REGISTER HERE A bill has JUST been introduced to Nullify NDAA in Washington State. House Bill 1581 from Rep Jason Overstreet and a number of co-sponsors. On THURSDAY, JAN 31ST, we will be holding a conference call to coordinate our nullifying efforts for the NDAA and supporting this bill.
New research shows complexity of global warmingPublic release date: 30-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Gisela Speidel gspeidel@hawaii.edu 808-956-9252 University of Hawaii ? SOEST
Greenhouse gases versus solar heating
Global warming from greenhouse gases affects rainfall patterns in the world differently than that from solar heating, according to a study by an international team of scientists in the January 31 issue of Nature. Using computer model simulations, the scientists, led by Jian Liu (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Bin Wang (International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa), showed that global rainfall has increased less over the present-day warming period than during the Medieval Warm Period, even though temperatures are higher today than they were then.
The team examined global precipitation changes over the last millennium and future projection to the end of 21st century, comparing natural changes from solar heating and volcanism with changes from man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Using an atmosphere-ocean coupled climate model that simulates realistically both past and present-day climate conditions, the scientists found that for every degree rise in global temperature, the global rainfall rate since the Industrial Revolution has increased less by about 40% than during past warming phases of the earth.
Why does warming from solar heating and from greenhouse gases have such different effects on global precipitation?
"Our climate model simulations show that this difference results from different sea surface temperature patterns. When warming is due to increased greenhouse gases, the gradient of sea surface temperature (SST) across the tropical Pacific weakens, but when it is due to increased solar radiation, the gradient increases. For the same average global surface temperature increase, the weaker SST gradient produces less rainfall, especially over tropical land," says co-author Bin Wang, professor of meteorology.
But why does warming from greenhouse gases and from solar heating affect the tropical Pacific SST gradient differently?
"Adding long-wave absorbers, that is heat-trapping greenhouse gases, to the atmosphere decreases the usual temperature difference between the surface and the top of the atmosphere, making the atmosphere more stable," explains lead-author Jian Liu. "The increased atmospheric stability weakens the trade winds, resulting in stronger warming in the eastern than the western Pacific, thus reducing the usual SST gradienta situation similar to El Nio."
Solar radiation, on the other hand, heats the earth's surface, increasing the usual temperature difference between the surface and the top of the atmosphere without weakening the trade winds. The result is that heating warms the western Pacific, while the eastern Pacific remains cool from the usual ocean upwelling.
"While during past global warming from solar heating the steeper tropical east-west SST pattern has won out, we suggest that with future warming from greenhouse gases, the weaker gradient and smaller increase in yearly rainfall rate will win out," concludes Wang.
###
Citation:
Jian Liu, Bin Wang, Mark A. Cane, So-Young Yim, and June-Yi Lee: Divergent global precipitation changes induced by natural versus anthropogenic forcing. Nature, 493 (7434), 656-659; DOI: 10.1038/nature11784.
Funding for this work:
National Basic Research Program and Natural Science Foundation of China; Global Research Laboratory (GRL) Program from the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Department of Energy grant DE-SC0005108; NOAA grant NA08OAR4320912; institutional support of the International Pacific Research Center (JAMSTEC, NOAA, and NASA).
Researcher Contact:
Bin Wang is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Meteorology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and at the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC). Tel.: (808) 956-2563; email: wangbin@hawaii.edu
International Pacific Research Center Media Contact: Gisela E. Speidel, tel.: (808) 956-9252; email:gspeidel@hawaii.edu.
The International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), University of Hawaii at Manoa, is a climate research center founded to gain greater understanding of the climate system and the nature and causes of climate variation in the Asia-Pacific region and how global climate changes may affect the region. Established under the "U.S.-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective" in October 1997, the IPRC is a collaborative effort between agencies in Japan and the United States.
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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.
New research shows complexity of global warmingPublic release date: 30-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Gisela Speidel gspeidel@hawaii.edu 808-956-9252 University of Hawaii ? SOEST
Greenhouse gases versus solar heating
Global warming from greenhouse gases affects rainfall patterns in the world differently than that from solar heating, according to a study by an international team of scientists in the January 31 issue of Nature. Using computer model simulations, the scientists, led by Jian Liu (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Bin Wang (International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa), showed that global rainfall has increased less over the present-day warming period than during the Medieval Warm Period, even though temperatures are higher today than they were then.
The team examined global precipitation changes over the last millennium and future projection to the end of 21st century, comparing natural changes from solar heating and volcanism with changes from man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Using an atmosphere-ocean coupled climate model that simulates realistically both past and present-day climate conditions, the scientists found that for every degree rise in global temperature, the global rainfall rate since the Industrial Revolution has increased less by about 40% than during past warming phases of the earth.
Why does warming from solar heating and from greenhouse gases have such different effects on global precipitation?
"Our climate model simulations show that this difference results from different sea surface temperature patterns. When warming is due to increased greenhouse gases, the gradient of sea surface temperature (SST) across the tropical Pacific weakens, but when it is due to increased solar radiation, the gradient increases. For the same average global surface temperature increase, the weaker SST gradient produces less rainfall, especially over tropical land," says co-author Bin Wang, professor of meteorology.
But why does warming from greenhouse gases and from solar heating affect the tropical Pacific SST gradient differently?
