বৃহস্পতিবার, ৩০ মে, ২০১৩

House Republicans question Eric Holder on his leak testimony

By Lawrence Hurley and David Ingram

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Republican lawmakers asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday to clarify testimony he gave Congress this month about his role in the targeting of journalists in a leak probe.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and colleague James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin sent a letter to Holder saying recent media reports "appear to be at odds with your sworn testimony."

At the May 15 hearing, Holder said he had never been involved in any decision to pursue a criminal investigation of a journalist and said it would not be "wise policy" to do so.

Last week, news outlets reported that Holder had approved a decision to seek a search warrant for Fox News email records as part of a leak investigation. Reuters later reported Holder signed off on a subpoena for telephone records as well.

The Fox News reporter involved, James Rosen, was described as a "co-conspirator" by investigators, but was not charged.

A Justice Department official said the department had received the Republicans' letter and planned to show that Holder's testimony was consistent with the facts.

In a defense of Holder, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that Holder had testified truthfully. Carney told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday there was an "extremely large distinction" between describing a reporter as a co-conspirator and charging him with a crime.

Carney said there are no plans to prosecute Rosen.

President Barack Obama "absolutely" has confidence in Holder to continue as the chief U.S. law enforcement officer, he said.

Concern from journalists and free speech advocates last week prompted Obama to order a review of Justice Department procedures governing investigations that involve reporters. Many of those procedures predate email.

On Thursday, as part of the review, Holder was scheduled to begin a series of meetings with Washington news bureau chiefs to allow them to air concerns and exchange ideas. Later meetings were being planned for news executives and lawyers, and for government intelligence and law enforcement officials, according to a Justice Department statement.

'FULL AND ACCURATE ACCOUNT'

The letter on Wednesday from House Republicans focused not on the wider review but on the searches of Rosen's materials. It asked Holder for a "full and accurate account of your involvement in and approval of these search warrants."

Rosen reported in 2009 that U.S. intelligence officials believed North Korea would conduct more nuclear tests in response to U.N. sanctions. Stephen Kim, a former State Department analyst suspected of being Rosen's source, faces trial on charges he violated an anti-espionage law.

The Republicans' letter asks Holder to give a detailed account of his role and to respond to eight questions, including whether the Justice Department ever intended to prosecute Rosen.

U.S. Representative John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that Holder had been "forthright and did not mislead the committee."

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Howard Goller and David Storey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/house-republicans-assail-eric-holder-leak-testimony-173927307.html

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First quarter GDP revised slightly lower; austerity bites

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A drop in government spending dragged more on the U.S. economy than initially thought in the first three months of the year, a sign of increasing pain from Washington's austerity drive.

Another report on Thursday showed the number of new jobless claims rose last week, and together the data reinforced the view that the U.S. economy may be entering yet another soft patch.

Gross domestic product, a measure of the country's total economic output, expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate during the first quarter, down a tenth of a point from an initial estimate, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Analysts had forecast a 2.5 percent gain.

That is much faster than the prior quarter's pace, but likely still too weak to fuel faster improvements in the labor market.

"We are dramatically under-spending in Washington," said Michael Strauss, a market strategist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut.

Investors took the data as a sign of weakness in the economy, and futures for U.S. stock indexes trimmed gains while yields on U.S. government debt fell slightly.

Growth in the first quarter was held back as government spending fell across all levels of government and as businesses outside the farm sector stocked their shelves at a slower pace.

Washington has been tightening its belt for several years but ramped up austerity measures in 2013, hiking taxes in January and slashing the federal budget in March.

Still, economic growth has been surprisingly resilient, supported by the Federal Reserve's low interest rate policies which have helped families buy homes and cars.

Thursday's data could add to the case that the economy still needs a lot of monetary stimulus, although policymakers at the central bank have been talking up the possibility of easing back on their bond buying program this year.

Most economists expect growth will slow around the middle of 2013 as budget cuts bite across the public sector. But growth is seen picking up by year end, propelled by consumer spending and an apparently entrenched housing market recovery.

Government spending has now fallen sharply in two straight quarters and economists believe agencies have pulled back in anticipation of budget cuts that were initially due to begin in January but which took effect in March.

In the first quarter, government spending dropped at a 4.9 percent annual rate, faster than the 4.1 percent rate initially estimated. Spending fell at federal, state and local government offices, though the majority of the downward revision in Thursday' report came at the state and local level.

Washington has been trimming deficits for several years as programs enacted to fight an economic crisis have wound down. This year, the federal government is on track to slash its budget shortfall by the most in nearly a half century.

In the first quarter, the drag from government and inventories was partially offset by an upward revision to consumer spending, which rose at a 3.4 percent annual rate, up two tenths of a point from the government's previous estimate.

However, a cloud hung over that category, as most of the upward revision was due to higher sales of gasoline. Higher prices at the pump are a burden on consumers, leaving them less money to spend on other things. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

Excluding the volatile inventories component, GDP rose at an upwardly revised 1.8 percent rate, slightly higher than analysts had forecast.

MORE JOBLESS CLAIMS

A separate report showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 354,000, above analysts' expectations, Labor Department data showed.

A Labor Department analyst said claims for five states, including Virginia, Minnesota and Oregon, were estimated since state offices had less time to prepare data because of the national holiday on Monday.

This could have the distorted the readings, making last week's claims a less useful gauge of labor market trends.

The four-week moving average for new claims, which irons out week-to-week volatility, edged up 6,750 to 347,250.

Despite the rise last week, claims remained in the middle of their range for this year and below levels economists normally associate with modest job gains.

Steady improvement in labor market conditions and rising house prices are helping to sustain consumer spending, limiting the impact of the drag from fiscal policy on the economy.

(Additional reporting by Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-quarter-gdp-revised-slightly-lower-austerity-bites-123522067.html

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Fast-Spinning Magnetic Star Has Strange Glitch

One of the strongest magnets in the universe, a magnetar, is unexpectedly capable of a strange new kind of glitch ? a mysterious, unexplained drop in speed, researchers say.

Unraveling what briefly put the brakes on this powerhouse's spin could help shed light on states of matter that scientists currently are not able to recreate in labs, scientists added.

Magnetars are a type of neutron star, which is the core of a massive star that devoured all its fuel, collapsed under its own weight and then exploded as a supernova. Magnetars are also often thought of as the most powerful magnets in the cosmos, with magnetic fields up to approximately 5,000 trillion times that of the Earth's. Astronomers have discovered less than two dozen magnetars so far. [The Top 10 Star Mysteries Ever]

"Magnetars are really spectacular and mysterious objects," study co-author Victoria Kaspi, an astrophysicist at McGill University in Montreal and leader of the Swift magnetar monitoring program, told SPACE.com. "They can unleash extraordinary explosions and have the highest magnetic fields known in the universe, but they're relatively tiny, just the size of a city or so. How do they combine all that? We really want to understand them better."

The explosions that give birth to neutron stars, including magnetars, crush them into some of the densest objects known, second only to black holes ? a neutron star often packs as much mass as a half-million Earths within a diameter of only 12 miles (20 kilometers), and a teaspoonful of neutron star matter would weigh about 1 billion tons on Earth, approximately twice the combined weight of all the cars in the United States. This extraordinary mass gives a neutron star a powerful gravitational field as well ? a projectile would need to fly at about half the speed of light to escape from its surface.

