Luvocracy Raises $11M From Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures And Others To Master Ecommerce And Social Recommendations

Luvocracy, a recently launched, Pinterest-like social marketplace where people can buy products recommended by friends and other tastemakers, has raised $11 million in funding from Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures, Marissa Mayer, Ali Pincus, Jim Lanzone, Tony Robbins, CrunchFund, RPM Ventures and XG Ventures. Kleiner Perkins partner Bing Gordon is joining Luvocracy's board.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/u7BSe1HE-Xs/

boston bruins carl crawford mad cow disease rampart nick collins dave matthews ambien

Jamestown settlers resorted to cannibalism, skeleton reveals

Facing starvation, Jamestown colonists resorted to consuming the flesh of a deceased 14-year-old girl, reveals an analysis of remains found at America's first permanent English settlement.?

By Eoin O'Carroll,?Staff / May 2, 2013

A forensic facial reconstruction produced by StudioEIS of Brooklyn, New York, in consultation with Smithsonian researchers, based on human remains excavated at James Fort, Jamestown, Virginia by the Jamestown Rediscovery Project, is pictured in this handout provided by the Smithsonian Institution.

Courtesy of Donald Hurlbert/Smithsonian Institute/Reuters

Enlarge

Born about 1595, Jane hailed from England's southern coast. She was likely the daughter of a gentleman, and her ship to the Americas likely arrived at?James Fort?in August 1609. It turned out to be one of the worst possible times to land at?the New World's first permanent English settlement.?

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Findings were proven through collaborative research efforts by Preservation Virginia's Jamestown Rediscovery Project (archaeology), The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (historical context) and Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (forensic anthropology).

Jane died that year, or possibly early the following year, and her flesh was eaten by her fellow settlers to fend off starvation.

These are the conclusions of those who examined Jane's bones, which represent the first physical evidence of cannibalism in Colonial America.?

What would later become the Jamestown settlement was founded two years earlier, in 1607. In many respects, the site chosen by?Captain Edward Maria Wingfield, who led the 104 settlers, was ideal. It was surrounded by three sides by navigable water and was a perfect defensive location. Most importantly, the spot was not inhabited by native Americans. ?

But there was a reason the Indians avoided the site: The land was swampy and unsuited for agriculture, the water brackish and undrinkable, and the air buzzing with mosquitoes. In any case, the settlers arrived too late to plant crops. Within a nine months, almost two thirds of the colonists had died.?

Hundreds more settlers arrived at James Fort, as it was called then, and that meant more mouths to feed. Relations between the colonists and the?Powhatan Indians, initially friendly, turned sour, and the natives laid siege to the settlement, trapping the colonists inside.?

The years 1609 and 1610 were known as the "starving time." Of the 500 colonists, only 61 survived.

George Percy, who led the settlers during the starving time, would later describe the desperation:?

Now all of us att James Towne beginneinge to feele the sharpe pricke of?hunger w[hi]ch noe man trewly descrybe butt he w[hi]ch hathe Tasted the?bitternesse thereof. A worlde of miseries ensewed as the Sequell will expresse?unto yow, in so mutche thatt some to satisfye their hunger have Robbed the?store for the w[hi]ch I Caused them to be executed. Then haveinge fedd?upour horses and other beastes as longe as they Lasted, we weare gladd to?make shifte w[i]th vermin as doggs Catts Ratts and myce all was fishe thatt?Came to Nett to satisfye Crewell hunger, as to eate Bootes shoes or any?other leather some Colde come by and those beinge Spente and devoured?some weare inforced to searche the woodes and to feede upon Serpentts and?snakes and to digge the earthe for wylde and unknowne Rootes, where many?of our men weare Cutt of and slayne by the Salvages. And now famin?beginneinge to Looke gastely and pale in every face, thatt notheinge was?Spared to mainteyne Lyfe and to doe those things w[hi]ch seame incredible,?as to digge upp deade corpes outt of graves and to eate them.

Many historians doubted Percy's accounts of cannibalism, but those doubts are now dispelled. The bones of Jane ? a name the researchers have given to the girl whose identity is unknown ? were spotted in?a refuse pit along with the skeletal remains of butchered horses and dogs?by a team of archaeologists led by William Kelso of Preservation Virginia.

"Our team has discovered partial human remains before, but the location of the discovery, visible damage to the skull and marks on the bones immediately made us realize this finding was unusual," said Dr. Kelso in a press release.

Jane's remains were analyzed by Douglas Owsley, a physical anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, who concluded, based on the cut marks on her skull and shinbone, that someone had stripped the meat from her bones.

"These people were in dire circumstances. So any flesh that was available would have been used," Dr. Owsley said?in an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, which broke the story on Wednesday. "The person that was doing this was not experienced and did not know how to butcher an animal. Instead, we see hesitancy, trial, tentativeness and a total lack of experience."

Owsley would know, having?analyzed many cannibalized remains from ancient history, as well as those of the first victim of Jeffrey Dahmer.

He doubts that Jane was murdered for food, however.??I don?t think that they killed her, by any stretch,? he told Smithsonian. ?It's just that they were so desperate, and so hard-pressed, that out of necessity this is what they resorted to.?

Jane's bones revealed other clues about her life. Her molars and the joint below her knee indicated her age, about 14 years old. Isotopes revealed a diet of English rye and barley, and plenty of meat, suggesting an upper-class background. Oxygen molecules indicate an English upbringing near the sea.?

Using a reproduction of her skull as a model, experts have reconstructed a bust of Jane, which will be on display as part of a new exhibition at Historic Jamestowne, which opens Friday.?

"The 'starving time' was brought about by a trifecta of disasters: disease, a serious shortage of provisions, and a full scale siege by the Powhatans that cut off Jamestown from outside relief," said Jamestown expert Jim Horn, in a press release. "Survival cannibalism was a last resort; a desperate means of prolonging life at a time when the settlement teetered on the brink of extinction."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/AfJeqvnruM4/Jamestown-settlers-resorted-to-cannibalism-skeleton-reveals

aj jenkins shea mcclellin nfl draft 2012 whitney mercilus 2012 nfl draft picks andrew luck andrew luck

NASA measures rainfall as Cyclone Zane approaches Queensland, Australia

Public release date: 2-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rob Gutro
robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite passed over Cyclone Zane as it was approaching Queensland Australia's Cape York Peninsula and measured rainfall rates within the storm. TRMM data showed a disorganized storm with the strongest rain falling northwest of the center.

