Our first ever Expand event is around the corner, this March 16-17 in San Francisco. In addition to oodles of interesting speakers, there'll be shiny sights to see: robots, retro games, of course gadgets galore and a few surprises we haven't even unveiled yet. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to record said sights with your own state-of-the art camera?
Show us you can shoot an awesome photo of your favorite gadget, and you could win a Samsung Galaxy Camera! We described it thusly:
"Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy Camera is a bit of a wild card, marrying Google's Android Jelly Bean OS with a 16-megapixel camera - heck, it's even got a 4.8-inch 1,280 × 720-pixel (308 ppi) touchscreen display... the entire back consists of that 4.8-inch screen, edge-to-edge..."
Check out our full review for all the details and specs.
Want a chance at nabbing this bad boy for your very own? Step 1 is to Like the Expand Facebook page. Step 2 is to use the entry form on our Facebook page to submit a photo you've taken of your favorite gadget, title the photo and give a short description about why it's your chosen top device. Team Expand will judge entries based on creativity, style and skill. Show us why you deserve a new camera!
Good luck, and may the best shot win -- you have until this coming Monday, March 4 at 5pm EST to get your entry in. To be eligible to enter, you must be 18 years of age and a U.S. resident (please peruse the full rules).
What stag party would be complete without at least one round of cocktails? Teach the groom to flip like Tom Cruise, get in a mixologist for the evening to impress your friends, or just crack out a cocktail book and go for your life. However you choose to do it, there?s a certain moment in any stag party when nothing will do but that there?s a glass of something fizzy and brightly coloured in everyone?s hand.
So ??what are the most popular cocktails to make using sparkling wine? Well, that all depends on how dangerous everyone?s feeling?
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1: The Real Deal Tequila Slammer
Most people think a tequila slammer is a shot of tequila done with salt and lemon. It?s not. That?s technically known as a tequila shot.
No ??a real deal tequila slammer is a shot of agave liquor slammed in a measure of sparkling wine. The original cocktail calls for champagne but you can work just as well with a Cava or a Prosecco. In fact, given the expected results of having more than one of these (think Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster), using sparkling wine is probably just as well.
The method is simple. Using a heavy tumbler, add one measure of fizz and dump in the shot. Cover the glass with your hand, rap on the bar and drink immediately. The tequila goes into the bubbles and hits the bloodstream quickly ??so be careful?
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2: Black Velvet
It?s easy to make and a hot favourite with Guinness drinkers in particular. The Black Velvet is essentially stout (normally Guinness) and fizz in the same glass. The fizz is floated on top of the stout to give a two layered appearance.
Note ??to float one drink on top of another, the second liquid is poured slowly over the back of a teaspoon. In a Black Velvet, the stout is added first, then the fizz, in a champagne flute.
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3: The Champagne Cocktail
This is the original movie-buff?s cocktail, and a classic still. Start by swirling a small measure of Angostura bitters around a flute. Pour the bitters away. Add champagne or sparkling wine, a pinch of sugar and float a maraschino cherry in the liquid. It?s what every9one drinks at Rick?s in?Casablanca.
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4: Bellini
Peachy, that?s the word for this one. Literally. Everything about the Bellini, with the exception of the champagne of course, is derived from peaches: cr?me de peche, fresh skinned peach and (if you can find it) peach bitters). If you can?t get peach bitters normal bitters will do.
Start by blending one quarter of a fresh, skinned peach and putting the resulting slop in the bottom of a champagne flute. Add a dash of bitters and a single measure of cr?me de peche. Top to the rim with bubbles and drop a peach ball in to finish.
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5: Champagne Charlie
Easy to make, fiendishly strong and having the added attraction of being named after a legendary traveller and champagne magnate, a Champagne Charlie is basically apricot brandy and fizz in a champagne flute. Brandy first, then chilled champers, preferably served in a flute that?s been in the fridge.
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6: Kir Royale
Similar to the Champagne Charlie but made with blackcurrant liqueur instead of apricot brandy, the Kir Royale is dark and sweet. A Kir without the Royale is made using white wine instead of champagne; while a Kir Imperiale can only be made with Dom Perignon. The ratio is the same in all cases: one part blackcurrant liqueur (cr?me de cassis) to four parts wine.
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7: The French 75
Easy and classic, this is more like a sparkling martini than anything else. It uses a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add one and a half measures of gin, the juice of half a lemon and a half teaspoon of icing sugar. Shake and strain into a flute. Top up with fizz.
Brandeis University study finds public policy, institutional barriers are pushing racial wealth gapPublic release date: 27-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Charity Adams cadams1@brandeis.edu 781-736-8685 Brandeis University
Same gain in income produces far greater wealth for white households than black families
New research shows the dramatic gap in household wealth that now exists along racial lines in the United States cannot solely be attributed to personal ambition and behavioral choices, but rather reflects policies and institutional practices that create different opportunities for whites and African-Americans.
So powerful are these government policies and institutional practices that for typical families, a $1 increase in average income over the 25-year study period generates just $0.69 in additional wealth for an African-American household compared with $5.19 for a white household. Part of this equation results from black households having fewer opportunities to grow their savings beyond what's needed for emergencies.
"Public policies play a major role in widening the already massive racial wealth gap, and they must play a role in closing it," said Dr. Thomas Shapiro, director of the IASP and a principal author of the report "We should be investing in prosperity and equity, instead we are advancing toxic inequality. A U-turn is needed."
The study, "The Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide," was conducted by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University.
"The gap presents an opportunity denied for many African American households and assures racial economic inequality for the next generation," said Tatjana Meschede, a co-author of the policy brief.
