Senate panel hearing from Newtown father, doctor

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Neil Heslin says it's all about his slain son, Jesse.

The 50-year-old construction worker is set to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday in support of legislation by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California to ban assault weapons.

Heslin says he's gotten involved because of his boy, 6, who was one of 20 first-graders and six staffers who were fatally shot at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Other witnesses include William Begg, an emergency room doctor who treated Newtown victims that day.

Across the Capitol, the House Education and Workforce Committee planned to hear from school safety experts and counselors about how to keep students safe. Witnesses before the Republican-controlled House panel were expected to emphasize the role of school resource officers, who are sometimes armed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-panel-hearing-newtown-father-doctor-085217176--politics.html

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Viruses can have immune systems: A pirate phage commandeers the immune system of bacteria

Feb. 27, 2013 ? A study published today in the journal Nature reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria has stolen the functional immune system of bacteria and is using it against its bacterial host. The study provides the first evidence that this type of virus, the bacteriophage ("phage" for short), can acquire a wholly functional and adaptive immune system.

The phage used the stolen immune system to disable -- and thus overcome -- the cholera bacteria's defense system against phages. Therefore, the phage can kill the cholera bacteria and multiply to produce more phage offspring, which can then kill more cholera bacteria. The study has dramatic implications for phage therapy, which is the use of phages to treat bacterial diseases. Developing phage therapy is particularly important because some bacteria, called superbugs, are resistant to most or all current antibiotics.

Until now, scientists thought phages existed only as primitive particles of DNA or RNA and therefore lacked the sophistication of an adaptive immune system, which is a system that can respond rapidly to a nearly infinite variety of new challenges. Phages are viruses that prey exclusively on bacteria and each phage is parasitically mated to a specific type of bacteria. This study focused on a phage that attacks Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for cholera epidemics in humans.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Andrew Camilli, Ph.D., of Tufts University School of Medicine led the research team responsible for the surprising discovery.

First author Kimberley D. Seed, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Camilli's lab, was analyzing DNA sequences of phages taken from stool samples from patients with cholera in Bangladesh when she identified genes for a functional immune system previously found only in some bacteria (and most Archaea, a separate domain of single-celled microorganisms).

To verify the findings, the researchers used phage lacking the adaptive immune system to infect a new strain of cholera bacteria that is naturally resistant to the phage. The phage were unable to adapt to and kill the cholera strain. They next infected the same strain of cholera bacteria with phage harboring the immune system, and observed that the phage rapidly adapted and thus gained the ability to kill the cholera bacteria. This work demonstrates that the immune system harbored by the phage is fully functional and adaptive.

"Virtually all bacteria can be infected by phages. About half of the world's known bacteria have this adaptive immune system, called CRISPR/Cas, which is used primarily to provide immunity against phages. Although this immune system was commandeered by the phage, its origin remains unknown because the cholera bacterium itself currently lacks this system. What is really remarkable is that the immune system is being used by the phage to adapt to and overcome the defense systems of the cholera bacteria. Finding a CRISPR/Cas system in a phage shows that there is gene flow between the phage and bacteria even for something as large and complex as the genes for an adaptive immune system," said Seed.

"The study lends credence to the controversial idea that viruses are living creatures, and bolsters the possibility of using phage therapy to treat bacterial infections, especially those that are resistant to antibiotic treatment," said Camilli, professor of Molecular Biology & Microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine and member of the Molecular Microbiology program faculty at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University.

Camilli's previous research established that phages are highly prevalent in stool samples from patients with cholera, implying that phage therapy is happening naturally and could be made more effective. In addition, a study published by Camilli in 2008 determined that phage therapy works in a mouse model of cholera intestinal infection.

The team is currently working on a study to understand precisely how the phage immune system disables the defense systems of the cholera bacteria. This new knowledge will be important for understanding whether the phage's immune system could overcome newly acquired or evolved phage defense systems of the cholera bacteria, and thus has implications for designing an effective and stable phage therapy to combat cholera.

Additional authors are David W. Lazinski, Ph.D., senior research associate in the Camilli lab at Tufts University School of Medicine, and Stephen B. Calderwood, M.D., Morton N. Swartz, M.D. academy professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and chief, division of infectious disease and vice-chair, department of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01AI55058, R01AI045746, and R01AI058935.

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Journal Reference:

1. Kimberley D. Seed, David W. Lazinski, Stephen B. Calderwood, Andrew Camilli. A bacteriophage encodes its own CRISPR/Cas adaptive response to evade host innate immunity. Nature, 2013; 494 (7438): 489 DOI: 10.1038/nature11927

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/Wyf-HIQF99Q/130227134334.htm

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"IT will continue to play an integral role in our organization ...

mjunction, a joint venture between SAIL and Tata Steel that promotes e-commerce activities in steel and diverse industries, always thrives on innovation. In an exclusive interaction, Viresh Oberoi, Founder CEO and MD of mjunction Services Limited shares with Sohini Bagchi of CXOtoday how the company has always moved beyond its original charter and diversified its business in an innovative manner by constantly leveraging the latest technologies.

As one of the largest e-commerce company in India, especially a leading e-marketplace for steel, what did you get right at mjunction? How did IT fit into your overall organizational strategy?
To begin with, what we got right was that we had a clear objective behind incorporating the company. At the time of the dot com boom, it was a common thing for many businesses to open up a dot com shop. However, as a joint venture of SAIL and Tata Steel, we believed that IT and web commerce has the potential to transform the entire business landscape and bring much value to enterprises. Before inception, the two companies researched on the e-commerce space to set up a venture together to bring about greater liquidity on the online platform and share the technological costs. It started growing rapidly as an innovative concept and customers across industry verticals as they witnessed greater process efficiencies at a fraction of the cost as against the traditional platform. We gradually diversified from steel and coal to venture into a range of e-commerce services in selling, procurement, finance and knowledge services across diverse industry verticals.
Being in the IT and internet-enabled commerce space, we have always focused on leveraging the latest available technology for growth, cost-efficiency and innovation. From that perspective, we have always had a strong technology backbone and we did this by developing internal competencies and get the best value out of our investments. IT is used at every level in the organization. It is viewed both as an enabler and a catalyst for business transformation. The internet will continue to enable companies like us to innovate in many ways in the future.

What distinguishes mjunction from its competitors?
Our flexible business development model distinguishes us from our competitors - who mostly focused on fulfilling very high targets. From the beginning, our company has been flexible in its approach. We carefully listen to our customers, identify their pain points and redesign the processes to solve their pain areas. We were able to deliver greater results in terms of transparency and efficiency, lower costs right from inception. As a result, our clients always enjoyed our services and entrusted us with larger volumes. The other advantage we have is that we operate on both the buying and selling side of the supply chain. As we always explored the latest technologies, we ensured that all our services are built on a common platform. This allowed us to take advantage of common technology infrastructure and in turn made us profitable.

