Source: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=CFB&id=132286
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In this Thursday, June 20, 2013 photo, Theresa Gratton, infection prevention coordinator at St. Mary's Health Center, wears a device to help remind health care workers to keep their hands clean at the hospital in Richmond Heights, Mo. In the past, hospitals have mostly relied on education, threats of discipline and reports from observers to try and make sure staff keep their hands clean but St. Mary's began testing the device about a year ago and officials say they've been stunned by how well the system works.(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. (AP) ? Hospitals have fretted for years over how to make sure doctors, nurses and staff keep their hands clean, but with only limited success. Now, some are turning to technology ? buzzers, lights and tracking systems that remind workers to sanitize and chart those who don't.
Health experts say poor hand cleanliness is a factor in hospital-borne infections that kill tens of thousands of Americans each year. Hospitals have tried varying ways to promote better hygiene.
Since last year, SSM St. Mary's Health Center in suburban St. Louis has been testing a system developed by Biovigil Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich. A flashing light on badges worn by workers changes colors when hands have been cleaned and tracks compliance.
It is among several being tried at hospitals around the country.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hospitals-seek-high-tech-help-hand-hygiene-071012525.html
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? The father of NSA leaker Edward Snowden acknowledged Friday that his son broke the law but doesn't think he committed treason.
"If folks want to classify him as a traitor, in fact, he has betrayed his government. But I don't believe that he's betrayed the people of the United States," Lonnie Snowden told NBC's "Today" show.
Snowden said his attorney has informed Attorney General Eric Holder that he believes his son would voluntarily return to the United States if the Justice Department promises not to hold him before trial and not subject him to a gag order, NBC reported.
The elder Snowden hasn't spoken to his son since April, but he said he believes he's being manipulated by people at WikiLeaks. The anti-secrecy group has been trying to help Edward Snowden gain asylum.
"I don't want to put him in peril, but I am concerned about those who surround him," Lonnie Snowden told NBC. "I think WikiLeaks, if you've looked at past history, you know, their focus isn't necessarily the Constitution of the United States. It's simply to release as much information as possible."
Lonnie Snowden declined to comment when reached Friday by The Associated Press.
Edward Snowden, who fled to Russia, is charged with violating U.S. espionage laws for leaking information about National Security Agency surveillance programs.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/father-nsa-leaker-says-return-us-130555626.html
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Public release date: 28-Jun-2013
Share ] Contact: Iain Stewart
iain.stewart@ctbto.org
43-126-030-6271
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear?Test?Ban Treaty Organization
Experts at the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) are detecting frequently radioactive xenon as they monitor the globe for signals of nuclear explosions.
Emissions are being registered at many locations. And the points of origin are potentially increasing. For the CTBTO, it is not a good trend: "If you have more emissions than you anticipate, then you have a problem," says Lassina Zerbo, incoming Executive Secretary of the CTBTO and Director of the International Data Centre (IDC).
Certain isotopes of the noble gas xenon called radioxenon in its radioactive forms are like the DNA of a nuclear explosion: They provide forensic evidence for analysts. For North Korea's announced nuclear tests over the past seven years, CTBTO teams worked together to track airborne xenon isotopes through the International Monitoring System (IMS). When completed, the IMS will include stations capable of detecting radioxenon. Today it registers about 18,000 samples of xenon a year.
Xenon Sources Expanding
Monitoring scientists cite an unlikely source for xenon emissions -- facilities that produce lifesaving medicines. Radioxenon is a by-product whose releases can be controlled but not curbed entirely during production. The plants make radioactive isotopes used in nuclear medicine worldwide -- for more than 30 million diagnostic procedures a year. Production facilities are operated in about 10 countries today, with most producers in Europe, North America and Australia. But production is projected to expand this decade. In Asia, for example, by about 10% a year, says Yudi Imardjamoto, CEO of Indonesia's facility in Serpong.
High Stake Challenges
Why are medical sources of radioxenon raising such concerns? They do not pose any health risk, but the readings from these emissions look similar to those of a nuclear explosion. At last week's CTBT: Science and Technology 2013 conference, a special panel was dedicated to this issue. CTBTO radionuclide expert Mika Nikkinen explained that the impact on IMS stations varies strongly, with up to 400 detections per year at one station and only a single one at others.
