Dr. Scott Schnee Mocks Aurora, Colorado, Shootings on Twitter (Video)

Dr. Scott Schnee, a pediatric cardiologist in Phoenix, Arizona, apologized on Wednesday for mocking Denver Post reporter Adrian Dater, who lost a friend in the movie theater mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado (video below).

According to Channel 9 News, Dr. Schnee, of Banner Health Care, was responding to something Dater had written in his column about the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team.

Schnee tweeted under his Twitter name Baby Doc Scott: ?Go catch a movie in Aurora. Join Jessica for all I care.?

?Jessica? refers to Jessica Ghawi, a journalist and friend of Dater?s who died in the movie theater shooting on July 20, 2012,? in Aurora, Colorado.

Jessica Ghawi?s mother later tweeted at Dr. Schnee: ?Does he know Jessie had a heart condition? Doctor, I would suggest you heal yours.?

Banner Health has issued a statement that it supports Schnee?s apology, which it reprinted:

Mr. Dater.

Last night I tweeted unconscionable statements to you for which I owe an apology not only to you but to anyone who has read these tweets via subsequent news coverage or in numerous social media channels. I am especially sorry to those whose loved ones or friends were victims in the horrible massacre in the Aurora theater. I can offer no excuse. I can only express my sincerest and heart-felt apologies for my poor judgment that has offended so many.

Sincerely,

Scott Schnee

Source: Channel 9 News

Source: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/technology/internet/dr-scott-schnee-mocks-aurora-colorado-shootings-twitter-video

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Wearing the future

A wristwatch that reads your text messages out loud, a jacket that heats up when you're cold, eyeglasses that display directions as you walk down the street.

Gimmicks, or fashion of the future?

Although those products may seem like something out of a James Bond movie, the world's largest technology companies and start-ups alike believe "wearable tech" is the next big frontier, and they have been pouring money and research into developing high-tech clothing and accessories.

"It's a function of time before wearable technology becomes real, and it's closer than a lot of people think," said Gene Munster, senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray. "Eventually, wearable technology is probably going to be your most easy access point to your technology."

Google Inc., the world's largest Internet company, has been testing augmented-reality eyeglasses that feature cameras and use voice recognition. Apple Inc. is reportedly working on a watch that would have some of the same functions as a smartphone.

The idea behind so-called wearables is to integrate technology into everyday basics, but it's more than just inserting a gee-whiz factor into your favorite pair of jeans. Bringing tech into the fold, developers say, will create a more seamless experience with technology that involves fewer devices to carry around and less time rummaging through your purse or pocket.

But there are numerous challenges to overcome before wearable tech can become mainstream. Developers are working on improving battery life, scaling the technology down and making the products affordable.

Companies also need to persuade the public to accept the notion that digital devices and fashion can coexist in one unit by designing wearables that don't look too techie and figuring out what kinds of functions to embed within the products.

"We have a lot of research to do," said Cory Booth, a user experience researcher at Intel, which has a team looking into the potential for wearables. "It's actually more about will people want to do it and how will they want to do it. When people start putting things on their bodies, it becomes very personal."

For now, wearable tech is taking off in the sports and health markets.

Goggles made by Oakley assist snowboarders via a display that integrates GPS capabilities, Bluetooth and sensors that gauge jump analytics such as distance, height and airtime. There's also smartphone connectivity and the ability to locate and track friends via an app.

With the Nike+ FuelBand, a wristband containing an accelerometer, wearers can set daily activity goals and track calories burned on the band's LED display. Data from the FuelBand ? which Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has been seen wearing ? can be viewed on a mobile device via an iOS app. The Up by Jawbone wristband and Fitbit wireless activity trackers are similar products that help users eat and sleep better and record their physical activity.

But tech companies have goals that stretch beyond fitness, with the goal of equipping clothing with mini computers and sensors.

The tech-fashion hybrid that has gotten the most attention so far is Google Glass, Web-connected eyeglasses that the company has been previewing to big buzz in recent months. The futuristic glasses are still in the early stages of development under the company's secretive Google X lab.

Wearers can record what they're seeing in real life and broadcast it over a Google+ Hangout, perform a quick Google search and send a hands-free voice message with the glasses. They can view data such as directions and weather on a tiny screen connected to the device, and tell the glasses to take a photo.

"It has been transformative for my lifestyle," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said of Project Glass last year. "That's our job at Google X, to push the edges of technology to where the future might be."

The Mountain View, Calif., company has also filed for a laser projection patent, leading to speculation that Glass wearers will be able to project a virtual touchpad onto their limbs and other surfaces.

Google has taken pre-orders for an early pilot version of the eyeglasses called Glass Explorer Edition from developers who paid $1,500. On Wednesday, the company announced that it would hold a contest for early adopters who want to try out a pair; winners will be offered the chance to buy a Glass Explorer.

Apple could be preparing to take on Google in the wearables space. Last year, the company filed a patent for a "peripheral treatment for head-mounted displays." The device ? which people speculate could be a helmet, pair of glasses or a visor ? immerses the user with two displays and techniques for filling the peripheral vision with the image being shown, according to reports.