"Adding long-wave absorbers, that is heat-trapping greenhouse gases, to the atmosphere decreases the usual temperature difference between the surface and the top of the atmosphere, making the atmosphere more stable," explains lead-author Jian Liu. "The increased atmospheric stability weakens the trade winds, resulting in stronger warming in the eastern than the western Pacific, thus reducing the usual SST gradienta situation similar to El Nio."
Solar radiation, on the other hand, heats the earth's surface, increasing the usual temperature difference between the surface and the top of the atmosphere without weakening the trade winds. The result is that heating warms the western Pacific, while the eastern Pacific remains cool from the usual ocean upwelling.
"While during past global warming from solar heating the steeper tropical east-west SST pattern has won out, we suggest that with future warming from greenhouse gases, the weaker gradient and smaller increase in yearly rainfall rate will win out," concludes Wang.
###
Citation:
Jian Liu, Bin Wang, Mark A. Cane, So-Young Yim, and June-Yi Lee: Divergent global precipitation changes induced by natural versus anthropogenic forcing. Nature, 493 (7434), 656-659; DOI: 10.1038/nature11784.
Funding for this work:
National Basic Research Program and Natural Science Foundation of China; Global Research Laboratory (GRL) Program from the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Department of Energy grant DE-SC0005108; NOAA grant NA08OAR4320912; institutional support of the International Pacific Research Center (JAMSTEC, NOAA, and NASA).
Researcher Contact:
Bin Wang is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Meteorology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and at the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC). Tel.: (808) 956-2563; email: wangbin@hawaii.edu
International Pacific Research Center Media Contact: Gisela E. Speidel, tel.: (808) 956-9252; email:gspeidel@hawaii.edu.
The International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), University of Hawaii at Manoa, is a climate research center founded to gain greater understanding of the climate system and the nature and causes of climate variation in the Asia-Pacific region and how global climate changes may affect the region. Established under the "U.S.-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective" in October 1997, the IPRC is a collaborative effort between agencies in Japan and the United States.
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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.
Hundreds of chimpanzees at NIH facilities should no longer be used as test subjects, the panel said, but 50 should be kept as a contingency, adding that all the chimps should be housed more comfortably.
By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / January 23, 2013
Ron, featured in the film 'Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History', was born in a research lab and spent most of his life in isolation. Subsequently, he went to live at the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
Courtesy of Save the Chimps /PBS
Enlarge
A senior scientific advisory panel at the National Institutes of Health, in a step toward phasing out the use of chimpanzees in federally funded medical research,?has found "no compelling evidence" to support keeping hundreds of chimpanzees at NIH facilities and recommends that all but about 50 chimps be retired.
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This small group would remain available as a contingency should some unforeseen disease emerge for which chimps would be the best stand-ins for humans. But they, along with the retirees, would be housed in facilities designed to more adequately accommodate the full range of normal chimp physical and social activities ? from climbing, foraging, and daily nest-building to hanging out in sizable groups on branches high off the ground, according to the panel.
The panel also recommends ending 16 of 30 research projects involving chimpanzees that the NIH currently is funding. The largest proportional hit falls on biomedical research, one of three categories of projects. Six out of nine current biomedical projects would end.
The ultimate driver behind the recommendations: concerns about the value and ethics of using chimpanzees, biologically the nearest relative to humans, for physically painful and intrusive infectious-disease research.
If the 28 recommendations are implemented, the effort would represent "an historic step forward" in moving chimps out of the lab and into sanctuaries, says Kathleen Conlee, vice-president for animal-research issues at the Humane Society of the United States, based in Washington.
Even foes of federal legislation to greatly restrict the use of chimps and other "great apes" in biomedical research see merit in the new recommendations.
As a stand-in for humans, "the chimpanzee has played a very important role in the evolution of biomedical research," notes Frankie Trull, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) in Washington, which fought against the Great Apes Protection and Cost Reduction Act of 2011, which died in December with the end of the 113th Congress.
But biomedical science has advanced, Ms. Trull continues. And keeping chimpanzees is expensive; chimps are not euthanized but must be cared for until they die naturally. Researchers have found alternative animal models for some of the kinds of studies that once centered on chimps.
Although NABR opposed the Great Ape Protection and Cost Reduction Act, the group is comfortable with the recommendations the NIH is now considering, Trull says.
The case for change and the steps to take came from the scientific community, she observes, adding, "scientists should determine what animal models should be used, not Congress."
Chimpanzees represent a tiny proportion of animals used in biomedical research. The overwhelming majority of animals used are either rodents or zebra fish.
The recommendations represent the outcome of a process that began at the end of 2010, when three US senators asked the US National Academies to examine the issue, as did the NIH. A year later, the National Academies' Institute of Medicine released its report.
The 86-page report released for comment on Jan. 22 was pulled together by a senior working group that the NIH gathered to turn the Institute of Medicine's report into specific recommendations.
If adopted, the recommendations would apply only to NIH-owned chimps and those used in the course of NIH-funded research. Of 670 chimps the NIH owns or supports, 219 have been retired. Some 282 are research-ready. Another 169 have been labeled "research inactive," a kind of bridge category between the first two.
By some estimates, another 350 chimps would fall outside the purview of these recommendations because they are owned either by private pharmaceutical companies or by universities.
Indeed, the Human Society's Ms. Conlee suggests the Great Ape Protection Act is likely to be reintroduced this year to broaden restrictions to chimps not covered by the new recommendations.
SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) ? There was no alarm, no extinguishers, no sprinklers and almost no escape from the nightclub that became a death trap for more than 200 Brazilian college students.
