Sunday, March 31, 2013

Pope makes Easter pleas for world peace

Pope Francis hugs a child after celebrating his first Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Sunday Mass as pontiff in St. Peter's Square, packed by joyous pilgrims, tourists and Romans and bedecked by spring flowers.Wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis strode onto the esplanade in front of St. Peter's Basilica and took his place at an altar set up under a white canopy. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis hugs a child after celebrating his first Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Sunday Mass as pontiff in St. Peter's Square, packed by joyous pilgrims, tourists and Romans and bedecked by spring flowers.Wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis strode onto the esplanade in front of St. Peter's Basilica and took his place at an altar set up under a white canopy. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis holds a San Lorenzo's soccer team jersey after celebrating his first Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Sunday Mass as pontiff in St. Peter's Square, packed by joyous pilgrims, tourists and Romans and bedecked by spring flowers.Wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis strode onto the esplanade in front of St. Peter's Basilica and took his place at an altar set up under a white canopy. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis, holding the pastoral staff, celebrates the Easter mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013. "Our daily problems and worries can wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness, and that is where death is," he said. "Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life!" said Pope Francis during the Easter vigil. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis, holding the pastoral staff, walks past the closed icon of Jesus as he celebrates the Easter mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013. "Our daily problems and worries can wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness, and that is where death is," he said. "Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life!" said Pope Francis during the Easter vigil. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis, holding the pastoral staff, celebrates the Easter mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013. "Our daily problems and worries can wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness, and that is where death is," he said. "Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life!" said Pope Francis during the Easter vigil.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

(AP) ? Pope Francis marked Christianity's most joyous day with a passionate plea for world peace, celebrating his first Easter Sunday as pontiff in the enthusiastic company of more than 250,000 people who overflowed from St. Peter's Square.

With eloquent words in his Easter message, Francis lamented enduring conflicts in the Middle East, on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere and remembered the world's neediest people. With physical gestures, he illustrated the personal, down-to-earth caring he brings as a pastor to this new papacy ? cradling a disabled child held out to him in the crowd and delightedly accepting a surprise gift thrust at him.

Francis shared in his flock's exuberance as they celebrated Christianity's core belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead following crucifixion. After Mass in flower-bedecked St. Peter's Square, he stepped aboard an open-topped white popemobile for a cheerful spin through pathways in the joyous crowd, kissing babies, smiling constantly and patting children on the head.

One admirer of both the pope and his favorite soccer team from his Argentine homeland, Saints of San Lorenzo, insisted that Francis take a team jersey he was waving at the pontiff ? "take it, go ahead, take it," the man seemed to be telling the pope. Finally, a delighted Francis obliged, briefly holding up the shirt, and the crowd roared in approval. He handed the shirt to an aide in the front seat, and the popemobile continued its whirl through the square.

In a poignant moment, Francis cradled and kissed a physically disabled boy passed to him from the crowd. The child worked hard to make one of his arms hug the pope back, then succeeded, smiling in satisfaction as the pope patiently waited for the boy to give his greeting.

Francis has repeatedly put concern for the poor and suffering at the center of his messages, and he pursued his promotion of the causes of peace and social justice in the Easter speech he delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the same vantage point above the square where he was introduced to the world as the first Latin American pope on March 13.

The Roman Catholic leader aimed his Easter greetings at "every house and every family, especially where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons." Francis prayed that Jesus would inspire people to "change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace."

As popes before him have, he urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks and end a conflict that "has lasted all too long." And, in reflecting on the two-year-old Syrian crisis, Francis asked, "How much suffering must there still be before a political solution" can be found?

The pope also expressed desire for a "spirit of reconciliation" on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea says it has entered "a state of war" with South Korea. He also decried warfare and terrorism in Africa, as well as what he called the 21st century's most extensive form of slavery: human trafficking.

The first pontiff to come from the Jesuits, an order with special concern for the poor, and the first pope to name himself after St. Francis, a medieval figure who renounced wealth to preach to the down-and-out, Francis lamented that the world is "still divided by greed looking for easy gain."

Earlier, wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis celebrated Mass on the esplanade in front of the basilica at an altar set up under a white canopy. He frequently bowed his head as if in silent reflection.

Francis seems to bring good weather to Rome. As has happened on several of the other first public outdoor appearances of his fledgling papacy, huge throngs defied forecasts of heavy rain to turn out. They were rewarded by dry skies and some bursts of sun through clouds.

Vatican officials said by mid-ceremony, 250,000 people had come to the square, and thousands of others, including last-minute Romans, flocked to the square just in time to catch his blessing at the end.

The square was a panoply of floral color. Chilly winter has postponed the blossoming of many flowers. Yellow forsythia and white lilies shone, along with bursts of lavender and pink, from potted azalea, rhododendron, wisteria and other plants.

Francis thanked florists from the Netherlands for donating the flowers. He also advised people to let love transform their lives, or as he put it, "let those desert places in our hearts bloom."

The Vatican had prepared a list of brief Easter greetings in 65 languages, but Francis didn't read them. The Vatican didn't say why not, but has said that the new pope, at least for now, feels at ease using Italian, the everyday language of the Holy See. Francis also has stressed his role as a pastor to his flock, and, as Bishop of Rome, Italian would be his language.

The pontiff improvised his parting words to the crowd. He repeated his Easter greeting to those "who have come from all over the world to this square at the heart of Christianity" as well as to those "linked by modern technology," a reference to TV and radio coverage as well as social media.

Francis added that he was especially remembering "the weakest and the neediest" and praying that all of humanity be guided along "the paths of justice, love and peace."

In another departure from Easter tradition, Francis won't be heading for some post-holiday relaxation at the Vatican's summer palace in Castel Gandolfo, in the hills southeast of Rome. That retreat is already occupied by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who went there in the last hours of his papacy on Feb. 28. Benedict became the first pope in 600 years to resign from the position, and eventually is to move back to the Vatican, after a convent there is readied for him.

