Europe backs Monti reforms as Italy crisis hits markets

ROME (Reuters) - European partners urged the next Italian government on Monday to stick to Prime Minister Mario Monti's reform agenda, after his decision to resign early and Silvio Berlusconi's return to frontline politics rattled financial markets.

Monti's surprise weekend announcement that he would quit because Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party had withdrawn its support for his technocrat government pushed up Italy's borrowing costs and prompted a stock market sell-off.

The campaign for an election expected in February is likely to be fought over Monti's reform agenda which Berlusconi, his predecessor as prime minister, said had condemned Italy to recession and forced him reluctantly to run for a fifth term.

By contrast European politicians and officials warned that Monti's policies must continue to prevent a return of the crisis which brought him to power a year ago, when he was charged with rescuing the euro zone's third biggest economy from the threat of a Greek-style collapse.

"Monti was a great prime minister of Italy and I hope that the policies he put in place will continue after the elections," European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in Oslo, where he was part of a European Union delegation receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

The comments echoed similar remarks in the past two days from policymakers ranging from French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to the head of the European bailout fund Klaus Regling and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

With Rome's European allies doing little to conceal dismay at the thought of Berlusconi's return - on a day when his trial on sex charges was also back in the headlines - the billionaire former premier called the EU sniping at him an insult to Italy.

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos warned that instability there could spill over and put Spain's fragile public finances at risk of further turmoil.

Attention is now focused on whether Monti will enter politics himself, either as a candidate or by endorsing one of the centrist forces that have backed his reforms and made more or less explicit pleas for him to run.

The daily La Repubblica quoted the 69-year-old former European Commissioner as saying that he had not yet made up his mind but was worried by the situation. "I don't know," he was quoted as saying. "If I had to ... describe my feelings today, I would say that I am very concerned."

He has repeatedly warned of the danger posed by the rise of populist, anti-European forces in the region.

CENTRE-LEFT LEADS

Monti's decision to resign once the 2013 budget is approved, probably before Christmas, has brought forward to February an election that had already been expected in March or by the latest April.

Opinion polls suggest Berlusconi has little chance of re-election and he has struggled to reassert his previously undisputed domination of rival factions and courtiers in his deeply divided centre-right party.

The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) under Pier Luigi Bersani holds a strong lead and is likely to form the next government on a broadly pro-European platform, largely in line with Monti's agenda.

Bersani - who hopes that the former European Commissioner will stay on in some capacity, possibly as Italy's president - said on Monday that "precisely because Monti should still be able to be of service to this country, it would be better for him to stay out of the contest".

Berlusconi's strategy appears designed to ensure he retains influence in the next parliament with a substantial voting bloc that, among other things, can protect his business and personal interests.

After several weeks of calm, markets bridled at the prospect of Berlusconi's return to lead the centre-right, just over a year after a financial crisis drove the scandal-plagued billionaire from office to be replaced by Monti's technocrats.

"You can expect a sharpening in anti-austerity, anti-reform rhetoric...and this will probably translate into a higher risk premium on Italian assets," said Goldman Sachs analysts Silvia Ardagna and Francesco Garzarelli.

The main measure of investors' confidence, the spread between Italian 10-year government bonds and their lower risk German equivalent, widened to 362 basis points from 325 late on Friday, reflecting worries over a return to the political uncertainty which dogged Italy last year.

Milan's blue-chip share index dropped over 3 percent, with sharper falls in banking stocks that are seen as most vulnerable to a renewed debt crisis.

"IRRESPONSIBILITY"

Berlusconi's reappearance on the frontline and the prospect of a messy anti-Monti election campaign galvanised attention in Italy and abroad, reawakening memories of the financial and sexual scandals that plagued the media magnate's last government.

Rubbing in the point, the prosecutor in Berlusconi's trial on charges of having sex with a juvenile prostitute accused the 76-year-old of delaying tactics after the young woman failed to appear as a witness.

A barrage of comment from European leaders underlined the concern about Berlusconi's return and the Roman Catholic Church made outspoken and thinly veiled criticism of the former premier that may influence the PDL's conservative voting base.

"What leaves one astonished is the irresponsibility of those who think of arranging things for themselves while the house is still burning," the influential head of the Italian bishop's conference, Angelo Bagnasco, told the Corriere della Sera.

On Monday night, Belusconi issued a terse statement rejecting the negative comments from foreign politicians and media as an offensive interference in domestic affairs.

He said he had always been a "convinced supporter of Europe" and that the comments were "offensive not so much to me personally but to the free choice of the Italians."

With a new government likely to be formed in a few months, Italy's European partners have now started to look more closely at Bersani, the overwhelming victor in a centre-left primary election last month.

A no-frills former communist who is close to Italy's trade unions, Bersani has promised to stick to the promises on fiscal discipline the government has made and has said that Monti is likely to continue playing a role after the election.

While Italy's election laws are likely to give Bersani a strong majority in the lower house, the complicated rules may make it more difficult for him to take control of the Senate, posing a possible risk to the formation of a stable government.

Whoever wins will have to confront a severe recession, record unemployment and a ballooning public debt expected to surpass 126 percent of gross domestic product this year.

The depth of the crisis was underlined on Monday, with data showing GDP shrinking 2.4 percent in the third quarter and industrial production dropping 1.1 percent in October.

(Additional reporting by Luke Baker and Balazs Koranyi in Oslo, Lisa Jucca, Silvia Aloisi, Giancarlo Navach, Alessia Pe, Maria Pia Quaglia in Milan and Francesca Piscioneri in Rome; Editing by Barry Moody, David Stamp and Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/europe-hails-great-monti-italy-crisis-hits-markets-144333176--finance.html

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Review: Terfel shines in Zurich's odd 'Dutchman'

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) ? There's scarcely a ship or a sailor to be seen in the wildly revisionist, weirdly anti-colonialist new production of Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" at the Zurich Opera. But, fortunately, there is Bryn Terfel.

The Welsh bass-baritone was in splendid voice and commanded the stage with mesmerizing, hulking presence as the Dutch mariner condemned to sail the seas until he finds a woman faithful unto death. It may be a slight exaggeration to say Terfel single-handedly redeemed the spectacle that premiered Sunday night ? but only slight.

One night earlier the company presented Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera" in a musically vibrant but similarly befuddling production, this one a revival of a staging by David Pountney first seen two seasons ago.

