Monday, November 28, 2011

Syrians protest Arab sanctions "interference" (Reuters)

BEIRUT (Reuters) ? Tens of thousands of Syrians protested Monday in state-backed rallies against unprecedented economic sanctions imposed by the Arab League over President Bashar al-Assad's military crackdown on popular unrest.

State television showed rallies "supporting national unity and rejecting foreign interference" in the capital Damascus and the second city of Aleppo. There were demonstrations also in the eastern cities of Deir al-Zor and Hasaka, the TV said.

The Arab League approved the sanctions against Syria on Sunday, the toughest imposed against a member state, isolating Assad's government over repression now in its ninth month which the United Nations says has killed 3,500 people.

The European Union said the sanctions were a further "reaction to the regime's brutality and unwillingness to change course," and Britain said they could help enlist support at the United Nations for action against Damascus.

But Syria's closest trading partners, Lebanon and Iraq, said they would not support the Arab League measures, and the actual economic impact could be less severe than proposed.

"We do not agree with these sanctions and we will not go along with them," Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour told Reuters in Beirut.

Lebanon believes along with Iraq that the sanctions - which fall short of a full trade embargo - could harm their interests. Monday, the Arab League appealed to Damascus, offering "a review of all of the measures" if Syria drops its opposition to an Arab plan to end the crackdown.

Anti-Assad activists in Syria said Sunday that security forces had killed at least 24 civilians, many in a town north of Damascus that has become a focus for the protests. Others were killed in raids on towns in the province of Homs.

FIGHTING BACK

"The indications are not positive ... the sanctions are still economic but if there is no movement on the part of Syria then we have a responsibility as human beings to stop the killings," Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, told reporters.

"Power is not worth anything when a ruler kills his people," he said after 19 of the League's 22 members meeting in Cairo on Sunday approved a decision to enforce sanctions immediately.

Along with peaceful protests, some of Assad's opponents are fighting back. Army defectors are grouped loosely under the banner of a Syrian Free Army and more insurgent attacks on loyalist troops have been reported in the last several weeks.

The sanctions include a travel ban on top Syrian officials and a freeze on assets related to Assad's government. They are aimed at halting dealings with Syria's central bank and investment in the country, Sheikh Hamad said.

He added that non-member Turkey, which attended the Arab League meeting, would also honor some of the measures, dealing a further blow to a Syrian economy already reeling from sanctions imposed by the EU and United States.

UNITED NATIONS "SILENCE"

Arab nations wanted to avert a repeat of what happened in Libya, where a U.N. Security Council resolution led to NATO air strikes. Sheikh Hamad warned Arab states that the West could intervene in Syria if it felt the League was not serious.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Arab League sanctions demonstrate that "the regime's repeated failure to deliver on its promises will not be ignored."

Hague said Britain hoped the move would help break what he called United Nations silence "on the ongoing brutality taking place in Syria," after Russia and China thwarted Western efforts to pass a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria.

The sanctions represented the toughest Arab League action against a member state since Egypt's expulsion in 1978 over its peace accord with Israel. Cairo was later readmitted.

Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000, said in an interview this month that he would continue the crackdown and blamed the unrest on outside pressure to "subjugate Syria."

Many Arab leaders have become increasingly concerned by a series of "Arab Spring" revolts that have toppled the rulers of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

MERCHANT CLASS

One Western diplomat said Assad could for now count on support from China and Russia at the United Nations but they may change position if he intensifies the crackdown and if the Arab League campaigns for international intervention.

China and Russia have oil concessions in Syria. Moscow also has a little-used naval base in the country and provides military advisers to the Syrian army.

"The sanctions are likely to lose Assad support among those in Syria who have been waiting to see whether he will be able to turn things around, such as merchants who could now see their businesses take more hits," the diplomat said.

The president of the Union of Arab Banks, a division of the Arab League, said the sanctions would hit Syria's central bank, which has "big deposits" in the region, especially the Gulf.

Arab ministers were spurred to action by worsening violence in Syria and by the Assad government's failure to meet a deadline to admit Arab League observers and take other steps to end its crackdown on the uprising.

Syrian official media quoted an undated letter by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem to the Arab League as saying Damascus viewed the plan for outside monitors as interference.

Syrian officials blame the violence on armed groups targeting civilians. Government security forces say 1,100 of their members have been killed.

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh in Cairo; Editing by Douglas Hamilton and David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111128/ts_nm/us_syria

packers vs vikings randall cobb packers score google x lisfranc injury lisfranc injury ronan

Sunday, November 27, 2011

More Ethiopian troops seen in central Somalia: residents (Reuters)

MOGADISHU (Reuters) ? New convoys of heavily-armed Ethiopian troops have crossed into Somalia and are heading for central areas, residents said Sunday, days after Addis Ababa said it planned to send troops to help Somali and Kenya forces fighting Islamist insurgents.

Ethiopia, which intervened in Somalia between 2006 and 2009, said Friday that it would deploy troops inside Somalia again for a "brief period."

An Ethiopian government official also acknowledged Friday that a small force was already there on a reconnaissance mission. Ethiopia had previously denied scores of military trucks and armored vehicles had entered Somalia on November 19 and 20.

Sunday, residents from towns in central Somalia said they had seen new, larger convoys.

"We have seen heavily armed Ethiopian troops with tanks heading to Guriel and Baladwayne. There are many more of them and (they are) more armed than last week," Ahmed Muhudin Ugas told Reuters from Balanbal town.

"Since yesterday afternoon I counted over 100 armed trucks with tanks; their convoy has not stopped yet."

A senior official with the pro-Mogadishu Sufi militia group Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca also confirmed the deployment.

"Yes, Ethiopian troops are here and more have entered central Somalia," the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters by phone. "Al Shabaab will be ousted from central Somalia but when and how are political points we do not want to disclose now."

Kenya sent troops into Somalia last month to crush al Shabaab, accusing the militant network of frequent attacks on its security forces and tourists inside Kenya.

Ethiopian soldiers previously went into Somalia in 2006, and left the country in early 2009 after ousting the Islamist Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from de facto power in Mogadishu.

They were dogged by accusations that their intervention, hugely unpopular with Somalis, was a rallying call for militias such as al Shabaab, who were not as powerful at that time.

This time, Ethiopia insists the deployment will be brief, although it has not given details on the size of the contingent.

Another resident in Guriel, in the central Galgadud region, said he had seen two different convoys of Ethiopian forces.

"Last night there was a convoy of Ethiopian troops that reached the town," Abdinur Osman Moalim told Reuters. "I don't know their number, but early in the morning we saw more than 40 vehicles of armed Ethiopian troops."