As investigators began poking through the rubble and families mourned their dead, questions abounded as the university city in southern Brazil tried to understand how the Sunday morning blaze that killed 231 people could have been sparked in the first place, then rage rapidly out of control.
Why was there only one door available for exit and entry? What was the flammable material in the ceiling that allowed the conflagration to move so quickly? And, more pointedly, why was a band playing at the club allowed to use pyrotechnics inside the building?
Police were leaning toward the band's pyrotechnics as the cause of the blaze during a party at the Kiss nightclub organized by several academic departments at the Federal University of Santa Maria. Inspector Antonio Firmino, who's part of the team investigating the fire, said it appeared the club's ceiling was covered with an insulating foam made from a combustible material that ignited with the pyrotechnics.
Firmino said the number and state of the exits is under investigation but that it appeared that a second door was "inadequate," as it was small and protected by bars that wouldn't open.
The disaster, the worst fire of its kind in more than a decade, also raises questions of whether Brazilian authorities are up to the task of ensuring safety in such venues ahead of it hosting next year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
Some critics have said conditions in many Brazilian bars and clubs are ripe for another deadly blaze. They say that in addition to modernizing sometimes outdated safety codes and ensuring sufficient inspectors, people must change their way of thinking and respect safety regulations.
Hundreds of people marched peacefully outside the nightclub Monday night to remember the victims, and demand justice. Some carried signs with slogans such as, "May God's justice be carried out."
"We hope that the justice system, through its competent mechanisms, succeeds in clarifying to the public what happened, and gives the people an explanation," said marcher Eglon Do Canto.
Brazilian police said they detained three people Monday in connection with the blaze, while the newspaper O Globo said on its website that a fourth person had surrendered to police. Police Inspector Ranolfo Vieira Junior said the detentions were part of the ongoing police probe and those detained can be held for up to five days.
Vieira declined to identify those detained, but local media has identified them as two co-owners of the club, and two members of the band that was using a spark machine inside the building when the fire erupted.
According to state safety codes here, clubs should have one fire extinguisher every 1,500 square feet as well as multiple emergency exits. Limits on the number of people admitted are to be strictly respected. None of that appears to have happened at the Santa Maria nightclub.
"A problem in Brazil is that there is no control of how many people are admitted in a building," said Joao Daniel Nunes, a civil engineer in nearby Porto Alegre. "They never are clearly stated, and nobody controls how many people enter these night clubs."
Rodrigo Martins, a guitarist for the group Gurizada Fandangueira, told Globo TV network in an interview Monday that the flames broke out minutes after the employment of a pyrotechnic machine that fans out colored sparks, at around 2:30 a.m. local time.
"I felt that something was falling from the roof and I looked up and I saw the fire was spreading, and I shouted 'Look, it's catching on fire, man, it's catching fire,'" Martins said. "Then the drummer tried to throw water on it, and it looked like the fire spread more then. Then the security guards came with an extinguisher, tried to use it, but it didn't work."
He added that the club was packed and estimated the crowd at about 1,200-1,300 people.
"I thought I was going to die there. There was nothing I could do, with the fire spreading and people screaming in front."
Standing next to the stage when the fire broke out, Rodrigo Rizzi, a first-year nursing student, watched the tragedy unfold.
"I was right there, so even though I was far from the door, at least I realized something was wrong," he said. "Others, who couldn't see the stage, never had a chance. They never saw it coming."
As he headed toward the door, the air turned dense and dark with smoke; there was no light, nothing pointing to the single exit. Rizzi found himself clawing through a panicked crowd that surged blindly toward the door.
"I was halfway across the floor, I could see the door, but the air turned black with this thick smoke," he said. "I couldn't breathe. People started to panic and run toward the door. They were falling, screaming, pulling at each other."
Witnesses said security guards who didn't know about the blaze initially blocked people from leaving without paying their bills. Brazilian bars routinely make patrons pay their entire tab at the end of the night before they're allowed to leave.
Inside the club, metal barriers meant to organize the lines of people entering and leaving became traps, corralling desperate patrons within yards of the exit. Bodies piled up against the grates, smothered and broken by the crushing mob.
About 50 of the victims were found in the club's two bathrooms, where the blinding smoke caused them to believe the doors were exits.
Martins confirmed that the group's accordion player Danilo Jacques, 28, died, while the five other band members made it out safely. Martins said he thought Jacques made it out of the building and later returned to save his accordion.
The first funeral services were held Monday for the victims, including brothers Pedro and Mercello Salle. Most of the dead were college students 18 to 21 years old, but they also included some minors. Almost all died from smoke inhalation rather than burns.
National Health Minister Alexandre Padilha cautioned that the death toll could worsen dramatically, telling news media in Santa Maria on Monday that 75 of those injured were in critical condition and could die.
Santa Maria Mayor Cezar Schirmer declared a 30-day mourning period, and Tarso Genro, the governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, said officials were investigating the cause of the disaster.
The blaze was the deadliest in Brazil since at least 1961, when a fire that swept through a circus killed 503 people in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro.
Sunday's fire also appeared to be the worst at a nightclub anywhere in the world since December 2000, when a welding accident reportedly set off a fire at a club in Luoyang, China, killing 309 people.
___
Associated Press writers Marco Sibaja contributed to this report from Brasilia, Brazil, Stan Lehman and Bradley Brooks contributed from Sao Paulo and Jenny Barchfield contributed from Rio de Janeiro.