But "Dutchman" was the big news, because it's the first production directed by Andreas Homoki since he became general manager of the opera house earlier this year. With the license that comes from the European fashion of radically reinterpreting standard works, Homoki apparently decided to turn Wagner's romantic ghost story into a cautionary tale about the evils of bourgeois greed and imperialism.

Daland the sea captain becomes head of a shipping company, and his sailors are desk-bound clerks, keeping in touch by telephone on the progress of a returning ship. A map of Africa on the wall marks its ports of call, and Daland keeps a fez-wearing African manservant. Daland's daughter, Senta, and the other women are no longer seamstresses but office workers who sit at typewriters instead of spinning-wheels. And the only time we see a ship among Wolfgang Gussmann's sets is when a painting of a turbulent ocean churns to life and the Dutchman's ship with red sails emerges from the waves.

None of this sheds any particular new light on Wagner's opera, but at least it sticks to the broad outlines of the plot. Things turn really perverse in the final scene, when Daland's crew tries to rouse the ghostly sailors aboard the Dutchman's ship. Suddenly, the African servant morphs into a spear-carrying savage, and the map of Africa goes up in flames. Senta proves her loyalty not by jumping into the sea to join the Dutchman but by shooting herself with a hunting rifle.

Terfel, wearing a fur coat with long brown hair hanging over the collar and streaks of dark makeup that accentuate his piercing eyes, manages to keep his dignity amid all this and creates a searing portrayal of a man possessed. Reprising a role that sounds almost easy for him after his recent exertions as Wotan, Terfel musters stentorian power for the climaxes but sings many passages with a quiet, yearning tenderness.

Anja Kampe as Senta matches him well, singing with warm, penetrating tone, except for some strident high notes. Veteran bass Matti Salminen revels in the role of Daland, even if his voice has lost some of its richness. Conductor Alain Altinoglu whips up considerable excitement in the pit, though there were a few opening night coordination problems with the excellent chorus.

It should be noted that although Zurich opera audiences have come to expect that liberties will be taken, there were more than a few boos when Homoki and his team came out for curtain calls.

For "Ballo," Pountney takes off from the fact that the real King Gustavo III of Sweden was a playwright and theater buff. So Verdi's opera becomes a play staged by the tenor, abetted by his page, Oscar, and a woman who starts off dressed as his nurse but then acts the part of the fortune teller Ulrica.

Anyone who saw the recent David Alden production at the Metropolitan Opera will recognize some similarities: Oscar wears wings; Ulrica takes frequent swigs of liquor, and the opening scene ends with a jaunty chorus line.

In the finale, Pountney gives us not one but three Gustavos ? the king who is assassinated during the masked ball, the king who has directed the show, and the life-size puppet king he carries in and lays atop the prompter's box. It's all a bit bewildering.

Tenor Ramon Vargas brings an urgent lyricism to the role of Gustavo, while soprano Tatjana Serjan displays a striking range of colors as his beloved Amelia. Baritone Alexey Markov is impressive as her husband, Renato, though his sound is more Slavic than Italianate. Mezzo-soprano Yvonne Naef is a vivid Ulrica, and soprano Sen Guo a spirited Oscar.

Perhaps the best thing about the performance is the presence in the pit of octogenarian Nello Santi, who leads a rich, finely detailed performance. Santi provides a rare link to a bygone golden era: He made his Met debut 50 years ago conducting "Ballo" with a cast that starred Carlo Bergonzi, Robert Merrill and Leonie Rysanek.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-12-10-Opera%20Review-Flying%20Dutchman/id-1332e6420540447aa96cbe92b89f1dec

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How silver turns people blue

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Researchers from Brown University have shown for the first time how ingesting too much silver can cause argyria, a rare condition in which patients' skin turns a striking shade of grayish blue.

"It's the first conceptual model giving the whole picture of how one develops this condition," said Robert Hurt, professor of engineering at Brown and part of the research team. "What's interesting here is that the particles someone ingests aren't the particles that ultimately cause the disorder."

Scientists have known for years argyria had something to do with silver. The condition has been documented in people who (ill advisedly) drink antimicrobial health tonics containing silver nanoparticles and in people who have had alternative medical treatments involving silver. Tissue samples from patients showed silver particles actually lodged deep in the skin, but it wasn't clear how they got there.

As it turns out, argyria is caused by a complex series of chemical reactions, Hurt says. His paper on the subject, authored with Brown University colleagues Jingyu Liu, Zhongying Wang, Frances Liu, and Agnes Kane, was published online earlier this month in the journal ACS Nano.

Hurt and his team show that nanosilver is broken down in the stomach, absorbed into the bloodstream as a salt and finally deposited in the skin, where exposure to light turns the salt back into silver metal and creates the telltale bluish hue. That final stage, oddly, involves the same photochemical reaction used to develop black-and-white photographs.

From silver to salt and back again

Hurt and his team have been studying the environmental impact of silver, specifically silver nanoparticles, for years. They've found that nanosilver tends to corrode in acidic environments, giving off charged ions ? silver salts ? that can be toxic in large amounts. Hurt's graduate student, Jingyu Liu (now a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology), thought those same toxic ions might also be produced when silver enters the body, and could play a role in argyria.

To find out, the researchers mixed a series chemical treatments that could simulate what might happen to silver inside the body. One treatment simulated the acidic environment in the gastrointestinal tract; one mimicked the protein content of the bloodstream; and a collagen gel replicated the base membranes of the skin.

They found that nanosilver corrodes in stomach acid in much the same way it does in other acidic environments. Corrosion strips silver atoms of electrons, forming positively charged silver salt ions. Those ions can easily be taken into the bloodstream through channels that absorb other types of salt. That's a crucial step, Hurt says. Silver metal particles themselves aren't terribly likely to make it from the GI tract to the blood, but when some of them are transformed into a salt, they're ushered right through.

From there, Hurt and his team showed that silver ions bind easily with sulfur present in blood proteins, which would give them a free ride through the bloodstream. Some of those ions would eventually end up in the skin, where they'd be exposed to light.

To re-create this end stage, the researchers shined ultraviolet light on collagen gel containing silver ions. The light caused electrons from the surrounding materials to jump onto the unstable ions, returning them to their original state ? silver metal. This final reaction is ultimately what turns patients' skin blue. The photoreaction is similar to the way silver is used in black and white photography. When exposed to light, silver salts on a photographic film reduce to silver metal and darken, creating an image.