In your long entrepreneurial journey, what are the key lessons you?ve learnt which you think other C-suites should know? What is your leadership style?
There are several things I?ve learnt both from my successes as well as my failures. First of all, I believe to be able to achieve something different, you need to move out of your comfort zone and explore endlessly. The story of the Spaniards burning their boats after landing in Mexico is a big lesson in business. If you are going to achieve something, have the heart, attitude and dedication to accomplish it. Also it is desirable to be a self starter and be able to solve problems yourself. I remember, when I started mjunction, we did not rope in consultants from outside and relied on inhouse expertise. The strategy worked out remarkably for us. There were times we failed as well, but it is important to learn from your mistakes, avoid those mistakes and move on with gusto.
As far as my leadership style is concerned, it keeps changing from time to time and from situation to situation. For example, when the company started, we were just a team of six striving to grow in a competitive marketplace. It was then that the style was more participative. Later, when we became a much bigger entity and started expanding our horizon, recruiting a lot more people, the style changed and became more delegative. What remains the same gaining the trust and confidence of your employees in whatever style you adopt.

What kind of CIO do you prefer ? a technology focused or a business savvy CIO? And do you think CIO and IT leaders should be part of boardroom discussions?
The CIO?s core activity revolves around technology. So I prefer my CIO to have a strong technology background, is focused on process efficiency and cost reduction. However, he should deliver IT initiatives to drive business value ? which is a critical component to stay competitive.
The CIO like other CXOs should be a part of the boardroom as he should discuss how the business can benefit from his technology expertise. In our company, the CIO is certainly part of the boardroom discussion like every other CXOs including the chief marketing officer and the chief financial officer. That?s because they are all part of the same management team and are expected to discuss strategies and make decisions being a part of the same organization.

Going forward, how do you plan to innovate with IT?
We have some aggressive expansion plans for the domestic market as well as we will expand our footprints in Europe. Currently, we garner 2-3 per cent revenue from the European market. We plan to reach a 50 per cent mark in the next 1-2 years. And for all these new initiatives, IT will continue to play an integral role. Until now we were using IT to bring about more transparency and efficiency in the organization and we were much successful in doing so. Now we feel the need to take it one step ahead. We plan to deploy analytics that can help us make better, faster decisions and automate processes. We have been using mobile and social media to strengthen our B2B operations. Now we are looking to consolidate our B2C business with the help of new and emerging technologies. Our team is working on a cloud computing project which will also become live in the coming months. As a company, we have always believed in leveraging the latest technologies, especially in the online space and we will continue to do so.

Source: http://www.cxotoday.com/story/it-will-continue-to-play-an-integral-role-in-our-organization/

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Search Engine Marketing Exclusive Services | CulturaPopulara.ro

Get your site exposed. Are you ruining your own campaign?

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In the exact same way a enterprise would pick an marketing company to lead an advertising campaign, an on-line company must pick an online marketing organization to lead their search engine marketing and advertising campaign. Successful advertising needs the expertise and knowledge of specialist advertisers. For a web site, this means knowledge and understanding of the internet, and far more importantly, of search engines. Search Engines dictate the way folks shop on the web.

A search advertising and marketing firm is the best way to get your web site some on the internet exposure. There are a fantastic number of tasks to get a internet site ready for search advertising and marketing. Keyword research, placement, and choice are all an important portion of targeting your market place. Search advertising firms have the tools and the technology to choose the greatest keywords and phrases and keyword phrases for your audience. Other important considerations for site consist of overall internet site design and style and theme. There are several factors in style that can impact the way search engines rank a website. search engines marketing san diego

Web site hosting is an additional essential important to search marketing. Exclusive search marketing and advertising services contain a full evaluation of your hosting account to make certain excellent service. If your hosting partner causes your web site to be down frequently, it can be detrimental to your search marketing and advertising campaign. If your internet site is down when a search engine comes to visit, this can be bad news. Its also important that you have all day access to your files to operate on the site. Most importantly, there may possibly be banned internet sites on that hosts IP address, and this can lead to the search engines to automatically ban your website also.

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In: Aparitii editoriale | | Link ????? 25 vizualizari

Source: http://culturapopulara.ro/?p=26322

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NATO, European governments, hit by "MiniDuke" cyber attack

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hackers targeted dozens of computer systems at government agencies across Europe through a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, security researchers said on Wednesday, while NATO said it too had been attacked.

The alliance said its systems had not been compromised, although it was sharing the details of the attack with NATO member states and remained vigilant. Security experts say governments and organizations such as NATO are attacked on a daily basis - although the sophistication varies wildly.

These particular attacks appeared both widespread and innovative, the private computer security firms announcing the discovery said, with one expert saying he believed a nation-state might be responsible.

Russia's Kaspersky Lab and Hungary's Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security, or CrySyS, said the targets of the campaign included government computers in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal and Romania.

They also said a think tank, a research institute and a healthcare provider in the United States, a prominent research institute in Hungary and other entities in Belgium and Ukraine were among those targeted by the malicious software, which they have dubbed "MiniDuke".

The researchers suspect MiniDuke was designed for espionage, but were still trying to figure out the attack's ultimate goal.

"This is a unique, fresh and very different type of attack," said Kurt Baumgartner, a senior security researcher with Kaspersky Lab. "The technical indicators show this is a new type of threat actor that hasn't been reported on before."

He said he would not speculate on who the hackers might be.

The malware exploited a recently identified security flaw in Adobe's software. Adobe said a software patch issued last week should protect users from "MiniDuke" providing they downloaded it.

Boldizs?r Bencs?th, a cyber security expert who runs the malware research team at CrySyS, told Reuters that he had reported the incident to NATO, although it was not clear if that was what first alerted the alliance.

Bencs?th said he believed a nation-state was behind the attack because of the level of sophistication and the identity of the targets, adding that it was difficult to identify which country was involved.

Exactly how serious the attacks were was not immediately clear, nor who exactly the targets were or at what level European governments were alerted.

The Czech counterintelligence agency BIS said they were not aware of any massive hacking attacks on Czech institutions from abroad recently. The Czech National Security Bureau, responsible for government data, was not immediately available for comment. Neither were officials from other states said to be affected.

A NATO official in Brussels had earlier said the alliance was not directly hit, but he said later that he had been incorrect. He gave no further details.

The researchers, who declined to further elaborate on the targets' identities, released their findings as more than 20,000 security professionals gathered in San Francisco for the annual RSA conference.

USING ADOBE, TWITTER, GOOGLE

MiniDuke attacked by exploiting recently discovered security bugs in Adobe's Reader and Acrobat software, according to the researchers. The attackers sent their targets PDF documents tainted with malware, an approach that hackers have long used to infect personal computers.