Cyclone Zane, as of 12:00 UTC (10:00 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time or AEST) on May 1, 2013, was located about 215 km (~133 miles) due east of the coast of Queensland, Australia.

NASA's TRMM satellite captured an image of Cyclone Zane at 11:48 UTC (9:48 p.m. AEST/7:48 a.m. EDT, U.S.) May 1, 2013. At the time, the center of circulation was located about 215 km (~133 miles) due east of the coast of Queensland, Australia and was heading west-northwest. TRMM revealed that Zane was still not very well organized with no eye visible and very little evidence of banding (curvature) in the rain area. At the time of the image, Zane was a Category 1 cyclone (equivalent to a tropical storm on the U.S. Saffir-Simpson scale) with sustained winds reported at 45 knots (~52 mph) by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre. Most of the rainfall that TRMM measured was light to moderate within Cyclone Zane, with the exception of an area northwest of the center that had a rainfall rate of around 2 inches/50 mm per hour.

The TRMM data was also made into a 3-D image that showed the cloud heights relative to the rainfall rates occurring in Zane. The image was created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and showed that although Zane had an area of active deep convection reaching upwards of 15 km (about 9.2 miles), it was located away from the center of circulation and does not necessarily preclude further strengthening. In fact, Zane weakened further.

By May 1 at 2100 UTC (5 p.m. EDT, U.S.), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued their final bulletin on Cyclone Zane. At that time Zane's maximum sustained winds were near 35 knots (40 mph/64 kph) and weakening. Zane was located about 270 nautical miles north-northwest of Cairns, Australia and was moving to the northwest at 10 knots (11.5 mph/18.5 kph).

Zane is expected to weaken due to unfavorable wind shear before crossing the coast of northern Queensland north of the Lockart River and dissipate shortly afterward.

###

---

[ | 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: 2-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rob Gutro
robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite passed over Cyclone Zane as it was approaching Queensland Australia's Cape York Peninsula and measured rainfall rates within the storm. TRMM data showed a disorganized storm with the strongest rain falling northwest of the center.

Cyclone Zane, as of 12:00 UTC (10:00 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time or AEST) on May 1, 2013, was located about 215 km (~133 miles) due east of the coast of Queensland, Australia.

NASA's TRMM satellite captured an image of Cyclone Zane at 11:48 UTC (9:48 p.m. AEST/7:48 a.m. EDT, U.S.) May 1, 2013. At the time, the center of circulation was located about 215 km (~133 miles) due east of the coast of Queensland, Australia and was heading west-northwest. TRMM revealed that Zane was still not very well organized with no eye visible and very little evidence of banding (curvature) in the rain area. At the time of the image, Zane was a Category 1 cyclone (equivalent to a tropical storm on the U.S. Saffir-Simpson scale) with sustained winds reported at 45 knots (~52 mph) by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre. Most of the rainfall that TRMM measured was light to moderate within Cyclone Zane, with the exception of an area northwest of the center that had a rainfall rate of around 2 inches/50 mm per hour.

The TRMM data was also made into a 3-D image that showed the cloud heights relative to the rainfall rates occurring in Zane. The image was created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and showed that although Zane had an area of active deep convection reaching upwards of 15 km (about 9.2 miles), it was located away from the center of circulation and does not necessarily preclude further strengthening. In fact, Zane weakened further.

By May 1 at 2100 UTC (5 p.m. EDT, U.S.), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued their final bulletin on Cyclone Zane. At that time Zane's maximum sustained winds were near 35 knots (40 mph/64 kph) and weakening. Zane was located about 270 nautical miles north-northwest of Cairns, Australia and was moving to the northwest at 10 knots (11.5 mph/18.5 kph).

Zane is expected to weaken due to unfavorable wind shear before crossing the coast of northern Queensland north of the Lockart River and dissipate shortly afterward.

###

---

[ | 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/2013-05/nsfc-n050213.php

lindzi cox bachelor finale courtney robertson ben flajnik hunger games premiere red meat bachelor ben

Schwab website recovers after second day of cyber attacks

Schwab customers were unable to trade online for two hours Tuesday and again intermittently on Wednesday because of cyber attacks. But Schwab says the problem has been resolved.

By Reuters / April 24, 2013

A man walks past a Charles Schwab Investment branch in Washington in January. After two days of cyber attacks that interrupted its customers' online trading, Schwab says the problem has been resolved.

Jim Young/Reuters/File

Enlarge

Charles Schwab Corp said it was the target of a cyber attack that prevented access to its website intermittently for about an hour on Wednesday, the second such attack in as many days, but that the problem had been resolved.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Schwab, one of the largest U.S. brokerages, said on Tuesday afternoon it was that target of a distributed denial of service attack - an attack that floods websites with traffic in order to block access - that left clients unable to trade through the site for two hours.

Phone service was available during both attacks, although responses were slower than usual due to the large number of people calling in, said Schwab spokesman Greg Gable.

He said clients who believe they were affected by the outage can call 1-800-435-4000 to talk with a Schwab representative.

The attacks did not impact client data or accounts, Gable added.

Schwab said it is actively investigating the attacks but could not provide further information.

The San Francisco-based company had 8.9 million active brokerage accounts and $2.1 trillion in total client assets at the end of the last quarter.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ebgLYsqv3xA/Schwab-website-recovers-after-second-day-of-cyber-attacks

st louis university mario manningham mario manningham williams syndrome hoya casa de mi padre corned beef and cabbage

Corporate pension funding down in 2012 on falling interest rates

By Manuela Badawy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The funding shortfall bedeviling the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension funds rose for a second straight year in 2012, as a strong stock market and hefty plan contributions failed to offset damage done by persistently low interest rates, according to an analysis by Towers Watson released on Monday.

The gap between what these corporations, all publicly traded, will owe retired workers and how much they have put aside jumped 17 percent, from $252.7 billion at year-end 2011 to $295.2 billion at year-end 2012. By comparison, these companies had a pension surplus of $86 billion in 2007.

Companies are required to calculate the present value of the future pension liabilities by using a so-called discount rate, based on corporate bond yields. As those rates fall, the liabilities rise.

