'Gigantic jet' lightning over China reaches 55 miles high

'Gigantic jet' lightning isn't well understood, but could balance out the electrical charge of thunderstorms. One of the biggest ever observed was documented over China, scientists reported this week.

By Elizabeth Howell,?Our Amazing Planet / February 26, 2013

A 'gigantic jet' captured above a storm in North Carolina in 2009. One of the biggest of these 'gigantic jet' lightning bursts was recorded over China in 2010, scientists report this week.

Steven Cummer / LiveScience.com

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A rare glimpse of a "gigantic jet" ? a huge and mysterious burst of lightning that connects a thunderstorm with the upper atmosphere ? was made over China in 2010 and was recently described by scientists.

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The gigantic jet took place in eastern China on Aug. 12, 2010 ? the farthest a ground-based one has ever been observed from the equator, according to the research team.

Previous jets were mainly seen in tropical or subtropical regions, but this one took place around 35 degrees latitude, about the same as the southern part of Tennessee in the United States.

"This is the first report from mainland China," lead researcher Jing Yang, an atmospheric scientist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, told OurAmazingPlanet. The results were recently published in the Chinese Science Bulletin.

Researchers got a good look at the storm using a variety of tools, including Doppler radar data and weather pictures in the infrared band of radiation.

The gigantic jet peaked at about 55 miles (89 kilometers) above the ground, far above the cloudtops that were measured with Doppler radar at an altitude of 11 miles (17 km).?

Yang added that her team had possibly seen another gigantic jet in the same area during a different thunderstorm, but said they needed to recheck the data to confirm.

"It's not as clear as this one if it is a gigantic jet or not," she said.

It wasn't until the last century that electrical activity above thunderclouds was scientifically proven, although rumors based on undocumented observations circulated long before that time.

These electrical discharges can take several forms, such as sprites (orange-red flashes) and blue jets, which appear as blue cones.

The first confirmed gigantic jet was reported in 2001, after American researchers saw a blue jet reaching 44 miles (70 km) above the clouds at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. This was nearly double the 26-mile (42 km) limit for jets that was previously observed.

Two years later, researchers described shapes such as "tree jets" and "carrot jets" that they spotted during a 2002 thunderstorm over the South China Sea near the Philippines.

While scientists are still trying to understand how these gigantic jets work, they believe the jets balance out the electrical charge during thunderstorms by discharging the ionosphere ? a part of the upper atmosphere filled with charged particles.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter @OAPlanet. We're also on Facebook?and Google+.

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

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ASUS PadFone Infinity announced: 5-inch, 1080p screen, Snapdragon 600 CPU and full HD tablet display (hands-on)

You may have heard a new PadFone was on the way -- it's not like ASUS has been dropping obvious hints or anything. In any case, surprise! ASUS just unveiled a new model, the PadFone Infinity. Like other PadFones, this is a handset that slips into a tablet-like dock, allowing you to make use of a bigger screen. This time, though, it ships with Android 4.2, and the display has grown from 4.7 inches to 5. The resolution is now 1080p (up from 720p), which comes out to 441 pixels per inch. Additionally, the tablet's 10.1-inch screen has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200, up from 1,280 x 800 in the last-gen model. It's plenty bright, too, at 400 nits, but that's a slight step down from the last-gen model, which lit up to 500 nits.

What's more, the phone's gotten an upgrade on the inside: it now packs a quad-core, 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 chip with an Adreno 320 GPU, some of the freshest components Qualcomm has to offer at the moment. Also on-board, you get 2GB of RAM to help boost performance, with your choice of either 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage. As far as connectivity, you're looking at EDGE, GPRS, GSM, WCDMA, LTE and DC-HSPA+, along with all the usual radios: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, A-GPS and even GLONASS. According to an ASUS rep, the device uses a nano-SIM rather than micro-SIM. Around back, ASUS has added a 13-megapixel autofocusing camera with an LED flash, five-element, f/2.0 lens and burst shooting at eight fps. There's a front camera too, capped at 2MP, in case you want to do the occasional video chat. Meanwhile, the 2,400mAh battery promises up to 19 hours of 3G talk time, and up to 40 with the dock attached.

Like every other PadFone that's been released, this won't be available in the US, but the phone-and-dock combo will cost £799 / €999 when it goes on sale in Europe this April. The phone is also headed to Asia, though we don't have any more details. You'll also have your choice of colors, we hear: gray, gold and hot pink, if that's what you're into. Check out our hands-on gallery for a closer look.

Update: Hands-on photos and video now added. You're welcome.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, ASUS

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New look at high-temperature superconductors

Feb. 25, 2013 ? While the phenomenon of superconductivity -- in which some materials lose all resistance to electric currents at extremely low temperatures -- has been known for more than a century, the temperature at which it occurs has remained too low for any practical applications. The discovery of "high-temperature" superconductors in the 1980s -- materials that could lose resistance at temperatures of up to negative 140 degrees Celsius -- led to speculation that a surge of new discoveries might quickly lead to room-temperature superconductors. Despite intense research, these materials have remained poorly understood.

There is still no agreement on a single theory to account for high-temperature superconductivity. Recently, however, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found a new way to study fluctuating charge-density waves, which are the basis for one of the leading theories. The researchers say this could open the door to a better understanding of high-temperature superconductivity, and perhaps prompt new discoveries of higher-temperature superconductors.

The findings were published this week in the journal Nature Materials by assistant professor of physics Nuh Gedik; graduate student Fahad Mahmood; Darius Torchinsky, a former MIT postdoc who is now at the California Institute of Technology; and two researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Explaining the basis for high-temperature superconductivity remains "the hardest problem in condensed-matter physics," Gedik says. But one way of getting a handle on this exotic state of matter is to study what happens to these materials near their "transition temperature," the point below which they become superconductors.

Previous experiments have shown that above the transition temperature, there is a peculiar state where, Gedik says, "the material starts to behave very weirdly": Its electrons act in unusual ways, which some physicists believe is caused by a phenomenon called charge-density waves. While the electron density in most conductors is uniform, Gedik explains, in materials with charge-density waves the density is distributed in a sinusoidal pattern, somewhat like ripples on a pond. But so far, such charge-density waves have only been detected in high-temperature superconductors under special circumstances, such as a particular level of doping (the introduction of atoms of another element onto its surface).

Some researchers have proposed that these waves are elusive in high-temperature superconductors because they fluctuate very rapidly, at speeds measured in picoseconds (trillionths of a second). "You can't see it with conventional techniques," Gedik says.