The research is unique in that it has followed nearly the same 1,700 working-age households over what is now a 25-year period from 1984 to 2009. Unlike standard statistical comparisons, the authors of the study say this approach offers a unique opportunity to understand what happens to the wealth gap over the course of a generation and the effect of policy and institutional decision-making on how average families accumulate wealth.
In gross terms, there is no question that the difference in median wealth between America's white and African- American households has grown stunningly large. The new study found the wealth gap almost tripled from 1984 to 2009, increasing from $85,000 to $236,500. The median net worth of white households in the study has grown to $265,000 over the 25-year period compared with just $28,500 for black households.
The dramatic increase in the racial wealth gap has accelerated despite the country's movement beyond the Civil Rights era into a period of legal equality and the election of the first African-American president. The resulting toxic inequality now threatens the U.S. economy and indeed, American society, the study concludes.
"All families need a financial cushion to be economically secure and create opportunities for the next generation," said Shapiro. "Wealth what we own minus what we owe allows families to move forward by moving to better and safer neighborhoods, investing in businesses, saving for retirement and supporting their children's college aspirations. Our economy cannot sustain its growth in the face of this type of extreme wealth inequality."
Setting out to determine what was driving the disparity today, researchers were able to statistically validate five fundamental factors that together account for two-thirds of the proportional increase in the racial wealth gap. Those five factors include the number of years of home ownership; average family income; employment stability, particularly through the Great Recession; college education, and family financial support and inheritance. While marriage is another factor, its impact is quite small, the study found.
"In the context of the social sciences, whenever you can isolate the factors that really explain what's happening, that's a huge step forward," said Shapiro. "And what these particular factors provide is compelling evidence that various government and institutional policies that shape where we live, where we learn and where we work propel the large majority of the widening racial wealth gap."
Each of the factors highlights a number of specific reasons that whites and African- Americans accumulate wealth at different rates. When it came to housing, for example, home equity rose dramatically faster for whites due to the following:
White families buy homes and start acquiring equity eight years earlier than black families. Due to historical wealth advantages, white families are far more likely to receive family assistance or an inheritance for down payments.
The ability to make larger up-front payments by white homeowners lowers interest rates.
Residential segregation places an artificial ceiling on home equity in non-white neighborhoods.
Based on these and other historical factors, the home ownership rate for white families is 28 percent higher.
"The report shows in stark terms that it's not just the last recession and implosion of the housing market that contributed to widening racial wealth disparities," said Anne Price, director of the Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. "Past policies of exclusion, such as discriminatory mortgage lending, which continues today, ensure that certain groups reap a greater share of all America has to offer while others are left out." ?
The report recommends that policymakers take steps such as strengthening and enforcing fair housing, mortgage and lending policies; raising the minimum wage and enforcing equal pay provisions; investing in high- quality childcare and early childhood development, and overhauling preferential tax treatments for dividend and interest income and the home mortgage deduction.
"By disaggregating the factors that lead to the wealth gap, this research is informing leaders and helping them to focus their advocacy efforts toward policy solutions," said Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity.
###
The Institute on Assets and Social Policy is a research institute at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, dedicated to promoting a better understanding of how assets and asset-building opportunities improve the well-being of individuals and families left out of the economic mainstream.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Brandeis University study finds public policy, institutional barriers are pushing racial wealth gapPublic release date: 27-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Charity Adams cadams1@brandeis.edu 781-736-8685 Brandeis University
Same gain in income produces far greater wealth for white households than black families
New research shows the dramatic gap in household wealth that now exists along racial lines in the United States cannot solely be attributed to personal ambition and behavioral choices, but rather reflects policies and institutional practices that create different opportunities for whites and African-Americans.
So powerful are these government policies and institutional practices that for typical families, a $1 increase in average income over the 25-year study period generates just $0.69 in additional wealth for an African-American household compared with $5.19 for a white household. Part of this equation results from black households having fewer opportunities to grow their savings beyond what's needed for emergencies.
"Public policies play a major role in widening the already massive racial wealth gap, and they must play a role in closing it," said Dr. Thomas Shapiro, director of the IASP and a principal author of the report "We should be investing in prosperity and equity, instead we are advancing toxic inequality. A U-turn is needed."
The study, "The Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide," was conducted by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University.
"The gap presents an opportunity denied for many African American households and assures racial economic inequality for the next generation," said Tatjana Meschede, a co-author of the policy brief.
The research is unique in that it has followed nearly the same 1,700 working-age households over what is now a 25-year period from 1984 to 2009. Unlike standard statistical comparisons, the authors of the study say this approach offers a unique opportunity to understand what happens to the wealth gap over the course of a generation and the effect of policy and institutional decision-making on how average families accumulate wealth.
In gross terms, there is no question that the difference in median wealth between America's white and African- American households has grown stunningly large. The new study found the wealth gap almost tripled from 1984 to 2009, increasing from $85,000 to $236,500. The median net worth of white households in the study has grown to $265,000 over the 25-year period compared with just $28,500 for black households.
The dramatic increase in the racial wealth gap has accelerated despite the country's movement beyond the Civil Rights era into a period of legal equality and the election of the first African-American president. The resulting toxic inequality now threatens the U.S. economy and indeed, American society, the study concludes.
"All families need a financial cushion to be economically secure and create opportunities for the next generation," said Shapiro. "Wealth what we own minus what we owe allows families to move forward by moving to better and safer neighborhoods, investing in businesses, saving for retirement and supporting their children's college aspirations. Our economy cannot sustain its growth in the face of this type of extreme wealth inequality."
Setting out to determine what was driving the disparity today, researchers were able to statistically validate five fundamental factors that together account for two-thirds of the proportional increase in the racial wealth gap. Those five factors include the number of years of home ownership; average family income; employment stability, particularly through the Great Recession; college education, and family financial support and inheritance. While marriage is another factor, its impact is quite small, the study found.
