Thursday, February 28, 2013

Lions, bears removed from convicted gangster's property

Vadim Ghirda / AP

A Romanian man known as Nutzu the Pawnbroker has been indicted for leading a fearsome criminal gang, but the public seems to be more interested in his pets: four lions and two bears

By Alison Mutler, The Associated Press

A Romanian man known as Nutzu the Pawnbroker has been indicted for leading a fearsome criminal gang, but the public seems to be more interested in his pets: four lions and two bears.

Ion Balint ? his real name ? had long been known to have an affinity for wild beasts in his home.

"You said I fed men to the lions?" Balint was recorded saying on a videotape as he rode away from prison on a black stallion in 2010. "Why don't you come over and I'll give you some lions!"

Authorities won't confirm that the lions and bears were used to intimidate rivals at his high-walled and heavily guarded estate in the poorest part of Romania's capital, Bucharest. The compound also contained less fearsome beasts, including thoroughbred horses and canaries.

Balint, 48, a stocky man with a mustache and a receding hairline, often appears dressed in T-shirts and tracksuits.


The Romanian news media were awash in unconfirmed reports about Balint's excesses, reporting that he used the lions and bears to intimidate rivals and that his house contained a torture chamber.

Vadim Ghirda / AP

The Romanian news media were awash in unconfirmed reports about Balint's excesses, reporting that he used the lions and bears to intimidate rivals and that his house contained a torture chamber.

His son-in-law, Marius Vlad, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the reports were false.

"Many untruths are being reported," he said.

'A good neighbor'
Bystanders and relatives who gathered near the gates of the estate described Balint as a good neighbor and an animal lover, and said they weren't bothered by roaring lions.

"We can hear them every day, but only when they're hungry or the female is in heat," said Gabriela Ionescu, 36, clutching her toddler daughter's hand. "They don't disturb us at all."

Authorities allege that Balint and his brother Vasile headed a criminal network that controlled much of the underworld activity in Bucharest, a city of 2 million. Some 400 police and detectives were involved in the investigation that led to the arrest last week of 67 suspects, including the Balint brothers.

In 2009, Balint was convicted of human trafficking, violence and pimping, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. That was reduced to six years, but Balint was free after a year.

On Wednesday, the four lions and two bears were sedated, put in cages and removed by environmental authorities and the Vier Pfoten animal welfare charity. The animals, which generally appeared in good condition, will be temporarily housed in a zoo and may eventually be relocated in South Africa, animal welfare officers said.

Mircea Pupaza, commissioner of the National Environment Guard, told The Associated Press that Balint had no documentation or health records for the animals, which he's kept illegally for 10 years. He could face a year in prison and a hefty fine for illegally keeping wild animals.

"The lions are a status symbol for him," said Livia Cimpoeru, a Vier Pfoten spokeswoman. She declined to speculate whether they had a more sinister purpose.

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

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17122745-lions-bears-removed-from-convicted-gangsters-property?lite

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Sony Ericsson Windows Phone prototype hits eBay, reminds us sliders existed

Sony Ericsson Windows Phone prototype slides onto eBay, wants us to call her Julie

eBay is as close as it comes to a genuine Aladdin's cave, and we've seen plenty of ancient rarities, prototypes, sci-fi weaponry, and the odd killer robot go under its gavel. One of the latest artifacts of interest comes from eBay's Netherlands site, which is hosting an auction for a Windows Phone prototype slider known to her friends as Julie (or Jolie, depending on where you look in the listing) from the now defunct Sony Ericsson partnership. The phone that never was from the company that is no longer is allegedly one of only seven units made, and is touted as having an 8-megapixel shooter and 16 gigs of storage. Some digging through the XDA Developers' forum suggests the handset's old Windows Phone 7 ROM is basically non-functional, so don't expect to plug in your SIM and stroll out the door with a useable device. If that doesn't put you off, however, there's no exorbitant entry price, and bids remain sensible, for now. Head to the listing below for more pictures and to get in on the action, but bear in mind the only shipping options are for Europe. Nothing a PM with an outrageous offer won't rectify, surely.

Update: The seller has been in contact to let us know that international shipping is now available, and while the WP7 ROM running on the handset is by no means a final build, there are no issues with voice calling, the camera or Bluetooth.

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U.S. to give Syrian rebels medical, food aid, not arms

ROME (Reuters) - The United States will send non-lethal aid directly to Syrian rebels for the first time, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, disappointing opponents of President Bashar al-Assad who are clamoring for Western weapons.

But in a change of emphasis, the mainly Western and Arab "Friends of Syria" group meeting in Rome "underlined the need to change the balance of power on the ground".

A final communique said participants would "coordinate their efforts closely so as to best empower the Syrian people and support the Supreme Military Command of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army in its efforts to help them exercise self-defense".

More than 70,000 Syrians have been killed in a fierce conflict that began with peaceful anti-Assad protests nearly two years ago. Some 860,000 have fled abroad and several million are displaced within the country or need humanitarian assistance.

Kerry, after the talks in Rome, said Washington would more than double its aid to the Syrian civilian opposition, giving it an extra $60 million to help provide food, sanitation and medical care to devastated communities.

The United States would now "extend food and medical supplies to the opposition, including to the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military (Council)", Kerry said.

In their communique, the "Friends of Syria" pledged more political and material support to the Syrian National Coalition, a fractious Cairo-based group that has struggled to gain traction inside Syria, especially among disparate rebel forces.

Riad Seif, a coalition leader, said before the Rome meeting that the opposition would demand "qualitative military support".

Another coalition official welcomed the result of the talks. "We move forward with a great deal of cautious optimism. We heard today a different kind of discourse," Yasser Tabbara said.

But the continued U.S. refusal to send weapons may compound the frustration that prompted the coalition to say last week it would shun the Rome talks. It attended only under U.S. pressure.

Many in the coalition say Western reluctance to arm rebels only plays into the hands of Islamist militants now widely seen as the most effective forces in the struggle to topple Assad.