If you've ever gotten a fake friend request, you know Facebook has spammers. But it's winning the fight against them. Facebook's estimate of the total percentage of monthly users that are "undesirable" or spammer accounts dropped to 0.9 percent from 1.5 percent in June 2012. That means there's only around?9.5 million of these trouble-makers on the site, down 37 percent from 15.1 million in mid-2012.
LONDON (Reuters) - G4S, the security firm that botched a London Olympics contract, has lost out on British police work after three forces decided against outsourcing some services to the group.
G4S, the world's biggest security firm with operations in over 125 countries, had been hoping to run services like IT and human resources for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire police, but the trio ended plans on Tuesday.
In a statement the forces said that the potential contract with G4S did not deliver what they needed and that they would now collaboratively explore other options to make savings and protect frontline services.
G4S hit the headlines last July after failing to provide a promised 10,400 guards for the London Olympics, forcing troops to step in and fill the shortfall and tarnishing the group's reputation in its core British market.
In recent months the firm have shown signs of recovering from the fiasco, winning contracts at home and abroad, including electronic tagging contracts in Scotland and France.
Earlier on Tuesday City analysts had also said that Britain's Ministry of Justice had indicated G4S would not be blacklisted from future work, easing fears that its Olympic failure had damaged its reputation with government, its biggest customer.
Outsourcing firms have been expected to benefit from a squeeze on police force budgets as authorities turn to the private sector to help cut costs. However, such plans have been met by uneasy public sentiment and union opposition.
G4S had been considered for the work with Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire after winning a 200 million pound contract to provide similar services for Lincolnshire police force that began in 2012.
The firm manages more than 30 custody suites and 500 cells across Lancashire, Lincolnshire, South Wales and Staffordshire.
(Reporting by Neil Maidment; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Editors Note:?This is a contribution?from Sergeant Michael Volkin, best-selling author of military books and inventor of Strength Stack 52 bodyweight fitness cards.
Another interesting post from Michael ? We often get lured away into the mindset that certain things work or don?t work in the world of health and fitness. Here are five of the most common myths busted!
1- Myth: The more ab exercises I do, the skinnier my waist will be.
BUSTED: Doing stomach exercises can strengthen your abdominal muscles, but it won?t burn body fat to give you that 6-pack you?re after.? If you want your ab muscles to show, you need to either be naturally skinny or embrace a diet low in carbohydrates and high in proteins with a decent helping of healthy fats and fruits and vegetables.
2- Myth:My diet includes diet soda, it?s zero calories so it has to be good for me.?
BUSTED: According to a recent University of Texas study, drinking just two or more cans a day accelerated waistline expansion by 500%. The artificial sweeteners disrupt the body?s ability to regulate calorie intake. In other words, your body is being tricked into thinking it?s ingesting sugar, so you crave more food and as a result, eat more food than you would have without drinking the soda.
3- Myth:By working out, I can convert fat into muscle.
BUSTED: You cannot convert fat into muscle as they are completely different.? In fact, when working out it is best to focus on either losing fat or gaining muscle. ? In order to gain muscle, you have to eat more calories than you burn and, in order to lose body fat, you must burn more calories than you consume.
4- Myth:Cardio is more important for fat loss than weight lifting.
BUSTED: You will definitely burn calories completing a cardio workout, but to lose weight your primary concern should be muscle loss.? Muscles make it easier for your body to prevent fat gain.? Your body will burn more calories maintaining muscle than maintaining fat. In other words, the more muscle you build, the more calories your body will burn each day.? The less muscle you have the lower your metabolism.? A great weight loss program should focus on (in this order) your caloric intake, weight training and then cardio.
?5- Myth:Stretching before a workout prevents injury and increased my performance.
BUSTED: I know, you grew up stretching before a workout or sporting event because your coach or parents told you it was beneficial.? You were probably told that stretching prevents injury, when in fact, the opposite is true.? Recent studies show that stretching before a workout will weaken the muscle by up to 30%.? By elongating your muscles before strenuous exercise you actually may be increasing the risk of injury. Instead of stretching before a workout, get your blood flowing through your muscles with some low impact cardio for 5 to 10 minutes.? Stretching after a workout is great and still proves to be beneficial.
With your new-found knowledge of health and fitness, grab yourself a deck of my new invention, Strength Stack 52 bodyweight fitness cards.
?????????????-
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We all want the answer to be hard work, not luck. Often that is the answer. But even more often, the difference between failure and success comes down to how much money you have.
With razor-thin profit margins, small businesses need cash to survive. If you can?t achieve huge revenues, at some point you will need to borrow money to carry the day. Where you get into trouble is when you don?t choose the right lending partner or the right kind of small business loan.
This is a situation we deal with daily. Small businesses may come to Direct Capital for their first working capital loan not having a lot of experience with lenders, or they may have had several bad experiences with other lenders. Building trust with customers is something we always strive to do, but ensuring customers get the right financing is equally important.
So, you might be asking yourself, how do I get that partner? Go ahead and cross banks off your list, to start. Their small business lending ability has greatly diminished, and most bank lending requires considerable collateral. That can be crippling for a business that falls behind on payments or just doesn?t have a lot of assets to work with.
So your best bet is seeking out a lender that specializes in small business loans. With the right kind of loan, you can limit your exposure to issues, cover your costs and bridge the gap between shaky ground and success. If you find the right partner, it can change the course of your business career.