The bugs were first identified two weeks ago by Silicon Valley security firm FireEye. The firm reported that hackers were infecting machines by circulating PDFs tainted with malicious software.

The MiniDuke operators used an unusual approach to communicate with infected machines, according to the researchers. The virus was programmed to search for Tweets from specific Twitter accounts that contained instructions for controlling those personal computers. In cases where they could not access those Tweets, the virus ran Google searches to receive its marching orders.

Officials with Twitter and Google could not immediately be reached.

Bencs?th said he believed the attackers installed "back doors" at dozens of organizations that would enable them to view information on those systems, then siphon off data they found interesting.

He said researchers had yet to uncover evidence that the operation had moved to the stage where operators had begun to exfiltrate data from their victims.

Privately, many Western government and private sector computer experts say China is the clear leader when it comes to state-sponsored cyber attacks to steal information - although they rarely say so publicly and Beijing angrily denies it.

According to cybersecurity expert Alexander Klimburg at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs, however, the closest attack to this in style was a Trojan dubbed "TinBa" identified two months ago and used for banking fraud attacks. That was suspected to have been built by Russian hackers, he said, talking down the prospect of state involvement.

"There are some interesting aspects to the attacks," said Klimburg, pointing to the use of Twitter. "(But) most of the attack does not seem that new at all. Some of the... 'tricks', such as using pictures to hide data, are more reminiscent of proficient students rather than government agencies."

(Additional reporting by Peter Apps in London, Jan Lopatka in Prague and Adrian Croft in Brussels; Editing by Jeremy Laurence, Leslie Gevirtz and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hackers-target-european-governments-via-adobe-bug-researchers-141356498--sector.html

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Unions aim to soften impact of cuts on workers

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Federal employee labor unions are trying to soften the blow for more than 1 million government workers who may be forced to take unpaid time off if mandatory budget cuts kick in this week.

Union leaders have been working furiously to persuade agency managers to make other cuts that won't affect employee paychecks. But if agencies do insist on furloughs, unions say they can bargain over when they take place and other terms that could help workers in financial trouble.

"We plan to exercise those rights," said Jacqueline Simon, public policy director at the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents over 650,000 workers.

More than half of the nation's 2.1 million government workers may be required to take furloughs if automatic budget cuts, known as the sequester, take effect and agencies are forced to trim budgets. Agencies also may impose hiring freezes, release temporary employees or decline to renew contract workers.

The Defense Department has said it expects to furlough 800,000 civilian workers for 22 days each, spread across more than five months, which would mean a 20 percent pay cut over that period. The Pentagon also plans to lay off as many as 46,000 temporary and contract employees.

Other federal agencies are likely to furlough several hundred thousand more workers, according to a memo last month from the Office of Management and Budget.

Unions can't stop furloughs, but they can ask to examine the agency's budget documents and make managers show there is no other way to make the cuts without furloughs.

"Our position is that the Department of Defense and every other agency actually has a lot more discretion than they're letting on and that furloughs are entirely unnecessary," Simon said. "There's certainly plenty of low-paid federal employees for whom a 20 percent pay cut means they will not be able to pay their bills."

Besides receiving no pay, a worker on furlough would not accumulate vacation time and would receive a smaller match for their government retirement account. The worker's annual salary also would be lower when calculating pension benefits.

"The impact is going to be devastating, not just on the employees who are serving unpaid furlough days, but on the American public, who depend on the services these employees provide," said Colleen Kelly, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 150,000 workers at 31 federal agencies.

So far, Kelly's union has received only one official notice of intent to furlough workers. That came from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which plans to furlough all 60,000 employees for up to 14 days if the sequestration goes into effect. Kelly said other agencies are looking at furloughs but have not yet specified the cuts.

"We've reached out to agencies in an effort to work with them to find ways to cut spending so that the cuts don't come on the backs of employees on furlough days," she said.

The general expectation is that employees would serve one furlough day per two-week pay period. But the union can bargain on behalf of employees who may want to serve all the days together or delay them until later in the year for personal or financial reasons.

Negotiations can also resolve whether workers can swap furlough days with other employees, or whether some workers can volunteer to serve more furlough days so others don't have to. There also may be work deadlines to consider, since some workers remain accountable to complete projects even if they cannot be at work.

The federal Office of Personnel Management, which issues guidance on how agencies carry out furloughs, declined a request for comment. But in a memo to agencies, OPM states that government officials have duty to bargain "over any negotiable impact and implementation proposals" the union may submit regarding furloughs.

In a memo to Environmental Protection Agency employees on Tuesday, acting administrator Bob Perciasepe said the agency has been taking "aggressive action" to control costs over the past few months, such as reducing contract, grant and administrative spending. But even with those savings, he said, the EPA would still have to furlough workers.

"We are working to minimize the burden on employees and their families while still enabling the agency to meet its obligations and fulfill its mission," Perciasepe said. "We are also meeting with EPA's national unions to prepare a plan for implementation."

Every agency must provide notice at least 30 days before any furlough process begins. The earliest furloughs could begin is April 1.

A few agencies have said they expect to avoid furloughs, including the Social Security Administration, Small Business Administration and Smithsonian Institution. The Veterans Affairs Department has been excluded from sequestration cuts.

"Agencies can be creative and agencies can be uncreative," Simon said. "Our position is, don't come to us because we're the easy target."

__

Follow Sam Hananel on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SamHananelAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-27-Budget%20Battle-Federal%20Workers/id-2d882d024ae2430cba60e26dd06b76e6

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Israelis plan to press Obama to free convicted spy

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel's Nobel-laureate president, backed by thousands of followers, is leading an effort to press President Barack Obama during his upcoming visit to free convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, ending one of the most painful episodes between the two allies.

Pollard was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for passing classified material to Israel.

Pollard is said to be in poor health, and his case has become a rallying cry in Israel. Leaders routinely call for his release and say his 28 years in prison are excessive punishment. But stiff opposition from the American military and intelligence community has deterred a string of American presidents from releasing him.

Next month's visit by Obama, coupled with a perceived softening of the American stance, is raising hopes that Pollard, 58, may finally get his freedom.

More than 65,000 Israelis have signed a petition calling on Obama to free Pollard, the Facebook page of the U.S. embassy in Israel has been flooded with pardon requests and a nationwide campaign began Tuesday urging President Shimon Peres to push for Pollard's release. He quickly agreed.

In a video clip, Peres is shown receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama. The camera then pulls back, showing the wall of a prison cell with the following message: "Mr. President, please save me. J. Pollard."

Speaking to high school students Tuesday, Peres, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, said he would try.

"I intend to raise the issue of Jonathan Pollard during my meeting with President Obama," he said. "(I) will do everything I can to convey this clear message: Jonathan Pollard must be released from prison on humanitarian grounds."

