World leaders mourn Chavez; Latin America grieves

One of the world's most flamboyant leaders lost his two-year battle with cancer on Tuesday, ending 14 years of a tumultuous and often bitterly divisive socialist reign. NBC's Mark Potter reports.

By Becky Bratu and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC News

A wave of public grief washed over Latin America following the death of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, reflecting the powerful emotions the charismatic leftist leader evoked in the region and around the world.?

The Cuban government, Venezuela's closest ally, declared official mourning for Wednesday and Thursday, and nationwide mourning for Friday.

---

"I tell you, this is sad and painful news not just for me, because ... Cuba and the entire world has lost a great man," said Armando Fuentes, a store clerk in Havana, after Venezuela?s Vice President Nicolas Maduro broke the news of Chavez?s death Tuesday.

Dayana Calzado, a 27-year-old Cuban lawyer, said the world had lost a great leader. "A very long time will pass before there is another leader like him," she said.

Chavez's passing was acutely felt in Latin America where his anti-colonialist and anti-American policies and rhetoric provoked both loyalty and anger.

Reports featuring crying mourners from around the continent dominated Venezuelan television in the hours after his death was announced.

Claudio Santana / AFP - Getty Images

Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the United States and elsewhere mourn his death.

Brazil's President, Dilma Rousseff, said she was mourning the loss of a great "friend" of her country, the BBC reported.

"This death should fill all Latin and Central Americans with sadness," she added, according to the BBC. "Hugo Chavez was without doubt a leader committed to his country and to the development of the people of Latin America."

Chavez has often criticized the United States on its history of intervention in the Americas and Washington's stance on countries such as Iran.

Argentina?s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner suspended activities after receiving the news and traveled to Venezuela. She and her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, were close friends of Chavez.

Chile and Ecuador released official notes of condolence, while in Peru a minute of silence was held in Chavez?s honor. Meanwhile, Bolivia's President Evo Morales announced he would travel immediately to Caracas to pay his respects. Uruguayan President Jos? Mujica also set off for Caracas.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos tweeted: "I profoundly lament the death of the president of Venezuela Hugo Ch?vez Fr?as. Our sincere condolences."

Chavez's friends further afield also reacted to news of his death immediately.

"It's a tragedy. He was a great politician," Russia's U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin said of the death.

'Understood the needs of the poor'
In the United States, Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., who represents a largely Hispanic district, tweeted his condolences: "Hugo Chavez was a leader that understood the needs of the poor. He was committed to empowering the powerless. R.I.P. Mr. President."

Serrano's statement provoked an angry reaction form?pro-troops charity Move America Forward.

"Chavez openly hated the United States and opposed any effort to spread freedom, democracy and free markets to Latin America," it said in a statement.

Nevertheless, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter also paid tribute to Chavez, and said in a statement that he "will be remembered for his bold assertion of autonomy and independence for Latin American governments."?

Joseph P. Kennedy II, chairman of non-profit Citizens Energy, which was criticized for receiving heating oil donations from the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, released a statement thanking Chavez for his generosity.

/

The life of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez from his rise as a lieutenant colonel after his failed coup attempt in 1992.

"There are close to two million people in the United States who received free heating assistance, thanks to President Chavez's leadership," Kennedy's statement read. "Our prayers go out to President Chavez's family, the people of Venezuela, and all who were warmed by his generosity."

The friction between the U.S. and the Chavez regime lasted until the end of his life.

Only minutes before the Venezuelan leader's death was announced, the State Department issued a statement rejecting Maduro?s earlier accusations that Chavez?s enemies gave him cancer and that U.S. diplomats in Venezuela plotted to destabilize the government.

Following the news of his death, the White House released a statement reinforcing its goal of improving its relationship with the Venezuelan government.

"At this challenging time of President Hugo Chavez's passing, the United States reaffirms its support for the Venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with the Venezuelan government," President Barack Obama?s statement read. "As Venezuela begins a new chapter in its history, the United States remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Mike Rogers, R-Mich., also said he hoped for the two countries to turn a new leaf in their relationship.

"Hugo Chavez was a destabilizing force in Latin America, and an obstacle to progress in the region. I hope his death provides an opportunity for a new chapter in U.S.-Venezuelan relations," he said.

Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., issued a statement saying, "Sic semper tyrannis,? which translates to, "Thus always to tyrants."

Those words were used by John Wilkes Boothe before he fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford?s Theatre.

"After the welcome news of Hugo Chavez's death, I hope that the oppressed people of Venezuela will be able to live in freedom, not under miserable tyranny. I look forward to working in the House to promote a free, democratic, and pro-American government in Venezuela," Cotton added.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also used the opportunity to take a parting shot at Chavez, releasing a statement that read in part: "The Venezuelan people now have an opportunity to turn the page on one of the darkest periods in its history and embark on a new, albeit difficult, path to restore the rule of law, democratic principles, security and free enterprise system in a nation that deserves so much better than the socialist disaster of the past 14 years."

NBC News' Andrea Mitchell, Mary Murray, Edgar Zuniga, Sofia Perpetua, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

Venezuela's 'Comandante' Hugo Chavez dies

Analysis: Chavistas begin search for Latin America's next 'Comandante'

Full Venezuela coverage from NBC News

This story was originally published on Tue Mar 5, 2013 7:45 PM EST

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/05/17199243-world-leaders-pay-tribute-to-hugo-chavez-as-wave-of-grief-washes-over-latin-america?lite

Hurricane Categories Hurricane Sandy new jersey atlantic city ocean city maryland Nexus 7 KDKA

Affordable care alone may not be enough to help Latinos overcome cancer care barriers

Public release date: 5-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Laura Perry
lperry@sonnet.ucla.edu
310-794-4022
University of California - Los Angeles

A combination of financial, cultural and communication barriers plays a role in preventing underserved Latino men with prostate cancer from accessing the care and treatment they need, according to a new study by researchers at the UCLA School of Nursing.

The study, "Barriers to Prostate Cancer Care: Affordable Care Is Not Enough," is published in the March issue of the peer-reviewed journal Qualitative Health Research.

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Latino men. Additionally, Latino men are more likely to be diagnosed with later-stage disease than non-Hispanic white men.