Neutron stars can also spin as fast as the blades of a kitchen blender, up to 43,000 revolutions per minute. Past studies revealed hundreds of neutron stars can undergo changes in speed dubbed "glitches," in which the stars suddenly whirled faster.

Now for the first time, scientists have discovered that neutron stars can abruptly slow down as well, a surprising irregularity currently unexplained by existing models of neutron stars.

"We've dubbed this event an 'anti-glitch' because it affected this star in exactly the opposite manner of every other clearly identified glitch seen in neutron stars," said study co-author Neil Gehrels, the lead researcher on the Swift mission at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Scientists focused on the magnetar 1E 2259+586, located about 10,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cassiopeia, using NASA's Swift observatory to watch it from July 2011 to mid-April 2012. Ordinarily, the magnetar completed a revolution every seven seconds, but the researchers discovered it had later slowed by 2.2 millionths of a second.

"I looked at the data and was shocked ? the neutron star had suddenly slowed down," said study lead author Rob Archibald at McGill University. "These stars are not supposed to behave this way." [Star Quiz: Take the Stellar Challenge]

The extreme forces that matter in neutron stars experience theoretically gives rise to a host of bizarre, exotic phenomena that might explain regular glitches. For instance, researchers suspect the interior of a neutron star possesses, among other curiosities, a kind of frictionless state of matter known as a neutron superfluid. This superfluid is thought to make a neutron star's core spin faster than its crust, occasionally giving the crust bursts of speed that astronomers saw as glitches.

Now scientists have to explain how anti-glitches might come to exist.

"There was a huge outburst of X-rays from the magnetar a week before the anti-glitch was discovered, which does seem to suggest some process in its interior is responsible," Kaspi said.

One possibility is that a neutron star may have pockets of superfluids under its crust that each move at different speeds. These pockets could end up revolving more slowly around the neutron star's core than its crust, ultimately braking its spin in an anti-glitch. Another possibility is that internal vortexes of neutron superfluid that normally help drive the neutron star crust's movements could get driven inward by powerful concentrations of magnetic force emanating from the neutron star's core.

Learning more about what causes anti-glitches might shed light on longstanding mysteries about matter under extremes. For example, matter in neutron stars can get squeezed to densities up to more than 10 times greater than in the atomic nucleus, far beyond what current theories of matter can describe.

"Magnetars are the universe's strongest magnets and are some of the best laboratories we have for understanding pure physics," said study coauthor astronomer Jamie Kennea, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University. "The extreme conditions on these stars could never be replicated in any laboratory here on Earth."

Now that one anti-glitch has been discovered, further analysis of past findings might turn up smaller, less conclusive examples, Kaspi said. Future research, such as that conducted bythe NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR) X-ray telescope recently approved to go on the International Space Station, might help discover more anti-glitches, Kaspi said.

In addition, some existing models of neutron star glitches cannot explain some of the behavior astronomers have seen from them. A better understanding of anti-glitches might help solve these puzzles as well, Kaspi said.

The scientists detailed their findings in the May 30 issue of the journal Nature.

Follow SPACE.com?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?and?Google+. Original story on?SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fast-spinning-magnetic-star-strange-glitch-171412599.html

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BlackBerry users boycott Netflix ? and Netflix probably doesn?t care

BlackBerry Boycott Netflix

Netflix apparently doesn?t think much of the BlackBerry platform. The streaming giant has created apps for various TVs, video game consoles, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and mobile devices including the iPhone, iPad, Android phones, Android tablets, Amazon?s Kindle Fire lineup, Barnes & Noble?s Nook lineup and Microsoft?s Windows Phone platform. Netflix has not, however, built a BlackBerry app ? and some BlackBerry users are furious.

[More from BGR: Video: Tim Cook talks iOS 7, Android apps from Apple, TV and more in 81-minute interview]

?Attention All Netflix Blackberry Users: Boycott Netflix, Cancel All Subscriptions, Home and Mobile,? an angry BlackBerry user posted on CrackBerry?s forum, The Huffington Post reported. ?That?s right all and when asked why are you cancelling, make damn sure you tell them cause Netflix will not be on Blackberry Devices.?

[More from BGR: The Xbox One?s creepy monitoring feature might track how often you sit through commercials]

A public call for users to cancel their service is often troubling news for a company, but Netflix executives don?t appear to be losing any sleep in this particular case. As The Huffington Post notes, the forum thread calling for the boycott has about 1,000 replies and many users replied more than once. Even if each and every forum member represented in the thread canceled his or her service, the loss would make?up less than 0.003% of Netflix?s?user base, which currently stands at more than 36 million subscribers.

Netflix has not commented on BlackBerry users? call to boycott its service.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-users-boycott-netflix-netflix-probably-doesn-t-140524575.html

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বুধবার, ২৯ মে, ২০১৩

Learn How to Build a Website with Google | Internet Marketing Blog ...

Build a Website with GoogleYou will find that when you build a website with Google it can be one of the easiest ways to obtain a website as a business owner. There are some easy tips that can get you started, and help you to find the easiest way to use Google to build a great site that you can use for your new business online.

You will need to create a Gmail account before you can create your website with Google. This can literally take minutes to achieve, and you will have access to your account right away. Once you have an account with Google, you are ready to begin the magic of creating your own website.

Build a Website with Google:?Choosing your site name is one of the most important things Build a Website with Googleyou can do. You should put some time and thought into the name of your business. This will be very important to your end results, and you should always choose a name that is very similar to your business. It can be a good idea to check and see if your actual business name is available.

If you choose a name that is already taken, you will be given some suggestions you can explore. This may lead you to the perfect name of your business. You should always have the user in mind when you are choosing the right name for your website. This will allow others to find you easily when they are looking.

Build a Website with Google: The site description area is one that many people are tempted to leave blank. You may want to think about filling this out with professional information that is about your business. This is where people will be able to view a quick description of what your business is all about. This may also help you to get a better ranking with the Google search engine.

Build a Website with GoogleIf you run a business that offers mature content, you will want to make sure that you check the box that indicates this information. This will alert users that you have this type of content on your site. This can keep you from getting into any trouble later if you are not up front about the information contained on your site.

Build a Website with Google

When you build a website with Google, you will have some considerations that you should really take some time to consider. Setting your website up the right way from the beginning will save you from having to make changes later.

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Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/eredd/blog/learn-how-to-build-a-website-with-google/

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Using Windows Phone? Get Back In The Instagram Loop With Itsdagram

Recently, I got my hands on a Nokia Lumia 920, and I now have about a week to test it. Being my very first experience with Windows Phone, I was overwhelmed at first by how different the OS is from Android, but quickly wrapped my head around this surprisingly slick and intuitive operating system. What I couldn?t quite wrap my head around was Windows Phone?s lack of popular apps, and especially Instagram.

Don?t get me wrong, I?m not an Instagram addict. With only a handful of photos to my name, I can easily live without this extra social network. There?s no denying, however, that Instagram is a great time-waster, and I do miss flipping through photos in those dead moments between work and life. Naturally, I read my Windows-Phone-expert colleague?s article about Fhotoroom, which should be the nearest thing to Instagram on Windows Phone, but as good as it is, Fhotoroom does not let me go back to the Instagram loop.