Francis so far has declined to move into Benedict's former apartment in the Apostolic Palace, into the rooms whose studio overlooks St. Peter's Square. He is still in the Vatican hotel where earlier this month he was staying along with other cardinals participating in the secret conclave to choose Benedict's successor.

While Francis has just begun to make his mark on the church, it is plain he has little desire to embrace much of the pomp customarily associated with the office.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-31-Vatican-Easter/id-ad9f6f4f06f84b43b984a3d596d3e614

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'Game Of Thrones' Season 3 Preview: The Challenges Ahead

Kit Harington, Sophie Turner and more weigh in on their arcs ahead of Sunday's premiere.
By Amy Wilkinson


Kit Harington
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704639/game-of-thrones-season-3-preview.jhtml

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Skype for Windows 8 gains contact blocking and performance improvements

Skype for Windows 8 gains contact blocking and performances improvements

Those of you using Skype in Windows 8 will be happy to know that Microsoft's just bumped the app to version 1.6. It's been a few months since the last update, and this revision brings more features to the table, including contact blocking and a slew of performance tweaks. You're now able to block users, with an option to remove or report the offending party. Speed and reliability have been improved, especially when loading contacts, and a number of bugs have been fixed, including one where the outgoing video was not always displayed after switching cameras. The update's available in Windows Store, so what are you waiting for

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Source: Skype Blogs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/30/skype-for-windows-8-gains-contact-blocking-and-performances-impr/

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Hundreds of migrants rescued off Italian coast

ROME (Reuters) - Italian coastguards said on Friday they had intercepted almost 700 mostly African migrants trying to get to the country on board 10 flimsy and rickety boats.

One vessel crammed with 150 people sent out a distress call about 80 miles off the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Friday afternoon, the service said.

Emergency services were sent to rescue them and another 70 people in a rubber craft nearby. All the other boats were stopped over the last two days.

Italy's coast is a common destination for migrants from north and sub-Saharan Africa.

Thousands have died during the risky voyage across the Mediterranean as a result of shipwreck, harsh conditions and a lack of food and water, say activists.

"With the arrival of the spring and the subsequent improvement in the weather conditions, migrant attempts to reach the Italian coast have picked up massively," the coastguard said in a statement.

A 15-metre long rubber boat carrying 98 people from sub-Saharan Africa was intercepted 96 miles off the coast of the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Thursday, a coastguard official said.

Rescue workers then received an emergency call from another boat carrying 131 people from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh close to Lampedusa, which they brought to shore.

Overnight the coastguard rescued 31 people from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa on a boat off the southern coast of Sicily, which was also heading to Lampedusa.

The official said 214 other migrants, mainly from Africa, on five boats had also been detained in the past 48 hours.

All the migrants are being held in reception centers in Sicily and Lampedusa, the official said.

An estimated 1,500 migrants lost their lives in the Mediterranean in 2011, many of them trying to escape the Arab Spring uprisings in North Africa, according to Human Rights Watch. It estimated the death toll in 2012 at more than 300.

(Reporting By Catherine Hornby; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-migrants-rescued-off-italian-coast-194313849.html

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Algeria's southern unemployed demand oil jobs

In this photo dated March 14, 2013, protesters gestures during a demonstration by thousands of young unemployed men demanding jobs in the oil industry in Algeria?s southern city of Ouargla. Protests by the unemployed in southern Algeria are raising the specter of rising unrest in the country?s sensitive oil regions, and are increasingly attracting the attention of al-Qaida. (AP Photo/Nabil Zahani)

In this photo dated March 14, 2013, protesters gestures during a demonstration by thousands of young unemployed men demanding jobs in the oil industry in Algeria?s southern city of Ouargla. Protests by the unemployed in southern Algeria are raising the specter of rising unrest in the country?s sensitive oil regions, and are increasingly attracting the attention of al-Qaida. (AP Photo/Nabil Zahani)

In this photo dated March 14, 2013, a demonstrator holds a sign reading ?I am Algerian, where are my rights?? during a protest by thousands of young unemployed men in Algeria?s southern city of Ouargla. Protests by the unemployed in southern Algeria are raising the specter of rising unrest in the country?s sensitive oil regions, and are increasingly attracting the attention of al-Qaida. (AP Photo/Nabil Zahani)

(AP) ? Protests by the unemployed in southern Algeria are raising the specter of rising unrest in the country's sensitive oil regions, and are increasingly attracting the attention of al-Qaida.

Algeria's vast, sparsely populated Sahara only holds 10 percent of the country's population but it is home to this North African country's enormous oil and gas reserves ? the basis of the entire economy and the source of the government's power. Those who live there claim they aren't benefiting from that wealth, and can't get jobs with the oil companies.

Now al-Qaida has praised the protesters, raising the possibility that it is seeking support among the disaffected groups. The government is rushing to address the protesters' demands, but hasn't yet convinced them that it's serious.

Some 10,000 people ? an enormous number for the lightly populated region ?demonstrated on March 14 in Algeria's southern oil city of Ouargla, and thousands more later protested in another southern oil town, Laghouat.

"We want access to jobs in the oil companies, and not just the low-value ones like drivers and security guards; we want to be in the administration," Tahar Belabes, the head of the National Committee for Defense of the Rights of the Unemployed, which organized the demonstration, said by telephone from Ouargla.

"We just want the same employment possibilities. It's not normal that we live in the region where the oil and gas is located but don't benefit from it."

While youth unemployment is widespread in Algeria, and the rest of North Africa, the southerners say they are particularly discriminated against. There is also a widespread distrust of government officials, who are believed corrupt and skimming off the country's vast oil receipts.

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal acknowledged on March 16 that the demonstrators' demands are legitimate and the government hurriedly announced a string of measures to address the perceived geographical bias in oil jobs. Oil companies will be obliged to give priority to job candidates from the south and recruitment must occur through registered employment agencies. The government announced that job-training centers would be set up to ready candidates for jobs with oil companies and hotels.

The demonstrations, however, have not stopped, and on Monday hundreds protested in the desert towns of Ghardaia and Oued Souf.