More likely for Apple, at least in the near term, is an iOS smartwatch. In recent weeks the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant set the rumor mill churning with reports that it has a team of 100 developers working to build a curved glass iWatch. Analysts have speculated that the device could be used to make calls and texts, get directions and search the Internet, and would be compatible with the iPhone.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/bAzBWUabAf4/la-fi-wearable-tech-20130221,0,1144015.story

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Alaska, Hawaiian, JAL get points for promptness

Rob Lovitt , NBC News contributor ? ? ? 10 hrs.

Planning to fly somewhere for your spring break or summer vacation? If arriving at your destination in a timely manner is important, you may want to choose Alaska over American, Hawaiian over Allegiant and Japan Airlines (JAL) over Air Canada.

According to the global trackers at FlightStats, Alaska, Hawaiian and JAL were among the top airlines in the world in terms of getting their passengers where they wanted to go within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time last year.

American, Allegiant and Air Canada, not so much.

Released on Tuesday, the company?s On-time Performance Service Awards analyzes data from airlines, major reservation systems and civil aviation authorities and ranks carriers in 13 categories, including major international airlines, major airlines by continent, regional airlines by continent and airline alliance.

Among the winners and losers:

Top 5 major North American airlines

• Alaska: 87.26 percent
  
• AirTran: 87.24 percent
  
• US Airways: 85.98 percent
  
• Delta: 85.95 percent
  
• JetBlue: 79.36 percent
  

Other major U.S. carriers included Southwest (77.53 percent), Frontier (77.19 percent), United (76.94 percent) and American (76.93 percent), with Air Canada bringing up the rear with an on-time performance rate of just 60.89 percent.

Top 5 North American regional airlines

• Hawaiian: 92.29 percent
  
• Horizon: 91.60 percent
  
• Delta Connect: 88.54 percent
  
• Mesa: 86.57 percent
  
• Executive: 85.21 percent
  

Most likely to get delayed at the gate or stuck on the tarmac? Allegiant, at 69.13 percent.

While passengers on Allegiant (and other lesser-known carriers) had every right to be annoyed by poor performance, it?s worth noting that the U.S. industry, overall, has been delaying fewer passengers recently.

According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the 15 largest U.S. carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 81.85 percent last year, up from 79.60 percent in 2011 and the third-best annual rate in the 18 years DOT has been collecting the data.

Still, there?s room for improvement, especially when compared to major international airlines, where on-time honors went to JAL (90.35 percent), All Nippon Airways (88.48 percent), SAS (87.91 percent) and KLM (87.85 percent). Last year marked the third time that JAL has taken the top spot.

?It takes a lot of teamwork among all employees to pull together consistent on-time performance,? said Sarena Regazzoni, director of corporate communications at FlightStats, ?and if an organization has a high rate, it?s an indicator that passengers will have a positive outcome on their day of travel.?

Whether that?s enough to get travelers to pick one airline over another is less clear. Even when there?s a choice between carriers, on-time performance is less important than other factors, including price, schedule and inflight services, says Stuart Greif, vice president, global travel, at J.D. Power and Associates.

?On-time performance is table stakes,? he told NBC News. ?Customers? expectations are that the plane should arrive on time. You don?t get credit for what you?re supposed to do.?

Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. Follow him at Twitter.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/travelkit/alaska-hawaiian-jal-score-major-points-promptness-1C8415371

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Huge brain-mapping project sparks debate

MGH-UCLA Human Connectome Project

This visualization shows the grid structure of major pathways of the human brain, as mapped by the NIH Blueprint Human Connectome Project. Click on the image for a Flash interactive exploring the brain.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

BOSTON ? The brain-mapping project that the Obama administration wants to facilitate isn't necessarily aimed at adding billions of dollars to the money already being spent on research, according to the scientists who inspired the idea. Instead, it's aimed at harnessing new technologies to uncover the secrets of neural function less expensively and more completely.

"We can bring down the cost and increase the quality of the technology," said Harvard geneticist George Church, one of the researchers who proposed the Brain Activity Map Project last year. "We are trying to work with current funding [levels] to bring down the cost."

The New York Times reported on Monday?that the White House has embraced the idea of having the Office of Science and Technology Policy spearhead the project, with participation by the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. The federal initiative is to be unveiled as early as next month, the Times quoted its sources as saying.

---

The roots of the project go back months if not years earlier: The goals of the BAM Project were outlined last June in a?white paper appearing in the journal Neuron. The researchers proposed a 15-year international effort to map the functions of the brain's complex neural circuitry to an unprecedented degree?? using traditional tools such as magnetic resonance imaging in combination with novel technologies such as nanosensors and wireless fiber-optic probes that can be implanted into the brain, and genetically engineered cells that can be linked up with brain cells to record their activity.

The scientists' idea was to start with mice and work their way up to primates. "We do not exclude the extension of the BAM Project to humans, and if this project is to be applicable to clinical research or practice, its special challenges are worth addressing early," they wrote.

