Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The atomic nucleus: Fissile liquid or molecule of life?

ScienceDaily (July 30, 2012) ? A new view of the nucleus that unifies its liquid and molecule-like aspects has been put forward by a team from the Institut de Physique Nucl?aire d'Orsay (Universit? Paris-Sud/CNRS) and from CEA (the French Atomic Energy Commission), in collaboration with the University of Zagreb. By making an analogy with neutron stars[1], the researchers have for the first time demonstrated one of the necessary conditions for the formation of molecule-like behavior within the atomic nucleus. Such molecule-like behavior makes it possible to understand the synthesis of elements that are key to the appearance of life.

The work is published in Nature dated 19 July 2012.

The atomic nucleus is generally described as a drop of quantum liquid with a diameter of around a million billionth of a meter. In particular, such liquid-like behavior explains nuclear fission, and applies especially to heavy nuclei, i.e. nuclei that contain a large number of nucleons (neutrons and protons). On the other hand, light nuclei[2] can behave like tiny 'molecules', or clusters, made up of neutrons and protons within the nucleus. This molecular aspect makes it possible to understand the stellar synthesis of carbon-12 and other heavier elements necessary for the appearance of life[3].

Until now, both the 'molecule-nucleus' and the 'liquid-nucleus' views coexisted. Now, a team from the Institut de Physique Nucl?aire d'Orsay (Universit? Paris-Sud/CNRS) and from CEA (the French Atomic Energy Commission), in collaboration with the University of Zagreb, proposes a unified view of these two aspects. By solving quantum physics equations on the scale of the nucleus (in particular the Schr?dinger equation), the researchers have demonstrated that, although a light nucleus can show molecule-like behavior (tending towards the crystalline state), heavier nuclei take on a liquid-like behavior.

To establish this new theory, the physicists took inspiration from neutron stars1. The deeper you go inside a neutron star, the more you pass from a crystalline medium to a liquid medium. Thanks to this analogy, the physicists identified a mechanism of transition from the liquid to the crystalline state in the nucleus. When the interactions between neutrons and protons are not strong enough to fix them within the nucleus, the latter is in a quantum-liquid type state where protons and neutrons are delocalized. Conversely, in a crystalline state, neutrons and protons are fixed at regular intervals within the nucleus. The nuclear molecule is interpreted as being an intermediate state between a quantum liquid and a crystal. In the long term, the aim is to attain a unified understanding of the various states of the nucleus.

[1] The core of a massive star that collapses during a supernova explosion becomes so dense that protons and neutrons combine, forming neutrons. The resulting body becomes a kind of giant atomic nucleus made up mostly of neutrons, which is what gives it its name.

[2] Such as oxygen-16 (16O), which contains 8 neutrons and 8 protons.

[3] For instance, the Hoyle state of carbon-12, key to nucleosynthesis, is described as a nuclear molecule made up of three alpha particles. An alpha particle is a cluster of two neutrons and two protons.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by CNRS (D?l?gation Paris Michel-Ange).

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. J.-P. Ebran, E. Khan, T. Nik?i?, D. Vretenar. How atomic nuclei cluster. Nature, 2012; 487 (7407): 341 DOI: 10.1038/nature11246

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120730094907.htm

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Our Family Holiday: Like Home, But More So ? Welcome to the New ...

We have just had our first family holiday in five years. Nothing grand. A week in Scotland, fighting off midges and dodging the showers. We are lucky. Many people, in Britain and beyond, will be responding to austere times by staying at home this summer.

The ?staycation? ? taking a vacation from work without leaving home ? can be a tempting holiday option when you have small children. The thought of negotiating an airport departures hall with a two, four, six, eight, nine and 13-year-old in tow, is too awful to contemplate.

So we chose somewhere we could drive to. Even then, loading up the VW Transporter for a few days north of the border, represented quite an effort. We have what American generals during the Gulf War used to call a ?long logistics train?.

It was a 10-hour-long journey to our destination in Argyllshire. My husband had vetoed the purchase of portable DVD-players. ?Children are so over-stimulated,? he pronounced, ?sometimes it?s good for them to get a little bit bored?. I was tempted to ask whether he was sticking with that philosophy when the children began what sounded like a mini-riot as we crossed into Cumbria on the M6.

But we made it in one piece, with no travel sickness. There was even a game of I-Spy as we drove beside Loch Lomond. Proof, perhaps, that mild adversity (well, boredom) can be the mother of invention.

Our home for the week was part of a house where an old work colleague, his wife and daughters, now live. A decade ago he quit his stressful London media job for a quieter life in his native Scotland, swapping a relatively modest home in the south-east of England for a rambling farm not far from Iona, where Saint Columba took early Christianity to the Picts.

Not everyone likes to holiday in what is, ostensibly, the home of another person. But we loved the chance to be somewhere different, using it as a base to explore some beautiful countryside and rocky beaches.

And, most of all, it was a bonding experience. Children do not always get our fullest attention as we wrestle with the laundry or spend our days shuttling one of them to and fro;? a friend?s birthday party here and an after-school club there. But this week it was simply us and them, without the distractions provided by friends, neighbours, playdates, parental commutes or domestic tasks.

Perhaps, most of all it was a bonding experience for our children. For them, there was no getting away from one another. You cannot run-off to sulk in your bedroom when you are on a forced march through the heather. As my husband put it: ?This is like home, just more so.?

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Tags: family holiday, Scotland, staycation

Source: http://behomeblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/our-family-holiday-like-home-but-more-so/

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?1.25 Billion ? The Staggering Cost Of Eating Disorders In England ...

A newly released report carried out for national eating disorder campaigning charity Beat by a volunteer economist from the charity Pro Bono Economics (PBE) has found an overall estimated cost of ?1.25billion per year to the English economy from eating disorders ? and could be much higher. The report sought to form a comprehensive view of the overall costs to society of eating disorders in England, especially amongst young people, and the costs to the NHS, employers and employees.

The report, by economist John Henderson volunteering with PBE, reveals overall healthcare costs estimated at ?80-?100m, costs of reduced GDP up to ?2.9bn, and costs of reduced length of life and health up to ?6.6bn.

With mental ill health representing up to 23% of the total burden of ill health in the UK, and estimated to double over the next 20 years, the findings of the report demonstrate the severity of the impact of eating disorders on society at large.

Beat has long campaigned for early intervention ? ?Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental health disorders? said CEO Susan Ringwood. It is vital that the individual is able to access the right specialist treatment as early as possible. Young lives are being disrupted at crucial stages in their development with loss of education, hindering career prospects and premature death.? This report clearly demonstrates that healthcare costs would be better spent earlier to stop the effects on sufferers, their family and the community?.

Sue Holloway, Pro Bono Economics Director, says ?This is the first serious attempt to quantify comprehensively the costs of eating disorders in England and the resulting estimate shows the significant scale of the problem. We hope this will support Beat to achieve its vision that eating disorders can be beaten.?