That's where Gedik's new approach comes in: His team has spent years perfecting methods for studying the movement of electrons by zapping them with laser pulses lasting just a few femtoseconds (or quadrillionths of a second), and then detecting the results with a separate laser beam.

Using that method, the researchers have now detected these fluctuating waves. To do this, they have selectively generated and observed two different collective motions of electrons in these waves: variation in amplitude (the magnitude of modulation of the waves) and in phase (the position of the troughs and peaks of the waves). These measurements show that charge density waves are fluctuating at an interval of only about 2 picoseconds.

"It's not surprising that static techniques didn't see them," Gedik says, but "this settles the question: The fluctuating charge-density waves do exist" -- at least in one of the cuprate compounds, the first high-temperature superconducting materials discovered in the 1980s.

Another question: What role, if any, do these charge-density waves play in superconductivity? "Are they helping, or are they interfering?" Gedik asks. To answer this question, the researchers studied the same material, with optimal doping, in which the superconducting transition temperature is maximized. "We see no evidence of charge-density waves in this sample," Gedik says. This suggests that charge-density waves are probably competing with superconductivity.

In addition, it remains to be seen whether the same phenomenon will be observed in other high-temperature superconducting materials. The new technique should make it possible to find out.

In any case, detecting these fluctuations could help in understanding high-temperature superconductors, Gedik says -- which, in turn, could "help in finding other [superconducting materials] that actually work at room temperature." That elusive goal could enable significant new applications, such as electric transmission lines that eliminate the losses that now waste as much as 30 percent of all electricity produced.

David Hsieh, an assistant professor of physics at Caltech, says the phenomena detected by this research "are known to be very difficult to detect," so this work "is a great technical achievement and a high-quality piece of research." By showing for the first time that the fluctuating charge-density waves seem to compete with superconductivity, he says, "It provides the insight that finding a way to suppress this fluctuating charge-density wave order may simultaneously increase" the temperature limits of superconductivity.

The work, which also included researchers Anthony Bollinger and Ivan Bozovic of Brookhaven National Laboratory, was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Journal Reference:

1. Darius H. Torchinsky, Fahad Mahmood, Anthony T. Bollinger, Ivan Bo?ovi?, Nuh Gedik. Fluctuating charge-density waves in a cuprate superconductor. Nature Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nmat3571

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/x7qwWGOeVnU/130225102555.htm

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Will Google Penalize Chromebooks, Google ... - Deon Designs

A day after warning publishers against advertorials, will Google?s search team now have to penalize parts of its own company for running its advertorials? Perhaps, and if so, it wouldn?t be the first time. It?s also another absurd chapter in Google?s war on paid links.

Google Says: Advertorials, Beware!

After news came out yesterday that Google had apparently penalized Interflora for running advertorials ? and also reduced the PageRank values of many UK newspapers that carried these ? Google finally blogged a general warning against such practices.

From its post:

Please be wary if someone approaches you and wants to pay you for links or ?advertorial? pages on your site that pass PageRank. Selling links (or entire advertorial pages with embedded links) that pass PageRank violates our quality guidelines, and Google does take action on such violations

But as Aaron Wall at SEO Book covers today, examples of Google running advertorials could put itself in violation of its own policies.

Google?s Own Advertorials

Wall notes two cases. The first is from the Canadian newspaper, The Globe Mail, which appears to have been running Google advertorials for some time. Wall talked about them two years ago on Twitter, and several of them remain, dating back through 2010 and running until mid-2012.

For example, this one was written by Brett Willms, identified as the country marketing manager for Google Canada:

At the top, the first arrow identifies this as a ?special information feature brought to you by Google.? That?s the type of disclosure that media companies often want for human readers, so that they know whether something is written by their own staff (editorial content, typically not influenced by payment) or an advertorial (something that looks like editorial content, but where the content may be written or directed by an advertiser).

This particular disclosure could also be interpreted as editorial content that is sponsored by Google in the way that many sites are supported by ad sponsorship generally, but where the ads don?t dictate the coverage. If that were the case, this wouldn?t be an advertorial. But since this piece was written by a Google employee, putting it in the advertorial category seems pretty safe.

Why Google Wants Advertorials To Block Links

Google?s search quality team ? which tries to protect listings against spam and irrelevant content ? doesn?t really care about that visible disclosure. Rather, its concerned about advertorials because they can be a way for people to buy links, which in turn might up being considered a ?vote? that helps the page getting the link to rank better in Google (see also?Links: The Broken ?Ballot Box? Used By Google Bing).

If the links are prevented by passing credit ? typically by tagging them with a bit of code known as the nofollow attribute ? then Google?s search team isn?t worried about advertorials. So that second arrow in the screenshot above is important. If that link is passing credit to Google, then Google is violating its own policies against buying links.

Google Buys Links

It apparently is passing credit. The page is listed (along with others) in Google, so Google?s seeing the links ? and there?s no apparent blocking associated with it. Similarly, this page has a direct link that passes credit to Google Analytics, as well as the AdWords Help Center.

Meanwhile, this page has links that arguably might have helped Google content rank better for generic terms like ?driving directions? and ?coupons,? as you can see:

Well, that is if the links still worked. The driving directions link leads to a now-broken page at Google Maps. The other link is still valid, pointing to a help page about Google Places.

It?s unlikely Google was intentionally trying to rank that help page better for ?coupons? with this advertorial, but that will be beside the point. Google should follow its own rules.

Chromebooks Get Paid Links

The other example Wall points at is over at Edutopia, the non-profit education group backed by Star Wars creator George Lucas. The group has at least two pages with a notation saying they?re ?part of a series sponsored by Chromebooks,? as you can see below, from one of the pages about using Google Hangouts:

While other links in the article have a nofollow attribute attached to them, this link does not. In fact, the link even carries tracking codes, making it clear that someone at Google wanted to know if this link was driving traffic to them:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/education/devices/?utm_source=edutopiautm_medium=onlineutm_campaign=northam-edu-2013-chromeos-pm-online-blog-edutopia

The article itself perhaps isn?t considered an advertorial in that it wasn?t written by a Google employee, as the first arrow below points out. But it?s clearly content that happening because Google is doing more than a general ad buy.

That combined with direct links to Google products like Chromebooks or the Hangouts plug-in page the second arrow below points to probably violates Google?s guidelines on paid links:

Again, I doubt the intent was by Google to actually sponsor these posts in hopes of buying links. I certainly don?t think Edutopia believed it was selling links or trying to do anything against Google?s guidelines (I?ve done a couple free consulting calls over the years on general SEO issues to help the group, and it?s a nice collection of people trying to help educators).