Implications for nanosilver safety

Despite its potential toxicity, silver has been valued for centuries for its ability to kill germs, which is why silver nanoparticles are used today in everything from food packaging to bandages. Regulators have established limits for occupational exposure to silver, but there are questions as to whether there should be special limits on the nanoparticle form.

This research "would be one piece of evidence that you could treat nanoparticles in the same way as other forms of silver," Hurt says.

That's because the bioavailable form of silver ? the form that is absorbed into the bloodstream ? is the silver salt that's made in the stomach. Any silver metal that's ingested is just the raw material to make that bioavailable salt. So ingesting silver in any form, be it nano or not, would have basically the same effect, Hurt said.

"The concern in this case is the total dose of silver, not what form it's in," Hurt said. "This study implies that silver nanoparticles will be less toxic than an equivalent amount of silver salt, at least in this exposure scenario."

###

Brown University: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau

Thanks to Brown University for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124911/How_silver_turns_people_blue

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Exclusive: UAE's Dana Gas won't pay bond on maturity - sources

DUBAI (Reuters) - Dana Gas is set to become the first United Arab Emirates (UAE) company to fail payment of an Islamic bond on maturity, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

The UAE's largest listed natural gas firm, hit by payment delays from Egypt and Iraq's Kurdistan region, will not repay a $920 million convertible Islamic bond, or sukuk, when it matures on Wednesday, the sources said.

However, Sharjah-based Dana has won more time to hammer out a deal with bondholders, they added.

Dana Gas declined to comment.

Although indebted firms in the Gulf Arab state have extended maturities on billions of dollars in bank loans since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008-09, no sukuk have been restructured or unpaid on maturity so far.

Dana has a $1 billion sukuk maturing on October 31. It repurchased about $80 million of the sukuk in 2008, leaving $920 million outstanding.

The five-year sukuk, which was issued with a 7.5 percent coupon, has gained international interest as a large chunk of the debt is owned by large investment firms including BlackRock Inc , Ashmore Group and Spinnaker Capital.

There is "absolutely no chance" of a white knight swooping in to repay the bond by the due date, a source close to the talks said. In 2009, the Abu Dhabi government stepped in at the eleventh hour to help Dubai repay developer Nakheel's $4.1 billion Islamic bond.

The sources said Dana, in which Crescent Petroleum owns a 20-percent stake, reached a so-called standstill agreement with creditors in early October giving it more time to repay the bond and that this was effective for up to six months.

However, some creditors are preparing for a potential "post-default scenario", one source familiar with the discussions said, in which no deal would be reached at all.

Dana is to issue a statement on Wednesday or early Thursday detailing its plans on restructuring the bond, two sources said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public.

Shares in Dana fell 8.5 percent to 0.43 dirhams on the Abu Dhabi bourse after the Reuters report. The stock closed down 4.26 percent. The shares have been battered by concerns over how Dana will find funds to repay the bond and limited communication from the company on the matter. The sukuk has a conversion price of 1.926 dirhams.

Dana, which is privately-owned, is not seen as a strategic entity for the UAE and so any government support is unlikely.

PAYMENT PROBLEMS

In May, Dana said it wanted to find a consensual deal with sukukholders to repay the bond, and said it had hired Blackstone Group , Deutsche Bank and law firm Latham & Watkins as advisers.

Investors have hired Moelis and law firm Linklaters as advisers.

The sukuk, which is lightly traded, was quoted at a bid price of 77 to 78 cents on the dollar on Tuesday, up from lows of about 68 cents in mid-September, indicating investors were hopeful of some sort of resolution.

Natural gas producer Dana, which has operations in the UAE, Egypt and Iraq's Kurdistan region, says its cash flow has been affected by global economic conditions and regional events, including Egyptian unrest last year which delayed payments.

The company had a cash balance of 601 million dirhams ($164 million) as of June 30, 2012. Outstanding receivables on Egypt gas deliveries stood at 729 million dirhams and 1.2 billion dirhams in the Kurdistan region at that time.

In a recent interview, Dana board member and Crescent Chief Executive Majid Jafar said Egypt was paying the company for all fuel it was receiving from its operations and was optimistic outstanding payments would be settled.

Jafar said last week talks between the company and creditors were still ongoing, and have been "amicable and friendly."

(Additional reporting by Mirna Sleiman, Rachna Uppal, David French and Daniel Fineren; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Mark Potter)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-uaes-dana-gas-wont-pay-bond-maturity-103030786--sector.html

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Syria bombards major cities, weakening truce

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad renewed their bombardment of major cities on Saturday and rebels launched several attacks, further undermining a truce meant to mark the Muslim Eid al-Adha religious holiday.

The violence, reported by residents, opposition supporters and Syria's government, came on the second day of the ceasefire called by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who had hoped to use it to build momentum to end the 19-month-old conflict in which an estimated 32,000 people have been killed.

Syrian state news SANA reported dozens of "ceasefire violations" by rebel groups including a car bomb in front of a Christian church in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor.

Activists in Deir al-Zor and in Aleppo, which is Syria's most populous city and about half controlled by rebels, said mortar bombs were being fired into residential areas.

Residents in Damascus posted internet footage of fighter jets they said bombed the suburbs of Erbin and Harasta. Eight people were killed, according to the residents and to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based opposition organisation with a network of sources within Syria.

It was not possible to verify events due to Syria's restrictions on media access.

The army has said it agreed to the ceasefire but that it has a duty to respond to rebel attacks.

A commander from the rebel Free Syrian Army said his force would honour the truce but demanded Assad meet opposition demands for the release of thousands of detainees. Some Islamist militants, including the Nusra Front, said they would keep on fighting.

More than 150 people were killed on Friday, including 43 soldiers, said the Observatory for Human Rights. Most were shot by sniper fire or in combat, the Observatory said.

SECTARIAN WORRIES

The conflict pits Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is distantly related to Shi'ite Islam, against mainly Sunni Muslim rebels. Recent attacks, such as Saturday's bomb by a Syriac church, point to an increasingly sectarian conflict.

The Observatory released a statement on Saturday condemning a clash on Friday in the Aleppo district of Ashrafieh between rebels and an armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, which left 30 dead.