For analysts, the picture can get complicated -- the ultra-sensitive IMS detects radioxenon from many locations worldwide nearly every day. Stakes are high: Multiple civil sources of radioxenon could mask signals from a nuclear explosion. "The job in the IMS to measure for nuclear explosions will become more difficult," says Ted Bowyer, Manager of the Nuclear Explosion Monitoring & Policy Program at the USA's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), who spoke of "fogs of xenon over North America and Europe".
Twin Goals
To meet the xenon challenge, global efforts target twin goals: Improved xenon monitoring and lower emissions. Increasingly producers are looking at different methods to achieve reductions.
In an important development last week, Belgium-based the Institute for Radioelements (IRE) signed a pledge to cooperate with the CTBTO to mitigate the effects of noble gas emissions. IRE is a major worldwide producer of radioelements used for diagnoses and therapeutics in nuclear medicine.
Lassina Zerbo and Jean-Michel Vanderhofstadt, Managing Director, Institute for Radioelements, signed a pledge to cooperate to mitigate xenon emissions for test-ban verification.
For IRE, it's a noble cause. Their cooperation is voluntary and will help the world's nuclear test-ban monitors to focus on detecting atomic explosions.
Through its voluntary contributions, the European Union (EU) supports the development of the mitigation systems, that will be used by IRE and for other joint CTBTO campaigns -- in Japan, Kuwait, Indonesia, and elsewhere -- to set-up automated detection systems to record and report background levels of radioxenon at more locations. See press release on the latest EU contribution. At SnT2013, the EU also sponsored the "EU Star Award for best presentation on verification topic", which was awarded to Johan Camps from the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) on his work to test radioxenon mitigation methods at the IRE.
At Indonesia's Serpong facility, a monitoring system was installed with CTBTO and USA support to improve xenon measurements of stack emissions. Better detection is only part of the answer. One way forward is to lower emissions during the isotope production process. It's the biggest impact producers can have for controlling emissions, says Judah Friese, a radiochemist at PNNL.
Sustained Global Collaboration
Leaders from the world's largest producers of medical isotopes, such as IRE, increasingly support CTBTO initiatives. Joint work seeks to establish a voluntary threshold for xenon emissions, and to improve scientific understanding of background levels in the air.
Ultimately, cooperation benefits bigger goals. "Our prime responsibility is verifying the Test- Ban Treaty and it is all about collaboration," says Lassina Zerbo. "The noble gas background measurement is an important factor. It is one of the important measures that give the nuclear nature of a test."
###
[ | 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: 28-Jun-2013 Share ] Contact: Iain Stewart
iain.stewart@ctbto.org
43-126-030-6271
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear?Test?Ban Treaty Organization
Experts at the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) are detecting frequently radioactive xenon as they monitor the globe for signals of nuclear explosions.
Emissions are being registered at many locations. And the points of origin are potentially increasing. For the CTBTO, it is not a good trend: "If you have more emissions than you anticipate, then you have a problem," says Lassina Zerbo, incoming Executive Secretary of the CTBTO and Director of the International Data Centre (IDC).
Certain isotopes of the noble gas xenon called radioxenon in its radioactive forms are like the DNA of a nuclear explosion: They provide forensic evidence for analysts. For North Korea's announced nuclear tests over the past seven years, CTBTO teams worked together to track airborne xenon isotopes through the International Monitoring System (IMS). When completed, the IMS will include stations capable of detecting radioxenon. Today it registers about 18,000 samples of xenon a year.
Xenon Sources Expanding
Monitoring scientists cite an unlikely source for xenon emissions -- facilities that produce lifesaving medicines. Radioxenon is a by-product whose releases can be controlled but not curbed entirely during production. The plants make radioactive isotopes used in nuclear medicine worldwide -- for more than 30 million diagnostic procedures a year. Production facilities are operated in about 10 countries today, with most producers in Europe, North America and Australia. But production is projected to expand this decade. In Asia, for example, by about 10% a year, says Yudi Imardjamoto, CEO of Indonesia's facility in Serpong.
High Stake Challenges
Why are medical sources of radioxenon raising such concerns? They do not pose any health risk, but the readings from these emissions look similar to those of a nuclear explosion. At last week's CTBT: Science and Technology 2013 conference, a special panel was dedicated to this issue. CTBTO radionuclide expert Mika Nikkinen explained that the impact on IMS stations varies strongly, with up to 400 detections per year at one station and only a single one at others.