An unprecedented level of lump sum buyouts and annuity purchases partially offset the increases in both assets and liabilities - due to lower interest rates. Without the buyouts and annuity purchases, obligations would have increased by 12 percent.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, corporate pension plan assets have increased, owing to the double-digit gains in stock markets and large contributions. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed more than 13 percent in 2012.

"However, four consecutive years of declining interest rates pushed liabilities 40 percent higher, leaving companies with larger deficits than before," said Alan Glickstein, a senior consultant at Towers Watson.

According to the Towers analysis, employers contributed $45.1 billion to their pension plans in 2012. That is a 16 percent increase from 2011 and the largest contribution employers have made in the past five years. The analysis noted that the companies contributed more than twice the amount of benefits accrued last year to keep funding levels up.

Over the last few years many corporations have been gradually adjusting their portfolios to reduce investment risk relative to liabilities, shifting from public equities to fixed-income and alternative investments.

Since 2009, average allocations to equities have fallen 10 percentage points, while allocations to fixed-income investments have risen by eight percentage points. However, the shift away from equities slowed in 2012, according to the report.

"Of the 95 companies that reported target asset allocation strategies for 2012 and 2013, only three reduced their target equity allocations by 10 percent or more, versus 16 for 2011," Towers Watson's report said.

"Obviously, there is a long way to go until the end of the year, but funding ratios are moving in the right direction," said Dave Suchsland, a senior consultant at Towers Watson.

"If interest rates don't continue their rise and equity returns weaken, plan sponsors may need to pour more cash into their plans to improve funded status for the full year."

(Reporting by Manuela Badawy; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/corporate-pension-funding-down-2012-falling-interest-rates-130343864--sector.html

oscars red carpet jennifer lopez wardrobe malfunction hugo hugo nfl combine 84th annual academy awards beginners

We want your UFC 159 picks

After months and months of build-up, UFC 159 is (almost) here. The light heavyweight championship is on the line, along with other fights that have some animosity behind them. We want your picks, but we're doing things a little differently this time.

Go to Cagewriter's Facebook page and vote for who you think will win. Click on the fight for the poll that bout:

Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen
Alan Belcher vs. Michael Bisping
Cheick Kongo vs. Roy Nelson
Phil Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Pat Healy vs. Jim Miller

If you want your picks to show up on Cagewriter next to picks from Kevin Iole and me, write in the comments why you think your choice will win. On Friday, we'll run picks and results of the poll.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/want-ufc-159-picks-164853317--mma.html

Boston Marathon bombing irs new york times Friends Reunion Elena Delle Donne usa today yahoo news

Humans feel empathy for robots: fMRI scans show similar brain function when robots are treated the same as humans

Apr. 23, 2013 ? From the T-101 to Data from Star Trek, humans have been presented with the fictional dilemma of how we empathize with robots. Robots now infiltrate our lives, toys like Furbies or robot vacuum cleaners bring us closer, but how do we really feel about these non-sentient objects on a human level? A recent study by researchers at the University of Duisburg Essen in Germany found that humans have similar brain function when shown images of affection and violence being inflicted on robots and humans.

Astrid Rosenthal-von der P?tten, Nicole Kr?mer, and Matthias Brand of the University of Duisburg Essen, will present their findings at the 63rd Annual International Communication Association conference in London. Rosenthal-von der P?tten, Kr?mer and Brand conducted two studies. In the first study, 40 participants watched videos of a small dinosaur-shaped robot that was treated in an affectionate or a violent way and measured their level of physiological arousal and asked for their emotional state directly after the videos. Participants reported to feel more negative watching the robot being abused and showed higher arousal during the negative video.

The second study conducted in collaboration with the Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Essen, used functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI), to investigate potential brain correlations of human-robot interaction in contrast to human-human interaction. The 14 participants were presented videos showing a human, a robot and an inanimate object, again being treated in either an affectionate or in a violent way. Affectionate interaction towards both, the robot and the human, resulted in similar neural activation patterns in classic limbic structures, indicating that they elicit similar emotional reactions. However, when comparing only the videos showing abusive behavior differences in neural activity suggested that participants show more negative empathetic concern for the human in the abuse condition.

A great deal of research in the field of human-robot interaction concentrates on the implementation of emotion models in robotic systems. These studies test implementations with regard to their believability and naturalness, their positive influence on participants, or enjoyment of the interaction. But there is little known on how people perceive "robotic" emotion and whether they react emotionally towards robots. People often have problems verbalizing their emotional state or find it strange to report on their emotions in human-robot interactions. Rosenthal-von der P?tten and Kr?mer's study utilized more objective measures linked to emotion like physiological arousal and brain activity associated with emotional processing.

"One goal of current robotics research is to develop robotic companions that establish a long-term relationship with a human user, because robot companions can be useful and beneficial tools. They could assist elderly people in daily tasks and enable them to live longer autonomously in their homes, help disabled people in their environments, or keep patients engaged during the rehabilitation process," said Rosenthal-von der P?tten. "A common problem is that a new technology is exciting at the beginning, but this effect wears off especially when it comes to tasks like boring and repetitive exercise in rehabilitation. The development and implementation of uniquely humanlike abilities in robots like theory of mind, emotion and empathy is considered to have the potential to solve this dilemma."

"Investigation on Empathy Towards Humans and Robots Using Psychophysiological Measures and fMRI," by Astrid Rosenthal-von der P?tten and Nicole Kr?mer; To be presented at the 63rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, London, England 17-21 June.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by International Communication Association, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

---

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/q58i5B7vg1M/130423091111.htm

university of louisville louisville ky lotto winners mega ball winning numbers baltimore county current tv megamillions

Ke$ha's MTV Docu-Series: Can You Count the TMI Moments?

