Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Wildlife Vet, a Pigeon, a Groundbreaking Discovery

One of the reasons I love my job as a wildlife veterinarian so much is the variety of my days. No two days are the same; each is filled with different animals with different problems, and I love the anticipation of what my day may bring. I never know what kind of animal will come through the door, what challenges I?ll face, and what skills I?ll get to use ? it?s very unpredictable and that makes it so fun and exciting! My job is very fast-paced, keeps me on my toes, and there?s never a dull moment ? emergency medicine at its finest! It is also full of new discoveries, as I found out last spring.

A wild pigeon with S. calchasi. Note the characteristic head tilt (torticollis). Photo by WRC

Last April I was examining a wild male adult Rock Pigeon that couldn?t fly. The person who found the pigeon suspected a broken wing. On the initial physical exam, I didn?t find any broken bones but the bird was exhibiting odd neurologic behaviors, including ataxia (lack of coordination) and torticollis (head tilt).

My differential diagnoses included head trauma, aberrant parasite migration (a parasite that?s normally found in the gastro-intestinal system migrates to other parts of the body, like the central nervous system), and a viral or bacterial infection causing encephalitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain).

I started the bird on anti-inflammatories and moved it into our isolation ward in case he was potentially contagious to other birds. Over the next five to seven days, the bird?s neurological symptoms progressively worsened. He literally started standing on his head and spinning in circles (see video). The torticollis also worsened. Because of his decreasing status and poor prognosis I humanely euthanized him.

Normally, when we euthanize an animal or when an animal dies, it?s disposed of or saved under a salvage permit for a licensed organization to use in their collections, for research, etc. Sometimes though, we send animals out for additional testing to help pinpoint the cause of the animal?s illness or death. This is done via a necropsy (just like an autopsy but for animals).

Since Paramyxovirus, a highly contagious viral disease in pigeons that manifests as neurological symptoms, including ataxia and torticollis, was high on my list of possible diagnoses, I sent this bird to the University of Minnesota (UMN) Diagnostic Lab (D-Lab) where they would do a necropsy and test for the virus.

In the past WRC has had several pigeons showing similar signs and Paramyxovirus was always suspected. To my knowledge, however, none had ever been sent in for necropsy. A pattern was there, but what was it? What is going on with these neurologic pigeons, I wondered.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the brain of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

Well, the bird tested negative for Paramyxovirus. However, what the D-Lab did find was shocking. A parasite, named Sarcocystis calchasi, was found in cysts in the bird?s skeletal muscles. The really neat thing? This parasite had never been identified in the United States! It actually hadn?t been identified anywhere outside of Germany (where it was identified in 2009)!

When the pathologists contacted me to tell me this news, I was very excited (as were they!). Tissue samples were sent to Germany to confirm identification of the parasite, and sure enough it was S. calchasi.

The parasite is passed from bird to bird via infected feces, likely from the Northern Goshawk or Cooper?s hawk, which acts as final host in the lifestage of the parasite (does not cause symptoms in those birds). The parasite then migrates from the GI tract into the muscles of the bird. The aforementioned bird had a severe case of meningoencephalitis (inflammation in the brain); however, the parasite was not found there. The parasite?s role in causing neurologic symptoms is still unknown but the UMN?s pathologists are busy researching other birds.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the muscle of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

With these amazing results, we promptly collaborated and published the findings in ?Transboundary and Emerging Diseases.? My first paper as a wildlife veterinarian has been published!

Dr. Arno Wunschmann, a veterinary diagnostician at UMN who discovered the S. calchasi cysts, speaks of what impact this discovery has on the global transmission of diseases:

?This case demonstrates that diseases can spread very quickly and how the use of modern diagnostic tools can help diagnose diseases (in this case PCR). The disease was first described in 2009 in Germany and showed up 2 years later already in Minnesota.

?I was only to able to put the pieces together because somebody in Germany had worked hard to get his cases published in a timely fashion (because the first cases were only seen two years before the paper was in print) and I used the literature resources (including the internet). It is a beautiful example of how the scientific community as a whole is meant to function and can function. Alternatively, one can speculate that the disease went undiagnosed for some period of time but that seems unlikely because the lesion is very obvious (if a pathologist examines the muscle).?

S. calchasi is now recognized as an important differential diagnosis in neurologic pigeons.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the muscle of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

How many pigeons possibly have it and have been misdiagnosed? That?s hard to say, but since S. calchasi was discovered, we?ve submitted every pigeon (all wild birds, not domestic) that dies while in our care or is euthanized. Nearly 20% have tested positive for this parasitic infection. This is huge news in the tracking of wildlife diseases on a global level.

One of the best parts of this discovery? My curiosity paid off! Wunschmann states: ?The case demonstrates nicely how important it is that curious clinicians do not just accept the status quo and submit animals for necropsy. Compliments to you!?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=469ec6f20904f5e916d3d63fb7920019

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Mary Tyler Moore honored for lifetime achievement (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Mary Tyler Moore made it after all.

The 75-year-old actress, who as Mary Richards "turned the world on with her smile" in her groundbreaking 1970s sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," received the lifetime achievement award at Sunday night's 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

"MTM. There's probably not a person in the civilized world who doesn't know what that means," said Dick Van Dyke, her former co-star in the equally appealing 1960s sit-com "The Dick Van Dyke show," as he introduced her.

He noted Moore's achievements as an Oscar-nominated actress, a dancer and a Hollywood executive whose MTM Enterprises has produced several other hit TV shows.

As she accepted her award, Moore revealed how the civilized world almost never did hear of MTM, who was told in the opening theme song of her show each week, "You're gonna make it after all."

When she entered show business at age 18 in 1955, Moore said, there were already six others Mary Moores in the Screen Actors Guild.

Told to change her name, she quickly added Tyler, the middle name of both her and her father, George.

"I was Mary Tyler Moore. I spoke it out loud. Mary Tyler Moore. It sounded right so I wrote it down on the form, and it looked right," she said. "It was right. SAG was happy, my father was happy, and tonight, after having the privilege of working in this business among the most creative and talented people imaginable, I too am happy, after all."

Before the awards show Van Dyke had stopped on the red carpet to remember working with Moore on his show.

"She was 23 and had never done comedy. I never saw somebody pick it up so fast. I still have a crush on her," he said.