Pollard, a Jewish civilian intelligence analyst, was arrested by FBI agents in Washington in 1985 after unsuccessfully seeking refuge at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents to Israel and received a life sentence. He is eligible for parole in two years. With little time left on his sentence, Israelis believe it would pose little risk for Obama to free Pollard.

The Pollard affair is enmeshed in highly fraught issues. One is the very idea of spying against an ally ? especially a country's primary patron. Another is the delicate issue of suspected dual loyalties among American Jews, and their own concerns about being seen in such a light.

Once a niche cause of the Israeli religious right wing, the call for Pollard's freedom has now become a matter of consensus in Israel. A wide range of politicians, artists and Nobel Prize winners have embraced Pollard's cause. The influential writers A.B. Yehoshua and David Grossman ? leading voices of the Israeli peace camp ? and former President Yitzhak Navon are among the prominent names backing the calls for his release.

"Both he (Pollard) and Israel have repeatedly expressed remorse. We have learned our lesson and have been living with the painful consequences for nearly three decades," their petition reads. "It is our fervent hope and prayer that your upcoming trip to Israel will bring us the good news we have waited for, for so very long, and that this tragic and painful episode can finally be put to rest once and for all."

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said he plans to honor Pollard with the "Jerusalem Freedom Award," which represents "the goal of the Jewish people to be free in our land," according to the municipality.

White House officials say there is no change in policy and no plans to free Pollard.

Aaron David Miller, a former American Mideast peace envoy who served under six U.S. secretaries of state, said freedom seemed like a long shot.

"A Pollard release would certainly make Netanyahu's day," Miller said, but would risk angering many in Washington.

Advocates note that some of those convicted for spying for American enemies have served far shorter prison terms.

Even after all these years, many details of the case remain a mystery. Pollard delivered piles of documents to his handlers, and their full extent has never been disclosed.

Pollard's lawyer, Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, said the material had traditionally been shared with the Israelis. She said the information included details about Arab and Soviet military capabilities, and it helped Israel carry assassinate a senior PLO official in Tunisia in 1988.

Darshan-Leitner said Pollard suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney stones. "His medical condition is very precarious," she said.

A recently declassified 1987 CIA damage assessment concluded that Pollard did not spy against America. According to the version published in December by the National Security Archive, a George Washington University project, Pollard cooperated "in good faith" while in custody and his handlers' requests were limited to intelligence on the Pakistanis, Arab states and the Soviets.

Pollard was granted Israeli citizenship in the late 1990s during Netanyahu's first term. While Netanyahu was out of office, he visited Pollard in prison, Last year, Netanyahu made a formal appeal to the U.S. for his release and a personal plea to allow him to attend his father's funeral. The requests were denied.

For years, the Americans resisted an early release by saying it would harm national security. The stiff punishment was also seen as a deterrent to allies, warning them of the consequences of spying on American soil. But opposition has begun to crack, raising hopes that a breakthrough may be near.

Former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, along with Lawrence Korb, the assistant secretary of defense at the time, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, Sen. John McCain and former Vice President Dan Quayle have all called for Pollard's release in recent years.

Pollard's wife, Esther, said that given these developments, and the passage of time, the moment was ripe for Obama "to right this injustice."

"I pray that President Obama will respond without any further delay," she said in an email message.

___

AP International Political Writer Steven R. Hurst in Washington contributed.

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Online: http://www.atzuma.co.il/presidentobama

___

Follow Heller on Twitter (at)aronhellerap.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israelis-plan-press-obama-free-convicted-spy-190102632.html

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Murder mystery swirls around Cleopatra's sister

University of Dundee

Researchers have reconstructed the face of Arsinoe IV, Cleopatra's sister, based on measurements from a skull discovered in Ephesus.

By Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience

A Viennese archaeologist lecturing in North Carolina this week claims to have identified the bones of Cleopatra's murdered sister or half-sister. But not everyone is convinced.

That's because the evidence linking the bones, discovered in an ancient Greek city, to Cleopatra's sibling Arsinoe IV is largely circumstantial. A DNA test was attempted, said Hilke Thur, an archaeologist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and a former director of excavations at the site where the bones were found. However, the 2,000-year-old bones had been moved and handled too many times to get uncontaminated results.

"It didn't bring the results we hoped to find," Thur told the Charlotte Observer. She will lecture on her research March 1 at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh.

Bloody family history
Arsinoe IV was Cleopatra's younger half-sister or sister, both of them fathered by Ptolemy XII Auletes, though whether they shared a mother is not clear. Ptolemaic family politics were tough: When Ptolemy XII died, he made Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII joint rulers, but Ptolemy soon ousted Cleopatra. Julius Caesar took Cleopatra's side in the family fight for power, while Arsinoe joined the Egyptian army resisting Caesar and the Roman forces. [Cleopatra and Olympias: Top 12 Warrior Moms in History]

Rome won out, and Arsinoe was taken captive. She was allowed to live in exile in Ephesus, an ancient Greek city in what is now Turkey. However, Cleopatra saw her half-sister as a threat and had her murdered in 41 B.C.

Fast forward to 1904. That year, archaeologists began excavating a ruined structure in Ephesus known as the Octagon for its shape. In 1926, they revealed a burial chamber in the Octagon, holding the bones of a young woman.

Thur argues that the date of the tomb (sometime in the second half of the first century B.C.) and the illustrious within-city location of the grave point to the occupant being Arsinoe IV herself. Thur also believes the octagonal shape may echo that of the great Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. That would make the tomb an homage to Arsinoe's hometown, Egypt's ancient capital, Alexandria.?

Controversial claim
The skull attributed to Arsinoe disappeared in Germany during World War II, but Thur found the rest of the bones in two niches in the burial chamber in 1985. The remains have been debated every step of the way. Forensic analysis revealed them to belong to a girl of 15 or 16, which would make Arsinoe surprisingly young for someone who was supposed to have played a major leadership role in a war against Rome years before her death. Thur dismisses those criticisms.

"This academic questioning is normal," she told the News-Observer. "It happens. It's a kind of jealousy."

In 2009, a BBC documentary, "Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer," trumpeted the claim that the bones are Arsinoe's. At the time, the most controversial findings centered on the body's lost skull. Measurements and photographs of the incomplete skull remain in historical records and were used to reconstruct the dead woman's face.

More about Cleopatra from NBCNews.com

From the reconstruction, Thur and her colleagues concluded that Arsinoe had an African mother (the Ptolemies were an ethnically Greek dynasty). That conclusion led to splashy headlines suggesting that Cleopatra, too, was African.

But classicists say the conclusions are shaky.

"We get this skull business and having Arsinoe's ethnicity actually being determined from a reconstructed skull based on measurements taken in the 1920s?" wrote David Meadows, a Canadian classicist and teacher, on his blog rogueclassicism.

