training in identifying drugged drivers, who don't show the same outward signs of intoxication as drunken drivers do, such as slurred speech.

"Cops need a Breathalyzer-like technology that works to identify drug-impaired drivers on-the-spot ? before they cause irreparable harm," Schumer said. "With the explosive growth of prescription drug abuse it's vital that local law enforcement have the tools and training they need to identify those driving under the influence of narcotics to get them off the road."

Drugged driving arrests have risen 35 percent in New York since 2001, Schumer said. He said that's a fraction of the cases.

The Democrats cited a 2009 federal report in which 10.5 million Americans acknowledged that they had driven under the influence of drugs. Schumer said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in a 2007 roadside survey, more than 16 percent of weekend and night-time drivers tested positive for illegal prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs. Eleven percent of them were found to have taken illegal drugs.

The administration also found that a third of 12,055 drivers tested who died in car crashes in 2009 had used drugs.

Yet police have no approved equipment to help identify drugged drivers, though saliva tests are being researched.

Pryor wants to create federal grants so police can participate in programs that require up to 200 hours of instruction to detect drugged driving as well as to better detect drunken driving.

Schumer said the effort is prompted in part by two fatal December crashes in the New York City area in which two boys ? one 5 years old and the other, 4 ? died. Prescription drug abuse is being investigated in both cases.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-29-Drugged%20Driving/id-e1199bd8189d4755b5f4f307ca17a074

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Science-Art Scumble #29

Scumble #29 featured images by graphic designer David Orr of Love in the Time of the Chasmosaurs:

I left my heart in the Permian ? David Orr

David Orr is a graphic designer and book cover artist who I had the privilege of sharing a session with at ScienceOnline2011, along with John Hawks. You can view the video of our art+science talk here.
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Orogenic Design on Cafepress ? you can find the designs in this post, as well as others on sale.
Orogenic Design ? Orr?s professional homepage and portfolio site.

Love in the Time of the Chasmosaurs ? David is most well-known for his pop culture and dinosaur blog, ?which he co-writes with Marc Vincent. Make sure to check out the banners he?s designed to raise awareness of the fight to keep creationism out of his native Indiana?s schools.
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@anatotian on Twitter
Facebook
Flickr
How to name a dinosaur ? Scientific American Guest Blog

Here?s a few more of those slick retro designs:

I left my heart in the Ordovician ? David Orr

I left my heart in the Cretaceous ? David Orr

I left my heart in the Pleistocene ? David Orr

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And now for a round-up of recent science-art links:

ScienceOnline, Day 1 ? Katy?s Notebook. Katy did some sketchnotes after the session led by Perrin Ireland. ?If you look close, you can see both me and my co-blogger Kalliopi in this post!

Live-scribing at ScienceOnline2012 ? Steve D., Mad Art Lab. More of the live-scribing from the unconference.

Making Shapes: math-art by Gemma Anderson -?The Soft Anonymous.

Happy Holidays from SpongeLab! -?SpongeLab Interactive.

Art on the Moon? ? Bioephemera.

Insects, Large & Small ? Myrmecos.

Gondwana: Concept Art Goes Palaeo ? David?s Really Interesting Pages.

Science Gets a New App ? Et Cetera, the blog of Lena Groeger.

Floating Weeds at Natural Bridges State Park ? Walkabout. ?Never underestimate the difficulty in painting plants in scummy water. Love this little snippet.

A View From Jupiter?s Moon Io ? LucyJain?s Blog. I dropped my mouse. Stunning.

Creativity Takes Teamwork ? Kelley Swain, CultureLab. ?Do teams help science-art collaborations? Is better work made out of a group or single ego?

Aurora?s Kodak Moment ? Annette Heist, Science & the Arts.

Oddball Umbilicus ? Sci-ence.

Why do YOU Blog? ? Medical Museion.

Colored Pachyrhinosaurus ? The CAW Box.

Indiana?s New State Flag ? Love in the Time of the Chasmosaurs. Celebrating creationism.

Mutant Flowers! -Surly Amy, Mad Art Lab.

A Polychaete ? A Natural History of Runswick Bay.

A New Song to Sing ? Alicia Hunsicker?s Blog.

Deep in the forest you?re not alone ? Vanessa Ruiz, Street Anatomy.

Painting Hawaii?s Endangered Plants ? ArtPlantae Today.

Newly Discovered Burgess Shale Creature ? SONSI.

Refocusing ? Weapon of Mass Imagination.

Oil Production Impression ? Contemporary Petroglyphs

The Eight Elemental Amphibians (of Sally Williams) Panel #7 ? OmegaFauna. ?Don?t miss this work-in-progress series by Sharon Lynn Wegner-Larsen. Wow.

* * *

Scumble: ??A painting technique in which semi-opaque or thin opaque colors are loosely brushed over an underpainted area so that patches of the color beneath show through.?

From? The Artist?s Handbook, by Ray Smith.

This began as a?series of posts on my personal blog, The Flying Trilobite, as a way to brush highlights over the tremendous amount of science-based art that?s out there. I can?t begin to cover it all, so here?s a scumble over some recent posts that I found interesting, provocative, or otherwise caught my eye from the? Science Artists Feed, and other sources.

Science-art is becoming an increasingly popular form of science communication and entertainment. Drawing from fine art, laboratory work, scientific illustration, concept art and more, watch how artists spread scientific literacy and play with the inspiring concepts in science. ?Doing the Scumble posts, I hope to connect artists with each other, and expose their work to a wider audience. ?Remember, a lot of these artists are available for commissions and have online shops for original art and reproductions. ?Why not put some art on your wall that means something more than ?weird for the sake of weird??

Put your feet up, make yourself a hot cup of coffee and enjoy the science-art on the links above.

Click here for recent Scumbles and ?here for even earlier Scumbles.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=789f71fa37083ca58965e15adbddb27c

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Need for courtroom artists fade as cameras move in (AP)

CHICAGO ? One marker in hand and one in his mouth, Lou Chukman glances up and down from a sketchpad to a reputed Chicago mobster across the courtroom ? drawing feverishly to capture the drama of the judge's verdict before the moment passes.

