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Walmart workers threaten strike on Black Friday

Diane A. Wade
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Walmart workers threaten strike on Black Friday

Walmart workers are threatening to strike on the busiest shopping day of the year – Black Friday.

The walkout, scheduled for next month on the day after Thanksgiving, is set to cause chaos across Dallas, San Diego, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Today, a meeting at Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas was interrupted by 200 protesters waving placards and chanting.

Walmart is the world’s largest private employer and has long been a target of workers’ rights groups, who advocate higher wages, more flexibility in hours and an end to punishments, such as reduced shifts, which they claim are meted out to staff seeking to unionize.

Evelin Cruz, a department manager, told ABC News that for many years she kept quiet about what she views as the company’s unjust practices because she was afraid of being fired if she spoke out.

Evelin Cruz, who works at the Pico Rivera Walmart in California, is one of thousands of members of Our Walmart, an organization backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

Leaders of Our Walmart, the National Consumers League and other groups today said they will join Walmart workers outside stores on Black Friday if their demands are not met.

Walmart workers are threatening to strike on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year
Walmart workers are threatening to strike on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year

National Organization of Women president Terry O’Neill said her group would join in the action on Black Friday, to show “solidarity with the workers who are walking off the job”.

Last Thursday, about 30 employees from the Pico Rivera Walmart demonstrated outside the store with signs that read “Stand Up, Live Better, Stop Retaliation” and “Stop Trying to Silence Us”.

The protest over working conditions was coordinated with actions at eight other Walmart stores across California protesting against working conditions and treatment.

It was the first-ever walkout in the company’s 50-year history, said Dawn Le, a spokeswoman for Making Change at Walmart, a coalition whose mission is to change the way the firm conducts business.

“Everyone else has a union,” said Dawn Le.

“Workers in every other country – Japan, the U.K., Nicaragua, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina – have been able to form a union, except the U.S. and Canada.

“We just don’t understand the double standard Walmart has. How come those in other countries get to have a voice, yet not in the U.S., its home country?”

Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman disputed her claims, insisting that most employees have “repeatedly rejected unionization”.

“They seem to recognize that Walmart has some of the best jobs in the retail industry – good pay, affordable benefits and the chance for advancement,” he said.

Walmart has hit the headlines on several recent occasions. In mid-September, warehouse workers in Southern California went on a 15-day strike that included a six-day, 50-mile pilgrimage for safe jobs.

Around the same time, hundreds of people marched in Dallas and San Diego, demanding better work conditions.

On Monday, Chicago riot police arrested 17 peaceful protesters blocking the entrance to a warehouse that supplies Walmart stores in support of striking workers.

The company is also now facing another sex discrimination lawsuit, filed on behalf of 100,000 women in California and Tennessee.

Dan Schlademan, director of Making Change at Walmart, said: “Workers find how Walmart has tried to retaliate by cutting their hours and not scheduling them for certain shifts when they tried to speak out, and they’re tired of it.”

The $16 billion company, however, argues that the California rally was simply a “publicity stunt by the UFCW to seek media attention in order to further their political agenda and financial objectives”, according to Dan Schlademan.

Evelin Cruz, who started on $7.40 an hour and now makes $13.20, said: “We just wanted to be treated like humans, not robots. We do have health insurance, but in most cases, you’re not even making enough to live on, let alone take anyone to the hospital.”

Although she worries about losing her job, she didn’t see another option but to voice her anger.

“We are still worried that they might retaliate,” she added.

“We know exactly how they operate. They wait until you feel confident, or put down your guard, and then they come after you one way or another. But that’s how tired we are of what’s going on in the stores.”

 

How to wear clothes that slim you in an instant

Lisa.Felice
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How to wear clothes that slim you in an instant

If you despair of always looking top heavy, then take a leaf out of actress Scarlett Johansson’s style book.

With a fuller figure, wear geometric printed color blocking to minimize your bust area.

If you are bigger up top like Scarlett Johansson, pick a dress with a bolder print on the bottom half.

If you are bigger up top like Scarlett Johansson, pick a dress with a bolder print on the bottom half
If you are bigger up top like Scarlett Johansson, pick a dress with a bolder print on the bottom half

 

Scarlett Johansson recreates Psycho shower scene in Hitchcock movie

Sonia Pantiss
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Scarlett Johansson recreates Psycho shower scene in Hitchcock movie

Scarlett Johansson fills the role of Janet Leigh, who was famously “killed” in the shower scene for her Golden Globe-winning performance as Marion Crane in 1960 Alfred Hitchcock suspense/horror film Psycho.

In the first look at Hitchcock movie’s trailer, Scarlett Johansson’s feminine form is alluded to twice, once over a dinner meeting with Alfred Hitchcock [Anthony Hopkins] and again when the filmmaker speaks to his wife [Helen Mirren].

Scarlett Johansson, 27, swans into frame during the trailer wearing in a low-cut halter neck peach satin dress, before sitting across the table from Alfred Hitchcock to discuss the role.

As the New Yorker begins to gesticulate, she asks: “How exactly are you going to shoot this shower scene? Well, it’s only from here up I’m not exactly boyish.”

Towards the end of the footage, we also see Helen Mirren’s character Alma Reville tell her husband: “Ooh, you imp! You’ve got n****y in there.”

To which he responds: “Well, her br***ts were rather large. It’s a challenge not to show them.”

Scarlett Johansson fills the role of Janet Leigh in Hitchcock movie
Scarlett Johansson fills the role of Janet Leigh in Hitchcock movie

As Hitchcock‘s trailer opens, Anthony Hopkins provides an eerie voiceover, revealing: “All of us harbor dark recesses of violence and horror, I’m just a man hiding in the corner with a camera, watching.”

Helen Mirren plays the long-suffering wife, seen in bed reading the script: “It was the knife, that a moment later cut off her scream and her head, charming Doris Day should do it as a musical!”

It then cuts to a business meeting, where the filmmaker is told: “No one respects the name Hitchcock more than Paramount, but even a talented man sometimes backs the wrong horse.”

After he’s told he can make it if he can finds the money himself, Alfred Hitchcock whips out his cheque book.

However, the movie becomes an obsession and a financial nightmare after film bosses try to ban the film from hitting cinemas, leading to domestic troubles at home.

Alfred Hitchcock is seen shouting at Alma Reville, saying: “I’m under extraordinary pressures on this picture and the least you can do is give me your full support.”

But she responds: “We’ve mortgaged our house. I am your wife, I celebrate with you when the reviews are good, I cry for you when they are bad.

“And I put up with those people who look through me as if I were invisible as all they can see is the great and glorious genius that is Alfred Hitchcock!”

Speaking of the film still that was released as a teaser yesterday of Scarlett Johansson behind the wheel of a car in the same pose as Janet Leigh, director Sacha Gervasi said: “When we took that still of Scarlett behind the wheel and put it up against the still of Janet behind the wheel in Psycho, it was eerie.

“The extent to which Scarlett was able to channel Janet [was] a real surprise. She brought it in such a way that no one really anticipated.”

Hitchcock movie, which hits screens on November 23, also stars Jessica Biel as Vera Miles.

The director notes that the beautiful Total Recall star faced the same challenges that Vera Miles did to get into character.