Seems I got lucky, and only a few days prior to my Windows Phone debut, an app called Itsdagram made its Windows Phone comeback, offering the closest thing to an official Instagram app I could hope for. Itsdagram is an Instagram client which costs $1.50, and while not being free like the real deal, it?s the best way we currently have of tapping into the Instagram world we left behind on Android and iOS.

Getting Started With Itsdagram

As mentioned above, the full version of Itsdagram costs $1.50, but you can try the app for free for as long as you like. The free version lets you upload only one photo to Instagram, but other functions such as browsing, liking, commenting and searching are unlimited. You also need to have an Instagram account in order to use the free version.

Unlike what the login screen says, you do not need to have an Itsdagram account in order to start using the app ? an Instagram account is enough. Enter your Instagram credentials in the ?Login? section, and you?re ready to go. If you don?t have an account, you can create an Itsdagram account through the app, which would act like an Instagram account while using the app.

Uploading Photos To Instagram

While there are many ways to browse Instagram, even from the comfort of your desktop or from the Web, the process becomes very limited when it comes to uploading images. Even Instagram?s own Web interface doesn?t let you do this, sending you to the mobile app instead. Itsdagram not only lets you upload images to Instagram, it even comes with some filters to boot.

This is Itsdagram home page. With its colors and hand-written logo, you can feel almost as if you were using a Modernized Instagram. The camera icon at the bottom is where you can upload photos, either from your camera roll or by taking a photo with your device?s camera.

After cropping your image to fit Instagram, you can choose one of 12 different filters (more should be added with time). There are no frames at this time, and most of the available filters are not as good as those you find on Instagram, and definitely not as good as those you can find on photo-editing apps such as Snapseed or Aviary.

You can then give your photo a title and upload it to Instagram. Itsdagram also supports Instagram latest addition of username mentions, and you can add these by tapping the @ button.

Once a photo is uploaded, all your Instagram followers, and all of Instagram in general will be able to see it, just as if you?ve used Instagram to upload it. Unlike Instagram, there?s no way to automatically upload the image to other social networks, but this is possible via a share option after the image is uploaded.

Browsing, Liking, & Commenting

Considering its not much more than an Instagram spoof, Itsdagram?s interface is surprisingly slick, and in some aspects, even tops its own mentor. The main screen is made out of your home feed, popular images, and your activity.

All these pages are straightforward, and very similar to the ones in the original app. Double tap a photo to like it, and tap the comment icon to add a comment. Sharing is done through Windows Phone?s share interface, and is possible only via services you?ve connected to your device.

When looking at individual users, you can browse their photos, and see who?s following them, and the people they follow. Using the bottom two buttons, you can either follow/unfollow this user, or pin this user to your Start screen.

As expected, you can also view your own profile, including your photos, photos you?re tagged in, your likes, your followers, and the users you follow. All Itsdagram pages are infinite, meaning, you can keep scrolling to the right to flip through pages, and eventually find yourself back where you started.

Using the lock button, you can change your Instagram password right from Itsdagram.

Searching

Instagram is not complete without searching, and Itsdagram offers beautiful and easy to use search interface, which you can access from the app?s main screen. Slide the screen sideways to toggle search between tags and users.

Bottom Line

Despite its somewhat unfortunate name, Itsdagram is what Windows Phone users have been waiting for. It brings every Instagram feature you could wish for, with an interface that?s arguably better than the real thing.

The only downside is that Itsdagram is not very stable at the moment, and crashed several times just in the short span I was taking screenshots for this post. Since I did try it out on one the Windows Phone?s flagship devices, I expected it to be much smoother, but hopefully these issues will be fixed in future updates.

Yes, it?s not free, but $1.50 is a small sum to pay to get back in the Instagram loop, at least until an official app is released.

Download: Itsdagram on the Windows Phone Store

Is Itsdagram the app you?ve been waiting for, or are you content to wait for an official Instagram app?

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/using-windows-phone-get-back-in-the-instagram-loop-with-itsdagram/

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Obama, Christie rekindle their bromance

President Obama holds up a stuffed bear that Gov. Christie had won during their visit to Point Pleasant, N.J.,??

They smiled, they chuckled?and there was even a man hug or two.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama rekindled his unlikely bromance with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the two went before the cameras to tout continuing recovery along the Jersey shore in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

It was a photo-op meant to help draw visitors to New Jersey?s beach towns, which desperately need tourism dollars as they continue to rebuild after Sandy destroyed boardwalks and shorelines when it came ashore last October. But even Obama couldn?t ignore the political optics of the trip, which comes as Christie, a Republican, ramps up his bid for a second term in one of the most heavily Democratic states in the country.

On Tuesday, the political odd couple made an unscheduled stop at the boardwalk along Point Pleasant Beach?one of the areas most devastated by Sandy. Together, they played Touch Down Fever, a game where participants try to win by throwing a football through a tire. According to a pool report, Obama took aim but missed his target several times. When it was his turn, Christie made the shot on his first and only try.

?That?s because he?s running for office,? Obama declared, giving Christie a friendly high-five that ended with him clasping the GOP governor?s hand.

President Obama is greeted by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, May 28, 2013. (Jason Reed/Reuters)

But Obama didn?t walk away empty-handed. The man running the game gave the president a stuffed bear wearing a tiny Chicago Bears jersey?immediately prompting Twitter jokes among Washington media types that Christie had won the bear for Obama, though it appeared he was simply given the bear as a consolation prize.

It was a moment that couldn?t have been more helpfully scripted for Christie?s re-election campaign, which has cast the governor as someone willing to buck his own party for the greater good of his state. That image has made Christie appear virtually unbeatable heading into the summer. He leads his closest opponent, Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono, by 32 points, according to a recent NBC News/Marist poll.

But Christie?s campaign isn?t taking any chances. Earlier this month, Christie began running ads touting his record and mentioning Buono by name. She, in turn, launched a $1 million ad campaign taking aim at Christie?s record.

But it?s hard not to imagine how a photo-op with a popular Democratic president doesn?t undermine Buono?s message?which is probably why Christie was smiling so much during his time with Obama Tuesday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/smiles-man-hugs-teddy-bear-chris-christie-reunion-175717315.html

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92% Jurassic Park: An IMAX 3D Experience

All Critics (100) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (101) | Rotten (8) | DVD (39)

The enthralling man-vs.-nature parable based on the late Michael Crichton's best-selling novel hasn't aged one bit.

The 3-D process adds not just dimension but depth - a technological extension of cinematographer Gregg Toland's deep-focus innovations in The Grapes of Wrath and Citizen Kane. The change in perspective creates greater intensity.

I'm a fan of this movie. It is thrilling, and the 3-D treatment is a nice enhancement.

This movie doesn't just stand the test of time, it transcends it.

"Jurassic Park" remains an absolute thrill from a Spielberg in top form: Funny, scary, fast-moving and full of just-right details.

"Jurassic Park" was impressive in 1993. Twenty years later, it's flawless.