Sketch artists have been the public's eyes at high-profile trials for decades ? a remnant of an age when drawings in broadsheet papers, school books or travel chronicles were how people glimpsed the world beyond their own.

Today, their ranks are thinning swiftly as states move to lift longstanding bans on cameras in courtrooms. As of a year ago, 14 states still had them ? but at least three, including Illinois this month, have taken steps since then to end the prohibitions.

"When people say to me, `Wow, you are a courtroom artist' ? I always say, `One day, you can tell your grandchildren you met a Stegosaurus," Chukman, 56, explained outside court. "We're an anachronism now, like blacksmiths."

Cutbacks in news budgets and shifts in aesthetic sensibilities toward digitized graphics have all contributed to the form's decline, said Maryland-based sketch artist Art Lien.

While the erosion of the job may not be much noticed by people reading and watching the news, Lien says something significant is being lost. Video or photos can't do what sketch artists can, he said, such as compressing hours of court action onto a single drawing that crystallizes the events.

The best courtroom drawings hang in museums or sell to collectors for thousands of dollars.

"I think people should lament the passing of this art form," Lien said.

But while courtroom drawing has a long history ? artists did illustrations of the Salem witch trials in 1692 ? the artistry can sometimes be sketchy. A bald lawyer ends up with a full head of hair. A defendant has two left hands. A portly judge is drawn rail-thin.

Subjects often complain as they see the drawings during court recesses, said Chicago artist Carol Renaud.

"They'll say, `Hey! My nose is too big.' And sometimes they're right," she conceded. "We do the drawings so fast."

Courtroom drawing doesn't attract most aspiring artists because it doesn't afford the luxury of laboring over a work for days until it's just right, said Andy Austin, who has drawn Chicago's biggest trials over 40 years, including that of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

"You have to put your work on the air or in a newspaper whether you like it or not," she said.

The job also involves long stretches of tedium punctuated by bursts of action as a witness sobs or defendant faint. It can also get downright creepy.

At Gacy's trial, a client asked Austin for an image of him smiling. So, she sought to catch the eye of the man accused of killing 33 people. When she finally did, she beamed. He beamed back.

"The two of us smiled at each other like the two happiest people in the world until the sketch was finished," Austin recalled in her memoirs, titled "Rule 53," after the directive that bars cameras in U.S. courts.

There's no school specifically for courtroom artists. Many slipped or were nudged into it by circumstance.

Renaud drew fashion illustrations for Marshall Field's commercials into the `90s but lost that job when the department store starting relying on photographers. That led her to courtroom drawing.

Artists sometime get to court early and sketch the empty room. But coming in with a drawing fully finished in advance is seen as unethical.

Some artists use charcoal, water colors or pungent markers, which can leave those sitting nearby queasy. Most start with a quick pencil sketch, then fill it in. Austin draws right off the bat with her color pencils.

"If I overthink it, I get lost," she said. "I have a visceral reaction. I just hope what I feel is conveyed to my pen."

These days, Chukman and Renaud fear for their livelihoods. They make the bulk of their annual income off their court work. Working for a TV station or a newspaper can bring in about $300 a day. A trial lasting a month can mean a $6,000 paycheck. Chukman does other work on the side, including drawing caricatures as gifts.

Austin is semiretired and so she says she worries less. She also notes that federal courts ? where some of the most notorious trials take place, like the two corruption trials of impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich ? seem more adamant about not allowing cameras.

Still, though Rule 53 remains in place, federal courts are experimenting with cameras in very limited cases.

"If federal courts do follow, that will be the end of us," Austin said.

Renaud holds out hope that, even if the worst happens, there will still be demand from lawyers for courtroom drawings they can hang in their offices. Lien plans to bolster his income by launching a website selling work from historic trials he covered, including of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Chukman, a courtroom artist for around 30 years, jokes that if asked for his opinion, he'd have told state-court authorities to keep the ban in place a few more years until he retires.

"I recognize my profession exists simply because of gaps in the law ? and I've been grateful for them," he said wistfully. "This line of work has been good to me."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_camera_in_courts_sketch_artist

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Clippers hold off Grizzlies for bounce-back win (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Blake Griffin scored 20 points, Chris Paul added 18 points and seven assists in his second game back from injury, and the first-place Los Angeles Clippers hung on in the fourth quarter for a 98-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.

Mo Williams scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Griffin added nine rebounds and eight assists as the Clippers maintained a narrow lead throughout the final period. Caron Butler scored 17 points, and Paul also had seven rebounds while playing back-to-back games after missing the previous five with a strained left hamstring.

Rudy Gay scored 24 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost two straight following a seven-game winning streak. Marc Gasol added 18 points and 11 rebounds on Memphis' third stop on a four-game West Coast trip.

Gasol's two free throws trimmed the Clippers' lead to 91-89, but Butler hit a driving layup, and Paul made two free throws after a steal with 45 seconds left. Although Griffin didn't score in the fourth quarter, the Clippers scored seven consecutive points in the final minute to seal their third straight win over Memphis.

DeAndre Jordan had nine points and nine rebounds as the Clippers bounced back from Wednesday's contentious loss to the Lakers, dropping that rivalry game after holding the lead for nearly every possession of the first 3 1/2 quarters. The Clippers' new nucleus is still learning how to respond to adversity, and this gritty win over a strong playoff contender should help.

The Clippers stayed in first place in the Pacific Division even during Paul's absence and after their first loss of the season to the Lakers, but a tougher schedule looms for a franchise with just one winning season in 19 years. No team in the Western Conference has played fewer games than the Clippers' 16 ? including 11 in front of sellout home crowds.

The Grizzlies had a day off after their loss in Portland on Tuesday in their fourth game in five days. Gay managed just 11 points against the Trail Blazers, but surpassed that well before halftime against the Clippers.

