Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/181454373?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Holiday - University Closed Dec 26-30, 2011
WSU is closed for the holidays from Monday, December 26, through Friday,?December 30, 2011.
For more information about this event, please contact Office of the Registrar at 313.577.3541 or registrar@wayne.edu.Source: http://events.wayne.edu/main/2011/12/29/holiday-university-closed-32266/
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Friday, December 30, 2011
VatorNews - UK businesses investing in social media for 2012
?
Medium to large-sized business in the U.K. are ready to spend at least as much money next year as they did this year on their social media strategy, according to a report from the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Nearly nine out of 10 corporations spoken to said that they would maintain the budget or spend more on social media in 2012 in the survey of more than 200 finance directors, COOs, CFOs, CEOs and treasurers polled in between Oct. 11-26.
The results came out this week and showed that companies in the U.K. that have revenue above $40 million considered social media a cost-effective communication tool and 39% even stated that it helped improve the company reputation.
?UK businesses clearly understand the importance of social media,? said John Dixon, head of technology, media and telecoms from Royal Bank of Scotland CIB, in a statement. ?It is an effective and cost-effective tool, and its increased popularity comes at a time of increased pressures on marketing. The challenge is for firms to maximize their investments beyond 2012.?
Approximately half of the 13% of companies looking to cut social media spending in 2012 are doing so because of budget restrictions, and 27% are making the cut because they saw no return on investment.
The study also looked at the role of tablets in business -- finding that iPads and similar devices are growing in popularity with senior executives.
Approximately 47% of senior management regularly use an iPad for business or in the office. Just under a quarter of executives use tablets to access business programs -- that number increases to 35% for the company CEOs.
Earlier this year, major advertisers began really?shift significant dollars into Facebook and other social sites to grow brand awareness where all those eyes were: on social networks. Research firm eMarketer estimated that Facebook display advertising revenues would grow 80.9% this year to $2.19 billion, giving Facebook 21.6% of all online display advertising ? up from 13.6% in 2010.
While not all social media money goes toward advertising, the growth of marketing opportunities on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn does become a force that can't be ignored, especially for the medium and large businesses that depend on brand awareness.
Source: http://vator.tv/news/2011-12-27-uk-businesses-investing-in-social-media-for-2012
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
KCET: The Best of California's Kiwis http://t.co/edsTdtGt @KCETFood
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?Payroll Tax, The Sequel?: Did either side learn any lessons from Part 1?
The impasse over the payroll tax cut sent the public approval rating for Congress to new depths even as it gave Obama a corresponding boost. But as negotiators reopen discussions for a longer deal, all bets are off.
Congress took its impasse over payroll tax cuts and other expiring provisions to the brink of raising taxes for some 160 million Americans, before House Speaker John Boehner gave in.
Skip to next paragraphNow, with barely a pause, it all begins again.
Both Republicans and Democrats are assessing the fallout from a standoff that drove Congress?s approval to record low levels ? and bumped President Obama to his highest approval ratings in 12 months.
Some 47 percent of Americans approve of the way the president is handling his job, according to a Gallup poll released on Tuesday. That?s up five points since the standoff with House Republicans over the payroll tax cut began.
By contrast, Congress wound up the year at an 11 percent approval rating ? its lowest level since the Gallup organization began asking the question in 1974. Polls signal that the public blames Republicans more than Democrats for the dysfunction on Capitol Hill.
The deal that broke the impasse, first proposed by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, extends expiring provisions for two months. It also commits House and Senate negotiators to work out a full-year extension of the payroll tax ?holiday,? as well as expiring federal jobless benefits and a ?fix? to block a 27.4 percent cut in payments to doctors serving Medicare patients.
But congressional leaders are signaling that key issues once viewed as resolved are back on the table for a new round of negotiations, casting doubt on whether a deeply divided Congress can ? or even wants to ? agree on the expiring provisions before the 2012 elections.
A key sticking point is how to pay for the $100 billion needed to extend these provisions for the balance of 2012. In the run-up to the two-month deal, Democrats publicly set aside demands to pay for extending the payroll tax cuts with a surtax on incomes over $1 million ? a nonstarter for House Republicans.
On Friday, Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada told reporters that he had instructed his four Democratic conferees to allow ?nothing off the table,? including higher taxes on the rich. ?I?ve talked to Senate Republicans, plural, who think that that there should be a fair tax on rich people,? he said in a briefing on Dec. 23. ?I am going to make sure that my conferees understand that that could be part of what we try to do, and we?ll see what happens.?
At the same time, Senator Reid said that Democratic negotiators would be revisiting a provision in the two-month agreement that calls for reducing federal jobless benefits from 99 to 79 weeks.??We couldn?t get it done otherwise,? he said. ?And so we?ll come back and revisit that.?