For analysts, the picture can get complicated -- the ultra-sensitive IMS detects radioxenon from many locations worldwide nearly every day. Stakes are high: Multiple civil sources of radioxenon could mask signals from a nuclear explosion. "The job in the IMS to measure for nuclear explosions will become more difficult," says Ted Bowyer, Manager of the Nuclear Explosion Monitoring & Policy Program at the USA's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), who spoke of "fogs of xenon over North America and Europe".
Twin Goals
To meet the xenon challenge, global efforts target twin goals: Improved xenon monitoring and lower emissions. Increasingly producers are looking at different methods to achieve reductions.
In an important development last week, Belgium-based the Institute for Radioelements (IRE) signed a pledge to cooperate with the CTBTO to mitigate the effects of noble gas emissions. IRE is a major worldwide producer of radioelements used for diagnoses and therapeutics in nuclear medicine.
Lassina Zerbo and Jean-Michel Vanderhofstadt, Managing Director, Institute for Radioelements, signed a pledge to cooperate to mitigate xenon emissions for test-ban verification.
For IRE, it's a noble cause. Their cooperation is voluntary and will help the world's nuclear test-ban monitors to focus on detecting atomic explosions.
Through its voluntary contributions, the European Union (EU) supports the development of the mitigation systems, that will be used by IRE and for other joint CTBTO campaigns -- in Japan, Kuwait, Indonesia, and elsewhere -- to set-up automated detection systems to record and report background levels of radioxenon at more locations. See press release on the latest EU contribution. At SnT2013, the EU also sponsored the "EU Star Award for best presentation on verification topic", which was awarded to Johan Camps from the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) on his work to test radioxenon mitigation methods at the IRE.
At Indonesia's Serpong facility, a monitoring system was installed with CTBTO and USA support to improve xenon measurements of stack emissions. Better detection is only part of the answer. One way forward is to lower emissions during the isotope production process. It's the biggest impact producers can have for controlling emissions, says Judah Friese, a radiochemist at PNNL.
Sustained Global Collaboration
Leaders from the world's largest producers of medical isotopes, such as IRE, increasingly support CTBTO initiatives. Joint work seeks to establish a voluntary threshold for xenon emissions, and to improve scientific understanding of background levels in the air.
Ultimately, cooperation benefits bigger goals. "Our prime responsibility is verifying the Test- Ban Treaty and it is all about collaboration," says Lassina Zerbo. "The noble gas background measurement is an important factor. It is one of the important measures that give the nuclear nature of a test."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/pcft-mip062813.php
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A single dose of a commonly-prescribed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug helps improve brain function in cocaine addiction, according to an imaging study conducted by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Methylphenidate (brand name Ritalin?) modified connectivity in certain brain circuits that underlie self-control and craving among cocaine-addicted individuals. The research is published in the current issue of JAMA Psychiatry, a JAMA network publication.
Previous research has shown that oral methylphenidate improved brain function in cocaine users performing specific cognitive tasks such as ignoring emotionally distracting words and resolving a cognitive conflict. Similar to cocaine, methylphenidate increases dopamine (and norepinephrine) activity in the brain, but, administered orally, takes longer to reach peak effect, consistent with a lower potential for abuse. By extending dopamine's action, the drug enhances signaling to improve several cognitive functions, including information processing and attention.
"Orally administered methylphenidate increases dopamine in the brain, similar to cocaine, but without the strong addictive properties," said Rita Goldstein, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai, who led the research while at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York. "We wanted to determine whether such substitutive properties, which are helpful in other replacement therapies such as using nicotine gum instead of smoking cigarettes or methadone instead of heroin, would play a role in enhancing brain connectivity between regions of potential importance for intervention in cocaine addiction."
Anna Konova, a doctoral candidate at Stony Brook University, who was first author on this manuscript, added, "Using fMRI, we found that methylphenidate did indeed have a beneficial impact on the connectivity between several brain centers associated with addiction."
Dr. Goldstein and her team recruited 18 cocaine addicted individuals, who were randomized to receive an oral dose of methylphenidate or placebo. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the strength of connectivity in particular brain circuits known to play a role in addiction before and during peak drug effects. They also assessed each subject's severity of addiction to see if this had any bearing on the results.