22 year old Francesca from Berkshire finds herself having to repay an extra year?s student loan for tuition fees when she was too ill to attend university. ?I have suffered for 8 years and it?s affected me in a lot of ways.? I was told for numerous years that I was not ill enough for treatment until eventually I became so ill that my parents paid for me to attend a private unit. The NHS waiting list was too long. I?ve had state funded therapy for two years. My education has been adversely affected over the years and I have also suffered numerous physical health problems as a result of my eating disorder. I truly believe that if I had been given treatment earlier, my problems would not have escalated and I would not have needed so much help later on ? at a cost to my family and the state.?

23 year old Annabelle from London was also told that her eating disorder was not severe enough for treatment. ?By the time I received help I was in hospital for 18 months, missing almost 2 years of education and had to drop half my GCSE?s.? I also had a relapse during university and had to take a year out when my internal organs began failing.? I have osteoporosis as a result of my illness?.

And males face similar problems with the added exacerbation that through ignorance and misunderstanding their illness is not readily recognised. ?I went for years and years without knowing where to turn, or not taken seriously when I did ask? says 42 year old David from London. ?It was only when I?d caused major damage to my body and mind that things were noticed.?My life would be very different if I?d received treatment at the outset?.

Beat is the leading UK charity helping people affected by eating disorders and campaigning on their behalf.

Pro Bono Economics (www.probonoeconomics.com) is a charity that matches volunteer economists with charities wishing to address questions of measurement, results and impact.

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Source: http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/blog/2012/07/1-25-billion-the-staggering-cost-of-eating-disorders-in-england/

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5 Olympic things to know for Sunday

United States swimmer Ryan Lochte dives off of the starting block during the men's 400-meter individual medley event during the 2012 Summer Olympics at the Aquatics Centre in London on Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Al Bello, Pool)

United States swimmer Ryan Lochte dives off of the starting block during the men's 400-meter individual medley event during the 2012 Summer Olympics at the Aquatics Centre in London on Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Al Bello, Pool)

(AP) ? Here's what to watch for at the London Olympics on Sunday:

___

1. SWIMMING: The United States, Australia and France go for gold in the final of the 4 x100m freestyle relay, a day after Michael Phelps was stunningly defeated by teammate Ryan Lochte.

2. BASKETBALL: The U.S. men's team plays France (and NBA star Tony Parker).

3. FANS: Londoners ? and visitors ? are craving tickets for the Olympics yet many seats have been empty so far. Will organizers be able to ensure a full house even if it means giving them away?

4. A BRITISH ROYAL: Zara Phillips took part in the eventing dressage competition. She's the daughter of Princess Anne and rode a horse called High Kingdom.

5. THE HOSTS: Can Britain get on the podium? The country had high hopes of a medal on Saturday but fell short. Will their luck change?

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-29-OLY-5-Olympic-Things-to-Know-Sunday/id-5490e9d24b7749ec9ccd435620b363c3

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Monday, July 30, 2012

Cockatiel - Daisy - Small - Young - Female - Bird | Bowling Green ...

Cockatiel - Daisy - Small - Young - Female - Bird

Adoption Fee: $57 Will be ready for adoption June 30th. This bird lost her home, she is a bit scared and doesn't want to be touched. We would like to find a home that not only has experience with this breed of birds but knows how to hand train them too. It may be that shes just scared with all her recent changes and loosing her family. We just want to make sure she ends up with a very happy ending. If you are wanting to adopt this bird please email Tracy at: [email removed]

CHARACTERISTICS:
Breed: Cockatiel
Size: Small
Petfinder ID: 23655684

CONTACT:
RePets Animal Rescue | Bowling Green, KY

For additional information, reply to this ad or see: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=23655684

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Source: http://nashville.ebayclassifieds.com/birds/bowling-green/cockatiel-daisy-small-young-female-bird/?ad=21898876

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Officials: Inspectors to help Greece find cuts

(AP) ? Finance Ministry officials say international debt inspectors will help Greece prepare a package of spending cuts and other reforms so that it can keep getting billions in bailout funds crucial to its economy.

That means the inspectors won't be leaving at the end of July as originally expected.

The three officials requested anonymity Sunday because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

They told reporters that International Monetary Fund representative Poul Thomsen assured Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras on Friday that the inspectors would stay and that experts in their delegation would help Greece find places to cut spending and ways to boost revenue for a package worth euro14.5 billion ($17.9 billion).

The inspectors are supposed to issue a report on Athens' progress in September.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-07-29-Greece/id-e2039f62fd6f4a7cb5f8f8a11170a6ef

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Sunday, July 29, 2012

small woodworking project - How to Use Woodworking Plans for ...











Copyright (c) 2012 TedsWoodWorkingReview.net

Have you ever worked at any DIY woodworking projects before? If you've practice in woodworking, you probably know that good construction needs good planning. On the other hand, if you are just starting and have little or no previous experience, it's essential that you start with simpler projects and gradually move to more complex ones.

To start with, you don't have to come up with your personal woodwork project ideas. It may be a bit tough to create plans at first if you have no practice in woodworking and you can use already existing ones. You will be able to find loads of them on the web and also in magazines and books for woodworkers. You don't even have to purchase all the books unless you need to. You may just go to the library and borrow a few suitable books with simple woodworking projects.

One easy strategy to find a good quality woodworking project plan is to look on the internet. You'll find lots of cool plans and you'll be surprised by how easy it's to find one that seems to be suitable for you. You will generally be able to choose between hundreds, or even thousands of woodworking plans, most of them being actually quite detailed and easy to follow.

Once you've decided what plan you want to use, it's time to take a closer look at it. You may need to search a little on the net in order to learn more about woodworking before you're ready to start.

If you've found plenty of plans on the net but want to get advice on subjects that you think hard to understand, it is you might want to register for a member account on a forum relating to woodworking. You'll find that there are several forums to choose between and that other members will likely be able to help you get an answer to most of your questions.

An important thing in woodworking is safety. You at all times need to be aware of the fact that you may get hurt if you're not careful. That is vital to bear in mind even if you've completed many woodworking projects before. It is really simpler for knowledgeable woodworkers to get hurt since they're often more careless than novices.

As you can see you'll need to do 3 things to start out with. Choose a good and detailed woodworking plan, learn as much as you can about woodworking and be as careful as you can while working at your project.

If you are a beginner, you need to find simple woodworking plans that match your skill levels. The very best thing to do is to start a project that it is possible for you to to conclude. Ending a project will probably make you feel very satisfied and it'll most likely help you build a positive momentum for future projects.

At first, you do not have to come up with your personal woodwork project ideas. It can be a bit tricky to design plans initially if you have no practice in woodworking and you can use already existing ones.