Not only that, but Cleopatra and Arsinoe may not have shared a mother.

"In that case, the ethnic argument goes largely out of the window," Cambridge classics professor Mary Beard wrote in the Times Literary Supplement in 2009.

Without more testing, the bones remain in identification limbo.

"One of my colleagues on the project told me two years ago there is currently no other method to really determine more," Thur told the News-Observer. "But he thinks there may be new methods developing. There is hope."

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

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17104041-expert-insists-bones-of-cleopatras-murdered-sister-have-been-found?lite

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News Summary: Professional Chinese hackers

9-TO-5: Internet experts say the persistence of Chinese hacking attacks point to the employ of professional cyberspies. Hacker teams regularly began work, for the most part, at 8 a.m. Beijing time. And Chinese hackers take the weekend off.

THE BACKGROUND: Accusations of state-sanctioned hacking took center stage this past week following a detailed report by a U.S.-based Internet security firm Mandiant. That fueled growing suspicion that the Chinese military is stealing national defense secrets, harassing dissidents and pilfering information from foreign companies that could be worth millions of dollars

DENIAL: Beijing hotly denies such accusations of official involvement in massive cyberattacks against foreign targets.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/news-summary-professional-chinese-hackers-195800982.html

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Fastest and Safest Way To Gain Muscle | Body Health ...

Fast Gain Muscle

Gaining muscle safely is the key to longevity and overall success. The fastest and safest way to gain muscle may be different for everyone, but there are some steps you can take to ensure both will occur.

Gaining muscle fast is something many bodybuilders work toward. While it can be achieved in a number of ways, often times fast muscle gain occurs due to the use of products that aren?t particularly safe. If you want to gain muscle quickly and safely, you need to eat a well-balanced diet. Intense training will call for your muscles to be fed on a regular basis. This means eating high protein meals between five to eight times a day. Smaller meals will digest much easier and help build muscle much better than only a few larger ones.

Supplements are also used in gaining muscle mass. The safest supplements are those that are natural products. When choosing, select only those that have been approved and received good reviews. Be wary of those that haven?t really been tested or are not widely used. There may be a reason why they haven?t received a whole lot of attention.


Train safely. This is a very important part of strength training. If you do not execute each exercise correctly, you could injure yourself. This would set you back for a least a few weeks, but could have lasting effects that would keep you from continuing your training program. You can avoid that by taking the time to learn about each exercise you perform. A trainer at your local gym can answer any questions you may have about the exercises you have chosen. He or she can also help you build a routine that is designed specifically to meet your needs.

Muscle can be gained quickly through intense training. This does not mean cramming a lot of repetitions and sets into your routine and training every day. You?ll start out with several reps and a lower amount of weight, but will lower the number of reps as you increase the amount of weight you lift. Also, training three to four days a week is recommended. Your muscles are already being pushed to their limits so any more than that and you?ll be taking a serious risk of over training them. The other days will be free to rest and you?re body will thank you for it in so many ways. You?ll feel and look better and begin gaining muscle at a steady rate.

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Source: http://mybodyhealth.net/fastest-and-safest-way-to-gain-muscle/

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Ron Johnson: John Boehner Would Lose Speakership If He Caves On Taxes To Avert Sequester

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would lose his speakership if he agrees to new tax revenues to avert the across-the-board spending cuts that are set to kick in on March 1.

"I don't quite honestly think that Speaker Boehner would be speaker if that happens," Johnson told Fox News of Boehner caving on taxes as part of a sequester replacement package. "I think he would lose his speakership."

Johnson's comments raise questions about Boehner's leadership post for the second time in as many months. Similar claims made during fiscal cliff talks in December, when some accused Boehner of being more concerned with protecting his job as speaker than with brokering a deal. The pressure on Boehner intensified after his proposal to avoid the fiscal cliff was rejected by members of his own party.

It's unlikely his speakership is in jeopardy. Boehner retained his position, despite reports of friction, with just 10 House Republicans voting against him in his Jan 3. reelection.

In the battle over the sequester, Boehner has maintained his pledge not to entertain any new tax revenues. President Barack Obama and Democrats have called for a resolution that consists of both spending cuts and increased revenue, such as closing corporate tax loopholes and implementing the Buffet rule to raise taxes on billionaires.

During a news conference Monday, Boehner showed no signs of hedging.

"The president says we have to have another tax increase in order to avoid the sequester,? he said. "Well, Mr. President, you got your tax increase. It?s time to cut spending here in Washington."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/25/ron-johnson-john-boehner_n_2762693.html

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New Geothermal Data System Could Open Up Clean-Energy Reserves

Geologic data does not come cheap, especially when you are using it to build a multimillion-dollar geothermal power plant. Just ask Susan Petty, president and chief technology officer at AltaRock Energy. Her company is part of a $43.8-million pilot project to tap thermal energy from Oregon's Newberry Volcano. Engineers are injecting water deep underground to fracture superheated rocks and create a geothermal reservoir. Their eventual goal is to recirculate pressurized steam back to the surface to test a new kind of technology called an enhanced geothermal system (EGS). Unlike conventional power plants that rely on near-surface hydrothermal systems like springs and geysers, EGS can draw energy up to depths of three to five kilometers. Over the next 50 years, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates, EGS power plants could produce 100 gigawatts of economically viable geothermal energy, an amount equivalent to about 10 percent of the country's current electrical capacity. Yet geothermal wells need to be drilled in the right place. Without data on the distribution and quantity of geothermal energy in the upper part of the earth's crust or a volcano as a reference point, wells may not produce much energy at all. To date, two to five out of every 10 geothermal wells prospected end up dry. Petty says that, in terms of the available exploration data, the geothermal industry is in the same place oil and gas companies were during the early 1900s. Wells cost between $2 million and $5 million, meaning geothermal investors risk losing millions on poor odds, Petty says. ?The risk involved in geothermal prospecting sets the industry apart from other renewables.? The risky nature of the business could soon change, however. A wealth of geologic data from all 50 states and the Gulf of Mexico has been sitting unused in state and federal filing cabinets for decades. The Arizona Geological Survey is leading a coalition of universities and federal agencies on a nationwide treasure hunt to find and digitize these legacy data in a National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) to eliminate some of the financial risk companies like AltaRock face while prospecting for geothermal resources. Since the project's inception in 2008 under $35-million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, collaborators have digitized information from over 1.25 million oil and gas, water, and geothermal wells and expect to have as many as three million wells in the system by the end of the year. "It has been a rescue mission," says Roland Horne, director of Stanford University?s geothermal program. Project collaborators have found a wellspring of geothermal exploratory data in basements and old file cabinets. The legacy data come from extensive surveys of geothermal resources that were funded by the states and federal government in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. A prime example is a 1975-to-1992 DOE survey of geopressured resources in the Gulf of Mexico. The survey documents data from 16 wells off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas that show geopressured and geothermal energy reserves in the Gulf exceed the energy contained in all the conventional natural gas reserves of the continental U.S. At the time, the geothermal energy could not be profitably commercialized, so the data were filed away and forgotten. Previously, getting ahold of geothermal exploration data depended on whom you knew, says Lee Allison, director of the Arizona Geological Survey. "A lot of this stuff was only available if you knew the people and could say, 'Hey, let me have access to your data,'" Allison says. One of the largest sets of geophysical data in the NGDS was collected and digitized by Southern Methodist University geophysicist David Blackwell and a team of researchers in 2011. They worked under a grant from Google.org to digitize data from 35,000 different locations. Their work shows that geothermal energy can generate three million megawatts of renewable electricity?approximately 10 times the capacity of U.S. coal power plants. The NGDS will also include research from more than 200 projects funded by $300 million in 2009 DOE stimulus funding. "The DOE decided if it is going to spend this money, then the research needs to be accessible to everyone," Petty says. "So, essentially, if you are a private company that takes money from the DOE for geothermal development, you have to feed your surveys and research data back into system." Petty says that AltaRock is getting ready to post its research on the Newberry Volcano pilot project into the data system and that the geophysical, seismic, and research data is worth around $8 million. The AZGS is working with Microsoft Research on visualization tools to make interactive 3D maps of the data. Allison says that the ultimate goal is to capture the full geologic and geophysical profile of geothermal energy reserves across the country. "All of these data will be live and accessible to anyone, using nothing more than a Web browser and open-source software." View the Interactive Map at State Geothermal Data Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/geothermal-data-system-could-open-clean-energy-reserves-120000372.html