The show's audience, including Moore's former co-star Betty White, showered both her and Van Dyke with standing ovations, leading Van Dyke to remind them, "I'm just a presenter."

Van Dyke and Moore were so believable as husband and wife Rob and Laura Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" that many viewers thought they were married in real life.

As Laura Petrie, Moore also turned Capri pants into a fashion trend during the show's run.

Van Dyke noted they fit her so well, which created such a concern during that more conservative era, that she was limited to wearing them in only one scene per show.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_en_ce/us_sag_awards_mary_tyler_moore

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Arctic snowy owls soar south in rare mass move

Bird enthusiasts are reporting rising numbers of snowy owls from the Arctic winging into the lower 48 states this winter in a mass southern migration that a leading owl researcher called "unbelievable."

Thousands of the snow-white birds, which stand 2 feet tall with 5-foot wingspans, have been spotted from coast to coast, feeding in farmlands in Idaho, roosting on rooftops in Montana, gliding over golf courses in Missouri and soaring over shorelines in Massachusetts.

A certain number of the iconic owls fly south from their Arctic breeding grounds each winter but rarely do so many venture so far away even amid large-scale, periodic southern migrations known as irruptions.

"What we're seeing now ? it's unbelievable," said Denver Holt, head of the Owl Research Institute in Montana.

"This is the most significant wildlife event in decades," added Holt, who has studied snowy owls in their Arctic tundra ecosystem for two decades.

Holt and other owl experts say the phenomenon is likely linked to lemmings, a rodent that accounts for 90 percent of the diet of snowy owls during breeding months that stretch from May into September. The largely nocturnal birds also prey on a host of other animals, from voles to geese.

An especially plentiful supply of lemmings last season likely led to a population boom among owls that resulted in each breeding pair hatching as many as seven offspring. That compares to a typical clutch size of no more than two, Holt said.

Greater competition this year for food in the Far North by the booming bird population may have then driven mostly younger, male owls much farther south than normal.

Research on the animals is scarce because of the remoteness and extreme conditions of the terrain the owls occupy, including northern Russia and Scandinavia, he said.

The surge in snowy owl sightings has brought birders flocking from Texas, Arizona and Utah to the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, pouring tourist dollars into local economies and crowding parks and wildlife areas. The irruption has triggered widespread public fascination that appears to span ages and interests.

"For the last couple months, every other visitor asks if we've seen a snowy owl today," said Frances Tanaka, a volunteer for the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge northeast of Olympia, Washington.

But accounts of emaciated owls at some sites ? including a food-starved bird that dropped dead in a farmer's field in Wisconsin ? suggest the migration has a darker side. And Holt said an owl that landed at an airport in Hawaii in November was shot and killed to avoid collisions with planes.

He said snowy owl populations are believed to be in an overall decline, possibly because a changing climate has lessened the abundance of vegetation like grasses that lemmings rely on.

This winter's snowy owl outbreak, with multiple sightings as far south as Oklahoma, remains largely a mystery of nature.

"There's a lot of speculation. As far as hard evidence, we really don't know," Holt said.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46180562/ns/us_news-environment/

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Columbus to host NHL All-Star game in 2013

(AP) ? In a season in which very little has gone right for the Blue Jackets, general manager Scott Howson was able to deliver something positive: Columbus has landed the 2013 NHL All-Star game.

"We haven't had a lot of good news here since the season started. This is really a nice piece of news for us to start building some momentum," Howson said Saturday after attending the NHL Board of Governors meeting during the All-Star festivities in Ottawa.

"It's phenomenal for our market. It's phenomenal for our team," Howson said, noting the event will bring tens of millions of dollars to the city. "The attention it brings to your city, the attention it brings to your team, it just raises your profile. It's a tremendous event."

The Blue Jackets (13-30-6) entered the All-Star break with the NHL's worst record and have already gone through a coaching change after Scott Arniel was fired three weeks ago. And only the Tampa Bay Lightning (165) have allowed more goals this season than Columbus (163).

Commissioner Gary Bettman formally announced the Blue Jackets would host the game.

"We're looking forward to bringing our All-Star celebration to Columbus," Bettman said. "The Blue Jackets did a great job of hosting the NHL Draft in 2007, and I have no doubt they will raise the bar even higher when they welcome our All-Star celebration next January."

In their 11th NHL season, the Blue Jackets, who play in Nationwide Arena, had applied for hosting rights in 2013, 2014 or 2015. Next year's All-Star weekend will be Jan. 26-27 and will mark the third straight year a city has hosted the game for the first time. Raleigh, N.C., home of the Carolina Hurricanes, hosted the game last year and this year's game is Sunday in Ottawa.

"The Blue Jackets are honored to host the 2013 All-Star celebration in Columbus as we believe our city offers a truly unique setting for this special event," said Blue Jackets majority owner John P. McConnell. "As much as it is a showcase for the NHL's best players, it is also a celebration of hockey fans and having it in Columbus is a testament to the fantastic support of our fans and the strength of Central Ohio as a hockey market."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-28-All-Star%20Game-2013/id-b4ea586de71f4e2db2e4da826aaa83a8

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Jobless man builds a house out of $1.82 billion worth of shredded money (Yahoo! News)

What would you do with $1.82 billion worth of shredded money? In Ireland, people build?houses out of it?? at least that's what Dublin-based artist Frank Buckley did. The unemployed artist originally wanted to create a gallery for his series of mixed-media?artworks called "Expressions of Recession," but he ended up building a house instead.

Buckley has been working roughly 12 hours a day every day since the beginning of December. During the early part of the construction process, he made bricks out of the decommissioned Euros Ireland's mint lent him. In all, around 50,000 money bricks went into building the house that consists of a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room. He plans to continue expanding the house that sits on an empty office building to include a?kitchen, a shower, and a patio.

If you're wondering how it feels to live in a house made out of paper currency, he said that it's quite warm inside: "Whatever you say about the Euro, it's a great insulator." Frank is one of the countless people all over the globe affected by recession, and he built the house because he "wanted to create something from nothing." It will take around seven more weeks to complete building his new home, but Buckley (who's been living in the house since December) welcomes any visitor who wants to take a look at his billion-dollar masterpiece.