You will be able to find loads of them on the web and also in magazines and books for woodworkers. You don't even have to buy all of the books unless you need to. You can visit the library and borrow a couple of suitable books with simple woodworking projects.

Keywords: small woodworking project,woodworking project,woodworkingproject ideas,woodworking project plan

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Native screenshots coming to Windows Phone 8

One of the more important features I?ve utilized on my Android devices is the ability to take a quick screenshot of what?s happening on my phone. Google built that functionality into the Android OS a few versions back, and users can now press the power and volume up buttons at the same time for a quick capture.

This feature has been noticeably absent from the Windows Phone platform, though WP7app.de dove into the Windows Phone 8 emulator and found that Microsoft will be adding the service to the Windows Phone 8 platform when it launches later this year. Folks who purchase Windows Phone 8 devices will be able to hold the start and camera buttons simultaneously to perform a screen capture. This will come in handy for when you want to share something on your phone, say your live tile setup on Windows Phone 8?s wicked new homescreen, which allows for similar level of customization found in Android.

While not an earth-shattering addition to Windows Phone, added features are always welcome, especially one that has the potential to come in handy. Here?s hoping Microsoft has a few tricks up its sleeve, and that they?ll also unveil a Samsung S-Pen like functionality that will allow you to add annotations to your screenshots.

[via Engadget, WP7app.de]

About The Author

Anthony Domanico

Anthony is a big tech geek, and loves all things mobile. While he currently owns an Android device, he enjoys playing the mobile field with Windows Phone, iOS, and Blackberry (if they ever Release BB 10).

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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Fla. ethics commission tosses out case against Rubio

The Florida Commission on Ethics dismissed a complaint against Sen. Marco Rubio that accused him of breaching the public's trust and misusing his political position for personal gain.

The complaint, filed in 2010 by Michael Ryan, a Democratic donor from Fort Lauderdale, , charged that while he served as speaker of the Florida House, Rubio misused a state party credit card for personal expenses. Ryan also accused Rubio of using his political position to secure employment at a university and a hospital. Ryan based his claim on a number of newspaper reports.

These issues arose during Rubio's 2010 campaign for the Florida senate seat. He eventually won, but they're still considered among the controversies that could hurt Rubio's political stock down the line.

After the case sat unreviewed for nearly two years, Rubio asked the commission to drop the "baseless claim" in March, just as his name began to be floated as a potential vice presidential running mate. The commission decided today to dismiss the case, clearing him of any wrongdoing alleged in the complaint.

In April, Rubio admitted he made a "mistake" in the way he handled his state party card but emphasized that he did not bill any of the expenses to the Republican Party of Florida, but instead paid the credit card company directly for any mischarges.

"I did not bill personal expenses to the Republican Party of Florida. The Republican Party of Florida never paid my personal expenses. Never. But look, you know, I shouldn't have done it that way. It was a lesson learned," Rubio said in a Fox News interview in April. "It was a mistake. If I had to do it over again, I'd do it very differently."

"At the end of every month, we would get those statements. We would see what was on there that was party-related, and the party would pay that. If it wasn't party-related, I would pay that directly to American Express. Now, obviously, in hindsight, it looks bad, right? I mean, why are you using a party credit card at all? Well, some of these expenses were because a travel agent had the ? credit card number, and they billed it to that card instead of the other card. Sometimes, it was just a mistake, you know, literally just reached for the wrong card."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/florida-ethics-commission-tosses-case-against-rubio-230006827--abc-news-politics.html

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Kenya police: Venezuelan envoy killed

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? The acting Venezuelan envoy to Kenya was found dead at her official residence in Nairobi, and police said Friday she was murdered by strangulation.

Nairobi police chief Anthony Kibuchi said that the diplomat killed has been identified as Olga Fonseca Jimenez, the charge d'affaires and acting ambassador of Venezuela in Kenya.

Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Fonseca reported to the Embassy in Nairobi on July 15 to replace Ambassador Gerardo Carillo-Silva.

A Venezuelan Foreign Ministry official said there was no immediate comment on the matter.

Kibuchi said investigations into the death had begun and police had questioned two staff members at the residence.

Fonseca arrived in Kenya in July to replace Carrillo-Silva, who had fled the country after three male workers at the ambassador's residence filed a complaint with the police accusing him of sexual harassment, a lawyer representing the workers said.

Ngure Mbugua said he started representing the workers after police did not act against the complaints. He said he pressed Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask the Venezuelan government to waiver the diplomat's immunity against prosecution so that the envoy could be arrested and charged in Kenya or Venezuela.

Mbugua said Carrillo-Silva fled before the process was complete.

He said after her arrival the workers told him that Fonseca demanded that the workers withdraw their sexual abuse complaints against her predecessor.

Mbugua said that on Tuesday Fonseca called for a meeting between him and her lawyer in which she insisted that she would fire the workers who lodged the complaints because of insubordination.

Mbugua said Fonseca's lawyer, Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta, advised her against firing the workers because they have contracts. Fonseca then said she would consult with the foreign ministry in Caracas, Mbugua said.

Mucheru-Oyatta confirmed their meeting and said in the early stages of the investigation it was impossible to tell the motives behind her murder.

Mbugua said the workers he was representing were recording statements with the police over Fonseca's death.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-27-Kenya-Venezuela%20Diplomat%20killed/id-4c9923cb1d53452aaa95de1c34074ee0

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Weight Control Can Cut Women's Diabetes Risk, Study Shows

FRIDAY, July 27 (HealthDay News) -- Weight control through diet and exercise can prevent most cases of type 2 diabetes in American women over age 50, a new study finds.

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass., analyzed data from more than 150,000 postmenopausal women who were followed for more than 10 years. Hispanics and Asians were about twice as likely as whites to develop diabetes; blacks were two to three times as likely.

Those differences were largely due to modifiable lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity and smoking, the researchers said.

The study also found that a large reduction in diabetes risk among women would occur in all four racial and ethnic groups if they maintained a healthy body weight, ate a healthy diet and were physically active.

Maintaining a body-mass index (BMI) of less than 25 appeared to be particularly important in reducing diabetes risk. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

"Our work shows that among numerous races [and] ethnicities, the women with both high body-mass index and low levels of physical activity are far more likely to develop diabetes," primary investigator Dr. Yunsheng Ma said in a medical school news release. "A healthier diet and adequate levels of physical activity significantly lower that risk for most women."

The study was published July 23 in the journal Diabetes Care.

Type 2 diabetes, the more common type, means the body doesn't produce or properly use the hormone insulin, which is needed to convert food into energy. Untreated, type 2 diabetes can cause damage to the heart, eyes, kidneys and other organs.