Methylphenidate decreased connectivity between areas of the brain that have been strongly implicated in the formation of habits, including compulsive drug seeking and craving. The scans also showed that methylphenidate strengthened connectivity between several brain regions involved in regulating emotions and exerting control over behaviors?connections previously reported to be disrupted in cocaine addiction.
"The benefits of methylphenidate were present after only one dose, indicating that this drug has significant potential as a treatment add-on for addiction to cocaine and possibly other stimulants," said Dr. Goldstein. "This is a preliminary study, but the findings are exciting and warrant further exploration, particularly in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy or cognitive remediation."
Source: http://www.sciencecodex.com/ritalin_shows_promise_in_treating_addiction-114847
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By Julia Halperin. Web only
Published online: 27 June 2013
Amazon.com is expected to launch an online art gallery later this year. The online retailer of books, electronics and apparel aims to offer over 1,000 art objects from at least 125 galleries, according to dealers who have been approached by the website?s business development group. Amazon executives told one dealer that 109 galleries have already agreed to participate.
The retail giant?s interest in launching an art gallery first came to light in May, when it organised an information session for New York dealers. Since then, the Seattle-based company has approached dozens, if not hundreds, of galleries from across the US about participating in the programme. A representative for Amazon declined to comment on its plans, saying, ?We have not made any announcements about art?.
At least one dealer was told his gallery could offer art under a pseudonym until the website became successful. Amazon representatives told dealers the site would resemble Amazon Wine, which launched last fall and works directly with 450 different vineyards and winemakers across the country.
The art platform will take a commission from all sales conducted through the site rather than charge galleries a monthly fee to present their wares, according to dealers familiar with the venture. Commissions will range from 5% to 15% based on the work?s sale price, dealers say. (For comparison, the online sales site Artspace charges commissions ranging from 10% to 20%.)
Rather than focus on international, blue-chip businesses, Amazon appears to have targeted smaller dealers, including Eleven Rivington, On Stellar Rays, Vogt Gallery and Zach Feuer. Most have not followed up. ?I didn?t really have to think much about it and said it wasn?t for me,? says Augusto Arbizo, the founder of the New York-based gallery Eleven Rivington. ?I have said no to most e-commerce opportunities for the simple reason that I just do not have that much inventory. And we work with very few artists who do editions or prints.?
Feuer says he will reserve judgement until the site launches. His decision to participate depends on ?how much control we get over presentation?. His artists would also have to approve any work he placed on Amazon, he says. He is more likely to offer prints than original paintings or sculptures.
Costco launched a similar art platform last year, and currently offers prints by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall as well as original works by Johnny Botts and Hilary Williams. (The most expensive work on Costco?s site is a lithograph by Jean-Michel Basquiat priced at $5,999.99.)
Some doubt that Amazon?s scheme will be successful. ?This is a stunning idea and I find it hard to believe they can pull it off in fine art,? says James Hedges, the president of the art-oriented investment firm Montage Finance. ?Prints, multiples and editions may be the low end of the market but there is still a low end of the low end.?
All comments are moderated. If you would like your comment to be approved, please use your real name, not a pseudonym. We ask for your email address in case we wish to contact you - it will not be made public and we do not use it for any other purpose.
Want to write a longer comment to this article? Email letters@theartnewspaper.com
Source: http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Internet-retail-giant-to-launch-virtual-art-gallery/29989
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NEW YORK (AP) ? Times Square's iconic TKTS booth is celebrating its 40th birthday by introducing a new way for theater lovers to avoid lines.
The Theatre Development Fund, the nonprofit that runs the booth selling discount Broadway and off-Broadway tickets, announced Wednesday a Fast Pass program which allows anyone who has bought a ticket from the booth to return within seven days and skip the wait when they buy another ticket.
Interested patrons must bring a ticket stub that proves they've bought a TKTS ticket within seven days and they'll be ushered through to the booth's first window, which is reserved for full-price tickets to future performances and is usually not as busy as the other windows handling discounted tickets.