"We found that an array of obstacles compromise access and frequently result in negative outcomes," said Sally L. Maliski, associate dean of academic affairs at the UCLA School of Nursing and senior author of the study. "Sadly, these obstacles disproportionately affect underserved individuals and require a new focus on not only adequate health care coverage but also on the array of hurdles that limit patient access."

The UCLA study looked at Latino men who were enrolled in Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians With Prostate Cancer (IMPACT), a state-funded public assistance program. The analysis revealed barriers throughout the entire prostate cancercare process, including screening, treatment and follow-up care.

Among the key findings:

Financial hardship

Low socioeconomic status was commonly cited by the Latino men in the study as the primary impediment to care. The inability to afford medical insurance not only made it difficult to access care but also intensified the gravity of the prostate cancer diagnosis, leaving many participants feeling hopeless.

Participants often had difficulty understanding state- or county-based insurance policies, and this resulted in denied claims, loss of coverage or difficulty in accessing prescriptions. It ultimately led to increased out-of-pocket expenses and a fragmented system of care, leaving patients frustrated.

Lack of doctor continuity and care coordination

Participants frequently experienced poor care coordination, increased distrust for their doctors and decreased levels of comfort when care was administered disjointedly, by a frequently changing group of medical personnel.

Their frustration was exacerbated when they perceived faulty equipment and multiple doctor referrals as a cause for delayed diagnosis. Surgical procedures for prostate cancer and treatments for side effects were also frequently complicated by poor care coordination.

Inadequate access to primary care left many participants ill-equipped to navigate a complex medical system that often requires self-advocacy to demand the right care.

Communication and education

A lack of health literacy among the men, compounded by insufficient provider awareness of this issue, frequently resulted in the men misunderstanding doctors' treatment recommendations and procedures.

Patients' limited proficiency in English also often hampered their ability to describe their symptoms and express their needs to providers.

"Our study highlighted that we have an intricate web of barriers societal, system and individual that when combined leave many individuals without the care they should be receiving," Maliski said. "These overlapping obstacles make it clear we need a system where not only is care affordable but where we use a multi-faceted approach to improve access, increase health literacy and greatly improve care coordination."

###

Maliski's co-investigators on the study were Charlotte Oduro (Albert Schweitzer Fellow at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health) and Sarah E. Connor (UCLA Department of Urology). The study was funded through a grant from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation.

The UCLA School of Nursing is redefining nursing through the pursuit of uncompromised excellence in research, education, practice, policy and patient advocacy. For more information, visit nursing.ucla.edu.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 5-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Laura Perry
lperry@sonnet.ucla.edu
310-794-4022
University of California - Los Angeles

A combination of financial, cultural and communication barriers plays a role in preventing underserved Latino men with prostate cancer from accessing the care and treatment they need, according to a new study by researchers at the UCLA School of Nursing.

The study, "Barriers to Prostate Cancer Care: Affordable Care Is Not Enough," is published in the March issue of the peer-reviewed journal Qualitative Health Research.

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Latino men. Additionally, Latino men are more likely to be diagnosed with later-stage disease than non-Hispanic white men.

"We found that an array of obstacles compromise access and frequently result in negative outcomes," said Sally L. Maliski, associate dean of academic affairs at the UCLA School of Nursing and senior author of the study. "Sadly, these obstacles disproportionately affect underserved individuals and require a new focus on not only adequate health care coverage but also on the array of hurdles that limit patient access."

The UCLA study looked at Latino men who were enrolled in Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians With Prostate Cancer (IMPACT), a state-funded public assistance program. The analysis revealed barriers throughout the entire prostate cancercare process, including screening, treatment and follow-up care.

Among the key findings:

Financial hardship

Low socioeconomic status was commonly cited by the Latino men in the study as the primary impediment to care. The inability to afford medical insurance not only made it difficult to access care but also intensified the gravity of the prostate cancer diagnosis, leaving many participants feeling hopeless.

Participants often had difficulty understanding state- or county-based insurance policies, and this resulted in denied claims, loss of coverage or difficulty in accessing prescriptions. It ultimately led to increased out-of-pocket expenses and a fragmented system of care, leaving patients frustrated.

Lack of doctor continuity and care coordination

Participants frequently experienced poor care coordination, increased distrust for their doctors and decreased levels of comfort when care was administered disjointedly, by a frequently changing group of medical personnel.

Their frustration was exacerbated when they perceived faulty equipment and multiple doctor referrals as a cause for delayed diagnosis. Surgical procedures for prostate cancer and treatments for side effects were also frequently complicated by poor care coordination.

Inadequate access to primary care left many participants ill-equipped to navigate a complex medical system that often requires self-advocacy to demand the right care.

Communication and education

A lack of health literacy among the men, compounded by insufficient provider awareness of this issue, frequently resulted in the men misunderstanding doctors' treatment recommendations and procedures.

Patients' limited proficiency in English also often hampered their ability to describe their symptoms and express their needs to providers.

"Our study highlighted that we have an intricate web of barriers societal, system and individual that when combined leave many individuals without the care they should be receiving," Maliski said. "These overlapping obstacles make it clear we need a system where not only is care affordable but where we use a multi-faceted approach to improve access, increase health literacy and greatly improve care coordination."

###

Maliski's co-investigators on the study were Charlotte Oduro (Albert Schweitzer Fellow at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health) and Sarah E. Connor (UCLA Department of Urology). The study was funded through a grant from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation.

The UCLA School of Nursing is redefining nursing through the pursuit of uncompromised excellence in research, education, practice, policy and patient advocacy. For more information, visit nursing.ucla.edu.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uoc--aca030513.php

photoshop cs6 beta cate blanchett nfl news tebow tebow jets romney etch a sketch jeb bush

Vietnam capital to reassign obese, rude traffic cops - paper

HANOI (Reuters) - Pot-bellied, short, or abusive traffic policemen will be barred from working on the streets of Vietnam's capital and assigned desk jobs instead as Hanoi police try to clean up their unsavoury image, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The city's traffic police are following the worst offenders closely and compiling lists of those to be reassigned. All police on traffic duty will be made to carry a book on the code of conduct to remind them how to behave, the official Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper said.