The discoveries generated by the effort could point to new strategies for dealing with brain-centered maladies such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, autism and schizophrenia.

Church and his colleagues compared the BAM Project's potential impact to the effects of the $3.8 billion Human Genome Project, a 13-year-long effort that analysts say?generated $796 billion in economic activity. "After the genome project, we brought the cost [of whole-genome sequencing] down by a million-fold," Church said. Advanced technologies for studying brain activity could bring savings on the same scale, he said.

In this month's?State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama made a similar point: "Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy ??every dollar. ?Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer's. ?They?re developing drugs to regenerate damaged organs; devising new material to make batteries 10 times more powerful. ?Now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation. ?Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race."

Debate over the dollars
The Times' report on the project quoted scientists familiar with the BAM Project as saying they hoped it would receive as much support as the Human Genome Project did, which amounted to more than $300 million a year. That was widely interpreted as implying that more than $3 billion would be shifted over to the effort from other federally supported research over the next decade ? a prospect that rankled some observers.

"If there is money for frivolities like the Billion Dollar Brain Project, doesn't it show that NIH has too much money?" evolutionary geneticist Detlef Weigel of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology?wrote in a?Twitter comment.

Some scientists noted that the European Union has already established a?Human Brain Project?in cooperation with a range of research centers, including some that are expected to play a role in the BAM Project. The European-led project is due to receive?up to 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) over the next decade.

Michael Eisen, a biologist at the University of California at Berkeley, pointed to a blog posting in which he said grand projects in biology such as?Project ENCODE?for DNA analysis?were emerging as the "greatest threat"?to individual discovery-driven science because they crowded out less costly, smaller-scale studies.

"It's one thing to fund neuroscience, another to have a centralized 10-year project to 'solve the brain,'" Eisen wrote in a?Twitter update.

Emphasis on existing funds
Church said he couldn't speak for the federal government, and he didn't rule out the possibility that the project would receive new funding. But he noted that the concept outlined last year emphasized better coordination of existing publicly and privately supported brain research efforts, which already receive hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

"We want to use existing funds," he told NBC News.

The BAM Project received a strong endorsement from Allan Jones, chief executive officer of the privately backed Allen Institute for Brain Science.

"Our own work over the last 10 years has shown that large-scale brain research and sharing vast data sets and tools publicly for use by scientists around the world accelerate progress and catalyze important research advances across the field," Jones said in a statement emailed to NBC News. "In early 2012, we launched our large-scale initiative to understand brain activity, creating a foundation for other related projects."

The Allen Institute helped organize a workshop that gave rise to last year's white paper proposing the BAM Project, and it is also a partner in the Human Brain Project. Jones said such efforts "complement our work at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and hold promise for helping to bring on new discoveries about the human brain and bring us ever closer to much needed advances in medicine."

More about the brain:

---

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/18/17007438-how-researchers-shaped-the-white-houses-brain-mapping-initiative?lite

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Young malaria parasites refuse to take their medicine, may explain emerging drug resistance

Young malaria parasites refuse to take their medicine, may explain emerging drug resistance

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

New research has revealed that immature malaria parasites are more resistant to treatment with key antimalarial drugs than older parasites, a finding that could lead to more effective treatments for a disease that kills one person every minute and is developing resistance to drugs at an alarming rate.

University of Melbourne researchers have shown for the first time that malaria parasites (Plasmodium falciparum)in the early stages of development are more than 100 times less sensitive to artemisinin-based drugs, which currently represent a last line of defense against malaria.

The study was conducted by a team led by Professor Leann Tilley and Dr Nectarios (Nick) Klonis from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Bio21 Institute, and is published in the journal PNAS.

The drug artemisinin (ART) saves millions of lives each year but it is still not clear exactly how it works. Professor Tilley's team developed a novel approach to examine how the parasite responds to drugs under the conditions it encounters in the body. This is important because the malaria parasite takes two days to reach maturity in each cycle but the drug only remains in the bloodstream for a few hours.

"We were surprised to find that juvenile parasites were up to 100 times less sensitive to the drug than mature parasites, and that in some strains the juvenile parasites showed a particularly high degree of resistance. This would result in a large number of juvenile parasites surviving against clinical treatment and helps explain how resistance to drugs develops," Professor Tilley said.

In order to survive in the human body, the parasite must inhabit red blood cells for part of its life cycle, to do this it first digests the cell contents including the haemoglobin protein which carries oxygen in blood.

"We found that the parasite is most susceptible to drug treatment when it is digesting haemoglobin, suggesting that a breakdown product, possibly the haemoglobin pigment, is activating ART to unleash its killing properties," Dr Klonis said.

The possibility of lower drug sensitivity of juvenile parasites was first suspected when the team studied the parasite's digestive system using a revolutionary 3D imaging technique called electron tomography at the Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne. This initial work was supported by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science.

"In juvenile stages the parasite's digestive system is not yet active, which explains how this stage can avoid the effects of the drug," Professor Tilley said.