Google Largely Ignores Intent, Punishes For Technicalities

But Google doesn?t have rules designed to assess intent. Instead, it focuses on techniques, much to my disappointment. As I wrote on this in the past:

I?d argue that the ?Be Fair? mantra means looking at intent, rather than tactics. Being fair means you don?t ban either a big company or a small company because they violated a technical guideline. You punish them because they intentionally worked to harm the user experience, in your opinion.

So what?s likely to happen here? The Globe Mail and Edutopia will probably get a PageRank reduction, which is largely meaningless. Potentially, they might not rank as well for some things because of this. But that?s really a?deterrent?to people who are trying to buy links from sites with high PageRank values, as those links are deemed more valuable. Since neither was likely intending to sell links, it?s not real loss for them. It?s a light penalty, because while Google doesn?t assess intent in deciding what?s right and wrong, it does take that into account when deciding how to punish.

Google Likely To Penalize Itself, Again

There?s an excellent chance Google?s going to have to penalize Google AdWords, Google Analytics, Chromebooks and Google Hangouts. When ?it doubt, it tends to be hard on itself, just like it penalized Chrome last year over a technical violation of its paid links policy. Chrome didn?t rank well for searches on ?Chrome? for two months.

Google?s also penalized Google Japan in 2009 for paid links,?its AdWords help area for cloaking in 2010, and the BeatThatQuote service it acquired in 2011 was penalized on day it was purchased over spam violations.

It Can Be Hard To Stay Safe (Oh Dear, Search Engine Land Has Paid Links!)

Each time these things happen, a common refrain can be heard. If Google itself can?t figure all this stuff out, how can publishers? And fair enough. It is confusing.

It?s been on my mind especially this week, as we had a new Digital Marketing Optimization Solution Center area go up on our Marketing Land sister-site. The area collects together our own Markting Land articles, so it?s not advertorial. IBM?s not sponsoring us to write about any topic or IBM in general. In fact, most of the articles where written before the deal even started.

We?re pretty sure we don?t have anything passing link credit outbound to IBM, but there are IBM white papers you can download. If someone uses a form on our own site, letting them fill out a form to download IBM content, is that page considered sponsored? Do we have to block links within our own site? The rules are unclear.

You can bet, a site that covers SEO best practices like ourselves ? and is heavily read by people at Google ? has nil desire to be selling links or violating Google?s guidelines. When we set-up our?e-Solution Spotlight?content area some years ago, I did a careful review of what the ad department was proposing, to ensure we weren?t passing along any link credit. To my horror, looking over at the area today, I can see that some of those links are passing credit, not tagged as nofollow as they should be.

Sigh. I guess we may potentially get penalized along with Google, not because there was any intent to do this but simply because someone screwed-up somewhere. Going forward, maybe we?ll just drop all our sponsored content pages from being in Google at all. That?s already what we were leaning toward this week, as we were doing the IBM review.

To Save The Links, We Had To Destroy Them?

I?ve felt Google has been losing its battle against paid links for ages. My post from 2007,?Time For Google To Give Up The Fight Against Paid Links?, remains relevant. From the conclusion:

Google?s supposed to be smart. Let it figure out if a link deserves credit or not, regardless of whether it is being sold, bartered, traded or editorially earned.

However, high-profile cases in 2011 involving JC Penney, online florists, Overstock Forbes did make me reconsider if somehow, Google was managing to turn the tide.

But no, I don?t think so. Maybe the attacks of the Penguin Update?last year and the insanity of people having to disavow links?is stopping some of the blatant and more crappy link buying. But some of it might be pushed further underground. Worse, the people who just don?t know any better or have no intent to do anything wrong ? including those at Google itself ? keep becoming?collateral?damage.

I?m at the point where I kind of feel like the only way to be safe with Google is to nofollow all your links, which damages the most important ranking signal that Google depends on.

Alternatively, it would be nice if Google came up with something other than the creaky, broken, leaky link system that it?s still depending on. How about spending more time interpreting some of those social signals as votes?

Related Articles

Related Topics: Google: SEO | Google: Web Search | Link Building: Paid Links | Top News

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About The Author: Danny Sullivan is a Founding Editor of Search Engine Land. He?s a widely cited authority on search engines and search marketing issues who has covered the space since 1996. Danny also serves as Chief Content Officer for Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo conference series. He has a personal blog called Daggle (and keeps his disclosures page there). He can be found on Facebook, Google + and microblogs on Twitter as @dannysullivan. See more articles by Danny Sullivan

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S. Korea's new leader faces N. Korea nuke crisis

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Even before she takes office Monday as South Korea's first female president, Park Geun-hye's campaign vow to soften Seoul's current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang's recent underground nuclear detonation.

Pyongyang, Washington, Beijing and Tokyo are all watching to see if Park, the daughter of a staunchly anti-communist dictator, pursues an ambitious engagement policy meant to ease five years of animosity on the divided peninsula or if she sticks with the tough stance of her fellow conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.

Park's decision is important because it will likely set the tone of the larger diplomatic approach that Washington and others take in stalled efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions.

It will also be complicated by North Korea's warning of unspecified "second and third measures of greater intensity," a threat that comes as Washington and others push for tightened U.N. sanctions as punishment for the Feb. 12 atomic test, the North's third since 2006.

That test is seen as another step toward North Korea's goal of building a bomb small enough to be mounted on a missile that can hit the United States. The explosion, which Pyongyang called a response to U.S. hostility, triggered global outrage.

Park has said she won't yet change her policy, which was built with the high probability of provocations from Pyongyang in mind. But some aren't sure if engagement can work, given North Korea's choice of "bombs over electricity," as American scientist Siegfried Hecker puts it.

"Normalization of relations, a peace treaty, access to energy and economic opportunities ? those things that come from choosing electricity over bombs and have the potential of lifting the North Korean people out of poverty and hardship ? will be made much more difficult, if not impossible, for at least the next five years," Hecker, a regular visitor to North Korea, said in a posting on the website of Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.

As she takes office, however, Park will be mindful that many South Koreans are frustrated at the state of inter-Korean relations after the Lee government's five-year rule, which saw two nuclear tests, three long-range rocket launches and attacks blamed on North Korea that killed 50 South Koreans in 2010.