"The demonstrations are continuing because the young unemployed don't believe in official promises and they don't trust the local government representatives or their parliamentarians ? they want to negotiate directly with the government," said Kamal Zaidi, a member of an unemployed group in Laghouat and a human rights activist.

Most worrying for the government is that, on Friday, Al-Qaida's North African branch expressed solidarity with the demonstrations, slamming what they say is the corrupt use of the country's resources.

"The events of the south and the call of the people to protest in the streets is the natural response to the policy of marginalization and nepotism used by the corrupt Algerian regime," said the message posted on extremist websites.

Al-Qaida's signature tactic around the world has been to find marginalized groups in remote areas and espouse their cause, much the way they did with the disenfranchised Tuareg tribesmen in northern Mali, setting up a foothold that later became a de facto state before they were routed by the French in February.

In January, an al-Qaida-linked group for the first time attacked one of the country's remote desert gas plants.

While the leaders of Al-Qaida's Algerian branch are predominantly from the populous north, the leader of the attack on the Ain Amenas gas complex in January that left 37 hostages dead was a southerner ? Lamine Bencheneb, part of the radical Sons of Sahara armed Islamic group.

In the attack, the multinational team of militants appeared to know the complex inside and out, sparking reports that they may have had allies among the site's local drivers who had gone on strike over low pay just weeks earlier.

Geoff Porter, a veteran Algeria analyst with the North Africa Risk Consulting firm said the "unevenness" of past government investment programs have left a legacy of distrust in the south ? a region that also lacks the educational opportunities to produce the necessary skills for oil sector jobs.

Part of the problem, he added, is that the hydrocarbon industries don't require very much employment and there is little else going in these remote communities after the desert tourism industry dried up.

In attempt to curb the recent demonstrations, the government sent local parliamentarians, mostly from the ruling party, back to their towns in the south to hold meetings, but most of these were boycotted by the committees of the unemployed.

"The Algerian state has always had a policy of national investment and a great deal of money has been invested in the south, just like the other regions," said Mohammed Dhimi, one of the members of parliament from the south. "Perhaps the investments were not well thought-out or misdirected or didn't respond to the agricultural and industrial needs of the people."

"The protesters may sense that they have built up some momentum and that they are going to continue their protests until they see meaningful steps taken to deliver on the prime minister's promises," he said.

Belabes, the head of the unemployment committee, promised a new round of demonstrations in the coming days.

__

Schemm reported from Rabat, Morocco.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-30-Algeria-Southern%20Discomfort/id-a99447f6bb714530b4b3944b4055f1e7

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Friday, March 29, 2013

The Axis of Awesome: Rage of Thrones

The entire world—my geek friends, my non geek friends, my non TV watching non geek friends—is waiting for March 31st because that's when Game of Thrones is finally coming back to HBO. Westeros! Dany! Jon Snow! Tyrion! Robb Stark! Robb Stark's girl who is the great granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin! Everyone is excited except... the people who read the books. They know what's coming. The Axis of Awesome made a hilarious music video called 'Rage of Thrones' about those people and how they feel about us bandwagoners. Still, though. Game of Thrones on HBO is great! [Axis of Awesome] More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/MLwmpdBVSPE/the-axis-of-awesome-rage-of-thrones

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Come listen all! National Portrait Gallery to host poetry reading ...

(PR NewsChannel) / March 29, 2013 / WASHINGTON, DC?

SmithsonianThe Smithsonian?s National Portrait Gallery will host a poetry reading with three award-winning poets: Guggenheim Fellow and Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award-winner John Koethe, Pulitzer Prize-winner Yusef Komunyakaa and Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Muldoon. This event, with book signing to follow, will take place Sunday, April 21, at 2 p.m. in the Portrait Gallery?s Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium.NPG_PoeticLikeness_2004_18-TS_0

This gathering will mark the end of the exhibition ?Poetic Likeness: Modern American Poets,? closing April 28, and will be held in anticipation of the publication of?Lines in Long Array: A Civil War Commemoration, Poems and Photographs, Past and Present, to be released this fall (National Portrait Gallery; distributed by Smithsonian Books). The 136-page book contains 12 newly commissioned poems on the Civil War by major contemporary poets. Koethe, Komunyakaa and Muldoon have contributed original work to the publication; they are among the most important contemporary poets now writing in English. Following the event, the poets will sign their most recent books.

The reading and the poets will be introduced by Portrait Gallery historian and curator of ?Poetic Likeness? David C. Ward. Ward is also co-editor of?Lines in Long Array.

This program is presented in collaboration with the Poetry Society of America and the Library of Congress.

Koethe?is the author of nine books of poetry, including?Domes(1973), which received the Frank O?Hara Award;?Falling Water(1997), which received the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award; andNinety-Fifth Street?(2009), which received the Lenore Marshall Prize. His most recent book is?ROTC Kills?(2012), and he is also the author of books on Wittgenstein and skepticism. He is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin?Milwaukee.

Komunyakaa?s 13 books of poetry include?Taboo, Dien Cai Dau, Neon Vernacular?for which he received the Pulitzer Prize,Warhorses?and most recently?The Chameleon Couch. His many honors include the William Faulkner Prize (Universit? de Rennes, France), the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and the 2011 Wallace Stevens Award. His plays, performance art and libretti have been performed internationally and include?Saturnalia, Testimony?and?Gilgamesh. He teaches at New York University.

Muldoon?is the author of 11 collections of poetry, including Moy Sand and Gravel, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. Muldoon has also received the Shakespeare Prize and the Aspen Prize for Poetry. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he is also an honorary fellow of Hertford College, Oxford. He is the Howard G.B. Clark University Professor at Princeton and poetry editor of the?New Yorker.

National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian?s National Portrait Gallery tells the history of America through the individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the American story.