“Hitchcock dressed her up in a wig and did everything they could to make the beautiful Vera Miles look frumpy,” Sacha Gervasi said.

“What Hitch tried to do to Vera we tried to do to Jessica, and the results were equally ridiculous. It is not possible to make Jessica Biel dowdy.”

Vera Miles was an American actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, notably in Psycho, having played the sister of the Janet Leigh’s character, which she reprised in Psycho II.

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Bobbi Kristina Brown is engaged to Nick Gordon, The Houstons: On Our Own reveals

Lisa.Felice
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Bobbi Kristina Brown is engaged to Nick Gordon, The Houstons: On Our Own reveals

Footage taken from Bobbi Kristina Brown’s reality show, entitled The Houstons: On Our Own, has allegedly confirmed that she is in fact engaged to Nick Gordon.

According to reports on E!Online in the exclusive clip Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of late singer Whitney Houston, shocks her family when she tells them of her plans to wed Nick Gordon.

The website claim that Bobbi Kristina Brown announces the news as she laughs, saying: “We’re engaged!”

In another trailer for the Lifetime show, family members of the Houston clan are seen worrying over Bobbi Kristina Brown’s relationship with Nick Gordon.

Bobbi Kristina Brown has allegedly confirmed that she is in fact engaged to Nick Gordon
Bobbi Kristina Brown has allegedly confirmed that she is in fact engaged to Nick Gordon

During the clip Gary Houston, Whitney’ brother, appears to disapprove of their bond, as he has a heated discussion with Nick Gordon, 22.

Gary Houston says: “No one knew that from a godson you would turn into a boyfriend. No one knew that.”

With Nick Gordon stating: “The family has me out to be a bad person.”

And determined to make her family accept her blossoming romance, Bobbi Kristina Brown firmly asserts: “They want to see us fail. We won’t.”

Bobbi Kristina Brown and Nick Gordon lived together as siblings for more than a decade before Whitney Houston’s death in February, with Nick considered to be the superstar’s unofficial adopted son.

Whitney Houston took Nick Gordon into her home when he was just 12 after his father went to prison and his mother was unable to take care of him.

However, following Whitney Houston’s passing – having died at the age of 48 due to an accidental drowning complicated by heart disease and cocaine use – the controversial pair grew closer.

Set to premiere on October 24, the show follows the Houston clan including Pat, Whitney’s sister-in-law and manager, Pat’s daughter Rayah, Whitney’s brother Gary, Bobbi Kristina and Grammy Award-winning singer Cissy Houston in the aftermath of the pop superstar’s tragic death.

“Pat Houston, Whitney’s sister-in-law, manager and most trusted confidant, manages the business and estate of the beloved singer and her most prized possession, her daughter Bobbi Kristina,” said a Lifetime press release.

“The series will follow Pat and her husband, Gary, Whitney Houston’s brother, as they take on their greatest challenge, supporting and guiding Bobbi Kristina as she faces the world alone, without the one person she relied on the most, her Mother.”

[youtube uOcUwwtEa9A]

Malala Yousafzai transferred to a new military hospital with better facilities

Diane A. Wade
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Malala Yousafzai transferred to a new military hospital with better facilities

Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen, is being transferred to a new military hospital with better facilities, officials say.

Malala Yousafzai, in critical condition two days after being attacked in the north-western Swat Valley, left Peshawar by helicopter for Rawalpindi.

The Taliban, who accuse the young activist of “promoting secularism”, have said they will target her again.

There have been widespread protests in Pakistan against the shooting.

Malala Yousafzai was being treated in an intensive care unit in Peshawar before doctors decided to move her to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology critical care unit in Rawalpindi.

“Doctors have decided to shift Malala to the Combined Military Hospital [CMH] in Rawalpindi where medical facilities are better,” said Maj Ishtiaq Ahmad.

One of the medical team treating her said “neurologically she has significantly improved” but that the “coming days… are very critical”.

Another doctor, Mumtaz Khan, told AFP news agency that she had a 70% chance of survival.

“Her condition is not yet out of danger despite improvement,” Masood Kausar, the governor of the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was also quoted as saying.

Pakistani officials have offered a 10 million rupee ($105,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the attackers.

Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who visited Malala Yousafzai in hospital in Peshawar on Wednesday, said it was time to “stand up to fight the propagators of such barbaric mindset and their sympathizers”.

Malala Yousafzai wrote about suffering caused by Talibans who had taken control of the Swat Valley in 2007
Malala Yousafzai wrote about suffering caused by Talibans who had taken control of the Swat Valley in 2007

Malala Yousafzai gained attention aged 11, when she started writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban.

Under the pen-name Gul Makai, she wrote about suffering caused by militants who had taken control of the Swat Valley in 2007 and ordered girls’ schools to close.

The Taliban were ousted from Swat in 2009, but her family said they had regularly received death threats.

They believed she would be safe among her own community, but on Tuesday, she was stopped as she returned home from school in Mingora, in north-western Swat, and shot in the head.

Two other girls were injured, one of whom remained in a critical condition on Wednesday.

Schools in the Swat Valley closed on Wednesday in protest at the attack, and schoolchildren in other parts of the country prayed for the girl’s recovery.

Protests were held in Peshawar, Multan and in Malala Yousafzai’s hometown of Mingora and in Lahore.

Those taking part praised the girl’s bravery, while many condemned the attack as un-Islamic.

 

Mo Yan wins 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature

James J. Williams
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Mo Yan wins 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature

Chinese author Mo Yan has been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature.

A prolific author, 57-year-old Mo Yan has published dozens of short stories, with his first work published in 1981.

The Swedish Academy praised Mo Yan’s work which “with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary”.

Mo Yan is the first Chinese resident to win the prize. Chinese-born Gao Xingjian was honored in 2000, but is a French citizen.

Mo Yan is the 109th recipient of the prestigious prize, won last year by Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer.

Chinese author Mo Yan has been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature
Chinese author Mo Yan has been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature

Presented by the Nobel Foundation, the award – only given to living writers – is worth 8 million kronor ($1.2 million).

Born Guan Moye, the author writes under the pen name Mo Yan, which means “don’t speak” in Chinese.

He began writing while a soldier in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and received international fame in 1987 for Red Sorghum: A Novel of China.

Made into a film by Chinese director Zhang Yimou, the novella was a tale of the brutal violence in the eastern China countryside where he grew up during the 1920s and 1930s.

Favoring to write about China’s past rather than contemporary issues, the settings for Mo Yan’s works range from the 1911 revolution, Japan’s wartime invasion and Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution.

His other acclaimed works include Republic of Wine, Life And Death Are Wearing Me Out and Big Breasts and Wide Hips.

The latter book caused controversy when it was published in 1995 for its sexual content and depicting a class struggle contrary to the Chinese Communist Party line.

The author was forced by the PLA to withdraw it from publication although it was pirated many times.

After it was translated into English a decade later, the book won him a nomination for the Man Asian Literary Prize.

His latest novel, Frog, about China’s “one child” population control policy, won the Mao Dun Literature Prize – one of China’s most prestigious literature prizes – last year.