Park's policy calls for strong defense but also for efforts to build trust through aid shipments, reconciliation talks and the resumption of some large-scale economic initiatives as progress occurs on the nuclear issue. Park has also held out the possibility of a summit with new North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Much is riding on Park's conclusion.

"The overall policy direction on North Korea among the U.S., Japan and South Korea will be hers to decide," said Victor Cha, a former senior Asia adviser to President George W. Bush. "If Park Geun-hye wants to contain, the U.S. will support that. But if Park Geun-hye, months down the road, wants to engage, then the U.S. will go along with that too. "

Engagement by Park would provide a sharp contrast with the rule of her father, Park Chung-hee, whose antipathy toward Pyongyang during his 18-year rule in the 1960s and '70s prompted a failed attack on the Blue House by 31 North Korean commandos in 1968. In 1974, Park's wife was shot and killed by a Japan-born Korean claiming he was acting on assassination orders by North Korea founder and then leader Kim Il Sung.

Critics say Park Geun-hye's North Korea policy lacks specifics. They also question how far she can go given her conservative base's strong anti-Pyongyang sentiments.

But Park has previously confounded ideological expectations. She travelled to Pyongyang in 2002 and held private talks with the late Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un, and her gifts to Kim Jong Il are showcased in a museum of gifts to the North Korean leaders. During the often contentious presidential campaign, she responded to liberal criticism by reaching out to the families of victims of her father's dictatorship.

She said in her 2007 autobiography that she visited Pyongyang because she thought her painful experiences with the North made her "the one who could resolve South-North relations better than anyone else." She also wrote that Kim Jong Il apologized for the 1968 attack.

"I don't think this latest spike in the cycle of provocation and response undermines her whole platform of seeking to somehow re-engage the North," said John Delury, an analyst at Seoul's Yonsei University. North Korea wants a return of large-scale aid and investment from South Korea.

Before the election, Pyongyang's state media repeatedly questioned the sincerity of Park's engagement overture. Since the election, however, although regular criticism of Lee as "human scum" continues, the North's official Korean Central News Agency hasn't mentioned Park by name, though her political party is still condemned.

Pyongyang sees the nuclear crisis as a U.S.-North Korea issue, Delury said. "From a North Korean mindset, ramping up the tension and hostility with the U.S. does not equal jettisoning relations with the South."

Park may take a wait-and-see stance in coming months.

A possible positive turning point could come if North Korea resists tests or launches during April, when it celebrates two state anniversaries ? Kim Il Sung's birthday and the army's founding anniversary ? according to analyst Hong Hyun-ik at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. Pyongyang conducted a failed long-range rocket launch during last year's celebrations.

Hong predicts that the United States will seek nuclear talks with North Korea in a few months, something that could help Park's efforts to engage North Korea.

"The nuclear test sets back and complicates but does not necessarily doom her engagement efforts over the long term," said Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, a Hawaii-based think tank.

Park warned after the test that North Korea faces international isolation, economic difficulties and, eventually, a collapse if it continues to build its atomic program. She also pressed Pyongyang to respond to her overtures.

"We can't achieve trust with only one side's efforts. Isn't there a saying that 'We need both hands to make a clapping sound?'" she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/skoreas-leader-faces-nkorea-nuke-crisis-050243531.html

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Pop singer Jermaine Jackson changes last name to Jacksun

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop singer Jermaine Jackson officially has changed his name to Jermaine Jacksun for "artistic reasons," Los Angeles court officials said on Friday.

The Jackson 5 member and older brother of pop stars Michael and Janet Jackson filed a petition to change his name in Los Angeles Superior Court in November 2012. The change became official on Wednesday after a hearing, a court spokeswoman said.

The 58-year-old singer, who is on tour in Europe with his three surviving brothers, Jackie, Marlon and Tito, did not attend.

"If Prince and P Diddy can do it, why can't and shouldn't Jermaine?" Jacksun's attorney, Bret D. Lewis, said when the petition originally was filed.

Jermaine Jackson unofficially adopted the name Mohammad Abdul Aziz after converting to Islam in 1989.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pop-singer-jermaine-jackson-changes-last-name-jacksun-012719132.html

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Events: Folk Alliance Music Conference: Toronto, Canada

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Vatican blasts Italian media for 'false and damaging' reports

Osservatore Romano / Reuters

Pope Benedict XVI prays in a private chapel during the closing day of the Spiritual Exercises at the Vatican February 23, 2013.

By Philip Pullella, Reuters

The Vatican on Saturday accused the Italian media of spreading "false and damaging" reports in what it condemned as a deplorable attempt to influence cardinals who will meet in a secret conclave next month to elect a new pope.

Since Pope Benedict announced his resignation on February 11, Italian newspapers have been full of rumors about conspiracies, secret reports and lobbies in the Vatican that they say pushed the pope to abdicate.

"It is deplorable that, as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave ... that there be a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions," a Vatican statement said.

The Italian reports have painted an unflattering picture of the Vatican's central administration, known as the Curia, depicting it as being full of prelates more concerned with their careers than serving the Church or the pope.

Some Church officials, speaking privately, have said foreign cardinals coming to Rome to choose the next pope have been alarmed over reports of corruption and might be inclined to elect someone not connected with the Curia, which is predominantly Italian.

The Vatican statement said the Italian media reports were an attempt to influence the outcome of the conclave through negative public opinion much like states and kings tried to influence papal elections centuries ago.

The pope has announced that he will step down on February 28, becoming the first pontiff to abdicate in some six centuries.

The 85-year-old Benedict said his failing health no longer enabled him to run the 1.2-billion-member Roman Catholic Church as he would like.

In a separate statement, Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the reports were trying to "discredit the Church and its government" ahead of the conclave.

Italy's Repubblica newspaper ran a series of unsourced stories this week about the alleged contents of a secret report prepared for the pope by a commission of three cardinals who investigated the so-called Vatileaks scandal last year.

Paolo Gabriele, the pope's butler, was convicted of stealing personal papal documents and leaking them to the media. He was jailed and later pardoned by the pope.

The documents alleged corruption in the Vatican and infighting over the running of its bank, which has been at the heart of a series of scandals in past decades.

On Friday the Vatican denied Italian media reports that Benedict's decision to send a senior official to a new post in Latin America was linked to the secret report about leaked papal papers.

The Vatican said the transfer to Colombia of Monsignor Ettore Balestrero, an Italian who holds a post roughly equivalent to deputy foreign minister, was a promotion and had been decided weeks ago. Balestrero will be promoted to archbishop and made ambassador in Bogota.