Tell us your experiences with small business loans, and whether they?ve helped you achieve success!
According to reports, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands is expected to abdicate in favour of her son Prince Willem-Alexander.
By Reuters
Update: 1:41 p.m.
?Dutch Queen Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, announced she was abdicating in favor of her son, Prince Willem-Alexander, who will become king on April 30.
Willem-Alexander, 45, is married to Princess Maxima Zorrigueta and has three young children. Decades of grooming for the throne involved shaking off his image as a beer-drinking fraternity boy whose blunt comments upset the press and politicians.
Beatrix said in a television broadcast to the nation that she was stepping down because she felt her son was ready to take her place on the throne.
A constitutional monarchy, the Netherlands had reduced the involvement of the Royal House in politics, a role long seen more as a formality than a position of power.
In the past, the Queen took part in forming government coalitions by appointing a political mediator, raising questions about behind-the-scenes influence on the democratic process.
That role was scrapped before the last election, which took place in September 2012.
It was widely rumored that Queen Beatrix was no fan of anti-immigrant, euroskeptic politician Geert Wilders. She alluded in speeches to the need for tolerance and multi-culturalism, comments that were seen as criticisms of Wilders' anti-Islamic views.
Wilders' poor showing at the last election and loss of influence in politics, could well have contributed to her decision to abdicate.
Queen Beatrix, who remains very popular with the Dutch, became the sixth monarch of the House of Orange in 1980 following the abdication of her mother, Queen Juliana, who reigned for 31 years.
Juliana was 73 years old and in deteriorating mental health when she abdicated but Beatrix has remained active and in good health despite some setbacks.
The queen was emotionally shaken when a man drove his car into a Queen's Day procession in 2009.
Her middle son, Prince Johan Friso, has been in a coma ever since he was buried in an avalanche while skiing last year.
Frequent flier miles can add up pretty quickly, and while traditional wisdom might caution it's best to use those to book flights months in advance, The New York Times suggests it might be best to wait for last-minute tickets instead.
Airlines don't release all the awards seats right away, and often wait until the last minute to add in frequent flier flyer seats. So, if you're having trouble finding a flight that works with your miles, you might be best off waiting. The New York Times explains:
While many frequent fliers score seats by booking a year in advance, airlines don't release all award seats that early, which means you may have better luck with a last-minute trip. Mr. [Jay] Sorensen said his company tried booking award tickets 5 to 15 days in advance, and generally found better availability than searching months ahead. Except for holiday travel, my experience confirms that tip...
A drawback of last-minute awards: American, United and US Airways charge up to $75 for booking less than 21 days in advance, which may be waived if you have elite status. Delta doesn't charge a late fee.
While booking at the last minute certainly isn't ideal for everyone, it's worth considering if you have a lot of unused miles. Head over to the Times for a few more ideas on making better use of your miles and awards.
How to Get a Seat Out of Your Miles | The New York Times
One of the high points of last week's DLD Conference in Munich was the What's Next? panel which explored the future of media in the digital age. Buoyantly chaired by DLD host Yossi Vardi, the panel included longtime media exec Jon Miller, whose illustrious career includes stints as Chairman and CEO of AOL and Chief Digital Officer at News Corp.
Aoki and her husband James Bailey <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/devon-aoki-pregnant-baby-child-husband_n_2087772.html">are expecting their second child</a>, a baby girl, in January. They already have a 17-month-old son James Hunter Jr.
Cam Gigandet
"Twilight" actor Cam Gigandet and longtime girlfriend Dominique Geisendorff <a href="http://www.justjared.com/2012/07/05/cam-gigandet-expecting-second-child-exclusive/" target="_hplink">will become parents for the second soon</a>, giving daughter Everleigh, 3, a baby brother or sister.
Holly Madison
Former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner and "Girls Next Door" star Holly Madison<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/holly-madison-pregnant-reality-star-baby_n_1838938.html"> is expecting her first child</a> with boyfriend Pasquale Rotella.
Sara Rue
"Rules of Engagement" star Sarah Rue and her husband Kevin Price have exciting news! They are expecting their first child together in 2013.
Shakira
Shakira is expecting her first child, a baby boy, with Gerard Pique in early 2013.
Harold Perrineau
Harold Perrineau and his wife Brittany are expecting their third child together in late winter. Baby will join big sisters Wynter Aria, 4, and Aurora Robinson, 18.
Kerri Walsh Jennings
The beach volleyball player, who just won her third straight gold medal with partner Misty May Treanor this summer during the 2012 London Olympics, is expecting her third child with her husband, Casey Jennings.
Malin Akerman
Malin Akerman is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/28/malin-akerman-pregnant-first-child_n_1924266.html">expecting her first child</a> with husband Roberto Zincone. The actress showed off her tiny baby bump at the Environmental Media Awards in Burbank, Calif. on September 29.
Katherine Kallinis
The star of "DC Cupcakes" is expecting her first baby with husband Ben Berman in February. Her sister and co-owner of Georgetown Cupcake, Sophie, is throwing her a cupcake-themed gender reveal party in November.
Jack Huston
The "Boardwalk Empire" star and model Shannan Click are <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/10/09/boardwalk-empire-jack-huston-shannan-click-pregnant-expecting-first-child/">expecting their first child</a> together.
Ian Ziering
Ziering and his wife Erin are <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/10/29/ian-ziering-expecting-second-child/">expecting their second child in May</a>. The couple are the parents to 18-month-old daughter, Mia Loren.