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Nightcaps: On California farmers, old and young
12/27/2011 at 5:09 pm in Farms, Headlines, Photo Galleries
Young farmers start a career at Dinner Bell Farms
Cooper Funk, Molly Nakahara, Paul Glowaski met in 2006 at a UC Santa Cruz farm apprenticeship program and started Dinner Bell Farm in Grass Valley two seasons ago. (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Molly Nakahara waters in the greenhouse. (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Young farmers Cooper Funk, left, and Paul Glowaski put a post hole digger on their tractor. (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Molly Nakahara rolls up a row cover that was protecting kale, bok choy, and flowers from cold weather and deer. (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Covering their Spanish Roja garlic with straw. (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Glowaski, Nakahara, and Funk take down the hoops and row covers. (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
(Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
(Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Bok choy (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Shishito peppers (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Nakahara looks over the heritage breed, pasture raised chickens. (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
(Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
Chickens. (Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
(Anne Chadwick Williams / Special To The Chronicle)
From the local scene:
- Did you catch the two articles about the future of local farms in Sunday?s paper? Up first, Stacy Finz explains how the average age of a farmer in California is creeping toward 60, so the Department of Food and Agriculture is trying to attract newcomers to work the land? [San Francisco Chronicle]
- ? And Amanda Gold profiled a few young farmers at Dinner Bell Farm (photo tour above), and how they fell into their new careers. [San Francisco Chronicle]
- Brett Emerson of Contigo: waffle fan. [SF Examiner]
- Local Mission Eatery has a new project or two. [Grub St]
- Wherein Joshua Skenes tells a joke. [Eater SF]
From the national scene:
- Ever wonder what Mark Zuckerberg eats while in Vietnam? [Gizmodo]
- ChuckEats ate very well in 2011. These are his very pretty highlights. [ChuckEats]
- Does America not want as much beef nowadays? [MSNBC]
Nightcaps: On California farmers, old and young
Blogs
From the local scene: Did you catch the two articles about the future of local farms in Sunday?s paper? Up first, Stacy Finz explains how the average age of a farmer in California is creeping toward 60, so the Department of Food and Agriculture is trying to attract newcomers to work the land? [San Francisco [...]
'); // ]]>Source: http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2011/12/27/nightcaps-on-california-farmers-old-and-young/
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
China, Japan unveil currency pact
HIGH RISK WARNING: Foreign exchange trading carries a high level of risk that may not be suitable for all investors. Leverage creates additional risk and loss exposure. Before you decide to trade foreign exchange, carefully consider your investment objectives, experience level, and risk tolerance. You could lose some or all of your initial investment; do not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. Educate yourself on the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial or tax advisor if you have any questions.
ADVISORY WARNING: FOREXLIVE provides references and links to selected blogs and other sources of economic and market information as an educational service to its clients and prospects and does not endorse the opinions or recommendations of the blogs or other sources of information. Clients and prospects are advised to carefully consider the opinions and analysis offered in the blogs or other information sources in the context of the client or prospect's individual analysis and decision making. None of the blogs or other sources of information is to be considered as constituting a track record. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and FOREXLIVE specifically advises clients and prospects to carefully review all claims and representations made by advisors, bloggers, money managers and system vendors before investing any funds or opening an account with any Forex dealer. Any news, opinions, research, data, or other information contained within this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment or trading advice. FOREXLIVE expressly disclaims any liability for any lost principal or profits without limitation which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on such information. As with all such advisory services, past results are never a guarantee of future results.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/forexlive-rss/~3/xw37ETNewkI/
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Amazing giveaway today. Want a slick pair of Sony noise canceling headphones? RT/Follow to win! Source: http://twitter.com/christine_9774/statuses/150661069017317376
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Japan relies on debt for 49% of its 96t yen budget
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Merry Christmas from Constance Marie
Constance Marie shares her holiday card, posing with fianc? Kent Katich and daughter Luna Marie, 2?, underneath their Christmas tree.
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/F_MNj3iZxxE/
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
University scholars enhancing sex archive
PHILADELPHIA ? The Widener University scholars who are amassing a growing archive of materials on human sexuality have an ambitious goal: Bigger than Kinsey?s.
Pun intended.
The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University is, of course, the premier academy for sex and gender research. But now Widener, based in Chester, Pa., is striving to become a major center of sexuality studies, expanding its master?s and doctoral programs and attracting students from across the country and around the world.
"The work of our faculty and graduates positively affects public health and well-being across the globe," Widener president James Harris III said. "While other programs have collapsed due to a lack of support, our program has grown in degree offerings and number of students, attracting the best and brightest."
The school celebrated the recent opening of the archive, in the Wolfgram Memorial Library, by hosting a series of provocative speakers under the heading "Sex in the Library." (Tagline: "We?re doing it all week long.") Topics ranged from teen sexting to "gender outlaws" for whom male-or-female is an insufficient choice.
The rectangular fourth-floor repository is tucked between a quiet study area and the dense racks of children?s books used by students studying to become teachers.
What?s in it? Posters from 1970s porn films. X-rated movies. Doctors? waiting-room pamphlets from the 1940s, in which sex occurred only between white, married, heterosexual couples. A signed galley proof of "The Human Pony," which, trust us, you really don?t want to know about.
"Students can look at these things and see a history of sexuality, of sex education ? the culture, the prejudices, how our attitudes have changed, how have they not changed," said Molly Wolf, the archive founder and curator, and a graduate of the sexuality master?s program.