Irish Times via?Treehugger

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120127/tc_yblog_technews/jobless-man-builds-a-house-out-of-1-82-billion-worth-of-shredded-money

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Ukraine's president firm against Tymoshenko (AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland ? Ukraine's president showed no mercy Friday for imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, despite increasing fears that her case will hurt his country's struggling economy and its relations with the European Union.

The gas contract with Russia that was the premise for Tymoshenko's conviction "is Ukraine's biggest problem today," President Viktor Yanukovych said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He added that he foresaw more judicial troubles for the ex-premier.

Tymoshenko, a bitter rival of the current president, is serving a 7-year sentence on charges of abuse of office in a case the West has condemned as politically motivated. Her family accuses prison authorities of denying her proper medical care.

Tymoshenko was found guilty last year of overstepping her authority while negotiating the natural gas import contract with Russia in 2009. Authorities say the contract was not in Ukraine's economic interest. She charges that Yanukovych has ordered her imprisonment in order to bar her from elections.

Yanukovych's presence at the forum in Davos was aimed at attracting investment from international CEOs at the invitation-only event, but his comments about Tymoshenko did little to soothe concerns about doing business in Ukraine.

Ukraine "cannot hope to attract investment if the law doesn't apply," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. He told The Associated Press that a landmark cooperation deal between Ukraine and the EU is "dead in the water" as long as Tymoshenko is jailed.

But Tymoshenko's jailing is a dilemma for the EU. Some experts believe the bloc should not be partners with a government that throws opposition leaders in jail. Others say that snubbing Ukraine would push it back under Russia's influence as Kiev is courting Moscow for cheaper natural gas.

Tymoshenko rose to fame during Ukraine's 2004 popular uprising. She became an opposition leader after losing the premiership in 2010.

Yanukovych has made membership in the 27-nation EU a top priority, but exhibited little sign Friday that he was ready to concede on the Tymoshenko case.

The state security service has launched a slew of new criminal investigations against Tymoshenko since her conviction, probes that Yanukovych defended.

"The Ukrainian part of the crimes committed by people who were in one way or another connected to Tymoshenko have not been fully investigated," he said ? adding that the cases will go to court soon.

Yanukovych was cold to efforts to adopt changes to the criminal code that would allow the former prime minister to be freed. "That is up to the parliament," he said. The parliament is dominated by his supporters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_davos_forum_ukraine

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Lawless: New 'Spartacus' can lead 100 in undies

Michael Muller / Starz

Lucy Lawless plays Lucretia on "Spartacus: Vengeance."

By Randee Dawn

Swords-and-sandals epic lovers arise and claim your show: ?Spartacus: Vengeance? is slashing its way back onto the Starz network on Jan. 27 with a new season of battles, escapes, affairs and intrigue.

But there will be one major difference: Spartacus himself has been replaced. Fans of the show are familiar with the untimely death of character originator Andy Whitfield, who portrayed the rebellious slave in ?Spartacus: Blood and Sand? in 2010 before being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin?s lymphoma.

?It?s a horrifying thing to get everything you ever wanted ? a wife, two children, your big break ? and after one year, a horrifying diagnosis,? Lucy Lawless, who stars as Lucretia, told TODAY.com. ?We thought he?d go into treatment, we?d execute a prequel and he?d come back. But that never happened.?

Well, the prequel, "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" did happen, but Whitfield did not return. Enter Liam McIntyre, an Australian actor who some may have spotted in HBO?s ?The Pacific,? but who is mostly unknown.

?(Whitfield) wanted the show to continue,? Lawless said. ?He requested that they replace him quite early on, and even rang Liam to encourage him and congratulate him. He was a big man, and we remember him fondly for that. The tragedy was really his family?s, and our loss is nothing compared to his.?

McIntyre slips easily into the role, but he?s more than just a new face, said Lawless. ?He?s a great morale leader on the set, which is what you need when you?re leading 100 dudes in their underpants around without much to do for long periods at a stretch. They can get a bit?... distracted. They?re totally nice, but you need someone to help focus on the work, and Liam has that kind of charisma.?

And the recast works in the story, she added, because Spartacus is a different man now. ?There was a natural change thematically in the story,? she said. ?The last we saw Spartacus was with Andy leading a great rebellion; they?re on the run, this band of rebels. So having the prequel may soften people's memories a bit.?

Over the years, Lawless has gotten used to being a familiar face in epics. She made her name on syndicated hits such as ?Hercules? and ?Xena: Warrior Princess? in the 1990s, and kept her geek/genre audience cred by appearing on ?Battlestar Galactica? in the new century. Making ?Spartacus? without her would seem somehow amiss.

?I don?t pick this stuff, it picks me,? she said. ?But it seems to like me a lot ? and it?s fun to play bad-girl roles, where you can bring some humanity to them. Otherwise, it might be Cruella de Vil. I wanted to make Lucretia a real person you can understand.?

She doesn?t have any scenes with the new Spartacus in the new series ? remember, he?s on the run ? but she knows McIntyre is the man for the role. Not just because he can control 100 underpants-wearing actors, but, as she noted, ?He?s good at yelling, which Spartacus has to do ? a lot.?

?Spartacus: Vengeance? premieres at 10 p.m. on Starz on Jan. 27.

Will you tune in to check out the new Spartacus? Stand up and share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

Also in The Clicker:

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10226704-lawless-new-spartacus-an-expert-in-leading-dudes-in-their-underpants

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Where to Check In After You've Checked Out [Video]

The rising death rate in Japan has lengthened the average wait for cremation to roughly four days. That's a long 96 hours to let you lay there and ripen. So what do you do after shuffling off this mortal coil? You get yourself to a corpse hotel, obviously. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8PPocKT1JM0/where-to-check-in-after-youve-checked-out

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Killings shock Homs, United Nations to discuss Syria (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) ? Fighting erupted in Homs on Friday, a day after townspeople said Alawite militiamen killed 14 members of a Sunni Muslim family in one of Syria's worst sectarian attacks since a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad flared in March.

The U.N. Security Council was to meet later in the day to discuss Syria before a possible vote next week on a new Western-Arab draft resolution aimed at halting months of bloodshed.

Russia, which joined China in vetoing a previous Western draft resolution in October and which has since promoted its own draft, said the Western-Arab version was unacceptable.