"(The fight) threatens dire consequences. It will work in the interests of the regime, which is working hard to incite national sedition and sectarianism," said Observatory head Rami Abdelrahman.

Syrian state TV said two people were killed in Ashrafieh, after "terrorists" opened fire on a demonstration calling for them to leave the area.

Syrian Kurds have long faced discrimination, a lack of full citizenship rights and forced displacements. But Assad sought to dissuade them from joining the uprising against him that erupted elsewhere in March 2011 by promising citizenship.

About 10 percent of the population, Kurds have been able to exploit an uneasy vacuum left by Assad's retreating forces to set up their own militia, some with ties to the government.

Rebels in Azaz, a northern Syrian town, reported on their Facebook page that they have detained Lebanese journalist Fidaa Itani. They said Itani, who works for LBCI television, was put under house arrest as his work was "incompatible with the course of the Syrian revolution."

TRUCE BREACHES

A Reuters cameraman in the Turkish border village of Besaslan in southern Hatay province said he could hear a helicopter circling on the Syrian side of the border, as well as gunfire and explosions.

Turkish ambulances were ferrying wounded people from an unofficial border crossing for treatment in Turkey.

Brahimi's ceasefire appeal won widespread international support, including from Russia, China and Iran, Assad's main foreign allies.

The peace envoy's predecessor, former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, declared a ceasefire in Syria on April 12, but it soon fell apart, along with the rest of his six-point peace plan.

Divided international powers have been unable to stop the violence, with the West condemning Assad but blaming Russia, Iran and China for supporting Damascus.

Russia's deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov tweeted on Saturday that "Westerners" in the United Nations Security Council had prevented the body from condemning a bomb attack in Damascus on Friday, which the Syrian government blames on rebels it labels as "terrorists."

(Additional reporting by Mert Ozkan in Besaslan, Gleb Bryanski in Moscow and Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman; editing by Jason Webb.)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-bombards-major-cities-weakening-truce-120102793.html

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UNO film arts student slain in Oct. 19 shooting on Burke Avenue ...

A University of New Orleans student majoring in film arts was fatally shot last Friday night in eastern New Orleans, according to officials. Police found Valan May sitting in his car in the 7900 block of Burke Avenue with a gunshot wound to the right side of his head.

May died at a hospital later that evening, said John Gagliano, chief investigator for the New Orleans coroner's office. He was 24.

May graduated in 2007 from Peabody Magnet High School in Alexandria in Rapides Parish, his social media profiles say. He subsequently received an associate's degree from the University of Phoenix and enrolled at UNO.

At UNO, May was a sophomore, school spokesman Adam Norris said Thursday. May's social media pages suggest he was a devoted fan of professional wrestling, particularly World Wrestling Entertainment and its personalities.

He also wrote a number of love poems, some of which he posted on social media as well as on a website for amateur poets. One of his pieces was about losing "his one and only girl" to gun violence on her birthday.

"Never again into her hazel eyes will I gaze. / Without her it feels like I'm trapped in a maze," he wrote. "Never again will I hear her say 'I love you, Valan.' / That cuts into me like an eagle talon."

Attempts to contact the victim's family on Thursday weren't immediately successful. Investigators haven't discussed details on a motive or a suspect in May's slaying.

NOPD Detective Darrell Doucette is in charge of the case. Anyone who has information on May's killing is asked to call Crimestoppers at 504.822.1111 or toll-free at 877.903.7867.

People can also text tips to C-R-I-M-E-S (274637); text TELLCS and then the crime information. Callers or texters do not have to give their names or testify and can earn a $2,500 reward for information that leads to an indictment.

Source: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/10/uno_film_arts_student_slain_in.html

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The Living and the Dead: War, Friendship, and the Battles that Never End

A new Byliner Original by acclaimed journalist and Iraq War veteran Brian Mockenhaupt

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 24, 2012

?The worst feeling,? Sergeant Tom Whorl scribbles in a small spiral notebook, surrounded by nameless enemies in a strange and hostile landscape, ?is not knowing when your last step will be. That?s what takes a toll on your brain.? With those simple words, a courageous man fighting a war that many would just as soon forget about captures the gut-wrenching day-to-day, life-and-death struggles and triumphs of the men of Patrol Base Dakota. Their story happens to unfold at a Marine encampment in southern Afghanistan, but it could be the story of young American soldiers in any war, trying to do the job when doing the job might mean, at any second, losing your life?or watching your best friend lose his.

A new e-book, The Living and the Dead, by Brian Mockenhaupt, just released by digital publisher Byliner, relates the grippingly true story of three close friends?Tom, Ian, and Jimmy?and the reality of how twenty-first-century combat plays out in the lives of those who fight it. How walking through the Afghan countryside means patrolling for cleverly hidden explosives that can instantly tear a man in half. How the families back home live in dread of the men in gray cars showing up at their front door with news too grim to imagine. How the consequences of a split-second decision can replay over and over in a soldier?s mind and haunt him for the rest of his days. How those who sign up to do democracy?s dirty work somehow manage to endure the unendurable. The Living and the Dead is a powerfully moving and timelessly compelling account of bravery, friendship, struggle, and sacrifice in the face of unimaginable tests. It is an unforgettable tale of battles that continue to rage long after the final shot has been fired.

About the Author: Brian Mockenhaupt is a contributing editor at Esquire and Reader?s Digest and is the nonfiction editor at the Journal of Military Experience. He writes regularly for The Atlantic and Outside. His work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine and Chicago magazine. He served two tours in Iraq as an infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division. Since leaving the U.S. Army in 2005, he has written extensively on military and veteran affairs, reporting from Afghanistan and Iraq, hometowns, and hospitals.

About Byliner: Byliner commissions and publishes original stories written to be read in a single sitting. Bestselling Byliner titles include Amy Tan?s Rules for Virgins, Margaret Atwood?s Positron, Jon Krakauer?s Three Cups of Deceit, Ann Patchett?s The Getaway Car, Nick Hornby?s Everyone?s Reading Bastard, and Buzz Bissinger?s After Friday Night Lights. The companion website, Byliner.com, gives readers personalized access to an unmatched library of fiction and nonfiction, handpicked by our editors. On Byliner, readers can discover new writers, explore, save, and share great stories, connect with other readers, and even engage directly with their favorite writers.