Imagine your craziest girlfriend -- the one who always drinks too much, talks too loud, and ends up embarrassing you. Now imagine that against all odds, said friend becomes an arena-packing pop star. That pretty much sums up Ke$ha -- a free-spirited 26-year-old who's spent the last five years rising to fame on the strength of Top 40 hits like "Tik Tok" and "We R Who We R." Of course, she now has an MTV docu-series that's chronicled that rise. (Who doesn't?) Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life kicks off the first of its six episodes on Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET. Here's the trailer:

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/keshas-mtv-docu-series-can-you-count-tmi-moments/1-a-534128?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Akeshas-mtv-docu-series-can-you-count-tmi-moments-534128

Katherine Webb Cut for Bieber AJ McCarron Johnny Manziel ups Aj Mccarron Girlfriend linkedin

Opiates & Barbiturates Drug Abuse/Addiction Detox Rehab Film

Both opiate and barbiturate users suffer the same problems trying to quit and need help. The first step to recovery is to examine the patient?s history. Learning about their past and present physical health can do a great deal towards providing effective treatment. A physical must be done to determine the addict?s state of health. Pale eyes, dilated pupils, nose damage and dry mouth and lips can all be signs of an addict. Drug abusers will usually have an enlarged kidney, liver or spleen, constipation, hemorrhoids, venereal disease and tracks. When opiate users check in for detoxification, they will normally display drowsiness, itchiness, flushed skin and a low blood pressure. Barbiturate users will generally show signs of an unsteady walk, rapid eye moment, poor reflects, slurred speech and sometimes be in a semi-comatose state. During their detoxification, opiate users may be plagued with anxiety, irritability, lack of sleep, sweating, runny nose, dilated pupils, increased pulse, loss of appetite, high temperature, vomiting and diarrhea. Barbiturate users will normally be restless, lack energy, experience nausea, have cramps, twitch, have tremors, vomit and, if untreated, they can die. Because the clinic will not always know whether they are dealing with an opiate or barbiturate user, they will keep an exact sleep log on their patients. If insomnia occurs on the first night, there is a good chance that the patient is a barbiturate. Both types of users will be slowly weaned off drugs by using a smaller and smaller amount of another drug. Once the process is complete, both types are strongly encouraged by their doctors to seek help from counseling if they really want to have a drug-free life. They may no longer be addicted to drugs; but they can easily fall back into the same patterns if they do not make life changes and find counseling after they leave the clinic. See the full length video at: www.qualityinformationpublishers.com

Source: http://detox.fitnessthroughfasting.com/liver-detox-2/opiates-barbiturates-drug-abuseaddiction-detox-rehab-film.php

Martha Raddatz Chris Lighty JJ Watt jerry sandusky johnny depp hayden panettiere raul ibanez

'Red line': Chemical weapons in Syria

By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons - probably nerve gas - in their fight against rebels trying to force out President Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday.

Brigadier-General Itai Brun made the comments at a Tel Aviv security conference a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on a visit to Israel that U.S. intelligence agencies were still assessing whether such weapons had been employed.

U.S. President Barack Obama has called the use of chemical weapons a "red line" for the United States that would trigger unspecified U.S. action.

"To the best of our understanding, there was use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably sarin," Brun said in the most definitive Israeli statement on the issue to date.

Photos of victims showing foam coming out of their mouths and contracted pupils were signs deadly gas had been used, he said.

Forces loyal to Assad were behind the attacks on "armed (rebels) on a number of occasions in the past few months, including the most reported incident on March 19", Brun said.

The Syrian government and rebels last month accused each other of launching a chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo.

On Monday, Hagel said the use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces would be a "game changer" and the United States and Israel "have options for all contingencies".

Hagel met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, a day after flying in an Israeli military helicopter over the occupied Golan Heights on the edge of the fighting in Syria that has entered its third year.

"This is a difficult and dangerous time, this is a time when friends and allies must remain close, closer than ever," Hagel, in remarks to reporters before his talks with Netanyahu, said about the United States and Israel.

IMPASSE

Discussions between Syria and the United Nations on a U.N. investigation of possible use of chemical weapons have been at an impasse due to the Syrian government's refusal to let the inspectors visit anywhere but Aleppo, diplomats and U.N. officials said last week.

U.N. diplomats said Britain and France had provided Ban's office with what they believed to be strong evidence that chemical weapons also had been used in the city of Homs.

Israel, which has advanced intelligence capabilities that it shares with its Western allies, has voiced concerned that parts of Syria's chemical arsenal would end up in the hands of jihadi fighters or the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, with which it waged a 2006 war.

Israel leaders have cautioned they will not allow that to happen. In an attack it has not formally confirmed, Israeli planes bombed an arms convoy in Syria in February, destroying anti-aircraft weapons destined for Hezbollah.

Brun, who was speaking at the annual security conference of The Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said Israel's military was studying a number of future scenarios facing Syria.

"More likely, as time goes by, are the scenarios of chaos and anarchy, or that of (Syria) breaking up into cantons. These pose major challenges for Israel. The chance of a different central government still exists, but it is growing less likely with time," Brun said.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller and David Alexander; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-general-says-syria-government-forces-used-chemical-074330220.html

Taken 2 Venezuela Elections Skyfall Chicago Marathon 2012 texas rangers steve jobs meningitis

Antares rocket makes test flight

21 April 2013 Last updated at 18:05 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

The Antares rocket blasted off from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia

A new rocket has launched from the US eastern seaboard to prove its readiness to help service the International Space Station (ISS).

The 40m-tall Antares vehicle lifted clear of the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 1700 local time (2100 GMT).

The apparently flawless 10-minute ascent should lead to it being allowed to propel an unmanned cargo ship towards the ISS later this year.

Antares has been developed by the Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC).

The Dulles-based company is one of a number of commercial outfits that have partnered with the US space agency (Nasa) to create cheaper technologies for getting payloads and astronauts into orbit.

The agency has so far invested some $275m (?180m) in OSC to help it advance its rocket and cargo-vessel concepts.

A contract worth $1.9bn (?1.2bn), covering eight re-supply missions to the station, will be triggered once the company has satisfactorily demonstrated its designs.

Sunday's test-flight required the two-stage Antares rocket raise itself to an altitude of about 255km where it jettisoned a dummy payload.

That 3.8-tonne test mass was intended to simulate the Cygnus cargo ship, which will make its maiden outing on the next launch of the rocket.

Orbital is an established Nasa contractor, which has been building satellites and smaller rockets for more than 30 years.

The company was chosen by the agency to pick up some of the ISS servicing capability lost by America when it retired its space shuttles two years ago.

A second firm, SpaceX of California, is further along in its development schedule, having already completed its test flights and begun commercially contracted missions to the ISS.

OSC packed Sunday's Antares full of sensors to gather as much data as possible on its performance.

Everything on the flight appeared to proceed extremely smoothly. All the major events such as rocket-stage separation, fairing separation, and the ejection of the dummy payload occurred on cue.

"We will obviously go in and analyse it much more carefully in the coming days and replay everything to make sure we get maximum information from the data. But at first glance, it all looked really good," observed Frank Culbertson, an Orbital executive vice-president and a former astronaut.

