USCCB, in Supreme Court briefs, defends marriage as union of man ...

CWN - January 30, 2013

As the Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has filed briefs in their defense.

Arguing in defense of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the USCCB brief noted that

there is no fundamental right to marry a person of the same sex. Such a claim must be rejected because it does not satisfy the test to which this Court adheres in determining whether an asserted right is fundamental. Specifically, civil recognition of same-sex relationships is not deeply rooted in the Nation?s history and tradition?quite the opposite is true. Nor can the treatment of such relationships as marriages be said to be implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, such that neither liberty nor justice would exist if they were sacrificed ? This Court?s decisions describing marriage as a fundamental right plainly contemplate the union of one man and one woman.

The USCCB brief also argued that ??sexual orientation? is not a classification that should trigger heightened scrutiny,? as discrimination on the basis of sex or race would. Homosexual behavior ?is not a trait attributable from conception or birth,? the brief states, adding:

Elevation of sexual orientation to a quasi-suspect class would immerse federal courts into a quagmire of family law issues reserved to the states, issues for which the Judicial Branch is not institutionally suited ? Application of heightened scrutiny would hinder the ability of legislatures to create accommodations for those with religious or moral objections to homosexual conduct.

?The claim that homosexual persons today have ?no ability to attract the attention of the lawmakers? is frivolous,? the brief added.

The brief concluded:

If this Court were to conclude that the Constitution requires a redefinition of marriage to include persons in same-sex relationships?a requirement that we believe cannot reasonably be inferred from the Constitution?it is unclear where the logical stopping point would be. This Court will ultimately be asked why other interpersonal relationships are not entitled to similar inclusion, and why other ?barriers? to marriage (such as those posed by youth, kinship, or multiplicity of parties) should not also have to be struck down as inconsistent with this redefinition.

In its defense of Proposition 8 ? the 2008 California ballot initiative defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman ? the USCCB argued that

first, as a matter of simple biology, the union of one man and one woman is the only union capable of creating new life. Second, the People of California could reasonably conclude that a home with a mother and a father is the optimal environment for raising children, an ideal that Proposition 8 encourages and promotes. Given both the unique capacity for reproduction and unique value of homes with a mother and father, it is reasonable for a State to treat the union of one man and one woman as having a public value that is absent from other intimate interpersonal relationships.

?Proposition 8 is not rendered invalid because some of its supporters were informed by religious or moral considerations,? the brief continued. ?Many, if not most, of the significant social and political movements in our Nation?s history were based on precisely such considerations.?

?The current debate specifically concerns the meaning of marriage and the proposal to redefine marriage, not the phenomenon of same-sex attraction and the persons who experience such attraction,? the brief added. ?For this reason, the suggestion that opposition to the redefinition of marriage is equivalent to an animus against people who experience same-sex attraction is particularly offensive and plainly wrong ? The further suggestion that opposition to homosexual conduct is simply animus against persons who engage in such conduct is also erroneous and offensive.?

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Sony asks us to 'see the future' of PlayStation on February 20th (update: WSJ rumors)

What's this? A Sony invite to "see the future" of PlayStation on February 20th in New York City? From the looks of the very tease-y clip Sony's released (found just beyond the break), it's clearly PlayStation related. Perhaps involving a certain codenamed "Orbis" project? The company's official PlayStation Twitter account says "See the future" and pushes followers to this website, where invitees can sign up and everyone can see the aforementioned video.

We'll find out soon enough what the tease is about, as we've just finished up registration. From the video ... well, the future features the same triangle, circle, square, and cross buttons, apparently. A recent report detailed some specs for Sony's rumored next PlayStation, including an eight core AMD64 CPU and an AMD R10XX GPU -- specs that may change dramatically before we hear anything official. Could this be the first volley in Sony's rollout of the next PlayStation?

Filed under: Gaming, HD

Comments

Source: PlayStation Meeting 2013

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/31/sony-nyc-february-20-playstation/

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Storms raking Southeast blamed for 2 deaths

In this image made from video and released by WSB TV in Atlanta, a tornado moves through the town of Adairsville, Ga. on Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013. A fire chief says a storm that roared across northwest Georgia has left overturned vehicles on Interstate 75 northwest of Atlanta, and crews are responding to reports of people trapped in storm-damaged residential and commercial buildings. (AP Photo/WSB TV) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this image made from video and released by WSB TV in Atlanta, a tornado moves through the town of Adairsville, Ga. on Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013. A fire chief says a storm that roared across northwest Georgia has left overturned vehicles on Interstate 75 northwest of Atlanta, and crews are responding to reports of people trapped in storm-damaged residential and commercial buildings. (AP Photo/WSB TV) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this image made from video and released by WSB TV in Atlanta, a tornado moves through the town of Adairsville, Ga. on Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013. A fire chief says a storm that roared across northwest Georgia has left overturned vehicles on Interstate 75 northwest of Atlanta, and crews are responding to reports of people trapped in storm-damaged residential and commercial buildings. (AP Photo/WSB TV) MANDATORY CREDIT

Jean Fogus, left, and her daughter Pamela Luna stand on there porch after tornado touched down damaging the siding, uprooted a tree and knocked out power to there home along Batson Drive Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in Ashland City, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Thomas Ivey carries section of a tree he cut up after it was blown over by tornado that hit the corner of his friend's house Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in Ashland City, Tenn. Around 25 homes in Ashland City had minor damage. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Harold Grant tries to repair his front door awning before cutting up a tree that broke in his front yard after a tornado touched down, damaging 25 homes and knocking out power Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in Ashland City, Tenn. Around 25 homes in Ashland City had minor damage. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) ? A massive storm system raking the Southeast hammered a Georgia town on Wednesday, overturning cars on an interstate and killing at least one person there, authorities said.

Bartow County Fire Chief Craig Millsap said the body was found in the storm damage but did not have further details on how the person died. The same system also was blamed for a death in Tennessee. Most dangerous were powerful wind gusts that in several places were powerful enough to overturn tractor-trailers.

There were reports that people were trapped in homes and businesses, and television footage showed large sections of a sprawling manufacturing plant had been destroyed.

Footage also showed a funnel cloud roaring through the downtown area of Adairsville, about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta, flipping cars and demolishing a home. Interstate 75 was closed in both directions after the storm flipped cars onto their roofs and tossed them onto the grassy shoulder.

At least two tornadoes were confirmed and several more suspected, and conditions remained ripe for more. Since Tuesday, the system had caused damage across a swath from Missouri to Georgia.

In recent days, people in the South and Midwest had enjoyed unseasonably balmy temperatures in the 60s and 70s. A system pulling warm weather from the Gulf of Mexico was colliding with a cold front moving in from the west, creating volatility.