The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at Eighth and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Website: npg.si.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT
Bethany Bentley
(202) 633-8293;?
bentleyb@si.edu

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SOURCE:??The Smithsonian Institute

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Source: http://www.prnewschannel.com/2013/03/29/come-listen-all-national-portrait-gallery-to-host-poetry-reading/

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Brain scans might predict future criminal behavior

Mar. 28, 2013 ? A new study conducted by The Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, N.M., shows that neuroimaging data can predict the likelihood of whether a criminal will reoffend following release from prison.

The paper, which is to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, studied impulsive and antisocial behavior and centered on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain that deals with regulating behavior and impulsivity.

The study demonstrated that inmates with relatively low anterior cingulate activity were twice as likely to reoffend than inmates with high-brain activity in this region.

"These findings have incredibly significant ramifications for the future of how our society deals with criminal justice and offenders," said Dr. Kent A. Kiehl, who was senior author on the study and is director of mobile imaging at MRN and an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico. "Not only does this study give us a tool to predict which criminals may reoffend and which ones will not reoffend, it also provides a path forward for steering offenders into more effective targeted therapies to reduce the risk of future criminal activity."

The study looked at 96 adult male criminal offenders aged 20-52 who volunteered to participate in research studies. This study population was followed over a period of up to four years after inmates were released from prison.

"These results point the way toward a promising method of neuroprediction with great practical potential in the legal system," said Dr. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Stillman Professor of Practical Ethics in the Philosophy Department and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, who collaborated on the study. "Much more work needs to be done, but this line of research could help to make our criminal justice system more effective."

The study used the Mind Research Network's Mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) System to collect neuroimaging data as the inmate volunteers completed a series of mental tests.

"People who reoffended were much more likely to have lower activity in the anterior cingulate cortices than those who had higher functioning ACCs," Kiehl said. "This means we can see on an MRI a part of the brain that might not be working correctly -- giving us a look into who is more likely to demonstrate impulsive and anti-social behavior that leads to re-arrest."

The anterior cingulate cortex of the brain is "associated with error processing, conflict monitoring, response selection, and avoidance learning," according to the paper. People who have this area of the brain damaged have been "shown to produce changes in disinhibition, apathy, and aggressiveness. Indeed, ACC-damaged patients have been classed in the 'acquired psychopathic personality' genre."

Kiehl says he is working on developing treatments that increase activity within the ACC to attempt to treat the high-risk offenders.

The four-year study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and pilot funds by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Law and Neuroscience Project. The study was conducted in collaboration with the New Mexico Corrections Department.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. E. Aharoni, G. M. Vincent, C. L. Harenski, V. D. Calhoun, W. Sinnott-Armstrong, M. S. Gazzaniga, K. A. Kiehl. Neuroprediction of future rearrest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219302110

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/YKAt_BzzGdM/130328125319.htm

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Iran's support for Syria still appears strong - but is it hedging its bets?

Even as it continues to provide military support to the Syrian regime, staunch ally Iran is making preparations for life after President Assad.?

By Scott Peterson,?Staff writer / March 28, 2013

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, welcomes Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, for their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, March 2.

Mahdi Marizad, Fars News Agency/AP

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When the Arab League handed Syria?s long-vacant seat to the Syrian opposition on March 26 and endorsed military aid for anti-regime rebels, the first and loudest complaints came from Iran.?

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Despite a two-year rebellion that has seen 70,000 deaths and 1 million refugees, Iran has not veered from its staunch support for Syria?s embattled President Bashar al-Assad, whose?regime it considers a critical piece of its anti-US, anti-Israel "axis of resistance."

The Arab League's decision set a ?dangerous precedent? that would only ?add to the problems,? warned Iran?s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. It would even ?bring an end to the [Arab League?s] role in the region,? asserted his deputy, Hossein Amir?Abdollahian.

The Iranian complaints are the diplomatic side of an on-the-battlefield proxy war in Syria, with both sides reportedly receiving a surge of weapons from outside powers in recent months.?Iranian military and financial support for Mr. Assad has been stepped up with near-weekly flights?(and Russia still continues normal sales to its ally). Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, meanwhile, have ferried fresh weaponry to the rebels, with CIA support.

United Nations envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi says the Syrian conflict is becoming a ?playground for competing regional forces.?

As the mish-mash of rebel forces capture more ground, more regime military bases and hardware, and key civilian targets, few analysts predict that Assad?s regime will survive in its current form, or that Syria?s longstanding ruler will be alive when it is over. Even Iran, despite its unbending public support for Assad, appears?to be preparing for a post-Assad world.

"Iran so far was successful; without Iran's money and strategic help, Assad would have fallen much earlier," says Mehdi Khalaji, an Iran specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "But in terms of policy, they have a Plan B?. So even if Assad falls, to some extent Iran would be able to protect its interests."

'Plan B'?

That plan may hinge on a pro-regime militia Iran helped to create called Jaysh al-Shabi. The militia could protect Syria's Alawites ? the Shiite Muslim offshoot to which Assad and much of his regime belong ? if they are relegated to only a portion of the country?in northwest Syria, along the coast to the border with Lebanon.?

It's possible that no side will gain a decisive advantage and, with all sides backed by powerful international friends, the country will break along sectarian and ethnic fault lines, with Alawite and Kurdish sections, and a larger Sunni portion.?

Since its 1979 Islamic revolution,?Iran has used Syria as a conduit for weapons, cash, and support for the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah,?and later?Hamas and Islamic Jihad,?all of which form a frontline against Israel. If Assad falls, Iran could lose that channel.?

Iran?s Revolutionary Guard commander has been quoted as saying that the?Jaysh al-Shabi, a mix of Shiite and Alawite groups, is modeled after Iran?s ideological Basij militia,?a large volunteer force that has been used to quell street unrest. Senior US officials, who added Jaysh al-Shabi to its list of sanctioned groups last December,?have described it as ?an Iran-Hezbollah joint venture.?

?In terms of propaganda, no, I think the Iranians in the near future would not admit this possibility [of Assad falling],? says Mr. Khalaji.

But Iran's Plan B with the pro-regime militia means that even if Assad is removed, as long as an Alawite enclave continues to exist in Syria, Iran may still manage to maintain direct links with militant groups. "By helping them, [Iran would] make sure that some part of Syria can be used as a bridge to reach Lebanon and the Palestinian territories," adds Khalaji."