The draft contains "no fundamental consideration for our position" and is missing "key aspects that are fundamental to us," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying.

The text, obtained by Reuters, calls for a "political transition," but not for U.N. sanctions against Assad's government, which Moscow, an old ally of Syria and an important arms supplier to Damascus, opposes.

Arab monitors headed for the Damascus suburb of Douma, where government troops battled rebel fighters the previous day as the struggle to topple Assad edged close to the Syrian capital.

Opposition activists said Syrian security forces killed seven people overnight, including four in Homs, a mostly Sunni city with minority Alawite neighborhoods that has become a fiercely contested battleground in the uprising. Two people were killed in Idlib and one in the Damascus suburb of Saqba.

Residents and activists said "shabbiha" militiamen from Assad's Alawite sect had shot or hacked to death 14 members of the Bahader family in Homs's Karm al-Zaitoun district, including

eight children, aged eight months to nine years old.

They said the slayings followed a hail of mortar rounds on the area which killed 16 people. "We also have 70 wounded," said a doctor treating casualties from the bombardment.

YouTube video footage taken by activists, which could not be independently verified, showed the bodies of five children, three women and a man in a house.

There was no comment from Syrian authorities, which enforce tight restrictions on independent media.

The British-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces had killed a total of 43 civilians on Thursday, including 33 in Homs, of whom nine were children.

REVENGE KILLINGS

Hamza, an activist in Homs, said the militiamen were taking revenge for deaths inflicted on their ranks by army defectors loosely grouped in the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Tit-for-tat sectarian killings began in Homs four months ago. Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, has dominated the political and security apparatus in Syria, a mostly Sunni nation of 23 million, for five decades.

At the U.N. Security Council meeting, Morocco was expected to distribute the new draft resolution backing an Arab League call for Assad to step down. An interim unity government would then prepare for elections and enact security reforms.

Syria, which says it is pursuing its own political reforms, has rejected the Arab plan as interference in its affairs.

The 10-month-old revolt against Assad edged closer to Damascus on Thursday as troops battled rebels in a town just north of the capital and a provincial governor spoke of negotiating local ceasefires.

(Additional reporting by Erika Solomon in Beirut and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Alistair Lyon)

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

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Taylor Armstrong Accuses Late Husband of Spying, Paranoia


It's been far too long since Taylor Armstrong bashed her late husband in public.

But, don't worry, the latest issue of Us Weekly contains excerpts from the reality star's disgusting upcoming memoir, "Hiding from Reality."

Taylor Armstrong and Russell Armstrong Photo

In the book, Taylor describes Russell as a paranoid stalker, someone who constantly asked her about past sexual partners and even posed as a potential employer in order to run a background check on his wife with her alma mater.

She even found a tape recorder under her home office desk once.

"For the next nearly six years, I always assumed I was being recorded in the car and at home," Taylor writes. "I was always careful to make sure the content of my conversations was very clear."

Russell supposedly defended his actions by saying he had "been burned before" and just wanted to get to know his wife as well as possible.

Years after that discovery, Armstrong added, "I went into my email settings and found that he had set it up so that all of my emails were forwarded to him the moment I received them."

Taylor says she never changed the setting or asked Russell about this issue, and it's not like we can get his take on the allegations.

What a sad, pathetic, money-hungry woman.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/taylor-armstrong-accuses-late-husband-of-spying-paranoia/

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Obama: US must reclaim values of fairness for all (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Keeping the American dream alive has become "the defining issue of our time," President Barack Obama says. He's using Tuesday night's State of the Union address to draw a stark election-year line with Republicans over how to keep the United States from eroding further into a nation of haves and have-nots.

In excerpts of his speech released in advance, Obama attacked income equality and offered his own economic revival plan built upon boosting manufacturing, energy and education. He warned Republicans in Congress that he will fight them if they try to obstruct him or restore an economy gutted by "outsourcing, bad debt and phony financial profits."

Driving everything about the speech: Jobs, including Obama's own. He was essentially making his case for re-election as he spelled out where he wants to take the country.

Obama was making his pitch to a bitterly divided Congress and to a country underwhelmed by his handling of the economy. Targeting anxiety about a slumping middle class, Obama was calling for the rich to pay more in taxes. Every proposal was to be underlined by the idea that hard work and responsibility still count.

"No debate is more important," Obama said in the excerpts released by the White House ahead of the 9 p.m. EST speech.

"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules," the president said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_state_of_the_union

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Best iPad app for comic book buying: Comics

“It’s not quite iTunes for comic books yet, but Comics and the comiXology apps like Marvel and DC are getting terrifically close.” Comics is the best app for buying comic


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/E7RhVCGGhnk/story01.htm

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Driver rams bus down busy Indian streets, kills 9

An Indian worker helps guide a damaged bus back up as it is removed from the scene after being driven into numerous vehicles and pedestrians in the city of Pune, central India, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. An on-duty bus driver went on a rampage on the crowded streets of the central Indian city Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than two dozen as he mowed down pedestrians and rammed other vehicles, witnesses said. (AP Photo)

An Indian worker helps guide a damaged bus back up as it is removed from the scene after being driven into numerous vehicles and pedestrians in the city of Pune, central India, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. An on-duty bus driver went on a rampage on the crowded streets of the central Indian city Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than two dozen as he mowed down pedestrians and rammed other vehicles, witnesses said. (AP Photo)

People look at a damaged auto-rickshaw at the scene where a bus was driven into numerous vehicles and pedestrians in the city of Pune, central India, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. An on-duty bus driver went on a rampage on the crowded streets of the central Indian city Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than two dozen as he mowed down pedestrians and rammed other vehicles, witnesses said. (AP Photo)

(AP) ? A bus driver mowed down pedestrians and rammed cars, scooters and food stalls in a rampage through crowded Indian streets Wednesday that killed nine people and injured more than two dozen.

Police chased the bus for an hour through the streets of the central city of Pune, with traffic officers firing on it in an attempt to stop it, before they managed to arrest the 30-year-old driver. He is being held on murder charges.

The licensed bus driver had driven his route as normal Tuesday, but on Wednesday morning jumped into another driver's bus and took off, police said.

"He just went berserk," slamming into people, cars, school buses, scooters and vegetable stands, Pune Police Commissioner Meeran Borwankar said.