Police said high winds toppled a tree onto a shed in Nashville, Tenn., where a man had taken shelter, killing him.

Across the region, downed power lines, trees and tree limbs were making it difficult to reach people who needed help.

Another person was reported injured by lightning in Arkansas during the storm's eastward trek. Two people suffered minor injuries when a mobile home was blown off its foundation in Kentucky.

In Tennessee, officials confirmed that a tornado with peak wind speeds of 115 mph touched down in Mount Juliet. No serious injuries were reported there, though the path of damage was about 150 yards wide, including homes, a warehouse and an automotive business.

Hail ranging up to nearly golf-ball size was also reported in some areas.

Thousands were reported without power in Tennessee, where tornado warnings and flash flood warnings were issued for several counties and a tractor-trailer was blown over by high winds.

The nation has had its longest break between tornado fatalities since detailed tornado records began being kept in 1950, according to the Storm Prediction Center and National Climatic Data Center. The last one was June 24, when a person was killed in a home in Highlands County, Fla. That was 220 days ago as of Tuesday.

The last day with multiple fatalities was June 4, when three people were killed in a mobile home in Scott County, Mo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-30-Winter%20Weather/id-9996e96880d74fb0ae792f5c758adf90

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Lionel Messi, Ronaldo lead AP player rankings

Lionel Messi, izquierda, celebra con sus compa?eros Carles Puyol, derecha, y Xavi Hern?ndez tras marcar un gol ante Osasuna en un partido de la liga espa?ola el domingo 27 de enero de 2013. Barcelona gan? 5-1. (AP Foto/Alvaro Barrientos)

Lionel Messi, izquierda, celebra con sus compa?eros Carles Puyol, derecha, y Xavi Hern?ndez tras marcar un gol ante Osasuna en un partido de la liga espa?ola el domingo 27 de enero de 2013. Barcelona gan? 5-1. (AP Foto/Alvaro Barrientos)

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal celebrates his goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Sampdoria Argentine forward Mauro Emanuel Rivero Icardi celebrates after scoring, during a Serie A soccer match between Sampdoria and Pescara, in Genoa, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Carlo Baroncini)

Luton Town players celebrate defeating Norwich City 0-1 in their English FA Cup fourth round soccer match at Carrow Road, Norwich, England,?Saturday Jan. 26, 2013. See PA Story SOCCER Norwich. (AP Photo/PA, Chris Radburn) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE

LONDON (AP) ? Lionel Messi's four-goal burst has ensured that he and Barcelona return to the top of the Associated Press Global Soccer rankings this week.

The romance of England's FA Cup has produced some unlikely names in the Top 10 teams and a previously unknown striker at No. 9.

Thirteeen out of 18 panelists placed Messi at No. 1 on their list of Top 10 players, with Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo in second place. With 10 points for the top position, Messi earned 176 points, followed by Ronaldo with 159.

Sampdoria striker Mauro Icardi, a 19-year-old Argentine who is becoming a fixture in the AP Top 10 as one of the most promising players in European club soccer, is third with 90 points.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-29-SOC-AP-Global-Soccer-10/id-68e962dde6ba41a5b6bbaadfab171a34

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Vinci Tab II

The Vinci Tab II ($199.99 direct, 8GB) looks almost identical to the original Vinci Tab. And while Vinci addressed some of the original's shortcomings, it's not nearly enough to stave off the recent rise of kid-friendly Android tablet?competitors. The price for the tablet itself and the additional content is still too high, especially considering its dated software and hardware. Unless you're absolutely sold on the Vinci educational content, which is actually quite polished, you'd be better off with the Fuhu Nabi 2?or a Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD with Amazon's FreeTime mode for kids. And if you are dead set on a Vinci, I'd recommend the smaller Vinci Tab III M.

Design and Features
The Vinci Tab II looks nearly identical to the original Vinci, with an angular slate tablet suspended within a rigid, red rubber ring. It's a unique design that adds durability and acts as a handle for little hands to grip the tablet easily. Unfortunately, the tablet is pretty hefty?including the rubber bumper, the Vinci Tab II measures about 10 by 7.3 by 0.8 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.46 pounds. It's bigger and heavier than the Nabi 2, which itself was on the large size for a 7-inch tablet. Along the bottom edge is a micro USB port and microSD card slot. There are two speaker ports on each side and a rear-facing 3-megapixel camera around back. ?

The 7-inch, 800-by-480-pixel display is passable, but well below average for a tablet this size and price. It's the same resolution found on the smaller, 5-inch Vinci Tab III M. The screen gets bright enough, but text and image details lack sharpness and the viewing angle isn't very wide. Touch response was a bit delayed during my tests, and, oddly, on a few occasions, the Vinci Tab II would register a scroll as a pinch-to-zoom gesture. Below the screen are the three typical Android Menu, Home, and Back buttons for navigation.

Unlike the original, the Vinci Tab II adds Wi-Fi connectivity, but only on the 2.4GHz frequency. The Tab II comes in a single 8GB model, and our 32 and 64GB SanDisk microSD cards worked fine for expanding storage.

Android and Content
The Vinci Tab II shares similar specs with the smaller Tab III M, with a single-core 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor. It performed similarly to the Tab III M, but the M benefits from more smoothness and polish thanks to its more up-to-date version of Android.?

The Tab II is running a very dated Android 2.3.5 "Gingerbread" with Vinci's custom kid-friendly skin. In many ways it looks and works the same as the Tab III M. You still get the Parent and Kid modes, which are, on the surface, identical. The key difference between the two is that the Menu button opens extensive options for app and tablet management in Parent mode, while all options are disabled in Kid mode. Unfortunately, like the Tab III M, the Tab II has some glaring holes when it comes to the sandboxed kid-friendly experience. Holding the Home button in Kid mode opens up the recently opened apps list, and if parents forget to close out of items like the browser or Settings menu, kids will have free reign to surf the Web and change the tablet's settings. Both Fuhu and Amazon have more comprehensive kid modes that lock out features more effectively, while Amazon's FreeTime even lets you set time limits on usage.

As far as content goes, Vinci's original apps are very polished compared with competitors. Vinci packages its content in curriculums and the Tab II is pre-loaded with preschool levels 1 through 3. Also included are three Vinci made story books and 20 music videos. The apps are almost all educational, teaching skills through voice prompts and touch interaction. My biggest complaint is that it's not always completely obvious what you're supposed to do. For example, in a number of apps, if you happen to miss the short voice prompt in the beginning, you get little additional guidance. Where other kid-friendly models preload a bunch of games and entertainment-focused content, the Vinci is decidedly focused on educating children, which many parents might prefer. Amazon doesn't include any educational content, while Fuhu includes some good educational content, but it's not quite as polished as Vinci's. The Vinci curriculum targets kids as young as one-and-a-half years old, and introductory apps teach language skills. For example, the first level shows a typical child's bedroom with various items and toys scattered about. Touching an item activates a voice prompt that identifies the item.