___
Online:
http://www.tdf.org
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tkts-offers-theatergoers-chance-skip-lines-153102457.html
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By William James
LONDON (Reuters) - The government promised on Thursday to upgrade roads and carry out what it said was the biggest rail investment in more than 100 years in a strategy to get the economy growing while keeping spending tight.
A day after Chancellor George Osborne announced the latest round of budget cuts, his deputy, Danny Alexander, detailed 100 billion pounds in capital investment plans, calling them "the most comprehensive, ambitious and long-lasting" ever.
Britain's economy is still struggling to generate growth to help narrow one of Europe's biggest budget deficits. Living standards suffered their biggest drop in a generation at the start of 2013, data showed on Thursday.
Alexander said 28 billion pounds would be spent by the government on improving roads from 2014 to 2020 - including enough cash to resurface 21,000 miles - and that it would support 30 billion pounds in rail investments.
A long-awaited announcement of a guaranteed electricity price for renewable energy investors was aimed at making investments in technologies such as wind power and biomass more attractive and less risky to private operators.
The government also announced a guarantee to help build a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in the south-west of England, for which French utility group EDF won planning permission in March.
The overall spending plan put some flesh on the bones of 300 billion pounds in capital spending commitments set out until 2020. Thursday's announcement was not a new injection of cash; the significance was in the details of where it would be spent.
The Conservative party, which dominates the ruling coalition, wants to persuade voters it is not just focused on spending cuts as it prepares for the 2015 general election. Its tough austerity drive has been criticised by the International Monetary Fund while two of the three main credit rating agencies have downgraded Britain's prized triple-A status.
PRIVATE INVESTMENT
Much of Thursday's announcement was aimed at drawing in private sector investment, a key tenet of Conservative plans to get maximum economic benefit out of scarce public cash.
But it did not clear up doubts about how quickly Britain could start to get new projects up and running.
"The construction industry and the broader economy will be disappointed in today's announcement as we will only see an economic boost when the shovels hit the ground on these projects," said Nick Prior, head of infrastructure at business advisory firm Deloitte.
The opposition Labour party, which has called for more short-term spending to revive the economy but has been wary about committing itself to increased borrowing, said no investment had been brought forward to 2013 or 2014.
"When is the government going to pull its finger out and actually start to build some of these things?" said Chris Leslie, a Labour spokesman for economic issues.
The government also promised an injection of 3 billion pounds into building new affordable housing - enough, it said, for 165,000 new homes - along with a 12-year rent guarantee to encourage private housing associations to build new projects.
Alexander said 16 billion pounds from 2015 onwards had been earmarked for rail expenditure, including the government's flagship high-speed rail project, designed to improve links between London, the Midlands and the north of the country.
On Wednesday, Britain's transport secretary said the cost of the rail project had risen by almost 10 billion pounds, highlighting the pitfalls of long-term capital projects.
(Additional reporting by William Schomberg and Rosalba O'Brien Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/government-pledges-invest-roads-boost-power-101016515.html
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. intelligence agencies are scrambling to salvage their surveillance of al-Qaida and other terrorists who are working frantically to change how they communicate after a National Security Agency contractor leaked details of two NSA spying programs. It's an electronic game of cat-and-mouse that could have deadly consequences if a plot is missed or a terrorist operative manages to drop out of sight.
Two U.S. intelligence officials say members of virtually every terrorist group, including core al-Qaida, are attempting to change how they communicate, based on what they are reading in the media, to hide from U.S. surveillance ? the first time intelligence officials have described which groups are reacting to the leaks. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak about the intelligence matters publicly.
The officials wouldn't go into details on how they know this, whether it's terrorists switching email accounts or cellphone providers or adopting new encryption techniques, but a lawmaker briefed on the matter said al-Qaida's Yemeni offshoot, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, has been among the first to alter how it reaches out to its operatives.
The lawmaker spoke anonymously because he would not discuss the confidential briefing by name.
Shortly after Edward Snowden leaked documents about the secret NSA surveillance programs, chat rooms and websites used by like-minded extremists and would-be recruits advised users how to avoid NSA detection, from telling them not to use their real phone numbers to recommending specific online software programs to keep spies from tracking their computers' physical locations.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said there are "changes we can already see being made by the folks who wish to do us harm, and our allies harm."
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Tuesday that Snowden "has basically alerted people who are enemies of this country ... (like) al-Qaida, about what techniques we have been using to monitor their activities and foil plots, and compromised those efforts, and it's very conceivable that people will die as a result."