"We hope that our findings will provide a guide for changing the timing of the drug treatment regime and developing longer lasting drugs, thereby killing more of the parasites and reducing the development of drug resistance."

The next steps for the team are to try and establish why certain strains are more resistant to ART drug attack than others.

"With the current political will in malaria-affected countries to combat the disease, and funding for implementation of anti-malarial strategies available from the NHMRC, Gates Foundation and other donors, the basic research being done in Australia will be quickly translated into lives saved in the field," added Professor Tilley.

###

University of Melbourne: http://www.unimelb.edu.au

Thanks to University of Melbourne for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126878/Young_malaria_parasites_refuse_to_take_their_medicine__may_explain_emerging_drug_resistance

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iota Card Game Review - The Board Game Family The Board Game ...

Small container, good times.

Many years ago Michelle and I played a card game at a friend?s house that required quick visual recognition to spot sets of 3 cards that were either all the same or all different in each of 4 characteristics. The card game was Set and I loved it while Michelle didn?t care for it.

It was a few years later I actually bought a copy and added it to our bin of card games. Knowing Michelle?s distaste for the game, I only pull it out occasionally ? including taking it to summer camp with the scouts.

I mention Set because when I got a copy of IOTA from Gamewright Games it reminded a lot of Set. It has a lot of similarities because players are looking at characteristics on the cards and trying to match them up with other cards that are similar or different.

With that in mind, I wasn?t sure what Michelle might think of IOTA. But when we pulled it out and played it, Michelle liked it. Sweet!

Colorful cards for light fun.

The biggest reason why she likes IOTA and doesn?t care for Set is the time pressure. In Set players are racing to be the first to spot sets and then claim the cards. That pressure of quick visual spotting drives her nuts.

But with IOTA players are in construction mode and can take their time. Instead of racing to find sets and taking the cards, each player has a hand of 4 cards and they?re looking for places to play them to the table next to appropriate cards to score points. Players also take turns so it?s not a mad dash to find the matches.

The time pressure is off and everyone scores points.

The challenge in IOTA is using your cards to score the most points. A challenge she likes.

How to play IOTA
As already mentioned, the objective in IOTA is to score the most points. Players do this by playing cards to an ever expanding grid on the table.

The growing IOTA grid.

Each card has 3 characteristics: Shape, Number, and Color. And there are 4 types of each characteristic.

• SHAPE: Square, Triangle, Circle, and Plus
• NUMBER: 1, 2, 3, 4
• COLOR; Red, Blue, Green, Orange

When playing cards to the grid, players can add 1, 2, 3, or 4 cards from their hand to the grid as long as they meet certain criteria:

• Cards must be played next to a card already in the grid
• Cards must be played in the same line
• Each individual characteristic must either be all the same or all different on each card in the line
• Maximum line length is 4 cards

There are also 2 Wild cards in the deck that can be used to represent any combo the player would like it to be in order to fit in that position. If they need it to be a ?1 Blue Square?, then that?s what it is. And if another player later has a ?1 Blue Square? they can replace that Wild card with the real card and then use the Wild card themselves.

After playing cards to the grid, players score points based on the cards in the lines they formed. Simply add up the value of each card in each line formed or added to. If a card played is in two lines, it?s scored twice (adding up the values of one line then adding up values on the second line). And if players add the 4th card in a line that?s called a ?Lot? and their points that turn are doubled. (We?re always looking for those chances.)

Or players can Pass and switch out cards in their hand from one of the draw pile.

Once the draw pile is depleted and a player plays their last card to the grid, the game ends and scores are totaled.

Can the whole family enjoy IOTA?

Fills the table.

IOTA can be a little tricky for younger players. It?s pretty easy for young kids to match colors, shapes or numbers. But the tricky part is being able to watch for differences as well. For example, they may see 3 red cards in a line and want to add another red card to that line. However if that line of 3 red cards includes a circle, triangle, and cross, then the card they play must be a red square. Then they must also look at the number on each card. If each card has a number 3, then they must play a red square that has a ?3? on it.

So there?s a lot to be looking out for.

In addition, scoring matters so players are also trying to calculate which cards they can play that will gain the most points. It can get tricky. But that?s also why mom likes IOTA over Set ? because she can take time to look through the possible options for play, then move in for a good score.

Tiny tin and cards are great.

Caleb has also taken to IOTA very well. The first time we played, he wasn?t there when we started but watched for a minute and then teamed up with grandma ? helping her find a number of great spots to play for big points. And team Caleb / Grandma ended up winning.

Itty-bitty cards
Another thing we like are the itty-bitty cards. The deck of 64 cards comes in a tiny tin that?s super easy to take anywhere. We took a picture of the card game tin next to a table tennis ball (ping pong ball) so you could get a feel for the size. But with how sprawling the grid may get on the table, it?s a good thing the cards are small.

How does IOTA score on the ?Let?s Play Again? game meter?
IOTA gets a good score on the ?let?s play again? game meter because of how simple it is to play. And it?s also super easy to grab off of the game shelf because of it?s size. If we?re heading up to grandma?s for dinner, it?s an easy call to bring IOTA along.