Lisa Ling
The TV journalist -- a former co-host on "The View" and currently host of a documentary series on OWN -- is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/24/lisa-ling-pregnant-former-view-co-host-baby-girl_n_2008930.html">expecting a baby girl</a>.
Beverley Mitchell
"The Secret Life of the American Teenager" star is <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/11/05/beverley-mitchell-pregnant-expecting-first-child/">expecting her first child</a> with husband Michael Cameron in April.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard
The couple is expecting their first child in late spring, <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/11/05/kristen-bell-dax-shepard-pregnant-expecting-first-child/">People reports</a>. They have been engaged since 2009.
Bryan Adams
Adams and his girlfriend Alicia Grimaldi are <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/11/08/bryan-adams-expecting-second-child/">expecting their second child together</a>. The pair has an 18-month-old daughter, Bunny.
JoAnna Garcia and Nick Swisher
The couple is expecting their first child in the spring of 2013, they announced on Twitter. "So happy to finally be able to share our news! @NickSwisher & I r expecting our 1st baby in 2013!" <a href="https://twitter.com/JoAnnaLGarcia">Garcia wrote</a>. "Feeling so blessed & beyond excited!"
Jamie Anne and Marshall Allman
"The Killing" star and the "True Blood" actor are expecting twins in the spring of 2013.
Georgina Chapman
The Marchesa co-founder and her husband Harvey Weinstein are expecting their second child. The pair are already parents to daughter India Pearl, 2.
Kate Middleton
The Duchess of Cambridge is <em>officially</em> expecting her first child with Prince William! The mom-to-be is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/03/hyperemesis-gravidarum-kate-middleton-pregnant_n_2234099.html">suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarium</a>, a rare maternity condition which brings on severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss, dehydration, lightheadedness and fainting.
Busy Philipps
The "Cougar Town" star is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/busy-philipps-pregnant-cougar-town-star-expecting-second-child_n_2272754.html">expecting her second child</a> with husband Marc Silverstein.
Jenna Bush Hager
The "Today" show correspondent <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/12/jenna-bush-hager-pregnant_n_2284263.html">announced her pregnancy</a> on Dec. 11. Former President George Bush said he's "fired up" about the baby news.
Jenna Dewan-Tatum
Jenna and her husband Channing Tatum are expecting their first baby together next year, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/jenna-dewan-tatum-pregnant-channing-tatum-first-child_n_2316443.html?1355766274">their reps confirmed</a>. Channing's next title? Sexiest daddy alive.
Jessica Simpson
Jessica announced that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/25/jessica-simpson-pregnant-baby-maxwell-photo_n_2362558.html">she's expecting her second baby</a> on Christmas. She and fiance Eric Johnson have a seven-month-old daughter Maxwell.
Kim Kardashian
The reality star is expecting her first child with boyfriend Kanye West. She confirmed the happy news on Dec. 31, <a href="http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/2012/12/31/new-year-new-beginnings-kim-kanye-pregnant-first-child-expecting-baby/">writing on her blog</a>, "It?s true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby. We feel so blessed and lucky and wish that in addition to both of our families."
Danneel Harris and Jensen Ackles
The former "One Tree Hill" star and the "Supernatural" actor are expecting their first child later this year.
Evan Rachel Wood
The actress is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/11/evan-rachel-wood-pregnant-jamie-bell_n_2456954.html">expecting a baby</a> with her new husband Jamie Bell.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Valery Abramkin, a former Soviet dissident, nuclear scientist and rights activist who was held for years in the Siberian gulag and campaigned for prison reform in Vladimir Putin's Russia, has died, his colleagues said on Saturday.
Abramkin, 66, head of the Moscow Center For Prison Reform and a member of the Moscow Helsinki rights group and Putin's Presidential Rights Council, died late on Friday after a long illness.
"(Abramkin) sincerely strove to contribute to the development and humanization of national legislation, the strengthening of the modern system of protecting human rights and freedoms of citizens," Putin wrote in a condolence telegram cited by the Kremlin's press service.
An advocate of civil liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s, he served six years in prisons and in a Siberian colony for "anti-Soviet propaganda," before being sent to exile to the Tver region in 1985.
While in the camps, Abramkin, who was fired from his job in 1976 at the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology for "anti-Soviet activity," contracted tuberculosis and its side-effects plagued him for the rest of his life.
In 1988, along with Nobel-prize winning nuclear scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, he founded the Prison and Liberty group that later became the Moscow Center for Prison Reform.
(Reporting and writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Posted on : 27-01-2013 | By : mary | In : Health Tips
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With recent advances in women?s sports medicine, girls and women can learn to safely take part in any sport or type of exercise they choose. While some people start getting interested in sports medicine only after they?ve had an injury, you should also learn as much as you can as a preventative measure, so you can avoid problems in the future. Even though each sport has different risks so does each player of that sport which is why it?s so important to make sure you are listening to your body.
Finding a physician who specializes in women?s sports medicine is important for any woman who is going to exercise or participate in sports regularly. Some believe that these doctors are only necessary after an injury, but the fact s that a sports medicine specialist can offer advice to help you prevent injuries. If you have areas that are more problematic for you, such as your knees or back, a sports medicine doctor can give you proper advice on treating and preventing recurrence of these conditions.