 

China forced evictions in significant rise

Diane A. Wade
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China forced evictions in significant rise

Forced evictions in China have risen significantly in recent years as local officials sell off land to property developers, Amnesty International says.

Many cases involve violence and harassment, in what the group called “a gross violation of human rights”.

Pressure on local officials to meet economic goals and vested interests were behind the coercion, it said.

These evictions are a rumbling cause of social discontent and have led to protests across the country.

All land in China is effectively controlled by the state, and laws allow local governments to claim land for urban development projects.

Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty’s senior director of research in Hong Kong, said that seizing and selling off land was how local authorities were paying back funds borrowed to finance stimulus packages during the economic downturn.

“The Chinese Communist Party promotes officials who deliver growth seemingly at any cost, and land development for roads, factories, residential complexes and so on is seen as the most direct path to visible results,” she said.

Amnesty said the system was open to abuse and evictees often received little notice, no consultation and only a fraction of the value of their home in compensation.

Such cases have led to violent clashes between residents and police or private security guards on several occasions, the report said.

Amnesty interviewed lawyers, housing rights activists and academics, both in China and abroad, for its 85-page report entitled Standing Their Ground.

It looked at 40 cases of forced eviction from January 2009 to January 2012, nine of which it said culminated in deaths of people who opposed their evictions.

“The forced eviction of people from their homes and farmland without appropriate legal protection and safeguards has become a routine occurrence in China, and represents a gross violation of human rights obligations on an enormous scale,” Amnesty said.

Many cases are “sudden and violent, sometimes resulting in death”, harassment and in one instance, someone being buried alive.

Nicola Duckworth said self-immolations caused by evictions were also on the rise.

“We documented 41 reports of self-immolations from 2009 to the end of 2012,” she said.

Amnesty cited the example of Wukan village in Guangdong province in 2011, where residents demonstrated on the streets after a village negotiator protesting against local officials over a land grab died in police custody.

As a result of protests, two local officials were removed from their posts and others punished in 2012. The villagers also won the right to fresh local elections as part of the deal.

But “optimism might be premature” on the Wukan case, Amnesty said.

“To this day, there has been no independent investigation into [village negotiator] Xue Jinbo’s death. The villagers still have not got any of their land back. And there are now reports that authorities have been harassing and spying on activists in Wukan.”

The group called on China to put an immediate stop to all forced evictions and ensure safeguards were put in place in line with international law.

It also urged China to implement new regulations it adopted in 2011 providing for proper land compensation and outlawing the use of violence in these cases.

China does have laws in place to protect farmers and local residents, but these are often ignored at local level. Leaders in Beijing have acknowledged the problems and pledged to improve the situation.

Premier Wen Jiabao, in his report to the National People’s Congress in March, said that problems related to land expropriation and housing demolition “are still very serious and the people are still very concerned about them”.

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Lenovo replaces HP as the world’s top PC maker

Nancy Clayson
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Workspace (EXPLORED)
Lenovo replaces HP as the world’s top PC makerTheis Kofoed Hjorth / Foter

Lenovo has replaced Hewlett-Packard as the world’s top PC maker, according to preliminary figures released by research firm Gartner.

Gartner said Chinese PC maker Lenovo shipped 13.8 million units in the third quarter, compared with HP’s 13.55 million.

It said Lenovo’s “aggressive” price cuts had helped it gain substantial market share.

However, research firm IDC’s data put HP at the top, though it showed the gap between the two was closing.

According to IDC, HP shipped 13.9 million units, giving it a 15.9% share of the global market, compared with Lenovo which enjoyed a 15.7% share with 13.8 million units.

Analysts said Lenovo has been among the best performing PC makers in recent times and it was likely to gain further market share.

“Just the momentum that Lenovo has had, makes it inevitable that it will be the world’s number one PC maker across all charts,” said Andrew Milroy of Frost & Sullivan.

According to Gartner, Lenovo was the only PC maker, among the world’s top five, that increased its shipments to the US during the third quarter.

Both Gartner and IDC’s figures showed that global PC shipments fell more than 8% during the quarter, from the same period last year.

Demand for personal computers has been hurt by a slowing global economy as well as the growing popularity of tablet PCs such as Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy range.

Analysts said that consumers held back on purchases during the period in anticipation of the launch of new products as well as operating systems, including Microsoft Windows 8.

“PCs are going through a severe slump,” said Jay Chou, senior research analyst at IDC’s Worldwide PC Tracker.

“The industry had already weathered a rough second quarter, and now the third quarter was even worse.”

He added that the industry was also struggling to find a product that may help it turn around its fortunes.

“The hard question of what is the <<it>> product for PCs remains unanswered. While ultrabook prices have come down a little, there are still some significant challenges that will greet Windows 8 in the coming quarter.”

 

Standard & Poor’s cuts Spain’s credit rating from BBB+ to BBB-, one level above junk status

Clyde K. Valle
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Standard & Poor’s cuts Spain’s credit rating from BBB+ to BBB-, one level above junk status

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Spain’s credit rating, highlighting a deepening recession and mounting pressure on Madrid’s finances.

S&P cut Spanish debt from BBB+ to BBB-, one level above junk status, and warned of possible further downgrades.

Spain is struggling with high debt levels and the highest rate of unemployment in the eurozone.

Madrid has introduced drastic spending cuts and tax rises, but many think it will have no option but seek a bailout.

“The downgrade reflects our view of mounting risk to Spain’s public finances, due to rising economic and political pressures,” S&P said.

“The deepening economic recession is limiting the Spanish government’s policy options.”

Last month, the government unveiled its latest budget designed to make savings of around 13 billion euros ($16.7 billion) next year, by cutting public sector wages, education, health and social services.

The cuts were the latest in a series of austerity measures that have sparked angry protests across Spain.

Despite the cuts, tax rises, labor market and pension reforms, the Spanish government has said the country’s overall debt levels will rise next year to more than 90% of total economic output.

The country’s borrowing costs have remained high for months, leading many analysts to argue it is only a matter of time before Madrid is forced to ask its eurozone partners for financial assistance.

However, last week, Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos denied his country would be asking for help.

“Spain does not need a bailout at all,” he said.

 

Mitt Romney accused of using Navy Seal Glen Doherty’s death in Benghazi for political purposes

Diane A. Wade
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Mitt Romney accused of using Navy Seal Glen Doherty’s death in Benghazi for political purposes

The mother of US Navy Seal Glen Doherty killed in last month’s Libya consulate attack has said his death has been used by the Romney campaign for political purposes.

Mitt Romney has been citing his meeting some years ago with Seal Glen Doherty.

His campaign said the candidate would respect Barbara Doherty’s wishes and stop mentioning her son.

The attack on the consulate in Benghazi on 11 September has become a political issue ahead of the election.

Glen Doherty was killed in the attack in Benghazi along with Ambassador Christopher Stevens and two other officials.

“I don’t trust Romney,” Barbara Doherty told Boston news station WHDH.

“He shouldn’t make my son’s death part of his political agenda. It’s wrong to use these brave young men, who wanted freedom for all, to degrade Obama,” she said.

Campaigning on Tuesday in the state of Iowa, Mitt Romney said that instead of running away from danger during the Benghazi consulate attack, Glen Doherty had run towards it.