(Editing by George Obulutsa and; Alessandra Rizzo)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/wl_nm/us_somalia_ethiopia

machine gun kelly lindsey lohan reed hastings cujo hpv vaccine hurricane tracking hurricane tracking

Plane with 3 men, 3 children crashes in Arizona (AP)

PHOENIX ? A small airplane slammed into a sheer cliff in the mile-high mountains east of Phoenix and exploded, killing the six people onboard, including the pilot and his three young children who were to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with him, authorities said.

The body of one child was recovered and dozens of sheriff's search and rescue personnel worked Thursday to recover the remains of the other victims, said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.

A search and rescue team was in the rugged Superstitions Mountains searching for three missing teenagers Wednesday evening and saw the explosion as the twin-engine plane hit the cliff, Babeu said. The searchers found the teens, then went up the mountain to try to reach the crash site.

Ten deputies who spent the night on the mountain were relieved by ten more early Thursday. They and dozens of volunteers began searching the crash site at first light. Video from news helicopters Thursday morning showed the wreckage strewn at the bottom of a blackened cliff.

The dead included the pilot and his three children, two boys and a girl ages 5 to 9, Babeu said. The father lives in Safford in southeastern Arizona and owned a small aviation business there.

He had flown to the Phoenix suburb of Mesa with another pilot who co-owned the company and a company mechanic to pick up his children for Thanksgiving. The plane was headed back to Safford when it crashed.

Babeu said he personally notified the mother late Wednesday. The woman, who is divorced from the children's father, lives in Pinal County and also is a pilot.

Some immediate family members are out of the country, so the names of those involved can't yet be released, Babeu said.

"This is their entire family ? it's terrible," Babeu said. "Our hearts go out to the mom and the (families) of all the crash victims. We have has so many people that are working this day, and we just want to support them and embrace them and try to bring closure to this tragedy."

There was no indication the plane was in distress or that the pilot had radioed controllers about any problem, he said.

It was very dark at the time and the plane missed clearing the peak by only several hundred feet. The aircraft slammed into an area of rugged peaks and outcroppings in the Superstition Mountains, 40 miles east of downtown Phoenix, at about 6:30 p.m. MST Wednesday, authorities said.

Callers reported hearing an explosion near a peak known as the Flat Iron, close to Lost Dutchman State Park, Sheriff's spokeswoman Angelique Graham said.

Witnesses reported a fireball and an explosion.

"I looked up and saw this fireball and it rose up," Dave Dibble told KPHO-TV. "All of a sudden, boom."

Rescue crews flown in by helicopter to reach the crash site reported finding two debris fields on fire, suggesting that the plane broke apart on impact.

"The fuselage is stuck down into some of the crevices of this rough terrain," Babeu said late Wednesday. "This is not a flat area, this is jagged peaks, almost like a cliff-type rugged terrain."

Video after the crash showed several fires burning on the mountainside, where heavy brush is common. Flames could still be seen from the suburban communities of Mesa and Apache Junction hours later.

The region is filled with steep canyons, soaring rocky outcroppings and cactus. Treasure hunters who frequent the area have been looking for the legendary Lost Dutchman mine for more than a century.

Some witnesses told Phoenix-area television stations they heard a plane trying to rev its engines to climb higher before apparently hitting the mountains. The elevation is about 5,000 feet at the Superstition Mountains' highest point.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the Rockwell AC-69 was registered to Ponderosa Aviation Inc. in Safford. A man who answered the phone Wednesday night at Ponderosa Aviation declined comment.

Kenitzer said the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board would be investigating the cause of the crash.

___

AP writer Michelle Price in Phoenix contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_re_us/us_arizona_plane_crash

grimm fairy tales grimm fairy tales gold rush gold rush chili recipe chili recipe grimm

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Free iPod Music Downloads: Legal and Safe

Apple iPod isn?t only trendy however it also assists make music revolution within the new era. This new technologies from Apple Computers has brought a brand new order of musical pleasure to quite a number of males and girls. Which is why it has spread widely and its music widely shared about the globe. You can have a wide array of possibilities from the downloadable music inside the World wide internet for your Ipod.

You can choose from millions of songs and download what you want and when you want it. Effortless free iPod music downloads are also available in the Internet of which music can be kept for as long as you want.

You are going to discover entirely totally free iPod music downloads within the net specifically where thousands of music tracks are stored for legal sharing. And for those who obtain a song you like, you could download it effortlessly and legally. You will find a lot of questions nonetheless about the legality of no cost of charge iPod music downloads.

International and domestic iPod music downloads are bombarded with questions of legality in accordance to the Recording Industry Association of America or RIAA. There are still a handful of websites that offer legal free iPod music downloads including:

3hive.com

Amazon.com

eMusic.com

Epitonic.com

Freekidsmusic.com

Garageband.com

IUMA.com

MFiles.co.uk

MP34U.com

MP3blogs.org

Music.download.com

PureVolume

Vitaminic

and iTunes Music Store

Completely cost-free iPod music download internet websites above have wonderful blog-style listings of definitely totally free iPod compatible MP3 songs by record artists and labels, and mainstream and independent artists. Some will offer you using a no cost two-week trial period to check on the services supplied by these internet web-sites that deliver cost-free of charge iPod music downloads.

You can find specialized sites too that give no cost iPod music downloads for young listeners. These are clean, professionally designed interface to give free of charge iPod music downloads where you could download free of charge iPod music across all main genres. There are actually extra than hundreds of thousands of songs which are no cost for iPod music downloads.

When you discover it tough to appear for the songs you like, it is possible to often go to iTunes Music Shop. It?s not as low-cost as other iPod music download shops even so it really is definitely safe and legal technique to obtain access to 1 million songs.

Websites that offer free iPod music downloads can also update you to new cool accessories about your iPod and Apple computer that can help you and your gadgets achieve maximum performance. Accessories include car chargers, pocketdock firewire, pocketdock line out firewire, pocketdock combo, pocketdock line out USB, earbuddy and more. Websites that offer free iPod music downloads also feature not only songs but entire albums as well as updates on which songs and artists are becoming popular and hitting the charts.

From these featured cost-free iPod music downloads within the World-wide-web, it is possible to easily find the songs you want to have on your iPod. You are able to find the songs you like by browsing by means of the store?s library by discovering it by genre. Or you discover too lots of outcomes; you could make it less complicated by looking by artist, album or song title. For songs that are incredibly well-liked for the moment, you?ll find lists of songs that are topping charts about the globe that may make the search simpler.

Cost-free iPod music downloads on different genres of music include option, indie and punk, Broadway, children?s music, classical, nation, dance and DJ, folk, international, jazz, Latin, miscellaneous, new age, Opera, pop, rap and hip-hop, rock, R&B and soul, and soundtracks.