A particular prize is an original, stapled-together copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves," which before its huge popularity in the 1970s was called "Women and Their Bodies" and sold for 75 cents.
"It?s a seminal text," Wolf said. "No pun intended."
Awkward jokes and double entendres seem almost mandatory in any discussion of sex ? and that?s fine, she said. It helps lower the tension around the subject.
Widener arranged its sexuality program to encourage immersion, citing studies that show longer exposure makes students more comfortable and open to learning.
Classes are held all day Saturday and Sunday on two weekends so students can complete a semester?s coursework in a four-day marathon, augmented by online instruction and other assignments.
That lure has drawn working students from Austin, Atlanta, San Diego, Seattle, and elsewhere. They fly in at the start of the weekend, and fly out at the end.
"I get calls and e-mails every single day ? ?Can I commute from North Dakota?? " said professor Betsy Crane, the program director.
In three years, the program has grown from 130 to 212 students. Full-time faculty has increased from two to six in four years.
Full-time students can complete a master?s degree in two years, and a doctorate in a minimum of five years, which is typical at U.S. colleges.
Widener scholars explore not just the function of the body and the desires of the brain, but the impact on sexual behavior of chronic illness, trauma, social norms, and cultural expectations, examining how sexuality seeps into everything from government to religion.
There?s no area of human life "that on one hand is more capable of joy and connection, and on the other hand is so often associated with violence and pain and suffering," Crane said.
For graduates, the rise of sexually transmitted disease, calls for same-sex marriage, greater awareness of sexual abuse, and the battle over birth control and abortion have created employment opportunities. They find jobs not only in teaching but in criminology, social services, counseling, and health.
One graduate, sex therapist Tiffanie Davis-Henry, is a frequent guest on the television show "The View," and was recently named co-host of a new ABC self-help program, "The Revolution"
Ryan McKee, 33, a doctoral student, became interested in social movements such as civil rights and gay rights while earning a master?s degree at Virginia Commonwealth University. But it was a class on human sexuality, he found, that connected those issues and spurred him toward a Ph.D.
At Widener, he has found "professors and colleagues that are incredibly supportive, and a university that?s incredibly supportive. It?s a subject that in many programs gets dumped on the person who teaches abnormal psychology, or addictions, but here we?ve developed a really supportive environment for training professionals."
Widener was his first choice for a doctorate. In fact, it was his only choice.
In recent years, financial pressures have pushed colleges to merge stand-alone sexuality programs into medical-school curriculums or psychology departments. With the merger of a University of Sydney program, Widener officials believe they offer one of a very few, if not the only, fully accredited, university-based doctoral programs.
? Copyright (c) McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F184/~3/eK9Q2bllMgc/story.html
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Friday, December 23, 2011
Health Tip: Use Medications Safely (HealthDay)
(HealthDay News) -- If your child isn't feeling well and needs an over-the-counter medication recommended by your pediatrician, the American Academy of Family Physicians offers these safety guidelines:
- Make sure the medicine treats only your child's symptoms, nothing more.
- Make sure any caregivers know the correct timing, dosage and type of medication your child needs.
- Always read the medication's label and follow directions carefully.
- Keep medications stored in their original packaging, so you can easily refer to instructions.
- Never give cough and cold medication to a child younger than age 4 or aspirin to anyone younger than age 18.
- Don't combine medications unless your child's pediatrician says it's OK to do so.
- Don't give any adult medication to a child.
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Fish oil may hold key to leukemia cure
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 22-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Matt Swayne
mls29@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
A compound produced from fish oil that appears to target leukemia stem cells could lead to a cure for the disease, according to Penn State researchers. The compound -- delta-12-protaglandin J3, or D12-PGJ3 -- targeted and killed the stem cells of chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML, in mice, said Sandeep Prabhu, associate professor of immunology and molecular toxicology in the Department of Veterinary and Medical Sciences. The compound is produced from EPA -- Eicosapentaenoic Acid -- an Omega-3 fatty acid found in fish and in fish oil, he said.
"Research in the past on fatty acids has shown the health benefits of fatty acids on cardiovascular system and brain development, particularly in infants, but we have shown that some metabolites of Omega-3 have the ability to selectively kill the leukemia-causing stem cells in mice," said Prabhu. "The important thing is that the mice were completely cured of leukemia with no relapse."
The researchers, who released their findings in the current issue of Blood, said the compound kills cancer-causing stem cells in the mice's spleen and bone marrow. Specifically, it activates a gene -- p53 -- in the leukemia stem cell that programs the cell's own death. "p53 is a tumor suppressor gene that regulates the response to DNA damage and maintains genomic stability," Prabhu said.
Killing the stem cells in leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells, is important because stem cells can divide and produce more cancer cells, as well as create more stem cells, Prabhu said.
The current therapy for CML extends the patient's life by keeping the number of leukemia cells low, but the drugs fail to completely cure the disease because they do not target leukemia stem cells, said Robert Paulson, associate professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, who co-directed this research with Prabhu.
"The patients must take the drugs continuously," said Paulson. "If they stop, the disease relapses because the leukemia stem cells are resistant to the drugs."