He reportedly used the anecdote as a metaphor for what Republicans must do to regain the White House in November’s poll.

“They didn’t hunker down where they were in safety,” the former Massachusetts governor was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

“They rushed there to go help. This is the American way. We go where there’s trouble.”

“We go where we’re needed. And right now we’re needed. Right now the American people need us.”

Mitt Romney is reported to have mentioned Glen Doherty at other events on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Romney campaign said in a statement on Wednesday: “Governor Romney was inspired by the memory of meeting Glen Doherty and shared his story and that memory, but we respect the wishes of Mrs. Doherty.”

A campaign official confirmed Mitt Romney would not re-tell the anecdote.

Friends of Glen Doherty have spoken publicly about his encounter with Mitt Romney at a Christmas party.

His friend, Elf Ellefsen, told a Seattle radio station: “He said it was very comical. Mitt Romney approached him ultimately four times, using this private gathering as a political venture to further his image.”

“He kept introducing himself as Mitt Romney, a political figure. The same introduction, the same opening line. Glen believed it to be very insincere and stale,” Elf Ellefsen added, according to ABC News.

 

Mice learn songs based on the sounds they hear

James J. Williams
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Mice learn songs based on the sounds they hear

Mice may have the ability to learn songs based on the sounds they hear, according to US researchers.

They found that when male mice were housed together they learned to match the pitch of their songs to each other.

Mice also share some behavioral and brain mechanisms involved in vocal learning with songbirds and humans, say the researchers.

But some scientists are skeptical, saying the evidence doesn’t support the claim.

Details of the study are published in the Journal Plos One.

Previous research in this field has shown that male mice can sing complex songs when exposed to females and these play an important part in courtship.

These murine serenades are ultrasonic. At between 50 and 100KHz, they are far above the hearing range of humans. When processed to make them audible to humans, they sound like a series of plaintive whistles.

It has long been assumed that mice were incapable of modifying the sequence or the pitch of these sounds. This ability, called vocal learning, is rare in the natural world. It is restricted to some birds such as parrots and song birds along with whales, dolphins, sea lions, bats and elephants.

But in these experiments, researchers from Duke University in North Carolina say they found that mice have both the brain circuits and the behavioral attributes consistent with vocal learning.

Dr. Erich Jarvis, who oversaw the study, said it had changed his understanding of the way mice make sound.

“In mice we find that the pathways that are at least modulating these vocalizations are in the forebrain, in places where you actually find them in humans,” he said.

He says the study does not have clear evidence that mice have the very same vocal abilities as birds and humans. He believes there is a spectrum where different species have vocal skills to different degrees.

“We think mice are intermediate in this ability between a chicken and a song bird or even a non human primate and a human,” Dr. Erich Jarvis said.

When male mice with different vocal pitches were housed together, the team found that the pitch of their songs gradually converged over a period of eight weeks.

Dr. Erich Jarvis argues that this is an important development: “When we put a female in the cage with two males, we then found that one male would change his pitch to match the other. It was usually the smaller animal changing the pitch to match the larger animal.”

But others are less certain. Dr. Kurt Hammerschmidt, an expert in vocal communication at the German Primate Centre in Goettingen, cast doubt on the study’s claim about the vocal behavior of male mice.

“The pitch convergence story is less convincing,” he says.

But Erich Jarvis refutes this, saying the skepticism is unfounded.

“His complaint was that we don’t have enough animals, but we found this in 12 mouse pairs and in every single pair… at least in our eyes it’s quite reliable and statistically significant,” he said.

 

Spiral spotted around red giant star R Sculptoris by ALMA telescope

James J. Williams
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Spiral spotted around red giant star R Sculptoris by ALMA telescope

A unique spiral structure encircling dying star R Sculptoris has been captured by scientists for the first time.

The spectacular picture is one of the first to come from the world’s most expensive ground-based telescope which produces images ten times sharper than Hubble.

It was built to study molecular clouds like the one around the red giant R Sculptoris which is 780 light years from Earth.

At 16,000ft up in the Chilean Andes the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is also the highest such machine on Earth.

The Atacama desert was chosen for its dryness and clarity.

A unique spiral structure encircling dying star R Sculptoris has been captured by scientists for the first time
A unique spiral structure encircling dying star R Sculptoris has been captured by scientists for the first time

The old red giant star R Sculptoris sits at spiral’s centre, ejecting dust and gas every 10,000 to 50,0000 years to form a shell of surrounding material.

Spherical shells have been seen around red giants before, but this kind of spiral is unique.

It is believed it is was caused by a previously unseen companion star carving through the material as it orbits.

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Turkey intercepts Syrian plane suspected of carrying weapons

Roy Siemens
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Turkey intercepts Syrian plane suspected of carrying weapons

Turkish fighter jets have forced a Syrian passenger plane suspected of carrying weapons to land in Ankara.

Military communications devices were confiscated, and the Airbus A320 was given permission to leave, reports say.

Turkey’s foreign minister said Ankara was determined to stop any transfer of weapons to Syria through its airspace.

Tensions have been high since five Turkish civilians were killed by Syrian mortar fire last week, prompting Turkey to fire into Syria.

It was the first time since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 19 months ago.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkey’s top military commander warned Syria that Ankara would respond with greater force if Syria continued its cross-border shelling.

The Airbus A320 airliner, which was travelling from Moscow to Damascus, was carrying 35 passengers and two crew – far fewer than its 180 passenger capacity.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told state-run television that Ankara had received information that the plane could be carrying “non-civilian cargo”.

The aircraft was escorted by two Turkish jets to the capital’s Esenboga airport for security checks.

Local media reports say that military communication devices were seized by the Turkish authorities for further examination and the aircraft was granted permission to leave.

Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities have declared Syrian airspace to be unsafe and are preventing Turkish aircraft from flying over the country.

Ankara clearly wants to show its own population and Syria that it is taking the threat posed by Syria extremely seriously.

If weapons are going to Syria, the Turkish government might worry that they will be fired back into its territory.

Meanwhile, the US has confirmed reports it has established a military task force in Jordan.

It is monitoring the security of Syria’s chemical and biological weapons as well as helping with the aid effort.

 

iPad Mini leaked pictures revealed

Nancy Clayson
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Apple’s iPad Mini has apparently been revealed in full for the first time in the best set of pictures yet leaked on the internet.

Sonny Dickson, a researcher for fansite 9to5mac.com, published the images on his Twitter feed yesterday, sparking a wave of excitement among Apple enthusiasts.

The images show a device that is significantly smaller than the regular iPad. According to rumors it boasts a 7.85 in liquid crystal display, making it a rival to Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

The images also show the iPad Mini utilizes the controversial new connector introduced with the iPhone 5, which has made all accessories available to previous Apple gadgets obsolete at a stroke.

It emerged yesterday that Apple had instructed suppliers in China to manufacture 10 million of the new smaller tablet computers, showing faith in their product in the face of stiff competition.

Insiders say the iPad Mini will be announced on October 17, a few days from the releases of Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Microsoft’s Surface tablets, and go on sale November 2.

As yet, however, Apple has not officially confirmed any of the reports, rumors of leaks about a smaller iPad.