Those reports said Balestrero was being sent away from the Vatican because he figured in the secret report.

On Saturday, as part of his last activities before his resignation in five days, Benedict ended a week-long Lenten spiritual retreat in the Vatican and held a farewell meeting with Italy's president.

On Sunday he will hold his last Sunday blessing. He will hold his last general audience on Wednesday and meet with cardinals on Thursday morning before he resigns on Thursday.

He will first go to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome and then move to a convent inside the Vatican in April after the building is renovated.

Related:

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/23/17068017-vatican-blasts-italian-media-for-false-and-damaging-reports?lite

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 spotted at MWC, almost hides your entire hand (updated with video)

At last, here's what we've been promised: an 8-inch flavor of Samsung's Galaxy Note lineup. Spotted by an anonymous tipster on the MWC show floor earlier today, the booth shows off said tablet designed with portrait usage in mind, meaning it'll pretty much cover up most of whichever hand you'll be holding it with. And obviously, the Note 8.0 comes with a stylus as well. There's not much more to share at this point, but we'll be seeing this new device in its full glory very soon, so stay tuned. One more shot after the break.

Update: The folks over at Beste Product caught a few models posing with the Galaxy Note 8.0 for Samsung's photographer. The Dutch website even has a video -- embedded after the break -- of the whole action, and there you can see some design similarities of the tablet's backside, especially how the camera protrudes a little.

[Thanks, anonymous]

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/23/galaxy-note-8-0-mwc-booth/

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The Vitamin Guide ? Vitamin A | Gnet Health and Fitness

Continuing in our series to help you get familiar with your vitamin ABCs, we take a closer look at vitamin A, the function it plays in our health, and how it helps keep us alive and kicking!

What is Vitamin A?

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which we derive from various animal and plant-based foods. Vitamin A is found in 2 forms: retinols and carotenoids. Retinols are more fully-formed types of the vitamin, and our bodies use this type to store the vitamin, ready for when we need it. Carotenoids, on the other hand, are pigments found in some plants that our bodies can convert into vitamin A.

The Benefits of Vitamin A

So what do we actually need vitamin A for?

1. Eye Health: Amongst its many uses, the role it plays in our eye health is perhaps the most significant. It?s no coincidence that we are told as children that carrots help us see in the dark: foods rich in vitamin A, carrots being one, allow us to produce the pigment found in our eyes called rhodopsin, which helps our retinas to perceive light. Poor night vision could be a sign that you are not getting enough vitamin A in your diet!
2. Healthy Immune System: Although no single vitamin can boost the immune system alone, in combination they can create all the necessary factors to keep your health at its peak. Vitamin A contributes by increasing the concentrations of certain proteins that are vital for T-cell production. T-cells are the white blood cells that leap onto foreign bodies and destroy them, keeping infections firmly in check.
3. Skin Health: Vitamin A is very rapidly becoming the darling of the beauty world, as more and more and more skin benefits are discovered. For several years, vitamin A has been associated with the treatment of acne, but now dermatologists are looking to vitamin A as an anti-aging aid.
4. Vitamin A and Anti-Aging: Dr Leslie Baumann, the director of cosmetic dermatology at the University of Miami Cosmetic Medicine and Research Institute in the US, has made the observations that over the counter acne preparations, rich in retinoids, are also able to improve stretch marks and blemishes caused by discolouration of the skin. Prescription-strength retinoid acne creams are able to produce even more impressive results, he claims, with signs of aging actually being reversed or prevented. Dr Cathy Reid, honorary secretary of the Australasian College of Dermatologists, backs up these claims but advises caution: whilst improvements are noticeable, sensitive skin may react adversely to high concentrations of retinoids, resulting in irritation and dermatitis. Her recommendation is to try a twice-weekly routine of applying a small, pea-sized amount, and building up as your skin becomes accustomed to the treatment.
5. Vitamin A for Acne: Vitamin A is proven to be very effective at battling those spots in cases of acne. This is partly because it can limit the amount of sebum that your skin produces, meaning less clogged pores, and fewer pimples!

Vitamin A Foods

If you want to top up your levels without taking supplements, here is a list of the foods that are rich in vitamin A:

1. Liver
2. Sweet potatoes
3. Carrots
4. Lettuce
5. Dried apricots
6. Butternut squash
7. Dark leafy greens
8. Melon
9. Whole milk
10. Cod liver oil

How Do You Know If You Have a Vitamin A Deficiency?

If you suffer from a combination of the following symptoms, there is a chance that you may be deficient in vitamin A:

1. Dry cracked skin
2. Dry mucous membranes, for instance, the inside of eyelids
3. Repeated respiratory infections
4. An inability to sweat
5. A reduced sense of taste, hear and smell

Are there Side Effects of Taking Vitamin A?

If you stick to the recommended daily doses, vitamin A is safe and essential for health. However, do be aware that it is fat-soluble, which means that our bodies have the ability to store it in our fat cells. If we take too much, our levels could become too high, and in that case we may experience blurred vision, painful bones, headaches and dizziness, and changes to our hair and skin. We suggest that you always mention supplements to your doctor, so that they can advise on dosages, and monitor the effects the vitamin may be having on you.

What the Papers Say:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2198671/Prostate-cancer-linked-low-levels-vitamin-A-body.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/02/daily-vitamin-could-prevent-skin-cancer_n_1315778.html

What People On The Web Say:

Hello Clear Skin!

I?ve suffered from some bad breakouts and acne for a long time now, on and off. I tried absolutely everything for my face, washing it all the time, creams, soaps, acids. Up until now nothing really worked all that well, some might have helped a bit, and others made it worse. But then I had an epiphany! After reading an article online about how apricots were good for your skin because of all the vitamin A, I thought, why don?t I just go directly to the vitamin and start taking it and see what happens! Well that?s exactly what I did, and let me tell you, this is apparently the only thing I needed all along! After 2 days my skin was cleared up, and I?ve had no breakouts in about 2 weeks! Greatest feeling in the world!

? Ian Biscaldi ?
(www.amazon.com) ?

I?ve Noticed Improvements!

After taking this I?ve noticed a difference in my skin improving. I?ve had fewer break outs and has been great for my vision as well. When at the range and focusing on the 300 meter target, it hasn?t been as blurry. It was always hard to focus in on, up to this point. That was after taking this product for about 3 months.

? D. FUENTES ?
(www.amazon.com) ?

My Pores Appear Smaller!