The Living and the Dead is available for $2.99 as a Kindle Single at Amazon, a Quick Read at Apple?s iBookstore, a Nook Snap at BarnesAndNoble.com, a Short Read at Kobo, and at Google Play. For an Advance Reading Copy or to schedule an interview with Brian Mockenhaupt, please contact Clare Hertel at clare(at)byliner(dot)com; 505-474-6783.

###

Clare Hertel
Clare Hertel Communications
(505) 474-6783
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/living-dead-war-friendship-battles-never-end-090619902.html

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Crocs Womens Sexi Sandal | Ovarian Cervical Uterine Cancer ...

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Source: http://janwarner16.typepad.com/blog/2012/10/crocs-womens-sexi-sandal-ovarian-cervical-uterine-cancer.html

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New Online Resource Provides Data Tables on Latino Children ...

From guest blogger Kimberly Shannon

The National Council of La Raza today released the NCLR Latino Kids Data Explorer, a free interactive tool that allows users to search for specific data on Latino children and create instant tables of select information. The Data Explorer is an expansion of the civil rights organization's 2010 publication America's Future: Latino Child Well-Being in Numbers and Trends, and uses data gathered by the Population Reference Bureau and Child Trends. It is funded in part by the Birth to Five Policy Alliance.

The tool, which is paired with an infographic and fact sheet, uses 27 national and state-level indicators of Latino child well-being, spanning the categories of demographic, health, education, housing, income, and juvenile justice. It allows users to choose an age group and time period when applicable to obtain information on. After users choose the category, indicator, age range, and time period, they can view and compare information by race, as well as for individual states. Tables can be printed or downloaded from the user-friendly platform.
The education categories include national assessment data, and enrollment info for federal and local early-childhood programs. The accompanying fact sheet, "Building a Brighter Future: Latino Children?Ready to Learn," outlines obstacles that Latino challenge face in early childhood.

The council considers early education to be an important factor in Latino success. "Studies show that children who attend high-quality preschool do better in school overall, are more likely to graduate from high school, are less likely to be arrested and earn more income over their lifetime than their peers who do not attend preschool," said Liany Elba Arroyo, associate director of the Education and Children's Policy Project at NCLR, in a press release.

While Latino poverty in the U.S. has increased from 28.4 percent of all children living in poverty in the U.S. in 1999 to 35 percent in 2010, some other statistics showed small gains. For example, 370,000 more Latino children attended preschool in 2010 than in 2000, and the number of Hispanic children not attending preschool dropped from 52 percent in 2000 to 46.6 percent in 2010. However, these gains are at risk if policymakers do not make a greater effort towards equality, argues NCLR.

In the midst of the presidential elections, information about Latino children is important because it can and should strongly affect policymaking as well as voters' decisions, according to Clarissa Mart?nez-De-Castro, director of Civic Engagement and Immigration at NCLR. "Neither party can get to the White House without Latino support," she said in a media call. Hispanic children represent nearly 15.8 million potential new voters that will be added to the U.S. electorate by 2028, and will make up 18 percent of the country's workforce by 2018, a press release from NCLR says.

Source: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2012/10/new_online_resource_provides_d.html

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Extensive security arrangements being made for Eid - Pakistan Today

KARACHI?-?IG Sindh Police Fayyaz Leghari on Thursday said that the Sindh police will put in place an elaborated security plan during upcoming Eid-ul-Azha to effectively deal with any law and order situation.

Talking to media persons outside the Supreme Court, Karachi Registery, Leghari said that around 20,000 police force will be deployed during Eid-ul-Azha across the city. Deployment will be made in sensitive areas and mosques for Eid prayers.

He said that different political parties and groups have agreed upon a code of conduct for collection of hides of sacrificial animals.

Leghari denied reports that animals have been shot in old city area for collection of extortion money.

Source: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/10/25/news/national/extensive-security-arrangements-being-made-for-eid-ig-sindh/

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Dig Your Way Out of Personal Debt

Generally, small business owners need commercial loans to buy a business with real estate, refinance a commercial real estate asset (like a gas station, strip mall, industrial warehouse, office building, motel, hotel, etc.) or refinance a business with real estate. However, the complexity of commercial loans makes deal structuring difficult. Here's our guide to commercial loans.:

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The SBA 7a is the only program that funds startup businesses with annual revenues under $2 million and without a real estate component. SBA 7a loans come with longer terms than conventional loans. Generally, terms for SBA 7a loans range from 15 to 25 years. Also, within the program small business owners can access other forms of working capital options like a line of credit.:

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SBA Loan Programs broken out by benefits, eligibility, use of proceeds, loan amounts and rate structure and typical loan amortization. Compare your SBA Loan options here!:

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New entrepreneurs often make the mistake of using their own money to buy equipment. Leasing is a much cheaper and easier alternative for financing equipment purchases. Any business with equipment can take advantage of this product.

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If you're looking to buy a business, consult a business valuation expert to help you find appropriate business financing alternatives. Try talking to your accountant or banker or search online for business valuation guides and loans to buy a business.

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Businesses with varying revenue streams need capital during slow periods to operate efficiently. A business line of credit can help entrepreneurs stay financially afloat until the excess funds from more lucrative months roll in. Predicting the degree of a seasonal downswing is difficult, making term loans an impractical business financing solution. Fortunately, with a business line of credit, borrowers only have to pay interest on the amount used:

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1.Make a list of the 10 fastest growing franchises in the country.
2.Look for existing franchise networks in your target area.
3.Keep up with franchise news.
4.Check the minimum amount of capital required to open a franchise.

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Source: http://expertadvice.biz2credit.com/2012/10/25/dig-your-way-out-of-personal-debt/

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Patriots riding away to London

Buy This Photo

?I just want to see the soldiers outside of the Palace that can't smile,? the Patriots' Shane Vereen says of his team's trip to London this week.AP

"; aryZooms[imgCounter] = "javascript: NewWindow(870,675,window.document.location+'&Template=photos&img="+imgCounter+"')"; var match = /Cod Times/.test("AP"); if (match==false || "AP"==""){ document.getElementById('purchasePhoto').style.display = "none"; } bolImages=true;

FOXBORO ? Before he plays at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Patriots running back Shane Vereen wants to make a stop at Buckingham Palace.

"I just want to see the soldiers outside of the Palace that can't smile," a smiling Vereen said Tuesday. "I just want to take a picture."