Apple’s 9-inch device dominates the market, but smaller, cheaper tablets have been eating away at the iPad’s popularity. The iPad mini is expected to go on sale around the world on November 2nd, according to online speculation.

HOW SMALL?

The mini is thought to be 7 in diagonally, compared to the 9.7 in of the full-size iPad.

This would allow it to be used easily on public transport, and fit into a (large) jacket pocket.

TrustedReviews is predicting the mini – which some are dubbing the iPad nano – will use a 1,024 x 768 pixel panel.

The Mini launch comes as research suggests a quarter of us – 22% – own a tablet, with another 3% regularly borrowing someone else’s tablet for web browsing.

About 68% of the 9,5123 adults surveyed said they purchased their tablet within the last year.

The U.S. survey by the Pew Research Center also suggests the flood of cheaper tablets, such as the Google Nexus or Amazon Fire, are weakening Apple’s grip on the market.

A year ago, Apple had more than 80% of the market, but this has now dropped to less around 52%.

The Kindle Fire has 21% of the market, meanwhile Samsung’s Galaxy tablet has 8%.

Out of those surveyed, 44% of adults who said they have a smartphone, 46% have an Android phone, 38% have an iPhone and 10% have a Blackberry.

 

Lance Armstrong ran the most sophisticated doping program in cycling history, says USADA report

Clyde K. Valle
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Lance Armstrong ran the most sophisticated doping program in cycling history, says USADA report

Cyclist Lance Armstrong’s team ran “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme the sport has ever seen” according to a report by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

USADA says it will deliver the full report in the doping case against Lance Armstrong, 41, later on Wednesday.

It contains testimony from 11 of his former US Postal Service team-mates.

Lance Armstrong has always denied doping allegations but has not contested USADA’s charges.

USADA chief executive Travis T. Tygart said there was “conclusive and undeniable proof” of a team-run doping conspiracy.

The organisation will send a “reasoned decision” in the Armstrong case to the International Cycling Union (UCI), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Triathlon Corporation.

The UCI now has 21 days to lodge an appeal against USADA’s decision with WADA or they must comply with the decision to strip Armstrong, who now competes in triathlons, of his seven Tour de France titles and hand him a lifetime ban.

Lance Armstrong ran the most sophisticated doping program in cycling history
Lance Armstrong ran the most sophisticated doping program in cycling history

Lance Armstrong, who overcame cancer to return to professional cycling, won the Tour from 1999 to 2005. He retired in 2005 but returned in 2009 before retiring for good two years later.

In his statement, Travis T. Tygart said the evidence against Lance Armstrong and his team – which is in excess of 1,000 pages – was “overwhelming” and “and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team and its participants’ doping activities”.

Travis T. Tygart revealed it contains “direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding”.

He also claimed the team’s doping conspiracy “was professionally designed to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous drugs, to evade detection, to ensure its secrecy and ultimately gain an unfair competitive advantage through superior doping practices”.

Among the former team-mates of Lance Armstrong’s to testify were George Hincapie, Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for failing a dope test and was recently found guilty in a Swiss court of defaming the International Cycling Union for alleging they had protected Lance Armstrong from doping claims.

Travis T. Tygart said: “The riders who participated in the USPS Team doping conspiracy and truthfully assisted have been courageous in making the choice to stop perpetuating the sporting fraud, and they have suffered greatly.

“I have personally talked with and heard these athletes’ stories and firmly believe that, collectively, these athletes, if forgiven and embraced, have a chance to leave a legacy far greater for the good of the sport than anything they ever did on a bike.

“Lance Armstrong was given the same opportunity to come forward and be part of the solution. He rejected it.

“Instead he exercised his legal right not to contest the evidence and knowingly accepted the imposition of a ban from recognised competition for life and disqualification of his competitive results from 1998 forward.”

USADA confirmed that two other members of the US Postal Service team, Dr. Michele Ferrari and Dr. Garcia del Moral, also received lifetime bans for their part in the doping conspiracy.

Three further members, team director Johan Bruyneel, a team doctor Dr. Pedro Celaya and team trainer Jose Marti, have chosen to contest the charges and take their cases to arbitration.

Travis T. Tygart also called on the UCI to “act on its own recent suggestion for a meaningful Truth and Reconciliation programme”.

“Hopefully, the sport can unshackle itself from the past, and once and for all continue to move forward to a better future,” he added.

 

Eating two servings of fish a week while pregnant halves the risk of ADHD

Kathryn R. Bown
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Eating two servings of fish a week while pregnant halves the risk of ADHD

The amount of fish a woman eats while pregnant may affect her child’s chances of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Eating fish twice a week was linked to about a 60% lower risk of a child developing certain ADHD-like symptoms, according to research from the Boston University School of Public Health.

But the type of fish eaten is the key.

Elevated mercury levels, which can occur from eating certain types of fish, such as tuna and swordfish, were also tied to a higher risk of developing ADHD symptoms such as a short attention span, restlessness or being easily distracted.

“The really important message is to eat fish,” said assistant professor Sharon Sagiv, the study’s lead author.

Sharon Sagiv added that pregnant women should avoid “big” fish, such as tuna and swordfish, which typically contain the most mercury. Instead, they should opt for haddock or salmon.

The research was published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Past studies looking at the link between mercury and ADHD – a condition estimated to affect up to 5% of school-aged children – have produced conflicting results.

Most children are diagnosed between the ages of three to seven, with boys more commonly affected.

Many people with ADHD also have learning difficulties and sleep disorders.

For the new study, the researchers followed 788 children born in Massachusetts between 1993 and 1998.

They used hair samples taken from the mothers after delivery to test their mercury levels, and food diaries to see how much fish they had eaten.

Then, once the children were about eight years old, the researchers asked their teachers to evaluate the children’s behavior to see how many exhibited ADHD-like symptoms.

After taking all of the information into account, the researchers found that one microgram of mercury per gram of a mother’s hair – about eight times the average levels found in similar women’s hair in another analysis – was linked to a 60% increase in the risk of their child exhibiting ADHD-like behaviors.

But there was no link below one microgram of mercury per gram of a mother’s hair.

The children appeared to be 60% less likely to exhibit impulsive or hyperactive behaviors if their mothers had eaten two or more servings of fish per week.

 

Lindsay Lohan and her mother get into violent fight after a night out clubbing

Lisa.Felice
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Lindsay Lohan and her mother get into violent fight after a night out clubbing

Police were called after Lindsay Lohan got into a “violent fight” with her mother Dina in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

According to TMZ, law enforcement officers arrived at Dina Lohan’s Long Island home after receiving a complaint alleging that Lindsay was “being held against her will by Dina and her driver”.

Lindsay Lohan is alleged to have “sustained a cut on her leg” in the scuffle which happened after mother and daughter went to a nightclub together in New York City.

Lindsay Lohan, 26, and Dina, 50, left at 4:00 a.m. and “began arguing in the car”, before the row escalated and “became physical”.

TMZ also report that a bracelet belonging to Lindsay Lohan was broken and “some property damage” occurred in the fallout.

The 911 call was treated as a “domestic violence” call by police, who took a Domestic Incident Report but made no arrests.

Police were called after Lindsay Lohan got into a “violent fight” with her mother Dina
Police were called after Lindsay Lohan got into a “violent fight” with her mother Dina

According to the New York Post, the 911 call drew a “small army” of police to the house around 8:15 a.m.