"Little officers, or those with too big a belly will be moved to work in offices instead of guiding traffic and settling violations," Colonel Dao Vinh Thang, head of the Hanoi Traffic Police Department, was quoted by Tien Phong as saying.

He said five teams of inspectors had been sent to monitor the behaviour of police on the street. Thang could not be reached for additional comment.

Tempers often flare in the city of 7 million famous for constant streams of motorcycles and sometimes haphazard driving. Complaints have mounted about the conduct of traffic police, including allegations of corruption and abusive behaviour.

The latest initiative follows the deployment in January of female traffic police, all part of a campaign to improve the image of the security forces.

Crackdowns on overweight policemen have taken place in Thailand, Pakistan, Britain, Indonesia and the Philippines in recent years. Several of those countries ordered officers to get fit and lose weight before they could return to work.

(Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Martin Petty and Ron Popeski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vietnam-capital-reassign-obese-rude-traffic-cops-paper-172128706.html

slither slither naacp glen campbell jerusalem artichoke bud shootout aretha franklin

Distance to nearest galaxy measured

Public release date: 6-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ian Thompson
ian@obs.carnegiescience.edu
626-304-0225
Carnegie Institution

Pasadena, CA A team of astronomers including Carnegie's Ian Thompson have managed to improve the measurement of the distance to our nearest neighbor galaxy and, in the process, refine an astronomical calculation that helps measure the expansion of the universe. Their work is published March 7 by Nature.

The Hubble constant is a fundamental quantity that measures the current rate at which our universe is expanding. It is named after 20th Century Carnegie astronomer Edwin P. Hubble, who astonished the world by discovering that our universe has been growing continuously since its inception. Determining the Hubble constant (a direct measurement of the rate of this continuing expansion) is critical for gauging the age and size of our universe. One of the largest uncertainties plaguing past measurements of the Hubble constant has involved the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), our nearest neighboring galaxy, which orbits our own Milky Way.

Astronomers survey the scale of the Universe by first measuring the distances to close-by objects (for example Cepheid variable stars studied by Wendy Freedman, director of the Carnegie Observatories, and her collaborators) and then using observations of these objects in more distant galaxies to pin down distances further and further out in the Universe. But this chain is only as accurate as its weakest link. Up to now finding a precise distance to the LMC has proved elusive. Because stars in this galaxy are used to fix the distance scale for more remote galaxies, an accurate distance is crucially important.

"Because the LMC is close and contains a significant number of different stellar distance indicators, hundreds of distance measurements using it have been recorded over the years," Thompson said. "Unfortunately, nearly all the determinations have systemic errors, with each method carrying its own uncertainties."

The international collaboration worked out the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud by observing rare close pairs of stars, known as eclipsing binaries. These pairs are gravitationally bound to each other, and once per orbit, as seen from Earth, the total brightness from the system drops as each component eclipses its companion. By tracking these changes in brightness very carefully, and also measuring the orbital speeds of the stars, it is possible to work out how big the stars are, how massive they are, and other information about their orbits. When this is combined with careful measurements of the apparent brightness, remarkably accurate distances can be determined.

This method has been used before in taking measurements to the LMC, but with hot stars. As such, certain assumptions had to be made and the distances were not as accurate as desired. This new work, led by Grzegorz Pietrzynski of the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile and Warsaw University Observatory in Poland, used 16-years-worth of observations to identify a sample of intermediate mass binary stars with extremely long orbital periods, perfect for measuring precise and accurate distances.

The team observed eight of these binary systems over eight years, gathering data at Las Campanas Observatory and the European Southern Observatory. The LMC distance calculated using these eight binary stars is purely empirical, without relying on modeling or theoretical predictions. The team refined the uncertainty in the distance to the LMC down to 2.2 percent. This new measurement can be used to decrease the uncertainty in calculations of the Hubble constant to 3 percent, with prospects of improving this to a 2 percent uncertainty in a few years as the sample of binary stars is increased.

###

This work was supported by BASAL Centro de Astrofisica y Tecnologias Afines (CATA), the Polish Ministry of Science, the Foundation for Polish Science (FOCUS, TEAM), the Polish National Science Centre, and the GEMINI-CONICYT fund. The OGLE project has received funding from the European Research Council "Advanced Grant" program.

The Carnegie Institution for Science is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 6-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ian Thompson
ian@obs.carnegiescience.edu
626-304-0225
Carnegie Institution

Pasadena, CA A team of astronomers including Carnegie's Ian Thompson have managed to improve the measurement of the distance to our nearest neighbor galaxy and, in the process, refine an astronomical calculation that helps measure the expansion of the universe. Their work is published March 7 by Nature.

The Hubble constant is a fundamental quantity that measures the current rate at which our universe is expanding. It is named after 20th Century Carnegie astronomer Edwin P. Hubble, who astonished the world by discovering that our universe has been growing continuously since its inception. Determining the Hubble constant (a direct measurement of the rate of this continuing expansion) is critical for gauging the age and size of our universe. One of the largest uncertainties plaguing past measurements of the Hubble constant has involved the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), our nearest neighboring galaxy, which orbits our own Milky Way.

Astronomers survey the scale of the Universe by first measuring the distances to close-by objects (for example Cepheid variable stars studied by Wendy Freedman, director of the Carnegie Observatories, and her collaborators) and then using observations of these objects in more distant galaxies to pin down distances further and further out in the Universe. But this chain is only as accurate as its weakest link. Up to now finding a precise distance to the LMC has proved elusive. Because stars in this galaxy are used to fix the distance scale for more remote galaxies, an accurate distance is crucially important.

"Because the LMC is close and contains a significant number of different stellar distance indicators, hundreds of distance measurements using it have been recorded over the years," Thompson said. "Unfortunately, nearly all the determinations have systemic errors, with each method carrying its own uncertainties."

The international collaboration worked out the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud by observing rare close pairs of stars, known as eclipsing binaries. These pairs are gravitationally bound to each other, and once per orbit, as seen from Earth, the total brightness from the system drops as each component eclipses its companion. By tracking these changes in brightness very carefully, and also measuring the orbital speeds of the stars, it is possible to work out how big the stars are, how massive they are, and other information about their orbits. When this is combined with careful measurements of the apparent brightness, remarkably accurate distances can be determined.