"In the context of the social sciences, whenever you can isolate the factors that really explain what's happening, that's a huge step forward," said Shapiro. "And what these particular factors provide is compelling evidence that various government and institutional policies that shape where we live, where we learn and where we work propel the large majority of the widening racial wealth gap."
Each of the factors highlights a number of specific reasons that whites and African- Americans accumulate wealth at different rates. When it came to housing, for example, home equity rose dramatically faster for whites due to the following:
White families buy homes and start acquiring equity eight years earlier than black families. Due to historical wealth advantages, white families are far more likely to receive family assistance or an inheritance for down payments.
The ability to make larger up-front payments by white homeowners lowers interest rates.
Residential segregation places an artificial ceiling on home equity in non-white neighborhoods.
Based on these and other historical factors, the home ownership rate for white families is 28 percent higher.
"The report shows in stark terms that it's not just the last recession and implosion of the housing market that contributed to widening racial wealth disparities," said Anne Price, director of the Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. "Past policies of exclusion, such as discriminatory mortgage lending, which continues today, ensure that certain groups reap a greater share of all America has to offer while others are left out." ?
The report recommends that policymakers take steps such as strengthening and enforcing fair housing, mortgage and lending policies; raising the minimum wage and enforcing equal pay provisions; investing in high- quality childcare and early childhood development, and overhauling preferential tax treatments for dividend and interest income and the home mortgage deduction.
"By disaggregating the factors that lead to the wealth gap, this research is informing leaders and helping them to focus their advocacy efforts toward policy solutions," said Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity.
###
The Institute on Assets and Social Policy is a research institute at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, dedicated to promoting a better understanding of how assets and asset-building opportunities improve the well-being of individuals and families left out of the economic mainstream.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Spectroscopy allows forensics researchers to tell cosmetics apart
By Rachel Ehrenberg
Web edition: February 26, 2013
WASHINGTON ? Discerning one lipstick from the next can be tough for consumers but it?s even harder for scientists. Now forensics researchers have found a quick method to tell apart individual lipsticks, no matter the color or brand. The approach could help investigators analyze evidence in cases in which a smear of lipstick on glass, paper or a piece of clothing becomes important.
Experts typically examine a lipstick?s dyes or its chemical or elemental composition. To distinguish closely related cosmetics, those approaches usually need to be combined, said Paige Gardner of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. She decided to tackle 80 lipsticks with Raman spectroscopy, which zaps a sample with laser light, making some of the molecules vibrate. These tickled molecules emit light of a frequency different from what came in, and researchers can read that shift in frequency like a chemical bar code.
The approach allowed Gardner to distinguish 95 percent of the lipsticks from one another, she reported February 22 at American Academy of Forensic Sciences annual meeting. Whether crimson, paprika or plum, or even two closely related reds, the Raman barcodes were unique. Test of lipstick smears on some fabrics weren?t as conclusive: on silk, for example, the lipstick signature was discernible, but on red car upholstery, the signal was lost.
Suggested Reading
R. Ehrenberg. Counterfeit Crackdown. Science News. Vol. 179, June 18, 2011, p. 22. Available online: [Go to]_
R. Ehrenberg. Next on CSI: Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Science News. Vol. 177, April 24, 2010, p. 15. Available online: [Go to]_
In this Jan. 31, 2013 file photo, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel testifies at his Senate Armed Services Committee??Barring some unforeseen bombshell, Chuck Hagel will most likely win Senate confirmation as defense secretary by the end of this week.
The Republican former senator from Nebraska looks on track to clear the biggest hurdle on Tuesday: A vote to end debate on his contentious nomination and move to a final up-or-down ballot -- the outcome of which is not seriously in doubt.
What was unclear as of late Monday was whether Hagel's Republican opponents would use up all or just some of the 30 hours of debate they will have under Senate rules between the two votes. Aides on both sides predicted that Hagel's critics would want to cycle through some of their complaints -- that he cannot be trusted to manage the U.S.-Israel security relationship, or confront Iran over its nuclear program -- but would not foretell precisely when the final vote would occur. Democratic aides hoped for Tuesday, accepted Wednesday, and groused about the possibility of Thursday.
It was not clear how the sustained battering would affect Hagel's tenure at the Pentagon. But the rough handling he got from his fellow Republicans and former colleagues shows one thing for sure: The former lawmaker cannot count on getting the benefit of the doubt from Congress as he moves to deal with spending cuts that start coming into force on Friday, or takes on challenges overseas like the withdrawal from Afghanistan. (Top House Republicans don't get a vote, but some came out against Hagel, presaging combative exchanges when he goes before the House Armed Services Committee).
But first, the confirmation process.
Democrats have set up a cloture vote ? a vote to end debate on the Republican former senator?s nomination ? for midday on Tuesday. A similar effort fell short in the face of an unprecedented GOP filibuster two weeks ago, with Democrats just one vote shy of the 60 needed to proceed to confirm Hagel. (The tally showed 58 votes in favor, but Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid changed his vote to ?no? in order to secure the right under parliamentary rules to bring up today?s vote).
Since then, however, Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama has come out in favor of Hagel, and some of his colleagues have indicated they will back cloture unless some bombshell new allegation surfaces. The White House, meanwhile, flatly rejected a Republican call late last week to withdraw the nomination.
So the Senate is likely to all-but-certain to invoke cloture. But, under Senate rules, that starts the clock on a 30-hour debate before the final confirmation vote. Republicans could decide not to use the full 30 hours, but as of late Monday it was unclear whether they would do so. And even one objection would mean lawmakers would have to use up the full 30 hours ? putting off the last vote in Hagel?s rocky nomination process to late Wednesday or even early Thursday.