I have been hunting for a product that will help shrink my pores and control oil production. My research led me to Vitamin A supplements. Since starting this regimen two months ago, my overall production of blackheads has reduced significantly, and some of the stubborn old clogs have washed away in the shower. My pores appear smaller as well.

? Jess ?The Librarian? ?
(www.amazon.com) ?

I?m Enjoying A Full Life Thanks To Vitamin A!

When I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa in early spring of 2001 I was told that I would be totally blind in one to two years. Eleven years later, due to the Vitamin A Palmitate, I am still driving, still working at my job as a home health care nurse and enjoying a full, but somewhat limited life.

? eyeman ?
(www.amazon.com) ?

Related posts:

Source: http://www.gnet.org/the-vitamin-guide-vitamin-a/

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Conserving corals by understanding their genes

Friday, February 22, 2013

In reef-building corals variations within genes involved in immunity and response to stress correlate to water temperature and clarity, finds a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genetics. This information could be used to conserve or rebuild reefs in areas affected by climate change, by changes in extreme weather patterns, increasing sedimentation or altered land use.

A research team led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and in collaboration with Penn State University and the Aix-Marseille University, studied DNA variations (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, SNPs) across populations of reef corals found at a range of temperatures and water clarity along the Great Barrier Reef.

SNPs which correlated to water clarity and water temperature preferred by cauliflower coral were found in genes involved in providing immune response, and regulating stress-induced cell-death. This means that coral with a specific version of these genes tended to grow at higher temperatures (or water clarity) and another variant at lower. A similar story was found for staghorn coral - SNP in genes involved in detoxification, immune response, and defense against reactive oxygen damage, were found to be associated with temperature or to water clarity.

Dr Petra Lundgren, from The Australian Institute of Marine Science, explained, "Corals are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Not only is the temperature of the water they live in affected but extreme weather and higher rainfall leads to increased levels of sediment, agricultural runoff, and fresh water on the reef. This work opens up possibilities for us to enhance reef resilience and recovery from impacts of climate change and pollution. For example, if in the future we need to restore coral populations, we can make sure that we use the most robust strains of corals to do so."

###

BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com

Thanks to BioMed Central 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 13 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126981/Conserving_corals_by_understanding_their_genes

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Inmet profit drops 17 pct on forex losses

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Like a sporting Cinderella, Sauber Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg has been given the shoe that fits. Whether his season turns out to be a fairytale with a happy ending remains to be seen but the tall German was content on Friday to have swept away at least one of his problems. Hulkenberg, who has moved to the Swiss team from Force India, had trouble getting comfortable in his new cockpit at the first pre-season test in Jerez this month with talk of it being too tight for him. "The media has blown up all these stories. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/inmet-profit-drops-17-pct-forex-losses-224247251--finance.html

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Hollywood couple Diane Lane and Josh Brolin split after 8 years

(Reuters) - Hollywood couple Diane Lane and Josh Brolin are divorcing after more than eight years, their representatives said on Thursday.

"I can confirm Diane Lane and Josh Brolin have decided to end their marriage," said Lane's spokeswoman, Kelly Bush.

A source close to the couple termed the split as "amicable" and said it was a mutual decision.

The divorce will be the second for both Lane and Brolin. They have no children together.

Lane, 48, who was Oscar-nominated for her role in the 2002 film "Unfaithful," and Brolin, 45, married in August 2004 after being introduced by Barbra Streisand, the actor's stepmother through her marriage to James Brolin.

Josh Brolin played a lead role in last summer's sci-fi comedy franchise "Men in Black 3" and his most recent film appearance was the January release "Gangster Squad."

(Reporting By Noreen O'Donnell in New York; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hollywood-couple-diane-lane-josh-brolin-split-8-204348628.html

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In rich and poor nations, giving makes people feel better than getting, research finds

Feb. 21, 2013 ? Feeling good about spending money on someone else rather than for personal benefit may be a universal response among people in both impoverished countries and rich nations, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

"Our findings suggest that the psychological reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts," said lead author Lara Aknin, PhD, of Simon Fraser University in Canada.

The findings provide the first empirical evidence that "the warm glow" of spending on someone else rather than on oneself may be a widespread component of human psychology, the authors reported in the study published online in APA's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Researchers found a positive relationship between personal well-being and spending on others in 120 of 136 countries covered in the 2006-2008 Gallup World Poll. The survey comprised 234,917 individuals, half of whom were male, with an average age of 38. The link between well-being and spending on others was significant in every region of the world, and it was not affected by other factors among those surveyed, such as income, social support, perceived freedom and perceived national corruption, the study said.

The results were similar in several experiments the researchers themselves conducted with participants in wealthy and poor countries. For one analysis, they compared responses from 820 individuals recruited mostly from universities in Canada and Uganda. The participants wrote about a time they had either spent money on themselves or on others, after which they were asked to report how happy they felt. They were also asked if they spent money on another person to build or strengthen a relationship. People who remembered spending money on someone else felt happier than those who recalled spending money on themselves, even when the researchers controlled for the extent to which people built or strengthened a relationship, according to the study.

The researchers obtained the same results when they conducted an online survey of 101 adults in India. Some respondents were asked to recall recently spending money on themselves or someone else, while others were tested for their happiness level without recalling past spending. Those who recalled spending on someone else said they had a greater feeling of well-being than those who remembered spending on themselves or those who weren't asked about spending.

In another experiment, 207 university students in Canada and South Africa reported higher levels of well-being after purchasing a goody bag for a sick child rather than buying one for themselves. Both groups went to labs where they were given a small amount of money and told to buy a bag of treats for themselves or one for a child at a local hospital.

"From an evolutionary perspective, the emotional benefits that people experience when they help others acts to encourage generous behavior beneficial to long-term human survival," said Aknin.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Psychological Association, via Newswise.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Aknin, L. B., Barrington-Leigh, C. P., Dunn, E. W., Helliwell, J. F., Burns, J., Biswas-Diener, R., Kemeza, I., Nyende, P., Ashton-James, C. E., & Norton, M. I. Pro-social Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (in press) 2013 DOI: 10.1037/a0031578

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/8R0Oekg7bCg/130221104357.htm

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BILL WHITTLE?S VIRTUAL STATE OF THE UNION: PART ONE: TALKING ABOUT GUNS?.

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

Source: http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/163818/

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Stanford Cardinal versus UCLA Bruins NCAA College Basketball Pick 2-16-2013

The 18-7 UCLA Bruins will be the road team in PAC 12 conference action when they take on the 15-10 Stanford Cardinal in an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday afternoon. Tip off time from Stanford is scheduled for 4PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by ESPN.