Some things have dated - Sam Jackson wouldn't be allowed to smoke in the office; everyone would have mobiles; Google Earth would have kept the island from being kept a secret - but the power of the film's pioneering CGI remain strangely undiminished.

Steven Spielberg's summer adventure is still one of the ultimate movie roller coaster rides.

Jurassic Park is a how-to guide for structuring a multi-character disaster film.

Still proves as thrilling as ever.

A classic gets even better.

Steven Spielbeg's 1993 tale of an island plagued dinosaurs running amok holds up surprisingly well in the special effects category.

The film is a classic and the chance to see it on the big screen again (or for the first time) should not be missed

Sentiment is explained by science as the family impulse that motivates so many Steven Spielberg stories is revealed to be an evolutionary imperative in this near-perfect action-adventure.

[Looks] better not only than effects-driven movies of the same period, but better, frankly, than half of what gets released nowadays.

Kids who love dinosaurs will love it. And who doesn't?

confirms both Spielberg's mastery of cinematic thrills and the comparatively empty bombast of today's summer tentpole movies, even the better ones.

Jurassic Park shows us a director in transition, and the film captures his transformation in its own kind of cinematic amber.

[The] 3D [conversion] provides the definitive version of this classic film. Jurassic Park has been transformed with with artistry, nuance and sophistication, and it's an absolute must-see during this brief run.

The 3D effects had me nearly jumping out of my seat. Some say Hollywood is converting too many old films to 3D. But, "Jurassic Park" was the perfect choice. There's nothing more fun than sharing a seat with a snapping dinosaur.

Spielberg treats us as he does his characters, leading us into a strange land and expecting us to make it out with all our faculties intact; it's a tall order, given the heart-stopping, bloodcurdling, limbs-numbing excitement packed into the second hour.

It is as if time has passed the movie by. "Jurassic Park" remains solid entertainment, but the awe and wonder have faded.

The thrill of seeing live dinosaurs on screen is not as acute today as it was 20 years ago admittedly, but there is still some 3D awe left in the creations that roared 65 billion years ago...

The 3D isn't pushed on the audience, but it does reveal the amount of depth that Spielberg actually put into the film 20 years ago.

While it's not the most profound of Spielberg's works or the most entertaining from a popcorn perspective, it's one of the most technically flawless movies he's ever produced.

Jurassic Park 3D is like being reunited with an old friend; an old friend that wants to eat you and maul you to death, but still. A classic is reborn in glorious IMAX with a vibrantly stunning use of 3D.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jurassic_park_an_imax_3d_experience_1993/

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Increasing problem of prescription drug abuse among youth

May 28, 2013 ? Young people are increasingly turning to prescription drugs to get high. Research out of the University of Cincinnati sheds new light on what could increase or lower that risk.

The research by Keith King, a University of Cincinnati professor of health promotion; Rebecca Vidourek, a UC assistant professor of health promotion; and Ashley Merianos, a graduate assistant in health promotion, is published in the current issue of the Journal of Primary Prevention.

The study focused on more than 54,000 7th- through 12th -- grade students in schools across Greater Cincinnati, including the Tristate regions of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The data was collected by the Coalition for a Drug Free Greater Cincinnati as part of the 2009-2010 Pride Survey on adolescent drug use in America.

A total of 13.7 percent of the students reported using prescription drugs -- without a doctor's prescription -- in their lifetime. Males were more likely to abuse prescription drugs, as well as high school students, versus junior high school students. Among ethnicities studied, Hispanic students indicated they were more likely to use nonmedical prescription drugs compared with white and African-American students.

The study also found that pro-social behaviors, including strong connections with parents (and their advising on the dangers of drug use), reduced the students' odds of abusing prescription drugs, along with positive connections to teachers and their schools. Connections with peers who disapproved of substance abuse also decreased student chances of abusing prescription medications. "Students at every grade level who reported high levels of parent and peer disapproval of use were at decreased odds for lifetime nonmedical prescription drug use," according to the study.

On the other hand, the authors found that relationships with drug-using peers increase the risk of youth substance abuse. Peer use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana were associated with increased use of nonmedical prescription drugs for all students.

"While much research has examined factors associated with overall substance use among youth, relatively few studies have specifically investigated risk factors, protective factors and sex/grade differences for youth involvement in nonmedical prescription use," write the authors. "Identifying specific risk and protective factors for males, females, junior high and high school students would help to clarify prevention needs and enhance prevention programming."

The study cites national research that indicates kids are turning to prescription drugs to get high under the mistaken notion that they're safer than illicit drugs, yet national research has shown that even short-term use of non-prescribed, prescription medications can cause cardiovascular and respiratory distress, seizures and death.

The authors suggest future research should explore young people's use of specific nonmedical prescription drugs.

Demographics of the Study

The study was close to evenly divided between male (49.4 percent) and female participants; 75 percent reported they were Caucasian; 14.4 percent African-American; 1.8 percent Hispanic/Latino; 2.4 percent Asian/Pacific Islander; 0.4 percent Native American; 4.1 percent multiracial and 1.5 percent selected "other" for ethnicity. Respondents were close to evenly distributed across 7th- through 12th-grades. Approximately two-thirds (62.4 percent) of participants reported living with both parents; 16.2 percent reported living with their mother only; 2.9 percent reported living with their father only.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Vw7zQJsvOVk/130528143722.htm

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Formula for turning cement into 'metal'

May 27, 2013 ? In a move that would make the Alchemists of King Arthur's time green with envy, scientists have unraveled the formula for turning liquid cement into liquid metal. This makes cement a semi-conductor and opens up its use in the profitable consumer electronics marketplace for thin films, protective coatings, and computer chips.

"This new material has lots of applications, including as thin-film resistors used in liquid-crystal displays, basically the flat panel computer monitor that you are probably reading this from at the moment," said Chris Benmore, a physicist from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory who worked with a team of scientists from Japan, Finland and Germany to take the "magic" out of the cement-to-metal transformation. Benmore and Shinji Kohara from Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute/SPring-8 led the research effort.

This change demonstrates a unique way to make metallic-glass material, which has positive attributes including better resistance to corrosion than traditional metal, less brittleness than traditional glass, conductivity, low energy loss in magnetic fields, and fluidity for ease of processing and molding. Previously, only metals have been able to transition to a metallic-glass form. Cement does this by a process called electron trapping, a phenomena only previously seen in ammonia solutions. Understanding how cement joined this exclusive club opens the possibility of turning other solid normally insulating materials into room-temperature semiconductors.

"This phenomenon of trapping electrons and turning liquid cement into liquid metal was found recently, but not explained in detail until now," Benmore said. "Now that we know the conditions needed to create trapped electrons in materials we can develop and test other materials to find out if we can make them conduct electricity in this way."

The results were reported May 27 in the journal the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences in the article "Network topology for the formation of solvated electrons in binary CaO-Al2O3 composition glasses."

The team of scientists studied mayenite, a component of alumina cement made of calcium and aluminum oxides. They melted it at temperatures of 2,000 degrees Celsius using an aerodynamic levitator with carbon dioxide laser beam heating. The material was processed in different atmospheres to control the way that oxygen bonds in the resulting glass. The levitator keeps the hot liquid from touching any container surfaces and forming crystals. This let the liquid cool into glassy state that can trap electrons in the way needed for electronic conduction. The levitation method was developed specifically for in-situ measurement at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source by a team led by Benmore.