Nasa too will want to review the flight data before deciding whether to release more seed funding to Orbital, and to clear the company for a Cygnus freighter demonstration mission to the ISS. All being well, this next demonstration could occur in late June or early July.

The early message from the agency was that it was very happy with Sunday's outcome.

"It was an amazing achievement for Orbital today," said Alan Lindenmoyer, the manager of Nasa's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program.

"The flight was just beautiful. It looks like - the preliminary data says - that all the objectives we established for the flight were 100% met."

Italian job

One interesting aspect of the Antares design is its use of two Aerojet AJ-26 engines on its liquid-fuelled first stage.

These are modified, Russian-built power units that were originally developed for the ill-fated Soviet Moon rocket, the N-1.

The Antares second-stage - the segment that deploys the payload at the target altitude - is powered by a solid-fuel motor. This was provided by ATK, the company that used to make the solid-fuelled boosters for the shuttles.

OSC hopes to use the Antares for other ventures besides keeping the space station stocked with food and equipment.

It has worked with an economic development agency in Virginia to bring the Wallops launch facility up to a standard that would permit many more flights from the coastal spaceport, which in the past has been used for small research rockets.

OSC has developed its Cygnus freighter with Italian company Thales Alenia Space (TAS).

The pressurised segment of this cargo ship is based on TAS's Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, or MPLM. This was the "packing box" put in the back of space shuttles when they hauled supplies to the ISS.

Two versions of Cygnus are being built. One can carry two tonnes, the other nearly three tonnes.

Unlike SpaceX's Dragon capsule, the OSC freighter cannot bring materials back to the Earth's surface.

Instead, Cygnus will be filled with rubbish from the ISS and allowed to burn up in the planet's atmosphere.

Sunday's demonstration flight also released three "nano-satellites" controlled by smartphones. These mini-spacecraft, which only measure 10cm across, will operate for a few weeks before falling back to Earth.

The dummy Cygnus will also begin its descent to Earth in about a fortnight.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22193330#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

chris brown hillary clinton apple stock Pro Bowl 2013 Kick Ass Torrents jamarcus russell Sloane Stephens

SunRype Rocks! | MomsGetReal

Getting Real With +Shadra Bruce

I have to admit, when I opened the box of SunRype Fruit Strips, FruitSource 100% fruit bars, and Just Fruit & Grains bars, I thought, ?Oh boy. I?m going to have to eat all of these myself. My kids will never like them.?

I was, in particular, thinking of my son, who never likes anything. He has Asperger?s, and braces, and an incredibly picky palate.

I was so wrong. And now I?m mourning the rapid loss of product that has occurred over the last week as my children have consumed every SunRype product in sight.

How can I complain? (Well, other than the fact that I could easily have enjoyed eating them all myself).

MomsGetReal readers can get free SunRype product after you purchase one.

SunRype Fruit Strips

The SunRyse fruit strips were the favorite of my daughter (age 10) who thought they were delicious. The strips come in strawberry, wild berry, and strawberry banana. Made of 100% fruit, these portable snacks have no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. For a mom who is trying desperately to keep chemical warfare to a minimum in order to be effective at raising healthy kids, I truly appreciate that SunRype provides quick, convenient, and tasty snack food that my kids think are fun to eat and don?t think about the fact that they are actually getting a dose of fruit in the process. The SunRype fruit strips are perfect for school lunches, where they don?t get squished (like the bananas they refuse to pack) and don?t take too long to eat (like the apples that come home half-eaten).

SunRype FruitSource 100% Fruit Bars

While my son also loved the strips, he and I both fell head over heels for the fruit bars. They?re almost addictive they?re so delicious! Guilt free pleasure is worth pursuing, and the SunRype FruitSource 100% Fruit Bars are 100% fruit, providing TWO servings of fruit in every bar. (That is often two more servings of fruit than our son eats, ever, so SunRype is not just delicious, but has accomplished something of a miracle). My favorite flavor is the strawberry, but they also come in blueberry pomegranate and mango strawberry (the mango strawberry also has a helping of veggies incorporated into the bar).

SunRype Just Fruits & Grains

As a piece de resistance, the SunRype Just Fruits & Grains bar is a meal on the go. In addition to 100% fruit, these bars have rolled oats, barley flakes, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, unsweetened dried coconut flakes, rice crisps. It?s a bar with substance that doesn?t lose you on texture. Unfortunately, most of my Just Fruits & Grains bars ended up traveling to college with my daughter, who decided they were the perfect on-the-go solution when she doesn?t have a break between classes. These bars come in strawberry mango and summer berries and both are fabulous.

MomsGetReal readers can get free SunRype product after you purchase one.

I talk a lot on MomsGetReal about raising healthy kids and making healthy eating choices. While a real piece of fruit is always your best choice, when you?re on the run, or have a picky child who will not eat fruit any other way, you can?t beat SunRype and their commitment to providing products of the highest quality.

I received SunRype products to review as part of the SheSpeaks program. While this is a SheSpeaks/SunRype sponsored post, my opinions of the product are genuine. This is good stuff.

Thank you SheSpeaks!!

About SunRype: Website: http://www.sunrypeusa.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SunRypeUsa

If you enjoy this post, be sure to follow MomsGetReal on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+!

Source: http://momsgetreal.com/2013/01/sunrype-rocks/

hunger games trailer

Social Media Studies Can Confuse | Internet Psychologist | Graham ...

One minute social media is great for business, the next we get research telling us it?s a big failure. Indeed, not so long ago you were told to forget social media?! Now, wouldn?t you know it, there?s a new study telling us the opposite ? that social media usage definitely leads to profits. So what is a business owner to believe? Is it worth spending time and effort on social media activities, or not?

The answer is that you should be asking a different question?!

The latest research shows that if your customers use social media to communicate with you they spend around 6% more with a business than people who do not relate via social media. The researchers found that social media customers are more profitable than those who don?t use social media to connect with a business. In other words, it appears that if you use social media to connect with your customers they will spend more money with you.

But earlier research found that 99% of all purchases had nothing whatsoever to do with social media.

So one study reckons social media lead to higher profits whilst the other implies social media is a waste of time.

Who to believe?

Both of them. That?s because they are both saying the same thing. And that?s why the question ?is social media a waste of time? the wrong question.