However, a European diplomat held out the possibility of Western military support, saying the coalition and its Western and Arab backers would meet in Istanbul next week to discuss military and humanitarian support to the insurgents.

MEALS READY TO EAT

Kerry's offer of medical aid and Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), the U.S. army's basic ration, fell far short of rebel demands for sophisticated anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to help turn the tables against Assad's mostly Russian-supplied forces.

It also stopped short of providing other forms of non-lethal assistance such as bullet-proof vests, armored personnel vehicles and military training to the insurgents.

Last week the European Union opened the way for direct aid to Syrian rebels, but did not lift an arms embargo on Syria.

The Rome talks again signaled the lack of appetite among the United States and its allies for direct military intervention in Syria, after the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Iraq and the drawdown under way in Afghanistan.

The communique called for an immediate halt to "unabated" arms supplies to Damascus by third countries, referring mostly to Assad's allies Russia and Iran.

It also said Syria must immediately stop indiscriminate bombardment of populated areas, which it described as crimes against humanity. NATO officials say Assad's military has fired ballistic missiles within Syria, which the government denies.

Human Rights Watch has reported that at least 171 civilians were killed in four Scud missile strikes last week.

The "Friends of Syria" pledged "more political and material support to the coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and to get more concrete assistance inside Syria", but gave no details on exactly what would be provided.

Kerry said earlier this week he would not leave the Syrian opposition "dangling in the wind", unsure of getting support.

But the White House continues to resist providing weaponry to the rebel forces, arguing there is no way to guarantee the arms might not fall into the hands of Islamist militants who might eventually use them against Western or Israeli targets.

"HUGE DEBATE"

U.S. officials have said that the U.S. Defense and State departments, under former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, privately recommended that the White House arm the rebels, but were overruled.

"It's a huge debate inside the administration between those that have to deal with Syria on an everyday basis, the State Department and DoD (Defense) particularly, and the White House, which ... until now has vetoed any kind of outreach to the armed groups," said Andrew Tabler, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think-tank.

The United States says it has already provided more than $50 million in non-lethal assistance such as communications gear and governance training to Syria's civilian opposition.

A source in the Syrian coalition, however, said even the extra $60 million promised by Washington was a pittance compared to what he said was the $40 million a day in humanitarian aid needed for Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons.

The United States has provided some $365 million in humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees in countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon and for internally displaced people, channeling this money through non-governmental organizations.

More than 40,000 people a week are fleeing Syria and the total number of refugees will likely pass 1 million in less than a month, far sooner than the United Nations had forecast, a senior U.N. official told the Security Council on Wednesday.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Ant?nio Guterres said his agency had registered 936,000 Syrians across the Middle East and North Africa, nearly 30 times as many as in April last year.

"We expected to have 1.1 million Syrian refugees by June. If things continue to accelerate like this, it will take less than a month to reach that number," he told the 15-member council.

(Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-first-time-aid-syrian-rebels-non-lethal-120719048.html

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Divx codecs causes windows dvd maker to malfunction. How do i resolve this issue?

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Pistorius' brother facing culpable homicide charge

AAA??Feb. 24, 2013?3:49 AM ET
Pistorius' brother facing culpable homicide charge
AP

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius' father Henke Pistorius, right, with his son Carl watch as Oscar Pistorius walks in during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius' father Henke Pistorius, right, with his son Carl watch as Oscar Pistorius walks in during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Olympian Oscar Pistorius, foreground, stands following his bail hearing, as his brother Carl, left, and father Henke, second from left, look on in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Pistorius fired into the door of a small bathroom where his girlfriend was cowering after a shouting match on Valentine's Day, hitting her three times, a South African prosecutor said Tuesday as he charged the sports icon with premeditated murder. The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law. (AP Photo)

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius's brother Carl Pistorius looks on after his bail application appearance at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Pistorius was formally charged at Pretoria Magistrate?s Court with one count of murder after his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, a model and budding reality TV show participant, was shot multiple times and killed at Pistorius' upmarket home in the predawn hours of Thursday. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

FILE - This Nov. 4, 2012 file photo shows Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa. Far from the courtroom drama that has gripped South Africa, the family of Pistorius' slain girlfriend, Steenkamp, has struggled with its own private deluge of grief, frustration and bewilderment. The victim's relatives also harbor misgivings about efforts by the Olympian's family to reach out to them with condolences. Pistorius, meanwhile, spent Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 at his uncle's home in an affluent suburb of Pretoria, the South African capital, after a judge released him on bail. (AP Photo/City Press, Lucky Nxumalo) SOUTH AFRICA OUT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The family lawyer of Oscar Pistorius says the brother of the Olympic paraplegic athlete is facing culpable homicide charge in a 2010 road death.

Laywer Kenny Oldwage would not confirm details of the case Carl Pistorius is facing, but Sunday's development is compounding the problems for the family after Oscar was charged with premeditated murder in the Feb. 14 shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Local media reported that Carl Pistorius was allegedly involved in a crash with a woman motorcyclist and that he was to face trial last Thursday, as his brother Oscar was facing a bail hearing.

Oscar Pistorius was released on bail Friday and his brother Carl was seen driving into the affluent villa of their uncle Arnold early Sunday, where Oscar is staying while on bail.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-24-Pistorius'%20Brother/id-828ca52b11b64aca981d069313774185

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Johnson & Johnson opens Boston Innovation Center, run by former executive director of MIT cancer institute

roberturban.jpg

J&J is coming to Kendall.

One of the last big pharmaceutical companies without an outpost in the life sciences capital of the world is remedying that oversight, opening an office at One Cambridge Center this spring. Johnson & Johnson's Boston Innovation Center will be run by Robert Urban, right, a onetime biotech entrepreneur who was most recently executive director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. (That's the top administrative position, reporting to director Tyler Jacks.) Urban started at J&J in early November, and he is already managing a group of more than 20 employees ??both new hires, and J&J veterans who are relocating to the area ??working in temporary office space in the Back Bay.