Gulf, West come together

At the Arab League meeting in Doha, Qatar, countering any Iranian support for the Assad regime may have been behind the readiness to recognize the anti-government coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

?We demand ? all forms of support from our friends and brothers, including our full right for self-defense,? said Syrian opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib after taking Syria's seat at the Arab League meeting.?

That has reportedly?been happening already. The airlifting of military aid?by?Arab governments and Turkey to Syrian rebels?with CIA help??expanded into a steady and much heavier flow late last year,? The New York Times reported on March 24. According to the Times, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar ??Sunni Muslim nations wary of Iranian influence in the region ? have carried out?160 military-style cargo flights?bringing weaponry to Turkey and Jordan, from which the weapons are smuggled into Syria.?

?The intensity and frequency of these [weapons] flights are suggestive of a well-planned and coordinated clandestine military logistics operation,? Hugh Griffiths of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute told the Times.?

Not enough

Likewise, Iran has ?significantly stepped up? military support for Assad, according to a mid-March report by Reuters.?

The Iranian effort ?suggests the Syrian war is entering a new phase in which Iran may be trying to end the battlefield stalemate by redoubling its commitment to Assad? and giving the regime a ?crucial lifeline,? Reuters reported, citing Western diplomats and a Western intelligence report from last September.

The intelligence report described shipments, primarily through Iraqi airspace, ranging from communications gear and drone parts to ?advanced strategic weapons? such as shore-to-sea missiles and ballistic missiles.

?None of this will be decisive; Assad will lose,? says Kenneth Katzman, an analyst for the Congressional Research Service in Washington. ?You?re not going to change the outcome unless you are shipping big-ticket items, which I don?t think anybody is.?

Assad?s military stores are slowly being eroded: Helicopters and planes have been shot down, and many tanks have been taken out?and some captured by rebels and turned against government forces.?

The Iranians "can?t do much more, because to do more would risk getting things captured and exposed," says Mr. Katzman.??To some extent the [Iranian] mentality is the same as Assad?s mentality: Just be tough, show as much strength as possible, and you?re going to be able to?power through it. I think they?ve?overestimated their ability to save Assad.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/VsdYlkY-mfg/Iran-s-support-for-Syria-still-appears-strong-but-is-it-hedging-its-bets

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Allergy Treatment Could Replace Shots

Mar 27, 2013 7:00am

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Sublingual immunotherapy is the practice of administering allergen extract droplets under the tongue. (Credit: Getty Images)

What if all it took to get rid of seasonal allergies was holding a few drops of liquid under your tongue for a few seconds a day?

In Europe, sublingual immunotherapy, the practice of gradually desensitizing the immune system to allergens by administering allergen extract droplets under the tongue, has been common practice for treating allergies and certain asthmas for decades. But in the United States, the therapy is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

?We?re just behind the times,? said Dr. Sandra Lin, an allergist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who conducted a review of 63 studies on the therapy and published her findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, today.

RELATED: College Freshman Dies After Eating Peanut Cookie

Lin said she wasn?t surprised to learn that the studies concluded sublingual immunotherapy worked. Allergists in the United States, including Lin, have used the extracts off-label for years. They are FDA-approved to be injected into the fatty tissue, but can be much more easily administered by just placing droplets under the tongue.

?It modifies the immune system so it?s more tolerant to what you?re allergic to,? Lin said, adding that the under-the-tongue therapy can be done at home, unlike injections which should be done in a doctor?s office. ?It?s all about convenience and accessibility because being able to dose at home opens it up to a huge number of people, particularly children.?

RELATED: Spring Could Be the Worst Allergy Season Ever

She said she published the review of 63 studies in JAMA to gain raise awareness about it as an effective therapy. Although allergists are free to use it off-label, she said FDA-approval would be ideal toward determining the best dosage and concentration of the liquid allergen extract.

SHOWS: World News

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/03/27/under-the-tongue-droplets-could-cure-allergies/

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Mozilla partners with Epic Games to bring Unreal Engine 3 to the web

DNP Mozilla partners with Epic Games to bring Unreal Engine 3 to the web

Building on its recent advancements in JavaScript optimization, Mozilla has announced a partnership with Epic Games that will bring the Unreal Engine 3 to Firefox. Unlike the ill-fated InstantAction, this gives developers the opportunity to port high-end titles to the web without the use of plugins. Hardly content with enhancing desktop browser-based games, Mozilla is aiming to bring this experience to mobile devices -- but it's stopping short of providing any details beyond that. The company notes that it's currently working with major developers such as EA, ZeptoLab and Disney to bring optimizations to their existing titles. Mum's the word on when 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand will get the chance to soak browsers everywhere, but you can catch a video preview of something slightly less spectacular just after the break.

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Source: Mozilla

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/tWnXE0uPDeQ/

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Laura Prudom: 'Supernatural' Season 8, Episode 18 Recap: Victor's School For Teenage Hunters In 'Freaks And Geeks'

supernatural freaks and geeks recap

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 8, Episode 18 of The CW's "Supernatural," titled "Freaks and Geeks."

Since not every "Supernatural" episode can be centered around the season's chosen mythology, it would be nice if every self-contained episode could be like "Freaks and Geeks," which paid homage to the series' history and demonstrated a firm grasp of continuity while still providing fans with the satisfying character beats we tune in for every week.

Adam Glass' snappy script, beautifully directed by John Showalter, brought back Krissy Chambers (a delightfully sassy Madison McLaughlin) and utilized plenty of vampire lore from previous seasons, including a cure for the condition and the always-handy Dead Man's Blood.

And, like many of the show's stronger episodes, the story grappled with themes of revenge versus justice, what truly makes a monster monstrous, and whether there's any possibility for a hunter to have a "normal" life -- something Sam continues to struggle with this season.