Paul made a four-point play during an early 11-0 run by the Clippers, who jumped out to a 27-11 lead late in the first quarter. Rudy Gay made a 50-foot shot at the first-quarter buzzer as the Grizzlies made a 14-0 run of their own, keeping it close into the fourth quarter.

NOTES: Both teams wore throwback ABA uniforms. The Clippers dressed in the baby-blue-and-red gear of the Los Angeles Stars, while the Grizzlies sported the Memphis Tams' gold jerseys and green shorts. Starting in 1972, Charlie Finley dressed his newly purchased basketball team in the same colors worn by his Oakland Athletics and the NHL's California Golden Seals. ... Before the game, the Clippers assigned G Eric Bledsoe to the D-League's Bakersfield Jam in his comeback from a torn meniscus in his right knee. The second-year point guard was hurt during an offseason workout. ... Fans near courtside included Rihanna, Billy Crystal, "True Blood" actor Jim Parrack and David Justice.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bkn_grizzlies_clippers

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Tim Cook Says Apple Cares About Its Supply Chain Workers, Honestly [Apple]

Yesterday the web was abuzz thanks to a New York Times story that claimed Apple's Chinese factories were dangerous and exploitative. That made Tim Cook sad, so he sent a very long email to his employees to set the record straight. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/82ZOB5JEJTU/tim-cook-says-apple-cares-about-its-supply-chain-workers-honestly

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It's okay to peek: phone size comparison tool reveals how your equipment stacks up

See any trend emerging here? Yes, we agree that Google's phones are getting hotter with each generation, but that's not the answer we're looking for. Here's a hint: if you examine the above image really closely, you might also discover a progression toward larger handsets. In all seriousness, the above comparison was generated by phone-size.com, a website that's quite useful to study the relative proportions of different smartphones. But wait, it gets even better. At the top of the webpage, you'll also find a toolbar to plug in the size and aspect ratio of your display. Once you jump through this minor hoop, the utility produces accurate, life-size depictions of the smartphones -- go ahead and hold your slab up to the screen, it really works. Before you dive in, however, be sure to hop the break: we've put together an entertaining look at the Xperia Mini, Titan and Streak 5 that you won't want to miss.

Continue reading It's okay to peek: phone size comparison tool reveals how your equipment stacks up

It's okay to peek: phone size comparison tool reveals how your equipment stacks up originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Daring Fireball  |  phone-size.com  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/phone-size-comparison-tool/

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Video: Fed Adds Sizzle to the Markets

Randy Kroszner, University of Chicago professor, discusses the Fed's decision to keep interest lows, and its impact on the economy.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Top of page

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46140099/

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'The Office' Spin-Off With Rainn Wilson In The Works At NBC

TVLine:

Is Dwight K. Schrute getting his own show? Reports are swirling that NBC is working on an "Office" spin-off starring Rainn Wilson for a potential midseason 2013 launch.

Read the whole story: TVLine

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/dwight-schrute-rainn-wilson-office-spinoff_n_1232692.html

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Nations try to oust Syria from UNESCO rights panel (AP)

PARIS ? A group of UNESCO member states is trying to remove Syria from a committee with a human rights mandate, a panel it quietly rejoined despite its deadly crackdown on protesters.

U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based NGO, diplomats and others said Wednesday that a growing group of countries ? western and Arab ? want to unseat Syria from the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations. The committee deals with multiple issues, but has a strong human rights component.

Syria was named to the committee in November by the Arab group at UNESCO. Now, a number of countries, from the United States and Britain to Qatar and Kuwait, are mounting a campaign to remove Syria from the committee by putting the issue on the agenda of the next executive board. The board meets from Feb. 27 until March 10.

The U.S. ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion, said he "strongly objects" to the reappointment in November of Syria on the committee.

"We should not allow the Syrian regime to stand as a judge of other countries' human rights record while it systematically violates the human rights of its citizens," according to a statement by Killion.

"The Syrian regime's actions are an affront to the dignity and human rights of the Syrian people, and it is not fit to sit on this body."

About 5,400 Syrians have been killed in an uprising that began in March by protesters seeking to topple the regime of President Bashar Assad. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned Syria for human rights abuses.

"Stop killing your people," Ban said in a keynote address to a Jan. 16 conference in Beirut on democracy in the Arab world.

U.N. Watch, the NGO which is affiliated with the American Jewish Committee, made available a December letter to the executive board chairman, signed by 14 nations, advising of the need to act.

The number of signatories has nearly doubled since, according to one diplomat close to negotiations on the issue. The diplomat asked not to be named because of the delicacy of the topic.

An explanatory memo attached to the letter evoked the need for "concerted action to address the egregious human rights situation in Syria."

As a member of the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations, "Syria participates in the examination of cases involving alleged human rights violations ...," the memo reads. "In view of the current situation in Syria, the Executive Board must review the participation of Syria in this aspect of its work."

The signers asked that the question be placed on the agenda of the 58-member board ? of which Syria itself is a member.

It is not at all clear whether a resolution to oust Syria from the committee will be put to the board, or whether something milder, like a condemnation, or something stronger would come forth. Negotiations among nations are in progress.

The diplomat close to the negotiations denied reports that the executive board was asleep at the switch when Syria was reappointed to the committee with a human rights mandate.

The move came as UNESCO's new executive board reorganized. The upcoming board meeting "is the first opportunity that anybody has to confront this issue legally" according to UNESCO's rules, the diplomat said.

Because each regional group can determine who sits on a subcommittee, the decision was "not challengeable."

UNESCO is already trying to overcome the effects of another contentious issue, the withdrawal of U.S. funding after admitting Palestine as its 195th member. The Oct. 31 vote triggered two U.S. laws into action that automatically cut off U.S. funds ? 22 percent of the overall budget.

The law bars U.S. funding of organization that grants membership to territories that are not internationally recognized as states.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_eu/unesco_syria

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March of Dimes launches Prematurity Prevention Network

Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
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Contact: Elizabeth Lynch
elynch@marchofdimes.com
914-997-4286
March of Dimes Foundation

Virtual network of experts to work together to prevent preterm birth

WASHINGTON, D.C, Jan. 23, 2012 The March of Dimes, along with its partners, are giving experts in the field of preterm birth prevention an opportunity to learn from each other and to work together to bring the nation's preterm birth rate under 10 percent and give more babies a healthy start.