On deck

Sunday, Patriots (4-3) vs. St. Louis Rams (3-4), at London, 1 p.m.

And then he'll play for the usually dour coach Bill Belichick in New England's second trip in four years to London where they'll face the St. Louis Rams.

"The time change, the travel ? that's certainly different than most normal games," Belichick said, "but it's not anything we haven't dealt with before. We've traveled to the West Coast. We're just going the other direction. Hopefully, we'll be able to deal with it."

The Patriots went to London in 2009, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 35-7, but most players on that New England team won't be with this one when it travels across the Atlantic Ocean on a red-eye Thursday night.

For Vereen, in his second NFL season, it will be his first trip to Europe.

"I'm excited to go, see what it's all about and be able to play somewhere else, but at the same time we do have to go get a 'W,'" Vereen said, adding, "I think it's fun" more than the inconvenience of making a long trip in the middle of the season.

"I think it will be a good thing for us. I think it will be a good thing for St. Louis as well," he said. "Middle of the season, you kind of start getting into the lull, the every-day routine. So to break the routine a little bit and get to go out of the country, I think will be something fun."

Injured safety Steve Gregory, who missed the last two games with a hip injury, visited London with the San Diego Chargers in 2008 and is looking forward to another trip.

"It was a great experience," he said. "Obviously, I had never been there before so to see London, the overall experience, was just amazing."

As far as his off-field plans, Gregory joked that he would see Queen Elizabeth, "if she'll let me." Running back Stevan Ridley, asked about visiting the queen, said, "Hey man, if she calls, yeah."

Placekicker Stephen Gostkowski, who made the 2009 trip, said, "It was a lot of fun and we got a win and hopefully it will be the same experience. It's a long trip but it's not too much farther than like when we went to Seattle (Oct. 14). So, it will be a good experience if we play well and can come home with a win."

As far as what he might like to do this time, Gostkowski said, "I doubt we'll really have time to really enjoy . go sightseeing, maybe take a tour bus, I don't know. They haven't told us the schedule yet. It will be fun if we win and we'll have a good time."

The Wembley Stadium field hasn't gotten great reviews.

"Every field is different, you get used to it," Belichick said. "It's a grass field. It's not the fastest field but we've played on plenty comparable to that. It's a little different environment out there. They do the soccer cheers and the rugby cheers and all that.

"It's a little less football-oriented."

NOTES: Gostkowski, who kicked the tying and winning field goals last Sunday in a 29-26 overtime win over the New York Jets, said, "I got a chance to help the team and I came through. It was fun. It was a good feeling to come out with a win, a division win against a team that we like to beat."... The Patriots have gained more than 350 yards in each of their last 16 games, tying an NFL record set by the Rams (1999-2000), this week's opponent. "I'm a lot more concerned about wins than yards. I don't really care about the stats," Belichick said. "I just care about scoring more points than the other team."

Source: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121024/SPORTS/210240309/-1/rss06

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Source: http://kashwealthsystem.com/health/2012/10/22/stop-smoking-self-hypnosis-audio-download-with-ebook/

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Must-Read: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in Politico ...

Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--October 24, 2012.?

Americans are about to choose among candidates who are debating whether to cut benefits for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and whether the richest Americans should pay their fair share of taxes.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney?s plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program and increase health care costs for seniors is a deciding issue in key battleground states and for key electorates. Another deciding issue is the scandalously low tax rate that people like Romney get away with paying.?

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators who are not up for reelection is working behind closed doors in Washington to reach a so-called grand bargain that completely bypasses this debate and ignores the views of voters.

What is the grand bargain? It boils down to lower tax rates for rich people ? paid for by benefit cuts for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. These are precisely the issues that are being debated so vigorously in the campaign, and voters do not want anything to do with such a deal.

The pundits will tell you that Democrats have no choice but to accept Social Security and Medicare benefit cuts ? because this is the only way Republicans will agree to more tax revenue. This is the grand bargain.

We could not disagree more.

When I hear people say we need to cut Social Security benefits, I wonder whether they know that millions of people lost their retirement savings in the Great Recession and that traditional pensions are increasingly hard to come by. Do the benefit cutters think seniors are sitting around wondering how to spend their lavish retirement benefits ? now averaging the princely sum of $14,500 per year? Do they think near-seniors are suddenly realizing that their savings and pensions are much more secure than they had ever imagined possible? Are the people who want to raise the retirement age aware that life expectancy for Americans who lack a high school diploma is actually declining? Do they understand that raising the retirement age is a benefit cut, no matter what age you retire?

Of course we have to bring down health care costs, but not by cutting benefits and not by shifting more costs to individuals. The right way to bring down health care costs is to make our health care system more cost effective, stop overpayments for care and reform the way we deliver and pay for care. For example, allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices from the big pharmaceutical companies would save a lot of money ? but Republicans have blocked this at every turn.

The grand bargain crowd says we have to cut benefits to lower the deficit. But if they were serious about reducing the deficit, they would not propose to lower the top tax rate for the richest Americans, which wastes trillions of dollars. If you want to cut benefits for working Americans while cutting the top tax rate for the richest Americans, it is abundantly clear which side you?re on.

Earlier this month, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said something courageous. He said we cannot afford to lower the top rate below where it was when Bill Clinton was president ? 39.6 percent ? even if we close tax loopholes. Cutting tax rates for the rich won?t help with the supposed goal of reducing the deficit, and it will exacerbate economic inequality ? the last thing we need.

The reaction to Schumer?s speech proves there is nothing in the grand bargain for working people. Republican leaders said no grand bargain is possible without lowering the top tax rate for the richest Americans. What they really have in mind is extending tax cuts for the richest 2 percent of Americans, at a cost of $1 trillion, and then increasing taxes on the middle class. In return for ?generously? offering up higher taxes on the middle class, they think Democrats should agree to benefit cuts for Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

This deal stinks to high heaven, which is precisely why it is being negotiated behind closed doors. We say no to secret deals. Let?s have this debate out in the open. Do you think the American people really want to cut benefits for Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare in exchange for lowering the top tax rate for the richest Americans? I don?t think so.

Richard Trumka is president of the AFL-CIO.