If you do have a serious injury, these are the doctors who can suggest the best course of treatment. One thing to consider when choosing a sports medicine physician is whether or not he/she is experienced and respected in his field (a good reputation counts). Men and women are both susceptible to a common sports-related injury like a stress fracture. These are very small breaks in bones, and usually occur from repetitive stress activities, such as running or jumping. These breaks normally occur in the lower half of the body, such as the feet or legs. This problem can also occur in the arms if you engage in repetitive activities such as rowing or pitching. Building up your tolerance and endurance gradually is a great way to prevent this injury when starting a new activity. Make sure to see a doctor promptly if you suspect any kind of fracture.
Nutrition plays a large role in sports medicine, and women can prevent and even reverse many conditions by paying attention to their diets and adding certain supplements. Maintaining bone health is very important for women, so they need to make sure they are getting enough calcium. MSM, glucosamine and chondroitin are normally found together in a formula, are very helpful if you are active. Supplements that are good for your heart and bone health are fish oil capsules. You will have stronger bones by eating a healthy and balanced diet and taking some supplements. The information above gives us a clear picture of the fact that women?s health and sports medicine covers a wide range of conditions. It?s easier to prevent the conditions when you have a greater awareness of them to begin with. If any of these happen to you be sure to seek medical advice rather than getting discouraged. Just take it one day at a time and allowing yourself time to heal.
Chely Wright?s 2012 documentary ?Wish Me Away? has been nominated for a GLAAD Award for its outstanding representation of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
?Wish Me Away? chronicles the coming out process experienced by Wright as a country music recording artist. The advocate?s career is certainly thriving now, but the ?Single White Female? singer says that her lifestyle as an openly lesbian woman has tarnished some of the relationships she had in the country music industry.
?It?s not my belief that I should be performing on every awards show ? Now it?s the new Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum, that?s a natural part of entertainment,? shares Wright. ?(But) there?s an institutionalized friendship within country music, once you?re in, once you?re one of us, you?re always invited to certain things to present or be a part of it or chair a committee for the Country Music Hall of Fame, which I used to do things like that.?
?I need a country artist who is a big deal, like Jay-Z in his community ? he came forward and said, ?I believe in equality for all.? I?m struggling because I have not heard that from the big stars in country music,? Wright adds.
The singer-turned-advocate may not find the support she needs in the genre, but Wright does have support in her wife, Lauren Blitzer, who is also a GLBT Civil Rights activist. The ladies were married in a private ceremony in Conneticut in August 2011. Now, the couple is expecting identical twins.
?I?m trying to work on those things and to use my voice to make sure that everyone out there in America knows, you do love a gay person,? Wright says of her mission. ?It may not be me, but I promise you, you have a neighbor, a coworker, a niece, and be mindful of the negative things you say about gays and lesbians because someone is listening.?
?Wish Me Away? has already won a handful of awards, including the 2012 Nashville Film Festival Audience Award winner for Best Documentary. ?Wish Me Away? is now available for download through iTunes or purchased via Video on Demand (VOD) from local cable carriers.
Jonathan Chait and Greg Sargent both weigh in on the absurd Republican claim that they?ll produce a plan to balance the budget in 10 years, without a penny in additional revenue. Chait points out that the Ryan plan, even if you accepted all its magic asterisks, still didn?t produce a balanced budget until 2040. Sargent, armed with numbers from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, points out that if the GOP were to honor its promises not to cut military spending or benefits for those over 55, you?d have to impose savage cuts on everything else.
What all this comes down to is a collision between GOP deficit scare tactics and the reality of what the federal government does. The government really is an insurance company with an army; if you demand rapid deficit reduction without raising taxes or cutting military spending, you have to cut deeply into programs that the public values.
Republicans have, for the most part, managed until recently to skate over this reality, simultaneously calling for lower spending in the abstract while posing as the defenders of seniors against Obama?s Medicare cuts.They?ve been aided in this by pundits and reporters unwilling to seem ?unbalanced? by pointing out the realities. But they?ve now run out of room, and are facing a crisis of arithmetic.
The most consistent finding of autism research lies in the revelation that the disorders are incredibly complex. Two new studies in the January 23 issue of the Cell Press journalNeuron that add to the growing appreciation of this complexity focus on identifying inherited genetic mutations linked with autism spectrum disorders. The mutations?which are distinct from the spontaneous mutations that have been the focus of previous studies?may provide valuable insights into the causes of autism.
"It's long been known that autism is a heritable condition and that some cases appear to run in families. Our studies are among the first to begin to address this heritable component," says Dr. Christopher Walsh of Boston Children's Hospital, who is the senior author of one of the papers.
Both groups sequenced the portion of the genome that codes for proteins, also known as the exome, in individuals with autism, their relatives, and controls. In one study, investigators focused on rare mutations that completely abolish the function of particular genes?and therefore the expression of a protein. "We utilized new genome-sequencing technologies to discover a component of autism that can be traced to recessive inheritance?that is, when a child inherits two broken copies of the same gene, one from each parent who is a carrier," explains senior author Dr. Mark Daly of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute. "There were twice as many autism cases as control individuals that were apparently missing an important protein somewhere in the genome," he adds. Their findings suggest that 5% of autism risk is linked to inherited mutations that completely disrupt the functions of genes.