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Italians vote in polls seen key to finance crisis

ROME (AP) ? Will Italy stay the course with painful economic reform? Or fall back into the old habit of profligacy and inertia? These are the stakes as Italians vote in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and Monday that could shape the future of one of Europe's biggest economies.

Fellow European Union countries and investors are watching closely, as the decisions that Italy makes over the next several months promise to have a profound impact on whether Europe can decisively put out the flames of its financial crisis. Greece's troubles in recent years were enough to spark a series of market panics. With an economy almost 10 times the size of Greece's, Italy is simply too big a country for Europe, and the world, to see fail.

Leading the electoral pack is Pier Luigi Bersani, a former communist who has shown a pragmatic streak in supporting tough economic reforms spearheaded by incumbent Mario Monti. On Bersani's heels is Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul seeking an unlikely political comeback after being forced from the premiership by Italy's debt crisis. Monti, while widely credited with saving Italy from financial ruin, is trailing badly as he pays the price for the suffering caused by austerity measures.

Then there's the wild card: comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, whose protest movement against the entrenched political class has been drawing tens of thousands to rallies in piazzas across Italy. If his self-styled political "tsunami" sweeps into Parliament with a big chunk of seats, Italy could be in store for a prolonged period of political confusion that would spook the markets.

Voting was generally calm. But when Berlusconi showed up at a Milan polling place to cast his ballot, three women, shouting "Enough of Berlusconi," pulled off their sweaters to bare their chests, and display the slogan "Basta Silvio!" (Enough of Silvio) scrawled on their flesh. A cordon of police, already in place for security before the former premier's arrival, blocked Berlusconi's direct view of the topless women.

Police detained the women for questioning. Italian news reports said the three were members of the Femen protest group.

After voting, Berlusconi described the topless protesters as "an exaggeration. There are situations that are outside the bounds of reason, and we can't do anything about them," he said.

While a man of the left, Bersani has shown himself to have a surprising amount in common with the center-right Monti ? and the two have hinted at the possibility of teaming up in a coalition. Bersani was Monti's most loyal backer in Parliament during the respected economist's tenure at the head of a technocratic government. And in ministerial posts in previous center-left governments, Bersani fought hard to free up such areas of the economy as energy, insurance and banking services.

But it's uncertain that Monti will be able muster the votes needed to give Bersani's Democratic Party a stable majority in both houses of Parliament.

"Forming a government with a stable parliamentary alliance may prove tricky after elections," said Eoin Ryan, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. "A surge in support for anti-austerity parties is raising chances of an indecisive election result and post-vote political instability."

Another factor is turnout. Usually some 80 percent of the 50 million eligible voters go to the polls but experts are predicting many will stay away in anger, hurting mainstream parties.

Interior Ministry figures put the turnout when polls closed Sunday at 55 percent, more than 7 percentage points less than in the last national elections in 2008.

Italian elections are usually held in spring, and this balloting came amid bad weather in much of the country, including snow in the north. Rain was forecast for much of the country Monday.

Sunday's vote also coincided with balloting for governor and regional assemblies in three regions, including Italy's two most important areas ? the Lazio region including Rome, and Lombardy, whose capital is Milan, Italy's financial center.

Lombardy's results in the national vote are considered crucial in helping determine Parliament's makeup. Turnout was running higher than during the last regional vote in those two regions, officials said.

When Berlusconi stepped down in November 2011, newspapers were writing his political obituary. At 76, blamed for mismanaging the economy and disgraced by criminal allegations of sex with an underage prostitute, the billionaire media baron appeared finished as a political force.

But Berlusconi has proven time and again ? over 20 years at the center of Italian politics ? that he should never be counted out.

The campaign strategy that has allowed him to become a contender in these elections is a simple one: please the masses by throwing around cash.

Berlusconi has promised to give back an unpopular property tax imposed by Monti as part of austerity measures. Even his purchase of star striker Mario Balotelli for his AC Milan soccer team was widely seen as a ploy to buy votes. Berlusconi has also appealed to Italy's right-wing by praising Italy's former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust victims.

The most recent polls show Bersani in the lead with 33 percent of the vote, against 28 percent for Berlusconi's coalition with the populist Northern League. Grillo's 5 Star movement was in a surprise third place, with 17 percent support, while Monti's centrist coalition was notching 13 percent. The COESIS poll of 6,212 respondents had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percent.

Pollster Renato Mannheimer said among his biggest clients heading into the elections were foreign banks seeking to gauge whether to hold or sell Italian bonds.

"They are worried mostly about the return of Berlusconi," Mannheimer said.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the vote has pushed the Milan stock exchange down in the days running up to the vote and bumped up borrowing costs, as investors express concern that Italy may back down from a reform course to pull the country out of recession.

Mannheimer said many undecided voters ? who comprise around one-third of the total electorate ? identify with the center-right, and that may help Berlusconi. He said that the undecided vote may also tilt heavily toward Grillo's protest movement.

The professorial Monti looked uncomfortable at first as a candidate but has recently warmed to the role. Like the others, he has not shied away from name calling, warning that Berlusconi is a "charlatan" and saying his return would be "horrific."