New Jersey-based J&J, maker of Band-Aids and baby shampoo, is the second-biggest pharma company in the U.S. by revenue, just behind Pfizer. (And Pfizer is building a big new R&D facility in Kendall, slated to be finished later this year.) The Cambridge office will help forge and manage research collaborations with universities and companies working on new medical devices, drugs, diagnostics, and consumer health products, and also make investments in start-ups. Even before the establishment of the Boston Innovation Center, J&J has worked with MIT and local companies like Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and Alkermes.

"What we really hope to do is try to simplify for the outside world how you might try to interact with J&J," Urban told me this morning. "We have 250 businesses spread across the world. With these innovation centers in Boston, Menlo Park, London, and Shanghai, we're creating four red doors" ??red, of course, being J&J's corporate hue ??"that innovators can walk through to help them figure out who to work with here." The Boston Innovation Center will be staffed with technical experts in areas like neuroscience, oncology, and vaccines who can evaluate prospective partnerships; a team to craft contracts and then manage those partnerships; and also investors from J&J's corporate venture capital arm.

Urban says that the focus of the Boston Innovation Center will be on products that are "pre proof-of-concept, or basically pre-phase 2 randomized clinical trial." Anything at a later stage would typically be handled by corporate development or mergers-and-acquisitions teams within J&J's business units. And with several big J&J drugs having lost their patent protection in 2011 and 2012, it isn't surprising that Urban adds, "We're focused on collaborations that can head to commercialization as soon as possible."

Urban says that setting up a J&J research-and-development lab in Cambridge isn't part of the current plan. "It may turn out that as we do some of these projects [with partners], it might make sense for some of our researchers to work side-by-side with the companies, and we're not averse to that," he says. But the company's strategy doesn't involve establishing a "substantial physical research footprint here."

Urban says that about 65 percent of the Boston Innovation Center team are J&J employees who have transferred from elsewhere in the company, like finance director Salvatore Giovine. Others have been brought in from other companies, like vice president of oncology scientific innovation Pamela Carroll, who came from Roche Pharmaceuticals. J&J is still hiring for the new facility.

Johnson & Johnson announced the creation of its four innovation centers last September. Its Boston Innovation Center opening in Cambridge this spring is not to be confused with the Boston Innovation Center that is opening in Boston this spring, operated by the Cambridge Innovation Center. But who could possibly be confused? (The Boston Innovation Center in Boston will be a gathering place for people who work in the Innovation District; I wrote about it back in November.)

Source: http://feeds.boston.com/c/35022/f/646890/s/28dadb1a/l/0L0Sboston0N0Cbusiness0Ctechnology0Cinnoeco0C20A130C0A20Cjohnson0Ijohnson0Iopens0Iinnovati0Bhtml0Drss0Iid0FMost0KPopular/story01.htm

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Monmouth College women's basketball team's record-setting season came to a close...

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Saturday, February 23, 2013

If Twitter and Facebook users picked Oscar winners ? (infographic)

The Oscars are here, and guaranteed, some arty subtitled French film that no football-watching man has voluntarily watched will win one or three. But what if the Twitterati and Facebookers chose the winners?

According to digital ad firm RadiumOne, Twitter and Facebook users would select Hugh Jackman as best actor for Les Mis ? shockingly, not Wolverine ? and Jennifer Lawrence as Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook.

Twitter users would pick teen vamp Twilight thriller?Breaking Dawn Part 2?as Best Picture, with almost 1.3 million followers, but their second place would go to Paranormal Activity 4, with less than 10 percent as many followers at 117,192. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey would slot into number three position, with 86,389 followers.

Facebook users would also pick the Twilight movie as Best Picture.

The film received a massive 38 million likes, almost five times as many as first loser ? and a much better movie, if I do say so myself ? The Hunger Games. And Facebook would select TED, a movie about a teddy bear that comes to life, in third place.

(Perhaps there?s a good reason why social media doesn?t pick the Oscars.)

Here?s all the data in visual form:

_Oscar-Infographic-Final-Digital

photo credit: Dave_B_ via photopin cc

Source: http://venturebeat.com/2013/02/23/if-twitter-and-facebook-users-picked-oscar-winners-infographic/

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Disgraced former San Diego mayor Maureen O'Connor: Brain tumor contributed to gambling addiction

(CBS News) Maureen O'Connor was a beloved former mayor of San Diego. But O'Connor's life took a stunning turn after it was revealed she gambled away a fortune.

Prosecutors believe she won and lost more than $1 billion, playing video poker, raiding a charity foundation of $2 million to feed her gambling habit.

O'Connor sat down with CBS News' Bill Whitaker to explain what she thinks led to the addiction that has left her bankrupt.

Asked what's the worst of the situation for her, O'Connor said, "I couldn't do it in private. Very public. If I had my wish, I wished it would be gamblers anonymous, not, 'here's Maureen's story.'"

O'Connor said her story plays out in two acts: "Maureen 1" was mayor of San Diego. Her second act is unfolding in national headlines: a tawdry tale of gambling and lost fortunes. The widow of Robert Peterson, the founder of the West Coast fast-food chain, Jack-in-the-Box, she inherited as much as $50 million, say federal prosecutors.

"I used some of that fortune to help people. And then, some of that fortune, when I started to become 'Maureen 2,' went into an addiction of gambling. ... I lost a fortune. And for that I'm sorry," O'Connor said.

Her game of choice: video poker. She was such a big spender, casinos in San Diego and Las Vegas would lavish her with gifts to keep her coming. She would have come anyway. "It was like electronic heroin," O'Connor said. "You know, the more you did, the more you needed and the more it wasn't satisfied."

She told CBS News she could lose more than $100,000 in a day.

Increasingly desperate, she started to sell off properties to raise millions more -- including a house in an exclusive beach community in La Jolla, right by neighbor, Mitt Romney.

Phillip Halpern, federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, said, "And only after all that was done, did she then go and raid a private foundation of over $2 million."