Democrats can count on 55 votes ? four more than the 51 needed to confirm Hagel. So the cloture vote is really the last real stab at derailing a nomination that drew fierce Republican opposition and generally tepid Democratic support and that briefly looked lost in the weeds after Hagel put in a decidedly poor performance in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
StickNFind managed to raise a grand total of $931,970 through IndieGoGo since we first caught up with it, and now it's set to start shipping next week. In case your memory requires a bit of jogging, the quarter-sized disc can help you hunt down whatever it's attached to thanks to a smartphone app that keeps tabs on its distance via Bluetooth. Mobile World Congress also brings news that the miniature homing tags have gotten a redesigned companion application, an extended range of up to 150 feet (ratcheted up by 50) and a tracking accuracy of within two inches. StickNFind is being geared up for an arrival on retail shelves this April, but there's still no word regarding which shops will carry it.
In 2009 a jury in Hernando County, Florida, rendered a verdict of just more than $330 million to the family of a 13-year old girl who was tragically killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.
Large verdicts are becoming increasingly common. While of course no one is condoning drunk driving?and legitimate arguments can be made about the price tag on a human life?the point is that the average cost of claims against negligent parties is rising at an alarming rate. According to the National Law Journal, premises liability awards increased 16.4 percent to an average of $242,782 in 2009. In that same year, motor vehicle awards jumped almost 40 percent to an average of $48,480 and wrongful death claims averaged $2,185,000.
These numbers should serve as a reminder that liability limits provided by home, auto and other insurance policies should be carefully reviewed. And this review should prompt the question: Are the limits high enough to protect your family?s financial well-being and way of life if a claim is made against you?
Unfortunately there is no definite answer to that question. But if the statistics above make the opportunity to purchase more liability insurance coverage appealing to you, it?s important to consider your options. Two common choices are excess liability insurance and a personal umbrella policy.?? ?
Umbrella vs. Excess
If you have increased the liability limits of your home, auto or other insurance policy to as high as your company will offer and still are not comfortable, you have two options. The first is typically called an excess liability policy. This policy does nothing to the terms of your other insurance policies - it simply raises the limit of liability you have available for a claim. Think of this policy as dollars held in reserve if a claim exceeds the limits you currently have available.
A second option is a personal umbrella policy. Most umbrella policies function as an excess liability policy. However, in addition to acting as a reserve, the umbrella provides additional coverage for types of losses that otherwise would not be paid. Examples of additional coverage may include:
? Expanding the auto coverage territory to almost anywhere in the world
? Personal injury coverage for claims such as libel or slander
? Liability for certain claims resulting from your role as a director/officer of an organization.
Maintenance of ?Underlying?
The intent of an umbrella policy is to extend limits and coverage on some or all of the insurance policies you currently have. Such policies typically include your homeowners and auto insurance policies and may also include others such as a condo, watercraft or ATV. The policies covered by the umbrella are called ?underlying? policies.
Underlying policies are important because most umbrellas will only cover such a policy if certain rules are met. Examples of such rules typically include the financial strength rating of the insurance company from which you purchased the underlying policy and the limits of insurance included on that policy.
For example, to obtain an umbrella policy, you likely will have to prove that the limits of the underlying policies that it covers (such as your homeowners and auto insurance) are not less than a specified dollar amount. Should you change those limits mid-term, you risk changing the way your umbrella will apply toward a loss.
Illustration
Say you decide to purchase a $1 million umbrella policy and the umbrella provider specifies that it will cover your homeowner?s policy provided it includes a personal liability limit of at least $300,000. You currently have $300,000 personal liability on your homeowner?s policy and show a copy of it to the umbrella provider as proof. A few months after the umbrella policy takes effect, you call your homeowner?s insurance company and request that your personal liability limit be lowered to $100,000 to lower your premium.
A few weeks later someone suffers a serious injury for which you are legally liable and a claim is filed. Your policy limit of $100,000 is used up but there are still bills to pay. You are certain everything is okay because you have a $1 million umbrella policy. However, since you no longer meet the terms of the agreement, the umbrella provider may not pay a dime until the required minimum of $300,000 has been met. In this case, you would be out-of-pocket for $200,000. This is the difference between your personal liability limit ($100,000) and the required minimum specified by the umbrella provider ($300,000). Some personal umbrella policies may not respond at all once the terms have been breached.
It?s important to remember that excess and umbrella polices differ depending on which insurance company you choose to work with. Understanding how such policies relate to your underlying policies can be tricky. A call to your Trusted Choice? independent insurance agent will help you determine which policy is right for you and what you need to do to be sure it works at claim time.
Democratic Party leader Pierluigi Bersani leaves after a press conference in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 26, 2013. Italy emerged from elections Tuesday with no clear winner, driving markets around the world markedly lower as investors worried that one of Europe's biggest economies would be unable to build a governing coalition that can stay the course on unpopular austerity measures. A day after polling ended, a few seats in Parliament based on Italians' voting abroad still remained to be decided, but their numbers won't ease the gridlock. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Democratic Party leader Pierluigi Bersani leaves after a press conference in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 26, 2013. Italy emerged from elections Tuesday with no clear winner, driving markets around the world markedly lower as investors worried that one of Europe's biggest economies would be unable to build a governing coalition that can stay the course on unpopular austerity measures. A day after polling ended, a few seats in Parliament based on Italians' voting abroad still remained to be decided, but their numbers won't ease the gridlock. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
ROME (AP) ? A center-left group of parties appears to have the best shot at forming a coalition government in Italy after an inconclusive national election, but the challenge is steep and comes amid public anger over austerity measures.