Current treatments are unable to kill the leukemia stem cells, Paulson noted. "These stem cells can hide from the treatment, and a small population of stem cells give rise to more leukemia cells," said Paulson. "So, targeting the stem cells is essential if you want to cure leukemia."
During the experiments, the researchers injected each mouse with about 600 nanograms of D12-PGJ3 each day for a week. Tests showed that the mice were completely cured of the disease. The blood count was normal, and the spleen returned to normal size. The disease did not relapse.
In previous experiments, the compound also killed the stem cells of Friend Virus-induced leukemia, an experimental model for human leukemia.
The researchers focused on D12-PGJ3 because it killed the leukemia stem cells, but had the least number of side effects. The researchers currently are working to determine whether the compound can be used to treat the terminal stage of CML, referred to as Blast Crisis. There are currently no drugs available that can treat the disease when it progresses to this stage.
###
The researchers, who applied for a patent, are also preparing to test the compound in human trials.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 22-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Matt Swayne
mls29@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
A compound produced from fish oil that appears to target leukemia stem cells could lead to a cure for the disease, according to Penn State researchers. The compound -- delta-12-protaglandin J3, or D12-PGJ3 -- targeted and killed the stem cells of chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML, in mice, said Sandeep Prabhu, associate professor of immunology and molecular toxicology in the Department of Veterinary and Medical Sciences. The compound is produced from EPA -- Eicosapentaenoic Acid -- an Omega-3 fatty acid found in fish and in fish oil, he said.
"Research in the past on fatty acids has shown the health benefits of fatty acids on cardiovascular system and brain development, particularly in infants, but we have shown that some metabolites of Omega-3 have the ability to selectively kill the leukemia-causing stem cells in mice," said Prabhu. "The important thing is that the mice were completely cured of leukemia with no relapse."
The researchers, who released their findings in the current issue of Blood, said the compound kills cancer-causing stem cells in the mice's spleen and bone marrow. Specifically, it activates a gene -- p53 -- in the leukemia stem cell that programs the cell's own death. "p53 is a tumor suppressor gene that regulates the response to DNA damage and maintains genomic stability," Prabhu said.
Killing the stem cells in leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells, is important because stem cells can divide and produce more cancer cells, as well as create more stem cells, Prabhu said.
The current therapy for CML extends the patient's life by keeping the number of leukemia cells low, but the drugs fail to completely cure the disease because they do not target leukemia stem cells, said Robert Paulson, associate professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, who co-directed this research with Prabhu.
"The patients must take the drugs continuously," said Paulson. "If they stop, the disease relapses because the leukemia stem cells are resistant to the drugs."
Current treatments are unable to kill the leukemia stem cells, Paulson noted. "These stem cells can hide from the treatment, and a small population of stem cells give rise to more leukemia cells," said Paulson. "So, targeting the stem cells is essential if you want to cure leukemia."
During the experiments, the researchers injected each mouse with about 600 nanograms of D12-PGJ3 each day for a week. Tests showed that the mice were completely cured of the disease. The blood count was normal, and the spleen returned to normal size. The disease did not relapse.
In previous experiments, the compound also killed the stem cells of Friend Virus-induced leukemia, an experimental model for human leukemia.
The researchers focused on D12-PGJ3 because it killed the leukemia stem cells, but had the least number of side effects. The researchers currently are working to determine whether the compound can be used to treat the terminal stage of CML, referred to as Blast Crisis. There are currently no drugs available that can treat the disease when it progresses to this stage.
###
The researchers, who applied for a patent, are also preparing to test the compound in human trials.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/ps-fom122211.php
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Monday, December 19, 2011
US pleased with Russian shift on Syria (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration and at least one of its allies say they are pleased that Russia has decided to support U.N. Security Council action aimed at halting violence in Syria but won't support Russia's proposed resolution unless changes are made.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Friday that Russia's surprise introduction of a Security Council resolution on Syria was an "important step" and a sign of growing unity on the importance of opposing Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime's brutal crackdown on reformers.
"It's clear from the steps that Russia took that more and more of the international community is coming together as one to say to Syria and to the Assad regime that we can no longer tolerate the kind of killings that are going on, the kind of abuse of human rights that have gone on in Syria and that Assad needs to step down," Panetta told a news conference in Ankara, Turkey.
In Washington, the State Department called the Russian move "good news" but said the U.S. wouldn't vote for the resolution unless it distinguishes the actions of peaceful protesters from those of the government. In Paris, the French Foreign Ministry echoed that stance.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that "the Russians have recognized that the U.N. Security Council can't be silent any longer and that we've got to use that organization to make clear that the violence needs to end."
But she stressed the administration has concerns about the draft. "We wouldn't be prepared to accept it as written, particularly because it appears to create a sense of parity between these peaceful protesters and the action of the regime, which has been extremely brutal and violent," she said.
The French Foreign Ministry said France was "ready to work with all its partners" on Syria "but underlines that the Russian text as it now stands has parts that are not acceptable."
"In particular, it's unacceptable to put on a par the repression of the Syrian regime and the resistance of the Syrian people. Every day thousands of people demonstrate peacefully and are victims of a bloody repression," it said.