She took the money from her husband's charity. She called it a loan to be paid back. Halpern called it a money laundering and says she won and lost a staggering amount. He said, "We're talking about billions with a 'B.' It's not against the law to bankrupt yourself. The violation was that she raided that charity of $2 million."

For O'Connor -- now penniless -- it's a public humiliation.

O'Connor said during a tearful press conference recently, "I never meant to hurt the city that I loved."

San Diego once loved her. She was the first woman mayor. From 1986 to 1992, she brought in light rail, a convention center, and helped transform San Diego from a sleepy Navy town into the country's eighth largest city.

O'Connor said of the time, "I was interested in doing everything I could to make the city a better city."

As mayor she was always in control. Her gambling was out of control.

"I thought I could beat that machine," she said. "And when it got worse, I didn't know I had the silent grenade in my head that could go off at any time."

The "silent grenade" was a golf ball-sized tumor doctors removed from her brain. They discovered it two years ago when she started hallucinating. She says she believes the slow-growing tumor contributed to her gambling addiction. "It's not an excuse for my gambling, but I think that was, yes, a part of it. You lose your sense of control," she said.

The tumor could have affected her behavior, says her neuropsychologist, Dr. Barbara Shrock. She said, "In about 20 percent of cases in tumors, psychiatric personality or behavioral changes often time are the first symptom of the tumor."

But Halpern is skeptical, saying "she began her gambling run in 2001 -- a decade earlier. It would have to be a pretty slow-growing tumor."

Halpern said the Justice Department will drop the charges if O'Connor repays the charity and gets help for gambling addiction.

O'Connor said, "After the tumor was taken out and I started healing, I have no desire to gamble."

She does desire her city's forgiveness. O'Connor said, "I would hope they would remember 'Maureen 1,' and 'Maureen 2' -- I hope that they would understand."

For Bill Whitaker's full report, watch the video in the player above.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/cbsnews/feed/~3/pXpKpomD-K0/

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Friday, February 22, 2013

How To Choose A Diet


Losing weight can be frustrating, difficult and seem like an impossible task. There are so many diets that promise you will lose weight that don't seem to work at all. Consider keeping a food journal to keep track of the calories you eat each day. After a few days, you can identify eating habits that are less than healthy. Being aware of what you eat is half the battle. The other half is learning how to control the portions and calories you consume.

Why Diet Meal Delivery Works

Delivery diet meals are gaining in popularity. You watch TV celebrities on commercials telling you they work. They do work for most people, and the reason is portion and calorie control. Most people do not count their calories all day long every day. It is simply too much trouble to figure it up at each meal. Diet meal delivery systems have done the work for you. You will receive the number of calories on the box and they are easy to prepare.

Everyone is busy these days and most people are too tired to cook at the end of their day. A healthy diet meal that is easy to prepare will help you lose weight. Once you are accustomed to eating small healthy meals, you can continue eating this way the rest of your life. Fad diets don't work because they don't offer a long term solution.

Why Regular Dieting Doesn't Work

Fad diets do not work because they are a temporary way to eat. You need a plan that will change the way you eat for the rest of your life. Fad diets work some of the time but the results are always temporary. As soon as you get off the diet, you will gain whatever weight you lost back plus a few more. That is why being on and off a diet is so frustrating for most people. You work hard to lose weight, then go off the diet and the weight comes right back. The way you currently eat is simply out of habit. You can break a unhealthy eating habit just like you can break other bad habits in your life.

How To Choose A Diet For Life

Choose healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables for snacks. Remember to limit your food portions at every meal. You should aim to eat smaller meals several times a day. Choose lean meats such as fish, chicken and turkey as a protein source. You should also eat beans and nuts several times a week. Fresh garden salads should be included several times per week. Use your diet meal delivery menus as a guideline for lifetime eating habits. Drink water instead of carbonated sodas that are high in sugar and sodium. Reduce your sodium use gradually and you will be surprised at how fast you don't miss the added salt. Salt can make you retain water and that is the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish. Stick with it and you will be successful.

About the Author

Nutrition in Motion 1415 Bloor St W Toronto, ON M6P 3L4 (416) 486-1646 knows how important it is to nourish your body with healthy foods to lose weight. Visit their website to learn more about their diet meal delivery systems, http://ca.nimdiet.com/

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Company offering fake Facebook girlfriend

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Mini microscopes see inside the brains of mice

Mini microscopes embedded into the brains of genetically engineered mice are providing researchers a window onto the inner workings of the mammalian mind.

The tool provides an unprecedentedly wide field of view on the mouse brain ? in one mouse, for example, the team recorded the firing of more than 1,000 individual neurons ? and it can record for weeks on end, allowing scientists to study how brain activity evolves over time.

?That kind of question, the time-lapse question, has not been previously examined in freely behaving mice,? Mark Schnitzer, an associate professor of biology and applied physics at Stanford University, told NBC News.

He and colleagues described the tool earlier this month in the journal Nature Neuroscience and have launched a startup company, Inscopix Inc., to market the mini microscopes to researchers who study neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer?s and other brain disorders.

Fluorescing neurons
The mini microscopes are mounted into little circles removed from the mouse cranium. They wear them around like a hat, Schnitzer explained.

Neurons in the mice?s hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with spatial memory, are genetically engineered to express green fluorescence protein, especially in the presence of calcium. When a neuron fires, the cell naturally floods with calcium ions, and thus fluoresces more intensely.

The mini microscope is connected to a camera chip, which routes images of neurons fluorescing to a computer screen. The result is a near real-time video of the mouse?s brain activity as it runs around a small enclosure. Check it out in the video below.

To the untrained eye, the firing neurons appear chaotic and random, but the researchers discerned a clear pattern. Specific neurons fire in association with specific areas in the enclosure.

?The individual neurons seem to have preferences regarding the mouse?s location in space,? Schnitzer explained. ?This neuron might fire when the mouse is over here and that neuron might fire when the mouse is over there.?