There are plenty of internet websites that offer free of charge iPod music downloads but some people who have iPods do not know exactly where to begin. The best technique to search for these no cost iPod music downloads is via search engines like MSN, Google and Yahoo. Once you have found the websites you are looking for, you?ll be able to click on them 1 by 1 and start by looking for the songs you wish to download for absolutely free.

After completing the downloading process of free iPod music, the songs you want are already stored in your computer which you can easily transfer to you iPod. Take note about where you saved the iPod music you downloaded for free for easy access later.

With free of charge iPod music downloads, there is no need for you to break the law and join illegal files sharing communities in the Net. In the event you cannot afford to buy new music downloads, it is possible to maximize the use of absolutely free iPod music download internet websites today.

Please visit our articles about iPod and iPod Touch

Source: http://rupertmurdoch.hardbossenterprizes.com/free-ipod-music-downloads-legal-and-safe/

drag me to hell alot alot are you afraid of the dark are you afraid of the dark dallas news google tv

Report: Iran lawmaker says 12 CIA agents arrested (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? An influential Iran parliamentarian has said that the country has arrested 12 agents of the American Central Intelligence Agency, the country's official IRNA news agency reported.

Parviz Sorouri, who sits on the powerful committee of foreign policy and national security, that the alleged agents had been operating in coordination with Israel's Mossad and other regional agencies, and targeted the country's military and its nuclear program.

"The U.S. and Zionist regime's espionage apparatuses were trying to damage Iran both from inside and outside with a heavy blow, using regional intelligence services," Sorouri was quoted as having said on Wednesday.

"Fortunately, with swift reaction by the Iranian intelligence department, the actions failed to bear fruit," Sorouri said.

The lawmaker did not specify the nationality of the alleged agents, nor when or where they they had been arrested.

Iran periodically announces the capture or execution of alleged U.S. or Israeli spies, and often no further information is released.

This current announcement follows the unravelling by Lebanon's Hezbollah of a CIA spy ring in that country. Hezbollah reportedly works closely with Iran.

Hezbollah's longtime leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, boasted in June on television he had unmasked at least two CIA spies who had infiltrated the ranks of the organization. Though the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon officially denied the accusation, American officials conceded that Nasrallah wasn't lying and that Hezbollah had subsequently methodically picked off CIA informants.

The United States and its allies suspect Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon program, a charge Iran denies.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran

arkansas razorbacks arkansas football arkansas football player dies anne mccaffrey anne mccaffrey arkansas lsu amazon promotional code

Friday, November 25, 2011

Target: BoGo Free Pillow Pets! | MyLitter - 2011 Black Friday Deals ...

Target has got the 18? Pillow Pets ( full size ones) on sale from $12.99 and up. The best deal are the ones that are BOGO, so you are getting 2 for $19.99! Shipping will run you around $6.50 for both, but $13 each for a full size pillow pet is a great deal! Thanks Surviving the Stores!?

**When you get to Target, type in ?Pillow Pet? and it will bring up a TON of them! Make sure to look for the BOGO ones!

See more Black Friday deals HERE.

?

This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you support this site. Thank you!

Source: http://mylitter.com/target/target-bogo-free-pillow-pets/

best buy black friday kohls kohls coupons jcpenney jason witten black friday online deals bath and body works coupons

Thursday, November 24, 2011

What Car Insurance Products are Mandatory

Car insurance is used by millions of people around the world, as a way to protect themselves and their vehicles in the case of an accident or loss. In most jurisdictions around the world, it is mandatory to have a certain level of car insurance (test-autoversicherung.de) protection, which is also known as vehicle insurance and motor insurance.
Compulsory insurance is used as a way to protect third parties in the case of accidents that are not their fault, and is considered to be an essential aspect of public driving in most countries around the world. Compulsory car insurance is normally quite affordable and often linked to car registration and taxation schemes. In some places, mandatory car insurance is linked to a pay as you drive scheme where it merges with petrol prices, as a way to avoid the situation of uninsured drivers.

Other than basic third party coverage, most other car insurance protection is voluntary in nature. This means that people have the choice of whether or not to take out car insurance, with the option to leave their own vehicle and person uninsured if so desired. There are a number of items that can potentially be insured as part of a car insurance policy, including third party personal, third party property, the insured person, the insured vehicle, fire and theft, additional comprehensive, extended liability, and no fault insurance. In the vast majority of cases, only basic third party protection is deemed to be mandatory before driving on public roads, with drivers having the choice of whether or not to take out additional protection.

Vehicle insurance premiums are priced according to a variety of criteria, including the level of coverage being provided, the length of the contract, and the person who has taken out the contract. A variety of personal information may also be used to price a vehicle insurance policy, including the sex of the driver, the age of the driver, the driving history of the insured party, and any other relevant information. When driving any car on a public road, it is important that you are insured as a way to protect yourself and others in the case of accidents and damage. Most government roads departments around the world have extensive information regarding car insurance schemes, including relevant information on the legal status of various insurance protections.

Source: http://www.suppressedscience.net/car-insurance-products/

brian williams coriolis effect coriolis effect giants patriots yolo steelers vs ravens keystone xl pipeline

Diabetes drug shows promise in reducing risk of cancer

Diabetes drug shows promise in reducing risk of cancer [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jason Cody
codyja@msu.edu
517-432-0924
Michigan State University

Metformin prevents tumors from growing in human cultures

EAST LANSING, Mich. An inexpensive drug that treats Type-2 diabetes has been shown to prevent a number of natural and man-made chemicals from stimulating the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a newly published study by a Michigan State University researcher.

The research, led by pediatrics professor James Trosko and colleagues from South Korea's Seoul National University, provides biological evidence for previously reported epidemiological surveys that long-term use of the drug metformin for Type-2 diabetes reduces the risk of diabetes-associated cancers, such as breast cancers.

The research appears in the current edition of PLoS One.

"People with Type-2 diabetes are known to be at high risk for several diabetes-associated cancers, such as breast, liver and pancreatic cancers," said Trosko, a professor in the College of Human Medicine's Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. "While metformin has been shown in population studies to reduce the risk of these cancers, there was no evidence of how it worked."

For the study, Trosko and colleagues focused on the concept that cancers originate from adult human stem cells and that there are many natural and man-made chemicals that enhance the growth of breast cancer cells.

Using culture dishes, they grew miniature human breast tumors, or mammospheres, that activated a certain stem cell gene (Oct4A). Then the mammospheres were exposed to natural estrogen a known growth factor and potential breast tumor promoter and man-made chemicals that are known to promote tumors or disrupt the endocrine system.