The scientists discovered that the conductivity was created when the free electrons were "trapped" in the cage-like structures that form in the glass. The trapped of electrons provided a mechanism for conductivity similar to the mechanism that occurs in metals.

To uncover the details of this process, scientists combined several experimental techniques and analyzed them using a supercomputer. They confirmed the ideas in experiments using different X-ray techniques at Spring 8 in Japan combined with earlier measurements at the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source and the Advanced Photon Source.

Research was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and the Academy of Finland.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/MfQRusVckro/130527153703.htm

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Harvick holds on to win wild race at Charlotte

Kevin Harvick celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Kevin Harvick celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Kevin Harvick celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Kevin Harvick raises the trophy in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Kevin Harvick (29) does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Jimmie Johnson (48), Matt Kenseth (20), and Juan Pablo Montoya (42) crash in Turn 4 during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

(AP) ? Kevin Harvick thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Surely, he told himself as he drove by the front stretch, that can't be a cable hanging down on the track.

"I saw this streak go by me and I'm like, 'What in the (heck) was that?'" Harvick said after winning the Coca-Cola 600 for the second time in three years on Sunday.

"I always have this thing with my eyes. It's one of the biggest things we have as drivers. You got to believe in your eyes. I tell myself you've got to believe what you see. I was hoping it wasn't my last race, I was hoping what I saw was right."

It was right. Weird, but right.

Turns out the nylon rope from an overhead camera system used by Fox Sports had snapped and fallen on the track. It messed up a few cars, caused a red flag to be dropped and injured 10 fans ? three of whom had to be transported to the hospital.

That was the type of night it was at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And the fact that such a crazy race was run under a full moon only added to the oddity.

It included four multi-car accidents that took out several notable drivers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Danica Patrick.

Harvick managed to avoid those wrecks and beat Kasey Kahne on a restart with 11 laps remaining to capture his 21st career Sprint Cup victory.

"This is one of those nights you just know going into it you got to grind away lap after lap, just keep yourself on the lead lap, not make any mistakes," Harvick said.

When Kahne decided not to pit and take on tires at lap 389, Harvick pulled down pit lane and took on two and came out in second place for the restart. He said right then he knew he had the race in the bag.

"The only frame of mind I was in was, 'Don't screw up,'" Harvick said. "I knew they put me in the best position to win the race. You don't want to make a mistake on the restart."

He didn't.

"We needed to get those two tires because I think heads up our car wasn't as good as the 5 car," Harvick's crew chief Gil Martin said. "We definitely needed to get tires at that point. When they didn't brake to come down pit road, I felt like that gave us a chance to have equal cars with them because they were very strong all night long."

The race was stopped for nearly 30 minutes when the TV camera support rope snapped and landed along the track and in the grandstands.

The cars were brought into the pits and cleanup crews coiled up the long sections of rope as if they were putting away a garden hose. Drivers were allowed back to their pit stalls and crews given 15 minutes to assess and fix damage caused by the failure.

In a statement, Fox said it had suspended use of the overhead camera indefinitely. It said drive rope that moves the camera back and forth failed but the network offered no immediate reason why.

"A full investigation is planned," the statement said.

Kahne finished second, Kurt Busch third and polesitter Denny Hamlin was fourth in his second full race since returning from injury. Ryan Newman was sixth, followed by Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr. and Marcos Ambrose.

Harvick's win was almost as big a surprise as it was in 2011 when the crowd anticipated Earnhardt ending what was then a long, long victory drought.

Kyle Busch might want to look into why he can't seem to win a Sprint Cup race in Charlotte.

He entered as a favorite after winning the Truck Series event last week and powering to a Nationwide Series victory Saturday. He was in the lead, though, when the nylon guide rope snapped and ran smack over it. Busch heard what he termed a "thunk" and knew he had problems.

Busch's team got the car back in winning shape and he continued near the front. However, his race ended for good on lap 257 when his engine failed.

"Catastrophic engine failure. Seems to be that time of year," said Busch, who has yet to win a Sprint Cup event at the track he calls his favorite.

Busch did praise NASCAR for halting the race and allowing teams to repair damage, which he said was unrelated to his engine problems.

About the same time Busch's engine failed, Earnhardt's race concluded with a similar problem. Earnhardt had smoke and oil pouring out on lap 257. Greg Biffle slipped into the wall, sending him to the garage, and Dave Blaney and Travis Kvapil collided.

"We didn't have a really good car," Earnhardt said. "We know why. We can go back and feel like we can rebound from this real quick."

That started a series of incidents which ended things for some of NASCAR's most popular and successful drivers.

Keselowski and Patrick saw their chances end on lap 319 when they collided on a restart. It appeared that Patrick's boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., forced her car up the track and she clipped Keselowski, who began his day in the Penske pits at the Indy 500.

On the following restart, Martin clipped Aric Almirola and set off a six-car wreck that snagged Gordon and Stenhouse.

Kurt Busch, leading at the time, suddenly lost power and needed a wrecker to push him along into the pits to change the battery. He returned to the track in 15th place.

And the problems weren't over, either.

Truex Jr. brushed series points leader Jimmie Johnson on the next restart to send the five-time champion skidding sideways and collecting Matt Kenseth, who leads the series with three victories this year and led 112 laps at Charlotte.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-27-CAR-NASCAR-Crazy-Race/id-2de25f7ff43540549fc9bd6b15c7def8

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Syria says will attend Geneva talks 'in principle'

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Syria's government will "in principle" attend multilateral talks planned for June in Geneva and believes the conference will be an opportunity to resolve the country's conflict, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Sunday.

Russia and the United States are sponsoring a proposed peace conference planned for next month on the war, which has killed 80,000 people and risks spilling over its borders and stirring regional sectarian violence.

"Syria will, in principle, participate in the international conference planned for June in Geneva," Moualem told reporters after talks with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad. "We believe the meeting presents a good opportunity to resolve the Syrian crisis."

"No power on earth can decide on the future of Syria. Only the Syrian people have the right to do so," he added.

Washington is pushing opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to unite before the conference, but the fractious group has been hampered by power struggles during talks in Istanbul over their leadership during the past few days.

Senior opposition leaders say their coalition is likely to attend the peace conference, but they doubt the meeting will result in their key demand, which is an agreement for Assad to leave office.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Suadad al-Salhy; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-attend-geneva-talks-principle-foreign-minister-110646080.html

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Understanding the past and predicting the future by looking across space and time

May 25, 2013 ? Studying complex systems like ecosystems can get messy, especially when trying to predict how they interact with other big unknowns like climate change.

In a new paper published this week (May 20) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and elsewhere validate a fundamental assumption at the very heart of a popular way to predict relationships between complex variables.

To model how climate changes may impact biodiversity, researchers like Jessica Blois and John W. (Jack) Williams routinely use an approach called "space-for-time substitution." The idea behind this method is to use the information in current geographic distributions of species to build a model that can predict climate-driven ecological changes in the past or future. But does it really work?