This method has been used before in taking measurements to the LMC, but with hot stars. As such, certain assumptions had to be made and the distances were not as accurate as desired. This new work, led by Grzegorz Pietrzynski of the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile and Warsaw University Observatory in Poland, used 16-years-worth of observations to identify a sample of intermediate mass binary stars with extremely long orbital periods, perfect for measuring precise and accurate distances.

The team observed eight of these binary systems over eight years, gathering data at Las Campanas Observatory and the European Southern Observatory. The LMC distance calculated using these eight binary stars is purely empirical, without relying on modeling or theoretical predictions. The team refined the uncertainty in the distance to the LMC down to 2.2 percent. This new measurement can be used to decrease the uncertainty in calculations of the Hubble constant to 3 percent, with prospects of improving this to a 2 percent uncertainty in a few years as the sample of binary stars is increased.

###

This work was supported by BASAL Centro de Astrofisica y Tecnologias Afines (CATA), the Polish Ministry of Science, the Foundation for Polish Science (FOCUS, TEAM), the Polish National Science Centre, and the GEMINI-CONICYT fund. The OGLE project has received funding from the European Research Council "Advanced Grant" program.

The Carnegie Institution for Science is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/ci-dtn030513.php

Steve Sabol Yom Kippur 2012 Aaron Paul packers Dancing With The Stars All Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt space shuttle

Reed wants to stay in Baltimore

AP

The Chiefs did a lot of business in the hours before the franchise tag deadline, signing wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and punter Dustin Colquitt to long-term deals, and tagging left tackle Branden Albert.

Now they have something even more valuable than good players ? they have options.

While many will immediately assume this takes them out of the market for a left tackle (specifically Luke Joeckel) with the first pick in a quarterback-less draft, that doesn?t seem wise.

First, they should create the full impression that it?s still a possibility, if only to create a trade market that might not otherwise exist.

But the realities of their line wouldn?t preclude drafting him anyway.

Even though they just tagged Albert (keeping him there for a year, at $9.828 million), there?s no reason they can?t draft Joeckel, and have one of them play right tackle. While Eric Winson has been solid, he?s also entering his 30-year-old season, and isn?t so good that you?d bypass a potential left tackle because of him.

And Albert?s back injury, which coach Andy Reid referred to as a ?fairly significant injury? at the Combine, might also give them pause. At the very least, the uncertainty over Albert?s long-term health or contract status would make it wise to keep Joeckel as an option. Many also thought Albert was better suited to play guard when he entered the league, which creates another layer of possibility.

With the chance at a solid offensive line in front of an average quarterback (the recently acquired Alex Smith), along with a good run game, a solid receiving threat in Bowe and a coaching staff that knows how to move the ball, it gives the Chiefs the chance at a new look on offense.

And it gives them more options for the first pick, which makes it more valuable by definition.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/04/ed-reed-hasnt-heard-from-ravens-cant-imagine-playing-elsewhere/related/

martin luther king jr casey anthony baltimore ravens ravens Ravens vs Patriots 49ers Vs Falcons Mama Movie

Jim Flaherty mortgage warning to banks a ... - Financial Post

When did it become the job of the minister of finance to boost bank profits and stick it to the consumer?

How else do you describe a policy in which the minister of finance appears to tell the banks to cool it when it comes to battling on the mortgage front for customers.

If I?m buying a home today I say: Bring on the mortgage rate wars!

?Race to the bottom? proves it?s a great time to be in debt

Let?s face it: This is a great time to be in debt. Never mind the warnings from bank officials, economic handwringers, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Today, Mr. Flaherty is warning banks not to cut rates too low in a ?race to the bottom? ? as if competition were a destructive part of banking.

Continue reading.

But Jim Flaherty?s comments seemed aimed at getting the banks to try and curb some of the heated competition that happened a year ago when the banks started battling for market share.

?As for decisions by individual banks, as I have said repeatedly before, my expectation is the banks will engage in prudent lending ? not the type of race to the bottom practices that led to the mortgage crisis in the United States,? Mr. Flaherty said Monday.

The finance minister has moved on four separate occasions to tighten mortgage rules. One of his toughest measures has been to lower amortization lengths.

Amortization lengths climbed to as high as 40 years but after three cuts are now back to 25, the long-term standard. A longer amortization lowers monthly payments at the cost of more interest but also allows a buyer to qualify for a larger loan.

No one can say for sure how much impact Mr. Flaherty will have on the banks ? he does have bigger concerns about an overheated housing market than making sure you get the best rate.

But the reality is the banks have a little room to give, considering government of Canada five-year bonds have been trading 25 basis points lower since a peak at the end of January. The savings should be passed on.

?The spread between the five-year mortgage and five-year bond is quite large,? said Gregory Klump, chief economist with the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Bank of Montreal appears to have kicked off the discussion again with its five-year closed mortgage rate of 2.99%.

It is hardly the only bank out there with a deal. National Bank has quietly offered 2.99% to some customers and is willing to commit to that rate for 120 days based on a signed deal, say brokers.

The much publicized BMO deal also includes some tough restrictions that include an inability to break the mortgage and switch banks and yearly prepayment privileges of 10% of your mortgage instead of the industry standard of 20%.

Kelvin Mangaroo, president of ratesupermarket.ca, said obviously the finance minister is concerned about people taking on more debt.

But there is a certain reality that if the banks don?t pass on better rates, consumers will go to one of the many monoline lenders that fund mortgage brokers.

?It comes down to each person and what each person can tolerate,? said Mr. Mangaroo, about the extra cost a consumer might face for not shopping around.

As bond yields have dropped, it has become easier for those monoline lenders to compete with the banks that won?t match with lower rates.

?We know BMO was gaining market share at the expense of margins,? said Mr. Mangaroo.

Peter Routledge, an analyst with National Bank Financial, said the banks look to mortgages as much for generating other business as the profit itself.

?They make more of their money from the relationship,? said Mr. Routledge. ?The mortgage is such a tight spread product, I don?t think they make a lot of money on it.?