Thanks Gamewright for another solid family card game!

?

Source: http://www.theboardgamefamily.com/2013/02/iota-card-game-review/

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California gas prices continue to rise

For the 32nd consecutive day, U.S. gas prices have gone up, reaching the highest point since a record spike in California in October.

On Monday, the statewide average in California was $4.16 per gallon.

In Sacramento, it was $3.97 per gallon, which represented an increase of 48 cents over the past month, according to data from AAA.

A spokesperson for AAA cited numerous reasons for the increase, including oil refineries that she said are down for maintenance; an earlier-than-usual switch from winter-blend fuel to summer-blend fuel; rising crude oil prices; and an improvement in the economy that is sending people back to work and creating a greater demand for gasoline.

But many consumers are skeptical.

?That?s crazy,? said Kathy Roberts, who was pumping gas at a station on Arden Way on Monday. ?When you weren?t working, you were looking for work, so you still used the same amounts.?

Source: http://www.kcra.com/news/California-gas-prices-continue-to-rise/-/11797728/18976528/-/2qsgo2/-/index.html?absolute=true

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Germany: Tighter controls needed on meat products

Butcher Norbert Hansel, specialized on horse meat, takes horse meat sausages in his sales car at a market in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. German federal and state agriculture ministers meet in Berlin to discuss the horse meat scandal. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

Butcher Norbert Hansel, specialized on horse meat, takes horse meat sausages in his sales car at a market in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. German federal and state agriculture ministers meet in Berlin to discuss the horse meat scandal. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

Butcher Norbert Hansel, specialized on horse meat, adjusts a price tag next to horse ham in his sales car at a market in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. German federal and state agriculture ministers meet in Berlin to discuss the horse meat scandal. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

French farmers hold a placard as they demonstrate in support of the cooperative Lur Berri group, which includes Spanghero society, which is identified by French Consumer Affairs Minister Benoit Hamon as a major culprit in the use of horse meat in food products, in Aicirits, southwestern France, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Tests have found horsemeat in school meals, hospital food and restaurant dishes in Britain, as the scandal over adulterated meat spread beyond frozen supermarket products, and Britain's Environment Secretary Owen Paterson called for a Europe-wide overhaul of food testing in the wake of the ongoing horsemeat scandal. The Spanghero company denied wrongdoing. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)

View of the Cooperative Lur Berri group, which includes Spanghero society, in Aicirits, southwestern France, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. The Spanghero society is identified by French Consumer Affairs Minister Benoit Hamon as a major culprit in the use of horse meat in food products, in Aicirits, southwestern France, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Tests have found horse meat in school meals, hospital food and restaurant dishes in Britain, as the scandal over adulterated meat spread beyond frozen supermarket products, and Britain's Environment Secretary Owen Paterson called for a Europe-wide overhaul of food testing in the wake of the ongoing horsemeat scandal. The Spanghero company denied wrongdoing. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)

French farmers hold a placard reading "Lurberri, Spanghero, peasants and workers always cuckolds" as they demonstrate in support of the cooperative Lur Berri group, which includes Spanghero society, which is identified by French Consumer Affairs Minister Benoit Hamon as a major culprit in the use of horse meat in food products, in Aicirits, southwestern France, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Tests have found horsemeat in school meals, hospital food and restaurant dishes in Britain, as the scandal over adulterated meat spread beyond frozen supermarket products, and Britain's Environment Secretary Owen Paterson called for a Europe-wide overhaul of food testing in the wake of the ongoing horsemeat scandal. The Spanghero company denied wrongdoing.(AP Photo/Bob Edme)

BERLIN (AP) ? German officials on Monday vowed tighter controls on meat products and stronger penalties for companies that violate food-labeling rules as more items marketed as "all beef" were pulled from supermarket shelves after testing positive for horse meat.

Consumer Protection Minister Ilse Aigner and her state counterparts announced a 10-point plan seeking to allay Germans' fears after five national supermarkets recalled lasagna, chili, tortellini and goulash ? all with traces of horse meat. Most recently, German discount supermarket Lidl on Monday said it had recalled Combino brand "Beef Tortelloni," sold at its stores in Austria, after tests showed it contained horse meat.

Aigner said Germany, Europe's largest economy, will step up testing, and be looking for any meat not clearly noted on the label ? not just horse.

"I can't say this is the end," she told reporters. "We have to count on other cases being discovered."

Horse meat has turned up across Europe in frozen supermarket meals such as burgers and lasagna, as well as in in beef pasta sauce, on restaurant menus, in school lunches and in hospital meals.

Millions of products were pulled from store shelves in Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway after the scandal broke, and supermarkets and food suppliers were told to test processed beef products for horse DNA.

European officials have said the scandal is the result of fraud, and possibly an international criminal conspiracy to pass off cheap horse meat as more expensive beef.