The odds from this NCAA college basketball game has the home team Stanford Cardinal favored by -4 ? points with an over under line of 141 ? points. There has been a ? point move on Stanford as the Cardinal opened as a -4 point favorite a few hours ago.

The teams last met on January 5th with UCLA earning the 68-60 home win against Stanford as a -6 ? point betting favorite. The total came in at under 151 points.

Source: http://en.sevenload.com/videos/XKFC0YL-Stanford-Cardinal-versus-UCLA-Bruins-NCAA-College-Basketball-Pick-2-16-2013

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Animal kingdom lessons on love, lust

Zanna Clay

Juvenile female producing a copulation call while engaging with a high-ranking adult female. During sexual interactions, females embrace one another, touch genitals and swing their hips laterally. Often they remain in eye contact, as shown here.

By Wynne Parry
LiveScience

NEW YORK ? Sex. Many (but not all) animals do it. Partners come together to combine their genetic material in hopes of creating a healthy next generation for passing down their genes.

For humans, romance, love and sometimes Valentine's Day can be involved, although the formula varies greatly depending on culture. Meanwhile, other animals go about it in a dizzying variety of ways. Creatures may form pair bonds or mate promiscuously, like bonobos. Corals and fish spew their eggs and sperm out into the environment to unite there.

A panel discussion at the New York Academy of Sciences on Tuesday?explored how lust, and sometimes love, are manifested throughout the animal kingdom, past and present. Here are some of the top lessons science has taught about love and lust:

First, figure out who's who. "Sexing," the scientific term for figuring out whether an individual is male or female, has been a challenge for paleontologists studying dinosaurs. Looking for skeletal differences just didn't work, said panelist Brian Switek, who writes about dinosaurs and is the author of a forthcoming book, "My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs"?(Scientific American/FSG). In recent years, however, the task has become more feasible. For instance, paleontologists have begun looking in fossils for what is called medullary bones. Among birds, which experts consider to be living dinosaurs, females store calcium for egg-laying in this temporary bone tissue. [Top 10 Swingers of the Animal Kingdom]

Fatherhood can be complicated. "Thanks to molecular testing, we can now genetically trace, like Maury Povich, who's the daddy," said Danielle Lee, who studies animal behavior and behavioral ecology at Oklahoma State University. The results of testing: The female's social partner may not be the father of any of her young. Moderator Joshua Ginsberg of the Wildlife Conservation Society pointed out that the same phenomenon applies to humans. The man on the birth certificate is not always the biological father, although the rates at which this happens vary widely depending on the population. Marina Cords, a professor at Columbia University who has studied blue monkeys for 30 years, said that the female monkeys who live in harems "seem to get pretty tired of the one guy." She added, "They sneak around, too."

There's more than one way to get the girl. Not all males within a species are created equal. Among some animals, such as salmon and squid, some males invest more energy in acquiring the traits attractive to females. "Others are smaller: the wimpies, if you will," Lee said. These are the "sneaker males," which use their innocuous presence to their advantage to mate furtively with the females.

Don't believe in animal love at first sight. For humans, it's easy to interpret animal interactions as evidence of love. Cords, who studies monkeys, noted that she attempts not to attribute human characteristics to her study subjects, but "the question is, how do you know?"

Work in psychology that looks at the behavior of mothers and babies to assess their attachments has some applicability to non-human primates, she said. "I think that is a way of measuring what I would perhaps call akin to human love," Cords said. "I think it has to do with attachment and a certain feeling you have when you are with someone and you miss someone when you are not with them." In addition to behavior, primatologists can look at hormone levels, she said.

Naturmuseum Senckenberg in Frankfurt

A mating pair of the extinct turtle found at Messel Pit. Researchers suspect the turtles died as they were having sex and sinking to deeper layers of the lake where toxic gases were likley present.

Simulated sex can't trump a good specimen. Work with paleontologist Heinrich Mallison's digital model of Kentrosaurus, which resembled Stegosaurus with more spikes, has shown that the male dinosaur could not have been realistically expected to mount the female from behind, "doggy-style." Instead, the results suggest the female lay on her side, Switek said. He and Mallison are now working on a related paper. The science of dinosaur sex needs good fossil specimens, he said, citing the discovery of 50-million-year-old turtles preserved while mating. "It would be fantastic if someone found this in dinosaurs," he said.

Scientists' experiences and biases shape their questions. Lee, who works with rodents, has begun conducting experiments on the degree to which pairing a female with a male she prefers affects her success having offspring. This is the sort of question that would occur to a female ecologist like herself, but not necessarily to a man. Responding to a question about homosexuality in animals, she said it had not occurred to her to investigate whether adult females nesting together constituted any homosexual behavior. ?That is why we need more diverse scholars within those fields to ask those questions,? she said. [The Animal Sex Quiz]

Love is a turn-on for the human brain. When Stephanie Cacioppo, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago, and colleagues showed people pictures of their beloved partners and recorded their brain activity, they saw increases in the release of dopamine, a chemical signal associated with rewarding experiences, and the release of oxytocin, a signal that is associated with pair bonding and empathy. For people who reported feeling madly in love, a part of the brain known as the angular gyrus became activated. This region is also associated with self-representation and language, she said.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?and Google+.

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

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/14/16962977-love-and-lust-lessons-from-the-animal-kingdom?lite

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In Timbuktu, al-Qaida left behind strategic plans

TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) ? The Associated Press has discovered a confidential letter written by a senior al-Qaida commander, spelling out the terror network's strategy for conquering northern Mali.