The team found that estrogen and the chemicals caused the mammospheres to increase in numbers and size. However, with metformin added, the numbers and size of the mammospheres were dramatically reduced. While each of the chemicals enhanced growth by different means, metformin seemed to be able to inhibit their stimulated growth in all cases.

"While future studies are needed to understand the exact mechanism by which metformin works to reduce the growth of breast cancers, this study reveals the need to determine if the drug might be used as a preventive drug and for individuals who have no indication of any existing cancers," he said.

"Though we still do not know the exact molecular mechanism by which it works, metformin seems to dramatically affect how estrogen and endocrine-disrupting chemicals cause the pre-existing breast cancers to grow."

In addition, further research needs to be done with human cultures to see if metformin can reduce the risk of pancreatic and liver cancers in Type-2 diabetics as well, he said.

###

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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.


Diabetes drug shows promise in reducing risk of cancer [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jason Cody
codyja@msu.edu
517-432-0924
Michigan State University

Metformin prevents tumors from growing in human cultures

EAST LANSING, Mich. An inexpensive drug that treats Type-2 diabetes has been shown to prevent a number of natural and man-made chemicals from stimulating the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a newly published study by a Michigan State University researcher.

The research, led by pediatrics professor James Trosko and colleagues from South Korea's Seoul National University, provides biological evidence for previously reported epidemiological surveys that long-term use of the drug metformin for Type-2 diabetes reduces the risk of diabetes-associated cancers, such as breast cancers.

The research appears in the current edition of PLoS One.

"People with Type-2 diabetes are known to be at high risk for several diabetes-associated cancers, such as breast, liver and pancreatic cancers," said Trosko, a professor in the College of Human Medicine's Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. "While metformin has been shown in population studies to reduce the risk of these cancers, there was no evidence of how it worked."

For the study, Trosko and colleagues focused on the concept that cancers originate from adult human stem cells and that there are many natural and man-made chemicals that enhance the growth of breast cancer cells.

Using culture dishes, they grew miniature human breast tumors, or mammospheres, that activated a certain stem cell gene (Oct4A). Then the mammospheres were exposed to natural estrogen a known growth factor and potential breast tumor promoter and man-made chemicals that are known to promote tumors or disrupt the endocrine system.

The team found that estrogen and the chemicals caused the mammospheres to increase in numbers and size. However, with metformin added, the numbers and size of the mammospheres were dramatically reduced. While each of the chemicals enhanced growth by different means, metformin seemed to be able to inhibit their stimulated growth in all cases.

"While future studies are needed to understand the exact mechanism by which metformin works to reduce the growth of breast cancers, this study reveals the need to determine if the drug might be used as a preventive drug and for individuals who have no indication of any existing cancers," he said.

"Though we still do not know the exact molecular mechanism by which it works, metformin seems to dramatically affect how estrogen and endocrine-disrupting chemicals cause the pre-existing breast cancers to grow."

In addition, further research needs to be done with human cultures to see if metformin can reduce the risk of pancreatic and liver cancers in Type-2 diabetics as well, he said.

###

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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/2011-11/msu-dds112311.php

ios 5 release date ios 5 release date ios 5 update joojoo joseph addai joseph addai michael jackson autopsy

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Oklahoma State Plane Crash: Travel Rules To Be Examined By University After Deaths

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma State University officials will examine the school's travel policy in the wake of a plane crash that killed women's basketball coach Kurt Budke, an assistant coach and two other people in central Arkansas, a spokesman said Sunday.

"Certainly, it's a little early, we're still kind of recovering from this, but we'll certainly look at the policy," university spokesman Gary Shutt said. "Any time you have a terrible accident like this, definitely you look at the policy."

A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena for Budke, 50, assistant coach Miranda Serna, 36, and the others who died in Thursday's crash. Organizers were working to finalize plans Sunday.

The two coaches were killed when the plane they were riding crashed into a wooded hillside in central Arkansas. The pilot, Olin Branstetter, 82, and his wife, Paula, 79, also died.

Budke and Serna's deaths come more than 10 years after two men's basketball players and eight others associated with the program were killed in a January 2001 plane crash in Colorado. Changes were made to the travel policy, including rules requiring two pilots to be on board for all OSU travel involving student athletes and aircraft to be powered by two or more turbine engines.

"It does not apply to recruiting trips for coaches," who were allowed to make travel arrangements at their own discretion, Shutt said.

Budke and Serna were flying to Little Rock to watch two prospective recruits play in a game, two days before the Cowgirls were scheduled to play two weekend games, Shutt said.

"Obviously the high school season coincides with the college season, so if you want to go see players you need to have the flexibility and ability to make quick trips," Shutt said.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, already has ruled out weather as a factor. A spokesman didn't immediately return calls and emails seeking comment on Sunday.

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, Branstetter passed a medical examination, was certified to be a commercial pilot and was flight-instrument rated.

"Every pilot, regardless of age, is required to have a medical exam a minimum of every two years, and every pilot must also do a check ride with a certified instructor every two years," FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said. "That means you have to both prove that you're medically fit to fly, as well as ride with someone who can sign off on your abilities to handle the duties that come with being a pilot."

Shutt said it was his understanding that Branstetter hadn't taken coaches on any other flights before Thursday's crash. Branstetter, a former state senator, was an Oklahoma State University alumnus and donated to scholarships at the school, Shutt said.

Meanwhile, the Cowgirls' participated in a light practice on Saturday, Shutt said. The Cowgirls were scheduled to play Grambling State on Saturday and Texas-Arlington on Sunday, but those games were canceled.

Associate head coach Jim Littell has been named interim head coach. The next game is set for this coming Saturday.

"The intent is to resume the season at some point," Shutt said. "(Team officials) will assess things and move forward as quickly as they can."

'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/oklahoma-state-plane-crash-travel-rules_n_1104558.html

apple event buccaneers buccaneers bernanke bernanke tampa bay buccaneers meredith kercher

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Spaniards vote for new gov't amid economic gloom (AP)

MADRID ? Spaniards hit by the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone voted Sunday in an election expected to give a landslide victory to opposition conservatives who have vowed to prevent the zone's fourth-largest economy from imploding but have offered scant details on how they will do so.

The vote came as Europe is engulfed in a debt crisis that is causing financial havoc across the globe, and polls showed that Spain was poised to become the third European country in as many weeks to throw out its governing party, following Greece and Italy.

Ireland and Portugal ? which like Greece received huge bailouts to avoid default ? have also seen their governments change hands because of the crisis.