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin was the keynote speaker for the Prematurity Prevention Symposium. The symposium will was a forum to share lessons learned from regional and statewide perinatal collaboratives, review prevention efforts used by hospitals and providers, and showcase community-based intervention programs. The symposium's purpose was to launch the Prematurity Prevention Network a virtual network made up of health care providers, insurers, policy makers, and business leaders who will work together to achieve the March of Dimes goal of lowering the preterm birth rate to 9.6 percent of live births.

Those wishing to join the network can create an account at http://www.prematurityprevention.org.

"Our goal is ambitious yet achievable. This symposium and the network will create opportunities for experts in the field to share information about how they designed implemented and evaluated programs, policies and other activities to prevent preterm births. Expansion of successful programs will move us along the path toward success," said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. "When we succeed and I know we will it will mean that 115,000 fewer babies each year would suffer the serious health risks of an early birth."

Preterm birth is a serious health problem that costs the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. Although the US preterm birth has declined in recent years, more than a half million babies are born too soon each year. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and one million babies worldwide die each year as a result of their early birth. Babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of lifelong health challenges, such as breathing problems, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and others.

Among the experts who spoke were :

• Roberto Romero, MD, chief of the Perinatology Research Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health,
• Jay D. Iams, MD, professor and endowed chair, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ohio State University College of Medicine,
• Ruth Ann Shepherd, MD, division director, Adult & Child Health Improvement,Kentucky Department for Public Health,
• Steven L. Clark, MD medical director, Women's and Children's Clinical Services, Hospital Corporation of America,
• Bryan T. Oshiro, MD, vice chairman and associate professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine,
• Wanda D. Barfield, MD, MPH, director, Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
• Samuel R. Nussbaum, MD executive vice president, Clinical Health Policy and chief medical officer, WellPoint, Inc.
• Patrick Conway, MD, MSc,chief medical officer, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
• Alan E. Guttmacher, MD director, National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

A joint effort by the March of Dimes, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the symposium and network grew out of the 2009 March of Dimes Symposium on Quality Improvement to Prevent Prematurity.

###

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
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Contact: Elizabeth Lynch
elynch@marchofdimes.com
914-997-4286
March of Dimes Foundation

Virtual network of experts to work together to prevent preterm birth

WASHINGTON, D.C, Jan. 23, 2012 The March of Dimes, along with its partners, are giving experts in the field of preterm birth prevention an opportunity to learn from each other and to work together to bring the nation's preterm birth rate under 10 percent and give more babies a healthy start.

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin was the keynote speaker for the Prematurity Prevention Symposium. The symposium will was a forum to share lessons learned from regional and statewide perinatal collaboratives, review prevention efforts used by hospitals and providers, and showcase community-based intervention programs. The symposium's purpose was to launch the Prematurity Prevention Network a virtual network made up of health care providers, insurers, policy makers, and business leaders who will work together to achieve the March of Dimes goal of lowering the preterm birth rate to 9.6 percent of live births.

Those wishing to join the network can create an account at http://www.prematurityprevention.org.

"Our goal is ambitious yet achievable. This symposium and the network will create opportunities for experts in the field to share information about how they designed implemented and evaluated programs, policies and other activities to prevent preterm births. Expansion of successful programs will move us along the path toward success," said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. "When we succeed and I know we will it will mean that 115,000 fewer babies each year would suffer the serious health risks of an early birth."

Preterm birth is a serious health problem that costs the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. Although the US preterm birth has declined in recent years, more than a half million babies are born too soon each year. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and one million babies worldwide die each year as a result of their early birth. Babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of lifelong health challenges, such as breathing problems, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and others.

Among the experts who spoke were :

• Roberto Romero, MD, chief of the Perinatology Research Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health,
• Jay D. Iams, MD, professor and endowed chair, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ohio State University College of Medicine,
• Ruth Ann Shepherd, MD, division director, Adult & Child Health Improvement,Kentucky Department for Public Health,
• Steven L. Clark, MD medical director, Women's and Children's Clinical Services, Hospital Corporation of America,
• Bryan T. Oshiro, MD, vice chairman and associate professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine,
• Wanda D. Barfield, MD, MPH, director, Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
• Samuel R. Nussbaum, MD executive vice president, Clinical Health Policy and chief medical officer, WellPoint, Inc.
• Patrick Conway, MD, MSc,chief medical officer, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
• Alan E. Guttmacher, MD director, National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

A joint effort by the March of Dimes, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the symposium and network grew out of the 2009 March of Dimes Symposium on Quality Improvement to Prevent Prematurity.

###

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/modf-mod012312.php

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Croatia votes to join EU in 2013, despite crisis (Reuters)

ZAGREB (Reuters) ? Croatia voted on Sunday to join the European Union next year, shrugging off concerns over the economic turmoil in the bloc and fears that membership will compromise its hard-won sovereignty.

Provided all 27 member states ratify its accession, the Adriatic state will enter the EU on July 1, 2013, more than two decades after breaking away from socialist Yugoslavia and fighting a 1991-95 war to secure independence.

It will become the second former Yugoslav republic to join the EU, following Slovenia in 2004.

Sixty-six percent ticked "Yes" in the referendum, the state electoral commission said with almost all votes counted.

"This is a historic moment, and could be a turning point in our history," Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told reporters.

Turnout, however, was low, at 44 percent of eligible voters, well below the resounding votes of many former communist countries that joined in 2004 and 2007.

That figure appeared to reflect widespread uncertainty among Croats over what membership will really mean.

But the result suggested the EU had not completely lost its appeal in the struggling western Balkans despite the debt crisis that is threatening the single currency.

Many Croats hope accession will mark a clear break with the region's recent past of war and nationalism, and help its weak economy through EU funds and full access to the bloc's common market.