"It's a necessary assumption, but it's generally untested," says lead study author Blois, a former postdoctoral fellow with Williams at UW-Madison. She is now an assistant professor at the University of California, Merced. "Yet we're using this every day when we make predictions about biodiversity going into the future with climate change."

Their results should give other ecologists -- and potentially others such as economists who use similar models -- more confidence in their methods.

"At these spatial and temporal scales, the space-for-time assumption does work well," says Williams, professor of geography and director of the Center for Climatic Research at the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. "Our fossil data did support the idea that you can use spatial relationships as a source of information for making these predictions for the future."

Their research focus is paleoecology, the study of ancient ecosystems. By looking at fossilized pollen trapped in cores of sediment from the bottoms of lakes, the scientists reconstructed information about the plant communities present at locations across eastern North America during the past 21,000 years.

If climate has influenced communities the same way across space and through time, Blois explains, then a model based on the spatial data should make the same predictions as a model based on their temporal data. And in fact, they did.

The space-for-time model explained about 72 percent of the variation seen in their time data, and the remainder is likely due to other biological and environmental factors that the simplified model does not include, Blois says.

Though the testing does not capture all the ways space-for-time substitutions are used in other predictive fields, she says that the results are very encouraging for questions spanning large geographic and time scales -- scales at which collecting good temporal data can be very challenging.

"We found that at these broad time scales we're looking at, that space does substitute for time relatively well," Blois says. "It makes me more confident in my analyses going forward."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/7kwwXkvDVSI/130525143731.htm

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Searchers find body of teen missing in Texas flood

SCHERTZ, Texas (AP) ? Search teams on Sunday found the body of teenager who was swept away by floodwaters as he tried to swim across a swollen creek near San Antonio, authorities said.

Avron Adams, 18, of Schertz, and a friend got caught Saturday in the swift waters of Cibolo Creek after about half a dozen friends swam across. One friend held onto a tree branch and got out, but Adams did not, officials said.

David Harris, a spokesman for Schertz, said about 5:45 p.m. searchers located Adams' body near the water's edge. Harris said Adams' family has been notified.

"The body was found near where the search and rescue dogs had identified a scent," Harris said.

Earlier Sunday, Adams' father said he was holding out hope.

"We're hopeful, but at this point, you just don't know," his father, Kenneth Adams, told The Associated Press as his wife stood nearby. "It's very hard. We're just keeping the faith."

The search effort included helicopters, divers and rescue teams in inflatable boats.

The usually dry creek in Schertz, northeast of San Antonio, had dropped about 10 feet since Saturday. Other rivers in the San Antonio area and surrounding counties continued to drop after peaking above the flood stage, but flood warnings remained in effect Sunday. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for seven counties until 6 p.m. Sunday, saying thunderstorms could produce heavy rainfall.

Two women died Saturday after being swept away by floodwaters, some as high as 10 feet on some roads. One who was trapped in her car climbed to the roof before being swept away, and her body was found against a fence, said San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Christian Bove. Emergency officials also recovered the body of a woman in her 60s, whose car was carried away by water as firefighters were trying to rescue her. Authorities did not immediately identify the women who died.

On Sunday, about 20 people were at a shelter set up by the American Red Cross, including some whose apartment complex roof caved in under the weight of the heavy rainfall.

Roxanne DeLeon arrived there Sunday with her 18-month-old son, 6-year-old daughter, 15-year-old daughter and husband, a day after escaping through waist-deep water in their rented home with nothing but what they were wearing, her purse and some diapers. They didn't even have time to grab shoes.

DeLeon said they spent the night on the floor of a relative's home because family members don't have enough room for all of them, and their insurance agent cannot provide help that would get them into a motel or apartment until after Memorial Day.

"It feels like we're stuck," DeLeon said Sunday. "One relative can keep my son part of the day while I'm at work, but who's going to pick up my kids from school? I never thought my family would go through something like this."

The San Antonio International Airport recorded 9.87 inches of rain Saturday, the second-highest official daily rainfall in city history.

___

Associated Press writer Angela K. Brown in Fort Worth contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/searchers-body-teen-missing-texas-flood-012538210.html

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Burkina Faso soldiers in Mali worry about defense

TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) ? African soldiers in the fabled city of Timbuktu worry their equipment, training and circumstances are not adequate to defend against another takeover by Islamic extremists who know the terrain as a double bombing by radical elements has also threatened neighboring Niger.

Burkina Faso soldiers officially took over at the end of April after hundreds of French forces left the northern Malian town several months after their military operation largely ousted the radical Islamic fighters from the area.

French forces parachuted into Timbuktu in late January to liberate the city from the radical Islamic fighters who had occupied it for 10 months. Al-Qaida's wing in Africa imposed their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, requiring women to wear the veil and carrying out public whippings. The French are now scaling down their deployment from 4,000 to 1,000 soldiers in its former colony by the end of the year, leaving other forces in charge.

But a report by obtained by The Associated Press this week indicates that some 500 soldiers from the neighboring West African country are facing problems with defense.

"Insufficient night vision capabilities and radio communications with the Malian army for coordination," are among the issues, the report turned in to the head of the African-led mission in Mali said.

Col. Gilles Bationo, who leads the Burkina Faso soldiers, also said that their second-generation night vision equipment doesn't allow them to see if there is wind, dust or no moon in this desolate area of the world. He said that the jihadists also circulate faster through the deserts in their vehicles because they know the terrain so well, making it difficult for the forces to capture them.

"Weak capacity engineering, the need for air combat assets on site, transport logistics," and shielding tactics are also missing, according to the report and Bationo.

The fight against the radicals is also hindered by an airplane runway that is blocked by trees.

"The trees around the airport prevent U.S. military from coming into the airport, and security is not guaranteed," Bationo said, adding that jihadists also can hide out in the thick trees to shoot at any planes landing or taking off.

He said that they also lack reliable electricity. Bationo submitted the report to Pierre Buyoya, the head of the African-led mission, in hopes the battalion's concerns will be addressed. Buyoya visited Timbuktu on Monday.

"The battalion is going to stay in place in Timbuktu and will transform into the MINUSMA which is the U.N. mission for maintaining peace around July," Buyoya said. "The Burkina Faso battalion will be made up of 850 soldiers."

Bationo said the situation in Timbuktu remains calm, despite frequent reports of robberies and inter-communal clashes in neighboring communities, but that amped up defenses are needed.

"The double bombing in Niger means we must prepare," he said, adding that an attack on Timbuktu is likely after suicide bombers in Niger detonated two car bombs simultaneously, one inside a military camp in the city of Agadez and another in the remote town of Arlit at a French-operated uranium mine, killing at least 35 people, according to Niger's president.

The attacks that began at dawn Thursday were claimed by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, and by Algerian terrorist Moktar Belmoktar. Both are believed to have fighters in Mali. Belmoktar, whose brigade known as "Those Who Sign in Blood" is also responsible for the devastating attack in January on the Ain Amenas gas plant, where 37 foreigners including American, French, Irish and British citizens were killed.

U.N. peacekeepers are supposed to take over in July from a 6,000-member African-led mission now in Mali, although the deployment date is subject to change depending on security conditions. The U.N. force will be tasked with helping to restore peace. However, it will not be authorized to launch offensive military operations or chase terrorists in the desert, which French forces will continue to do.