The real question to ask is the one answered by the contrasting research studies ? and that is ?does forming deeper relationships with my customers help my business??

And the answer, as shown in both pieces of research, is ?yes?.

The people who spend most with a business are those who relate well to the company and have a stronger bond and affinity than those who only occasionally deal with the business. The reason why 99% of online social media fails to lead to a financial transaction is because there is little, if any, relationship. The 1% of sales are from people who have that strength of attachment to the business.

In other words, as if we didn?t know it, relationships lead to business ? and social media are just one way in which you can strengthen and maintain those relationships.

If you are looking at social media as a way of getting business, without having to do the relationship building stuff, then you are likely to find social media activity is a waste of time. But if you believe that business is all about relationships and you want to use social media as a way of enhancing and strengthening such connections, then it certainly will not be a waste of time.

So, forget what the research says about the effectiveness of social media and the potential for sales. Instead, concentrate on building strong customer relationships, using social media just as one tool in your box of tricks.

Source: http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/2013/blog/social/social-media-studies-can-confuse.html

benson henderson 2012 dunk contest edgar vs henderson berkshire hathaway ufc 144 james jones james jones

Hypertension during pregnancy increases risk of end-stage renal disease

Public release date: 22-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Barnhardt
kim.barnhardt@cmaj.ca
613-520-7116 x2224
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are at higher risk of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease compared with women without the disorders, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

"We found that women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy were at higher risk of end-stage renal disease than women without complicated pregnancies," writes Dr. I-Kuan Wang, Division of Nephrology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, with coauthors.

Hypertensive disorders such as gestational hypertension and preeclampsia in pregnancy can have a major impact on the health of the mother and baby and are risk factors for death. An estimated 5% to 10% of pregnancies are affected by hypertensive disorders. Kidney function can be affected.

Researchers looked at data on 26 651 women in Taiwan with hypertensive disorders in their first pregnancy to determine whether there was an increased risk of end-stage renal disease compared with a group of 213 397 women without the disorders. The women were 19 to 40 years old and did not have a history of hypertension, diabetes or kidney disease.

Taiwan has one of the highest rates of end-stage renal disease in the world.

The incidence of chronic kidney disease was almost 11-fold higher in the group with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy compared with the women without the disorders. End-stage renal disease was 14-fold higher in the cohort with hypertensive disorders. The risk for women with preeclampsia was higher than for those with only gestational hypertension.

"We found an increased risk of subsequent end-stage renal disease among Taiwanese women who had experienced hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, including preeclampsia or eclampsia and gestational hypertension," write the authors. "We also found that women with preeclampsia or eclampsia were at higher risk of end-stage renal disease than those who had gestational hypertension only."

There is little data on the link between hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and the risk of end-stage renal disease. This study is consistent with a Norwegian study that found a similar link between these disorders and later kidney disease.

"Close surveillance for microalbuminuria, blood pressure and diabetes should be considered for women with a history of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. Preventive strategies, such as pharmacologic or lifestyle interventions, should also be considered for women at high risk of end-stage renal disease," conclude the authors.

"This study by Wang and colleagues is timely because it shows the importance of hypertension during pregnancy as a marker for future chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes," write Dr. Julia Spaan from Maastricht University Medical Center, the Netherlands, and Prof. Dr. Mark Brown from the University of New South Wales, Australia, in a related commentary (pre-embargo link only) "It also highlights one of the current pitfalls of clinical practice: although these women have great attention paid to their high blood pressure during pregnancy, there is no structured follow-up of blood pressure or cardiovascular and renal risk factors after pregnancy. Better surveillance after pregnancy should help prevent not only chronic kidney disease but also cardiovascular disease.

###

---

[ | 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-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Barnhardt
kim.barnhardt@cmaj.ca
613-520-7116 x2224
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are at higher risk of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease compared with women without the disorders, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

"We found that women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy were at higher risk of end-stage renal disease than women without complicated pregnancies," writes Dr. I-Kuan Wang, Division of Nephrology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, with coauthors.

Hypertensive disorders such as gestational hypertension and preeclampsia in pregnancy can have a major impact on the health of the mother and baby and are risk factors for death. An estimated 5% to 10% of pregnancies are affected by hypertensive disorders. Kidney function can be affected.

Researchers looked at data on 26 651 women in Taiwan with hypertensive disorders in their first pregnancy to determine whether there was an increased risk of end-stage renal disease compared with a group of 213 397 women without the disorders. The women were 19 to 40 years old and did not have a history of hypertension, diabetes or kidney disease.

Taiwan has one of the highest rates of end-stage renal disease in the world.

The incidence of chronic kidney disease was almost 11-fold higher in the group with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy compared with the women without the disorders. End-stage renal disease was 14-fold higher in the cohort with hypertensive disorders. The risk for women with preeclampsia was higher than for those with only gestational hypertension.

"We found an increased risk of subsequent end-stage renal disease among Taiwanese women who had experienced hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, including preeclampsia or eclampsia and gestational hypertension," write the authors. "We also found that women with preeclampsia or eclampsia were at higher risk of end-stage renal disease than those who had gestational hypertension only."

There is little data on the link between hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and the risk of end-stage renal disease. This study is consistent with a Norwegian study that found a similar link between these disorders and later kidney disease.

"Close surveillance for microalbuminuria, blood pressure and diabetes should be considered for women with a history of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. Preventive strategies, such as pharmacologic or lifestyle interventions, should also be considered for women at high risk of end-stage renal disease," conclude the authors.

"This study by Wang and colleagues is timely because it shows the importance of hypertension during pregnancy as a marker for future chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes," write Dr. Julia Spaan from Maastricht University Medical Center, the Netherlands, and Prof. Dr. Mark Brown from the University of New South Wales, Australia, in a related commentary (pre-embargo link only) "It also highlights one of the current pitfalls of clinical practice: although these women have great attention paid to their high blood pressure during pregnancy, there is no structured follow-up of blood pressure or cardiovascular and renal risk factors after pregnancy. Better surveillance after pregnancy should help prevent not only chronic kidney disease but also cardiovascular disease.

###

---

[ | 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/2013-01/cmaj-hdp012213.php

bud shootout aretha franklin stevie wonder new orleans weather new orleans weather sparkle sacagawea

peterson's place: Santa Barbara Baby Shower!