The United Nations estimates that 5,000 people have been killed in violence since protests against the Assad regime started nine months ago.
Despite the severity of the situation, Russia, along with China, had opposed U.N. Security Council action on Syria.
But on Thursday, Russia surprised council members by introducing a draft resolution that "demands that all parties in Syria immediately stop any violence irrespective of where it comes from." The draft, however, does not mention sanctions, something that Western nations have been pushing.
Nuland said the U.S. wants to work with Russia, as well as with the Arab League, which has condemned the violence, to ensure that all concerns are addressed.
Despite the reservations, Nuland said the Russian move "begins a new process in New York that we very much welcome."
___
Baldor reported from Ankara. Jamey Keaten contributed to this report from Paris.
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Santorum pursues Iowa crown old-fashioned way (AP)
URBANDALE, Iowa ? In a presidential campaign marked by sharp rises and falls, Republican Rick Santorum has experienced neither.
"I'm counting on the people of Iowa to catch fire for me," the former Pennsylvania senator, who described himself as a "strong conviction conservative," said Thursday during a debate with his rivals. "Iowans are beginning to respond."
His dogged courting of Iowans the old-fashioned way ? campaigning in living rooms, coffee shops and town squares ? may be starting to pay off and at just the right time, as Iowa's Jan. 3 presidential caucuses approach.
"Rick Santorum is the best-kept secret in the campaign," said Tom Clark, a West Des Moines Republican and one of about 150 people who came to hear the candidate at a suburban Des Moines restaurant this past week. Clark left the event as a Santorum supporter prepared to volunteer for him, despite this concern: "I just don't know if he can win."
That worry could be why Santorum remains near the back of the pack in national GOP surveys. He also trails former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul in Iowa even though he has been the most aggressive campaigner in the leadoff caucus state. He's visited all 99 counties and held 350 campaign events.
Santorum acknowledges that not all gatherings have been as lively as the recent one at the Machine Shed restaurant in Urbandale.
He recalls the September day in quiet Red Oak when exactly one GOP activist, the Guthrie County chairwoman, showed up to meet him. He compared his Iowa effort to his underdog campaign in 1990 for the U.S. House, when he knocked on thousands of doors. He won.
"I'm sort of the guy at the dance, when the girls walk in they sort of walk by, and they take a few turns at the dance hall with the guys that are a little better looking, a little flashier, a little more bling," he told about 300 Nationwide Insurance employees in Des Moines this past week. "But at the end of the evening, old steady Eddie's there. He's the guy you want to bring home to mom and dad."
Steady is right. Santorum has survived where others have not.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, once viewed as a serious candidate to win the caucuses, and businessman Herman Cain, who led in Iowa polls in October, have dropped from the race. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry enjoyed sharp rises in support upon entering the contest, only to plummet later. They're now trying to claw their way back up.
Santorum's struggle has been to expand his steady base.
It's not been easy.
He lacks the national standing of Romney, who ran unsuccessfully for the nomination in 2008, and the grass-roots libertarian-leaning network that's backing Paul.
But Santorum is a favorite of social conservatives, who count him as a crusader for their causes. A crowd of 1,000 cheered loudly and rose when Santorum was introduced at a Des Moines forum on Thursday sponsored by opponents of abortion rights.
The response was more spontaneous and jubilant than that for Bachmann, Gingrich or Perry, and was a reminder that Santorum was no stranger to this crowd.
A dogged opponent of abortion rights during his two terms in the Senate, Santorum told the audience in the old downtown theater that there was no disconnecting social issues such as marriage and abortion from the economy and other national priorities.
"This country is based on a moral foundation," Santorum said. "If we don't get the moral issues right, we will never get the economic or foreign policy issues right."
It's that pitch that has Iowans starting to line up behind Santorum.
"He knows what he's talking about," said Pat Pederson, a Republican from Adel who attended Santorum's restaurant event Thursday. "He's conservative in his policies, but frankly, has a lot to say on the economy and national security."
Santorum picked up an endorsement this month from a statewide elected official in Iowa, a rarity in this fluid campaign. It came from newly elected Secretary of State Matt Schultz, an up-and-comer in Iowa GOP politics.
Santorum also has also won the support of some evangelical pastors.
One is Cary Gordon, a Sioux City minister who led the effort to oppose the retention of three Iowa Supreme Court judges last year in light of that court's ruling to allow gay marriage in Iowa. A second is Rev. Terry Amann, from one of the Des Moines area's most politically active evangelical churches.
Santorum isn't going on TV with campaign advertisements, which is a sign of a thin campaign fundraising account. But a political action committee that is supporting his candidacy but is unaffiliated with the campaign began airing ads this past week.
They could provide lift in a state where a surprisingly strong finish could propel him into the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 10, the next context in the race.
He is poised to surprise in an Iowa campaign where Perry is making a late charge with more than $1 million in advertising in the closing weeks.
"Santorum is all organization. There's nothing to catapult him," said John Stineman, who ran Steve Forbes 2000 Iowa campaign. "He has the ability to over-perform, but that's all he's got unless he gets hot, and time is running out."