If Italian parties fail to form a governing coalition, new elections would be required, causing more uncertainty and a leadership vacuum, and that possibility rattled financial markets across Europe on Tuesday. In early Wednesday trading in Milan, the FTSE MIB rebounded 0.5 percent even though the country had to pay higher borrowing costs in a pair of bond auctions. The index has a long way to go to recoup the previous day's 4.9 percent fall though.
Pier Luigi Bersani and his center-left allies appeared on Tuesday to have won a narrow victory in the lower house of parliament, while the Senate looks split with no party in control. Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian premier whose center-right coalition did better than expected, is a key player since his coalition is now the second-biggest bloc in the upper chamber.
Comic-turned-political leader Beppe Grillo, whose 5 Star Movement capitalized on a wave of voter disgust with the ruling political class, had a surprisingly strong showing. His bloc of seats in Parliament could prove crucial in making any coalition government viable.
The two-day election on Sunday and Monday also was a clear rejection of the previous technocratic government led by Mario Monti. That government enacted wide-ranging reforms to the budget and the economy. Though its borrowing rates have fallen in financial markets, the cost to Italians has been high, with Italy mired in recession and unemployment on the rise.
Berlusconi has already ruled out an alliance with Monti, his predecessor, whom he blamed for driving Italy deeper into recession.
On Tuesday, a few seats in Parliament based on Italians' voting abroad still remained to be decided, but their numbers won't ease the gridlock. European leaders pleaded with politicians in Italy to quickly form a government to continue to enact reforms to lower Italy's critically high debt and spare Europe another spike in its four-year financial crisis.
Bersani said he was not opening talks with any potential partners until he submits his program to Italy's president, who taps a candidate to form a government.
Stinging from a loss of some 4 million votes compared to the last election in 2008, Bersani hasn't yet identified who he could try to form alliances with. But top officials in his Democratic Left (PD) party were quick to rule out any deal with Berlusconi.
"As far as I go, absolutely not," Stefano Fassina, a PD official, said of a possible Bersani-Berlusconi alliance.
Whether Tuesday's negative market reaction extends further into the week may hinge on how quickly a solution is reached in Italy.
Berlusconi insisted that a government can be formed and called on Italians to ignore the "crazy" markets.
"Markets go their own way. They are independent and also a little crazy," Berlusconi said, adding that a government can be cobbled together, if rival politicians are willing to "make some sacrifices."
Grillo said his forces would seek to thwart any Bersani-Berlusconi deal. Raising the specter of early elections, he predicted any such coalition will "last seven, eight months. The economy won't let them escape."
Bersani himself later made subtle overture toward Grillo's forces, conceding that the center-left campaign had not gone deep enough for change. "We finished first, without winning," he conceded.
Italy is hugely important for the future of the euro, and its apparent stability over the past six months has been one of the reasons that concerns over the currency have eased. Of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, Italy has the second-highest debt burden as a proportion of its gross domestic product, at 127 percent.
Only Greece's is higher. Italy has to spend around ?80 billion a year just to service its debt.
The worry across financial markets is that Italy's appetite for reform may wane and its debt situation may deteriorate.
That was evident in a pair of bond auctions Wednesday. Though it raised ?6.5 billion it had to pay higher interest rates to get investors to part with their cash. The country sold 10-year bonds at a yield of 4.83 percent, way up from 4.17 percent last month. The yield on five-year bonds rose to 3.59 percent from 2.94 percent.
Though Italy's annual borrowing ? its budget deficit ? is relatively small compared with other euro countries at 3 percent of its annual gross domestic product, its overall debt stands at a colossal ?2 trillion.
BAGHDAD (AP) ? The fliers began turning up at Sunni households in the Iraqi capital's Jihad neighborhood last week bearing a chilling message: Get out now or face "great agony" soon.
The leaflets were signed by the Mukhtar Army, a new Shiite militant group with ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. "The zero hour has come. So leave along with your families. ... You are the enemy," the messages warned.
Such overt threats all but disappeared as the darkest days of outright sectarian fighting waned in 2008 and Iraq stepped back from the brink of civil war. Their re-emergence now ? nearly a decade after the U.S.-led invasion ? is a worrying sign that rising sectarian tensions are again gnawing away at Iraqi society.
Iraqis increasingly fear that militants on both sides of the country's sectarian divide are gearing up for a new round of violence that could undo the fragile gains Iraq has made in recent years.
Members of the country's Sunni minority have been staging mass rallies for two months, with some calling for the toppling of a Shiite-led government they feel discriminates against them and is too closely allied with neighboring Iran. Sunni extremists have been stepping up large-scale attacks on predominantly Shiite targets, and concerns are growing that the brutal and increasingly sectarian fighting in Syria could spill across the border.
Many Sunnis who received the Jihad neighborhood messages are taking the warnings at face value and considering making a move.
"Residents are panicking. All of us are obsessed with these fliers," said Waleed Nadhim, a Sunni mobile phone shop owner who lives in the neighborhood. The 33-year-old father plans to leave the area because he doesn't have faith in the police to keep his family safe. "In a lawless country like Iraq, nobody can ignore threats like this."
Iraqi security forces have beefed up their presence in and around Jihad. The middle-class community, nestled along a road to the airport in southwest Baghdad, was home to Sunni civil servants and security officials under Saddam Hussein's regime, though many Shiites now live there too.
The Shiites, who are emboldened by a government and security forces dominated by their sect, have made their presence felt in Jihad in recent years. A Sunni mosque bears graffiti hailing a revered Shiite saint. A billboard on a major road shows firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr flanked by a fighter gripping a machine gun.
Jihad was one of the earliest flashpoints in Baghdad's descent into sectarian bloodshed. In July 2006, the neighborhood witnessed a brazen massacre that left as many as 41 residents dead and marked an escalation in Iraq's sectarian bloodletting. In that incident, Shiite militiamen set up checkpoints to stop morning commuters, singled out Sunnis based on their names and systematically executed them in front of their Shiite neighbors.