More information

The U.S. National Diabetes Education Program has more about diabetes prevention.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weight-control-cut-womens-diabetes-risk-study-shows-180417557.html

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FA charges Terry over alleged race abuse

LONDON (AP) ? Chelsea captain John Terry was charged by the English Football Association on Friday with racially abusing an opponent, two weeks after he was cleared by a court of the same offense.

The FA said it considered the evidence from the trial before charging Terry with directing abuse at Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match last October.

"I deny the charge, and I will be requesting the opportunity to attend the commission for a personal hearing," Terry said.

The FA alleged Terry "used abusive and-or insulting words and/or behavior ... (and) included a reference to the ethnic origin and-or color and/or race of Anton Ferdinand."

In court, prosecutors claimed that Terry snapped in response to insults about an alleged extramarital affair and bellowed "(expletive) black (expletive)" at Ferdinand.

But Terry said he only used the offensive term sarcastically to counter the profanity he claims Ferdinand was accusing him of using.

The magistrate who ruled on the case at Westminster Magistrates' Court said in his judgment that Terry's explanation was "certainly under the cold light of forensic examination, unlikely."

But he found Terry not guilty of a racially aggravated public order offense after deciding it was "impossible" to be sure what the defender said.

The FA, which has already interviewed Ferdinand and Terry, had to suspend its investigation into October's west London derby when the police probe began.

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez was banned for eight matches last season for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during another Premier League match in October.

___

Rob Harris can be reached at http://twitter.com/RobHarris

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fa-charges-terry-over-alleged-race-abuse-173141181--sow.html

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Olympic Torch Reaches End of Worldwide Tour (Voice Of America)

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

North Korea flag blunder mars day one

London's Olympics got off to an embarrassing start Wednesday when North Korea's women footballers refused to play after a mix-up over their national flag, in one of a series of blunders.

Hosts Great Britain had kicked off the sports festival, years in the making and costing billions of dollars, with a 1-0 win over New Zealand as women's soccer got under way two days before the opening the ceremony.

The United States beat France 4-2 and Japan overcame Canada 2-1. But North Korea's opener against Colombia was held up after their players were pictured next to South Korea's flag on the big screen at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

The North Koreans were finally persuaded to take the field and the match, scheduled for 7:45 pm (1845 GMT), began at 8:50 pm. Red-faced organisers were quick to apologise for the howler.

"Today ahead of the women's football match at Hampden Park, the South Korean flag was shown on a big screen video package instead of the North Korean flag," said a statement from London 2012 organisers.

"Clearly that is a mistake, we will apologise to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again."

The incident -- involving two countries still officially at war -- ensured a nightmare debut for the 19-day Games, where the hosts' capabilities are on show as thousands of athletes compete for 302 gold medals until August 12.

"Yes, we were angry because our players were introduced as if they are from South Korea, something that may affect us very greatly as you might know," said North Korea coach Sin Ui-Gun.

"Winning the game cannot compensate this. It is a different matter. We hope there is no repeat in the next matches," he added.

But it was not the only problem on Wednesday. Elsewhere, Team GB sent out an email referring to the Great Britain women's football team as "England".

And organisers had to offer a refund to diving fans whose view will be partially obscured due to a defect in the purpose-built, wave-shaped Aquatics Centre.

Separately, Greek triple-jumper Voula Papachristou was kicked out of the Olympics for a racist tweet which poked fun at Africans living in her country.

And athletics' world governing body said 10 athletes had been barred for doping, including Morocco's women's 1500m runner Mariem Alaoui Selsouli who failed a test earlier this month.

Anti-drugs officials said the London Olympics would be most stringently patrolled Games yet, boosted by a sophisticated new test for human growth hormone.

"It's a very significant step and it's a very helpful one," said World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Director General David Howman.

"Every step is significant if it ends up catching someone who has been cheating with impunity."

At the Games, Usain Bolt is hoping for a second successive sprint treble, Michael Phelps needs just three more swimming medals to become history's most decorated Olympian, and Roger Federer leads a galaxy of tennis stars.

China, who topped the medals table at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, arrived at the athletes village as thousands of competitors, coaches, officials and media poured through London's Heathrow Airport and headed to Olympic Park.

"All athletes and teams are in good spirits and are performing their training every day as scheduled," said China's deputy chef de mission Xiao Tian.

Meanwhile, "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle led a team of 10,000 participants in the full dress rehearsal for Friday's hotly anticipated opening ceremony.

While details of the show -- which has much to live up to after Beijing 2008's lavish opener -- are a closely guarded secret, it is expected to feature cows and sheep along with Sir Paul McCartney and David Beckham.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/football-kicks-off-london-games-152555131--oly.html

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Apple sells 17 million iPads, 26 million iPhones in ... - Know Your Cell











Apple posted another strong quarter, as the company's third-quarter earnings included $8.8 billion in profits, thanks to steady sales of the iPad and iPhone.?

The company led its press release with the news that it sold 17 million iPads for the quarter, which is a whopping 84 percent increase from the same quarter a year ago. With a boosted processor and a Retina Display, the new iPad is quite an appealing device.?

Apple also sold 26 million iPhones for the period, a 28 percent increase from the same period last year. This is down from the 35 million iPhones it sold last quarter, and this figure includes the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS.

While it may have missed some analysts' expectations, Apple made a ton of money for this quarter and it is prepared to have successful future quarters, thanks to its mobile products. The rumors?suggest it will be introducing a 7-inch iPad mini in September and that could provide a strong boost to its tablet business.?

Apple is also planning to have the next-generation iPhone later this year and the so-called iPhone 5 is expected to have a redesigned form factor and 4G LTE. Apple generally has a massive quarter when the new iPhone comes out and we expect that trend to continue later this year.?

The competition is going to be stiff, though, as Apple has proven that there's a real tablet market and the competition has its knives out. The Nexus 7 is a fantastic tablet that is already seeing overwhelming demand?and Microsoft's Surface tablet is very, very promising.?

On the smartphone side, the Galaxy S3 has already sold 10 million?units in two months and that potentially removes some iPhone 5 customers. We're also cautiously optimistic about the coming Windows Phone 8 devices, especially the ones from Nokia.

[Via Apple]

?

Source: http://www.knowyourcell.com/news/1502156/apple_sells_17_million_ipads_26_million_iphones_in_q3.html

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A Game Plan for Renewal: The Demise of ... - eJewish Philanthropy

by Steven Windmueller, Ph.D.

Why are so many religious, political, fraternal and social movements in decline or facing major economic and political challenges? The declining numbers associated with these institutions and movements are indeed striking(1):

  • Unions lost 612,000 members in 2010, dropping the unionized share of the work force to 11.9 percent from 12.3 percent in 2009. That follows a loss of 771,000 workers in 2008, continuing a steady decline from the 1950s when more than a third of American workers belonged to unions.
  • Lions International membership dropped from 1.45 million in 1995 to 1.3 million within ten years.
  • Kiwanis membership has dropped by 20,000 since the early 1990s.
  • Rotary membership in the United States dropped from its peak of 445,434 in 1996 to 375,914 in 2007.