Source: aflcio.org

Source: http://www.enewspf.com/opinion/37734-must-read-afl-cio-president-richard-trumka-in-politico-americans-dont-want-grand-bargain.html

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Padraig Harrington, late substitute, takes lead at Grand Slam of Golf

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SOUTHAMPTON, BERMUDA - OCTOBER 23: Padraig Harrington of Ireland hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Port Royal Golf Course on October 23, 2012 in Southampton, Bermuda.

Photograph by: Mike Ehrmann , Getty Images

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda -- Padraig Harrington made the most of his late entry into the PGA Grand Slam of Golf with a 5-under 66 on Tuesday.

Harrington was picked as an alternate three days ago for British Open champion Ernie Els, who has a minor ankle injury. The Irishman made seven birdies at Port Royal Golf Club to build a two-shot lead over Masters champion Bubba Watson in the 36-hole event for the year's major champions.

U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson had a 68. Keegan Bradley, filling in for PGA champion Rory McIlroy, had a 72.

Harrington, a three-time major champion, lost in a playoff at the Grand Slam to Angel Cabrera in 2007 and to Jim Furyk in 2008. Ian Woosnam in 1991 is the only European to win the PGA Grand Slam.

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Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F282/~3/0sP8C1myEd8/story.html

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Turbulent flows in 2D can be calculated in new model

Public release date: 23-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Gertie Skaarup
skaarup@nbi.dk
45-35-32-53-20
University of Copenhagen

Turbulent flows have challenged researchers for centuries. It is impossible to predict chaotic weather more than a week in advance. Wind resistance on a plane or a car cannot be calculated precisely, since it is determined by atmospheric turbulence. Now, however, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have succeeded in developing a statistical model that can replicate the chaotic flows and thereby provide a better understanding of the process. The research results are published in the scientific journal, Physics of Fluids.

"Without knowing the movements in detail, we know that they happen in such a way that the kinetic energy is conserved," explains Peter Ditlevsen, a research associate professor at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen. He explains that when a liquid or air is set in motion, for example, if you create large eddies in a bathtub by stirring the water, it will transpire, that when you stop stirring, smaller and smaller eddies will continue to be created, while the large ones slowly die out. Finally, the movement in the smallest eddies are converted into heat. The entire process is called an energy cascade from large scales to small scales and is absolutely fundamental for understanding chaotic turbulent flow.

If the motion is limited to only being able to take place on a single plane, that is, two dimensions (2D), instead of in a volume, that is, three dimensions (3D), it will happen quite differently. The reason is that the flow cannot release its energy as small eddies cannot easily be formed in two dimensions. In two dimensions, both the energy and eddy density (which is called enstrophy) is retained in the flow, unlike in three dimensions, where only the energy is preserved.

Complicated calculations in 3D

A complex motion equation that has been known for almost 200 years, the so-called Navier-Stokes equation, is used to calculate the air's turbulent 3D movements. But even the world's most powerful computers, which have been dedicated to just this purpose, can only provide an approximate solution to the equation.

In order to describe the turbulent cascade processes, the researchers have therefore developed simplified mathematical models that are much easier to fully investigate in with computer calculations. The models have the same behaviour as the Navier-Stokes equation, but the models have not been able to reproduce the so-called inverse cascade in 2D.

Until now, the models have been too limited to show both the eddy density cascades down to small scales and the energy cascades up to large scales. They have been able to simulate the one cascade or the other, but not both simultaneously.

Simpler calculations in 2D

However, Peter Ditlevsen has now succeeded in developing such a cascade model that can reproduce the double cascade process in 2D turbulence.

"Turbulence can occur as a somewhat exotic phenomena. Though not in this case: Motion in the atmosphere, the wind and the weather is largely two-dimensional. The movements on the vertical axis are 100 to 1000 times less than those on the horizontal axis. The air has a much more difficult time moving vertically, so the movement of the weather systems movement is two-dimensional turbulence. This means that it is possible to predict the weather a ways ahead of time. If the movement had been three-dimensional, it would be dominated by small eddies, which are completely unpredictable, like when you see autumn leaves randomly floating around in a courtyard," explains Peter Ditlevsen.

The turbulent flows occur over a vast span of scales, so when researchers want to understand the processes, they have to study simplified models.

"With the new model of the two-dimensional turbulence we are one step closer to understanding which factors in the motion equations govern how energy is distributed in the flow," explains Peter Ditlevsen.

###

Article in Physics of Fluids: http://pof.aip.org/resource/1/phfle6/v24/i10/p105109_s1?bypassSSO=1

For more information contact:

Peter Ditlevsen, Associate professor in geophysics and climate modelling, Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, +45 3532-0603, +45 2875-0603, pditlev@nbi.ku.dk

http://www.nbi.ku.dk/english/

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 23-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Gertie Skaarup
skaarup@nbi.dk
45-35-32-53-20
University of Copenhagen

Turbulent flows have challenged researchers for centuries. It is impossible to predict chaotic weather more than a week in advance. Wind resistance on a plane or a car cannot be calculated precisely, since it is determined by atmospheric turbulence. Now, however, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have succeeded in developing a statistical model that can replicate the chaotic flows and thereby provide a better understanding of the process. The research results are published in the scientific journal, Physics of Fluids.

"Without knowing the movements in detail, we know that they happen in such a way that the kinetic energy is conserved," explains Peter Ditlevsen, a research associate professor at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen. He explains that when a liquid or air is set in motion, for example, if you create large eddies in a bathtub by stirring the water, it will transpire, that when you stop stirring, smaller and smaller eddies will continue to be created, while the large ones slowly die out. Finally, the movement in the smallest eddies are converted into heat. The entire process is called an energy cascade from large scales to small scales and is absolutely fundamental for understanding chaotic turbulent flow.

If the motion is limited to only being able to take place on a single plane, that is, two dimensions (2D), instead of in a volume, that is, three dimensions (3D), it will happen quite differently. The reason is that the flow cannot release its energy as small eddies cannot easily be formed in two dimensions. In two dimensions, both the energy and eddy density (which is called enstrophy) is retained in the flow, unlike in three dimensions, where only the energy is preserved.

Complicated calculations in 3D

A complex motion equation that has been known for almost 200 years, the so-called Navier-Stokes equation, is used to calculate the air's turbulent 3D movements. But even the world's most powerful computers, which have been dedicated to just this purpose, can only provide an approximate solution to the equation.