Disease studies
While this spatial mapping was known from previous studies, the ability to image many hundreds of neurons at once and for long enough to watch the brain evolve is novel, Schnitzer said. The tool may come in handy for researchers studying the evolution of diseases such as Alzheimer?s.

For example, the National Institutes of Health has supported the development of mouse models of human brain diseases, Schnitzer explained. Using the tool, researchers could compare the evolution of a healthy mouse with one known to have a model of Alzheimer?s.

This might, Schnitzer said, allow researchers to ?see maybe what early symptoms look like before it is even apparent at the behavioral level. And one could imagine providing therapeutics and seeing the effects of those down to the resolution of single cells.?

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/mini-microscopes-see-inside-brains-mice-1C8451330

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Study: Chinese parents bigger fibbers than Americans

Alexander F. Yuan / AP, file

A parent takes photos of her daughter playing the drums at a children's play area in a shopping mall in Beijing on Jan. 10.

By Ed Flanagan, Producer, NBC News

BEIJING -- Parents throughout the world have been known to tell a white lie to cajole dinner into a fussy child or explain the pile of gifts that appears under the Christmas tree as if by magic.?

According to a new study, Chinese parents rank among the biggest fibbers.?

The study in the International Journal of Psychology titled ?Instrumental lying by parents in the US and China? found that most respondents -- 84 percent of Americans and 98 percent of Chinese -- admitted that they lied to their children. Chinese parents, however, were far more likely to lie to force changes in behavior, it found.

?A larger proportion of the parents in China reported that they employed instrumental lietelling [sic] to promote behavioral compliance, and a larger proportion approved of this practice, as compared to the parents in the U.S.,? the authors said in the report.

The researchers from the University of San Diego, the University of Toronto and Zhejiang Normal University interviewed 114 American and 85 Chinese parents who had at least one child aged 3 years or older.

The participants were given a list of fibs and asked to report which ones they had told their children.

For example, 68 percent of Chinese respondents reported telling their children, ?If you don?t follow me, a kidnapper will come to kidnap you while I?m gone.? Only 18 percent of American respondents made similar claims.

Sixty-one percent of the Chinese parents said they would tell their children, ?Finish all your food or you?ll grow up to be short.? Just 10 percent of American parents utilized that particular little white lie.

According to the study, Chinese parents surveyed told 15 out of the 16 ?specific instrumental lies? at higher rates than American parents.

More news from China in NBC's Behind the Wall

The only exception was a false claim that there is no more candy in the house, which was reported by 57.5 percent of parents in the United States as compared with 42.9 percent of Chinese parents.

American parents reported using more of what the study calls comparison lies -- untrue statements intended to generate positive feeling or to promote fantasy characters.

Sixty percent of Americans said they would use the line, ?That was beautiful piano playing,? even if they thought it sounded terrible. In contrast, 44 percent of Chinese declared they would lie in those circumstances.

The results could be interpreted to mean that Chinese parents are more comfortable lying in general, but the study?s authors said that Chinese parents ?made more negative evaluations of children?s lies,? and expressed more negative views than their American counterparts on fibs about fantasy characters like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. Indeed, 88 percent of American respondents said they had used the lie, ?Santa Claus will come to deliver your present on Christmas Eve.?

The study suggested that the wide acceptance of parental lying among Chinese adults could be driven by a strong desire for social cohesiveness and an emphasis on respect and obedience, according to the authors.

In other words, lying can be an effective tool in socializing children.

Or as one Chinese parent put it, ?When teaching children, it is okay to use well-intentioned lies. It can promote positive development and prevent your child from going astray.?

Source: http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/20/17004160-study-chinese-parents-bigger-fibbers-than-american-ones?lite

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Jazz notes: Jefferson helps out after tornado

Jazz notes ? Damaged Hattiesburg, Miss., near Big Al?s hometown.

Houston ? Al Jefferson didn?t have big plans for All-Star Weekend. He was going home to southern Mississippi and would see people he wanted to see.

Then a tornado struck nearby Hattiesburg. On Saturday, the Jazz center spent his time with people he hadn?t even known.

In a video report published online by WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg, Jefferson could be seen visiting families in areas hit hardest by the tornado, which reportedly destroyed or damaged 800 homes.

Jefferson grew up in Prentiss, a small town 55 miles from Hattiesburg, a college city of 50,000 people. While no one was killed by the storm, it gutted sections of Hattiesburg.

"It took my breath away," Jefferson told the news station. "I?m still kind of amazed just to see all of the damage that was done."

So, like Jefferson does when his team?s offense has begun to lag, he decided to do something about it. WDAM reported Jefferson pledged to buy a new car for a teenage girl whose vehicle was destroyed by the tornado.

"It feels good, man," Jefferson said. "It feels real good, especially when you?re able to do it. This time, everybody needs to come together and stick together and help each other out."

Jefferson who makes $15 million this season in the final year of his contract with the Jazz, also hosts an offseason basketball camp for children and funded a scholarship endowment in honor of his late father.

"If I can just help someone get through this," he said, "it makes me feel better and like I did my part."

story continues below

Rumors

The Jazz were rumored Saturday to be in talks with the Los Angeles Clippers about a deal that would bring Eric Bledsoe to Utah while shipping free agent-to-be Paul Millsap to Southern California.

The potential trade was reported by ESPN.com.

Bledsoe would provide the point guard of the future the Jazz are seeking, and Millsap would give the Clippers front court depth for their playoff run. However, Millsap makes more than $5 million more than Bledsoe, meaning the Clippers would have to include other pieces to make the salaries match. Things would get tricky at that point for the Jazz, who would need to find a way to open roster spots. They currently carry 15 players under contract, which is the league maximum.

The voters back home

Jeremy Evans didn?t win the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday at the Toyota Center, falling to Toronto?s Terrence Ross in a popular vote.

Evans jumped over a portrait of himself dunking that he painted in the week and a half before the contest, and then over a seated Dahntay Jones for his final performance. However, Evans garnered only 42 percent of the vote.