Most consumers would probably like to see them make even less and might prefer the finance minister stay out of it. And, if he won?t, there?s always the brokers and generally lower rates.

Financial Post, with files from Gordon Isfeld

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/03/04/flahertys-mortgage-rate-warning-doesnt-do-consumer-any-favours/

election day Electoral College map nyc marathon nyc marathon willie nelson khloe kardashian Wreck It Ralph

Getting Better Grades and Improving Test Scores

As a high school student, I used to get good grades but I never got the best grades in the class. I was able to improve test scores by studying with my friends and learning different memory techniques. I also started to change my study environment and I removed distractions such as music and I didn't answer my cell phone when I was studying.

One of the things that helped me the most was to rewrite my notes after a class. Whenever I took notes, I found that I wasn't very present to what the teacher was saying so I started. After the class I would re-write down all the notes which ended up filling in lots of blank areas as well as making more copious and legible notes. It took me years to figure out to do this since I would just scribble down as much as I could and then when I would look at my notes weeks or maybe even months later I had no idea what I had written. Even if I could read my writing, it didn't make much sense. Going over my notes the same day and making them more understandable and legible helped me to connect with the lecture material in a more meaningful way.

I would also often ask questions during lecture. I even made that one of my assigments during the lecture which would force me to reflect on what I was hearing and would prevent me from spacing out on what the teacher was saying. This also helps you to stand out from the other students which becomes more valuable later when you want to ask for recommendations. The teacher will remember your face and sometimes the questions you asked during their lecture.

For the ACS Organic Chemistry Study Guide, I found that by re-doing the formulas I was better able to learn all the different science equations. You need to study and redo the equations over and over so you know them seamlessly. It is a difficult and long test so you need to practice taking the test with your study guide so it won't be unfamiliar to you the first time you take it during the exam. Time is not on your side during the exam so you need to pace yourself as well.

Don't get caught up thinking that just because you are in a study group that will help you get better grades. Make sure you are not just goofing off or gossiping during study group time and make sure that you are maximizing this time to go over the course materials.

Jasmine blogs about educational topics such as getting better grades for the ACS Organic Chemistry Study Guide and how to improve test scores.

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/getting-better-grades-and-improving-test-scores-319395

Mega 49ers lance armstrong Earl Weaver Inauguration Schedule barack obama dear abby

Algeria reels from tales of oil sector corruption - Politics news

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) ? Corrupt and gorging itself at the trough of Algeria's vast oil wealth ? that's how most Algerians privately view the elites running the country. Yet few have been willing to say so publicly, until now.

New corruption scandals are shining a new spotlight on state oil company Sonatrach, which jointly with BP and Norway's Statoil runs the desert gas plant that was the scene of a bloody hostage standoff in January.

A recent anguished public plea by a former Sonatrach official shocked Algerians and raised hopes that the leadership will try to clean up the oil and gas sector in Africa's largest country. There's plenty at stake: Algeria is also one of the continent's richest countries, as the No. 3 supplier of natural gas to Europe, with $190 billion in reserves, up $8 billion in the last year alone.

The Feb. 18 letter by former Sonatrach vice president Hocine Malti in the French-language Algerian daily El Watan broke the silence around the company. Addressing the shadowy leader of Algeria's intelligence service, it asks if he is really serious about investigating new bribery scandals involving Sonatrach and Italian and Canadian companies.

When Italian prosecutors in January announced an investigation into oil company ENI and subsidiary SAIPEM for allegedly paying ?197 million ($256.1 million) in bribes to secure an ?11 billion contract with Sonatrach, it provoked a firestorm in the Algerian media, until the North African country's justice system finally announced its own inquiry Feb. 10.

Malti, author of the "Secret History of Algerian Oil," scoffed that Algerian authorities were only following the lead of international investigators and wondered if Mohammed "Tewfik" Mediene, the feared head of the Department of Research and Security, would allow the real sources of corruption to be tried in court.

"Is it too much to dream that some of your fellow generals, certain ministers or corrupt businessmen ? members of the pyramid that you are on top of ? members of this fraternity, might also end up in front of justice?" he asked in the letter. "Or will it be like always, just the small fry are targeted by this new investigation?"

"Will we have to continue to listen for news from the Milan prosecutor to know the sad reality of our country, to discover how certain people, whom you know quite well, people you have come across in your long professional career, have gorged themselves on millions of dollars and euros of the country's oil revenues?" he added.

The response to the letter was swift. Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi promised that once an investigation was complete "we will take all necessary measures" against those harming the interests of the nation.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who rarely appears in public, said in a written statement, "these revelations provoke our disgust and condemnation, but I trust the justice system of our country to bring clarity to the web of accusations and discover who is responsible."

Malti told The Associated Press by telephone from his home in France that he wrote the letter partly out of anger that Algeria had to rely on foreign prosecutors to reveal the extent of its own corruption and addressed it to the head of intelligence to shock people.

"It made a lot of noise because with this letter, I broke a taboo," he said. "The head of the DRS is an unapproachable figure in Algeria, at times we can't even pronounce (say) his name." It is not the first time the state-owned hydrocarbon company, which provides Algeria with 97 percent of its hard currency earnings, has been enmeshed in scandal.

In 2010, its head, three of its vice presidents and the minister of energy were all fired in a corruption investigation run by Mediene's intelligence agency. However, rather than restore faith in the country's corruption-fighting mechanism, the 2010 purge was widely seen as a chance to settle scores between the DRS and Bouteflika, since most of those fired were his close associates.

Algeria ranks 105 out of 176 in Transparency International's 2012 corruption index, and the occasional corruption investigation often just seems to be how the elites settle their scores, such as a string of revelations about prominent politicians in November, which observers said were linked to next year's presidential elections.

"I realize that people might be shocked by what is happening at Sonatrach ? these scandals are terrible and we condemn them as individual acts," Sonatrach head Abdelhamid Zerguine said on the radio Sunday, the anniversary of Algeria's 1971 nationalization of its oil industry from the French. He promised to fight further corruption "with utmost vigor," even while denying it was systemic.

The scale of the scandals is staggering. Nearly ?200 million ($260 million) was paid out by the Italians, according to the Milan prosecutor. ENI has pledged full cooperation with prosecutors in their investigations.