The episode's conceit was simple enough: A hunter called Victor had established a kind of hunting school for wayward orphans whose families were murdered by supernatural creatures, both to recapture the lively atmosphere he lost when his own family was murdered and, allegedly, to prepare the kids to be the next generation of monster killers, smarter and faster than those who came before them. Krissy might have insisted that they weren't like the X-Men, but the concept was certainly similar.

Sadly, Victor was so desperate to replace his own murdered kin that he used a pet vampire to kill the teens' families to set them on a path of revenge -- kind of wasteful, when you consider how many kids have legitimately been orphaned or affected by things that go bump in the night over the course of the show so far. If Victor's methods had been truly altruistic, he could've done a lot of good in a world constantly on the verge of an apocalypse.

It would be fascinating to revisit some of the characters we saw back in the first couple of seasons -- kids like "Something Wicked's" Michael and "Dead in the Water's" Lucas who would now be in their mid/late-teens and might've had their whole perspectives rocked by their encounters with the Winchesters, but "Freaks and Geeks" was a solid investigation into one logical way a child might react to that kind of loss. I hope we see Krissy, Aidan and Josephine again to find out just how good the "next generation" of hunters might be.

t was heartening to see Dean making the distinction that "hunting isn't always about killing" and that good and evil isn't always black and white, reaffirming what he learned in Purgatory through his friendship with Benny and preventing Krissy and her friends from starting down a bloodthirsty path.

I've always had a soft spot for episodes that utilize Dean's rapport with kids, and Krissy has been a particularly engaging foil for him in both her episodes, constantly insulting him like the bratty sister he never had. Watching him eschew giving Aidan the overprotective father talk on Krissy's behalf was a wonderful moment (since she really would kick Aidan's ass all by herself), but watching the tough teen forgo a fist-bump for a chaste kiss on the cheek in thanks was even more touching, especially since Dean is a character who seemingly craves human connection and familial bonds but has always struggled with how to maintain them.

Dean's insistence that Krissy resist killing Victor was completely justified, but I can't help but wonder whether he and Sam would've taken Victor out if he hadn't shot himself first, since he arguably could've started doing the exact same thing with another group of kids if left to his own devices. Though the Winchesters have always been reluctant to kill humans, history has certainly proven that some of the show's mortal villains have been every bit as twisted as the supernatural ones, and I would hate to think they'd simply let someone as selfish and twisted as Victor walk free.

The episode's greatest strength was undoubtedly its examination of Sam and Dean, reaffirming Sam's desire for a safe, apple pie life and raising the question of whether either Winchester actually wants children, let alone feels like they could provide a safe life for them.

Dean still believes that the only way to ensure anyone will grow up safe and avoid the life the Winchesters have led is to close the gates of Hell, while Sam seemed to gravitate towards the concept of maintaining a sense of normalcy even while hunting, which is understandable, if potentially misguided.

The show's history has shown us that staying in one place makes our hunters a target, illustrated by the fates of The Roadhouse and Bobby's home, but with the right warding and an obscure location -- like Rufus' cabin -- would it really be impossible to create a home between hunts? Judging by Dean's excitement over the bathrobes and proper beds in the Men of Letters bunker, a safe haven is obviously something that appeals to both brothers (and why shouldn't it?).

It would be wonderful to think that Sam and Dean could someday take the lessons of their encounter with Victor and the teens and create their own place of sanctuary for people who have lost everything but still want to protect others from suffering the same loss. Both Sam and Dean (whether he'd admit it or not) have the kind of altruistic nature and desire to protect others that would make them ideal teachers (or father-figures) for wayward souls like Krissy. After all, what was Team Free Will if not a makeshift family? Their relationships with Castiel, Bobby, Garth and even more peripheral characters like Charlie prove that the Winchesters can't help but pull people into their orbit, even when it would be safer to push them away. Ultimately, family is at the heart of this show, and it would be nice to think that the Winchesters will be able to achieve some semblance of one by the time the final credits roll.

Watch a sneak peek from next week's episode below:

"Supernatural" airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.

Do you think a hunter could ever balance a "normal" life with the demands of the job? Would Sam and Dean have let Victor go? Share your thoughts and reactions in the comments!

  • Episode 818: "Freaks and Geeks"

  • Episode 818: "Freaks and Geeks"

  • Episode 818: "Freaks and Geeks"

    Pictured (L-R): Adam Dimarco as Aiden, Megan Danso as Josephine, Madison McLaughlin as Krissy, and Jensen Ackles as Dean.

  • Episode 818: "Freaks and Geeks"

  • Episode 818: "Freaks and Geeks"

  • Episode 818: "Freaks and Geeks"

  • Episode 818: "Freaks and Geeks"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 817: "Goodbye Stranger"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 816: "Remember The Titans"

  • Episode 815: "Man's Best Friend With Benefits"

  • Episode 815: "Man's Best Friend With Benefits"

  • Episode 815: "Man's Best Friend With Benefits"

  • Episode 815: "Man's Best Friend With Benefits"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

  • Episode 814: "Everybody Hates Hitler"

?

Follow Laura Prudom on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LauinLA

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-prudom/supernatural-season-8-episode-18-recap-freaks-and-geeks_b_2968313.html

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Case-Shiller: Denver home prices rise 9.2% | Inside Real Estate News

This 2,361-square-foot home in Denver is on the market for $365,000.

This 2,361-square-foot home in Denver is on the market for $365,000.

Highlights:

  • Case-Shiller shows Denver home prices rise 9.2% YOY.
  • Overall increase for 20 MSAs was 8.1% in January.
  • Denver prices up 34% since 2000.

?

Denver-area home prices rose 9.2 percent in January, according to the closely watched Case-Shiller index.

That was the biggest year-over-year percentage gain since September 2001, when Denver-are prices were up 9.93 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices, which tracks 20 major metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S.

?A 9 percent increase is nothing short of spectacular, said Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate.

Overall, Denver ranked 10th of the 20 MSAs in the country, as far as year-over-year appreciation.

The overall increase for the 20 markets was 8.1 percent.