When studying the religious sector, the numbers reflect a similar pattern. The percentage of people who call themselves ?Christian? has dropped more than 11% in a generation.?(2) The numbers are significant and are represented across the board as evidenced by these figures: the National Council of Churches (NCC) where in the 1960?s there were more than 400 staff persons engaged by this agency, today fewer than 20 are employed. Churches Uniting in Christ, a network of primarily African American churches that was initially formed in the 1960s, was forced to close its doors in 2010. Among the church bodies reporting membership losses in 2010 were the Presbyterian Church (USA), down 3.28 percent to 2,941,412; American Baptist Churches in the USA, down 2 percent to 1,358,351; and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, down 1.92 percent to 4,709,956 members. Membership in the Southern Baptist Convention declined for the fifth straight year in 2011, falling under 16 million for the first time since 2000.(3)

So, why is this happening? Among membership groups, a number of issues seem to be in play:

  • Individuals and families have fewer discretionary dollars or flexible hours.
  • There is a marked decline in ideologically-based social movements.
  • Life-long loyalty to traditional institutional relationships has given way to a growing investment in single-issue causes and more short-term commitments to specific social causes.
  • In today?s marketplace there are multiple options with regard to affiliation and participation.
  • The general loss of trust and confidence in national institutions and movements.
  • Social networks have replaced traditional membership and affiliation patterns.
  • Younger folks have far less interest in and loyalty to the institutions of their parents? generation.
  • Consumerism (namely: ?how can I benefit??) is driving institutional affiliation patterns and the corresponding notion of ?membership? is seen as an anathema.

There are significant consequences for this society as a result of these social changes. In his book, Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam reports on this phenomenon, identifying a fundamental decline in civic engagement that began over forty years ago. Pamela Paxton of the University of Texas has suggested that ?There is a lot of evidence that democracy is based on having citizens connected with one another. That gives us a conception of the public good, common identity and a sense of responsibility as a nation and as citizens.? Any decline is seen as ?potentially detrimental to democracy?.(4)

What Internal Factors Contribute to Movement Failure?

A number of factors can be attributed to the ?failure? or demise of our national religious and social movements. Several of the core elements associated with this transformation have been identified in the literature:(5)

  • The passion of the movement?s founders gives way to a leadership style marked by conservative action and the absence of innovation.
  • Followers no longer want to change society as much as they desire a ?better deal?.
  • Bureaucracy and administrative practice trump vision and ideology.
  • Changing ?environmental? features (demography and social practices) alter the impact and vitality of a movement.

What are some of the specific factors today that impact social and religious movements and umbrella organizational systems? The research in this area offers some seven elements:

Decline of Ideology: There has been a significant unraveling of support for and interest in movement-based organizations. In an age of heightened partisan behavior, ideological-driven institutions are increasingly facing new challenges. As referenced earlier, religious organizations in particular are confronting an array of institutional pressures including the loss of members, policy conflicts over doctrine and practice, and leadership tensions.

Return to Localism: There is a growing evidence of a renewed interest in support for local services in lieu of sending core membership dues and affiliation funds to operate national systems.

Impact of the Economic Crisis: During periods of economic stress, local affiliates were unable or unwilling to sustain their levels of commitment to their parent or national governing units. Correspondingly, national systems faced with declining resources were forced to downsize their service delivery options and curtail national programs.

Distrust of Governance Systems: As noted above, the growing distrust of bureaucracies parallels the loss of confidence in the federal government and other national systems. This distrust has further undermined the ability of umbrella institutions to justify their expenses and to garner broad-based support.

Changing Needs of Constituencies: As local institutions and their membership base are experiencing a rapid change in the types of services and resources required to manage their operations, community-based groups have reduced their support to their national organizations in favor of securing assistance from other types of management and organizational service centers. In this economy, churches, synagogues, unions, schools and other local institutions can readily gain access to consultants, resource materials, and governance information from an array of nonprofit specialty centers who can package their services to meet the particular needs of clients.

Direct Access: Traditionally, national umbrella systems represented collectively the interests of their local constituencies. In a boutique market setting, local communities wish to package and deliver their information and services directly to national or international recipients by-passing their parent organizations.

New Competitive Environment: The 2012 Jewish Futures Conference publicity may best summarize the challenge today that is coming from the outside:

?In the 21st century, the landscape of Jewish life is shifting. Loyalty to institutions in the form of membership, affiliation, and financial support appears to be declining. At the same time, new forms of connecting and new modalities of social action are proliferating thanks to technology-driven platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and a host of others. We live much of our lives now ?in the cloud,? a fluid space where we have access to people and ideas that transcends geographical and other boundaries. For a growing number of people, especially younger people, purposeful collaboration and forging intimate relationships no longer depend on joining or supporting institutions.?(6)

Religious Movements: Analyzing Specific Factors

Within the religious sector there appear to be other specific factors in play. Observers have attributed the accelerated membership decline of some religious movements to ?an increasing secularization of American postmodern society, and its disproportionate impact on liberal religious groups.?(7) Another core factor in understanding the weakening of support for Baylor University Professor Thomas S. Kidd suggests that ?politicized faith is a key historic ingredient in denominational decline.?(8)

Indiana University Center on Philanthropy last month reported that individual Americans gave nearly $218 billion last year, $96 billion of which went to religious organizations. Yet, this study noted that the proportion of charitable donations going to religious groups has been falling steadily for decades. ?While charitable donations from individuals rose nearly 4 percent overall in 2011, according to the annual ?Giving USA? report, donations to houses of worship and other religious bodies dropped by 1.7 percent ? a decrease for the second year in a row.?(9)

In analyzing this data, officials at the Center reported that ?increased competition from a proliferating number of non-religious organizations, a decrease in church attendance, and a general lack of sophistication within religious institutions regarding fundraising? represented specific factors that might be contributing to this decline.(10) Mainline Protestant movements have for years been grappled with theological differences, leadership struggles, and financial challenges. Experts on religious movements have suggested that a number of these bodies were constructed around ?slow-moving bureaucracies that need to find a way to stay nimble in the 21st century?.(11)

This declining confidence is not unique to religion. Americans are less confident in the leaders of many kinds of institutions than they were in the 1970s. Still, confidence in religious leaders has declined faster than confidence in the leaders of other institutions. Between 1973 and 1983, 35 percent of people, on average, expressed a great deal of confidence in the leaders of religious organizations, compared with only 29 percent, on average, expressing a great deal of confidence across all of the other institutions about which they were asked12. Between 1998 and 2008, only 25 percent expressed a great deal of confidence in religious organizations ? the same percentage expressing a great deal of confidence, on average, in other kinds of institutions. In the 1970s, religious leaders inspired somewhat greater public confidence than did leaders of other institutions, but their relative position has since declined. People now express as low a degree of confidence in religious leaders as they do, on average, in leaders of other major institutions.(13)