Mali fell into turmoil after a March 2012 coup created a security vacuum that allowed secular Tuareg rebels to take over the country's north as a new homeland. Months later, the rebels were kicked out by Islamic jihadists who carried out public executions, amputations and whippings.

When the Islamic rebels started moving into government-controlled areas in the south, France launched a military offensive on Jan. 11 to oust them. The fighters, many linked to al-Qaida, fled the major towns in the north, but many went into hiding in the desert and continue to carry out attacks including suicide bombings.

Tuareg separatists have since reclaimed the northern city of Kidal. The government is in talks with the separatists as elections are slated for this year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/burkina-faso-soldiers-mali-worry-defense-114726081.html

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Tech News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Xbox One Raises the Burden of Privacy Safeguards: 5 Questions for Microsoft

Some things you take for granted, like the fact that in Star Trek, there?s a computer that?s always listening, always observing, always standing More??

Time.com - Wed, May 22, 2013

Source: http://rss.news.yahoo.com/rss/techblog

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Hagel: Cadets must stamp out sex assault scourge

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) ? Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday that they must stamp out the scourge of sexual assault in the military.

A day after President Barack Obama delivered a similar edict to U.S. Naval Academy graduates, Hagel's message comes amid a series of widespread incidents of sexual misconduct across the armed services in recent months and a new report showing that the problem is growing. The challenge is particularly poignant for West Point, since an Army sergeant was charged earlier in the week with secretly photographing and videotaping at least a dozen women at the upper New York state academy, including in a bathroom.

"Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a profound betrayal ? a profound betrayal ? of sacred oaths and sacred trusts," Hagel told 1,007 graduating cadets during a cold, rainy outdoor ceremony. "This scourge must be stamped out. We are all accountable and responsible for ensuring that this happens. We cannot fail the Army or America. We cannot fail each other and we cannot fail the men and women that we lead."

Hagel, who served in the Army in Vietnam, took the opportunity to reflect on his own time in uniform and the lessons that he said must resonate as the soldiers take on the job of helping to transform the military. It was his first graduation address as defense chief.

The new second lieutenants, he said, must be the generation of leaders who will stop the debilitating and insidious threats of suicide, sexual assault and drug and alcohol abuse that are hurting the all-volunteer force.

Wounded twice during his roughly one year at war, Hagel has two Purple Hearts and is the first man to become secretary of defense after serving only in the enlisted corps. Reflecting on his military service, Hagel said his time in the Army shaped him forever.

"In Vietnam, I learned that combat is a furnace that can consume you, or it can forge you into something better and stronger than you were before," said Hagel, who took over the job as Pentagon chief at the end of February.

He also told the graduates that they must begin to build the future Army as the service recovers from the strains of more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Future conflicts, he said, will take on new and unfamiliar forms, and the military must be ready to face them even as budget cuts force the service to curtail training and trim the number of soldiers from a wartime high of about 570,000 to 490,000.

But he said that readiness will be strained by health and social problems.

Pentagon leaders have been struggling to deal with what they have come to call an epidemic of sexual assaults in the military. A Pentagon report released this month estimated that as many as 26,000 military service members may have been sexually assaulted last year and that thousands of victims are unwilling to come forward despite new oversight and assistance programs. The estimate was based largely on anonymous surveys.

According to the report, the number of sexual assaults actually reported by military service members rose 6 percent to 3,374 in 2012. And nearly 800 of those simply sought help but declined to file complaints against their attackers.

Spurred on by furious Congress members, the Defense Department has ordered the services to come up with ways to curb the problem and better help the victims.

In the latest case, Sgt. 1st Class Michael McClendon is facing charges of dereliction of duty, mistreatment, entering a women's bathroom without notice, and taking and possessing inappropriate photos and videos of at least a dozen women who were naked or in various states of undress.

The women have been notified by the Army about the matter.

Despite the news this week, female cadets interviewed after the ceremony said they felt secure during their four years at the academy on the Hudson River.

"We've had issues here and there that the press really highlights. But overall I know that my classmates, my friends, we all feel very safe and we do think that was the exception," said Abigail Osman, of Hershey Pa.

Jordan Reilly, who lives near Memphis, Tenn., said the academy is doing a good job addressing sexual harassment, especially over the last year.

"The friends that I've made here, I know that they will protect me. A lot of them see themselves as my older brothers and so I feel safe," Reilly said.

Still, some cadets and parents said they were glad Hagel bought up sexual misconduct in his speech. Stacy Davis, of Madison, Wis., said that as a mother with one daughter in the Marines and another who graduated West Point on Saturday, she feels it's important to talk about sexual harassment openly.

"That's the main thing, everyone has to be talking about it," Davis said.

McClendon was charged May 14 with violating four articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but some of the allegations date back to 2009. He has been transferred to Fort Drum. It isn't immediately clear if he has a lawyer.

___

Baldor contributed from Washington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hagel-cadets-must-stamp-sex-assault-scourge-140935132.html

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Yummy Detox Drink Recipe | Budget Savvy Diva

index

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Everyday at 1 pm PST/ 4pm EST Budget Savvy Diva posts a NEW RECIPE :) I might miss this time every now or then ? but I know you understand

Make sure to follow Budget Savvy Diva on Facebook :)

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Find Gluten Free Recipes HERE

IMG_2989

What You Need

Water
Ice
Lime ( Lime are natural energizers plus it kick starts that metabolism )
Fresh Mint ( Helps your breath and helps you tummy work better)

Strawberries ? Adds a wonderful flavor to the water

Blueberries ? Adds flavor to the water ( sweetness)

What To Do

In a glass ? combine water and ice ( about 3/4th of the glass)
Add lime juice and mint and blueberries and sliced strawberries till the drink is full
For my mason jar I used 1/2 lime juice and 4 mint leaves, small handful of blueberries and 3 sliced strawberries

Stir and left sit for 5 minutes ? then enjoy!

Yummy Detox Drink Recipe

?

?

  • Water
  • Ice
  • Lime ( Lime are natural energizers plus it kick starts that metabolism )
  • Fresh Mint ( Helps your breath and helps you tummy work better)
  • Strawberries ? Adds a wonderful flavor to the water
  • Blueberries ? Adds flavor to the water ( sweetness)
  1. In a glass ? combine water and ice ( about ?th of the glass)
  2. Add lime juice and mint and blueberries and sliced strawberries till the drink is full
  3. For my mason jar I used ? lime juice and 4 mint leaves, small handful of blueberries and 3 sliced strawberries
  4. Stir and left sit for 5 minutes ? then enjoy!

3.2.1753

Other recipes you'll love:

Source: http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2013/05/yummy-detox-drink-recipe/

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More arrests after grisly London terror attack

By Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested two more people on Thursday in a hunt for accomplices of two British men of Nigerian descent accused of hacking a soldier to death on a London street in revenge for wars in Muslim countries.

The two suspected killers, now under guard in hospitals, had been known to security services before Wednesday's daylight attack, security sources said. Another man and a woman, both aged 29, were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

One of the assailants, filmed calmly justifying the killing as he stood by the body holding a knife and meat cleaver in bloodied hands, was named by acquaintances as 28-year-old Londoner Michael Adebolajo - a British-born convert to Islam.