On January 5, 2013, baby and I enjoyed a lovely baby shower here in Santa Barbara. It was hosted by Mary Given in her home, along with the help of Jess McCormick, Denise Crosby, and Leah Hendrickson. Both my Mom and my Mother in Law were able to be in town, along with other extended family and close friends. Here are a couple photos on our front porch before we headed to the shower. I was 32 1/2 weeks at the time.

It was beautiful and the food was delish!! The photos don't capture ALL the people that were there, it was a full house. Looking around, it was very moving to see all the community we have established here in Santa Barbara. Some people we have known a long time (Jon his whole life!) and others are newer friends. It was an eclectic mix of relationships: family, old friends, new friends, work colleagues, and our church community. Also, we left with LOTS of great stuff to help us prep for the little guy and make sure he is dressed to the 9s. ?

?Thanks again to all!?

Source: http://stacylpeterson.blogspot.com/2013/01/santa-barbara-baby-shower.html

ira glass march madness swain match day nene dark shadows trailer nate mcmillan

Video: Poet Richard Blanco: Imagine Obama as a child

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

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50529148/

leslie carter aaron carter sister pfizer signing day 2012 football gasland college football recruiting bjork

Nuts From the Family Tree: Libster Blog Award Coming My Way!

I checked out a comment to one of my posts here at Nuts to find that Jenny Lanctot at the blog, Are My Roots Showing? nominated me for an award, the Libster Blog Award. You can see her post and her own acceptance of the Award here.? Jenny gave me the award for my post, Cousin Bait Strategy Needed.

Here's what Jenny wrote about the award when she won it:
I've been awarded the Liebster Blog Award! (Liebster means "favorite" or "dearest" in German, apparently) The premise behind this award is that when you are nominated, you are supposed to answer 11 questions about yourself (chosen by the person who nominated you), and then nominate 5 bloggers with less than 200 readers and provide 11 questions for them to answer.

I'm honored, and thanks Jenny! Who doesn't like an award? She commented that at the very first she felt like she got a spam when she got the award, and I did feel a tad silly like I was participating in a chain letter, but what the heck, that can be fun! Then I started answering the questions and thought how cool it will be to pass on the award and find out more about other bloggers.

I know some folks out there looked on these awards in the past as a way to drive traffic to a blog, but I see it differently. I like knowing about other genealogy bloggers - we are a community -?and since we're always blogging about our ancestors, here's a time to share something about ourselves... and have some fun.

Here are Jenny's questions for me. Let the Silly begin!!

1. What is your favorite time of day and why?
Morning. I'm a morning person. Now, where the heck is my coffee??

2. How and when did you first discover your passion, whatever that passion is?
Art?was my first passion to appear on the scene, then a couple of years ago Mom hooked me on genealogy. Discovered art on a Friday afternoon in 3rd grade. Discovered the ancestors when Mom told me a story about the counter fitting twins.

3. Hopefully, you?re familiar with The Breakfast Club for this question. When you were in high school, in which social group did you best fit?
Oh, I'm gonna cry: am too old for Breakfast Club! But I'll go ahead and answer about the high school social groups: my high school graduating class was 124 so everyone was always in every one's business. I longed for the protection of a group. High school was so painful! UGH!

4. Where do you write your posts and why did you choose that place?
In my pajamas;) It's comfy! Actually my desktop is in the corner of the art studio. I badly need a new laptop!

5. What always makes you laugh and why?
My dog. He's 16 and still acts like a pup. Mixed breed vigor, or so the vet says and?my dog's?got it.

6. If you could appear on a televised talent show, what would your talent be?
Ha! Bob Ross! Love it when he paints those "happy trees"!

7. Which flower reminds you of happiness?
All of them even the "ugly ones". But I'm a sucker for orchids. Grew them when we lived in Florida and grow them here in SoCal. My house isn't complete without an orchid in bloom.

8. What is your favorite book and why?
I hardly ever met a book I didn't like. Ask my loaded bookshelves, and the stacks next to the bed! I love historical novels especially about areas and time where my ancestors were participants. I've learned a lot from them. Most recently enjoyed, How Green Was My Valley, a 1939 novel?by Richard Llewellyn about a family in the coal fields of Wales. I learned a lot by reading that one, and I could see my ancestors on every page.

9. It?s important to eat your vegetables, but which vegetable do you always resist/avoid eating?
Wow, that's a difficult one. We love veggies in this house. From beets to leeks, on to kale and Brussels sprouts, whatever is in season at the local farmer's market... I'll take it! PS: I love to cook too.

10. What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
Either watch an old movie or do genealogy. Toss up!

11. Who is the one celebrity, past or present, you would like to meet ? and what would you ask that person?
Andy Warhol! Met him once and this next time I'd like to ask him all the questions I should have asked the first time.

OK, the drill is that after answering these question I can nominate five blogs and ask my own questions, and that's the main reason I'm doing this: I'm curious and this seems like a way to get interesting people to answer stuff;)

Here are the five blogs I nominate:

Family History Fun by Sue Scott. I love the way she uses photos and the stories that they tell. Thanks so much, Sue! Maybe my Welsh coal miner ancestors worked for her Oldham coal merchants:) Maybe.

Ancestors Live Here by Leslie Ann. I really enjoy Leslie Ann's down home and personal tone. There one today that talks about sewing kits here. I clearly remember Grandma Kelly's tin box of buttons and the magic it held for me! Thanks Leslie Ann.

Countryfolk by Rhonda. Love reading about Rhonda's problem solving and thinking. Gives me ideas about how to go from one thing out to find solutions... or more questions!

Forgotten Faces and Long Ago Places by Teresa Wilson Rogers. Details in photos: what's not to love about this blog! Get a look at this wedding dress right here!!?Thanks Teresa!

Trails Into The Past by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell. I get a real feeling for her family from Lisa's posts and I appreciate the way she gives her posts texture drawing me in. And, she also participating in the Family History Writing Challenge!

And here are my 11 questions for these nominees if they so choose to participate, and I really hope they do:

Credit for Questions 1 - 5:?Tell us?five important things?about how you get interested in genealogy and why you blog? (Please make it juicy cause it's credit for?five big questions!)

Question 6: Do you watch TV and if so what are your favorite shows/ types of shows?

Question 7: Please tell us about your journey of genealogy education? I'm self-taught and that can be dangerous. I'm curious,?how did you learn what you know, and do you have recommendations (or cautionary tales) for the newbie?