Another issue with the content is the price. The original Vinci Tab had a subscription style content distribution system, and since it lacked Wi-Fi, you had to purchase content through Vinci to get it on your tablet. The Tab II is not subscription based, but adding curriculums can cost anywhere from $89.99 on the low end to $179.99 at the top end.

You also get the Google Play app store and its selection of hundreds of thousands of apps on the Tab II. Vinci's focus is on education, so if you want to add some entertaining games you can do so through Google Play. Keep in mind, however, most graphic-intensive games will trip the Tab II up.

Conclusions
The Vinci Tab II is bulkier, more expensive, and runs on older software than the Vinci Tab III M, which itself isn't even that strong a contender in the kid-friendly tablet space. If you're sold on Vinci's educational content, I'd recomment the III M over the Tab II. But the best overall child-centric tablet experience can be found on the Nabi 2, which is the same price as the Tab II, but has specs that put it in the same league as full-fledged tablets like the Google Nexus 7. Alternatively, get the Amazon Kindle Fire or Fire HD and set up FreeTime mode, which offers great parental controls for restricting apps and setting usage limits.?

More Tablet Reviews:
??? Vinci Tab II
??? Vinci Tab III M
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??? Kobo Arc
??? Lenovo ThinkPad Twist (3347-4HU)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/vZDQ7g7YXMQ/0,2817,2414686,00.asp

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Lilly loses ground in fourth quarter to generics

(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Tuesday that fourth-quarter earnings fell as competition from generic drugs, particularly for its top-selling schizophrenia drug Zyprexa, drove revenue lower.

The U.S. drugmaker earned $827 million, or 74 cents per share, compared with $858 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items such as asset impairments and restructuring, Lilly earned 85 cents per share. Analysts, on average, were expecting 78 cents per share.

Revenue dropped by about 1 percent to $5.96 billion, above Wall Street expectations of $5.81 billion.

The company said falling sales from the loss of the Zyprexa patent was partly offset by gains in sales of other drugs and its animal health products.

Lilly said it expects earnings this year to increase to $3.82 to $3.97 per share, excluding special items. It said profit would benefit by 7 cents per share from a research and development tax credit that was delayed until this year due to the late signing of federal legislation.

It predicted sales will be flat to a bit higher this year, despite expected generic competition in December for its $5-billion-a-year antidepressant Cymbalta.

(Reporting by Caroline Humer and Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lilly-fourth-quarter-profit-fall-generics-hurt-sales-114650939--finance.html

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US Postal Service teeters at the edge of ruin

1 hr.

Martha C. White , NBC News contributor

Even as the price of a first-class stamp rose a penny Sunday to 46 cents, the U.S. Postal Service is operating on borrowed time.?

?We are currently losing $25 million per day,? Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned earlier this month. The agency lost nearly $16 billion in its last fiscal year, and its line of credit with the U.S. Treasury is tapped out.

If lawmakers don?t act, it could run out of money ?between six months and a year at most,? said Richard Geddes, associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University.

?There could be a period when mail is not being delivered,? said Michael Crew, director of the Center for Research in Regulated Industries, and professor of regulatory economics at Rutgers University.?

The Postal Service said keeping letters moving is its top priority, even if it means defaulting on its retirement benefit funding again. ?Although our liquidity situation remains a serious concern, the Postal Service is continuing to prioritize payments to ensure employees and suppliers are paid on time, preventing any interruption in our operations,? spokesman David Partenheimer said via email.

How did the Post Office get into these dire straits when the price of stamps keeps going up??

As it turns out, 46 cents is a really good deal. In the United Kingdom, for example, a first class stamp costs 60 pence, or roughly 94 cents. In Canada, it?s 63 cents (which is about the same in U.S. currency). Geddes said if our postal service was refashioned to be more of a delivery system for still-plentiful but lower-margin commercial mail ? ads, catalogs and the like ? Americans could pay 30 percent to 40 percent more to send that birthday card ? which would bring the price of a stamp to about 64 cents.

The Postal Service is limited in how much it can raise the price of postage, but that?s only one of the factors keeping it from financial solvency.?

?The other thing that?s hurt the postal service is it?s an industry where we have scale economies,? Crew said. The post office?s fixed costs ? keeping the lights on at its huge network of facilities, maintaining its fleet and paying its employees ? are amortized across the amount of mail it processes. ?As you increase volume, unit costs decline.??

But volume isn?t increasing; it?s plummeting. First-class mail volume ? which earns around three times the profit of bulk mail ? has dropped by about a third in a little more than a decade, Geddes said. ?That decline is just enormous in a historical context,? he said.

The decline was sparked by the rise of the Internet and exacerbated by the recent recession, when companies cut their budgets for mailings. ?About a quarter of their traffic has been lost in the period since 2007-2008,? Crew said. The agency has shed thousands of workers, but it?s losing business faster than it can save money by shrinking its work?force.

Crew also blamed ?a flawed governance structure and flawed business model? for the agency?s woes. ?Any significant changes that have to take place have to be approved by Congress. This is not a way to run a business if you?re in a fast-moving environment,? he said. The Postal Service has expensive benefit obligations for retirees, a bill the agency is currently putting off and on which it owes $11.1 billion. ?

?The main problem here is Congress had introduced too many conflicting and inconsistent demands,? said James I. Campbell, an attorney and consultant on postal policy.?

The USPS has to deliver mail six days a week to everybody in the country who has been sent mail, and it has to maintain a network of around 32,000 post offices ? a much bigger footprint than other industrialized nations have.?The post office wants to eliminate Saturday delivery, which Partenheimer said would save $2.7 billion a year. But to do this, it needs Congressional approval, which ? so far, at least ? it hasn?t received.

?Essentially, Congress has got to rethink the legislation that establishes the post office,? Campbell said.?

That is easier said than done, even with dire consequences looming. ?The information I?ve gotten is not looking good,? Geddes said. ?The reason they?ve been able to last this long is because they have gotten the low-hanging fruit ? but they?re at they?re bare bones now.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/postage-prices-rise-usps-still-teeters-edge-ruin-1C8146115

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Barbara Walters, hospitalized after fall, recovering from chicken pox

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Celebrity newswoman Barbara Walters, who was hospitalized earlier this month after falling and injuring her head, is recovering from chicken pox, her co-host Whoopi Goldberg said Monday on "The View" talk show.