Bond analyst Nicholas Spiro said the election "will deliver the most important verdict on the eurozone's three-year-old austerity focused policies."

But he is betting on a period of political instability after the vote.

"An upset victory by Mr. Berlusconi may be markets' nightmare scenario," he said, "but the prospects for a stable and harmonious Bersani-Monti coalition government ? still the mostly likely outcome in our view ? are bleak."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italians-vote-polls-seen-key-finance-crisis-154830246--finance.html

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Derrick Rose Dunk: Pregame Highlight of the Year!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/derrick-rose-dunk-pregame-highlight-of-the-year/

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Clues to climate cycles dug from south pole snow pit

Feb. 25, 2013 ? Particles from the upper atmosphere trapped in a deep pile of Antarctic snow hold clear chemical traces of global meteorological events, a team from the University of California, San Diego and a colleague from France have found.

Anomalies in oxygen found in sulfate particles coincide with several episodes of the world-wide disruption of weather known as El Ni?o and can be distinguished from similar signals left by the eruption of huge volcanoes, the team reports in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the week of February 25.

"Our ability to link of reliable chemical signatures to well-known events will make it possible to reconstruct similar short-term fluctuations in atmospheric conditions from the paleohistory preserved in polar ice," said Mark Thiemens, Dean of the Division of Physical Sciences and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, who directed the research and dug up much of the snow.

Thiemens, graduate student Justin McCabe and colleague Joel Savarino of Laboratoire de Glaciologie et G?ophysique de l'Environnment in Grenoble, France, excavated a pit 6 meters deep in the snow near the South Pole, with shovels.

"At an elevation of 10,000 feet and 55 degrees below zero, this was quite a task," Thiemens said. Their efforts exposed a 22 year record of snowfall, a pileup of individual flakes, some of which crystallized around particles of sulfate that formed in the tropics.

Atmospheric sulfates form when sulfur dioxide -- one sulfur and two oxygen molecules -- mixes with air and gains two more oxygen molecules. This can happen a number of different ways, some of which favor the addition of variant forms of oxygen, or isotopes, with and extra neutron or two, previous work by Thiemens's group has shown.

Unlike polar ice, which compresses months of precipitation so tightly that resolution is measured in years, relatively fluffy snow allowed the team to resolve this record of atmospheric chemistry on a much finer scale.

"That was key," said Robina Shaheen, a project scientist in Thiemen's research group who led the chemical analysis. "This record was every six months. That high resolution made it clear we can trace a seasonal event such as ENSO."

ENSO, the El Ni?o Southern Oscillation, is a complex global phenomenon that begins when trade winds falter allowing piled up in the tropical western Pacific to slosh toward South America in a warm stream that alters marine life crashing fisheries off Peru and Chile, and disrupts patterns of rainfall leaving parts of the planet drenched and others parched.

The warmed air above the sea surface lifts sulfur dioxide high into the stratosphere, where it's oxidized by ozone, which imparts a distinctly different, anomalous pattern of oxygen variants to the resulting sulfate particles.

In the Antarctic snow samples, the chemists found traces of these oxygen anomalies in sulfates trapped within layers of snow that fell during strong El Ni?o seasons.

Volcanoes too can shoot sulfur compounds high into the atmosphere where they react with ozone to produce sulfates with oxygen anomalies. Three large volcanoes, El Chich?n, Pinatubo and Cerro Hudson, erupted over the course of this time sample, which stretched from 1980 to 2002 and encompassed three ENSO events as well.

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Journal Reference:

1. S. Chakraborty, T. L. Jackson, M. Ahmed, M. H. Thiemens. Sulfur isotopic fractionation in vacuum UV photodissociation of hydrogen sulfide and its potential relevance to meteorite analysis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1213150110

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/top_news/~3/LfVdYx0ik8Q/130225153126.htm

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Copyright Alert System gets started, ISPs ready to lay the smack down on P2P piracy

The fight against online piracy just gained a new weapon in the form of the Copyright Alert System (CAS) aka the "six strikes" policy. Starting today, participating ISPs like Verizon, Time Warner Cable, AT&T and Comcast will begin issuing warnings to customers suspected of using illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing services that violate copyright laws. Initial notifications will be used to educate and direct customers to legal alternative content sources. If the first set of notifications go avoided, the ISP may take further action, which includes: throttling internet connection speeds and redirecting users to websites requiring acknowledgment of CAS alerts.

If a person wishes to contest their ISP's findings, they will have 14 calendar days to request an independent review by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) for a fee of $35. If the investigation finds that no copyright violations have taken place, the alerts will be removed from the customer's account and they will receive a refund for the filing fee. However, should the organization's research rule otherwise, the internet service provider may proceed with taking action against its account holder. To get a closer look at the CAS and its inner workings, "redirect" your browser to the source links below.

Filed under: Internet, Verizon, AT&T

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Source: Center for Copyright Information (1), (2)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Ddk_SOm8I6I/

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Fujitsu Arrows X F-02E hands-on: a powerhouse flagship with a 1080p display

We'll get this out of the way upfront: you will probably never be able to buy this phone. And by "you" we mean the American consumer. The Arrows X F-02E will, at least for the immediate future, be a NTT DoCoMo only device. But, now that you know not to get your hopes up, lets get a feel for just what you'll be missing. Fujitsu's waterproof flagship is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3 and 2GB of RAM. And that horsepower is put to good use pushing pixels to a brilliant five-inch 1080p display. We'd stop short of saying its the best phone screen we've seen, but it's definitely in the running. Colors are bright, text is crisp and viewing angles need to be seen to be believed. Thankfully, all that lovely screen real estate isn't being eaten up by some insanely outdated version of Android. On board you'll find Android 4.1.2 -- not the latest and greatest, but at least it's Jelly Bean.

Gallery: Fujitsu Arrows X F-02E hands-on: a powerhouse flagship with a 1080p display

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/fujitsu-arrows-x-f-02e-hands-on/

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50 Cent makes awkward move on TV reporter

Rapper 50 Cent wasn't content just chatting up Erin Andrews.

He went in for a kiss.

Rebuffed.

In the strangest part of the buildup to the Daytona 500, Mr. Cent brought back memories of Joe Namath's awkward attempt to plant one on Suzy Kolber when he tried the same move with Andrews on pit road.

She turned her head one way, then the other, only allowing the "Candy Shop" rapper to get a peck on the cheek.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

BIG CRASH: We've had the first big wreck of the Daytona 500.

And a bunch of top contenders have seen their chances go up in smoke.

Former 500 winners Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray were caught up in the crash on lap 33. So was defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski.

The melee began coming through the tri-oval when Kasey Kahne's car began to slide across the track after appearing to get bumped from behind by Kyle Busch.