Meanwhile, according to a joint investigation by Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper and an Italian business paper published Feb. 22, Canadian company SNC-Lavalin paid a series of bribes of its own to secure a $1 billion engineering contract. Company spokeswoman Lilly Nguyen responded to queries about the case saying "to the best of our knowledge, SNC-Lavalin is not specifically under investigation in the Sonatrach matter."

With commissions on deals like this going to the highest levels of power, the Algerian press rarely reports about it ? until the subject is broached by the foreign media. Malti, who was there at the founding of Sonatrach in 1963, estimated that the country was losing between $3 and 6 billion annually to corruption in the oil sector alone.

"If a judge says that an inquiry has opened or even a minister promises to take measures against 'people working against Algeria's interests,' I don't believe them," Mohammed Saidj, a professor of international relations at Algiers University, told the AP. "It's just words to appease a public opinion shocked when it hears about the corruption and billions of dollars stolen by high-level political and military officials, including those close to the president."

The chances of this situation changing are dim, considering how much the country relies on a single company. In a chapter on Sonatrach in the 2012 book "Oil and Governance," John Entelis, an Algeria expert at New York's Fordham University, described the importance of a company established just a year after Algeria won its independence from France, and wrote, "Algeria's governing elite rely upon Sonatrach for revenue from which they gain power, patronage, and privileges."

Entelis told AP that the letter in El Watan shows that Algerians are increasingly able to complain about this system, even if that won't necessarily change things. "This is the heart of the Algerian political system ? Sonatrach, the DRS, civil society in the form of ... willingness to make these things public. Some say this is what enables it to maintain itself instead of collapse," he said.

Paul Schemm reported from Rabat, Morocco. Associated Press writer Karim Kebir contributed to this report from Algiers, Algeria.

Source: http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1928136-algeria-reels-tales-oil-sector-corruption.html

phantom of the opera agoraphobia andrew lloyd webber obscura grok cirque du freak paul pierce

Rodman: Kim Jong Un wants Obama to 'call him'

In his first interview since returning to the U.S. from an unprecedented visit to North Korea last week, former NBA star Dennis Rodman said he bears a message for President Obama from the country's oppressive leader, Kim Jong Un.

"He wants Obama to do one thing: Call him," Rodman told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week." "He said, 'If you can, Dennis - I don't want [to] do war. I don't want to do war.' He said that to me."

The athlete also offered Kim some diplomatic advice for potential future talks with President Obama.

"[Kim] loves basketball. And I said the same thing, I said, 'Obama loves basketball.' Let's start there," Rodman said.

Rodman's comments come just days after the basketball star shocked the world with an unexpected trip to Pyongyang, North Korea, becoming the first known American to publicly meet with the mysterious Kim since he assumed command of the totalitarian nation after the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il in 2011.

The young leader has defied U.N. sanctions by continuing to develop North Korea's nuclear arms and missile program, which he says is aimed at the U.S.

Kim is often regarded as one of the world's most oppressive leaders, presiding over prison camps and allowing millions of his own people to starve.

Rodman likely now has more firsthand impressions of Kim than any other American. He offered some insight to Kim's personality this morning.

"He loves power. He loves control," Rodman said, of his new "friend." "But guess what? He doesn't want war. That's one thing he doesn't want."

PHOTOS: Kim Jong Un Through the Years

In a bizarre display of basketball diplomacy, Rodman went on the record to offer highest praise for Kim Thursday, telling reporters, "I love him. He's awesome." Today on "This Week," Rodman didn't backtrack on those comments.

"No, I'm not apologiz[ing] for him," Rodman said. "You know, he's a good guy to me. Guess what? He's my friend. I don't condone what he does ? [but] as a person to person - he's my friend."

PHOTOS: Dennis Rodman Goes to North Korea

Rodman traveled through Pyongyang with members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and a camera crew from the upcoming HBO series, "VICE." Kim warmly welcomed the Americans, with an itinerary that included ice skating, an aquarium visit and a long dinner and drinks.

During his visit, Rodman sat court side with Kim as they took in an exhibition basketball face-off with the Globetrotters and North Korean players. Kim, like his late father, is said to be a devoted basketball fan - especially for the 1990's-era Chicago Bulls championship teams, which included Rodman. Rodman stood up to give a speech to the basketball crowd, at one point telling Kim, "You have a friend for life."

Rodman also raised eyebrows back home when he complimented Kim's infamous family legacy, adding, "his grandfather and his father were great leaders."

But when Stephanopoulous pressed him on "This Week," Rodman clarified those controversial remarks.

"What I saw in that country ? I saw people respect him and his family. That's what I mean about that," he said on "This Week." "They're great leaders there."

Rodman drew a distinction between Kim and his predecessors.

"The kid is only 28 years old. Twenty eight," he said. "He's not his dad. Not his grandpa. He's 28 years old."

Despite the unlikely pairing, Rodman said he has something in common with Kim and the North Korean people: a love of basketball.

"I'm not a politician. Kim Jung Un & North Korean people are basketball fans," he tweeted. "I love everyone. Period. End of story."

Dennis Rodman Through The Years

The U.S. State Department had no involvement in the visit, and officials say they have no plans to debrief Rodman after his meeting with one of the world's most mysterious leaders. Col. Steve Ganyard, USMC (Ret.), a former deputy assistant secretary of state and ABC News consultant, told ABC's Martha Raddatz the State Department's decision is "ridiculous."

"There is nobody at the CIA who can tell you more personally about Kim Jong Un than Dennis Rodman, and that in itself is scary," Ganyard said.

Rodman told Stephanopoulos there are more trips to North Korea in his future.

"I'm not like a diplomat," Rodman said. "I'm [going to] go back, do one thing and find out more, what's going on. Find out more."

Stephanopoulos offered Rodman the latest report from the Human Rights Watch, which outlines North Korea's "dire human rights record" under Kim, to share with him during their next visit.

Rodman accepted the report, adding, "don't hate me. Don't hate me. Guess what? Don't hate me."

Like "This Week" on Facebook here . You can also follow the show on Twitter here .