The nine-page letter, found on the floor of a house occupied by the fighters, is signed by Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

The document reveals that al-Qaida recognized its own vulnerability in the face of the pending military intervention, launched by France in January to oust the extremists. It also shows a sharp discord within al-Qaida's local chapter over how strictly to apply Islamic law, with Droukdel expressing dismay over the whipping of women and the destruction of Timbuktu's shrines. It indicates the cell is willing to make short-term concessions on ideology to gain the allies it acknowledges it needs.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/timbuktu-al-qaida-left-behind-strategic-plans-171226606.html

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J.Lo Product Line to Fund Battle against Cancer

'; $("#SiteLoginDiv").html(statusLoginStr); $("#CommonLoginDiv").hide(); $("#SiteLoginDiv").show(); }else{ $("#CommonLoginDiv").show(); $("#SiteLoginDiv").hide(); } // FB Login function getFacebookLogin(){ $.closeOverlay(); update_user_box(); /*FB.Connect.get_status().waitUntilReady(function(status) { FB.Connect.requireSession(function(statusLogin) { if(statusLogin==1){ update_user_box(); } else{ } }); });*/ } function update_user_box() { //----------To Hide login div and the comment box $("#logindiv").hide(); $("#showerrorComment").hide(); $("#commentBoxRes").hide(); // var api = FB.Facebook.apiClient; //var loginusertypeid = api.get_session().uid; FB.login(function(response) { if (response.authResponse) { var loginusertypeid = response.userID; FB.api('/me', function(data){ //$.post(ROOTURLPATH+"fb/getprofiledata.php",{'userId':loginusertypeid},function(data){ // var jObj=eval("("+data+")"); // var conArr=jObj.content; var conArr = data; // alert(conArr.email); var first_name = conArr.first_name; var last_name = conArr.last_name; var screenName = conArr.name; var useremail = conArr.email; var profileImage = conArr.pic_big_with_logo; var profile_url = conArr.profile_url; //-------------Set Value in the Hidden variable $("#first_name").val(first_name); $("#second_name").val(last_name); $("#Useremail").val(useremail); $("#Username").val(screenName); $("#userscreenname").val(screenName); $("#userprofilelink").val(profile_url); $("#userprofileimage").val(profileImage); $("#loginusertypeid").val(loginusertypeid); if(profileImage==''){ profileImage = ROOTURLPATH+"/images/50X50_User.jpg"; } //For Top Details when user Logins statusLoginStr = '

Welcome '+screenName+''; statusLoginStr += ' | Sign Out

'; $("#SiteLoginDiv").html(statusLoginStr); $("#logindiv").hide(); $("#usernamepassworddiv").hide(); $("#facebooktwitteruserdetails").show(); //$("#facebooktwitteruserdetails").html(embededlogeddetails); $("#facebooktwitteruserdetails").show(); $("#whichusertype").val('1'); $("#CommonLoginDiv").hide(); $("#SiteLoginDiv").show(); $("#anonymousDiv").show(); $("#sociallogin").hide(); $("#commentSubmit").show(); $("#login_thank_u").html('Thank you for logging in. Please go ahead and submit your comment'); $("#login_thank_u").show(); $("#login_thank_u").fadeOut(10000); }); } }); }

Source: http://healthmeup.com/news-buzz/jlo-product-line-to-fund-battle-against-cancer/19636

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Kerry: Response to NKorea will send Iran a message

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The world must show its resolve in the face of North Korea's nuclear provocations or risk emboldening Iran, which is under scrutiny over its uranium enrichment program, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.

Kerry said nations must agree on a "swift, clear, strong and credible response" to Pyongyang's third nuclear test and the authoritarian regime's "continued flaunting of its obligations."

In defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the latest issued last month, North Korea on Tuesday detonated a nuclear device at a remote underground site. It is seen as a key step toward its goal of building a bomb small enough to be fitted on a missile capable of striking the United States.

Iran, like North Korea, is also under stiff sanctions, and negotiations with the West over its nuclear program have similarly stalled.

Iran maintains the program is peaceful, for generating energy and for medical research, not for weapons. It said Wednesday that it has begun installing a new generation of centrifuges that will allow it to vastly increase its pace of uranium enrichment in defiance of U.N. calls to halt such activities.

There has been speculation that North Korea and Iran could be cooperating on missile and nuclear development. Kerry did not draw such a connection but did say the cases were linked because they both concerned nonproliferation.

"It's important for the world to have credibility with respect to our nonproliferation efforts," Kerry told reporters after meeting Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh at the State Department.

"Just as it's impermissible for North Korea to pursue this kind of reckless effort, so we have said it's impermissible with respect to Iran. What our response is with respect to this will have an impact on all other nonproliferation efforts."

The U.N. Security Council has issued three separate resolutions on North Korea, in response to its nuclear and missile tests since 2006. The latest resolution, which tightened sanctions, followed a December satellite launch that the U.S. says could serve to develop the North's ballistic missile capability.

The resolution warned of "significant action" if Pyongyang conducted another rocket launch or a nuclear test.

"If you are going to say things, they have to mean something. And to mean something you have to be prepared to follow up, and that's exactly what we are prepared to do," Kerry said.

In an emergency session Tuesday, the Security Council unanimously said the nuclear test poses "a clear threat to international peace and security" and pledged further action. It remains to be seen, however, whether China, the North's ally, will sign on to any new, binding global sanctions.

____

Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-13-US-US-North-Korea/id-53b871c5e94744a9b58002a5f394aab4

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German economy shrank in Q4 as exports slump

BERLIN (AP) ? The German economy shrank by a larger-than-expected 0.6 percent in the final quarter in 2012, official figures showed Thursday, in a clear sign that the European financial crisis took its toll on the continent's largest economy.

The quarterly decline was primarily due to a drop in exports as demand weakened from other European nations, many of which are in recession, the Federal Statistical Office said.

Germany relies heavily on exports to other European countries. As economic troubles grew in recent years in Spain, Italy and even France and Britain, demand for Germany's high-value industrial goods declined.

The fourth quarter drop was larger than the 0.4 to 0.5 percent decline being predicted by most economists, and was the German economy's worst performance since early 2009 when the world was reeling from a banking crisis. Overall the economy grew by a paltry 0.7 percent in 2012.

There are hopes that Germany has started 2013 in better shape. Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, said last month that there were signs of improvement and that growth in the first quarter would prevent the country from falling into recession ? officially defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

ING economist Carsten Brzeski said Thursday's figures were disappointing but that there was "no reason to start singing the blues on the German economy." He noted improving confidence indicators, figures on factory orders and rising industrial production.

"With increased uncertainty stemming from the euro crisis and the global economic cooling in the second half of the year, the German economy has finally lost its invincibility," he said. "Looking ahead, however, there is increasing evidence that the economy should pick up speed again very quickly."

Even though German exports hit a record high last year, rising 3.4 percent overall, they shrank 0.3 percent to the 27-member European Union. They were down an even greater 2.1 percent to its 16 euro partners.

After a strong start to the year, exports only crept up 0.3 percent in December after two large declines in the previous three months.

Germany is the world's second largest exporter, having lost its crown as the world's biggest in 2009 to China.

The German government is predicting 0.4 percent growth overall for 2013, then an increase to 1.6 percent growth in 2014.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/german-economy-shrank-q4-exports-slump-083911661--finance.html

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