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
CA-CANADA Summary (Reuters)
Bloc Quebecois resurgent: poll
OTTAWA (Reuters) ? The separatist Bloc Quebecois has staged a comeback and is now tied in public support with the federalist party that has the most Quebec seats in the House of Commons, a Harris-Decima poll released on Thursday shows. The Bloc, which wants independence for the French-speaking province of Quebec, had been reduced in the May federal election to four seats from 47. The House has 308 seats, 75 of which are from Quebec.
TransCanada bets expansion plan will help Keystone
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Buoyed by renewed pledges of customer support, TransCanada Corp said on Thursday it not only wants to proceed with its stalled Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline but to undertake a $600 million expansion and extension. The company is betting its proposed expansion of the original $7 billion plan to carry Alberta oil sands crude to the Gulf Coast will hammer home Keystone's economic benefits to politicians and trump the environmental worries that have prompted a lengthy delay in its U.S. approval process.
Investor pushes for leadership change at RIM
(Reuters) - An investor at Research In Motion has asked two directors at the struggling Canadian smartphone maker to push for a change in the company's governance. Activist shareholder Jaguar Financial, which has been asking the BlackBerry maker to sell itself in whole or parts, said it wants the roles of the company's chairman and chief executive to be separated.
Exclusive: Business borrowing signals Canadian growth: PayNet
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian commercial lending growth accelerated in the third quarter, showing smaller businesses expanded even as Europe's deepening debt crisis rattled investors worldwide, according to a PayNet Inc report. PayNet, which tracks commercial financing to thousands of small and medium-sized companies, said on Thursday its Canadian Business Lending Index rose 6 percent from the second quarter and 13 percent year over year.
Sobeys to buy 250 Shell gas stations in Canada
(Reuters) - Empire Co Ltd's Sobeys grocery chain is expanding its high-margin retail gasoline business in Eastern Canada, announcing plans on Thursday to buy 250 gas stations from Shell Canada. Sobeys, Canada's No. 2 grocer, will take over all of Shell's retail outlets in Atlantic Canada and the province of Quebec. The price was undisclosed but Sobeys said it would finance the deal with existing cash balances.
Ottawa to push ahead with Wheat Board legislation
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Wednesday the he will push ahead with legislation to end the Canadian Wheat Board's marketing monopoly, despite the board's announcement it will ask a court to rule the law invalid. Ritz said the Conservative government has the right to rewrite the legislation despite what he called a "poison pill" clause that requires that western farmer be consulted first.
Canada seeks a way to limit health-spending increases
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's top finance officials will try at a meeting next week to come to grips with the thorny problem of how to limit the rising costs of the country's universal public health-care system in the face of an aging population. Health care in Canada is a responsibility of the provinces, and since 2004 the federal government has been increasing by 6 percent a year the amount of money it provides them to help pay for the system. It has committed to keep on doing so through 2016, and since 2006 it has increased its annual payments to C$27 billion ($26 billion) from C$19 billion.
Canada set for tamer growth as factories struggle
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian factory sales slumped in October after three months of gains, confirming suspicions the final stretch to the end of the year will see a slowdown from the brisk economic growth of earlier months. Despite the struggling manufacturers, the economy overall in the second half has been stronger than anticipated. The Bank of Canada will likely feel compelled to keep interest rates on hold at 1 percent as a safeguard against any noxious effects from the European debt crisis.
Radioactive leak at New Brunswick nuclear power station
(Reuters) - NB Power said a radiation alert at the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station in Canada's New Brunswick province on Tuesday was caused by a small spill in the reactor building. The company said the event did not pose significant impact to the public or the environment.
RIM investors fear more bad news on QNX
TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion has already doled out a big helping of bad news ahead of its financial results on Thursday, but surprises could still await investors hungry for details about what many see as a new, make-or-break BlackBerry. Investors are desperate to know whether RIM will stand by its current timetable to switch its smartphones to the new QNX operating system by early next year. The transition is considered the Canadian company's last, best chance to reverse its declining fortunes.
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Time Warner Cable shows Android some love with My TWC app and TWC TV for phones
Continue reading Time Warner Cable shows Android some love with My TWC app and TWC TV for phones
Time Warner Cable shows Android some love with My TWC app and TWC TV for phones originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Dec 2011 04:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Friday, December 16, 2011
A brain's failure to appreciate others may permit human atrocities
Public release date: 14-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Steve Hartsoe
steve.hartsoe@duke.edu
919-681-4515
Duke University
DURHAM, N.C. -- A father in Louisiana bludgeoned and beheaded his disabled 7-year-old son last August because he no longer wanted to care for the boy.
For most people, such a heinous act is unconscionable.
But it may be that a person can become callous enough to commit human atrocities because of a failure in the part of the brain that's critical for social interaction. A new study by researchers at Duke University and Princeton University suggests this function may disengage when people encounter others they consider disgusting, thus "dehumanizing" their victims by failing to acknowledge they have thoughts and feelings.
This shortcoming also may help explain how propaganda depicting Tutsi in Rwanda as cockroaches and Hitler's classification of Jews in Nazi Germany as vermin contributed to torture and genocide, the study said.