Pedestrians tried to flee, with some throwing children out of the way of the oncoming bus, she said.

"He went on ramming vehicles, hitting pedestrians. He was in such a dangerous mood," Borwankar said.

Food stalls were reduced to piles of squashed produce and broken beams, while at least 40 cars were crushed.

The injured were being treated in three hospitals.

Police have ruled out terrorism as a possible motive but were seeking more answers in questioning the driver, Borwankar said.

The mayor of Pune, which is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Mumbai, appealed for calm.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-25-AS-India-Deadly-Bus-Rampage/id-3b69d033b3ee491993c47c661dac0f52

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

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Extraordinary Gingrich comeback also vindication (The Arizona Republic)

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Russian Mars Probe Crash Sets Off Confusion, Conspiracy Theories (SPACE.com)

When an ill-fated Russian Mars probe fell to Earth over the weekend, the spacecraft's untimely demise set off a flurry of conflicting media reports and conspiracy theories.

Russia's Phobos-Grunt space probe suffered a debilitating malfunction shortly after its November 2011 launch, which stranded it in low-Earth orbit for more than two months before it succumbed to gravitational forces and plummeted through the atmosphere on Jan. 15.

The $165 million spacecraft reportedly broke apart over the Pacific Ocean, but inconsistent reports soon surfaced, which sparked different theories about where the probe had landed, and what had caused it to malfunction in the first place.

The Russian Federal Space Agency is notorious for closely controlling any information released, but part of the issue is the tricky nature of calculating re-entry predictions for dead satellites and other pieces of orbital debris.

"Predicting an impact point is problematic because it involves fundamental factors that cannot be noted in advance and cannot be measured in real time, such as atmospheric density," space consultant James Oberg, a former NASA space shuttle mission control engineer, told SPACE.com. "These can only be averaged or guessed, sometimes even after re-entry. These known unknowns are more than enough to throw off any kind of prediction by thousands of kilometers." [Photos: Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mission to Mars Moon]

A curious case

Still, the Phobos-Grunt saga was shrouded in mystery long before it crashed back to Earth. The cause of the spacecraft's malfunction has not yet been determined, and claims ranging from accidental radar interference to outright sabotage have been reported by Russian news outlets.?

Russian space officials suggested that strong emissions from an American radar station on an island in the Pacific Ocean could have accidentally interfered with Phobos-Grunt, reported the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

But, these claims were later dismissed by a Russian scientist who was involved with the development of Phobos-Grunt. Alexander Zakharov, a scientist at the Russian Academy of Science Space Research Institute, told Ria Novosti that the radar theory is "far-fetched," and suggested instead that issues with the spacecraft itself were likely to blame.

American experts were also quick to write off the idea that a U.S. radar station could have been the source of the spacecraft's demise ? accidental or otherwise.

"I do not see any evidence that supports the suggestion that the United States somehow played a role in the failure of Phobos-Grunt," Brian Weeden, an orbital debris expert at the Secure World Foundation in Washington, D.C., told SPACE.com in an email. "I have examined the claims made about the U.S. tracking radar on the South Pacific potentially interfering with Phobos-Grunt and they are without any credibility whatsoever."

Following Phobos-Grunt's fall from space, the Russian Federal Space Agency released an official statement confirming that the spacecraft had landed in the Pacific Ocean. But, the agency admitted this impact zone was based on orbital predictions, and they lacked tracking or visual data.

This fueled speculation that the spacecraft had overshot its predicted landing zone and broke apart elsewhere along its orbital track, such as over Argentina or Brazil. [6 Biggest Spacecraft to Fall Uncontrolled From Space]

"You're never quite sure," said Emmet Fletcher, Space Surveillance and Tracking Manager at the European Space Agency (ESA). "Eyewitness accounts are good, so if someone sees it coming in and takes a picture, that can tell you about where it lands. But, if you're fortunate and it lands in the ocean, which is where we like things to go, there shouldn't be anyone there. So, if something lands in the South Pacific, you won't have anyone there to observe it."

Tracking a falling spacecraft

Fletcher is part of ESA's Space Situational Awareness team which monitors space junk and operates a network of tracking stations. Fletcher could not comment specifically on Phobos-Grunt, but he has worked on coordinated international efforts to deal with spacecraft and orbital debris that has re-entered the atmosphere.

"It's all a learning experience," Fletcher said. "There are lessons learned and conclusions about what we can do better. A lot of work is being done to standardize data."

Right now, different agencies and organizations have different methods for calculating re-entry predictions. This has advantages and disadvantages, Fletcher said, but ultimately, a more standardized approach could help foster more efficient cooperation between entities.

But the story of Phobos-Grunt doesn't end there.

In a recent development, the U.S. military appeared to have removed links to Phobos-Grunt tracking data on a public website that ordinarily details such events.

Information about the doomed Russian probe's re-entry was removed from Space Track, a website operated by U.S. Strategic Command. The military also did not publish any confirmation of the probe's fall, which breaks with standard protocol.

This handling of the data seemed unusual, said Weeden, a former U.S. Air Force officer, who once also directed the Joint Space Operations Center's orbital analyst training program.

"[T]he final re-entry prediction data is still missing from the U.S. military's website where they normally publish the information," Weeden said. "I do not really have any idea why they would withhold this information for Phobos-Grunt. They have published the full re-entry prediction data on three other space objects so far this year, and they are continuing to publish re-entry predictions as normal for the next object, Cosmos 2176, which is a Russian Kompass-2 satellite that is due to re-enter in the next several days. "

Falling spacecraft and human error

But Friday evening (Jan. 20), a spokesperson from U.S. Strategic Command told SPACE.com that data was not, in fact, removed from the Space Track website. Rather, a human error had accidentally misfiled the information.

"All actions taken during the Phobos-Grunt re-entry were designed to improve international data sharing on this event," Julie Ziegenhorn, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs at U.S. Strategic Command, said in an email statement. "Unfortunately, shortly after the re-entry event, there was human error that led to all Phobos-Grunt entries on spacetrack.org being misfiled into the year 2011 data, which made it difficult for customers to access the information. Shortly after the error was discovered, the information was re-posted to the site and is accessible at this time."