Spanish opposition leader Mariano Rajoy and his Popular Party were expected to win control of Parliament and oust the ruling Socialists but Rajoy has said little ? other than lower taxes on small- and medium-size companies ? on what his party would do to fight Spain's 21.5 percent jobless rate and precisely what kind of austerity measures he would enact.

A win for Rajoy, 56, would bring the conservatives back to power after nearly eight years of rule by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

On social policy, Zapatero put a patently liberal stamp on traditionally Catholic Spain by legalizing gay marriage and ushering in other northern European-style reforms. But on economic matters he has been widely criticized as first denying, then reacting late and erratically, to Spain's slice of the global financial crisis and the implosion of a real estate bubble that had fueled Spanish GDP growth robustly for nearly a decade.

Zapatero slumped so badly in popularity that he decided not to run for a new term, and former Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba ? a veteran figure and powerful force within the party ? emerged as the candidate to succeed him. The outgoing premier was jeered and cheered by people on the street outside his polling station in Madrid as he left in his motorcade after voting.

Unlike Italy and Greece, which recently replaced their elected governments with technocrats with financial expertise in an attempt to better cope with the euro crisis, Spain will end up with a career politician no matter who wins.

"I am ready for whatever Spaniards may want," said Rajoy after casting his vote Sunday.

Rubalcaba, 60, urged his supporters not to let a low turnout reduce his Socialist party's chances. "The next four years are going to be very important for our future," he said. "The big decisions that have to be taken must be made by citizens, so it's important to vote," he said.

But poor weather caused some polling stations to open late, and a station in the country's south had to be relocated because of flooding, said election office spokesman Felix Monteira. He also said voter turnout was running lower than during Spain's 2008 election.

Voters are casting ballots to elect 350 members of the lower house of Parliament and 208 senators.

In Barcelona, Juan Sanchez said he had voted for Rajoy's party because unemployment fell while it was in power from 1996 to 2004, while it has skyrocketed to nearly 5 million people under Zapatero.

"Hundreds of small and big businesses have closed down," Sanchez said.

But Spain's socialists fear that the Popular Party will cut spending so deeply that it will hit Spain's social welfare system hard and hamper chances for economic recovery.

"I voted for the Socialists because I am sure that if the Popular Party comes to power it is going to begin to cut everything," said civil servant Diana Bachiller after voting.

Spain has the eurozone's fourth largest economy, and experts say it is too big to be bailed out. In a sign of how dire the nation's finances have become, the interest rate on bonds sold by Spain last week hit almost 7 percent, a level seen as unsustainable. Greece, Portugal and Ireland were all forced into bailouts after their rates went beyond that rate.

The winner of Sunday's election will almost certainly be forced to implement additional unpopular austerity measures started during Zapatero's tenure.

Maria Angeles Redondo, a doctor in Madrid, said she had voted for the Popular Party but doubted any Spanish politicians will be able to solve the nation's problems soon.

"I am not sure if a change of government is really going to usher in the improvements we want and need," she said.

Zapatero over the last year cut civil servants' wages, froze pensions and passed legislation making it easier for companies to hire and fire workers.

The winner of Sunday's election will be forced to lower Spain's budget deficit, boost investor confidence and try to improve growth of a listless economy by a delicate balancing act of cutting spending or raising taxes just enough so the economy does not plunge into another recession.

Rajoy has been vague about his plans for the economy, but his platform included plans for business tax cuts to encourage hiring and lower unemployment.

Rajoy also said he would meet Spain's commitments to the European Union on deficit reduction, although with economic growth at a standstill hardly anybody thinks the current government's goal of cutting it to 6.0 percent of GDP this year from 9.2 in 2010 is achievable.

___

Alan Clendenning and Daniel Woolls contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111120/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_spain_elections

florida state football fsu football fsu football do a barrelroll bérénice marlohe bérénice marlohe google offers

AP Exclusive: Conn. rethinks costly fuel cells (AP)

HARTFORD, Conn. ? After spending millions of dollars to run a state complex with fuel cells, partly to boast of their size and also to tout a homegrown industry, Connecticut officials concede privately that the cost is too high and they're looking to get out of a complicated, long-term contract.

The state spends $1.4 million every year for the fuel cells at its 10-year-old juvenile center, an amount that Connecticut's energy commissioner, Daniel Esty, called excessive in an email Sept. 6 to the governor's budget chief.

"The fuel cells installed were oversized for the facility to be able to `brag' about it being the largest fuel cell installation in the world" at that time, he wrote in the email that was obtained by The Associated Press in a Freedom of Information request.

He was responding to a message from the budget chief, Benjamin Barnes, who said removing the fuel cells would save that $1.4 million each year ? "real money by any measure."

But state officials have been reluctant to remove the cells "because of the appearance that we were renouncing green technology and because it was launched with some fanfare," Barnes wrote. "This position deserves at least reconsideration."

The emails shed light on a pricey state subsidy and the cost of fuel cells at a time when policymakers want to wean energy users off such fossil fuels as natural gas and oil, and show the state's willingness to part with a long-promoted project to close its budget deficit in tough economic times.

The fuel cells were installed in 2001 at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School in Middletown, which was a debacle from the start. The contract to build it was corrupted in a scandal that took down a top adviser to then-Gov. John G. Rowland, who himself resigned after a corruption probe.

The fuel cells, chillers, boilers, switch gear and piping were installed as part of a 30-year deal, said Richard Ogurick, manager of plant operations for Ameresco, an energy services company that runs the fuel cell system.

"It was inconceivable they'd stop using fuel cells here," Ogurick said. "How can you on one hand be advocating for fuel cell development and be telling businesses that's what they ought to do and not do it at your own facility? It doesn't make very much sense."

Connecticut is home to two of the largest makers of fuel cells, UTC Power in Windsor and Fuel Cell Energy Inc. in Danbury.

Esty, who was a Yale University professor of energy and policy before Gov. Dannel Malloy appointed him to state government, gained a national reputation as an energy expert and has written extensively about how businesses can use environmental policy to improve their competitive advantage.

In an interview last week, he told the AP that his emphasis has been to promote "clean and cheap energy" and the Middletown site fell short.

"We want to be very careful how we use taxpayer and shareholder money," he said.

The fuel cell installation at the juvenile center was "not well thought-out and did not make sense," Esty said.

Backers tout fuel cells as energy sources that do not produce pollution or noise. A fuel cell makes electricity from chemical reactions involving hydrogen and oxygen, producing only water vapor as a byproduct. They're used for buses and recreational vehicles, heating and cooling systems for buildings and backup power.

Fuel cell manufacturing is labor-intensive, making fuel cells expensive in comparison with everyday fuels such as oil and natural gas, said Adam Weber, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Stationary fuel cells, used to heat and cool buildings, are rare. The Pentagon has a few at military bases and a few operate at courthouses and jails in California, he said.