At the same time, NSA and other counterterrorist analysts have been focusing their attention on the terrorists, watching their electronic communications and logging all changes, including following which Internet sites the terrorist suspects visit, trying to determine what system they might choose to avoid future detection, according to a former senior intelligence official speaking anonymously as a condition of discussing the intelligence operations.
"It's frustrating. You have to start all over again to track the target," said M.E. "Spike" Bowman, a former intelligence officer and deputy general counsel of the FBI, now a fellow at the University of Virginia's Center for National Security Law. But the NSA will catch up eventually, he predicted, because there are only so many ways a terrorist can communicate. "I have every confidence in their ability to regain access."
Terror groups switching to encrypted communication may slow the NSA, but encryption also flags the communication as something the U.S. agency considers worth listening to, according to a new batch of secret and top-secret NSA documents published last week by The Guardian, a British newspaper. They show that the NSA considers any encrypted communication between a foreigner they are watching and a U.S.-based person as fair game to gather and keep, for as long as it takes to break the code and examine it.
Documents released last week also show measures the NSA takes to gather foreign intelligence overseas, highlighting the possible fallout of the disclosures on more traditional spying. Many foreign diplomats use email systems like Hotmail for their personal correspondence. Two foreign diplomats reached this week who use U.S. email systems that the NSA monitors overseas say they plan no changes, because both diplomats said they already assumed the U.S. was able to read that type of correspondence. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss their methods of communication publicly.
The changing terrorist behavior is part of the fallout of the release of dozens of top-secret documents to the news media by Snowden, 30, a former systems analyst on contract to the NSA.
The Office of the Director for National Intelligence and the NSA declined to comment on the fallout, but the NSA's director, Gen. Keith Alexander, told lawmakers that the leaks have caused "irreversible and significant damage to this nation."
"I believe it will hurt us and our allies," Alexander said.
The leaks revealed that the NSA was scanning the worldwide use of nine U.S.-based Internet service providers, including Google, Yahoo, Skype and YouTube.
"After the leak, jihadists posted Arabic news articles about it ... and recommended fellow jihadists to be very cautious, not to give their real phone number and other such information when registering for a website," said Adam Raisman of the SITE Intelligence Group, a private analysis firm. They also gave out specific advice, recommending jihadists use privacy-protecting email systems like TOR, also called The Onion Router, to hide their computer's IP address, and to use encrypted links to access jihadi forums, Raisman said. While TOR originally was designed to help dissidents communicate in countries where the Internet is censored, it is facing legal difficulties because criminals allegedly have used it as well.
"Criminals are doing well without things like TOR," said Karen Reilly, a spokeswoman for TOR. "If TOR disappeared tomorrow they would still have secure, anonymous access to the Internet. ... Their victims would not."
Other analysts predicted a two-track evolution away from the now-exposed methods of communication: A terrorist who was using Skype to plan an attack might stop using that immediately so as not to expose the imminent operation, said Ben Venzke of the private analysis firm IntelCenter.
But if the jihadi group uses a now-exposed system like YouTube to disseminate information and recruit more followers, they'll make a gradual switch to something else that wasn't revealed by Snowden's leaks ? moving slowly in part because they'll be trying to determine whether new systems they are considering aren't also compromised, and they'll have to reach their followers and signal the change. That will take time.
"Overall, for terrorist organizations and other hostile actors, leaks of this nature serve as a wake-up call to look more closely at how they're operating and improve their security," Venzke said. "If the CIA or the FBI was to learn tomorrow that its communications are being monitored, do you think it would be business as usual or do you think they would implement a series of changes over time?"
The disclosure that intelligence agencies were listening to Osama bin Laden drove him to drop the use of all electronic communications.
"When it leaked that bin Laden was using a Thuraya cellphone, he switched to couriers," said Jane Harman, former member of the House Intelligence Committee and now director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center. "The more they know, the clearer the road map is for them."
It took more than a decade to track bin Laden down to his hiding place in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by following one of those couriers.
___
Follow Kimberly Dozier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kimberlydozier
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/al-qaida-said-changing-ways-leaks-072102325.html
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Adding and subtracting ones sounds simple, right? Not according to the old Italian mathematician Grandi?who showed that a simple addition of 1s and -1s can give three different answers.