France agreed on Monday to partially restore the health certification of a meat seller at the heart of the uproar. In a decision just ahead of a meeting between French government officials and workers at the Spanghero company, French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said he would allow it to resume production of ground meat, sausages and some cooked goods after inspectors found nothing amiss there over the weekend.

However, frozen goods, which were the center of questions over whether Spanghero officials deliberately passed off horse meat as beef, remain off limits for the company.

In addition to implementing a European Union action plan on testing meat products, some of Germany's other plans include making sure consumers are more quickly informed as soon as a company has detected that their product may be mislabeled, and facilitating better information flow between state and federal agencies.

The French government has said the chain of fraudulent meat sales reaches across 28 firms in 13 countries.

At least some of the horse meat originated at abattoirs in Romania, and was sent through a Cyprus-registered trader to a warehouse in the Netherlands. Spanghero bought the meat from the trader, then resold it to the French frozen food processor Comigel; it was then marketed in other countries.

On Monday, the Czech Republic said it was trying to confirm that nearly 15,000 packages of lasagna made by Comigel had horse meat. If confirmed, that would be the first time the scandal had spread to the country.

Germany also intends to rethink food labeling regulations so that people purchasing it can be sure where it came from.

"We want to be as transparent as possible for the consumer," Aigner said.

______

Associated Press writers Lori Hinnant in Paris and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-18-Europe-Horse%20Meat/id-7c17954ac31149bc859ff0c9e5310032

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Here are Apple's new television commercials for the Apple iPad

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Can all 300000 Apps be downloaded and installed on iPAD4 16GB without running out of space?

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I thought the Great White Sheamus...

4. lyndon420 posted on yesterday, 23:59 0 0

I like how 4 musicians have to share one ipad. Hey...let's start a band 'cause mommy finally gave in to my crying and bought me a mini pad.

5. RaKithAPeiRiZ posted on 1 min ago 0 0

so you are saying that i can become a professional musician when i buy a ipad ? (skeptical African kid )

Source: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Here-are-Apples-new-television-commercials-for-the-Apple-iPad_id39878

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iPhone 5s Release Date ? Will Apple Launch new iPhone 5s this Summer?

iPhone 5s Release Date Will Apple Launch new iPhone 5s this SummerThe smartphone market is monopolized by two major players and their products-Apple and Samsung. Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S3 are regarded as the benchmark of excellence and used as standards while comparing the features of any other ?

Read more at PC-Tablet.

Source: http://www.twytter.net/blog/iphone-5s-release-date-will-apple-launch-new-iphone-5s-this-summer/

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LG's 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro is the first with a Snapdragon 600 quad-core CPU

LG finally showed off the XL 5.5-inch version of its upcoming Optimus G Pro at the end of a Facebook promo last week, and now it's revealed a launch date in Korea, more specs and a window for its arrival in North America. Also of note? Its CPU is the just-announced quad-core Snapdragon 600 that's supposed to be a milder upgrade (compared to the potentially 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800) to its predecessor, the powerful S4 Pro. New software tweaks include a dual record that uses both cameras simultaneously and VR Panorama that appears to be similar to Google's Photo Sphere stitching.

Besides the extra screen space and updated internals, the larger version also sports a slightly larger battery than the Japanese version announced previously by NTT Docomo, with 3,140mAh compared to 3,000, but keeps the 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, microSDXC slot and LTE. The phone will be released on local carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus on Wednesday for 968,000 won ($897), while a North American launch is mentioned for Q2 along with the Japanese release. We'll find out more about this phone -- and likely a few others -- at MWC 2013 later this week, for now check out the press release after the break for more specs.

Gallery: LG Optimus G Pro 5.5-inch

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

Comments

Source: LG Korea

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/17/lg-optimus-g-pro-specs-na-launch-q2/

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Bowling Green coach accepts apology over graffiti

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) - Bowling Green men's basketball coach Louis Orr says he's accepted apologies from two boys who scribbled racist graffiti on a sidewalk in front of his house.

A judge ordered the two teens to perform community service and put them on probation Friday after finding them delinquent of criminal mischief.

Authorities say the boys wrote "white power" and drew a swastika with chalk in front of the black coach's house last October.

Orr recently met with both of them. He tells The Blade newspaper in Toledo (http://bit.ly/XMP1Jy ) that he hopes the boys will learn from what happened.

He says young people don't always understand the consequences of their actions.

Orr has been Bowling Green's coach since 2007. His son Chauncey is a starter on this year's team.

Information from: The Blade, http://www.toledoblade.com/

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.fox19.com/story/21224261/bowling-green-coach-accepts-apology-over-graffiti

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Alcohol Causes 20,000 Cancer Deaths in the U.S. Annually

Smoking often gets the attention, but new research shows alcohol is one of leading causes of preventable cancer deaths in the U.S.

A new study published in the April 2013 issue of the American Journal of Public Health shows that about 20,000 cancer deaths in the U.S. a year -- about 3.5 percent of all cancer-related deaths -- are caused by alcohol consumption.