According to this same study, careers in religious leadership are seen as less attractive than in the past, especially among young people. About 1 percent (10 in 1,000) of college freshmen expected to become clergy in the 1960s, declining to 0.3 percent (3 in 1,000) in the late 1980s, and remaining at about that level since then. The level of interest in a religious career among today?s college freshmen is less than half what it was in 1970.(14)

Implications for American Judaism:

Jack Wertheimer?s Commentary article, ?Whatever Happened to the Jewish People? suggests the following:(15)

?It is not just that, at the moment, no large-scale crisis seems to engage the American Jewish psyche. Rather, something vital in that psyche has changed. Mounting evidence now attests to a weakened identification among American Jews with their fellow Jews abroad, as well as a waning sense of communal responsibility at home. The once-forceful claims of Jewish ?peoplehood? have lost their power to compel.?

Sociologist Herbert Gans asserted that ethnic identity was understood to be ?symbolic.? In his work Gans suggested that over time ethnic engagement has been trumped by competing values and alternative options:

??they refrain from ethnic behavior that requires an arduous or time-consuming commitment either to a culture that must be practiced constantly, or to organizations that demand active membership. Second, because people?s concern is with [personal] identity rather than with cultural practices or group relationships, they are free to look for ways of expressing that identity which suits them best, thus opening up the possibility of voluntary, diverse, or individualistic ethnicity.?(16)

A possible contemporary case example might be Conservative Judaism. While not the only movement experiencing serious institutional and structural challenges, United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism has begun to revisit ideological and programmatic implications associated with its current demographic realities through the implementation of a new strategy plan.(17)

The actions undertaken by this movement were prompted by these stark demographic realities:

?Conservative Judaism?s membership rolls are in free fall. According to a strategic plan for renewal ? by the denomination?s congregational arm, the number of families served by synagogues belonging to what was once American Judaism?s leading stream has shrunk 14% since 2001. In the denomination?s Northeast region, the number of families has dropped by 30%.?(18)

Building a Movement Game Plan:

Movements operate four stages: emergence, coalescence, bureaucratization, and decline.(19) Today, most movements, whether religious, political or social, can be classified in the third phase or bureaucratic element, to some degree mobilizing, celebrating, and administering the core elements of their founders. As movements are dynamic they either need to reassert their core mandate or to reinvent their purpose in order to flourish and grow. No movement can position itself for very long period within the bureaucratic arena, as it is subject to institutional malaise.

There are today significant opportunities for social and religious systems to regain their status and impact. Below is a ten point plan of action:

  1. Focus on Leadership: Great movements are marked by the production of a new generation of leaders, who can not only fulfill the vision of their founders but build upon these initial dreams. To be successful movements require the continuous introduction of leaders who can bring inspiration and direction to the organizing process.
  2. Strengthen the Core: Movement leaders must create the infrastructural elements necessary to support the social enterprise: human and financial resources are essential for sustainability.
  3. Remember all Politics is Local: Movements are only as strong as their community-base, so concentrate resources and energy in strengthening the core.
  4. Create Centers of Learning and Action: The transfer of ideas must be sustained and there needs to be ?sacred? sites dedicated to the tasks of training and learning about the mission and vision of the movement.
  5. Build a Virtual Presence: There needs to be a conscious decision to promote the movement and its message in order to brand its identity and preserve and ultimately expand its market share.
  6. Honor the Movement?s History: Movements need to constantly invoke their core messages and historical achievements as a way to affirm their legitimacy and to demonstrate continuity.
  7. Reclaim the Street: Even during a ?maintenance? phase of its existence, a movement needs to demonstrate that it can act. The primary injunction is the capacity and willingness to take action when the movement?s interests are seen to be in-play.
  8. Celebrate Victories: The failure to acknowledge key successes denies the movement its credibility and weakens its claim to legitimacy.
  9. Learn to Partner and to Master Institutional Take-Over?s: In the past highly successful movements had the luxury of ignoring their competitors or those who might threatened their position, yet most great movements have learned to build alliances, create partnerships and systematically enter into arrangements where allied or competitive groups were integrated or merged into their system.
  10. Allow for Innovation: Movements that demonstrate risk, even in times of crisis and uncertainty, gain credibility with their constituencies and the general public.

If movements and national institutions are to regain their legitimacy and place within American social discourse, they will need to assert a more transparent policy process, frame messages that respond to the values and behaviors of the millennial generation, and reflect the structural nimbleness necessary to complete in the 21st marketplace.

Dr. Steven Windmueller is the Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Service at the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. His website, thewindreport provides an overview of his research and writings.

1 http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/putnam1/putnam.htm
2 http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-03-09-american-religion-ARIS_N.htm
3 http://abpnews.com/ministry/organizations/item/7520-sbc-membership-drops-below-16-million
4 http://www.asanet.org/press/participation_in_voluntary_organizations_declining.cfm
5 http://www.politicalscience.uncc.edu/
6 http://www.jesna.org/jewishfutures/2012-conference
7 http://www.christiantoday.com/article/decline.in.us.mainline.denominations.continues/25305.htm
8 http://touchstonemag.com/merecomments/2012/03/charting-the-mainline-ecumenical-decline/
9 http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/donations-to-religious-institutions-decline-for-second-straight- year/2012/06/20/gJQA9sK7qV_story.html
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 http://www.thearda.com/rrh/papers/guidingpapers/Chaves.pdf
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/whatever-happened-to-the-jewish-people/
16 Ibid.
17 http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/united-synagogue-for-conservative-judaism-begins-strategic-plan-
implementation/
18 http://religionnewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/conservative-judaism-in-sharp-decline.html
19 http://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/imported/thisTopic-dbTopic-1248.pdf

Source: http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/a-game-plan-for-renewal-the-demise-of-national-movements-and-their-rebirth/

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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Gameloft unveils five new free-to-play casual games for Android

Gameloft unveils five new free-to-play casual games for Android

Gameloft has announced that they will be expanding their Let's Play brand with five more games launching this summer on Google Play. Let's Play is geared towards casual mobile gamers in a free-to-play (read IAP-heavy) format. The new games will be:

  • Cosmic Colony: The action unfolds on a mysterious planet where players must create and organize their colony and make it prosper. Surprising events and space missions await players of all ages as they become space pioneers.

read more



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/xYGMJD9DeH4/story01.htm

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Anthony Russo Talks Captain America: The Winter Soldier

captain america 2 winter soldier

Marvel turned a few heads when they selected?Joe and?Anthony Russo to direct?Captain America: Winter Soldier. ?The Russo brothers spend most of their time directing and producing TV comedies like?Community and?Happy Endings, and their last feature was?You, Me and Dupree?that is not the typical path to helming a superhero tentpole. ?As producer on the upcoming NBC sitcom?Animal Practice, Russo was on hand at the TCA Press Tour to explain why the jump from?Community to?Captain America 2 is not as far out as you might think: ?Well, I think if you look at some of the big genre episodes?the paintball episodes, etc.?there?s a cinematic sensibility being explored there that is in the language of [various kinds of] films.?