Still, experts are hoping that more precise information about Phobos-Grunt's impact zone will be released, but it's unclear which agencies will make their reports available to the public. ESA plans to release a final report on Phobos-Grunt, but officials are currently still waiting for "additional data from non-ESA sources," agency spokesperson Andreas Schepers said in an email.

The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft was designed to collect soil samples from the Mars moon Phobos and return them to Earth in 2014. The botched mission is one of several space failures that plagued the Russian Federal Space Agency over the past year.

"It was one of the boldest cavalry charges, and they said it was a cavalry charge to restore Russia's honor in space," Oberg said. "But, cavalry charges can also wind up disastrously, so the use of that metaphor was particularly apt."

You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120122/sc_space/russianmarsprobecrashsetsoffconfusionconspiracytheories

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Giants vs. 49ers in NFC Championship: D?ja vu all over again?

What does NFL playoff history tell us about the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers? The Giants and 49ers have met in the NFL playoffs seven times in the last 30 years.

There are some New York baseball fans still upset with the Stoneham family for moving their Giants team west to San Francisco after the 1957 season. But that only has only added to the passion of the New York football Giants fans over the years when they've met with their brethren in San Francisco during the NFC playoffs several times in the past three decades.

Skip to next paragraph

The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers first met in the post-season at the end of the 1981 NFL season. San Francisco, behind quarterback Joe Montana, prevailed and went on to win the franchise's first Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The two teams met three more times in playoff games during the 1980s, playing in consecutive seasons from 1984 to 1986. In that last year, the Giants won? their first Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos.

Then, at the end of the 1990 season, the Giants and 49ers faced off for the first time in the NFC championship game in San Francisco. In a tough defensive struggle, the Giants prevailed behind five Matt Bahr field goals, 15-13.

New York went on to win its second Super Bowl title, beating the Bills when Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood missed a late field goal attempt.

The Giants and 49ers met twice more in the playoffs in subsequent years. San Francisco beat New York in a 1993 NFC divisional playoff game and a 2002 wild card contest.

What to expect this Sunday

The 1990 NFC championship game could offer a window on this Sunday's contest, as the Giants once again boast a highly-rated defense. And the 49ers, despite giving up 32 points to the New Orleans Saints in the divisional playoffs last Saturday, have a defense that has improved steadily throughout this 2011 season.

Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty says that he's expecting a physical game: ?This is not going to be a cute football game. It?s not going to be for the meek and mild."

Is it ever in a NFL playoff match?

Both teams field productive offenses, with the biggest difference coming at quarterback. Eli Manning of the Giants is a seasoned leader, and has a Super Bowl MVP award to his credit. The 49ers' Alex Smith will be enjoying his first NFL playoff go-around.

Giants and 49ers fans: Who do you think will win this time around ? and by what margin of victory?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/CCcDQ-zy_RQ/Giants-vs.-49ers-in-NFC-Championship-Deja-vu-all-over-again

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Why bats, rats and cats store different amounts of fat

Friday, January 20, 2012

Animals differ in the amount of fat they carry around depending on their species, status and sex. However, the causes of much of this variation have been a mystery. The Bristol study shows that many differences can be understood by considering the strategies animals employ to avoid two causes of death: starvation and being killed by predators.

These causes of death often exert opposite pressures on animals, for example, storing lots of fat helps animals survive periods without food but also slows their running and so makes getting caught by a predator more likely. Animals can be stronger to compensate, but the energetic costs of extra muscle mean that the animal would starve quicker during a food shortage.

Led by Dr Andrew Higginson of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences, the researchers used mathematical models to explore how much muscle and fat animals should have in their body to give themselves the best chance of survival. They showed that an important consideration was how much carrying fat increases the energetic costs of movement. The models revealed that the size of this cost influenced whether larger animals should have more fat than smaller animals, or vice versa.

Dr Higginson said: "Our results explain differences between different families of mammal. For example, larger bats carry proportionally less fat than small bats but larger carnivores carry more fat than small carnivores. Among rodents, it's the medium-sized species that carry around the most fat! These differences agree with the models predictions if you consider the costs of carrying fat for these three groups. Bats fly and so have high costs of carrying extra weight, whilst carnivores spend much of their time resting and so will use less energy than busy scurrying rodents."

The work, published in The American Naturalist, also shows that much of the variation between animals in their amounts of fat and muscle can be explained by differences between the sexes, how much animals have to fight to get food, and the climate in which they live.

The researchers plan to put the theory to the test by looking in more detail at the amounts of fat stored by different animals. If their theory is correct, much of the mystery in how species and sexes differ in their amount of fat will have been solved.

###

University of Bristol: http://www.bristol.ac.uk

Thanks to University of Bristol for this article.

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

97% The Artist

All Critics (172) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (167) | Rotten (5)

'The Artist': Michel Hazanavicius's novelty film owes much to Jean Dujardin's irresistible smile

For a movie that is so much about technique, it's surprising how affecting the story is.

The Artist is the most surprising and delightful film of 2011.

A silent movie shot in sumptuous black-and-white, no less. A silent flick made with not a jot of distancing winking, but instead born of a heady affection for a bygone, very bygone, era of filmmaking.

It's a rocket to the moon fueled by unadulterated joy and pure imagination.

Strangely, wonderfully, The Artist feels as bold and innovative a moviegoing experience as James Cameron's bells-and-whistles Avatar did a couple of years ago.

'The Artist' offers a unique cinematic experience in an age when extremely loud sound effects attack our eardrums while watching so many current movies.

The Artist delights in an ingeniously straightforward way that exceeds many a modern, technologically advanced, effects-loaded, big-budget blockbuster.

A silent movie that speaks louder and with more power than a dozen films packed with pages and pages of dialogue. Definitely the year's best movie.

Imaginative, gorgeous, witty and even kind of sexy.

A gift that keeps on giving, The Artist is a film that demands your attention at every moment. All senses are glued to the screen and director Michel Hazanavicius delivers with drama, laughter, romance and stellar performances from his cast.

Has the allure of a freshness it may not entirely deserve, but one that makes it go down very smoothly.

Initially, the lack of spoken dialogue is discomfiting. Once you've adjusted to its storytelling conventions, though, you almost forget that this is a silent film.

I'm not sure Hazanavicius' love letter to the cinema is, in fact, the most outstanding movie of last year. But who would deny that it stands out from the motion-picture pack?