Question 8: When you're not doing genealogy, what's your fav thing to do?

Question 9: Please share your pain: tell us about one of your brick walls and how long you've been working on it. (I need to feel better about my own brick walls;)

Question 10: Has there been one person, web site, or class that was the most beneficial to you?

Question 11: What's the funniest story you can tell us about your interest in genealogy?

Source: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/01/libster-blog-award-coming-my-way.html

office max office max jcp Sports Authority Hollister old navy walmart black friday

Video: Michelle Obama prioritizes being a parent

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

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50529244/

knowshon moreno sovereign citizen komen chrome for android hatchet leah messer freedom riders

Israel leader says Iran key issue, not settlements

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Two days before national elections, Israel's prime minister on Sunday shrugged off international criticism of Israeli settlement construction, charging instead that Iran's suspect nuclear program the real threat to regional security.

Speaking to his Cabinet, Benjamin Netanyahu said he had told a group of visiting U.S. senators over the weekend that "the problem is not building ... The problem in the Middle East is Iran's attempt to build nuclear weapons ... This was, and remains, the main mission facing not only myself and Israel, but the entire world."

Israel, the U.S. and much of the international community believe Iran may decide to produce nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

Netanyahu, who has repeatedly spoken of the Iranian nuclear program throughout his four year-term and long before, has claimed credit for helping put the issue on the international agenda.

The international community has slapped tough economic sanctions on Iran, also urging Tehran to open its program to international inspectors. While the sanctions have hit Iran hard, its government has refused to cooperate with inspectors or halt its enrichment of uranium. Enrichment is a key step toward developing a nuclear bomb, though it has other purposes as well.

Netanyahu has welcomed the international pressure on Iran, but he has also repeatedly indicated Israeli might attack Iran, alone if necessary, if he concludes that diplomacy has failed. Netanyahu has warned that 2013 will be a critical year in determining whether Iran reaches weapons capability or not.

The final opinion polls ahead of Tuesday's vote have all predicted Netanyahu's hard-line bloc maintaining a solid lead over center-left opponents.

The Dahaf agency, for example, predicted Netanyahu and his hard-line and religious allies would capture 63 seats in the 120-seat parliament. As the largest member of the block, Netanyahu's Likud-Yisrael Beitenu list would be the senior member of the coalition, and Netanyahu would serve another term as prime minister. The survey interviewed 1,000 people and had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

A new hard-line government would likely mean continued deadlock in peace efforts with the Palestinians and further confrontation with President Barack Obama.

Netanyahu has drawn fierce criticism from the U.S. and other allies for building housing for Jewish settlers in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands claimed by the Palestinians for a future state. The Palestinians have refused to negotiate while Israel continues to build in the settlements.

In his comments Sunday, Netanyahu signaled that the settlement construction will continue. He also praised the legacy of Ron Nachman, the longtime mayor of the Ariel settlement, who died Friday. Ariel, with nearly 20,000 residents located deep inside the West Bank, is considered a major obstacle to the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

"Today we part from our dear friend who managed to build Ariel into a city of culture, with a university. I regret that he did not have additional years in which to enjoy the fruit of his labors," Netanyahu said. His government recently approved upgrading a college in Ariel to university status.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-leader-says-iran-key-issue-not-settlements-120243288.html

Amish Mafia Dave Grohl 121212 Cal State Fullerton Pacific Rim tumblr Ravi Shankar

Turn up the bass to scare birds away from planes

PLANES and birds aren't good at sharing air space - bird strikes worldwide cause over a billion dollars in damage every year, and put passengers and crew at risk. To scare avians away, a new device will fire low-frequency sound waves at flocks as they near busy flight paths.

Noise makers are often used to scare birds away from airports or contaminated waterways. But loud sounds also annoy any humans within earshot.

Now a system developed by Technology International, based in Laplace, Louisiana, aims to deter birds using infrasound, below the range of human hearing.

The trial version of the Avian Infrasound Non-lethal Denial System has a passive infrasound detector that listens for an approaching flock, and activates a series of rotary subwoofers that generate high-intensity, but low-frequency sound. It worked well in tests.

Thunderstorms also emit lots of infrasound, which may be why birds are naturally averse to it, says Abdo Husseiny, the firm's CEO.

Husseiny adds that the system could be used to keep pigeons away from public squares, or divert flocks away from wind turbines. He says that the equipment should be commercially available within two years.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Have your say

Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.

Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article

Subscribe now to comment.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/27b3e65a/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg217290A0A60B20A0A0Eturn0Eup0Ethe0Ebass0Eto0Escare0Ebirds0Eaway0Efrom0Eplanes0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

oakland news alec baldwin alec baldwin college basketball oakland pinnacle airlines kansas vs kentucky

Strathmore University ? Is Is the New Kenyan Elite ... - Bnr.Co

Strathmore University was granted a University charter barely a couple of years ago and it is currently causing ripples in the greater education sector in the nation. For a lengthy time the University primarily operated as a college teaching accounting and computer courses. Nonetheless, all that changed because it was granted powers to supply University level courses.

Of course, it really is still a young University and therefore it may be also early to judge. Nevertheless, some of its strengths and attributes are worth mentioning. There is no doubt that the University is renowned for business and IT connected courses. Its MBA program now competes on an equal pedestal with the country?s greatest enterprise schools such as UON and USIU-A. Nevertheless, its MBA plan appears to be gaining momentum by the day. It attracts seasoned professionals from across the world. Some of the speakers have included the famed Harvard strategy guru Michael E. Porter as well as renowned company professors in the world?s elite company school.

Nevertheless, on this front it faces competitors from USIU-A business school which has both the talent and capacity to match it. For instance, USIU has an endowment fund of about 300 million shillings dedicated to business education. It also has captains of market among its alumni. 1 such particular person is Vimal Shah, the CEO of Bidco Oil limited. It is also closely associated with Manu Chandaria, who gave a personal gift to the University.

Even as the University aspires for planet class status, and increasing its financial muscle, it must take care not to water down the high quality of its programs as has happened with the public Universities which have abandoned their scholarly pursuits and rather now act as money minting ventures.

Source: http://www.bnr.co/reference-and-education/college-university/strathmore-university-is-is-the-new-kenyan-elite-university/

jennifer garner jennifer garner romney michigan derrick williams railgun jk rowling new book between two ferns