Wait, what? If that sounds like it makes no sense that's because... well, it doesn't really. But better let Dr James Grime explain it to you rather than me. Prepare to scratch your head. [YouTube]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-simple-math-puzzle-will-melt-your-brain-582979205
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By Brandon Lowrey
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's eldest son testified on Wednesday in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by his family against AEG Live that the late pop star was unhappy with the concert promoter in the run-up to his "This Is It" concert series in 2009.
Prince Jackson, 16, said he saw his father often get upset on the phone with AEG Live Chief Executive Officer Randy Phillips, but was unable to stand up for himself in disagreements.
"He would get off the phone, he would cry sometimes," Prince told jurors in a Los Angeles courtroom about his father. "He would say, 'They're going to kill me. They're going to kill me.' ... He was like my grandma. He was too kind to fight anybody."
Small parts of a video recording of Prince and younger sister Paris' deposition recorded months earlier had been played in court last week, but Prince was the first Jackson family member to testify in person at the trial.
Prince, who took the stand four years and one day after his father's death, was 12 when Jackson died at age 50 in Los Angeles from an overdose of surgical anesthetic propofol ahead of a series of comeback concerts in London in 2009.
The "Thriller" singer's mother, Katherine, is suing privately held AEG Live, which was promoting Jackson's "This Is It" concerts, for negligence in hiring Dr. Conrad Murray as his personal physician.
Murray was caring for the singer as he prepared for the shows and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for administering the propofol that killed Jackson.
Prince, wearing a dark suit and tie, showed little emotion while testifying until he described his father's death, which was the first time any of Jackson's children have spoken publicly about it.
The teenager said he and his two younger siblings - sister Paris and brother Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket - were at their rented Los Angeles home when they heard a scream from the home's second level.
"I ran upstairs and I saw Dr. Conrad doing CPR on my dad on the bed," he said. "My dad was hanging halfway off the bed, and his eyes were rolled back in his head."
He added: "My sister was screaming the whole time, saying she wants her daddy. I was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, crying, waiting for the ambulance."
'IT HURT A LOT'
Prince, his voice cracking with emotion, said Murray told them in a hospital waiting room that Jackson had a heart attack.
"Sorry kids, your dad's dead," Prince remembered Murray telling him.
AEG Live has said it did not hire or supervise Murray and argues that Jackson had prescription drug and addiction problems for years before entering into any agreement with the company.
AEG Live also has said they could not have foreseen that Murray posed a danger to Jackson.
Katherine Jackson, 83, along with the singer's three children are listed as plaintiffs in the case. The trial began in late April and is expected to last for another month.
Earlier witnesses for the plaintiff have testified that Jackson had grown so weak he had difficulty executing dance moves and recalling song lyrics, and that Murray's monthly salary from AEG Live would be a conflict of interest in his care of the singer.
Prince also testified that Jackson's death has taken an emotional toll on the children.
"I have a hard time sleeping," the teen said. "I became emotionally distant from a lot of people."
Paris, 15, who has been hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt earlier this month, has taken the loss of her father the hardest, Prince said.
"I think out of all of our siblings, she was probably hit the hardest because she was my dad's princess," he said. "It hurt a lot and she definitely is dealing with it in her own way."
Following Prince's testimony, the Jackson family's attorney, Brian Panish, said at a news conference outside the courthouse that Prince had answered questions consistently and credibly.
"He is a nice, bright young man who has a great future and I think that's because of the father who raised him," Panish said.
The attorney added that Jackson's youngest son, Blanket, will not be summoned in this case, and a decision is still being made on whether Paris will be called up to testify.
(Writing by Eric Kelsey, Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Sandra Maler)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michael-jacksons-son-testify-singers-wrongful-death-trial-013036116.html
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QUITO, Ecuador (AP) ? With Edward Snowden stuck in Moscow and Washington pushing hard for his return, many Ecuadoreans began realizing Tuesday that this small country's deep economic ties with the U.S. could make it the one with the most to lose in the high-stakes international showdown over the National Security Agency leaker.
While President Rafael Correa's leftist government was virtually silent on Snowden's request for asylum, Ecuadorean analysts said his fate, or at least his safe harbor in Ecuador, could depend as much on frozen vegetables and flowers as on questions over freedom of expression and international counterterrorism.