While not all of the viewers favored Evans, his teammates certainly did. Enes Kanter, Millsap, Gordon Hayward, DeMarre Carroll, Kevin Murphy, Jamaal Tinsley and Derrick Favors all tweeted their support for Evans. After the result was announced, Carroll was the most vocal dissenter.

"Are you serious???" he wrote on the social networking site. "I thought the dunk contest was about bein CREATIVE."

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/55849227-87/jefferson-jazz-evans-hattiesburg.html.csp

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Wall Street ends slightly down, S&P positive for seventh week

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 dipped in a late decline on Friday as Wal-Mart dropped following a report of a weak start to February sales, though the index just barely extended its streak of weekly gains to seven.

Equities were little changed for much of the session, with investors finding few reasons to make big bets following an extended rally on Wall Street, but stocks turned lower in afternoon action.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc dropped 2.1 percent to $69.30 after Bloomberg News reported a weak start to February sales, citing internal company e-mails. The stock was the biggest decliner on the Dow, while the S&P retail index <.spxrt> fell 0.5 percent.

"When a retailer of this size comes out with this kind of lousy news, the whole market can fall off, especially on a Friday afternoon," said Mike Shea, trader at Direct Access Partners in New York. "However, I'm not worried that this is indicative of any larger macro issue with retail."

Equities have struggled for direction recently, with major indexes moving only slightly in the past several sessions. The S&P didn't end a session with a move greater than 0.2 percent at all this week.

The benchmark index, up 6.6 percent so far this year, is facing strong technical resistance near the 1,525 level. But investors, expecting the index to advance further in the quarter, have held back from locking in profits.

"There's no news that suggests the strong underpinning for stocks isn't appropriate. We may have gotten ahead of ourselves, but there's also an absence of bad news," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

Many investors are starting to look ahead to a debate in Washington over sequestration, automatic across-the-board spending cuts put in place as part of a larger congressional budget fight. The cuts are due to kick in March 1 unless lawmakers agree to an alternative.

"This had been far enough out to not yet become an impediment for stocks, but it will start to move into the forefront and cause people to take a bit of a jaundiced eye towards the market," said Luschini, who helps oversee about $54 billion in assets.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 11.27 points, or 0.08 percent, at 13,984.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 0.32 points, or 0.02 percent, at 1,521.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 0.21 percent at 3,192.03.

For the week, both the Dow and Nasdaq fell 0.1 percent while the S&P rose 0.1 percent in its seventh straight week of gains, a period during which the index rose 8.4 percent. The last such seven-week run was between December 2010 and January 2011.

The New York Federal Reserve said manufacturing in New York state expanded for the first time in seven months, while Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading of consumer sentiment rose from the prior month and beat expectations.

But U.S. manufacturing fell in January after a rise in the prior month.

Wall Street's gain thus far in 2013 has largely been driven by strong corporate earnings, while data indicated some weakening in economic conditions.

A surge in merger and acquisition activity, with more than $158 billion in deals announced so far in 2013, has given further support to the equity market as it points to healthy valuations and bets on the economic outlook.

Herbalife shares cut earlier gains to rise 1.2 percent to $38.74. Late Thursday, billionaire investor Carl Icahn said in a regulatory filing that he now owns 13 percent of Herbalife and was ready to put it in play.

MeadWestvaco Corp climbed 12.5 percent to $35.65 as the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P index after activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP said it had bought about 1.6 million shares of the packaging company.

Burger King Worldwide shares gained 4.7 percent to $17.36 after it beat estimates with a 94 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit, thanks to new menu additions.

Oil service stocks declined, weighed by a 5.1 percent drop in shares of Transocean to $56.26, after the rig contractor reported its fleet update and Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock to "sell." The PHLX oil service sector <.osx> lost 1.5 percent.

Slightly more stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange while about 50 percent of Nasdaq shares ended lower. About 6.69 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, above the daily average so far this year of about 6.48 billion shares.

(Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-ends-slightly-down-p-positive-seventh-001748131--finance.html

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Monday, February 18, 2013

Virgin Media creates 400 new jobs to support expansion

Broadband provider Virgin Media is continuing its expansion with the recruitment of 400 new staff members.

The firm will take on 90 new engineers, 80 customer care assistants and 230 customer service and technical support staff, reports the BBC.

New positions will be created at the firm's bases in Swansea, Manchester and Birmingham.

These are in addition to the 620 new roles created by the cable specialist in 2012.

Paul Buttery, Virgin Media's Customer and Networks Chief, told the news provider that the expansion will enable the firm "to better support the government's ambitions for the country".

The Con-Lib coalition wants 90 per cent of the UK population to have access to super-fast broadband by 2015, and for all communities to have minimum speeds of 2Mb.

"We?re investing in the very communities we serve to ensure all our customers get the experience they expect from us as we power Britain?s digital heartbeat," Mr Buttery stated.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uSwitchBroadbandNews/~3/__9jvPsJ7AI/

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Friday, February 15, 2013

Kilmer applauds jobs focus in State of the Union address

After attending his first State of the Union address, U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer said he was encouraged by President Obama's push for a balanced approach to deficit reduction and his call for job creation and protecting the middle class.

Kilmer, a 6th District Democrat from Gig Harbor, was elected to Congress in November.

In a statement after attending President Obama?s State of the Union address Tuesday, Kilmer noted the recent postponement of a job fair at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard brought on by budget uncertainty, and the impact of a drop in military spending at the end of 2012.

?Job growth doesn?t happen in the halls of the Capitol, it happens at home on Main Street,? Kilmer said.

?As the president pointed out, Congress should be working to improve our economy and helping small businesses in our region create good, high-paying jobs," he said.

"The postponement of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard career fair and the latest dip in the economy show that congressional inaction is making it harder to move our nation forward. That?s why we need to stop these nonstrategic, across-the-board cuts and replace them with a smart, balanced approach to reduce our deficit and get our economy growing,? Kilmer said.

Kilmer's invited guest to the State of the Union was Bruce Kendall, president and CEO of the Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County.