In a strange way, it's not unlike The Matrix -- only this time the red pill transports you into the futuristic world of sound, rather than a cynical world of two increasingly abysmal sequels.

Completely fun. Dujardin defies time periods. Bejo is all sparkly effervescence.

Was there ever a guy who could play an old school movie studio mogul like John Goodman? No.

A movie that is so old-fashioned from beginning to end that it's literally a breath of fresh air.

Visually stunning, imaginative, and cleverly scored and choreographed, The Artist is quite simply and quietly, the year's finest film.

Deeper than mere mimicry...

The Artist plays less like an original take on the early sound era than as fan fiction set in the world of Singin' in the Rain.

[C]ould have been all about the gimmick. Marvelously, it isn't. And yet its marvelousness is wrapped up in the gimmick... [A] sweet, deep passion for The Movies... throbs through The Artist and makes it sing.

A story that's so sweet and innocent, it's practically forgivable for being the awards bait it's being offered up as.

The Academy Awards are the biggest annual party that Hollywood throws for itself, and The Artist is a movie that worships Hollywood. Looks like a done deal.

See it, but remember: no talking.

A silent love song that anyone who adores film can nonetheless hear, loud and clear!

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/

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Pope hits out at 'radical secularism'

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during a general audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during a general audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

(AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI says Roman Catholics in the U.S. need to understand the "grave threats" to their faith posed by what he calls radical secularism in the political and cultural arenas.

He addressed visiting U.S. bishops Thursday and used the same language in warning that attempts are being made to erode their religious freedom.

Benedict did not explicitly mention it, but the bishops have complained their religious freedom is eroding in the face of growing acceptance of gay marriage and attempts to marginalize faith. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has recently formed a committee on protecting religious liberty and hired attorneys and a lobbyist to work on the issue.

The pope said many of the bishops have complained about attempts to deny conscientious objection with regard to cooperation in "intrinsically evil practices." U.S. church leaders have been pressing for a broader religious exception to part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul that mandates private insurers pay for contraception. The Obama administration has not yet made a decision on the policy and the timing is uncertain.

Bishops also are pressing for broader religious exemptions in U.S. states that have legalized same-gender civil unions or marriage. The vast network of Catholic social services in the United States includes adoption and foster-care placement. Bishops in some states have either shut down adoption programs or have lost their government contracts after refusing to place children with same-gender couples.

Benedict also expressed appreciation that bishops have been more outspoken about American Catholic politicians who don't follow church teaching on abortion and other issues.

The pope said Catholics in political life have a "personal responsibility to offer public witness to their faith, especially with regard to the great moral issues of our time."

American Catholics have bitterly debated the obligations of Catholic lawmakers to oppose government policies that go against core Catholic teaching. In recent years, a small but growing number of local bishops have publicly told Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights not to present themselves for Holy Communion because of their stance on the issue.

The White House had no response to the pope's remarks.

Officials of Catholic-affiliated institutions that have asked for a broader conscience exception to the birth control coverage requirement are frustrated that the administration has yet to make its ruling.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-19-EU-Vatican-US/id-8503237d9ddc44e69a5eeb6537d15b92

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

The Laugh (talking-points-memo)

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Libya hopes African Cup success can bring joy

By MARK WALSH

Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 5:02 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2012

BATA, Equatorial Guinea (AP) -For Libya, a victory at the African Cup of Nations would be about so much more than just sports.

Libya will take on co-host Equatorial Guinea in the opening match of Africa's continental championship on Saturday, marking the culmination of an unlikely 12-month campaign to reach the event amid political turmoil and civil war.

While the rebellion against Moammar Gadhafi raged at home, Libya's national team went undefeated in qualifying despite having to play all their matches in other countries - and with some players having joined the rebel forces on the front line.

The team became a symbol of the revolution when it donned new uniforms featuring the red, black and green colors of the country's new flag in a 1-0 qualifying win over Mozambique, and is hoping to provide a similar sense of pride to people back home by doing well in the tournament.

"This is much more important than just some football cup," said midfielder Walid al-Katroushi, who fought on the rebel front line against the Gadhafi regime. "We came here because we want to do something good for Libya - we are not here to enjoy ourselves."

The team arrived in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday with the players looked tired but relaxed as they checked into a brand new hotel in the coastal city of Bata. A handful of Equatorial Guinea soldiers and police were there as security.

Al-Katroushi wore a stoney expression on his face as he arrived, mirroring a quiet determination that was spread among the rest of the squad as well.

Al-Katroushi said that was partly due to the responsibility the team carried ahead of the opening match.

"The Libyan people understand football - they love the game," he told The Associated Press. "It's a long time since the country had something to smile and be happy about and that's up to us now."

Al-Katroushi left a football training camp in Tunisia in April to join the rebel forces, a decision that has given him a different perspective on things like football.

"Of course, everybody would be afraid of dying at a young age, but we had to do something to make a change in the government," said the 25-year-old midfielder, who plays for Libyan club Etihad. "I'm proud of what we did, but that's not why we fought. We did it for our country."

The team's Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta told the AP that the players used the political crisis as extra motivation.

"The players have talent but they didn't believe in this talent before," he said. "We had to change that mentality to give them courage and attitude. The rebellion seemed to make them more determined, more focused, more able to play above themselves."

Libya has a good chance to advance from Group A, having been drawn with No. 151-ranked Equatorial Guinea, an injury-hit Zambia side and the strongest opposition on paper, Senegal. The top two teams progress to the quarterfinals.

Equatorial Guinea's players were given a different kind of motivation for its debut match at the African Cup after the president's son announced he was putting up a $1 million win bonus for the team to share, plus $20,000 per goal against Libya.

Despite the financial incentive and home advantage, the lowly ranked team - currently behind minnows Benin and Samoa in FIFA's standings - should give Libya few problems.

The co-host's preparations were further hit when experienced French coach Henri Michel resigned just a few weeks before the tournament, leaving Brazilian replacement Gilson Paulo with little time to tune his squad.

"If we win the first game that will be an added boost, but we must go step by step," said Paqueta. "It would be a dream for the players to do well and go far in the tournament - it would be a miracle to be champion."