Witness John Scalesi told the newspaper: “She [Lindsay] was yelling <<I’ve had enough of this!>>”

Nassau police Inspector Kenneth Lack told the newspaper: “It was just a verbal dispute in the vehicle. It was an argument between Lindsay Lohan and her mother Dina.

“Lindsay called her father and her father called police.”

Michael Lohan confirmed to the newspaper that Lindsay and Dina had been arguing in the car, but added: “It was a hell of a lot more than that.”

A photograph was taken earlier in the evening showing Lindsay Lohan in good spirits while posing with a random clubgoer at Electric Room, nightclub.

Lindsay Lohan, who appeared happy in relaxed in New York at the weekend, has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, despite trying to put her career back on track with Lifetime biopic Liz & Dick.

Most recently, she accused a fellow partygoer at a Manhattan nightclub of assaulting her after a late night out.

Dina Lohan has not managed to escape controversy herself, recently appearing on psychologist Dr. Phil’s TV show, where she slurred her words and appeared agitated.

She even flipped her middle finger at the TV host after he became frustrated with her seeming inability to answer his questions directly.

Dina Lohan strongly denied the accusations, telling TMZ: “I don’t care what it looks like. I’m fine and I don’t care what anyone says.”

She claims clever editing was to blame.

 

 

Honey Boo Boo gets her own 24-hour bodyguard

Lisa.Felice
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Honey Boo Boo gets her own 24-hour bodyguard

June Shannon has hired a 24-hour bodyguard to protect her youngest daughter, Honey Boo Boo.

The security measure is believed to be in response to an alleged plot to abduct seven-year-old reality star Alana Thompson.

While the network behind the hit show, TLC, has denied any suggestions of a kidnap plot, June Shannon, confirmed the full-time protection via Facebook.

June Shannnon wrote: “Alana doesn’t go anywhere without her bodyguard! We have one 24/7 everywhere we go ALL the time!”

According to The National Enquirer, Honey Boo Boo’s school received abduction threats from an anonymous caller.

June Shannon has hired a 24-hour bodyguard to protect Honey Boo Boo
June Shannon has hired a 24-hour bodyguard to protect Honey Boo Boo

A source told the tabloid: “June is terrified. With the threats on Alana’s safety increasing, security is being provided for her around the clock.

“There was a meeting with all the teachers at Alana’s school. They have been instructed to keep an eye on Alana, and they know to report anything suspicious immediately.”

An attempted break-in at the Honey Boo Boo household in rural McIntyre, Georgia on August 27 is also believed to have triggered concerns over their safety.

The source added that police told the clan it “may have been casing the place for a future kidnap attempt, by someone convinced that TLC would pay a huge ransom for their newest little star”.

Despite Here Comes Honey Boo Boo reality show attracting huge ratings since airing on August 8, the family has remained in the same neighborhood.

The National Enquirer reveals that the family has thought “about moving, but the problem is that TLC has them locked under contract to keep their lifestyle”.

However, TMZ previously reported that the network wanted to help the stars relocate to a larger and more secure home, but June Shannon declined the offer.

It also described that TLC boosted the family’s wage from approximately $5,000 per episode, to a sky-high $20,000 after seeing the success of the series.

 

Barack Obama Facebook page receives more than 1 million Likes daily using Sponsored Stories feature

Nancy Clayson
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Barack Obama Facebook page receives more than 1 million Likes daily using Sponsored Stories feature

President Barack Obama has enjoyed a surge in Facebook “likes”, thanks to a co-ordinated social media campaign.

His team paid for “Sponsored Stories” to appear in some users’ Facebook news feeds – regardless of whether they wanted to receive them.

President Barack Obama’s page received more than one million “likes” in a single day – compared with about 30,000 per day in earlier weeks.

But some observers warned the approach could frustrate and dissuade voters.

It comes at a time when both President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney are stepping up their efforts on social media.

The opponents each have a presence on a host of digital communities, including streaming music service Spotify, image-sharing network Pinterest and the Facebook-owned picture network Instagram – where Mitt Romney has been busy posting pictures of himself at home with his family.

But users were quick to voice their annoyance as President Barack Obama campaign advertisements and messages appeared within Facebook news feeds.

“Why is Barack Obama on my Facebook newsfeed?” wrote a young female user from Illinois.

“I’m getting really sick of those Obama ads sponsored on my Facebook page,” wrote another.

Barack Obama has enjoyed a surge in Facebook "likes", thanks to a co-ordinated social media campaign
Barack Obama has enjoyed a surge in Facebook “likes”, thanks to a co-ordinated social media campaign

One user, in a message directed at President Barack Obama’s Twitter account, demanded: “Quit trying to promote yourself on my Facebook and Twitter feeds. I never <<liked>> or <<followed>> you.”

Dr. Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon, from the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), said that this kind of campaigning was part of a transition period – which Facebook users may take some time to get used to.

“Before there were physical spaces where people discussed politics – the public sphere has been reconfigured,” she said.

The growth comes as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney look to ramp up their use of digital and social media ahead of November’s vote.

In 2008, Barack Obama’s campaign was praised for its innovative use of social media to engage young, often first-time, voters.

This time around, the efforts have been stepped up a notch. Both candidates have invested in getting good placement on both Facebook and Twitter – with campaign teams placing ads that appear whenever a certain word, such as “debate”, is searched for by a user.

President Barack Obama took to answering questions on popular link listings site Reddit – a move that went down well with the site’s clientele but was dismissed as a quick-win publicity stunt by his detractors.

The president has even had his team place adverts within video games. The top-selling American Football title – EA’s Madden NFL 13 – had images advertising President Barack Obama’s website, voteforchange.com.

Other EA titles – including the classic Tetris – were also used to promote Obama’s campaign.

Mitt Romney’s campaign team told American broadcaster NPR they too had used video games for advertising.

Both campaigns would have hoped that swamping the digital world with their “message” was a surefire election hit. However, research conducted by the University of Pennsylvania suggested a different picture.

Of 1,503 internet-using American adults surveyed by the university’s school of communications, 86% said they did not want to receive political messages tailored for them, and 70% said seeing ads from a candidate they already supported would in fact decrease their chance of voting for them.

“The findings represent a national statement of concern,” said Prof. Joseph Turow, lead researcher on the study.

“We have a major attitudinal tug of war – the public’s emphatic and broad rejection of tailored political ads pulling against political campaigns’ growing adoption of tailored political advertising without disclosing when they are using individuals’ information and how.

“Our survey shows that in the face of these activities, Americans themselves want information.”

Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon said that politicians – and indeed anyone using social media to advertise – must be wary of a “red line” that should not be crossed when dealing with worries of intruding into people’s private digital lives.

She recounted an incident in 2004 when Italy’s then-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s office sent out text messages reminding people to vote in upcoming elections – causing a political row in the process.

“Receiving a text message on your mobile was a way more serious transgression of your private sphere than seeing a sponsored ad on Facebook,” she said.

Sponsored story spat

President Barack Obama’s campaign team used Facebook’s Sponsored Stories function to place their paid-for messages.