At least two other drivers also got caught up in the mess: Juan Pablo Montoya and Casey Mears. Joey Logano made a great move to dodge the spinning cars.

Pole sitter Danica Patrick made it through unscathed and remains near the front of the pack.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

HANG ON TIGHT: From one defending champion to another, Brad Keselowski had a piece of advice for Daytona 500 starter Ray Lewis:

Don't drop the flag.

The retired Baltimore Ravens star served as honorary starter for the Daytona 500. Lewis waved the green flag without incident Sunday to start the "Great American Race."

Lewis, who said he was nervous, got a quick tip from Keselowski.

"Brad texted me on the way in, the one rule is, don't drop the flag," Lewis said before the race. "I'm going to squeeze the flag very hard. I want to watch this and be a part of it. To be here is an awesome experience."

Lewis was one of several stars at Daytona International Speedway. Rappers T.I. and 50 Cent attended NASCAR's season opener, which has Danica Patrick starting on the pole.

Oscar-nominated actor James Franco was the grand marshall and said, "Drivers and Danica, start your engines!" The Zac Brown Band played a pre-race concert in the Daytona International Speedway infield. Band member Clay Cook performed the national anthem.

Retired baseball pitcher Tom Gordon, comedian Drew Carey, and Wes Welker and Steve Spurrier also were in attendance.

Lewis called Keselowski on the eve of the 2012 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and left him an inspirational voice message. Keselowski also often listens to Lewis' motivational speeches before races.

"I caught a glimpse of how he always watched my videos and it really inspired him," Lewis said. "That's when me and him really started having conversations with each other, and from there it just turned into a friendship. I send him motivational things, and heads-up on what I am doing, that's where the relationship has gone."

? Dan Gelston ? http://twitter.com/APgelston

___

DANICA DROPS BACK: Danica Patrick made history by becoming the first woman to start from the pole in a NASCAR Cup race.

But in the beginning of the Daytona 500, she failed to pull off another landmark.

Choosing the outside spot on the front row, Patrick gave up the lead to Jeff Gordon on the very first lap, missing out on an early chance to become the first female to lead a Cup lap.

Over the first 10 laps, she settled in behind Gordon and held on to the second spot in the 43-car field.

Patrick went on the radio before the race to thank her crew for giving her such a strong car. "I'll do the best job I can to do my end of the deal today," she said. "All in all, thank you for everything. You guys are awesome."

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

FRANCO'S AUDIBLE: "Drivers ... and Danica!!! ... start your engines."

With that unique command, actor James Franco has ordered the 43 cars to fire up for the Daytona 500.

The duty is normally carried out with the most famous words in racing: "Gentlemen, start your engines."

Of course, this year is different. Danica Patrick is the first woman to start from the pole in a Cup race, and Franco hinted beforehand that he was planning an audible. As unpredictable as ever, he passed on a chance to copy the command that was used when Patrick raced in the Indianapolis 500, "Lady and gentlemen, start your engines."

Now, it's time to go racing at Daytona.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

A HEARTY BUNCH: NASCAR FANS RETURN TO DANGER ZONE: Say this about NASCAR fans: They don't frighten easily.

One day after a harrowing crash injured dozens of fans in the stands, those same seats are filling up for the Daytona 500.

No one seems too concerned.

"These should be good seats," said Rick Barasso, as he settled into a spot that was right in the danger zone when Kyle Larson's car slammed into the catch fencing on the final lap of a Nationwide Series race Saturday. "I mean, what are the chances of it happening again?"

That seems to be the attitude of the fans heading into the Daytona 500, the season-opening Cup race and biggest event on the NASCAR schedule. Most people say it's worth the risk to sit next to the ear-rattling action ? no more than 20 feet away for those in the first row. They love to hear the engines, smell the exhaust, and feel the wind whipping in their face as 43 cars go by at nearly 200 mph.

Still, there are a few fans fretting about the location of their seats.

Raymond Gober returned to the same location where he was nearly struck by a bolt from Larson's car. He scooped up the debris as a souvenir, though he acknowledged being a little nervous about his seat on the back row of the lower level. He even considered wearing his motorcycle helmet to the 500, but figured "everybody would start laughing at me." Next year, he plans to buy an upper-level seat in the main grandstand.

"My dad called and said, 'You're sitting in the same seats? "' Gober said. "He couldn't believe it."

There are grim reminders of what happened Saturday: a bloody spot that had been washed down (not entirely, though), a tire mark on a seat, another seat that was partially bent from getting struck by that same tire.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/50-cent-makes-awkward-move-tv-reporter-192712051--spt.html

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NASA rover confirms first drilled Mars rock sample

Feb. 20, 2013 ? NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has relayed new images that confirm it has successfully obtained the first sample ever collected from the interior of a rock on another planet. No rover has ever drilled into a rock beyond Earth and collected a sample from its interior.

Transfer of the powdered-rock sample into an open scoop was visible for the first time in images received Wednesday at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

"Seeing the powder from the drill in the scoop allows us to verify for the first time the drill collected a sample as it bore into the rock," said JPL's Scott McCloskey, drill systems engineer for Curiosity. "Many of us have been working toward this day for years. Getting final confirmation of successful drilling is incredibly gratifying. For the sampling team, this is the equivalent of the landing team going crazy after the successful touchdown."

The drill on Curiosity's robotic arm took in the powder as it bored a 2.5-inch (6.4-centimeter) hole into a target on flat Martian bedrock on Feb. 8. The rover team plans to have Curiosity sieve the sample and deliver portions of it to analytical instruments inside the rover.

The scoop now holding the precious sample is part of Curiosity's Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device. During the next steps of processing, the powder will be enclosed inside CHIMRA and shaken once or twice over a sieve that screens out particles larger than 0.006 inch (150 microns) across.

Small portions of the sieved sample later will be delivered through inlet ports on top of the rover deck into the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument.

In response to information gained during testing at JPL, the processing and delivery plan has been adjusted to reduce use of mechanical vibration. The 150-micron screen in one of the two test versions of CHIMRA became partially detached after extensive use, although it remained usable. The team has added precautions for use of Curiosity's sampling system while continuing to study the cause and ramifications of the separation.

The sample comes from a fine-grained, veiny sedimentary rock called "John Klein," named in memory of a Mars Science Laboratory deputy project manager who died in 2011. The rock was selected for the first sample drilling because it may hold evidence of wet environmental conditions long ago. The rover's laboratory analysis of the powder may provide information about those conditions.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project is using the Curiosity rover with its 10 science instruments to investigate whether an area within Mars' Gale Crater ever has offered an environment favorable for microbial life. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

An image of the drill's rock powder held in the scoop is online at: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16729 .

For more about the mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl , http://www.nasa.gov/msl .

You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/4WSzTMfnxv4/130220161133.htm

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