Niederman noted for a long stretch of time, Denver was in the top five markets. In January 2012, for example, Denver was ranked No. 3 by Case-Shiller, with a 0.2 percent, year-over-year gain.

?I?m glad we are no longer in the top five,? he said. ?This means there is a nationwide recovery, instead of just Denver and two or three other cities across the country. A rising tide raises all boats, as they say. This tells me we are seeing a housing recovery all across the country.?

Phoenix, one of the nation?s hardest hit markets, let the nation in January, with a 23.2 percent year-over-year gain.

?Denver does not have these huge swings from peak to trough,? Niederman said. ?If we did, I would be worried about a bubble.?

He said Denver may be in the second year of a seven-to 10-year improving market.

?It feels like it,? Niederman said. ?It seems like we historically have these seven to 10-year cycles. We could be near the beginning of a long, sustainable strong market for housing.?

One extremely positive thing about the Denver market is that it is improving across the board, said Lane Hornung, president and founder of 8z Real Estate.

?Home price appreciation is accelerating in our market,? Hornung said.

?We did not quite reach double digits, but the seasonally adjusted index is at 9.1 percent year over year appreciation and 10 percent is in sight,? Hornung said.

?Price increases are wide-spread, from core neighborhoods out to the suburbs, and evident in all price segments,? he said.

However, there were only 6,786 homes unsold homes on the market in February, according to an earlier report by Metrolist. That marked a 32.7 percent decline from the 10,068 unsold homes in February 2012.

?Unfortunately, inventory levels are dropping, not rising, as demand continues to far outstrip supply,? Hornung said. ??Frankly, it?s getting a bit kooky out there in the market.?

Independent broker Gary Bauer, said the latest Case Shiller report ?is good, positive news,? for the Denver-area market.

?It?s interesting that we?ve got a record (price appreciation) going back to 2001,? Bauer. ?The other interesting thing is that a 9 percent gain puts us in the middle of the pack. Once again, Denver never had the tremendous highs or the tremendous lows of other markets.?

He said the Denver housing market is ?extremely strong with a lot of pent-up buyer demand. Homeowners are looking hard at putting their homes on the market and good share of them are doing that and listing their homes.?? However, that does not appear to be easing the incredible housing shortage.

?Homes that are coming on the market are being gobbled up fast,? Bauer said.

Niederman said one reason that there is so much pent-up demand that some people who lost their homes in foreclosures or short sales starting in 2009, are returning to the market.

Typically, people who lost their homes in a distressed situation have to wait three years before they can qualify for another mortgage, he said. That means last year was the first year they could re-enter the market since the housing recession began.

?The subset of the market who lost their homes from 2009 to 2011, could start returning to the market through 2014,? Niederman said. ?Of course, not all of those people will want to or be able to return to the market, but I think some of them will.?

During the foreclosure crisis, one housing counselor said almost everyone who lost a home looked forward to re-entering the market when their financial situation and credit history improved.

Nationally, the housing market put in its best performance since 2006.

?The two headline composites posted their highest year-over-year increases since summer 2006,? says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. ?This marks the highest increase since the housing bubble burst.

?After more than two years of consecutive year-over-year declines, New York reversed trend and posted a positive return in January. The Southwest (Phoenix and Las Vegas) plus San Francisco posted the highest?annual increases; they were also among the hardest hit by the housing bust. Atlanta and Dallas recorded their highest year-over-year gains.

?Economic data continues to support the housing recovery. Single-family home building permits and housing starts posted double-digit year-over-year increases in February 2013. Despite a slight uptick in foreclosure filings, numbers are still down 25 percent year-over-year. Steady employment and low borrowing rates pushed inventories down to their lowest post-recession levels.?

Have a story idea or real estate tip? Contact John Rebchook at? JRCHOOK@gmail.com. InsideRealEstateNews.com is sponsored by Universal Lending, Land Title Guarantee and 8z Real Estate. To read more articles by John Rebchook, subscribe to the Colorado Real Estate Journal.

MonthHow Denver ranked out of 20 MSAs1-Year Change
January 201062.6%
February53.6%
March74.1%
April 84.4%
May83.6%
June91.8%
July 11-0.1%
August11-1.2%
September9-3.1%
October7-1.8%
November6-2.5%
December7-2.4%
January 20116-2.3%
February 5-2.6%
March 7-3.8%
April 6-4.1%
May5-3.3%
June3-2.5%
July4-2.1%
August3-1.6%
September5-1.5%
October4-0.9%
November3-0.2%
December2-0.4%
January 201230.2%
February 40.5%
March 32.6%
April 42.8%
May33.7%
June44.0%
July45.4%
August55.5%
September66.7%
October76.9%
November87.8%
December108.5%
January 2013109.2%

Metropolitan AreaChange from January 2000December-January Change1-Year Annual Change
Atlanta-3.0%1.0%13.4%
Boston53.8%0.0%4.0%
Charlotte15.15%0.2%6.0%
Chicago11.62%-0.9%3.3%
Cleveland0.07%-0.5%4.8%
Dallas20.51%0.0%7.0%
DENVER34.17%0.0%9.2%
Detroit-19.99%-0.9%13.8%
Las Vegas4.04%1.6%15.3%
Los Angeles80.23%0.9%12.1%
Miami53.51%0.8%10.8%
Minneapolis24.95%-0.5%12.1%
New York61.64%0.1%0.6%
Phoenix26.69%1.1%23.2%
Portland40.74%-0.4%8.3%
San Diego63.28%-0.6%9.8%
San Francisco47.45%0.1%17.5%
Seattle41.30%-0.3%8.7%
Tampa35.20%0.9%8.9%
Washington, D.C.87.42%-0.7%5.9%
Composite -1058.72%0.2%7.3%
Composite - 2046.14%0.1%8.1%

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Source: http://insiderealestatenews.com/2013/03/case-shiller-denver-home-prices-up-9-2/

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Microsoft adding more content to Xbox Live this week, including Toys R Us movies and a refreshed MLB.tv app

Microsoft adding more content to Xbox Live this week, including PopcornFlix, Toys R Us movies and a refreshed MLBtv app