Kendall is also a member of the board of the University of Washington-Tacoma Institute of Technology, and serves on the board of the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District, the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, the Tacoma-Pierce County Workforce Development Council and the World Trade Center Tacoma.

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Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/birnews/~3/Gu_2CE4hBPI/191048041.html

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The Right?s ?Liberal Media Bias? Crutch (OliverWillisLikeKryptoniteToStupid)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/284706539?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Police make six more arrests over phone hacking

LONDON (Reuters) - British police investigating the hacking of mobile phones to generate stories at Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid made six more arrests of journalists or former journalists on Wednesday.

The phone hacking in the new arrests was believed to have taken place in 2005 and 2006, the police said. Five suspects were arrested and taken in for questioning in London and one in Cheshire in northern England.

Operation Weeting was set up to investigate the allegation that journalists and private detectives working for the News of the World tabloid, owned by News Corp's British arm News International, repeatedly hacked into mobile phones.

Revelations that the hacking extended from celebrities and politicians to crime victims, including murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, caused public outrage.

The scandal escalated into a wider crisis embroiling the top echelons of the British political establishment, media, and police, and led to Murdoch closing down the News of the World in July 2011.

The latest arrests involve a suspected conspiracy separate to the one under which charges have already been made.

Earlier this month, a senior police officer was jailed after she was found guilty of offering to sell details about the phone-hacking inquiry to the tabloid, the first person to be convicted as part of the investigation.

Prime Minister David Cameron's former media chief Andy Coulson, who was editor of the News of the World between 2003 and 2007, and Rebekah Brooks, the former boss of News International and a confidante of Murdoch, are among those charged with criminal offences.

Last week, News International agreed to settle most outstanding civil lawsuits brought against it by phone hacking victims, including actor Hugh Grant and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

(Reporting by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-six-more-arrests-over-phone-hacking-115236770--finance.html

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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Four college athletes from Conway finalists for Stars of Tomorrow Award

Four Faulkner County athletes, two each from the University of Central Arkansas and Hendrix College, are among the 10 finalists for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame?s Star of Tomorrow Award.

They are Megan Herbert, UCA Sugar Bears basketball player; Seth Allison, UCA football player; Connor Silvestri of Conway, Hendrix soccer player; and Melissa Clement, Hendrix volleyball player.

The award is presented to the top college athlete from either an Arkansas-based college or university or an out-of-state school if that athlete is from Arkansas.

The Star of Tomorrow Award will be presented during the Hall of Fame?s induction banquet Friday, March 8, at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock. The award will be given for accomplishments during the 2012 calendar year.

Athletes from all intercollegiate sports, male and female, are eligible for the award.

Sports information directors from colleges and universities nominate athletes for the award. The number of nominees per school is determined by the full-time enrollment. Colleges and universities with fewer than 5,000 students can nominate two athletes. The totals increase to four athletes for schools with between 5,000 and 10,000 students; six athletes for schools with between 10,000 and 15,000 students; eight athletes for schools with between 15,000 and 20,000 students; and 10 athletes for schools with more than 20,000 students.

A panel of media representatives determines the 10 finalists each year. The selection of each nominee is weighted as follows: 60 percent based on athletic performance, 20 percent based on academic performance and 20 percent based on community involvement.

The winner is determined using the following formula: 25 percent based on a public vote, 25 percent based on a vote by dues-paying members of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, 25 percent based on a vote by members of the Arkansas sports media and 25 percent based on a vote by Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees.

The winner of the first Star of Tomorrow Award was Joe Adams, a football player from the University of Arkansas.

The other finalists are:

? Ryan Aplin, a football player from Arkansas State University

? Ashley Ray, a softball player from Henderson State University

? Connor Silvestri, a soccer player from Hendrix College

? Tyler Wilson, a football player from the University of Arkansas

? Mickey Hammer, a cross country runner from Southern Arkansas University

? Kevin Rodgers, a football player from Henderson State University

? Jaime Pisani, a gymnast from the University of Arkansas

Source: http://thecabin.net/sports/college/2013-02-14/four-college-athlets-conway-finalists-stars-tomorrow-award

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Is It Okay to Steal if You&#39;re from the Government? - Daniel J. Mitchell ...

In early January, I shared a ?libertarian purity test? based on 64 questions.

I was a bit disappointed that I only scored a 94 out of a possible 160, but my excuse is that it was really a test of anarcho-capitalism. And as I explained when sharing this amusing video, I?m only in favor of getting rid of 90 percent of government.

But maybe the simplest test of libertarianism (and also the simplest test of whether you?re a decent human being) is to see whether you?re upset by the following story.

It combines the lunacy of the drug war with the evil of asset forfeiture.

Here are some of the truly disgusting details from the OC Weekly. First we learn about the victims of this government abuse.

?he and his wife purchased the Anaheim building, which has suites for up to 12 offices, in 2003 and that her dental practice was located there. ?Over the years, they?ve rented to a variety of tenants, from insurance companies to an immigration service.

This unfortunate couple rented space to a group that seemed to comply with federal and state legal requirements.

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2013/02/13/is-it-okay-to-steal-if-youre-from-the-government-n1511022

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After Starbucks Deal, Square Now Powers Point Of Sale And Mobile Payments For Boutique Coffee Chain, Blue Bottle

Blue Bottle CoffeeLast year, mobile payments company Square signed a massive deal to power credit card processing and integrate Square Wallet with Starbucks. Today, the company is announcing integration with another coffee chain--Blue Bottle Coffee.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/tkplSnLlsR8/

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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Egypt's women fighting back against sex assaults