"When we encounter a person, we usually infer something about their minds. Sometimes, we fail to do this, opening up the possibility that we do not perceive the person as fully human," said lead author Lasana Harris, an assistant professor in Duke University's Department of Psychology & Neuroscience and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. Harris co-authored the study with Susan Fiske, a professor of psychology at Princeton University.
Social neuroscience has shown through MRI studies that people normally activate a network in the brain related to social cognition -- thoughts, feelings, empathy, for example -- when viewing pictures of others or thinking about their thoughts. But when participants in this study were asked to consider images of people they considered drug addicts, homeless people, and others they deemed low on the social ladder, parts of this network failed to engage.
What's especially striking, the researchers said, is that people will easily ascribe social cognition -- a belief in an internal life such as emotions -- to animals and cars, but will avoid making eye contact with the homeless panhandler in the subway.
"We need to think about other people's experience," Fiske said. "It's what makes them fully human to us."
The duo's previous research suggested that a lack of social cognition can be linked to not acknowledging the mind of other people when imagining a day in their life, and rating them differently on traits that we think differentiate humans from everything else.
This latest study expands on that earlier work to show that these traits correlate with activation in brain regions beyond the social cognition network. These areas include those brain areas involved in disgust, attention and cognitive control.
The result is what the researchers call "dehumanized perception," or failing to consider someone else's mind. Such a lack of empathy toward others can also help explain why some members of society are sometimes dehumanized, they said.
For this latest study, 119 undergraduates from Princeton completed judgment and decision-making surveys as they viewed images of people. The researchers sought to examine the students' responses to common emotions triggered by images such as:
- a female college student and male American firefighter (pride)
- a business woman and rich man (envy)
- an elderly man and disabled woman (pity)
- a female homeless person and male drug addict (disgust)
After imagining a day in the life of the people in the images, participants next rated the same person on various dimensions. They rated characteristics including the warmth, competence, similarity, familiarity, responsibility of the person for his/her situation, control of the person over their situation, intelligence, complex emotionality, self-awareness, ups-and-downs in life, and typical humanity. Participants then went into the MRI scanner and simply looked at pictures of people.
The study found that the neural network involved in social interaction failed to respond to images of drug addicts, the homeless, immigrants and poor people, replicating earlier results.
"These results suggest multiple roots to dehumanization," Harris said. "This suggests that dehumanization is a complex phenomenon, and future research is necessary to more accurately specify this complexity."
The sample's mean age was 20, with 62 female participants. The ethnic composition of the Princeton students who participated in the study was 68 white, 19 Asian, 12 of mixed descent, and 6 black, with the remainder not reporting.
###
The study, "Dehumanized Perception: A Psychological Means to Facilitate Atrocities, Torture, and Genocide?" appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Psychology (http://psycontent.metapress.com/content/77v831l92vg568h1/?p=6ce677e748954980a706c078b3225298&pi=6/).
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 14-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Steve Hartsoe
steve.hartsoe@duke.edu
919-681-4515
Duke University
DURHAM, N.C. -- A father in Louisiana bludgeoned and beheaded his disabled 7-year-old son last August because he no longer wanted to care for the boy.
For most people, such a heinous act is unconscionable.
But it may be that a person can become callous enough to commit human atrocities because of a failure in the part of the brain that's critical for social interaction. A new study by researchers at Duke University and Princeton University suggests this function may disengage when people encounter others they consider disgusting, thus "dehumanizing" their victims by failing to acknowledge they have thoughts and feelings.
This shortcoming also may help explain how propaganda depicting Tutsi in Rwanda as cockroaches and Hitler's classification of Jews in Nazi Germany as vermin contributed to torture and genocide, the study said.
"When we encounter a person, we usually infer something about their minds. Sometimes, we fail to do this, opening up the possibility that we do not perceive the person as fully human," said lead author Lasana Harris, an assistant professor in Duke University's Department of Psychology & Neuroscience and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. Harris co-authored the study with Susan Fiske, a professor of psychology at Princeton University.
Social neuroscience has shown through MRI studies that people normally activate a network in the brain related to social cognition -- thoughts, feelings, empathy, for example -- when viewing pictures of others or thinking about their thoughts. But when participants in this study were asked to consider images of people they considered drug addicts, homeless people, and others they deemed low on the social ladder, parts of this network failed to engage.
What's especially striking, the researchers said, is that people will easily ascribe social cognition -- a belief in an internal life such as emotions -- to animals and cars, but will avoid making eye contact with the homeless panhandler in the subway.
"We need to think about other people's experience," Fiske said. "It's what makes them fully human to us."
The duo's previous research suggested that a lack of social cognition can be linked to not acknowledging the mind of other people when imagining a day in their life, and rating them differently on traits that we think differentiate humans from everything else.
This latest study expands on that earlier work to show that these traits correlate with activation in brain regions beyond the social cognition network. These areas include those brain areas involved in disgust, attention and cognitive control.
The result is what the researchers call "dehumanized perception," or failing to consider someone else's mind. Such a lack of empathy toward others can also help explain why some members of society are sometimes dehumanized, they said.