However one lawsuit, which the social network has been fighting since 2011, said the feature was violating Californian law by publicizing users’ “likes” without compensation or a way to opt-out.

Facebook’s proposed settlement in the case amounts to $20 million and would allow for individual users covered by the ruling to claim up to $10 each in compensation from the company.

The proposed settlement also outlines new ways of making it easier for children on Facebook to opt-out of the Sponsored Stories feature.

 

Yekaterina Samutsevich of Pussy Riot freed in Russia

Diane A. Wade
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Yekaterina Samutsevich of Pussy Riot freed in Russia

A Moscow court has freed Yekaterina Samutsevich, one of the convicted women from the punk band Pussy Riot, but upheld two-year jail terms for the other two.

There were cheers in court when the two-year jail term of Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, was suspended.

Earlier the trio spoke defiantly at the appeal hearing, saying their protest song was political and not anti-Church.

In August they were jailed for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in Moscow’s main cathedral, Christ the Saviour.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, were found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”.

Their imprisonment sparked widespread international condemnation.

The judges on Wednesday accepted the argument of Yekaterina Samutsevich’s lawyer – that she had been thrown out of the cathedral by guards before she could remove her guitar from its case for the band’s “punk prayer”.

The other band members cheered and hugged Yekaterina Samutsevich when the decision was read out.

The two-year jail term of Yekaterina Samutsevich was suspended
The two-year jail term of Yekaterina Samutsevich was suspended

One of the defence lawyers, Mark Feigin, said “we’re glad that Yekaterina Samutsevich has been freed, but we think the other two girls should also be released”. The appeal process would continue, he said.

Yekaterina Samutsevich’s father reacted with the words: “What happiness! But what a shame about the other girls – they don’t deserve such a harsh punishment.”

Earlier Maria Alyokhina told the hearing: “We’re all innocent… the verdict should be overturned. The Russian justice system looks discredited.”

Maria Alyokhina said that “of course we didn’t want to offend worshippers” when they protested at the cathedral’s altar.

She said the trio’s apologies had been ignored, but repentance was out of the question.

“For us to repent – that’s unacceptable, it’s a kind of blackmail,” she said, adding that repentance was a personal matter, unconnected with a legal case.

She added she had “lost hope in this trial”.

The three women sat in a glass cage in court, facing a three-judge panel.

The band performed an obscenity-laced song at the Moscow cathedral on 21 February.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova told the court “it’s as clear as daylight that this was a political act, not anti-religious… I ask you to quash this sentence”.

Maria Alyokhina warned that if they were sent to a penal colony for two years “we won’t stay silent – even in Mordovia, or Siberia – however uncomfortable that is for you”.

Their “punk prayer” – which implored the Virgin Mary to “throw out” President Vladimir Putin and sought, the band said, to highlight the Russian Orthodox Church leader’s support for the president – enraged the Church.

But while the Church hierarchy said the women’s action “cannot be left unpunished”, it added that any penitence shown should be taken into consideration.

Those comments followed a suggestion from Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that a suspended sentence would have been sufficient punishment.

But Vladimir Putin last week defended the sentence, speaking on Russian NTV television.

“It’s right that they were arrested, it’s right that the court took that decision, because you can’t undermine the foundations of morality, our moral values, destroy the country. What would we be left with then?” Vladimir Putin said.

Opinion polls in Russia suggest a majority backing the sentence against Pussy Riot. One poll found 43% of respondents considered the sentence too lenient.

On Wednesday the judge rejected two motions from defence lawyers to call in experts for their opinions and more witnesses from the cathedral. The defendants’ plea to hold a fresh psychological and linguistic evaluation of their protest song was also rejected.

 

Sarah Brightman will travel to space

Sonia Pantiss
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Sarah Brightman will travel to space

Sarah Brightman is to travel as a space tourist to the International Space Station.

The classical recording artist, once married to Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, will be part of a three-person crew flying to the ISS.

After completing a tour in 2013, Sarah Brightman will embark on six months of preparation at the Star City cosmonaut training centre in Moscow.

She will be the eighth space tourist to visit the ISS.

Once there, she says she intends to become the first professional musician to sing from space.

“This voyage is a product of a dream, my dream. Finally it can be a reality. I am more excited about this than anything I have done in my life to date,” she told a news conference in Moscow.

She added that the schedule for her flight would “be determined very shortly by (Russian space agency) Roscosmos and the ISS partners.”

Space Adventures, the Vienna-based company that organizes flights for private spacefarers, did not disclose how much Sarah Brightman had paid for her seat on the Soyuz.

But the last space tourist, Cirque du Soleil chief executive Guy Laliberte, paid $35 million for the privilege.

Sarah Brightman began her career with the dance troupe Hot Gossip, which had a chart hit in 1978 with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper.

She subsequently starred on the West End stage in Cats and Phantom of the Opera, both penned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, whom she married in 1984.

The pair divorced in 1990 and Sarah Brightman embarked on a solo singing career. She helped popularize the classical crossover genre, scoring a worldwide hit with her duet with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Time To Say Goodbye.

 

RSA Distributed Credential Protection splits passwords in two to foil hacker attacks

Nancy Clayson
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RSA Distributed Credential Protection splits passwords in two to foil hacker attacks

A product that scrambles and then splits users’ passwords in two before storing them on different computer servers has been unveiled by RSA.

The security firm says the facility offers better protection against hackers, who would only gain access to half a “randomized” password in the case of a successful attack.

RSA said the idea had been discussed by academics for some time.

However, one expert said it would only prevent a minority of attacks.

RSA’s distributed credential protection (DCP) facility was announced at the company’s annual European Conference in London.

“DCP scrambles, randomizes and splits sensitive credentials, passwords and Pins and the answers to life or challenge questions into two locations,” said the firm’s marketing manager Liz Robinson.

“This is especially important in today’s landscape as we’ve seen over 50 million passwords stolen in large data breaches in 2012 alone.”

LinkedIn’s leak of 6.5 million passwords, Yahoo’s loss of more than 450,000 usernames and codes, and dating site eHarmony’s exposure of 1.5 million passwords are among this year’s highest profile cases.

In the case of LinkedIn and eHarmony, the breaches involved encrypted passwords – meaning that the hackers would have needed to decode their haul before being able to make use of it.

RSA aims to offer an extra level of protection by allowing its customers to re-randomize and re-split log-in data if they suspect a breach.

So, unless hackers manage to break into both associated servers before this step is taken, they would be unable to marry up and unscramble stolen information.

All of this would be behind the scenes, and a user logging into a site would still only have to type a single username and password into the appropriate interface.

Prof. Alan Woodward – a cybersecurity researcher who advises the UK government – said the idea had merit, but would only prevent a limited number of attacks.

“The original problem was that businesses were storing passwords in plain text,” he said.

“Firms dealt with that by using encryption, but some attacks are getting very sophisticated and have found ways to crack some of the older encryption techniques.

“RSA basically prevents this, but something like 80% of successful attacks result from phishing emails. So while RSA will stop smash and grab attacks on firms’ servers, the most successful kind of attack will likely remain people giving their passwords away.”

RSA said DCP would be made available before the end of the year.

It is set to cost about $150,000 per licence. RSA said that could be less than the cost of “an expensive lawsuit”, but it will put the product beyond the budget of many organizations.