Marvel trained Russo to dodge most of the questions regarding plot and story details, but the press followed up with enough questions to obtain a few interesting tidbits. ?See what Russo had to say after the jump. ?Starring?Chris Evans,?Anthony Mackie, and?Sebastian Stan,?Captain America: The Winter Soldier is scheduled for release on April 4, 2014.

Since Evans is a funny guy and comedy is the Russos? specialty, The Huffington Post asked how comedic the script is. ?Russo answered:

anthony russo captain america 2 sequel

I mean, we?re trying to grow him as a character, and certainly he?s come a long way, from where he started in pre-World War 2 to where he is in modern-day America. So the character has room for growth because of that huge journey that he?s been on, Number 1. Number 2, part of the appeal of these movies is the ensemble. Captain America isn?t the only character in the film, there are other characters that are perhaps lighter in nature.

Russo pointed to Bucky Barnes as one of the lighter characters.

The ?Winter Soldier? subtitle comes from a storyline by Ed Brubaker?that the brothers responded to:

I can say in general that there?s sort of a darker, edgier sensibility at work there that we found appealing, and that is going find its way into Captain [America] in the modern day.

Brubaker?s?Winter Soldier does bring Captain America into the modern day, which is probably necessary since the end of the first?Captain America brought our hero into the present so he could team up to save the world in?The Avengers. ?But the first movie set itself apart amid the comic book fare by having so much fun with the WWII era. ?Russo was asked if there might be flashbacks to the 1940s, and responded:

captain-america-chris-evans-sebastian-stan-movie-image

?Certainly Cap has this complicated history. We?re making the movie for first-time viewers, not just for fans, so, because Cap does have this complicated history ? he was this skinny guy who became a super-soldier, he was born back then and he?s living [now] ? in the storytelling, you need to convey that to an audience who doesn?t know Cap?s story.?

Regarding the first movie?s reverence for classic war films, Russo elaborated:

?[Captain America] is in a very different time and place. For as well as that style worked for his World War 2 experience and the origin of Cap?part of the fun of picking a guy out of one time period and plopping him down in another is that all bets are off. The whole world is different, and that?s part of the struggle of the character and the challenge the character faces.?

I suppose we don?t need another 2-hour period piece, but I like to hear that we will revisit that part of Rogers? life. ?I hope it is new scenes that tie into the present day rather than a recap edited from past footage.

chris evans captain america 2 sequel

To give you an idea of what kind of secrecy Russo is up against, these are his responses to the last four questions.

?That?s the something that Marvel would shoot me if I answered.?

?I can?t talk about any of that at all, sorry.?

?I?m very interested in that, but yeah, I can?t really say more.?

?I can?t say, but it?s part of that same mosaic.?

The Russo brothers have done some great work on television, so even if they can?t really let you and I in on the process, I am excited to see what they come up with.

captain america 2 sequel poster

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1925603/news/1925603/

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Fighting AIDS: US donates an extra $150 million

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the XIX International Aids Conference, Monday, July 23, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the XIX International Aids Conference, Monday, July 23, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is seen on large video screen as she speaks at the XIX International Aids Conference, Monday, July 23, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases speaks at the XIX International Aids Conference, Monday, July 23, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Sir Elton John speaks at the XIX International Aids Conference, Monday, July 23, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Bill Gates speaks at the XIX International Aids Conference, Monday, July 23, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

(AP) ? Science now has the tools to slash the spread of HIV even without a vaccine ? and the U.S. is donating an extra $150 million to help poor countries put them in place, the Obama administration told the world's largest AIDS conference Monday.

"We want to get to the end of AIDS," declared the top U.S. HIV researcher, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health.

How long it takes depends on how quickly the world can adopt those tools, he said ? including getting more of the millions of untreated people onto life-saving drugs that come with the bonus of keeping them from infecting others.

"No promises, no dates, but we know it can happen," Fauci told the International AIDS Conference.

Part of the challenge will be overcoming the stigma that keeps high-risk populations from getting needed AIDS treatment and services.

"We have to replace the shame with love," singer Elton John told the conference. "We have to replace the stigma with compassion. No one should be left behind."

Some 34.2 million people worldwide are living with HIV, and 2.5 million were infected last year.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the goal is an AIDS-free generation. That would mean no babies would be born infected, young people would have a much lower risk than today of becoming infected and people who already have HIV would receive life-saving drugs so they wouldn't develop AIDS or spread the virus.

"I am here today to make it absolutely clear the U.S. is committed and will remain committed to achieving an AIDS-free generation," Clinton told the more than 20,000 scientists, people living with HIV and policymakers assembled for the conference.

But it will require smart targeting of prevention tools where they can have the greatest effect. "If we want to save more lives, we need to go where the virus is," she said.

First, Clinton said it's possible to virtually eliminate the transmission of HIV from infected pregnant women to their babies by 2015, by getting the mothers onto anti-AIDS drugs. HIV-infected births are rare in the United States and are dropping steadily worldwide, although some 330,000 children became infected last year. Clinton said the U.S. has invested more than $1 billion toward that goal in recent years and is providing an extra $80 million to help poor countries finish the job.

Much of the AIDS conference is focused on how to get treatment to all people with HIV, because good treatment can cut by 96 percent their chances of spreading the virus to sexual partners. Fauci pointed to South Africa, where healthy people who live in a region that has increased medication now have a 38 percent lower risk of infection compared with neighbors in an area where HIV treatment is less common.

Drugs aren't the only effective protection. Fauci said male circumcision is "stunningly successful," too, at protecting men from becoming infected by a heterosexual partner. Clinton said the U.S. will provide $40 million to help South Africa reach its goal of providing voluntary circumcision to half a million boys and men this year.

A tougher issue is how best to reach particularly high-risk populations: gay and bisexual men, sex workers and injecting drug users. In many countries, stigma and laws that make their activities illegal drive those populations away from AIDS programs that could teach them how to reduce their risk of infection, Clinton said.

"If we're going to beat AIDS, we can't afford to avoid sensitive conversations, and we can't afford not to reach the people who are at the highest risk," she said.

So the U.S. will spend an additional $15 million on research to identify the best HIV prevention tools to reach those key populations in different countries, and then launch a $20 million challenge fund to support country-led efforts to implement that science.

Better prevention for gay and bisexual men is a huge issue in the U.S. as well ? and a striking study presented Monday added evidence that those men are especially at risk if they're young and black.