The slow pace of reform in the rest of the western Balkans, and waning enthusiasm within the EU for further enlargement, mean other countries in Croatia's neighborhood - such as Serbia, Bosnia and Albania - will wait years before they too can join. Tiny Montenegro on the Adriatic coast is next in line.

"GREAT RELIEF"

"I feel great relief, for me, for my children," said bank worker Jasna Maric, 43. "Only fifteen years ago, we were still killing each other here, so this was a strategic decision."

Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, though visibly delighted, sounded a note of caution:

"With this, we leave behind political instability, but the rest will depend on our ability and creativity," Pusic said. "Our chances will be better, but no one will do the job for us."

Croatia saw strong growth in the past decade on the back of foreign lending and waves of tourists to its Adriatic coast, but its economy has been hit hard by the global economic crisis.

It will have to work hard to make its public finances sustainable before it is allowed to join the euro zone, which analysts say is unlikely in the next five years.

Its gross domestic product per capita is 61 percent of the EU average.

Analysts and government officials had warned that rejection of EU accession on Sunday would have hit the country's credit rating, deterred investors and further dampened any prospect of a quick economic recovery.

The "No" camp expressed bitter disappointment, and argued the referendum did not truly reflect the will of the people because of the low turnout.

"This result is against the interests of the Croatian people," said Zeljko Sacic, a war veteran and leading Euro-skeptic.

"This is the end of Croatia's freedom. The EU is falling apart and the Croatian man will be worse off than today."

(Reporting by Zoran Radosavljevic and Igor Ilic; Editing by Matt Robinson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120122/wl_nm/us_croatia_eu_referendum

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Celeb real estate: Anderson Cooper doubles down

Zillow

An aerial view of Anderson Cooper's new estate, top, and current home at bottom.

By Erika Riggs, Zillow

Anderson Cooper didn't have to shop around for his latest real estate purchase. The CNN host bought the home right next door to his Hamptons estate. The aerial photo above shows the?proximity of the two homes, with Cooper's first home being the one at the bottom of the photo.

He purchased a 2.4-acre estate sitting on Aspatuck Creek waterfront in the Quogue real estate market of eastern Long Island. It is 3,654 square feet with 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 2 fireplaces and a Gunite pool and spa.

Built in 1924, the estate's last homeowner was Oscar-winning screenwriter Budd Schulberg, whose great achievement was "On The Waterfront,'' starring Marlon Brando.

Schulberg passed away in the home in 2009 at age 95. The estate was placed on the market in 2010 for $2.95 million, according to property listings. The price was dropped to $2.45 million in August 2011 and then Cooper scooped it up for $1.7 million.

More about Cooper's new home.

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Philbin sells Greenwich home

Zillow

Regis Philbin's estate sold for $3 million

Cooper wasn't the only TV star making moves in real estate this week.

After trying on and off to sell his Greenwich, Conn., estate over the past five years, Regis Philbin has finally sold it for $3 million.

The talk show icon first listed the home in 2008 for $5.9 million, and hoped the 4-bedroom, 6.5-bath property would attract a buyer who appreciated the 5,919 square feet of living space on a cul-de-sac. But it didn't sell.

In May 2011, Philbin relisted the home at $4.195 million shortly before he announced retirement from ?Live With Regis and Kelly? after almost 25 years on the air. The 79-year-old star has long been a familiar face on American television ? so much that Philbin holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera.

The price on Philbin?s Greenwich home was cut to $3.8 million in July before the property was finally sold for $3 million.

Read more about Philbin's sale.

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Rivers' apartment back on market with price raised

Zillow

Joan Rivers' gilded and expensive penthouse.

When a home won't sell, there are tactics sellers can take to stir up interest, including cutting the list price.?However, if you're Joan Rivers, you're more likely to try something a little more unconventional.

The red carpet hostess and queen of snark made the decision to delist her gilded Upper East Side apartment and then relist it at a higher price, going from $25 million to $29.5 million.

Even in celebrity real estate circles with rising Upper East Side home values, this is not exactly a textbook move.

Situated "just steps from Fifth Avenue," the apartment features Central Park views from floor-to-ceiling windows. Updated and completely modernized, the home has two master suites, a gourmet eat-in kitchen and three wood-burning fireplaces.

Read more about Rivers' apartment.

Check out more celebrity real estate news on the Zillow blog.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/22/10191288-celeb-real-estate-anderson-cooper-buys-regis-sells-joan-rivers-raises

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China reports second bird flu death in a month (AP)

BEIJING ? China on Sunday reported its second bird flu fatality in a month following deaths last week in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The patient died Sunday in Guizhou province in the southwest after being hospitalized on Jan. 6, the health ministry said in a brief statement. It said the flu was highly pathogenic but gave no indication whether it was confirmed to be the H5N1 strain.

Mainland officials told Hong Kong authorities the patient was a 39-year-old man who reported having no contact with poultry, government-run Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK said. It gave no other details of his identity.

The health ministry statement said 71 people who had contact with the patient showed no unusual symptoms.

China suffered its first bird flu fatality in 18 months when a bus driver in Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong, died Dec. 31.

Last week, Vietnam reported its first bird flu fatality in nearly two years ? an 18-year-old man who worked on a duck farm.

In Cambodia, a 2-year-old boy died last week after reportedly having contact with sick poultry in his village, according to the World Health Organization.

Indonesia also has reported one bird flu death this year.

WHO says that as of Friday, there have been 343 human deaths from 582 confirmed bird flu cases worldwide since 2003. Some 27 of those deaths were in China and 60 in Vietnam.

___

Online:

Chinese Ministry of Health: http://www.moh.gov.cn

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_he_me/as_china_bird_flu

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\\arch-daedalus//beings.with.wings (Open, characters wanted)

This roleplay has been recently made, and I need to re-type the rules, but please do join if you are interested! I would be very happy if you did. Anyway, this RP is about a world above earth that is on the verge of civil war! The war must be stopped or won, to continue a special project! Anyway, the people in this RP have special powers and more importantly, fly! I wonder who will join and how many people who do join and I'm sure their characters will be very interesting!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/vQsXR8J1NvE/viewtopic.php

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Chevron appeals $18 billion ruling in Ecuador lawsuit (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO/QUITO (Reuters) ? Chevron Corp (CVX.N) has filed an appeal with Ecuador's Supreme Court to review a judgment that the U.S. oil company pay $18 billion in damages for polluting the Amazon jungle.