In an interview, Barnes told the AP that the review of the power produced at the Middletown site reflects Connecticut's "tremendous cost pressures" rather than an effort to abandon an industry in the state.

"It does not have anything to do with our commitment to fuel cells," he said.

The Malloy administration, in office for about eight months when Esty and Barnes were discussing the fuel cells, was trying to close a budget deficit of more than $3 billion with tax increases and cost-cutting.

As part of a statewide tour to promote jobs, Malloy in August visited UTC Power, the United Technologies Corp. subsidiary that manufactured the fuel cells at the juvenile center.

Barnes cited "non-economic benefits" such as government supporting a Connecticut-based industry and a state agency taking the lead in using alternative energy. The Middletown site also was unaffected by the loss of power affecting hundreds of thousands of utility customers for a week or longer following the late October snowstorm.

The fuel cells produce electricity and the plant recovers heat that is used to make hot water and chill water, Ogurick said.

He said the state would not save $1.4 million by moving to the utility grid because it would still have to operate the chillers, and other equipment, he said.

Fuel cells are not inexpensive but the return on investment depends on how comparing their costs to those of electricity and natural gas costs and that depends on where a fuel cell is located, said Mike Glynn, spokesman for UTC Power.

"It's not one size fits all," he said.

Connecticut is not quitting them, though. UTC Power has signed contracts to install fuel cells at the University of Connecticut and Eastern Connecticut State University, and a power plant will be built at Central Connecticut State University. Electricity and steam will be generated by the plant, which will be maintained by Fuel Cell Energy.

As for the future of the Middletown plant, Barnes said state officials are examining a "very complex" and lengthy set of legal agreements binding the state to the fuel cells, he said.

"We need to understand the complex transactions the state is engaged in," he said. "Maybe the best option is to continue the arrangement as it currently exists," he said.

Esty said one possibility is to move the fuel cells to another state site that would be a better fit. He did not have details where the fuel cells could go.

"We're digging into it," he said.

Ogurick said the contract doesn't leave state officials with much of a choice.

"The state has to pay it even if it walks away from it," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111120/ap_on_re_us/us_fuel_cells

once upon a time sharia law sharia law demarco murray ed reed teresa giudice red ribbon week

Monday, November 21, 2011

UFC 139 primer: Silva fighting to fend off retirement, doesn?t want to let down his fans

UFC 139 primer: Silva fighting to fend off retirement, doesn?t want to let down his fans

This wasn't the time Wanderlei Silva wanted to go out. He's on a card with 41-year-old in the main event and facing a 39-year-old, yet "The Axe Murderer" is the guy trying to hold off retirement talk.

Silva, a loser of 6-of-8, faces Cung Le in the co-main event of UFC 139 tomorrow in San Jose, Ca. Another loss and it'll force UFC president Dana White to tell the former PRIDE star that's it. His June 27-second loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132 has Silva all fired up to quiet the critics.

"My motivation is back," Silva, 35, told MMAjunkie.com. "I need to make my fans happy again. I have a lot of fans around the world. I know Saturday a lot of guys are going to have barbecue in their homes, and I know my responsibility to the millions and millions and millions of people that are going to watch that fight. I want to make my fans happy."

Silva (34-11-1, 3-6 UFC) doesn't believe folks when they talk about his chin being weak after 46 professional fights.

"In the first three minutes, everybody has power. The gloves are very small. One punch can finish you. But we tried to train so that this won't happen anymore," Silva said. "I trained more my defense," he said. "My attack is really good, but I trained more my defense. My coach told me what I need to do, and I tried."

Le presents a unique challenge. He's made a successful transition from the world of kickboxing. The Vietnamese fighter does a brilliant job of controlling distance with his kicks. Silva has to find a way to get inside or he'll get picked apart. Le is a minus-150 favorite.

Watch UFC 139 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-139-primer-Silva-fighting-to-fend-off-retir?urn=mma-wp9609

s.978 larry ellison go ask alice go ask alice nflx john mccarthy john mccarthy

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Natalie Wood Case Reopened After 30 Years


The L.A. County Sheriff's Office is reopening its investigation into the death of movie star Natalie Wood, who drowned in 1981 while boating off the California coast.

Homicide investigators are reexamining one of Hollywood's most enduring mysteries after someone with "additional information" about the drowning contacted them.

Authorities didn't provide further details late Thursday, but more information will surely be made available soon as the case is reopened and actively pursued.

Natalie Wood Picture

Last year, the star's sister, Lana Wood, and the captain of the yacht on which Wood sailed with her husband, actor Robert Wagner, asked officials to reopen the case.

On Thursday, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Benjamin Grubb couldn't say whether the sister and the yacht captain have prompted the renewed investigation.

Natalie Wood's body was found floating in the water about a mile away from the yacht, near Catalina Island, in a long nightgown, socks, and a down jacket.

The autopsy report showed that Wood had suffered two dozen bruises on her body, including a facial abrasion on her left cheek, and bruises on her arms.

In 2010, Lana Wood said she believes a heated argument between her sister and Wagner, who can be seen on next week's NCIS, preceded Wood's drowning.

She told CNN last year she does not suspect foul play, however.

"I just want the truth to come out, the real story," she said.

Dennis Davern, the former captain of the yacht Splendour, broke his long silence with a detailed account in "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour," a book he wrote with his friend Marti Rulli. It was published in September 2009.

Davern also believes Wood's death was the result of a fight with Wagner.

In a lengthy interview with CNN in 2010, Davern said the investigation of Wood's death was incompetent and suggested there was a cover-up. He said he regrets misleading investigators by keeping quiet at Wagner's request.

Wagner's publicist, Alan Nierob, issued a statement saying the actor's family "fully support the efforts of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30 year anniversary of her tragic death."

Nierob said no authorities have contacted Wagner.

Wood and Wagner married in 1957, divorced in 1962, then remarried in 1972. They often sailed their yacht and invited Wood's Brainstorm co-star, Christopher Walken, to join them on a sail on Thanksgiving weekend in 1981.

Walken and Wood were filming Brainstorm and the rumor mill was abuzz with speculation that Wagner was jealous of Walken, but authorities have said Walken witnessed only the events leading up to an argument between the couple.

Walken couldn't be reached immediately for comment.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/natalie-wood-case-reopened-after-30-years/

zooey deschanel damian mcginty tj houshmandzadeh tj houshmandzadeh san onofre the little couple bubba smith

Asian shares fall on fears over Europe fund (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? World stocks fell on Friday, extending an overnight slide, with renewed pressure on Spanish bonds reflecting fears the euro zone's debt crisis was spiraling out of control.