Government-funded researchers tracked black gay and bisexual men in six U.S. cities and found that 2.8 percent a year are becoming infected, a rate 50 percent higher than their white counterparts. Worse, the rate was nearly 6 percent a year in those men who are 30 or younger.

Phill Wilson of the Black AIDS Institute said these men are engaged "in a raging epidemic" that doesn't get enough attention. He estimated that nearly 60 percent of black gay men are infected by age 40.

The world spent $16.8 billion fighting AIDS in poor countries, the hardest-hit, last year, and the United States is the leading donor.

But Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist, said the world is facing incredible uncertainty about whether wealthy nations will continue funding AIDS programs with the same vigor as in the past.

"As these budget tradeoffs are made, the voices of the AIDS community and the global health community are going to have to be louder than ever," said Gates, whose Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged more than $1 billion to global AIDS efforts.

Another $7 billion a year is needed to get to 15 million people in low- and middle-income countries by 2015, a United Nations goal. A record 8 million received potentially life-saving drugs last year.

"This gap is killing people," UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe told the conference. "My friends, the end of AIDS is not free. It is not too expensive. It is priceless."

The prices of generic AIDS drugs in developing countries are dropping every year. One philanthropy, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, said 70 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean that participate in its drug-procurement program now can purchase the main combination for less than $200 a year.

"We have to be innovative," said Sheila Tlou, the former health minister of Botswana, now with UNAIDS. "We have to look at new ways of funding."

Speaking to the conference via video, French President Francois Hollande said his country was doing that by beginning what's called a financial transaction tax next month. The tax idea has received a lukewarm reception in other parts of Europe and the U.S.

___

Associated Press Writer Joshua Lederman contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-23-AIDS%20Conference/id-8f70c0326bc945bea948718221a0b6ad

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

How to spot a Facebook survey scam

Facebook users are being confronted with an ongoing threat to their security and privacy via the proliferation of Facebook survey scams.

Survey scams attempt to trick users into submitting their personal information to unscrupulous online marketers.? Here?s how a typical survey scam operates:

  • A message appears on Facebook that claims that users can receive a valuable prize just by clicking a link. The supposed prize may be for shopping vouchers or gift cards, high-end fashion items, or high tech devices such as mobile phones or tablet computers. ?The scam messages have no connection with the brands they claim to represent, but often use graphics or trademarks stolen from the brand?s website.
  • Users who click the link will first be taken to a Facebook page promoting the supposed giveaway. They are told they must first ?like? the promotions page and then share a message about it via their own Facebook Wall. By following these instructions, victims are in effect spamming the same fake offers to their Facebook friends.
  • Next, users are taken to a third party website where they are told they must validate their prize claim by participating in one or more ?surveys?. As they proceed, users will be confronted with more and more bogus ?survey? pages, all supposedly offering further rewards for participating.

However, no matter how many surveys they complete, users will never receive the prize promised in the original message or any other rewards.

Keep your personal info personal!

Some of the bogus survey pages ask users to provide personal information including name, address and contact details. Others will claim that users must provide their mobile phone number in order to proceed with the prize claim. By supplying their mobile number, users are actually subscribing to absurdly expensive text messaging services billed at several dollars per message.

The people who operate these scam promotions will earn commissions via suspect affiliate marketing schemes each and every time a victim participates in a survey.

Victims tricked into participating may be faced with large phone bills for unwanted mobile phone services and, because they have provided name and contact details, they may be inundated with unwanted promotional emails, phone calls and junk mail.

Know how to spot the real deal:

Of course, many organizations regularly run perfectly legitimate competitions and prize giveaways. ?But, there are major differences between a genuine promotion and a Facebook survey scam:

  • Genuine promotions do not claim that EVERY participant will receive a major prize just by clicking a link.
  • Genuine promotions do not force people to spam their friends as a prerequisite for participation.
  • Genuine promotions do not force users to ?validate? their prize claim by visiting other websites and participating in surveys.
  • Genuine promotions will always include detailed conditions of entry that outline the start and finish dates of the promotion and other important information.

Better to be safe than sorry

If one of these survey scam posts appears on your Wall, simply delete it. Do not click on any links in the message. If you do click a link, do not carry out any of the instructions listed on the bogus promotional page.

For more advice on staying safe online, check out iiNet?s Online Safety Series fact sheets and stay tuned for more advice from ?Hoax-Slayer? Brett Christensen.

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Brett Christensen runs www.hoax-slayer.com, keeping track of the latest scams and hoaxes online and on social media channels.

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Source: http://blog.iinet.net.au/spot-facebook-survey-scam/

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Advice on Finding Relocating Organizations in Los Angeles ...

Monday, July 23rd, 2012 | Real Estate

Here are some tips that can assist you to pick the ideal movers Los Angeles:

1. Examine the time and availability of the company which you are about to rent.

You?ll need to make certain that the movers Los Angeles that you simply are likely to seek the services of is offered throughout the specified date. You may look at to say they give out the most beneficial service in the state, but their availability needs to be checked. When you are planning to move, you would like to inform the cheap movers in Los Angeles no less than two months prior to the day or previously in order for them to check the things they can do to suit your needs. Inform them in time simply because there may be a greater probability which you are going to be provided greater therapy instead of like a rush client where by details won?t be granted with utmost treatment.

2. Use the instruments which have been delivered.

It is possible to examine the provision of moving providers working with the web, sort your zip code and the moving day in the containers offered for in some moving organization sites and be informed should they will be able to cater to the wants. You may also call them immediately.

3. Get additional facts for your gain.

You may need to check the quotes and assess them. You have got to receive no less than 6 or 8 quotes to match the service package deal. You?ll want to look at if they are seriously providing you the services the many others are certainly not organized to deliver towards the greatest good quality or at least pick out the less disadvantageous with the possibilities presented for you.

4. Supply information and facts that others can use.

Once you have got expert a specific moving firm inform the other people about the professionals and also the disadvantages.

Over the web-site on the moving firms in Los Angeles, be certain to acquire a glimpse of trustworthy critiques from real shoppers, the ones that aren?t edited and also the ones which have employed the corporate. If you need more proof, you could obtain the viewpoint of neighbors and family members who have made use of the service. When they are going to package with extra than just household furniture and they?re likely to move art works and antiques that happen to be treasured, ensure to obtain the license of the movers and also the drivers. Obtain the objects in stock and also have a created deal. Be sure that the objects are also insured and when doable get someone you really know to go with the inside the car during the journey.

Looking to find the best deal on cheap movers in Los Angeles, then visit www.example.com to find the best advice on Los Angeles cheap movers for you.

Tags: cheap movers in Los Angeles, Real Estate ?

Source: http://mortgageconfirm.com/advice-on-finding-relocating-organizations-in-los-angeles

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