Residents now fear the events in southwest Baghdad could be the spark for a new round of tit-for-tat killing. Two weeks ago, a Sunni and a Shiite were each killed in separate attacks in Sadiyah, next to Jihad, said a 30-year-old Sunni government employee living in the area who gave her name only as Umm Abdullah al-Taie, or mother of Abdullah.
"Nobody dares to go out after dark," she said. "People have started to hear sectarian alarm bells ringing again."
The Mukhtar Army whose named appeared on the threatening leaflets was formed by Wathiq al-Batat, a onetime senior official in the Hezbollah Brigades. He announced the creation of the new militant group earlier this month.
Hezbollah in Iraq is believed to be funded and trained by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard and was among the Shiite militias that targeted U.S. military bases months before their December 2011 withdrawal.
Al-Batat told Iraq's al-Sharqiya channel that he formed the Mukhtar Army to confront Sunnis who might attempt to topple the government in the same way that Syrian rebels are trying to overthrow Bashar Assad's Iranian-backed regime in neighboring Syria. He said the group is advised by Iran's hard-line Quds Force, which oversees external operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. He declined to say whether the group received any further support from Tehran.
Little is known about Mukhtar Army's size or capabilities. Abdullah al-Rikabi, a spokesman for the group, boasted it has 1 million members and described al-Batat as loyal to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has issued an arrest warrant against al-Batat, though he still walks free. In a speech Saturday, the Shiite premier vowed to prosecute anyone who seeks to incite sectarian strife.
The Mukhtar Army denies being behind the threats, which some Shiites believe are a ruse to tar their sect and inflame sectarian divisions.
"We have nothing to do with the fliers," said al-Rikabi, the group's spokesman. He accused members of Saddam's now-outlawed Baath party and al-Qaida of making the threats in an effort to ignite civil war.
Even though they are busy hunting down the group's leader, Iraqi authorities have their doubts about the Shiite militia's involvement in the leaflets too.
Two senior security officials said intelligence agents have obtained an al-Qaida hit list containing detailed names and residential information about people ? both Sunnis and Shiites ? living in mixed areas. They believe the group plans to target residents one by one, alternating by sect, in an effort to spread panic and suggest an atmosphere of retaliatory killings.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose information about security operations.
Threatening fliers from both Sunni and Shiite militias aimed at members of the opposite sect also have begun turning up in Baqouba, a former al-Qaida stronghold north of Baghdad that has a history of sectarian violence, according to Diyala provincial council member Sadiq al-Hussein.
For those living in areas where the threats turned up, their source matters less than what they portend.
Jafaar al-Fatlawi, a Shiite government employee who lives in the Jihad neighborhood, said he has started carrying a pistol with him just to answer the door and takes his family to spend the night with relatives elsewhere in the city.
"Everybody in the neighborhood expects sectarian fighting to erupt any minute," he said. "Our security forces weren't able to stop the sectarian war before and now they'll fail again."
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Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed reporting.
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Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck
Study Suggests Link Between Beards and Skin Cancer
By wibc.com | @93WIBC
2/25/2013
If you are a man and have trouble growing a beard, you may be at a higher risk for skin cancer, though a local dermatologist says the increase is not dramatic.
A recent study from Australia suggests men with beards have a lower risk of developing skin cancer over their lifetimes. But while beards do reduce the amount of ultraviolet rays that reach a man's face, Dr. Terry Brogan with St. Vincent Dermatology says a beard can't reduce your skin cancer risk unless you have a thick beard for a long time. "You know, if you had a full, thick beard, it might block out a good portion of the sun's rays," he said. "But there are still other portions of your face that aren't completely covered, like your eyes, your forehead and ears."
Brogan recommends using sunscreen, even with the beard. He says? "Sunscreen lotions you could probably get through the beard.? It also is a problem for men if they have male-pattern hair loss on the crown of their scalp.? Sometimes they have a little residual hair there as well.? Sometimes, the spray-on sunscreens work well for those areas."
Copyright by WIBC.com ? 2012. All rights reserved.?This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Studies have shown that there are significant benefitsof sitting down for dinner as a family. Families tend to eat healthier meals at home, have better communication with their children (especially important during the teenage years), less adolescent problem behavior, less disordered eating problems, and have less problems with obesity. A Minnesota study showed that cooking dinner at home vs ordering take-out or eating out, also results in lower body fat, cholesterol, and insulin levels. The odds of being obese or overweight were greatly increased when families consumed even just 1 restaurant meal per week for dinner.
There is a clear association between?better family relationships?and those who eat dinner together, but its also important to eat the best foods to keep your family healthy. Dr. Katie can help you make sure the right foods are on your plates!
Experts have disabled a unique member of the signalling proteins which are essential for the development of the malaria parasite. They have produced a mutant lacking the ancient bacterial Shewanella-like protein phosphatase known as SHLP1 (pronounced shelph). This mutant is unable to complete its complex life cycle and is arrested in its development in the mosquito. The discovery could help in the design of new drugs to arrest the spread of this killer disease.
SHLP1is critical to the cellular development of the malaria parasite. It can be found at every stage in the lifecycle of the malaria parasite and for the first time experts led by The University of Nottingham have analysed their biological function.
Dr Rita Tewari and her team in the Centre for Genetics and Genomics in the School of Biology have spent three years studying the phosphatase proteins that are important building blocks in the life cycle of the malaria parasite. The findings of their latest study are published today, 21 February 2013, in the academic journalCell Reports.