In order to describe the turbulent cascade processes, the researchers have therefore developed simplified mathematical models that are much easier to fully investigate in with computer calculations. The models have the same behaviour as the Navier-Stokes equation, but the models have not been able to reproduce the so-called inverse cascade in 2D.

Until now, the models have been too limited to show both the eddy density cascades down to small scales and the energy cascades up to large scales. They have been able to simulate the one cascade or the other, but not both simultaneously.

Simpler calculations in 2D

However, Peter Ditlevsen has now succeeded in developing such a cascade model that can reproduce the double cascade process in 2D turbulence.

"Turbulence can occur as a somewhat exotic phenomena. Though not in this case: Motion in the atmosphere, the wind and the weather is largely two-dimensional. The movements on the vertical axis are 100 to 1000 times less than those on the horizontal axis. The air has a much more difficult time moving vertically, so the movement of the weather systems movement is two-dimensional turbulence. This means that it is possible to predict the weather a ways ahead of time. If the movement had been three-dimensional, it would be dominated by small eddies, which are completely unpredictable, like when you see autumn leaves randomly floating around in a courtyard," explains Peter Ditlevsen.

The turbulent flows occur over a vast span of scales, so when researchers want to understand the processes, they have to study simplified models.

"With the new model of the two-dimensional turbulence we are one step closer to understanding which factors in the motion equations govern how energy is distributed in the flow," explains Peter Ditlevsen.

###

Article in Physics of Fluids: http://pof.aip.org/resource/1/phfle6/v24/i10/p105109_s1?bypassSSO=1

For more information contact:

Peter Ditlevsen, Associate professor in geophysics and climate modelling, Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, +45 3532-0603, +45 2875-0603, pditlev@nbi.ku.dk

http://www.nbi.ku.dk/english/

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/uoc-tfi102312.php

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Another Tibetan in western China self-immolates

BEIJING A Tibetan farmer set himself ablaze in front of a market in remote northwest China in the second self-immolation death near the Labrang Monastery in two days, a rights group said.

The monastery in Gansu province's Xiahe county is one of the most important outside of Tibet and was the site of numerous protests by monks following deadly ethnic riots in Tibet in 2008 that were the most sustained Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in decades.

The Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet said in an email that Dorje Rinchen, a farmer in his late 50s, set himself on fire Tuesday on the main street in Xiahe and died later.

The group sent a photo allegedly showing Dorje wrapped in blankets after the immolation, his neck and head badly charred and swollen. It was not clear whether he was still alive when the blurry, poorly lit picture was taken.

The group quoted a Tibetan from Xiahe who currently lives in exile as saying that Dorje had counseled young Tibetans not to self-immolate.

A woman who answered the phone at the Xiahe Public Security Bureau refused to answer questions about the self-immolation and the phone of the local Communist Party propaganda office rang unanswered Wednesday. The number for the Labrang Monastery appeared to not be in service.

On Monday, a Tibetan herdsman died after setting himself on fire near the monastery.

Dozens of Tibetans have set themselves on fire since March 2011 in ethnic Tibetan areas of China in protest over what activists say is Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the region. Many have called for the return of their spiritual leader, the exiled Dalai Lama. The government has confirmed some, but not all, of the self-immolations.

Chinese authorities routinely deny Tibetan claims of repression and have accused supporters of the Dalai Lama of encouraging the self-immolations. The Dalai Lama and representatives of the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile in India say they oppose all violence.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/10/23/3617712/another-tibetan-in-western-china.html

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Grand Canyon run by Arizona? Vote seeks state control

Charles Platiau / Reuters

Should the National Park Service or Arizona's state park system manage the Grand Canyon? Arizonans are voting on the state versus federal issue.

By Tim Gaynor, Reuters

When voters in Arizona go to the polls next month, they will be asked to decide a landownership tug of war: Should the Grand Canyon belong to all Americans, or just the residents of Arizona?

A controversial ballot measure backed by Republicans in the state legislature is seeking sovereign control over millions of acres of federal land in the state, including the Grand Canyon.

Proposition 120 would amend the state's constitution to declare Arizona's sovereignty and jurisdiction over the "air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife and other natural resources within the state's boundaries."

The measure is the latest salvo in the so-called "sagebrush revolt" by Republicans in the West aiming to take back control of major swaths of land owned by various federal agencies, much of it by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management.

---

State Sen. Sylvia Allen, one of the Republican backers of the measure, argues that federal retention of the land hurts the economy of the Western states and leaves them struggling to fund public education, nurture their economies, and manage their forests and natural resources.

"We do not have the ability in rural Arizona to provide jobs for our citizens due to the fact that the federal government controls all the land," Allen told Reuters. "It leaves us at a great disadvantage. We're not able to bring in industry and provide for the jobs that we need," she added.

The exact area of public land targeted by the measure -- which excludes American Indian reservations and federal installations such as arsenals - was not immediately clear on the Arizona Secretary of State's website.

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The Sierra Club pegged the area at between 39,000 and 46,700 square miles -- or 34 percent to 41 percent of the entire state.

The ballot measure is just the latest move in a decades-old federal-state skirmish over control of a wide range of natural resources in Western states, often pitting mining, drilling and logging companies against those seeking to protect the environment.?

The efforts have had mixed success. In May, Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a state bill calling on Washington to relinquish the title to 48,000 square miles, arguing that it created uncertainty for existing leaseholders on federal lands in difficult economic times.

But similar legislation was signed into law by Governor Gary Herbert in neighboring Utah in March, despite warnings from state attorneys that it was likely unconstitutional and would trigger a costly and ultimately futile legal battle.

Opponents of the latest drive to assert Arizona's ownership say that, if successful, the initiative could undermine protections provided by federal environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act, and would saddle Arizona with lands for which it would be unable to care.

"They can't even fund and ensure that their (state) parks are protected, so how they would take on an additional 25 to 30 million acres of land is a big question mark," Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, told Reuters.

No polls have given a sense of whether Prop 120 will prosper during the November 6 election. But Bahr cautioned that, should it pass, it would inevitably trigger fresh litigation for Arizona, which recently fought a legal battle over its tough 2010 crackdown on illegal immigrants all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"This one is just blatantly unconstitutional," Bahr said of Prop 120. "Does Arizona really need another lawsuit?"?

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/23/14643160-arizonans-to-vote-on-taking-grand-canyon-other-lands-from-federal-control?lite

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