Like Dr. Daly and his colleagues, Dr. Walsh and his team identified and characterized cases of autism due to the inheritance of two gene mutations, one from each parent. In this work, though, the researchers found that the partial loss of a gene's function?not only complete absence of function?is linked to autism spectrum disorders. They identified several genes?such as those involved in neurometabolic pathways?that were not previously associated with autism risk, and they revealed a striking variability of autism severity despite inheritance of similar genetic mutations.
"These two studies firmly establish that recessive mutations contribute importantly to autism, not just in specialized populations but in the population at large," says first author Dr. Timothy Yu, of Boston Children's Hospital.
With follow-up work, identifying the various genes that are silent or partially disabled in autism cases can provide key clues to understanding the underlying biology of autism spectrum disorders and potentially help generate new therapies.
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Cell Press: http://www.cellpress.com
Thanks to Cell Press for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
Advertising technology companies are not exactly the most well-known names to the average web user, but they can certainly garner serious attention from those inside the industry -- particularly investors. Case in point: AppNexus, the New York City-based company that runs a real-time bidding platform for ad networks, said today it has closed on $75 million in funding.
This startlingly orange gun isn't something from a sci-fi film set. Instead, it's a new firearm, from UK-based Selectamark, that fires non-lethal pellets—and marks its targets with DNA for later identification. More »
Social media can be something of a double-edged sword for politicians. Obviously, here at Debating Europe?we rely?heavily on social media (and, if you?aren?t already,?you really?should be following us on Facebook and Twitter), so we?want to encourage?European?policy-makers and citizens to take?to?this form of communication?with enthusiasm.?However,?for every President Obama breaking records?with his bazillions of followers, there are?thousands of examples of politicians very publicly falling flat on their digital faces.
The EU has plenty of experience in this regard,?from the European Commission being accused of racism and sexism?in its YouTube videos, ?to the British Liberal Democrat MEP being?reprimanded by his party over a badly-timed tweet last week,?to the?Flemish MEP who appeared in a decidely odd video?on YouTube in 2006 (a video that was recently dug up by intrepid?bloggers). These kind of gaffes, however, have always been a part of politics. Does social media bring anything new to democracy? How is social media changing?politics?
We recently had the chance to speak to?the Obama campaign?s?social media?strategist, Facebook?s Adam Conner, during a Friends of Europe dinner debate. We started off by asking for his reaction to a comment from Christos, who?argued that:
When it comes to receiving advice, our leaders may find it better to listen to a housewife, [rather than] a detached-from-reality financier [who only wants to] make profit and practice what he was taught in Harvard??So, if I was our leaders, I would pay more attention to what the people have to say in social media and blogs?
Which begs the question, how much do politicians really pay attention to what is being written about them in blogs and on social networks? Does Obama ever dive down into his Facebook comments, or does that way lie madness?
Next, we had an interesting?point made in the comments by?Samo:
Social media has a great potential in bringing democracy to every citizen?s home, but we first need to motivate people to participate.
Even if people are listening to your message online, how do you actually motivate people to participate in the ?real world?? How can you translate clicking a ?Like? or ?Share? button online into actually going out and voting or engaging in politics offline?
Our next comment came from?Nikolai,?who was?optimistic about the potential for social media to positively affect politics:
[Social media puts pressure on governments]?almost to the point of removing civil society/NGOs and mainstream media from the debate? [Informing] the great unwashed masses directly is by far the best method to keep both traction and momentum with any policy.
But is Nikolai being overly-optimistic when he argues that civil society, NGOs and the mainstream media could be removed from the debate by social media?
Finally, we had a related comment sent in by Lazaros, who argued that:
The emergence of social media has played a huge role in discovering what is called the ?real? reality and not what we were fed by the media till recently.
But how do you define what is the ?real? reality? Isn?t there a danger that Lazaros and his friends and contacts will just create a mutually-reinforcing bubble online, where he only talks to people that share his political views and agree with him?
What do YOU think? How is social media changing politics? Is it offering us new ways to interact with, influence and keep watch over our politicians? Or is online ?slacktivism? replacing physical campaigning and political activism? Does?social media?provide an alternative source of news? Or does it just create mutually-reinforcing bubbles of friends and contacts, who shut out different opinions and beliefs? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below, and we?ll take them to policy-makers and experts for their reactions.
Debating Europe will be attending the?6th International Conference on Computers, Privacy and Data Protection in Brussels this week, so let us know if you have any questions on privacy or data protection that you?d like answered.
IMAGE CREDITS: CC / Flickr ? European Parliament
The European People?s Party (EPP)
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
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Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
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If you've ever gotten a fake friend request, you know Facebook has spammers. But it's winning the fight against them. Facebook's estimate of the total percentage of monthly users that are "undesirable" or spammer accounts dropped to 0.9 percent from 1.5 percent in June 2012. That means there's only around?9.5 million of these trouble-makers on the site, down 37 percent from 15.1 million in mid-2012.
Frequent flier miles can add up pretty quickly, and while traditional wisdom might caution it's best to use those to book flights months in advance, The New York Times suggests it might be best to wait for last-minute tickets instead. 
One of the high points of last week's 
With recent advances in women?s sports medicine, girls and women can learn to safely take part in any sport or type of exercise they choose. While some people start getting interested in sports medicine only after they?ve had an injury, you should also learn as much as you can as a preventative measure, so you can avoid problems in the future. Even though each sport has different risks so does each player of that sport which is why it?s so important to make sure you are listening to your body.
Advertising technology companies are not exactly the most well-known names to the average web user, but they can certainly garner serious attention from those inside the industry -- particularly investors. Case in point: 