Dr Tewari said: "SHLP1 is absent in humans and can be explored as an excellent target for malaria transmission control. Prevention of malaria transmission to and from the mosquito is vital in order to stop the devastating spread of malaria. Targeting SHLP1 could be an important step to achieve this goal."
Although great strides have been made in reducing the number of deaths from malaria, half the world's population remains at risk from the disease. In 2010 90 per cent of all malaria deaths occurred in Africa ? mostly among children under the age of five.
Dr Tewari's latest research has focused on the ancient bacterial Shewanella-like protein phosphatase (SHLP1) which is found only in bacteria, fungi, protists (organisms which paved the way for the evolution of early plants, animals and fungi) and plants.
The researchers, funded by the MRC and the Wellcome Trust, have discovered how SHLP1 controls development of the parasite at an essential stage of its life cycle. The parasite must move between human and mosquito in its quest to spread the disease. It does this every time the mosquito bites. Removing this enzyme causes defects in structures vital for invading the mosquito gut ? effectively stopping the mosquito from passing the disease on to another victim.
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University of Nottingham: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk
Thanks to University of Nottingham for this article.
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Gonzaga's Elias Harris fights for a rebound against San Diego during the first half of an NCAA basketball game in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Gonzaga's Elias Harris fights for a rebound against San Diego during the first half of an NCAA basketball game in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Indiana is No. 1 in The Associated Press' Top 25 for the fourth straight week, while Gonzaga moved to No. 2 for the first time in school history.
The Bulldogs were third last week, matching their previous best ranking.
"The polls mean a lot more this time of year than they do in November, December, even January," coach Mark Few said. "All of us are being judged on the true body of work. It's definitely rewarding.
"It establishes us as a national program, which I believe we have been for the last 10 years. This group has done a great job of competing at that level, winning games at the highest level."
While the West Coast Bulldogs made some news at the top of the poll Monday, Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs from Down South, moved into the rankings for the first time since a 13-week run in 1984-85, their only appearance in the poll.
Louisiana Tech, which is 25th this week, was led back then to a ranking as high as No. 7 by a forward named Karl Malone. Gonzaga at that time had a point guard named John Stockton. They went on to become one of the greatest combinations in NBA history with the Utah Jazz, were members of the Dream Team and both were inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Hoosiers, who have been ranked No. 1 for a total of 10 weeks this season, received all but one first-place vote from the 65-member national media panel.
Gonzaga, which got the other No. 1 vote, was ranked third for the final two weeks of 2003-04.
Duke moved up three spots to third and is followed by Michigan and Miami, which dropped from second after falling to Wake Forest, the Hurricanes' first Atlantic Coast Conference loss this season.
Kansas is sixth, followed by Georgetown, Florida, Michigan State and Louisville.
Saint Louis, which beat Butler and VCU last week, moved into 18th in the poll, the Billikens' first ranking since being in for one week last season.
Colorado State, which was 22nd and lost twice last week, and VCU, which was 24th, dropped out.
This Jan. 9, 2013 photo provided by The Hartman Group shows Adam Blanshay, the new chief executive officer of Just For Laughs Theatricals, in New York. Blanshay will develop and produce plays and musicals internationally. (AP Photo/The Hartman Group, Dennis Kwan)
This Jan. 9, 2013 photo provided by The Hartman Group shows Adam Blanshay, the new chief executive officer of Just For Laughs Theatricals, in New York. Blanshay will develop and produce plays and musicals internationally. (AP Photo/The Hartman Group, Dennis Kwan)
NEW YORK (AP) ? The producers behind one of the largest comedy festivals in the world are launching a new theatrical subsidiary that hopes to become a major player on Broadway and in London's West End.
The Just For Laughs Group on Monday unveiled its new stage-orientated producing division and said Adam Blanshay will be its chief executive officer.
Just For Laughs Theatricals, which will be based in New York City, is already signed on to help produce the new Broadway musical "Kinky Boots," the West End productions of "A Chorus Line," ''Old Times" with Kristin Scott Thomas, and "Merrily We Roll Along." Future projects include the new Broadway musical "Bullets Over Broadway" in 2014.
"While comedy has always been our focus, we believe great theatre ? whether musical, drama or comedy ? can be an equally powerful unifying force," Gilbert Rozon, founder of the Just For Laughs Group, said in a statement.
Blanshay's recent Broadway credits include the revival of "Evita" starring Ricky Martin, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" with Daniel Radcliffe, "The Scottsboro Boys," ''Catch Me If You Can" and "Jerusalem." He has been nominated for six Tony Awards, one Grammy Award, and is a graduate of McGill University.
The Just For Laughs Group creates comedy festivals around the globe, dozens of hours of TV and operates concert tours. It is behind the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, which this summer will celebrate its 31st anniversary.
The festival attracts 2 million people each summer and has featured Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, John Cleese, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander, Dane Cook and Tim Allen.
MasterCard's been working on new-era payment systems for sometime, but now the credit corporation looks set to move past its PayPass project and roll out a service that's properly ready for the masses. By way of MasterPass, MasterCard will look to build upon what it gathered from previous efforts and use those learnings in its quest for success, with the firm being quite confident that by securing the right merchants and technology partners, it can turn the "promise of a digital future" into a reality. Furthermore, MasterCard says the MasterPass experience will be a seamless and secure one, making it easy for consumers to initiate transactions "from wherever they are" and with "any device." -- and that includes support for a variety of check-out methods, such as QR codes and, of course, NFC. Those in Australia and Canada can expect MasterPass to debut in their area next month, while US and UK folks will have to wait until later this spring and summer, respectively.
Feb. 25, 2013 ? The world has suffered from severe regional weather extremes in recent years, such as the heat wave in the United States in 2011 or the one in Russia 2010 coinciding with the unprecedented Pakistan flood. Behind these devastating individual events there is a common physical cause, propose scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The study will be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and suggests that man-made climate change repeatedly disturbs the patterns of atmospheric flow around the globe's Northern hemisphere through a subtle resonance mechanism.