For this latest study, 119 undergraduates from Princeton completed judgment and decision-making surveys as they viewed images of people. The researchers sought to examine the students' responses to common emotions triggered by images such as:
- a female college student and male American firefighter (pride)
- a business woman and rich man (envy)
- an elderly man and disabled woman (pity)
- a female homeless person and male drug addict (disgust)
After imagining a day in the life of the people in the images, participants next rated the same person on various dimensions. They rated characteristics including the warmth, competence, similarity, familiarity, responsibility of the person for his/her situation, control of the person over their situation, intelligence, complex emotionality, self-awareness, ups-and-downs in life, and typical humanity. Participants then went into the MRI scanner and simply looked at pictures of people.
The study found that the neural network involved in social interaction failed to respond to images of drug addicts, the homeless, immigrants and poor people, replicating earlier results.
"These results suggest multiple roots to dehumanization," Harris said. "This suggests that dehumanization is a complex phenomenon, and future research is necessary to more accurately specify this complexity."
The sample's mean age was 20, with 62 female participants. The ethnic composition of the Princeton students who participated in the study was 68 white, 19 Asian, 12 of mixed descent, and 6 black, with the remainder not reporting.
###
The study, "Dehumanized Perception: A Psychological Means to Facilitate Atrocities, Torture, and Genocide?" appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Psychology (http://psycontent.metapress.com/content/77v831l92vg568h1/?p=6ce677e748954980a706c078b3225298&pi=6/).
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/du-abf121411.php
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Getting by on $50k, but burdened by student loans
Brandon Thibodeaux for msnbc.com
Samuel and Megan Moss stand in their kitchen with their 10-month-old daughter, Mary Margaret, at their apartment in Plano, Texas.
By Allison Linn
With careful budgeting, Sam and Megan Moss are able to get by on their combined salaries of about $50,000 a year.
But the couple is weighed down by around $110,000 in student loan debt that Sam, now 28, accrued while they were students at University of Mississippi.
Megan, 25, says they don?t want their 10-month-old daughter, Mary Margaret, to be burdened by such high debt when she goes to college. That?s one reason the Plano, Texas, couple is unsure whether they will have more children.
?I would love for her to have siblings ? but I don?t see us being able to afford it,? Megan said.
Megan works full-time in sales for a hotel company, while Sam is in the mortgage industry.
What's it like to live on around $50,000 a year?
It is a challenge. It definitely takes planning and budgeting to make everything work.
How has the weak economy affected your finances?
We have been affected simply through the rising cost of living. Everything is more expensive, from gas to groceries to utilities.
Do you worry about money?
I'm not worried about the everyday, for example not being able to put food on the table or buy diapers or gas, but I worry about emergencies.? I worry that our cars, which are both older models, might give out on us and we don't have the extra cash flow to fix (them). I worry about something happening to one of us that makes us unable to work, or in some way negatively affects our job situation.
What are your biggest expenses?
Our biggest expenses are rent, student loan payments and daycare. We pay about $550 a month on Sam?s student loan payments. Our daycare bill every month is close to $800; it is a mortgage payment for some people.
We could probably find a cheaper apartment to live in, but it is worth it to us to pay a little bit more and not have to worry about the neighborhood we live in, or commute too far to work. We both drive less than three miles to work every day.
What do you splurge on?
We splurge on our cable, because it is our entertainment. And occasionally we will go to a movie or out with friends if my parents are available and willing to watch the baby for us. We also splurge on stuff for the baby.
Brandon Thibodeaux for msnbc.com
What kind of debt do you have, and do you find it hard to pay off your loans or other debts?
Sam has student loan debt, quite a bit of it. It averages out to about a $500+ monthly payment.
?I am lucky enough to have a grandfather who is generous enough to pay for my education (as well as my three brothers and my cousins). It was (and still is) the best gift I have ever been given, other than my daughter. I don't know if I will ever be able to fully thank him or show him enough gratitude for what he has done for me.
We also have (around $2500 of) credit card debt that we got into while I was on maternity leave for three months. We pay minimum monthly payments for those every month, and plan to use our tax refund to pay those down completely.
Are you able to save money for the future?
Right now, unfortunately, we are not able to. We have plans though to put the money that has been going to credit card payments into a savings account when we pay those off.?
What are you most proud of in terms of your financial situation?
We own both of our cars. We have steady jobs, with growth potential in the near future.
?Are there any financial mistakes you think you've made?
?I?d say our biggest mistake is not saving the money we had to spare before the baby was born. We didn?t plan as well as we would have liked, financially, before her birth. Hindsight is always 20/20, though.
Over the next few years, do you expect things to get better or worse for you financially?
I hope things will get better for us. We both have the potential for growth in our careers, and we are lucky enough to work in companies that offer those opportunities.
Right now, I would say we are on the right path for success. However, Sam?s loans are on an adjustable rate, and when rates go back up it could really make things more difficult.
Click here to see previous stories in our "We are the median" series. We?re also?sharing our thoughts?? and yours ? on Twitter?(hashtag #median), Facebook and Google Plus. We invite you to comment on our posts ? but keep it civil and on topic, please!
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Are you carrying student loan debt?
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