Goldberg said Walters, 83, who is in a New York hospital, has been told to rest and is not receiving visitors.

"You all know that she fell and cut her head 10 days ago and then was running a temperature," Goldberg said on the show.

"But it turns out it is all the result of a delayed childhood. Barbara has the chicken pox," Goldberg adding, saying Walters had never had the illness as a child.

Walters, 83, had been admitted to a Washington hospital during President Barack Obama's inauguration weekend after she fell and cut her head at the British ambassador's residence, her network ABC said.

Goldberg joked: "She's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors, and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching."

ABC-TV said Walters, who created the long-running talk show after working decades as one of television news' best-known journalists, was transferred to a New York hospital late last week from Washington and was expected to be discharged soon.

Despite Goldberg's light-hearted remarks about the illness, usually associated with children, chicken pox can be serious for adults and the elderly, accompanied by more severe itching from hundreds of blisters.

Headaches, fever and chills, sometimes leading to pneumonia, can follow if the illness is not properly treated and precautions are not taken, or if the patient has a compromised immune system.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Philip Barbara)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/barbara-walters-hospitalized-fall-recovering-chicken-pox-181015519.html

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Male dancers signal their strength to men and women

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Heterosexual men pick up clues about other men's physical qualities from their dance moves just as heterosexual women do, say researchers at Northumbria University.

A study, led by psychologist Dr Nick Neave and researcher Kristofor McCarty, used 3D motion-capture technology and biomechanical analyses to examine the extent to which male dancing provides clues about the dancer's physical strength and fitness to both male and female observers.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Human Biology, suggest that male observers pick up on the strength of their potential rivals for female mates.

Researchers at Northumbria's School of Life Sciences filmed 30 males, aged 19-37, as they danced to a basic drum rhythm. Participants also completed a fitness test and assessments of upper and lower body strength. The dance clips were converted into virtual humanoid characters (avatars) and rated by women and men on perceived dance and physical qualities. The ratings were then correlated with various biomechanical indices.

The results showed that both sexes found significant positive associations between an individual's hand grip strength and their perceived dance quality, these qualities were picked up by the size and vigour of the movements of the upper body and arms.

Although it is traditionally thought that signals given off by men when they dance have been designed -- like animal mating displays -- to be interpreted as clues of their physical attributes to the opposite sex, it seems that heterosexual men are also making use of these signals, presumably to detect a potential love rival.

Dr Nick Neave believes that this increased sensitivity to male qualities by other heterosexual men may be due to intrasexual rivalry -- men sizing up the strength and virility of their competition.

He said: "Rated dance quality was positively associated with actual grip strength and these clues of upper-body strength were most accurately picked up by male observers. This ability to discern upper-body strength is principally because men are looking for cues of 'formidability' in other males.

"Upper-body strength is highly related to fighting ability as it reflects the ability to do damage, especially in intra-sexual conflicts. The ability to gauge strength before potential conflicts is sensible, especially to other males."

Also part of the research team were Northumbria University academics Dr Nick Caplan and Johannes H?nekopp, with Bernard Fink, from the Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of G?ttingen, Germany.

The study, "Male body movements as possible cues to physical strength: a biomechanical analysis", is published online in this month's American Journal of Human Biology

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Northumbria University.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. N. Neave et al. Male body movements as possible cues to physical strength: a biomechanical analysis. American Journal of Human Biology, 2013

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/P6rh0QRlHrQ/130128081946.htm

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Trial of China's Bo not being held Monday - court official

GUIYANG, China (Reuters) - The trial of disgraced senior Chinese leader Bo Xilai, the central figure in the country's biggest political scandal in decades, will not be held on Monday as some media had reported, a court official in the southern Chinese city of Guiyang said.

"To date, the People's Intermediate Court of Guiyang has received no information whatsoever about the trial of Bo Xilai taking place in Guiyang," said Jiang Hao, a court official in the city, the capital of Guizhou province.

"If the next step is to hold the Bo Xilai trial in Guiyang's court, then, as according to rules, we will inform our media friends promptly," Jiang told reporters at the court.

A report last week by Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao newspaper said Bo, the charismatic former Communist Party chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing, would be tried in Guiyang from Monday. The Beijing-backed newspaper has accurately reported issues close to the Chinese leadership in the past.

Asked if prosecutors had sent the case to the court, Jiang said: "According to information I have received, they have not."

It is still not clear where Bo's trial will take place. He has not been formally charged although he was expelled from the Communist Party in September and made the subject of a list of sordid allegations: bending the law to hush up a murder, taking huge bribes, and engaging in "improper sexual relations with multiple women".

Once a contender for China's top leadership, Bo, 63, was ousted from his post as Chongqing party chief last year following the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, for which his wife Gu Kailai has been convicted.

Bo was widely tipped to be promoted to the party's elite inner core before his career unravelled. The downfall came after his former police chief, Wang Lijun, fled briefly to a U.S. consulate in February 2012 and alleged that Gu had poisoned Heywood. Wang and Gu are both serving prison sentences over the scandal.

The Bo issue is the most sensational case of domestic political turmoil in China since the fall of the "Gang of Four" after Mao Zedong's death in 1976, and is being closely watched for signs of openness in China's new leadership and how much of the party's inner workings they will allow to be revealed.

The trial will likely not be held until after China's national parliament holds its annual session in March, according to a report on Monday on the website of the Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the Communist Party's official People's Daily.

"The information in terms of the date and location for the trial will certainly be made public in advance, and it's unnecessary to make speculations", the paper quoted a source close to China's top judicial body as saying.

The paper did not further identify the source.

(Reporting by John Ruwitch in Guiyang and Beijing newsroom; Writing by Terril Yue Jones; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bo-xilai-trial-not-guiyang-today-court-official-013603729.html

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Video: Take a peek inside NYC's $95M ?mega mansion?

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50614195/

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Egypt's leader declares emergency after clashes kill 49

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a month-long state of emergency on Sunday in three cities along the Suez Canal which have been the focus of anti-government violence that has killed dozens of people over the past four days.

Seven people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 protesters killed at the weekend. A total of 49 people have been killed in demonstrations around the country since Thursday and Mursi's opponents have called for more protests on Monday.

"Down, down Mursi, down down the regime that killed and tortured us!" people in Port Said chanted as the coffins of those killed on Saturday were carried through the streets.