RSA has itself been the victim of a hack attack. In 2011 the firm replaced millions of SecurID tokens after its own IT infrastructure was attacked. The devices offer a code that changes several times a minute, which must be used in addition to a password, offering an extra level of protection

RSA said the attack led to the loss of information about its authentication process, which was linked to a subsequent attack on one of its customers, defence firm Lockheed Martin.

 

Richard Gere ordered out of Nick and Toni’s restaurant by irate husband after flirting with beautiful blonde

Lisa.Felice
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Richard Gere ordered out of Nick and Toni’s restaurant by irate husband after flirting with beautiful blonde

Richard Gere’s close attention to an attractive blonde at restaurant is reported to have led to a confrontation with her angry husband.

Richard Gere, 63, was told to stay away from the woman after he reportedly left his table to chat to her.

The actor was told: “Get the f*** out of here” after he made a beeline for the woman, according to the New York Post.

A source told the New York Post that Richard Gere, who is married to actress Carey Lowell, had been staring at the woman while they both dined at the Nick and Toni’s restaurant in fashionable beachside resort of East Hampton, on Long Island in New York.

Richard Gere was at the restaurant celebrating with his agents after picking up a lifetime achievement award at the Hampton’s International Film Festival.

Over dinner the unnamed “gorgeous blonde” is said to have caught Richard Gere’s eye.

“He kept staring at this woman. Her husband seemed agitated by it,” a source told the Post.

“He approached the other table. He didn’t acknowledge anyone around her. He was leaning in and trying to talk to her, leaning into her ear.”

The woman was apparently confused about Richard Gere’s close attention, leading to her husband stepping in and warning the actor to leave.

Richard Gere is said to have ignored the shouted threat, and continued to talk to the woman before making his exit.

The husband is said to have followed Richard Gere outside to make sure that he left the restaurant where other A-list celebrities including actress Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Gwyneth Paltrow’s mother Blythe Danner were dining.

A spokesman for Richard Gere claimed the incident had been misinterpreted.

“Reality is, he was at a table with his agents and their wives. On his way out, he stopped to say hi to the people at that table, and joked with the people briefly before leaving,” said his spokesman.

Richard Gere shot to fame in American Gigolo and cemented his status as a Hollywood heartthrob playing a naval pilot in An Officer and a Gentleman.

In recent years he is best known for his role in the romantic drama Pretty Woman opposite Julia Roberts.

He has generated talk of an Oscar for his portrayal of a Wall St. financier in his latest film Arbitrage.

Richard Gere was previously married to supermodel Cindy Crawford and wed Carey Lowell, a former Bond girl, in 2002.

 

China pulls out IMF and World Bank meetings in Japan

Diane A. Wade
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China pulls out IMF and World Bank meetings in Japan

Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of China’s central bank, has pulled out of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings being held in Japan.

The move comes amid an ongoing territorial dispute between the two countries.

Relations between the two soured after Japan said it had purchased disputed islands in the East China Sea claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing.

China’s four state-owned banks have also skipped the meetings.

Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, was scheduled to attend the meetings and deliver a speech at the event.

“We were informed two days ago that Governor Zhou’s schedule might require him to cancel his lecture in Tokyo,” an IMF spokesperson said.

“It has now been confirmed that his deputy Yi Gang will represent him at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings and will deliver his Per Jacobsson Lecture.”

Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren is also apparently skipping the meetings. Chinese state media said Vice-Minister Zhu Guangyao would attend.

A report on China’s official news agency Xinhua confirmed the make-up of the Chinese central bank delegation.

It also cited unidentified analysts as saying that the four state-owned banks had decided to skip the meetings “because bilateral relations between China and Japan have become strained”.

Japan described the Chinese move as “regrettable”.

The territorial dispute has affected both political and trade ties between the two neighbors.

On Tuesday, Japanese carmakers reported a dramatic drop in sales in China, after recent protests in the country targeting Japanese products and businesses.

Toyota reported a 49% drop in sales in September, while Honda and Nissan’s sales fell 40% and 35% respectively.

Other carmakers such as Mitsubishi Motors and Mazda have also reported a sharp drop in Chinese sales.

The protests had led to various Japanese firms temporarily suspending their operations in China.

Dion Corbett, spokesperson for Toyota, Japan’s biggest carmaker, said the slump in sales meant that its sales targets for China might be “very difficult to achieve”.

The territorial row has rumbled for decades. Both China and Japan claim the islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

Taiwan also claims the islands, which lie in important shipping lanes and fishing grounds, and also close to waters thought to contain natural resources.

This row flared over Japan’s purchase of some of the islands from their private owner – a move prompted by a potentially more provocative plan by right-wing Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara to buy them using public donations and develop them.

Since then both Chinese and Taiwanese vessels have been sailing in and out of what Japan says are its territorial waters around the islands. The US, meanwhile, has called for calm, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging “cooler heads to prevail”.

 

2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka awarded for cell signals work

James J. Williams
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2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka awarded for cell signals work

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has gone to US researchers Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka, whose work shed light on how the billions of cells in our body sense their environments.

Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka will share the prize of 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million).

Their work focuses on what are called G protein-coupled receptors, a number of proteins that reach through cell walls.

Understanding how they work has been crucial to unravelling the complex network of signalling between cells.

Sven Lidin of the Nobel committee started his summary of the work by shouting “Boo!” to assembled reporters; the rush of adrenaline one gets when scared, he explained, is just one manifestation of this vast network, communicating a chemical signal across billions of cells, through otherwise impenetrable cell membranes.

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has gone to US researchers Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka
The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has gone to US researchers Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka

Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Maryland, was reached by phone during the conference. He explained that the receptors “serve as the gateway to the cells for many different neurotransmitters and hormones in our body”.

They capture signalling molecules both in healthy bodies and are the target for more than half of all pharmaceutical drugs, as Dr. Robert Lefkowitz said.

“They are crucially positioned to regulate almost every known physiological process in humans. As physicians, what we need to do in cases of disease is regulate the activity of these, like adrenaline, as you heard, serotonin, and dopamine.”

Dr. Robert Lefkowitz started investigating the receptors by following the movement of radioactive isotopes attached to hormones within cells in the laboratory, trying to track down how signals get through cell membranes.

Dr. Brian Kobilka – who is now at Stanford University in California – joined the team in the 1980s, and they took another tack to discover how the receptors come about, searching within the human genome for the code that lays out the genetic instructions for them.

Taken together, the pair’s work, as the Nobel site’s summary explains, represents “knowledge… of the greatest benefit to mankind”.

The first-ever Nobel prize in chemistry was awarded to Dutchman Jacobus van ‘t Hoff for his research into reaction rates and osmotic pressure.

The total number of chemistry Nobel recipients has now reached 163.

On Monday, the 2012 prize for medicine or physiology was awarded to John Gurdon from the UK and Shinya Yamanaka from Japan for changing adult cells into stem cells, and on Tuesday the prize for physics was awarded to Serge Haroche of France and David Wineland of the US for their work in querying single light and matter particles.

The prizes for literature and peace will be awarded later in the week, with the economics prize to be announced on Monday.

 

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