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 file photo, Egyptian girls chant slogans in Tahrir Square during a rally to mark the one year anniversary of the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Egypt. Egyptian women are growing increasingly angry and militant as they deal with one of the unintended consequences of the uprising _ an epidemic of sexual assault. The angry backlash, which includes self-defense courses and even threats of violent retaliation, is fueled by ultraconservative Islamists who suggest women invite assault by attending anti-government protests where they mix with men. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 file photo, Egyptian girls chant slogans in Tahrir Square during a rally to mark the one year anniversary of the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Egypt. Egyptian women are growing increasingly angry and militant as they deal with one of the unintended consequences of the uprising _ an epidemic of sexual assault. The angry backlash, which includes self-defense courses and even threats of violent retaliation, is fueled by ultraconservative Islamists who suggest women invite assault by attending anti-government protests where they mix with men. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

In this Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 photo, an Egyptian woman chants slogans in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, two years after the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian women are growing increasingly angry and militant as they deal with one of the unintended consequences of the uprising _ an epidemic of sexual assault. The angry backlash, which includes self-defense courses and even threats of violent retaliation, is fueled by ultraconservative Islamists who suggest women invite assault by attending anti-government protests where they mix with men. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

(AP) ? Egyptian women are growing increasingly angry and militant as they deal with one of the unintended consequences of the Arab Spring: an epidemic of sexual assault that law enforcement has failed to contain.

The backlash, which includes self-defense courses for women and even threats of violent retaliation, is fueled by ultraconservative Islamists who suggest that women invite assault by attending anti-government protests where they mix with men.

At marches against sexual harassment in Cairo, women have brandished kitchen knives in the air. Stenciled drawings on building walls depict girls fighting off men with swords. Signs threaten to "cut off the hand" of attackers.

The reaction comes at a particularly heated moment. While the latest wave of demonstrations against President Mohammed Morsi's rule has cooled in recent days, large protests have grown increasingly violent.

A hard-core minority of demonstrators has vowed to take on the government, and police have responded with force. About 70 people have been killed in clashes with security forces since Jan. 25, the second anniversary of the revolt that deposed longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Harassment has long been a problem in this patriarchal society, and attacks against female demonstrators have occurred under the democratically elected Morsi, the military council that ruled before him and Mubarak, who governed the Arab world's most populous country for nearly three decades.

The new element, however, is the increasingly sexual nature of the violence.

Sexual assaults at protests, where women have been groped, stripped and even raped, have risen both in number and intensity in the past year, reaching a peak on the uprising's anniversary.

On that day alone, activists reported two dozen cases of assaults against women at demonstrations in and around Cairo's central Tahrir Square, one of which involved the rape of a 19-year-old. The United Nations responded by urging the government to take action.

Activists say the attacks are organized by opponents of the demonstrations, who aim to make protests seem less representative by removing women from the scene. To date, no specific groups have been charged.

Hard-line Islamists have seized on the issue to propose their own solution: limit female protesters to designated areas.

On Monday, members of the human rights commission of the Islamist-dominated legislative assembly criticized women for rallying among men and in areas considered unsafe.

While they urged passage of a new law to regulate demonstrations and facilitate police protection, one prominent member said that women should not go to protests.

"Sometimes, the girl herself is fully responsible for rape because she puts herself in this situation," lawmaker Adel Afify said in comments carried by several Egyptian newspapers.

The remarks followed a video posted last week by a hard-line cleric, who said women headed to protests were "crusaders" and "devils," who were "going there to get raped." The cleric, Mohammed Abdullah, and Afify are both members of the ultra-conservative Salafi movement.

Women's rights groups were infuriated, denouncing the comments in demonstrations in Egypt and elsewhere Tuesday. A Beirut-based online movement, The Uprising of Women in the Arab World, called for worldwide protests in front of Egyptian embassies, posting photos of demonstrations from a string of countries on their Facebook page.

On the same day in Egypt, Michael Posner, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, criticized what he said was the failure of the country's criminal justice system to identify and bring to justice perpetrators "involved in an alarming number of rapes and other acts of violence against women."

In meetings with Egyptian officials, including the foreign and justice ministers, the nation's top cleric and a presidential adviser, Posner said he expressed Washington's concern that the rights of women are not being prioritized alongside other key issues such as transparency, rule of law and building a better climate for civil society.

Last weekend in the leafy Cairo neighborhood of Maadi, dozens of women were learning how to fight back. They attended a self-defense course on how to escape an attacker by striking at weak points on the neck and face. The carrying of knives, after proper training, was presented as a personal choice, although one that could carry heavy consequences for both defender and attacker.

"We're facing daily sexual harassment in the streets, and we aim to defend ourselves," said Menna Essam, a 26-year-old Internet marketer. Like most women taking the course, she said she had experienced physical harassment where self-defense techniques would have been useful.

"Of course I faced it growing up. ... The first time I was maybe 10 or 11 years old. Someone followed me on the way home and grabbed me. At the time, I didn't even know what harassment was," she said.

The free course was organized by Tahrir Bodyguard, one of several groups that have emerged to protect female demonstrators at street protests. The courses aim above all to boost women's confidence and deter what organizers call daily harassment.

Women have also been coming forward to talk about attacks, defying long-held taboos in the conservative country.

One who spoke to private Egyptian television channels at length last week, Yasmine Al-Baramawy, described how a gang of men assaulted her for more than an hour near Tahrir Square, dragging her through the streets, tearing off her shirt and cutting her pants.

On Monday, Egypt's National Council of Women also entered the debate, adopting activists' view that the attacks are organized.

In a statement, the council said it "condemned the abuses suffered by Egyptian women from harassment and rape in Tahrir Square recently, which is systematic and carried out by organized groups to force women not to participate and express their views."

Images promoting Tuesday's global protest ? from Arab countries and elsewhere ? have been among the most militant. The Uprising movement, for example, has turned a photo of a veiled woman brandishing a knife at a Cairo protest last week into a poster.

Another image featured on the page shows the late Egyptian singer Umm Kalthoum, an iconic figure in the nation's struggle against Israel following the 1967 Middle East war. She is seen holding a superimposed kitchen knife, with a printed lyric from one of her most famous songs that says: "Patience has limits!"

____

Follow Brian Rohan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Brian_Rohan

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-13-Egypt-Sexual%20Harassment/id-055fcfb7441b4f6192b03b15572dfce2

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