An Ecuadorian judge ordered the U.S. major to pay the damages after a fraught legal battle that has lasted nearly two decades and looks like it will run even longer.

The California oil company inherited the case when it bought Texaco a decade ago. Its appeal on Friday argued that the lower courts violated Ecuador's constitution by refusing to take corrective action in response to what Chevron calls "extensive fraud and corruption" committed by the plaintiffs' lawyers and representatives.

Chevron said the original judgment, delivered last February by an Ecuadorian court in the jungle city of Lago Agrio, was based on faulty evidence and retroactive application of a law, while ignoring releases of liability granted to Texaco by Ecuador in the 1990s.

"Today's appeal gives (the Supreme Court) an opportunity to correct the grave injustices that have occurred in this case," Hewitt Pate, Chevron's general counsel, said in a statement.

The case is being watched closely by the oil industry for precedents that could influence other claims against companies accused of pollution in the countries where they operate.

Plaintiffs have responded to the accusations by citing Chevron's own test data in documenting the pollution and arguing that Ecuador's release for Texaco did not prevent third parties from suing for damages.

In related litigation in New York, the plaintiffs also accuse the company of mishandling soil and water samples during the Lago Agrio trial by maintaining two different laboratories, based on testimony from a Chevron expert.

Along with the appeal in Ecuador, Chevron asked that it not be required to post a bond to prevent enforcement of the judgment during the appeal process, arguing that such a payment would violate Ecuador's obligations under an order issued last February by an international arbitration tribunal.

Pablo Fajardo, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the next step would be to see whether the Lago Agrio appeals court requires Chevron to pay.

"If it asks (Chevron) to pay a bond, and if it pays the bond, then only the bond can stop us from carrying out the sentence," Fajardo told Reuters.

Asked if the plaintiffs were looking at any country in particular where it could seek to collect the damages, he said they would first await the decision on the bond. "We haven't done anything, we don't have any plans yet," Fajardo said.

Chevron no longer has assets in Ecuador, so questions surround the enforcement of the original ruling. A lawyer for the company accused the plaintiffs last May of planning to seek enforcement in countries hostile to Chevron.

The entire case may be reheard far from both Ecuador and the United States. The arbitration tribunal in The Hague, operating under a U.S.-Ecuador treaty, ordered Ecuador to take all measures at its disposal to suspend enforcement of the Lago Agrio judgment until the arbitrators have their say.

The tribunal is expected to rule any day on the question of whether or not it has jurisdiction in the case.

(Reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco, Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore and Eduardo Garcia in Quito; editing by Andre Grenon, Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/bs_nm/us_chevron

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Introducing ? San Antonio Pets Alive! | Austin Pets Alive!

We?re extremely excited to be announcing a new arm of Austin Pets Alive! just down the road ? San Antonio Pets Alive! (SAPA!).

San Antonio City Council voted unanimously today to approve a city partnership with SAPA! to allow them to work directly with San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) with the goal of saving at least 4,000 lives in San Antonio this year.

Our new branch is looking for local volunteers, fosters, donors and adopters to join their force and ultimately turn San Antonio into the largest no-kill city in the nation. To learn more about how you and your friends in San Antonio can help, visit their website or check out SAPA! on Facebook.

For more information about the partnership and this weekend?s big kick-off adoption event, see below. Please help us in spreading the word about this exciting news for the homeless dogs and cats of San Antonio!

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San Antonio Animal Care Services Partners with New Nonprofit San Antonio Pets Alive! to Save an Additional 4,000 Animals This Year

San Antonio Pets Alive! hosting first-ever mega-adoption event this weekend

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (January 19, 2012) ? In an effort to save more dogs and cats at San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) and ultimately reach the city?s no-kill goal, ACS is partnering with new local nonprofit San Antonio Pets Alive! (SAPA!). SAPA! is an offshoot of neighbor Austin Pets Alive!, an organization that has saved over 11,500 pets from euthanasia in Central Texas since 2008 and that has been integral in helping Austin reach a save rate of 91 percent for all city shelter animals in 2011.

San Antonio City Council voted unanimously today to approve the partnership that will save at least 4,000 additional lives this year. SAPA! staff and volunteers will work hand-in-hand with ACS to help increase shelter live outcomes and engage the community to both adopt and volunteer.

?We?re so excited about this partnership with the City of San Antonio that will allow us to save the lives of thousands of homeless pets. While our contract is to save 4,000 dogs and cats, we believe that in partnership with the city, we can actually save all the salvageable pets this year,? said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, executive director of San Antonio Pets Alive! ?We?ve proven that no-kill is possible in Austin, and we know the same can happen here, making San Antonio the largest city in the U.S. to achieve no-kill.?

In order to be successful, SAPA! needs people to open their homes to just one more pet through adoption or fostering, as every life is counting on just one person to be a hero for them in the San Antonio community. ?The organization?s new slogan is ?What number hero will you be?? and they firmly believe that if enough heroes come forward to help, San Antonio can reach a no-kill status in 2012.

?We are so thrilled to be working with San Antonio Pets Alive! because they have a proven track record from their work in Austin,? said Animal Care Services Interim Director Joe Angelo. ?This is a first for ACS and a first for the community! As we continue to increase our live release rate, we?re sure positive partnerships like this will help us get there even quicker.?

SAPA! is hosting their first-ever adoption event this weekend at San Antonio?s Animal Care Services, located at 4710 Highway 151, San Antonio, Texas.

The hours of the adoption event are:

• Friday, January 20 from 11:00 a.m. ? 6:30 p.m.
• Saturday, January 21 from 11:00 a.m. ? 4:30 p.m.
• Sunday, January 22 from 12:00 ? 4:00 p.m.