"An important part of the global air motion in the mid-latitudes of the Earth normally takes the form of waves wandering around the planet, oscillating between the tropical and the Arctic regions. So when they swing up, these waves suck warm air from the tropics to Europe, Russia, or the US, and when they swing down, they do the same thing with cold air from the Arctic," explains lead author Vladimir Petoukhov.
"What we found is that during several recent extreme weather events these planetary waves almost freeze in their tracks for weeks. So instead of bringing in cool air after having brought warm air in before, the heat just stays. In fact, we observe a strong amplification of the usually weak, slowly moving component of these waves," says Petoukhov. Time is critical here: two or three days of 30 degrees Celsius are no problem, but twenty or more days lead to extreme heat stress. Since many ecosystems and cities are not adapted to this, prolonged hot periods can result in a high death toll, forest fires, and dramatic harvest losses.
Anomalous surface temperatures are disturbing the air flows
Climate change caused by greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil-fuel burning does not mean uniform global warming -- in the Arctic, the relative increase of temperatures, amplified by the loss of snow and ice, is higher than on average. This in turn reduces the temperature difference between the Arctic and, for example, Europe, yet temperature differences are a main driver of air flow. Additionally, continents generally warm and cool more readily than the oceans. "These two factors are crucial for the mechanism we detected," says Petoukhov. "They result in an unnatural pattern of the mid-latitude air flow, so that for extended periods the slow synoptic waves get trapped."
The authors of the study developed equations that describe the wave motions in the extra-tropical atmosphere and show under what conditions those waves can grind to a halt and get amplified. They tested their assumptions using standard daily weather data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). During recent periods in which several major weather extremes occurred, the trapping and strong amplification of particular waves -- like "wave seven" (which has seven troughs and crests spanning the globe) -- was indeed observed. The data show an increase in the occurrence of these specific atmospheric patterns, which is statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level.
The probability of extremes increases -- but other factors come in as well
"Our dynamical analysis helps to explain the increasing number of novel weather extremes. It complements previous research that already linked such phenomena to climate change, but did not yet identify a mechanism behind it," says Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of PIK and co-author of the study. "This is quite a breakthrough, even though things are not at all simple -- the suggested physical process increases the probability of weather extremes, but additional factors certainly play a role as well, including natural variability." Also, the 32-year period studied in the project provides a good indication of the mechanism involved, yet is too short for definite conclusions.
Nevertheless, the study significantly advances the understanding of the relation between weather extremes and human-made climate change. Scientists were surprised by how far outside past experience some of the recent extremes have been. The new data show that the emergence of extraordinary weather is not just a linear response to the mean warming trend, and the proposed mechanism could explain that.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
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Journal Reference:
Petoukhov, V., Rahmstorf, S., Petri, S., Schellnhuber, H. J. Quasi-resonant amplification of planetary waves and recent Northern Hemisphere weather extremes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1222000110
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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? Facebook has agreed to remove some so-called tribute pages related to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting over concerns they're being used to exploit the tragedy, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday.
Echoing complaints already brought by some Sandy Hook families, Blumenthal and fellow Connecticut Democrats U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty requested the removal of offending pages in a letter to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg Monday morning.
The lawmakers said some pages purportedly set up to honor the victims of the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown have been used to exploit or harass the victims' families and could be used as vehicles for financial fraud.
The lawmakers also said the pages also appear to violate Facebook's own terms of use, which prohibit users from creating accounts for anyone other than themselves.
In the letter, the lawmakers said they know of more than 100 pages dedicated just one of the victims, slain teacher Victoria Soto.
Some of those contain postings from conspiracy theorists who claim the shootings were staged, and that Soto and others were actors.
"Certainly there have been many, too many, of these pages that are intimidating or harassing or exploitive," Blumenthal said. "I'm pleased that Facebook has responded positively."
The lawmakers said Facebook also had received complaints from Soto's family and the family of Kaitlin Roig, a first-grade teacher who survived the shooting and has been credited with saving the lives of her students by locking the class in a small bathroom and barricading the door.
A Facebook page titled "Kaitlin Roig is a Hero" contains numerous well-wishes but also prompted abusive posts, such as one that reads, "Congratulations Kaitlin or whatever your name is.. Now you're famous and got to meet the 'President.' You ought to be ashamed of yourself."
Blumenthal said his office received a phone call Monday from Facebook officials saying they had already begun removing abusive pages.
Facebook did not immediately reply to an email request for comment.
There has been one fraud arrest already connected to a Sandy Hook Facebook posting.
Nouel Alba, a 37-year-old New York City woman, is accused of using her Facebook account, telephone calls and text messages to seek donations for what she called a "funeral fund." She allegedly told one donor that she had to enter the scene of the mass shooting in Newtown to identify her nephew, according to the criminal complaint. Jury selection in her trial has been scheduled for March.
Blumenthal said they are not asking that all Sandy Hook-related tribute or donation pages be removed, just the ones that are not authorized by the families.
"Facebook needs to follow its own rules, and enforce those rules," Blumenthal said.
What stag party would be complete without at least one round of cocktails? Teach the groom to flip like Tom Cruise, get in a mixologist for the evening to impress your friends, or just crack out a cocktail book and go for your life. However you choose to do it, there?s a certain moment in any stag party when nothing will do but that there?s a glass of something fizzy and brightly coloured in everyone?s hand.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Feb-2013
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In 2009 a jury in Hernando County, Florida, rendered a verdict of just more than $330 million to the family of a 13-year old girl who was tragically killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.