So frenzied was the attack, some witnesses thought they were trying to behead and disembowel the victim, who was named as a 25-year-old Afghan war veteran working as an army recruiter.

The attack, just a month after the Boston Marathon bombing and the first Islamist killing in Britain since local suicide bombers killed 52 people in London in 2005, revived fears of "lone wolves" who may have had no direct contact with al Qaeda.

Adebolajo and the other man, who may have been born abroad and later naturalized as British, were shot by police at the scene. Officers on the case raided six homes on Thursday.

Prime Minister David Cameron held an emergency meeting of his intelligence chiefs to assess the response to what he called a "terrorist" attack; it was the first deadly strike in mainland Britain since local Islamists killed dozens in London in 2005.

"We will never give in to terror or terrorism in any of its forms," Cameron said outside his Downing Street office.

"This was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life, it was also a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to our country."

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned it "in the strongest terms", adding in a statement: "The United States stands resolute with the United Kingdom, our ally and friend, against violent extremism and terror."

A source close to the investigation told Reuters that both attackers were known to Britain's MI5 internal security service. Adebolajo had handed out radical Islamist pamphlets but neither was considered a serious threat, a government source said.

Another source close to the inquiry said the local backgrounds of the suspects in a multicultural metropolis - nearly 40 percent of Londoners were born abroad - and the simplicity of the attack made prevention difficult:

"Apart from being horribly barbaric, this was relatively straightforward to carry out," the source said. "This was quite low-tech and that is frankly pretty challenging."

Anjem Choudary, one of Britain's most recognized Islamist clerics, told Reuters Adebolajo, was known to fellow Muslims as Mujahid - a name meaning "fighter": "He used to attend a few demonstrations and activities that we used to have in the past."

He added that he had not seen him for about two years: "He was peaceful, unassuming and I don't think there's any reason to think he would do anything violent," Choudary said.

A man called Paul Leech said on Twitter he was at school in the suburb of Romford with the man seen claiming the attack: "Michael Adebolajo u make me sick," he wrote. "How could someone who was a laugh and nice bloke at school turn out like that."

DAYLIGHT ATTACK

Police officers speak with the driver of a car displaying a banner reading, "We R British! Stand Together Stand Strong", outside an army barracks near the scene of a killing in Woolwich, southeast ... more? Police officers speak with the driver of a car displaying a banner reading, "We R British! Stand Together Stand Strong", outside an army barracks near the scene of a killing in Woolwich, southeast London May 23, 2013. British authorities believe that two men accused of hacking a soldier to death on a London street in revenge for wars in Muslim countries are British of Nigerian descent, a source close to the investigation said Thursday. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW MILITARY POLITICS) less? The two men used a car to run down Drummer Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks in southeast London and then attacked him with a meat cleaver and knives, witnesses said. The pair told shocked bystanders they acted in revenge for British wars in Muslim countries. Rigby, who had a two-year-old son, was not in uniform. The bandsman was working locally as an army recruiter.

A dramatic clip filmed by an onlooker showed one of the men, identified as Adebolajo, his hands covered in blood and speaking in a local accent apologizing for taking his action in front of women but justifying it on religious grounds:

"We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reason we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day," he said. "This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

The attack revived fears of "lone wolves". These may have had no direct contact with al Qaeda but are inspired by radical preachers and by Islamist militant Web sites, some of which urge people to attack Western targets with whatever means they have.

Images of the blood-soaked suspect were splashed across the front pages of newspapers; so too were links to his clearly spoken, matter-of-fact video statement, made as the pair chatted calmly to bystanders before police arrived many minutes later.

"We have all seen images that are deeply shocking," Cameron told reporters before visiting the barracks in Woolwich. "The people who did this were trying to divide us."

In Nigeria, with a mixed Christian-Muslim population and where the authorities are battling an Islamist insurgency, a government source said there was no evidence the Woolwich suspects were linked to groups in west Africa.

British investigators are looking at information that at least one of the suspects may have had an interest in joining Somalia-based Islamist rebel group al Shabaab which is allied to al Qaeda, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Al Shabaab linked the attack to the Boston bombing and last year's gun attacks in the southern French city of Toulouse: "Toulouse, Boston, Woolwich ... Where next? You just have to grin and bear it, it's inevitable. A case of the chickens coming home to roost!" the rebels said on Twitter.

IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN

The grisly attack took place next to the sprawling Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, a south London working class district which has long-standing historic links to the military and is home to many immigrant communities, including Nigerians.

Rigby, who served in Afghanistan in 2009, was wearing a T-shirt reading "Help for Heroes", the name of a charity formed to help wounded British veterans. Britain has had troops deployed in Afghanistan since 2001 and had troops in Iraq from 2003-2009.

Witnesses said they shouted "Allahu akbar" - Arabic for God is greatest - while stabbing the victim and trying to behead him. A handgun was found at the scene.

Some onlookers rushed to help the soldier and one woman engaged the attackers in conversation to calm them down.

"He had what looked like butcher's tools ? a little axe, to cut the bones, and two large knives. He said: 'Move off the body,'" said French-born former teacher Ingrid Loyau-Kennett.

"He said: 'I killed him because he killed Muslims and I am fed up with people killing Muslims in Afghanistan.'"

A trained first aider and Cub Scout leader, Loyau-Kennett was on a bus which was held up by the incident and she got off to try to help the victim. She found he was already dead.

Her attitude and that of other passers-by who remonstrated with the attackers was held up by Cameron as an example of resistance to attempts to terrorize the population:

"When told by the attacker that he wanted to start a war in London," Cameron said, "She replied, 'You're going to lose. It's only you versus many.' She spoke for us all."

London was last hit by a serious militant attack on July 7, 2005, when four young British Islamists set off suicide bombs on underground trains and a bus, killing 52 people and wounding hundreds. A similar attack two weeks later was thwarted.

In 2007, two days after police defused two car bombs outside London nightclubs, two men suspected of involvement, a British-born doctor of Iraqi descent and an Indian-born engineer, rammed a car laden with gas into the Glasgow Airport terminal, setting it ablaze. One of the attackers died and the other was jailed.

Britain has long known political violence on the streets. In 2009, two British soldiers were shot dead outside a barracks in Northern Ireland in an attack claimed by Irish republicans.

Woolwich, too, has seen attacks before. A soldier and a civilian were killed by an IRA bomb at a local pub in 1974. The barracks itself was bombed in 1983, wounding five people.

Peter Clarke, who led the investigation into the 2005 bombings, popularly known as 7/7, said that if the Woolwich attackers did turn out to be acting alone, it showed the difficulty the security services faced in trying to stop them.

"An attack like this doesn't need sophisticated fund raising and sophisticated communications or planning," he told Reuters. "It can be organized and then actually delivered in a moment."

(Additional reporting by Kate Holton, Andrew Osborn, Costas Pitas, Estelle Shirbon, Peter Griffiths, Mark Hosenball and Mark Anderson; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Maria Golovnina; Editing by Peter Graff and Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-soldier-hacked-death-suspected-islamist-attack-060253278.html

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