Adoption fees for all pets will be reduced to just $25, which includes spay or neuter, vaccinations and a microchip. This weekend?s SAPA! Kick-Off Adoption Event will be the first of many adoption events hosted by SAPA! in partnership with ACS.

About San Antonio Pets Alive!

San Antonio Pets Alive! (an offshoot of Austin Pets Alive!) is a nonprofit organization of volunteers dedicated to promoting and providing the resources, education and programs needed to eliminate the killing of companion animals. The organization?s purpose is two-fold: to provide the services needed to save the lives of the thousands of pets killed every year at city shelters and to prevent them from getting there in the first place.

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Source: http://www.austinpetsalive.org/2012/01/introducing-san-antonio-pets-alive/

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Home Insurance Rates | WWW.THOMASBYERS.NET

Home Insurance Rates

Insurance premiums are calculated according to several risk factors. These are the factors identified by the insurance company as most likely to have an impact on the insured against risk occurring. Insurance is a significant cost associated with the item insured and should not be rushed into. It is always a good idea to shop around for the best price available. Insurance premiums will vary considerably from insurer to insurer so do your homework.

Shopping Around

Look up the various insurance companies you are interested in and ask them for a quote. They can usually give you a rough estimate fairly quickly and even more exact quotes should also be possible if you provide more details and wait. You should also look up insurers online and get instant quotes from their website. This is a very fast and effective way of shopping around. You will get a good idea of what prices to expect. You can also experiment with the quotation websites to see what effect it makes to your premium price if you select different options. With all insurance policies you will have a number of options that affect the price of the policy. Therefore you should think about these options and if there are risks that you do not wish to cover then let the insurer know as your premium should become cheaper.

Doubling Up

You should also try to make sure you do not double insure. It is a principle of insurance that you cannot benefit from the insured events occurrence. So you cannot get paid twice even if you have two insurance policies. So if a risk is already covered by one policy, again let your insurer know so they can remove it from their calculation.

Location, Location, Location

Home insurance rates depend on factors such as address. If your home is located in an are of high crime, or an area that flood often, or is prone to earthquakes, hurricanes or other significant risks, this will be reflected in the policy price. The security you have installed will also affect the premium you must pay. If you have a sophisticated security system this will obviously make your home safer and this will reduce the risk. Similarly, fire alarm systems and sprinklers can decrease your premium. In some areas, flood prevention measures may be taken into account. The size and value of your home will be another important factor, as clearly a more expensive home will cost more if it is damaged.

Many home insurance policies will require you not to leave the home unoccupied, and if you are renting out the home, this will also affect the premium.

Source: http://www.thomasbyers.net/home-insurance-rates/

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Radiation-induced damage to brain tissue reversed by oxygen starvation in mice

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Treating brain tumors with whole brain radiation therapy can damage healthy brain tissue, but a new study in mice reveals that limiting the oxygen supply, or hypoxia, can alleviate some of the cognitive impairment caused by the radiation. The results are reported in the Jan. 18 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE.

The researchers, led by William Sonntag of University of Oklahoma, exposed the mice to a clinically relevant regimen of radiation, which caused progressive deterioration of spatial learning starting about two months post-radiation.

However, when mice were treated with chronic hypoxia for about three weeks, beginning one month after radiation exposure, they showed significant improvement in this area, which was maintained for at least two months after returning to normal oxygen levels.

The radiation treatment also caused an early decline in contextual learning and memory, but these deficiencies were transient and dissipated within three months post-radiation.

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Warrington JP, Csiszar A, Mitschelen M, Lee YW, Sonntag WE (2012) Whole Brain Radiation-Induced Impairments in Learning and Memory Are Time-Sensitive and Reversible by Systemic Hypoxia. PLoS ONE 7(1): e30444. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030444

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

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

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

This press release has been viewed 71 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116851/Radiation_induced_damage_to_brain_tissue_reversed_by_oxygen_starvation_in_mice

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Deal on EU embargo of Iran's oil remains in doubt (AP)

BRUSSELS ? A possible European Union ban on oil deals with Iran remains in doubt just days before EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels in hopes of adopting it, a diplomat said Thursday.

Such an embargo would choke off funding for Iran's nuclear program, which many Western governments believe is geared toward developing nuclear weapons ? something Iran denies. The embargo would prevent EU countries from buying crude oil from Iran and also from selling refined oil to Iran, the diplomat said.

The diplomat, who is accredited to the European Union, spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing talks.

EU foreign ministers will meet Monday to consider an embargo and possibly action to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank.

A number of Western leaders say they are determined that Iran, which is ruled by a fundamentalist Islamic government, should not acquire nuclear weapons. France, Germany and the United Kingdom are eager to have an oil embargo against Iran take effect quickly.

But other EU countries ? Greece in particular ? are concerned because they are in dire economic difficulty and rely heavily on oil from Iran.

Under a compromise being offered by the Danes, who hold the rotating presidency of the EU, the ban would take effect immediately but existing contracts would be honored during a transition period, the diplomat said.

The embargo would have a strong effect at once, the diplomat said, as short-term contracts for the purchase of Iranian oil expired. But longer-term contracts would remain in force until July 1, when the transition period would end, which might happen only after a review of the impacts of the ban on world oil prices.

That review would allow countries reliant on Iranian oil to assess whether the price of alternatives sources had risen to unaffordable levels, the diplomat said.

Permanent representatives to the European Union discussed the issue Thursday but broke up without agreement, the diplomat said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_eu/eu_iran_oil_embargo

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Report: Air traffic control error led to near miss

By Rebecca Ruiz, Senior editor, msnbc.com

An error by an air traffic controller at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) in Mississippi almost resulted in a mid-air collision between a commercial jetliner and a small private plane, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report, which was released Wednesday, said that the two planes, an Embraer and a Cessna, passed each other on June 19, 2011, at the same altitude, separated by approximately 300 feet laterally. The Embraer, bound for Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport, was an ExpressJet flight, operated by Continental/United Express, and was carrying 50 passengers and three crewmembers. No one was injured on either plane.