Worries over the crisis also prompted investors to shed riskier commodities, after prices took their steepest tumble since September on Thursday.

Spain's borrowing costs at a sale of 10-year debt soared to their highest in the euro's history on Thursday, pulling it back into the vortex of a crisis that is increasingly threatening Europe's second biggest economy France.

The new 10-year Spanish bond was yielding 6.85 percent, with traders expecting more upward pressure before the country's elections on Sunday.

"Many consider these (Spanish bond yield) levels unsustainable after the demise of the likes of Greece and Portugal when their yields hit similar levels," said Stan Shamu, strategist at IG Markets.

"Spain will be heading to the polls this weekend after a shocker of a week in the bond market. Recent leadership changes in Italy and Greece have failed to drive the market to a sustainable recovery, suggesting it will take much more than a leadership change to appease investors."

The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) was down 0.6 percent near its lowest levels since October 20 and falling for a fourth consecutive day.

European stocks (.FTEU3) fell across the board, with pan-Eruopean FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) shedding 0.7 percent.

New Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday pledged his country would embark on radical fiscal reforms to pull itself out of the debt crisis and Italian bonds were roughly steady in early trade.

But investors remained on edge as euro zone governments struggle to raise funds and given signs that banks are refraining from lending, seizing up market liquidity.

Euro/dollar three-month cross-currency basis swaps, the cost of swapping euros for dollars, widened to -136 basis points on Thursday, the most since the 2008 financial crisis.

The euro climbed against the dollar as investors unwound bearish bets on the single currency to book profits ahead of the weekend, but dealers said appetite to sell on such small rebounds was high.

"With so much up in the air there's nothing else to focus on apart from the immediate, which is that the euro zone looks to be heading into the precipice," Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank. "Ahead of the weekend I don't think anyone is ready to counter that view."

(Additional reporting by Brian Gorman and William James)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111118/bs_nm/us_markets_global

scare tactics stacy keibler stacy keibler dancing with the stars season 13 cast tay sachs tay sachs watch the walking dead

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Newspaper owners team up in deal-finding venture

(AP) ? A group of newspaper publishers and other media companies are teaming up to sell more advertising aimed at people looking for online deals.

Eight companies formed a joint venture that has acquired Find n Save, a search engine focused on discount offers made by merchants in cities across the U.S. The venture acquired Find n Save as part of its purchase of Travidia, an online shopping service. Financial terms of that deal weren't disclosed in Thursday's announcement.

The joint venture's initial owners include: Advance Digital, part of Advance Publications Inc., whose newspapers include The Plain Dealer in Cleveland; A.H. Belo Corp., owner of The Dallas Morning News; Cox Media Group, owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and more than 100 radio and TV stations; and Gannett Co.; owner of USA Today and more than 80 other newspapers as well as more than 20 TV stations.

Discussions are being held with other media companies interested in joining the venture.

Find n Save is tapping into the coupon craze that helped turn Groupon's daily-deal service into a hot commodity. Although it's still losing money, Groupon Inc. is growing so fast that the 3-year-old company already has a $15 billion market value.

Unlike search engines such as Google, Find n Save specializes in showcasing discounts offered by advertisers within local markets. A consumer can type, say, "burrito" into a search field, and receive a list of nearby Mexican restaurants and the deals they're offering.

The search engine makes money from the advertisers in its database. Other ads can be placed by companies looking to connect with people whose search engine requests have signaled their interest in certain products and services.

The participating newspapers will share in the revenue and contribute daily deals covering their markets to Find n Save's index.

Find n Save currently tracks local deals in 19 of the top 50 U.S. markets. The joint venture plans to add 21 more top markets to the list during the next month. By the end of 2013, the joint venture expects more than 400 newspapers to be affiliated with Find n Save.

Newspapers have been mining the Internet for more revenue to offset a steep decline in print advertising that has triggered bankruptcies and massive cutbacks during the past three years. The drop has been driven by the Internet's appeal to advertisers looking for less expensive ? and in some cases, more effective ? alternatives to print advertising.

The joint venture overseeing Find n Save will be run by acting CEO Christopher Trippe, who helped newspapers put together a partnership with Yahoo Inc. that began five years ago.

The venture's other partners include Hearst Corp., whose newspapers include the San Francisco Chronicle and 14 other dailies; MediaNews Group, owner of the San Jose Mercury News, The Denver Post and more than 50 other newspapers; McClatchy Co., owner of The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, The Miami Herald and 28 other dailies; and The Washington Post Co., publisher of the largest newspaper in the nation's capital.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2011-11-17-Newspapers-Shopping%20Search%20Engine/id-faa7657ea35c4c4790142f347164fe75

dorothy rodham rick hendrick plane crash marco rubio marco rubio no shave november kevin durant miranda lambert

Friday, November 18, 2011

Video: New lawyer for woman in Bieber paternity case

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45336500#45336500

jets tom brady aaron hernandez aaron hernandez portland news portland news desean jackson

Woods, ex-caddie in same group at Presidents Cup

Tiger Woods, left, Fred Couples, center, and Phil Mickelson from the U.S. team smile during a photo shoot prior to the start of the Presidents Cup golf tournament at Royal Melbourne Golf Course, in Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Tiger Woods, left, Fred Couples, center, and Phil Mickelson from the U.S. team smile during a photo shoot prior to the start of the Presidents Cup golf tournament at Royal Melbourne Golf Course, in Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

(AP) ? Tiger Woods on the tee wearing an American flag instead of a swoosh. Steve Williams right there with him, standing guard over a bag. It might look like any of the previous 44 times they were together in a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup.

Far from it.

The feature match in the opening session Thursday at Royal Melbourne took on qualities of a sideshow when captains Fred Couples and Greg Norman allowed Woods to be placed opposite his jilted caddie in the Presidents Cup.

"I think it's great for the tournament," Norman said. "It needed to be done."

The most compelling matches of any cup competition usually don't happen until Sunday singles. And they're usually about two players with clubs in their hands, not a guy who is carrying the bag.

On paper, the sixth and final foursomes match will be Woods and Steve Stricker, a tandem that went undefeated two years ago, against K.J. Choi and Adam Scott, the popular Australian who hired Williams after he was fired by Woods this summer.

The firing alone is not enough to make a Woods-Williams reunion the least bit interesting. Caddies get fired all the time, even those who have been at the side of a player who won 72 times and 13 majors in their 12 years together.

It's the soap opera that led to so much speculation until the pairings were announced Wednesday.

They disputed publicly whether the firing was done over the phone or face-to-face. Williams gave one of more incredible TV interviews after Scott won the Bridgestone Invitational, calling it "the best win of my life."