Mo apps, mo couch entertainment, right? Well, in order to boost the attributes of its mature gaming console and Xbox Live, Microsoft today announced it's bringing some additional content to the ever-evolving platform. To go along with the recent inclusion of Redbox Instant, Redmond this week -- and just in time for the new season, shall we say -- will welcome an MLB.tv app with a redesigned interface and other undisclosed features that, according to the company, should "make watching baseball on Xbox better than ever." What's more, Microsoft didn't just have MLB lovers in mind, and is also giving film buffs, both young and old, something to look forward to with a few new applications, such as IndieFlix, PopcornFlix and Toys R Us movies -- oh, and for those who fancy internet-based TV shows, there's a Revision3 app, to boot. As is often the case, the countries in which they can each be enjoyed will depend on where you live (and a Gold subscription, of course), so now may be a good time to peruse the PR after the break to find out which of these you can expect to see on your Dasboard.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/27/microsoft-xbox-live-apps/

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Chimps, gorillas, other apes struggling to survive

BANGKOK (AP) ? A U.N. report says the multibillion-dollar trade in illegal wildlife that has driven iconic creatures like the tiger to near-extinction is also threatening the survival of great apes.

Endangered chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos are disappearing from the wild in frightening numbers, as private owners pay top dollar for exotic pets, while disreputable zoos, amusement parks and traveling circuses clamor for smuggled primates to entertain audiences.

The report says more than 22,000 great apes are estimated to have been traded illegally over the seven years ending in 2011. That's about 3,000 a year; more than half are chimpanzees.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chimps-gorillas-other-apes-struggling-survive-051137577.html

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Make Your Wedding Memorable with the Party Dresses from China

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US training Syrian moderates in Jordan: officials

In this image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters aim their weapons during clashes, in Damascus countryside, Syria on Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

In this image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters aim their weapons during clashes, in Damascus countryside, Syria on Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

In this Sunday, March 24, 2013 image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters drops a shell into a firing tube, in Damascus countryside, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

(AP) ? For months now, the United States has been training secular Syrian fighters in Jordan with the goal of bolstering the array of forces battling President Bashar Assad's regime while at the same time strengthening the hand of moderates among the country's fractured opposition, American and foreign officials said. They said the effort is ongoing.

The training has been taking place since late last year at an unspecified location, concentrating largely on Sunnis and tribal Bedouins who formerly served as members of the Syrian army, officials told The Associated Press. The forces aren't members of the leading rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, they said. The U.S. and others fear the growing role of extremist militia groups in the rebel ranks, including some linked to al-Qaida.

Officials said the operation is being run by U.S. intelligence. But those in Washington stressed that the U.S. was only providing nonlethal aid at this point, stopping short of a step that is being increasingly advocated by lawmakers in Congress but which the Obama administration opposes.

Others such as Britain and France are involved, officials added, though it's unclear whether any Western government is providing materiel or other direct military support after two years of civil war that, according to the United Nations, already has killed more than 70,000 people.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the program.

Officially, the Obama administration has been vague on the subject of what type of military training it may be providing, while insisting that it is doing all it can ? short of providing weapons to the rebels or engaging in its own military intervention ? to hasten the demise of the Assad family's four-decade dictatorship.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday the U.S. has "provided some logistical nonlethal support that has also come in handy for the Syrian rebels who are, again, fighting a regime that is not hesitating to use the military might of that regime against its own people.

"That is something we're going to continue to work to bring to an end," he told reporters.

It's unclear what effect the training has had in the conflict. It has become a quagmire, with Assad's regime unable to snuff out the rebellion and Syria's opposition incapable thus far of delivering any serious blow to the ruling government's grip on Damascus and control over much of the country.

Some of the Syrians the U.S. is involved with are in turn training other Syrians inside the country, officials said.

They declined to provide more information because they said that would go too deep into intelligence matters. Defense Department officials insisted the Pentagon isn't involved with any military training or arms provisions to the Syrian rebels, either directly or indirectly. The CIA declined to comment.

The New York Times reported Monday that the CIA helped Arab governments and Turkey sharply increase their military aid to Syria's opposition in recent months, with secret airlifts of arms and equipment. It cited traffic data, officials in several countries and rebel commanders, and said the airlift began on a small scale a year ago but has expanded steadily to more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari planes landing at Turkish and Jordanian airports.

The training in Jordan, however, suggests the U.S. help is aimed somewhat at enhancing the rebels' capacity in southern Syria, the birthplace of the revolution two years ago when teenagers in the sleepy agricultural outpost of Dara'a scribbled graffiti on a wall and were tossed into jail, spurring Syria's own version of an Arab Spring uprising. Much of the violence since, however, has been in the northern part of the country, where rebels have scored several military successes after the Assad regime cracked down brutally on peaceful protesters.

Despite months of U.S. and international support to build a cohesive political movement, Syria's fractured opposition is still struggling to rally Syrians behind a common post-Assad vision. And the opposition coalition appears as much hampered by its political infighting as its military deficiencies against an Assad regime arsenal of tanks, fighter jets and Scud missiles.

The coalition's president, Mouaz al-Khatib, resigned his position Sunday because of what he described as restrictions on his work and frustration with the level of international aid. He said Monday he would still represent the opposition this week in Doha, where the Gulf state of Qatar will host a two-day Arab League summit starting Tuesday.

Al-Khatib's resignation comes only days after the opposition chose Ghassan Hitto, a long-time Texas resident, to head its interim government after intense wrangling over posts and influence that U.S. officials say has strained the opposition's unity and caused friction among its primary benefactors Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

It's also unclear how al-Khatib's departure will affect the U.S. goal of political negotiations with amenable members of the Assad regime to end the civil war, given the moderate preacher's support for talks. Much of the Syrian opposition, including Hitto, rejects such talks.

___

Halaby reported from Amman, Jordan. Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Lara Jakes in Washington also contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-26-US-Syria/id-4ba7489847ba42868e3e2a469030ec32

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