In a televised address, Mursi said a nightly curfew would be introduced in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, starting Monday evening. He also called for dialogue with top politicians. About 200 people protested in Ismailia after the announcement.

"The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law," the president said, adding that he offered condolences to families of the victims of those who died in the cities.

In Cairo the newly appointed interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim was ejected from the funeral of one of the police officers who died during Saturday's clashes in Port Said, according to witnesses and police sources.

A police officer at the funeral said many of his colleagues blame the interior minister on the deaths of at least two policemen during Saturday's clashes as he did not allow the police there to carry weapons and were only given teargas bombs.

State television said seven people died from gunshot wounds on Sunday. Port Said's head of hospitals, Abdel Rahman Farag, told Reuters more than 400 people had suffered from teargas inhalation, while 38 were wounded by gunshots.

Gunshots had killed many of the 33 who died on Saturday when residents went on the rampage after a court sentenced 21 people, mostly from the Mediterranean port, to death for their role in deadly soccer violence at a stadium there last year.

A military source said many people in Port Said, which lies next to the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula, possess guns because they do not trust the authorities to protect them. However it was not clear who was behind the deaths and injuries.

In Cairo, police fired teargas at dozens at protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs in a fourth day of clashes over what demonstrators there and in other cities say is a power grab by Islamists two years after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.

In Ismaila city, which lies on the Suez Canal between the cities of Suez and Port Said, police also fired teargas at protesters attacking a police station with petrol bombs and stones, according to witnesses and a security source there.

The protesters accuse Mursi, elected in June with the support of his Muslim Brotherhood group, of betraying the democratic goals of the revolution. Most of the deaths since Thursday were in Port Said and Suez, both cities where the army has now been deployed.

The violence adds to the daunting task facing Mursi as he tries to fix a beleaguered economy and cool tempers before a parliamentary election expected in the next few months which is supposed to cement Egypt's transition to democracy.

It has exposed a deep rift in the nation. Liberals and other opponents accuse Mursi of failing to deliver on economic promises and say he has not lived up to pledges to represent all Egyptians. His backers say the opposition is seeking to topple Egypt's first freely elected leader by undemocratic means.

Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch in Cairo said a state of emergency reintroduced laws that gave police sweeping powers of arrest "purely because (people) look suspicious".

"It is a classic knee jerk reaction to think the emergency law will help bring security," she said. "It gives so much discretion to the Ministry of Interior that it ends up causing more abuse which in turn causes more anger."

The opposition Popular Current and other groups have called for more protests on Monday to mark what was one of the bloodiest days of the 2011 uprising.

"BLOOD BEING SPILT"

On a bridge close to Tahrir Square, youths hurled stones at police in riot gear who fired teargas to push them back towards the square, the cauldron of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later.

"None of the revolution's goals have been realized," said Mohamed Sami, a protester in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday.

"Prices are going up. The blood of Egyptians is being spilt in the streets because of neglect and corruption and because the Muslim Brotherhood is ruling Egypt for their own interests."

Clashes also erupted in other streets near the square. The U.S. and British embassies, both close to Tahrir, said they were closed for public business on Sunday, normally a working day.

The army, Egypt's interim ruler until Mursi's election, was sent back onto the streets to restore order in Port Said and Suez, which both lie on the Suez canal. In Suez, at least eight people were killed in clashes with police.

Many ordinary Egyptians are frustrated by the violence that have hurt the economy and their livelihoods.

"They are not revolutionaries protesting," said taxi driver Kamal Hassan, 30, referring to those gathered in Tahrir. "They are thugs destroying the country."

CALL FOR DIALOGUE

The National Defence Council, headed by Mursi, called on Saturday for national dialogue to discuss political differences.

That offer has been cautiously welcomed by the opposition National Salvation Front. But the coalition has demanded a clear agenda and guarantees that any agreements will be implemented.

The Front, formed late last year when Mursi provoked protests and violence by expanding his powers and driving through an Islamist-tinged constitution, has threatened to boycott the parliamentary poll and call for more protests if its demands are not met, including for an early presidential vote.

Egypt's transition has been blighted from the outset by political rows and turbulence on the streets that have driven investors out and kept many tourists away. Its currency, the pound, has steadily weakened against the dollar.

The Port Said clashes erupted after a judge sentenced 21 men to death for involvement in 74 deaths at a soccer match on February 1, 2012 between Cairo's Al Ahly club and the local al-Masri team. Many of the victims were fans of the visiting team.

There were 73 defendants in the case. Those not sentenced on Saturday will face a verdict on March 9, the judge said.

Al Ahly fans cheered the verdict after threatening action if the death penalty was not meted out. But Port Said residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible.

(Additional reporting by Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/riots-over-egyptian-death-sentences-kill-least-32-005245042.html

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What's For Dinner Menu Planning || Plant-Based Nutrition | Fitness ...

I?ve been curious about the E2 diet for a while and finally bought the book. The plant-based ?diet? is how I already eat so I?m not following the 28-day plan. I bought the book for the recipes. This will be week 2 of E2 ?and I could not be more pleased.

I had great plans for a longer post with more information about the book and some of the recipes for this week but this?

?had different plans for me this morning. Ugh!

So short and sweet it is!

On the Menu

Breakfasts
Protein Overnight Oats
Green Protein Smoothies

Lunches/Dinners
Piccadillo Pick Ax Burrito (E2)
New York Times Veggie Burger (E2)
Matt Moore?s Enchiladas (E2)
Secret Ingredient Chili (Oh, She Glows)
BIG GREEN SALAD Salad Bar (Dressings ? E2 Basic Dressing, Raw ?Food Revolution Dijon Dressing, E2 Beam Me Up Dressing)

Snacks
Homemade Hummus (E2) with veggies/Wasa
Edamame Hummus (Oh She Glows) with veggies/Wasa
Kashi Cereal and 1/2 c Silk Almond Milk

Menu Favorites From Last Week

?

What was a favorite from your menu last week? Have you tried any of the E2 recipes?

Tagged: #FitFluential, blog hop, clean eating, Fit Approach, food and drink, Girls Gone Sporty, menu planning, nutrition, plant-based diet, Sweat Pink, vegan, vegetarian, What's For DInner

Source: http://jillconyers.com/2013/01/menu-planning-plant-based-nutrition/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=menu-planning-plant-based-nutrition

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Spam hits five-year low

16 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

A new report from Kaspersky Lab indicates that the amount of spam in the world continues to decline, although it's nowhere near disappearing. It's also being replaced with other, more substantial threats.

Spam levels dropped throughout 2012, and by the end of the year it was steadily below 70 percent of all email detected. In the heyday of spam, it consistently made up around 85 percent, according to Kaspersky's numbers.