Go here to find out when "This Week" is on in your area.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dennis-rodman-kim-jong-un-154606241.html

wisconsin recall doris day buffalo sabres texas news kim mulkey sarah palin today show dallas tornado video

AP Source: Obama naming Energy, EPA leaders Monday (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/288907370?client_source=feed&format=rss

Argo american idol bonnaroo robin roberts Ashley Morrison El Chapo Guzman ufc

'Batman' drags suspect to police station, vanishes

A robbery suspect is dropped off at a police station in England by a mysterious "Batman" who then disappears into the night. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

By Michael Holden, Reuters

LONDON - A mystery man dressed as Batman demonstrated the same crime-fighting skills as the caped crusader when he handed over a suspect wanted for burglary in Britain.

---

Surveillance footage showed a portly figure wearing an ill-fitting costume including gloves, cape and mask, bringing a 27-year-old man to a police station in Bradford in northern England.

The suspect was arrested and charged with handling stolen goods and fraud-related offences, according to the force. But the costumed crime-fighter disappeared into the night without leaving his name.

"The person who brought the wanted man into the station was dressed in a full Batman outfit," a spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police said. "His identity, however, remains unknown."

The suspect was handed over early on February 25. Police released photos of the footage Monday.

Related:

'Fairy tale': Soccer team assembled for $10,000 slays English giants

From Feb. 2011: Costumed crusaders taking it to the streets

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/04/17179754-batman-drops-off-suspect-at-police-station-vanishes-into-night?lite

PS4 Google Glass Cecil Hotel Cressida Bonas Kenny Clutch Edward Gorey amber rose

Somalia: Court clears woman convicted in rape case

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) ? A Somali appeals court on Sunday dropped charges against a woman who alleged she was raped by government security forces and had been convicted of defaming the government.

Mogadishu appeals court Judge Mohamed Hassan Ali said there wasn't enough evidence to substantiate the prosecutor's charge. A court in February had sentenced the woman to one year in prison after medical evidence entered into the record showed that the woman was not raped. Some experts questioned whether Somalia has the medical expertise to make the kind of judgment.

A journalist who interviewed the rape victim and was tried alongside her had his sentence reduced from one year to six months. The judge said the interview was not conducted according to journalism ethics or Somali law.

The February verdict against the two provoked international outcry by human rights groups, and Human Rights Watch on Sunday said it wasn't satisfied with the appeals court's decision.

"The court of appeals missed a chance to right a terrible wrong, both for the journalist and for press freedom in Somalia," said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The government has argued that justice should run its course in this case, but each step has been justice denied."

Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon welcomed the decision concerning the rape victim and said "we are a step closer to justice being done."

"However, I was hoping for a different outcome on the journalist. I note his sentence has been reduced from 12 months to six, but I do not believe journalists should be sent to prison for doing their job. We must have freedom of expression, which is guaranteed in our constitution," Shirdon said.

The Somali capital has moved past the violence that engulfed Mogadishu for much of the last two decades. In a sign of its progress, the United States earlier this year officially recognized the country's government for the first time in two decades.

Despite the progress, Somali government institutions remain weak and corrupt, and the government relies heavily on the security provided by 17,000 African Union troops in the country. Allegations of rape against government security forces are common, especially around the sprawling camps for internally displaced people in Mogadishu.

Rights groups decried the case against the woman and the reporter ? freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur ? as politically motivated because the woman had accused security forces of the assault. Abdinur was convicted despite never having published any story based on the interview with the woman.

On Jan. 6, Universal TV, a Somali television station, reported that armed men in police uniform had raped a young woman. The same day Al Jazeera published an article which described rape by security forces in camps for internally displaced people in Mogadishu.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had expressed deep disappointment over the sentences and urged the Somali government "to ensure that all allegations of sexual violence are investigated fully and perpetrators are brought to justice," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Experts in confronting violence against women said the original verdict would discourage Somali women from reporting rape even more than they are already in the conservative Muslim society.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/somalia-court-clears-woman-convicted-rape-case-114730437.html

Daily Show provisional ballot npr rush limbaugh rush limbaugh karl rove Election 2012 Results

Obama urges court to overturn gay marriage ban

FILE - This Sept. 6, 2011 file photo shows a man walking past a group of people protesting against gay marriage outside a courtroom where the California Supreme Court was hearing arguments in San Francisco. The Obama administration is quietly considering urging the Supreme Court to overturn California?s ban on gay marriage, a step that could be a major political victory for advocates of same-sex unions. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - This Sept. 6, 2011 file photo shows a man walking past a group of people protesting against gay marriage outside a courtroom where the California Supreme Court was hearing arguments in San Francisco. The Obama administration is quietly considering urging the Supreme Court to overturn California?s ban on gay marriage, a step that could be a major political victory for advocates of same-sex unions. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - This July 16, 2011 file photo, shows Republican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, speaking at a rally in West Valley City, Utah. Huntsman has come out in support of same-sex marriages. Huntsman, a Republican, wrote an essay for The American Conservative magazine calling on conservatives to push their states to allow all citizens to marry. Huntsman says his marriage has been his life's greatest joy and says there is "nothing conservative about denying other Americans the ability to forge that same relationship with the person they love." The article, titled "Marriage Equality Is a Conservative Cause," was published online Thursday. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? In a historic argument for gay rights, President Barack Obama on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban and turn a skeptical eye on similar prohibitions across the country.

The Obama administration's friend-of-the-court brief marked the first time a U.S. president has urged the high court to expand the right of gays and lesbians to wed. The filing unequivocally calls on the justices to strike down California's Proposition 8 ballot measure, although it stops short of the soaring rhetoric on marriage equality Obama expressed in his inaugural address in January.

California is one of eight states that give gay couples all the benefits of marriage through civil unions or domestic partnership, but don't allow them to wed. The brief argues that in granting same-sex couples those rights, California has already acknowledged that gay relationships bear the same hallmarks as straight ones.

"They establish homes and lives together, support each other financially, share the joys and burdens of raising children, and provide care through illness and comfort at the moment of death," the administration wrote.

Obama's position, if adopted by the court, would likely result in gay marriage becoming legal in the seven other states: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island.