Libya wrapped up its preparations with a respectable 1-0 loss to tournament favorite Ivory Coast in a friendly in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Ivorian defender Kolo Toure praised the Libyans after the match.

"They are a good team and very well organized," the experienced Manchester City player said. "They don't have a lot of stars but they have pride. We have a lot of respect for them. This team (Libya) is really, really strong."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Puyol, Abidal spark Barca

Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal scored rare goals to rally Barcelona over defending champion Real Madrid 2-1 Wednesday night in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal.

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He's back

David Beckham has re-signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy, agreeing to a new two-year contract with the Major League Soccer club.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46040124/ns/sports-soccer/

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Friday, January 20, 2012

Black Saturday provides bushfire answers

Black Saturday provides bushfire answers [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Yael Franco
yfranco@plos.org
415-568-3169
Public Library of Science

Clearing vegetation close to houses is the best way to reduce impacts of severe bushfires, according to a team of scientists from Australia and the USA who examined house loss after as a result of Black Saturday, when a series of fires raged across the Australian state of Victoria, killing 173 and injuring 414.

The research involving 12,000 measurements at 500 houses affected by the Black Saturday fires was only made possible by the sheer size of the devastation of February 7, 2009.

"More than any other major wildfire in Australia, Black Saturday provided an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the effects of land management on house loss," said senior author Dr Philip Gibbons from The Australian National University.

The research team found that fuel reduction close to houses afforded the greatest protection.

"Clearing trees and shrubs within 40 meters of houses was the most effective form of fuel reduction on Black Saturday," said Dr Gibbons.

"However, there was less risk to houses from vegetation in planted gardens compared with vegetation in remnant native bushland."

Houses close to public forest were at greater risk, but concerns raised after Black Saturday about national parks were not reflected in the results.

"On Black Saturday, houses were at similar risk whether they were adjacent to National Park or State Forest," said Professor David Lindenmayer from ANU, a co-author of the research.

Logging native forests did not reduce the chance of house loss.

"We found no significant relationship between house loss and the amount of logging in the landscape," said Professor Ross Bradstock from The University of Wollongong who was an expert witness in the Bushfires Royal Commission.

A key issue after Black Saturday was prescribed burning. However, the researchers found that protection afforded to houses by prescribed burning on Black Saturday was only modest, despite the team examining landscapes that had been burnt considerably before Black Saturday.

"Clearing vegetation within 40 meters of houses was twice as effective as prescribed burning," said Dr Geoff Cary from ANU.

All forms of fuel reduction examined in the study, including prescribed burning, were most effective if undertaken closer to houses, .

Bbut the research team cautions that reducing fuel close to houses is not always an appropriate strategy.

"Intensive fuel reduction close to houses can be expensive, can have significant environmental and aesthetic impacts and can be risky in some circumstances," said Dr Gibbons.

"Many of these issues can be avoided if new housing is not permitted adjacent to forests."

The researchers conclude that fuel reduction close to houses is only a partial solution to bushfires.

"No amount of fuel reduction will guarantee that a house is safe on extreme weather days like Black Saturday, so it is critical that other measures, such as early evacuation, safer places and architectural solutions are considered by every resident in fire-prone areas in addition to, or instead of, fuel reduction," said Dr Gibbons.

"These are findings that are probably important internationally," said Dr Max Moritz from the University of California at Berkeley who was a co-author of the research.

"Housing density in many bushfire-prone regions is increasing, so the next major bushfire will be even more devastating unless we continue to learn from Black Saturday," added Dr Gibbons.

###

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Black Saturday provides bushfire answers [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Yael Franco
yfranco@plos.org
415-568-3169
Public Library of Science

Clearing vegetation close to houses is the best way to reduce impacts of severe bushfires, according to a team of scientists from Australia and the USA who examined house loss after as a result of Black Saturday, when a series of fires raged across the Australian state of Victoria, killing 173 and injuring 414.

The research involving 12,000 measurements at 500 houses affected by the Black Saturday fires was only made possible by the sheer size of the devastation of February 7, 2009.

"More than any other major wildfire in Australia, Black Saturday provided an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the effects of land management on house loss," said senior author Dr Philip Gibbons from The Australian National University.

The research team found that fuel reduction close to houses afforded the greatest protection.

"Clearing trees and shrubs within 40 meters of houses was the most effective form of fuel reduction on Black Saturday," said Dr Gibbons.

"However, there was less risk to houses from vegetation in planted gardens compared with vegetation in remnant native bushland."

Houses close to public forest were at greater risk, but concerns raised after Black Saturday about national parks were not reflected in the results.

"On Black Saturday, houses were at similar risk whether they were adjacent to National Park or State Forest," said Professor David Lindenmayer from ANU, a co-author of the research.

Logging native forests did not reduce the chance of house loss.

"We found no significant relationship between house loss and the amount of logging in the landscape," said Professor Ross Bradstock from The University of Wollongong who was an expert witness in the Bushfires Royal Commission.

A key issue after Black Saturday was prescribed burning. However, the researchers found that protection afforded to houses by prescribed burning on Black Saturday was only modest, despite the team examining landscapes that had been burnt considerably before Black Saturday.

"Clearing vegetation within 40 meters of houses was twice as effective as prescribed burning," said Dr Geoff Cary from ANU.

All forms of fuel reduction examined in the study, including prescribed burning, were most effective if undertaken closer to houses, .

Bbut the research team cautions that reducing fuel close to houses is not always an appropriate strategy.

"Intensive fuel reduction close to houses can be expensive, can have significant environmental and aesthetic impacts and can be risky in some circumstances," said Dr Gibbons.

"Many of these issues can be avoided if new housing is not permitted adjacent to forests."

The researchers conclude that fuel reduction close to houses is only a partial solution to bushfires.

"No amount of fuel reduction will guarantee that a house is safe on extreme weather days like Black Saturday, so it is critical that other measures, such as early evacuation, safer places and architectural solutions are considered by every resident in fire-prone areas in addition to, or instead of, fuel reduction," said Dr Gibbons.

"These are findings that are probably important internationally," said Dr Max Moritz from the University of California at Berkeley who was a co-author of the research.

"Housing density in many bushfire-prone regions is increasing, so the next major bushfire will be even more devastating unless we continue to learn from Black Saturday," added Dr Gibbons.

###

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/plos-bfp011312.php

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