A number of factors have contributed to this. People and email providers have instituted more effective spam filters, for one thing, and a major security hole that allowed people to spoof an email's sender was closed this year.

The reduced effectiveness of spam emails means spammers have to send more to get any hits. Kaspersky calculates that it cost spammers $150 for every million emails sent ? cheap indeed, but the success rate is so low that legal, normal advertising on Google and Facebook actually end up beinga better deal.

Of course, not every spammer is just aiming for cheap advertising. There are plenty?selling illegal services or products, or looking to hijack your computer with malicious attachments or phishing attempts. Since legal advertisement isn't an option, they're doubling down on spam. For that reason, Kaspersky suggests spam reduction in 2013 will be "negligible at best."

The full, detailed report, with many more details about the origins and types of 2012's spam, can be read here.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBCNews Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/spam-hits-five-year-low-its-still-two-thirds-all-1C8125282

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Canadian police allege ex-SNC executive paid bribes to Gaddafi son

(Reuters) - A son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi allegedly received 120 million euros ($162 million) in bribes for giving major contracts in Libya to SNC-Lavalin Inc, Canada's biggest engineering and construction company, a police document said on Friday.

According to an affidavit the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used to obtain a search warrant at SNC's head office last April, the bribes were paid, in a roundabout way, to Saadi Gaddafi by Riadh Ben Aissa, a vice-president at Montreal-based SNC at the time.

"It is alleged that this money (120 million euros) were paid him as a reward for influencing the awarding of major contracts to SNC-Lavalin Intl," RCMP officer Brenda Makad said in the affidavit. The document did not make clear when the alleged bribes occurred.

The 59-page RCMP statement, redacted in part, was released by the courts at the request of three Canadian newspapers, the Globe and Mail, the National Post and La Presse.

In an allegation based on information from Swiss anti-corruption investigators, Makad said SNC-Lavalin paid the money to offshore companies belonging to Ben Aissa, and the money was then transferred to offshore companies controlled by Saadi Gaddafi. Some money was used to buy yachts for the son of the slain dictator, the RCMP statement alleged.

SNC, which has said that any wrongdoing was the work of a small number of former employees, said it was seeing the affidavit for the first time and had not been aware of some of the information it contained.

"We cannot determine the veracity of certain allegations in the affidavit," SNC said in a statement. It said it was eager for the situation to be resolved and would do everything it could to help the authorities rapidly get to the bottom of those issues.

In the affidavit, Makad said an RCMP investigation had shown there was a genuine friendship between Saadi Gaddafi and Ben Aissa "and that over several years SNC-Lavalin, through Ben Aissa, offered bribes to the son of the dictator to secure the awarding of engineering/construction contracts in Libya."

Ben Aissa left SNC in February last year and is now in jail in Switzerland after being arrested on suspicion of money laundering. The Globe said he had not been charged with a crime but was in precautionary detention.

'SCAPEGOAT'

The National Post and the Globe and Mail have reported that Ben Aissa had denied any wrongdoing, while a brother, Rafik Benaissa, said in a statement in November that his brother Riadh had been made a "scapegoat."

The RCMP statement also said former SNC controller Stephane Roy paid money from his personal bank account for condo fees for an apartment belonging to Saadi Gaddafi, and was then reimbursed by his boss, Ben Aissa.

Makad said Roy also helped arrange for an outside consultant - who has denied wrongdoing - to make a fact-finding trip to Libya as the Libyan dictatorship was falling in 2011. She said she had reason to believe the real goal was to help get Saadi Gaddafi and his family out of Libya.

Initial attempts to reach Roy for comment were unsuccessful. The National Post reported in June that lawyers had been unable to locate him and that a judge ruled he might be not cooperating. Saadi Gaddafi is reported to have been granted asylum by Niger. None of the allegations in Makad's affidavit has been proven in court.

SNC, a C$7 billion-a-year company with operations in more than 100 countries, has been at the center of an ethics and corruption scandal for more than a year after it revealed it had uncovered tens of millions of dollars in mysterious payments it had made.

The company's previous chief executive resigned in March, and he was arrested later in the year on fraud charges. The charges have not been proven in court.

The 101-year-old company has installed a new CEO and several new executives and tightened its ethics policies.

The company's stock, which is down 15 percent in the past year, closed 25 Canadian cents lower at C$44.88 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.

($1=$1.01 Canadian)

(Reporting by Randall Palmer in Ottawa and Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canadian-police-allege-ex-snc-executive-paid-bribes-041457480--sector.html

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Friday Bliss

Friday Bliss

LeAnn Rimes Sports Different Hairstyles? [The Frisky] J.J. Abrams Slated to Direct The New “Star Wars” [HollyWire] Danny Gokey Is Officially a Dad [Right Celebrity] Tina Turner to Give Up US Citizenship [The Celebrity Cafe] Lindsay Lohan & Pauly D Suck Face? [The Blemish] Taylor Swift Not Shy Anymore [The Huffington Post?] Angelina Jolie & ...

Friday Bliss Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/01/friday-bliss-6/

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No link found between facial shape and aggression

Jan. 25, 2013 ? There is not significant evidence to support the association between facial shape and aggression in men, according to a study published by the journal PLOS ONE.

The professor Mireia Esparza, from the Anthropology Section of the Department of Animal Biology of the University of Barcelona, is part of the international research group who carried out this study. The research is coordinated by the experts Rolando Gonz?lez Jos?, from the Patagonic National Centre (CENPAT-CONICET, Argentina) and Jorge G?mez Vald?s, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Sample of about 5,000 individuals from 94 worldwide human populations

The study provides new scientific data to reject the hypotheses that associate facial shape with antisocial and criminal behaviours, which attained its maximum splendour during the mid-19th century and lately have been revitalized. To carry out the study, researchers used a sample of 4,960 individuals from 94 worldwide populations. This large sample allowed to get a global estimation of facial shape and to develop an accurate analysis taking into account distinguishing traits. The experts based the research on the study of the fWHR -- facial width-to-height ratio -- as a possible predictor of aggressive behaviours in men populations.

According to the professor Mireia Esparza, "fWHR was used for two main reasons: on one hand, it is a good indicator of face shape and, on the other hand, it was used in those previous studies which established a correlation between higher fWHR scores and aggression. By this way, we were able to compare results without any bias caused by the use of any other indicator." Esparza contributed to this international study by reconstructing the genealogies of the Hallstatt population from biodemographic data to get genealogical information of the skulls studied and estimate the fitness of each individual analysed.