An investigation into the incident found that an air traffic controller cleared the Cessna for takeoff and then also cleared the Embraer for takeoff 16 seconds later from a runway that intersected with that of the Cessna's flight path.?

The air traffic controller did not appear to be suffering from sleep deprivation or fatigue, as have other controllers involved in safety incidents in the past year.

Story: Wake up! Sleeping air traffic controller spurs FAA policy shift

However, the controller responsible for the incident told investigators that he did not anticipate the two aircraft might "conflict with each other." He was unaware that an investigation was underway until later that week and admitted that "he was not happy at GPT."

The controller's manager "professed frustration at the continual problems created by the [controller] and the inability to effectively correct his deficiencies," according to the report. The manager said that as a result of the incident, the controller was no longer allowed to work the local control position.

Related stories:

Rebecca Ruiz is a senior editor at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter.

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/18/10184337-report-air-traffic-control-error-nearly-resulted-in-mid-air-collision

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Cashless Biometric India Cataloging 1.2 Billion Citizens

Cashless Biometric India 1.2 Billion to be Catalogued

GHANDI, the father of Indian Independence who led the almighty struggle for his country, will be appalled.

The NWO is attempting to implement their cashless society on the 1.2 billion citizens of India who largely because of lack of education and awareness as to the master blueprint, believe it is going to benefit them. This is just a blatant attempt to catalogue the NWOs first batch of slaves to a Cashless Society, where you will have to present yourself with your bio-metric card that holds your unique identification number, plus 10 fingerprints, and 2 iris scans and other data.Here a news update.

From each volunteer participant, the government collects 10 fingerprints, 2 iris images, and a photo, and if the new data don't match any identity already enrolled, it assigns the person a unique 12-digit number. After that, a single fingerprint or iris scan should be all that's needed to verify the identity of any person. As of the end of March, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has registered more than 4 million people this way. The UIDAI hopes to eventually collect biometrics from a majority of the Indian population.
This is the largest biometrics project to date

Why oh why do the facilitators of this agenda, like the Indian expats in Silicone Valley, think that they are doing something so grand, when they themselves are going to be entrapped by the very same system they have designed. Do they think because they have been good little workers they are going to be in a position of privilege ? The answer to that is no, you will be just as disposable as anyone else, and for this you are selling out your motherland.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?s reputation has taken a beating amid corruption scandals, and analysts say it?s going to get worse. What PM Singh is doing is betraying his entire nation and everything the great Ghandi fought for independence from the slavemasters.

Shame on you Mr.Singh. A cashless society, is a dangerous society where government implements totalitarian control over wages and all transactions. In the bible it refers to "the beast" you will not be able to buy or sell without it, the people will "wear the mark" of the beast.We, the citizens of the planet do not give consent, you do not have consent.

Of course this type of project failed miserably in the past, and will do so again. The indian peoples are very resourceful and know how to modify and recycle everything under the sun. Once they are truly awakened to their new slavery, there will be a severe backlash. They will turn it into a new "farmville game mark2" bollywood style.

Government biometrics programs have been tried before and failed, in India and elsewhere. The United Kingdom's universal ID program, for instance, got bogged down by both costs and privacy concerns and didn't offer tangible benefits to the average citizen. But the UIDAI's universal ID program, or Aadhaar, as it's called, seems to be off to a fast start. As soon as he was appointed in July 2009, chairman Nandan M. Nilekani set the ambitious goal of issuing the first million IDs within 12 to 18 months, and the UIDAI hit that mark by January 2011. Efficiency is not a strength of most government bureaucracies, so Nilekani looked to Silicon Valley for help.

Quote..Her three children come running up, fresh from having their own irises scanned. They?re excitedly waving their receipts for the numbers that will be attached to them for the rest of their lives. ?It was fun!? 7-year-old Sadar says. ?It wasn?t scary at all.?....end quote, pity the poor little children
wearing their slave number for LIFE. THEY DID NOT GIVE CONSENT to become numbered slaves.

The scheme is the brainchild of Nandan Nilekani,(shame on you Nandan, some things are beyond money) one of India?s best-known software tycoons and now head of the government?s Unique Identification Authority

Critics say the project will turn India into an Orwellian police state that will spy on citizens? private lives. ?We do not want an intrusive, surveillance state in India,? said Usha the greatRamanathan, a lawyer who has written and lobbied against the project. ?Information about people will be shared with intelligence agencies, banks and companies, and we will have no idea how our information is interpreted and used.? Civil liberty campaigners fear the ID card will become a tool of repression. Nandita Haskar, a human rights lawyer, said, ?There is already no accountability in regards to violations of human and civil rights. In this atmosphere, what are the oversight mechanisms for this kind of surveillance??

India's landmark biometric identity project to issue unique Aadhaar numbers to every India resident is under serious threat following scathing remarks by the Indian Parliament. A Parliamentary Committee rejected the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, which had been introduced to the Indian Parliament last December in order to underpin the establishment of the National Identification Authority of India.

The committee report said the UIDAI scheme lacked clarity on ?even the basic purpose of issuing Aadhaar number?.Rejecting the Bill, the committee said the government must now ?reconsider and review? the UID scheme.It continued: ?It is also not clear that the UID scheme would continue beyond the coverage of 200 million of the total population, the mandate given to the UIDAI. In case the government does not give further mandate, the whole exercise would become futile.?

To every action there is a reaction, and once the people of India recognise the true purpose of this scheme, there will be a severe backlash as in the past.Their father of freedom GHANDI did not fight for them, for this fate now to befall India.

Let us also not forget the true money of the planet GOLD & SILVER, whilst "they" try to reduce the value of these prescious metals with the manipulation of the paper contracts, the price of the stuff in your hands on street level has risen many fold since 2007. This is the true price, so buy buy buy and protect yourself. In the end the people will by-pass the fraudulent constructs of the NWO for something real.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10

When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always.

Mahatma Gandhi

Source: http://www.blottr.com/breaking-news/cashless-biometric-india-cataloguing-12-billion-citizens

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