"The relationship between alcohol and cancer is strong, but is not widely appreciated by the public and remains underemphasized even by physicians," senior author Dr. Timothy Naimi, an associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, said in a press release. "Alcohol is a big preventable cancer risk factor that has been hiding in plain sight."

The World Health Organization has labeled alcohol as the world's third largest risk factor for disease burden, saying it can cause neuropsychiatric disorders and other chronic diseases such as heart diseases, cirrhosis of the liver and various cancers. It added that 30 percent of cancer deaths are caused by five behavioral and dietary factors, including high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol use.

Previous studies have shown that drinking alcohol can increase risk factors cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum and breast, the study authors noted. Other worldwide statistics show that alcohol is a cause for about 4 percent of cancer deaths worldwide, but before this study, not that much research has focused on the U.S.

The study authors conducted their analysis by looking at sales-based data on per capita alcohol consumption and two national surveys that looked at alcohol usage. They also considered U.S. mortality data from 2009, specifically looking for deaths from the seven cancers known to be associated with alcohol use that were listed above.

They found that 18,178 to 21,284 alcohol-attributable cancer deaths occurred in 2009, making up 3.2 percent to 3.7 percent of all cancer deaths.

Researchers determined that alcohol-related cancer death took away an average of 18 potential years from a person's life. Average consumption for the group was 1.5 drinks a day or less, and those drinkers made up 30 percent of the reported deaths. Larger amounts of alcohol led to higher risks of dying from cancer. Forty-eight to 60 percent of the deaths were attributed to people who drank three or more drinks a day.

"When it comes to alcohol consumption and cancers, clearly excessive drinking is the riskiest type of drinking," Naimi said to CBS station WBZ in Boston. "But when it comes to cancer, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption."

In addition to figuring out how many cancer deaths were related to alcohol, researchers also determined that breast cancer was the most common type of drinking-related deaths in women. This form of cancer alone made up 15 percent of the alcohol-related deaths, amounting to 6,000 women annually.

For men, mouth, throat and esophageal cancers were the most common alcohol-associated deaths, making up about 6,000 deaths annually.

Naimi recommended to Prevention that people not start drinking, and if they do they should definitely cut down "plain and simple."

"The purpose of this study is not to stigmatize moderate drinking, and I apologize if this makes people feel bummed out," Naimi said to Prevention. "But it is important for people to know that yes, alcohol is a carcinogen, and it does increase your risk. That's the bottom line."

Source: http://www.ktva.com/home/outbound-xml-feeds/Alcohol-Causes-20000-Cancer-Deaths-in-the-US-Annually-191532811.html

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Festival of Light Parade tonight in Fort Myers

Tonight is the largest nighttime parade in the Southeast- the 75th Annual Edison Festival of Light Parade starts at 7 p.m.

Last night, crews put the finishing touches on everything from the floats to the road closures. The parade wraps up a month-long festival honoring Thomas Edison.

The parade route starts at Fort Myers High School at 7 p.m. and ends in the downtown River District.

The parade is going to be more than two miles long - the longest it's ever been!

With appearances by 16 bands, more than 100 floats, the Wells Fargo Wagon and Budweiser Clydesdales and mini horses!

Don't forget to bring a sweater, jacket or blanket with you for night time, temperatures are supposed to drop and it will get cooler out as the sun sets.

Road closures will begin at 5 p.m.

Police encourage those who want to attend the parade to arrive downtown prior to 5 p.m.

All parking garages will be open before the parade starts but access to the downtown area will be very limited to vehicles entering and exiting during the parade.

Anyone not attending the parade is asked to avoid the area.

Alternate routes: the Edison Bridge, Fowler Street and Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard.

For more information click here: Edison Festival of Light

Road Closures:

Cleveland Avenue between Hanson and Main streets

Edwards Drive (closed from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.)

Bay Street between Heitman and Jackson streets

First Street between Fowler and Jackson streets

Main Street between Cleveland Avenue and Hendry Street

Monroe Street between Main Street and Edwards Drive (closed at 7 a.m.)

Heitman Street from Bay Street to Edwards Drive (closed at 7 a.m.)

Broadway Avenue between Second and Bay streets

Hendry Street between Main Street and Edwards Drive (closed from 6 a.m. - 12 p.m.)

Jackson Street between Edwards Drive and Edison Avenue

Cortez Avenue between Del Rio and Llewellyn drives

Llewellyn Drive between Cortez and Cleveland avenues

Hoople Street between Jackson Street and Central Avenue

Crawford Street between Jackson Street and Central Avenue

Lafayette Street between Jackson Street and Central Avenue

Royal Palm Avenue between Bay Street and Thompson

Lee Street between Edwards Drive and Thompson/Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Fowler and Heitman streets

The downtown boat ramp

The ramp off of the Caloosahatchee Bridge into downtown Fort Myers and the southbound lanes of traffic will be diverted onto McGregor Boulevard.