Craniofacial measurements and 2D and 3D cranial landmark coordinates

Research's results support previous studies which do not prove any relation between fWHR and aggression. "This study goes more deeply," remarks Mireia Esparza. "The methodology used is based on craniofacial measurements and 2D and 3D cranial landmark coordinates, so it provides us with more accurate results than other previous studies based on photographs analysis. Moreover, our research used a large sample of about 5,000 individuals from 94 worldwide populations, so we were able to carry out inter and intra-population comparisons."

"Finally -- she continues -- , two specific databases, one sample of male prisoners of the Mexico City Federal Penitentiary and one the skulls from the catholic church of Hallstaff, Austria, enabled a deeper analysis. The Hallstatt database was used to estimate the correlation among life history parameters, such as fitness or reproductive success, and skull shape traits; this sample has been essential to yield that there is not significant correlation between fWHR and male fitness in this population. The Mexican database demonstrated that fWHR is not significantly greater on those males involved in aggressive crimes in comparison with the general population."

Neither more violence, nor more reproductive success

According to the coordinators of the study, the experts Rolando Gonz?lez Jos? and Jorge G?mez Vald?s, "the social and political implications that this kind of non-contrasted adaptive hypotheses could have, may increase racial prejudices, discrimination and intolerance." Besides demonstrating that facial traits are a poor predictor of aggressive behaviours, the study also proves that fWHR is unrelated to sexual dimorphism. In other words, males who present higher fWHR values -- wide faces in comparison with their height -- do not have a greater reproductive success or show more violent behaviours. If males displaying higher fWHR scores achieved better fitness values, it would trigger a process of sexual selection focused on fWHR. "Our study proves that there is not statistical association between fWHR and male fitness, and that facial shape is not a good predictor of behaviour," concludes Esparza.

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---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universidad de Barcelona.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Jorge G?mez-Vald?s, T?bita H?nemeier, Mirsha Quinto-S?nchez, Carolina Paschetta, Soledad de Azevedo, Marina F. Gonz?lez, Neus Mart?nez-Abad?as, Mireia Esparza, H?ctor M. Pucciarelli, Francisco M. Salzano, Claiton H. D. Bau, Maria C?tira Bortolini, Rolando Gonz?lez-Jos?. Lack of Support for the Association between Facial Shape and Aggression: A Reappraisal Based on a Worldwide Population Genetics Perspective. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (1): e52317 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052317

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/YXJ4WNxrpjc/130125104102.htm

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Steven Brooks, Nevada Assemblyman, Explains Arrest

A Nevada assemblyman charged with threatening to kill the state Assembly speaker said he's actually the victim of the speaker's plot to kill him.

Assemblyman Steven Brooks (D-Las Vegas), charged this week with threatening to kill Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick (D-North Las Vegas) after she did not appoint him chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he believes his life is in danger,

"If (Kirkpatrick) comes to kill me again, I have an armed guard," Brooks told The Review-Journal. "No one is going to touch me again. I'm safe."

Brooks didn't comment on the charge against him.

"I've had a month of hell," he told the newspaper in a shirtless interview this week. "I had the worst month I had in all my life and the new year just started."

The Review-Journal said Brooks wants the speaker to submit hair samples to help prove Brooks' claim that she is a drug addict.

Brooks admitted he had a gun with him when he was arrested during a traffic stop last weekend.

Brooks' attorney denied the assemblyman has mental issues, the Review-Journal reported. Brooks' wife had accused him of mental health problems. Brooks claimed it's Kirkpatrick who needs psychiatric help. Kirkpatrick did not return a Review-Journal call for comment.

Brooks, a former teacher, was first elected in 2010. On his state website he lists his occupation as a management analyst for Las Vegas city government.

Brooks' arrest is the second bizarre case involving a Nevada legislator's personal life in recent years. Last year, former state Sen. Elizabeth Halseth (R-Las Vegas) resigned from her seat and said she had to leave the state in order to find a job. Halseth's resignation came amid a bitter public divorce and child custody battle. Halseth, who was elected in 2010 at the age of 27, accused her husband, Daniel Halseth, of "open and gross lewdness" in October 2011 and claimed he tried to force her to have sex and then took her purse and car keys.

Halseth attempted a comeback in May 2011, when she launched a national write-in campaign for a spot in Maxim's 100 hottest women in the world. Halseth's campaign included photos of herself in a bikini.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/steven-brooks-nevada-arrest_n_2553302.html

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Whitening freckle foods, how can the skin whitening? | Health and ...

What are freckle removal foods? Spots are the result of imbalance in the inner loop, so whitening freckle foods to adjust is the most critical, let me come to you inventory under daily life freckle removal food, and I hope for all of us to help.

Almonds
Almonds are rich in protein, vitamins and other nutritional nutrition for skin supply needs, and have a whitening effect, the soft white color, smooth and elastic.

Cucumber
The cucumber is rich in potassium and a certain number of pinkbaby active enzymes whitening crystals carotene, vitamin c, vitamin b1, vitamin b2, carbohydrate, protein, and mustard, phosphorus, iron and other nutrients. Regular consumption of cucumber porridge, can eliminate freckles, whitening skin.

Green beans
Mung bean containing starch, fat, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins (a, b1, b2), phospholipids, detoxify, diuretic swelling, go to the surface spots effect.

Tomato
Tomatoes are rich in vitamin c, known as ?vitamin c warehouse. Vitamin c can inhibit the activity of tyrosinase in the skin, and effectively reduce the formation of melanin, making the skin white and tender, dark spots subsided. A day to drink a glass of fresh tomato juice or raw tomatoes are often better role in the prevention and treatment of freckles.

Red beans
Containing starch, fat, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins (b1, b2), plant saponin benefits of water swelling, detoxify the abscess, heat dampness, favorable blood circulation.

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Tags: freckle removal food, skin whitening, skin whitening foods, whitening freckle food
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 24th, 2013 and is filed under Health Tips, Skin Care, Skin Whitening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.hhtip.com/whitening-freckle-foods-how-can-the-skin-whitening/

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Global warming less extreme than feared? New estimates from a Norwegian project on climate calculations

Jan. 25, 2013 ? Policymakers are attempting to contain global warming at less than 2?C. New estimates from a Norwegian project on climate calculations indicate this target may be more attainable than many experts have feared.

Climate researcher Caroline Leck of Stockholm University has evaluated the Norwegian project and is enthusiastic.

"These results are truly sensational," says Dr Leck. "If confirmed by other studies, this could have far-reaching impacts on efforts to achieve the political targets for climate."