In the longer term, the administration urges the justices to subject laws that discriminate on sexual orientation to more rigorous review than usual, a standard that would imperil other state bans on same-sex marriage.

The brief marks the president's most expansive view of gay marriage and signals that he is moving away from his previous assertion that states should determine their own marriage laws. Obama, a former constitutional law professor, signed off on the administration's legal argument last week following lengthy discussions with Attorney General Eric Holder and Solicitor General Donald Verrilli.

In a statement following the filing, Holder said "the government seeks to vindicate the defining constitutional ideal of equal treatment under the law."

Friend-of-the-court briefs are not legally binding. But the government's opinion in particular could carry some weight with the justices when they hear oral arguments in the case on March 26.

Despite the potentially wide-ranging implications of the administration's brief, it still falls short of what gay rights advocates and the attorneys who will argue against Proposition 8 had hoped for. Those parties had pressed the president to urge the Supreme Court to not only overturn California's ban, but also declare all gay marriage bans unconstitutional.

Still, marriage equality advocates publicly welcomed the president's legal positioning.

"President Obama and the solicitor general have taken another historic step forward consistent with the great civil rights battles of our nation's history," said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign and co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which brought the legal challenge to Proposition 8.

The president raised expectations that he would back a broad brief during his inauguration address on Jan. 21. He said the nation's journey "is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law."

"For if we are truly created equal, than surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well," he added.

Obama has a complicated history on gay marriage. As a presidential candidate in 2008, he opposed the California ban but didn't endorse gay marriage. He later said his personal views on gay marriage were "evolving."

When he ran for re-election last year, Obama announced his personal support for same-sex marriage, but said marriage was an issue that states, not the federal government, should decide.

Public opinion has shifted in support of gay marriage in recent years.

In May 2008, Gallup found that 56 percent of Americans felt same-sex marriages should not be recognized by the law as valid. By last November, 53 percent felt they should be legally recognized.

Gay marriage supporters see the Supreme Court's hearing of Proposition 8, as well as a related case on the Defense of Marriage Act, as a potential watershed moment for same-sex unions.

In a well-coordinated effort, opponents of the California ban flooded the justices with friend-of-the-court briefs in recent days.

Among those filing briefs were 13 states, including four that do not now permit gay couples to wed, and more than 100 prominent Republicans, such as GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman and Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Two professional football players who have been outspoken gay rights advocates also filed a brief in the California case. Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo urged the court to rule in favor of same-sex marriage.

One day after the Supreme Court hears the Proposition 8 case, the justices will hear arguments on provisions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of deciding who can receive a range of federal benefits.

The administration abandoned its defense of the act in 2011, but the measure will continue to be federal law unless it is struck down or repealed.

In a brief filed last week, the government said Section 3 of the act "violates the fundamental constitutional guarantee of equal protection" because it denies legally married same-sex couples many federal benefits that are available only to legally married heterosexual couples.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Mark Sherman at http://twitter.com/shermancourt

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-28-US-Obama-Gay-Marriage/id-422df1c4c60b47e7a26eb9e548511d61

marquette city creek center hilary duff michigan state michigan state andrew luck pro day josh johnson

New study shows continued decline in the last remaining stronghold for leatherback sea turtles

New study shows continued decline in the last remaining stronghold for leatherback sea turtles

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Critically endangered leatherback sea turtle populations in the western Pacific Ocean may be losing their last foothold of survival on the beaches of Indonesia, according to a paper published today in the scientific journal Ecosphere by an international group of scientists.

Researchers from the State University of Papua Indonesia, NOAA Fisheries Service, University of Alabama at Birmingham and World Wildlife Fund Indonesia released a report today documenting the continued decline of leatherback sea turtle nesting in the western Pacific Ocean.

"At least 75 percent of all Leatherback turtles in the western Pacific Ocean hatch from eggs laid on a few beaches in an area known as Bird's Head Peninsula in Papua Barat-Indonesia," said Peter Dutton of NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center and one of the researchers who co-authored the paper. "Our analysis indicates the number of leatherback turtle nests on this beach has declined 78 percent over the last 27 years."

Leatherbacks are the largest of all marine turtles and the largest living reptile in the world weighing up to 2000 pounds and over six feet in length. Female leatherbacks lay clutches of approximately 100 eggs and typically nest several times during a nesting season. After about two months, the hatchlings emerge from the nest and enter the ocean where they mature and may migrate as far away as California to feed on jellyfish; a distance of about 6,000 miles.

Scientists believe there are a number of reasons why the leatherback turtle populations have continued to decline over the past three decades. Extensive harvesting of eggs, predation of nests by feral pigs and other predators, and the accidental capture in commercial fisheries are the primary factors involved.

Ricardo Tapilatu, lead author on the Ecosphere paper, and co-authors Manjula Tiwari and Dutton, began assessing and developing a nesting beach census and management plan over a decade ago as part of an international partnership to halt the species decline.

"The turtles nesting at Papua Barat, Papua New Guinea, and other islands in our region depend on food resources in waters managed by many other nations for their survival," said Tapilatu. "It is important to protect leatherbacks in these foraging areas so that our nesting beach conservation efforts can be effective".

"The international effort has attempted to develop a science-based nesting beach management plan by evaluating and addressing the factors that affect hatching success such as high sand temperatures, erosion, feral pig predation, and relocating nests to maximize hatchling output," said Manjula Tiwari, a researcher at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, in La Jolla, California.

The conservation value of nesting beach protection has also been recognized by groups like the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) that have raised funds from industry-affiliated members including tuna canners and processors, to help support UNIPA's nest protection program with the local communities on Bird's Head Peninsula.

"NOAA Fisheries Service is committed to doing our part in the international effort to recover the leatherback turtle through advancing science, implementing our recovery plans and management efforts such as the establishment of critical habitat off California," said Cisco Werner, Director of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. "Reducing threats on the nesting beaches and at leatherback foraging areas will require continued international cooperation and action if we hope to save Pacific leatherbacks from extinction."

###

NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov

Thanks to NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 39 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127039/New_study_shows_continued_decline_in_the_last_remaining_stronghold_for_leatherback_sea_turtles

hunger games box office xavier joan crawford joan crawford john goodman kendall marshall whitney houston news