And then came the Shanghai surprise. Williams was getting roasted at a caddies award dinner two weeks ago when he was asked about his TV interview at Firestone. "My aim was to shove it up that black a------."

Amid accusations of racism, Williams apologized. Scott said that was enough for him not to discipline his caddie, and so did golf executives. Woods accepted the apology last week, and bailed out his old caddie by saying Williams was not a racist. He said they ran into each other in the gym in Sydney and shook hands.

But it remained such a topic that both captains felt it was best to get it out of the way.

Couples and Norman said the pairing was not planned, though that rang hollow. In the Presidents Cup, captains take turns filling out the lineup for every match, so both captains had ample opportunity to make sure Woods was not in the same match as Scott.

The last chance fell to Couples.

Norman put K.T. Kim and Y.E. Yang in the fifth match. Couples inserted Hunter Mahan and David Toms. That left only one team available for the sixth match, and U.S. assistant captain Jay Haas broke up the room when he said, "Who's left?"

At the opening ceremony Wednesday afternoon, Couples said of the opening session, "You're going to see six great matches."

Yet it was the one match that grabbed everyone's attention.

Williams has taken such a public beating since Shanghai that he likely will think of nothing but wind direction, yardage, hole location and helping Scott pick the right club. Woods doesn't like to bring much attention to anything but his golf, either.

Any fireworks would be a surprise, and everyone involved ? Woods, Williams and even Scott ? are ready to move on.

"I'm sure Freddie and I ? everybody ? we want to put this behind us," Norman said. "It's a dead issue as far as we're concerned. There's no animosity between any of the players. I know it's good fodder. People like to talk about it in the media. But from our perspective, it's dead and gone. And we would like to keep that way going forward."

Even so, it became a talking point once the pairings were announced.

"That's going to be interesting, isn't it?" Robert Allenby said. "I think there will be a lot of media out there."

"You can kind of see it coming, with what's been going on recently," Nick Watney said. "I think it's great. I think it will definitely add some drama to the matches, and I know that they will both be ready. So it should be a good match."

Woods might have other things to worry about, anyway.

He now has gone two full years without a win anywhere in the world, though he comes to Royal Melbourne having finished alone in third at the Australian Open ? his best finish against a full field since he last won down the street at Kingston Heath. This is his first cup when he had to rely on a captain's pick. In the days leading up to the matches, no one looked at him that way. He's still Tiger Woods.

"Pre-tournament fashion, Tiger never really shows a lot of stress, whether it be as an individual or whether as a teammate," Jim Furyk said. "It's not that he looks nonchalant, but he never looks flustered. Even he's playing poorly, he doesn't look flustered."

In the middle of this mess is Scott, who has said that it's up to Woods and Williams to sort out their friendship, or lack of one. Scott grew up in Queensland, though his primary home is now Switzerland. How fitting.

Norman said he at least talked to Scott ahead of time, along with his two assistants. And while the Shark said this was not premeditated, it sure sounded as though he had a master plan.

"If we had to defuse anything and just get this thing over and done with, wouldn't you rather have it sooner than later?" Norman said. "Because I personally wouldn't have wanted to be sitting down at the singles and everybody is playing a really tight match and it comes down to the last group or the second to last group, and all of this pressure is coming on because it's the first time the two met."

"Adam and Tiger are good friends," Norman said. "It's got nothing to do with Adam and Tiger, and at the end of the day, the atmosphere that will exist walking to the first tee will be exactly the same if none of this took place in the past week."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-16-GLF-Presidents-Cup/id-e064db0e4b864bcab85b8e7174bc63f6

breast cancer awareness guinea worm weather los angeles kristin cavallari the others the others vitiligo

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Treating heart attacks with stem cells: The 'biggest breakthrough' yet?  (The Week)

New York ? Researchers are thrilled after discovering that damaged heart muscles can be repaired and strengthened with an injection of cardiac stem cells

Here's one way to mend a broken heart: Researchers from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, used cardiac stem cells to repair the damaged heart muscles of patients who had experienced severe heart attacks. Some?call the findings, which were published in the journal Lancet, the field's "biggest breakthrough in a generation." Here's what you should know:

Wait, this treatment helps after a heart attack?
It does. Usually, the recovery phase after a heart attack is dangerous because of the possibility of heart failure, says Britain's Telegraph. Heart failure ? which is often linked with heart attack victims, but can strike other people, too ? "occurs when a damaged heart is weakened and unable to pump enough blood around the body." This treatment helps reduce that risk.

How does the treatment work?
It uses cardiac stem cells ? taken directly from the heart ? to repair the organ. "Cardiac stem cells can renew themselves and can form one of three types of cell that make up heart tissue," says Jessica Hamzelou at New Scientist. Researchers hypothesized that injecting stem cells directly into damaged areas might help improve the heart's recovery after an attack. In this new study, researchers extracted stem cells from the hearts of 16 patients during bypass surgery, then "multiplied them in culture and injected them back into each original patient's heart" four months later.

And this helped them recover?
It did. When controlled against patients who received standard care, the 16 patients demonstrated "striking" improvements. Their "pumping efficiency" was noticeably better, says the Telegraph, and surgical scars even shrank. After a year, eight of the patients saw a 12 percent improvement in pumping efficiency ? triple what researchers initially expected.?

Why is this such a big deal?
"It's long been an article of faith that human heart muscle, once damaged, cannot regenerate," says Eryn Brown at the Los Angeles Times. This study proves that not only can the heart be repaired, but that with a little assistance, it can repair itself using its own cells. That's very good news, as an estimated 6 million people in the U.S. experience heart failure every year.

Sources:?LA Times, New Scientist, Telegraph

View this article on TheWeek.com
Get 4 Free Issues of The Week

Other stories from this topic:

Like on Facebook?-?Follow on Twitter?-?Sign-up for Daily Newsletter

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20111115/cm_theweek/221440

will rogers gabby giffords gabby giffords love and hip hop hunger games trailer hunger games trailer gabrielle giffords

24-Hours On a Navy Supercarrier Video Will Provoke Multiple Airplane Lover Nerdgasms [Video]

This video has it all: timelapses, dramatic photography and tons of aircraft porn. It's a typical day on the USS Carl Vinson, the third of the United States Navy Nimitz-class nuclear supercarriers. Yeah, it's the carrier from that NCAA basketball game. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/pdzJtmeV-z8/24+hours-on-a-navy-supercarrier-video-will-provoke-multiple-airplane-lover-nerdgasms

steve wynn lytro camera lytro camera st. louis cardinals gaddafi bodyguards gaddafi bodyguards muammar gaddafi