Temperature rise is levelling off

After Earth's mean surface temperature climbed sharply through the 1990s, the increase has levelled off nearly completely at its 2000 level. Ocean warming also appears to have stabilised somewhat, despite the fact that CO₂ emissions and other anthropogenic factors thought to contribute to global warming are still on the rise.

It is the focus on this post-2000 trend that sets the Norwegian researchers' calculations on global warming apart.

Sensitive to greenhouse gases

Climate sensitivity is a measure of how much the global mean temperature is expected to rise if we continue increasing our emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

CO₂ is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activity. A simple way to measure climate sensitivity is to calculate how much the mean air temperature will rise if we were to double the level of overall CO₂ emissions compared to the world's pre-industrialised level around the year 1750.

If we continue to emit greenhouse gases at our current rate, we risk doubling that atmospheric CO₂ level in roughly 2050.

Mutual influences

A number of factors affect the formation of climate development. The complexity of the climate system is further compounded by a phenomenon known as feedback mechanisms, i.e. how factors such as clouds, evaporation, snow and ice mutually affect one another.

Uncertainties about the overall results of feedback mechanisms make it very difficult to predict just how much of the rise in Earth's mean surface temperature is due to humanmade emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the climate sensitivity to doubled atmospheric CO₂ levels is probably between 2?C and 4.5?C, with the most probable being 3?C of warming.

In the Norwegian project, however, researchers have arrived at an estimate of 1.9?C as the most likely level of warming.

Humanmade climate forcing

"In our project we have worked on finding out the overall effect of all known feedback mechanisms," says project manager Terje Berntsen, who is a professor at the University of Oslo's Department of Geosciences and a senior research fellow at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research -- Oslo (CICERO). The project has received funding from the Research Council of Norway's Large-scale Programme on Climate Change and its Impacts in Norway (NORKLIMA).

"We used a method that enables us to view the entire earth as one giant 'laboratory' where humankind has been conducting a collective experiment through our emissions of greenhouse gases and particulates, deforestation, and other activities that affect climate."

For their analysis, Professor Berntsen and his colleagues entered all the factors contributing to human-induced climate forcings since 1750 into their model. In addition, they entered fluctuations in climate caused by natural factors such as volcanic eruptions and solar activity. They also entered measurements of temperatures taken in the air, on ground, and in the oceans.

The researchers used a single climate model that repeated calculations millions of times in order to form a basis for statistical analysis. Highly advanced calculations based on Bayesian statistics were carried out by statisticians at the Norwegian Computing Center.

2000 figures make the difference

When the researchers at CICERO and the Norwegian Computing Center applied their model and statistics to analyse temperature readings from the air and ocean for the period ending in 2000, they found that climate sensitivity to a doubling of atmospheric CO₂ concentration will most likely be 3.7?C, which is somewhat higher than the IPCC prognosis.

But the researchers were surprised when they entered temperatures and other data from the decade 2000-2010 into the model; climate sensitivity was greatly reduced to a "mere" 1.9?C.

Professor Berntsen says this temperature increase will first be upon us only after we reach the doubled level of CO₂ concentration (compared to 1750) and maintain that level for an extended time, because the oceans delay the effect by several decades.

Natural changes also a major factor

The figure of 1.9?C as a prediction of global warming from a doubling of atmospheric CO₂ concentration is an average. When researchers instead calculate a probability interval of what will occur, including observations and data up to 2010, they determine with 90% probability that global warming from a doubling of CO₂ concentration would lie between 1.2?C and 2.9?C.

This maximum of 2.9?C global warming is substantially lower than many previous calculations have estimated. Thus, when the researchers factor in the observations of temperature trends from 2000 to 2010, they significantly reduce the probability of our experiencing the most dramatic climate change forecast up to now.

Professor Berntsen explains the changed predictions: "The Earth's mean temperature rose sharply during the 1990s. This may have caused us to overestimate climate sensitivity.

"We are most likely witnessing natural fluctuations in the climate system -- changes that can occur over several decades -- and which are coming on top of a long-term warming. The natural changes resulted in a rapid global temperature rise in the 1990s, whereas the natural variations between 2000 and 2010 may have resulted in the levelling off we are observing now."

Climate issues must be dealt with

Terje Berntsen emphasises that his project's findings must not be construed as an excuse for complacency in addressing human-induced global warming. The results do indicate, however, that it may be more within our reach to achieve global climate targets than previously thought.

Regardless, the fight cannot be won without implementing substantial climate measures within the next few years.

Sulphate particulates

The project's researchers may have shed new light on another factor: the effects of sulphur-containing atmospheric particulates.

Burning coal is the main way that humans continue to add to the vast amounts of tiny sulphate particulates in the atmosphere. These particulates can act as condensation nuclei for cloud formation, cooling the climate indirectly by causing more cloud cover, scientists believe. According to this reasoning, if Europe, the US and potentially China reduce their particulate emissions in the coming years as planned, it should actually contribute to more global warming.

But the findings of the Norwegian project indicate that particulate emissions probably have less of an impact on climate through indirect cooling effects than previously thought.

So the good news is that even if we do manage to cut emissions of sulphate particulates in the coming years, global warming will probably be less extreme than feared.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Research Council of Norway. The original article was written by B?rd Amundsen/Else Lie; translation: Darren McKellep/Carol B. Eckmann.

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

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/T3NUeZNN3E4/130125103927.htm

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National Secular Society - Only 7% think being Christian is important ...

A new report from the think tank British Future looks at what it means to be British. Among a wealth of fascinating data, the poll conducted for the organisation finds that just 7% of Britons agree that being Christian is an important attribute for being British.

This compares with 50% who say that Britishness equates with respect for people's right to free speech ? even if you don't agree with them, 46% with respect for the law, 41% with speaking English, 38% with treating men and women equally, 29% with respect for all ethnic backgrounds, 26% with respect for all faiths, 26% with being born here, and 21% with voting in elections. Only being white (6%) scores lower than being Christian.

Demographically, the number citing being Christian peaks among the over-45s (11%), those with no formal educational qualifications (11%), and readers of right wing newspapers such as the Daily Mail and Daily Express (12%).

In answer to another question, tensions between different religions are (at 26%) the sixth most cited (of ten) causes of division in British society, after tensions between immigrants and people born in Britain (57%), between tax payers and welfare claimants (47%), between rich and poor (35%), between different ethnicities (33%), and between tax payers and tax avoiders (32%). However, tensions between different religions are ranked lower (seventh, at 16%) as a cause of division in the respondent's local area. All percentages are the sums of those ranking each cause in first, second or third position.

Read the report in full

Source: http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2013/01/only-7-percent-think-being-christian-is-important-for-being-british

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