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50830062/ns/local_news-fort_myers_fl/

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UFC 132: George Sotiropoulos vs. Rafael dos Anjos Video

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Source: http://findstuffhere.info/betting/online-sport-betting/ufc-132-george-sotiropoulos-vs-rafael-dos-anjos-video/

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Military exercise highlights US policy shift to Asia

Rosie Brown / Yankee-Brown Productions

A U.S. Navy landing craft arrives at Thailand's Hat Yao beach during Cobra Gold 2013, a military exercise involving 13,000 military personnel.

By Ed Kiernan, NBC News contributor

HAT YAO, Thailand -- An ear-thumping explosion reverberates around the bay as a plume of water shoots hundreds of yards into the air.

Two Marine F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets scream by overhead, while Huey and Super Cobra helicopters bank hard, simulating bombing runs. Heavily armed, amphibious assault vehicles churn up the sand as they unleash hordes of U.S. Marines onto one of Thailand's idyllic eastern beaches.

Cobra Gold 2013 -- the largest multinational military exercise in the Asia-Pacific region -- is officially under way.

Rosie Brown / Yankee-Brown Productions

A Thai marine waits patiently for instructions in the midday sun during Cobra Gold 2013.

The annual exercise is in its 32nd iteration and involves 13,000 military personnel countries, including Japan and South Korea, as well as observers from China and, for the first time, Myanmar.

For 10 days, these forces will conduct a variety of field exercises, from amphibious assaults and jungle warfare to humanitarian and civic assistance projects.

Leading the exercises are more than 1,000 Marines and sailors from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, part of Amphibious Force 7th Fleet.

Many of these servicemen and women will play a major role in America's new "Asia pivot" defense strategy, which calls for the strengthening of U.S. military power in the region.

"The pivot to the Pacific that President Obama has talked about is a refocusing of assets and efforts after over 10 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Capt. Cathal O'Connor, commander of Amphibious Squadron 11. "But the actual relationship of being out here in the Pacific goes back to the time of the Civil War."

Cobra Gold itself is a holdover from the Cold War when it was one of the key pillars of U.S. regional security.

'A deterrent'
During the height of the Cold War, the exercise regularly simulated invasions of Thailand from its northern and eastern borders.

Now with U.S. once again focused on the Pacific, Cobra Gold has taken on renewed significance, explained Jon Grevatt, an Asia-Pacific analyst for IHS Jane's.

"It has new purpose to show the strength of military collaboration between the U.S. and its partner nations, creating a deterrent to?Chinese and North Korean ambitions," he said.

Tensions have been rising in the region with the dispute between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands ??known as Diaoyu in Chinese --?and North Korea's latest nuclear test.

Rosie Brown / Yankee-Brown Productions

Plumes of smoke rise from simulated bombing runs over Hat Yao beach in Thailand.

This strengthening has already begun with the Navy sending a newly upgraded, guided-missile cruiser, USS Antietam, to join the 7th Fleet based in Japan. The Antietam gives the Navy a more sophisticated air-defense system, particularly against ballistic missiles.

More ships will be arriving in the region in the near future as the Pentagon continues its plan to shift around 60 percent of all Navy warships to the Asia-Pacific theater by 2020.

And it's not just the Navy getting in on the action, the Marines have deployed two battalions -- nearly 2,000 troops -- to Okinawa in the last six weeks with more scheduled to arrive this summer. There are now more than 17,000 U.S. Marines based in Japan -- the most in over a decade.

Both Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have visited Southeast Asia in recent months, reinforcing how critical the Asia-Pacific theater has become to U.S. strategy.

"We all know that the Asia-Pacific is the traffic highway of so many goods and services. A great many things are manufactured in this part of the world," said Rear Adm. Jeffrey A. Harley, commander of Amphibious Force 7th Fleet. "The United States has been a presence in the Pacific for many, many years? and they will continue to be so."

Sheila A. Smith, an expert on regional security in Asia for the Council on Foreign Relations, said that despite the fact China had accepted an invitation to observe Cobra Gold "military exercises always raise eyebrows."

?The president is a Pacific president," she said. "I think he realizes that the region has been overlooked. It?s not threat-based or military-driven. The large part is an adjustment of diplomatic focus."

Rosie Brown / Yankee-Brown Productions

US Marines assault Hat Yao beach during an exercise as part of Cobra Gold 2013.

Matt Stumpf, an expert on U.S.-Asian relations at the Asia Society?think tank, added: "I think what?s notable about this year?s exercise is in the context of the rebalancing of U.S. policy toward Asia.

"The president and [former Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton have both spoken in depth on their views that Asia is critical to the United States in the 21st century. And with the drawdown in Afghanistan and the end of the war in Iraq, there was an opportunity in Asia to refocus diplomatic, defense and development tools for U.S. goals in the region."

NBC News Staff Writer John Newland contributed to this report.

Related:

North Korea crisis: China talks softly to avoid alienating nuclear-armed neighbor

Much at stake for US as tensions rise in troubled China seas

South Korean, US Marines join forces in half-naked snow run

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/15/16973088-huge-military-exercise-highlights-rebalancing-of-us-policy-toward-asia?lite

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