Unlike with China, Russia or Cuba, countries where the U.S. has relatively few tools to force Snowden's handover, the Obama administration could swiftly hit Ecuador in the pocketbook by denying reduced tariffs on cut flowers, artichokes and broccoli. Those represent hundreds of millions of dollars in annual exports for this country where nearly half of foreign trade depends on the U.S.
A denial wouldn't mean financial devastation for Ecuador, which has been growing healthily in recent years thanks in large part to its oil resources. But analysts and political figures said the prospect of any economic damage could nonetheless alter the political calculus for Correa, a pragmatic leftist who's long delighted in tweaking the United States but hasn't yet suffered any major consequences.
"Much of our foreign trade is at stake," said flower grower Benito Jaramillo, president of the country's largest association of flower farmers, who shipped more than $300 million in flowers, mostly roses, to the U.S. last year. "They've been inserting themselves in a problem that isn't Ecuador's, so we're in a dilemma that we shouldn't be in."
For years, Ecuador's oil, vegetables and roses have kept flowing northward even as Correa has expelled U.S. diplomats and an American military base, publicly hectored the U.S. ambassador and harbored WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in London.
Correa's strongest backers have delighted in his attacks on Washington. And even his detractors have tolerated his foreign policy as the indulgence of a man who has maintained general economic and political stability, funneling billions of U.S. dollars, which are also Ecuador's currency, to social spending and infrastructure projects.
The president's office and other government agencies declined comment on Snowden, referring questions to Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, who said only that he doesn't know where Snowden is or what travel documents he might be using.
Analysts and politicians said any potential loss to Ecuador could make hosting Snowden a tougher decision than previous ones for Correa, a member of Latin America's leftist bloc who's maintained cordial relations with countries like Cuba and Venezuela without marching in lockstep with them.
"The president's ideology toward the United States is one thing. It's another thing to be president of a country whose dependence on the U.S. is unavoidable, irreplaceable and extremely valuable, because we sell the U.S. a lot more than we could ever could to any other country," said former vice president Blasco Penaherrera, member of the center-left Liberal Party.
Many Ecuadoreans see the NSA surveillance revealed by Snowden's leaks as part of a longstanding and broad pattern of excessive U.S. interference abroad, including in Latin America. So, some people said, asylum for Snowden would be humane and wise despite any economic consequences.
"On a commercial basis, the U.S. and Ecuador are guided by pragmatism, independent of economic agendas. Businessmen set priorities based on cost-benefit and because of that I don't think there are going to be major consequences, because the commercial line is separate from the geopolitical one," said Pablo Davalos, an economics professor and analyst at the Catholic University in Quito.
But on the streets of the capital, people appeared to be increasingly feeling that their country should keep out of the affair.
"We shouldn't give him asylum," said Fredy Prado, a retired shoe company manager. "Every country needs to take care of itself, its own security."
The U.S. administration is supposed to decide by Monday whether to grant Ecuador export privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences, a system meant to spur development and growth in poorer countries. The deadline was deadline set long before the Snowden affair but conveniently timed for the U.S.
More broadly, a larger trade pact allowing reduced tariffs on more than $5 billion in annual exports to the U.S. is up for congressional renewal before July 21. While approval of the Andean Trade Preference Act has long been seen as doubtful in Washington, Ecuador has been lobbying strongly for its renewal in recent months.
"I hope the government doesn't decide to give Snowden asylum, because obviously this isn't in Ecuador's interests," said Roberto Aspiazu, chairman of a coalition of Ecuador's largest industries. "Hopefully the issue will be looked at from the perspective of Ecuador's interests, and I don't think it's in our country's interest to unnecessarily confront the U.S."
___
Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mweissenstein
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flowers-vegetables-could-affect-snowdens-fate-213040651.html
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By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - The number of people dying from heart disease in Europe has dropped dramatically in recent decades, thanks largely to the success of cholesterol-lowering drugs and drives to persuade people to quit smoking, scientists said on Wednesday.
Cardiovascular disease death rates have more than halved in many countries in the European Union since the early 1980s, according to their study in the European Heart Journal.
Yet heart disease - which can lead to fatal heart attacks and strokes - remains a leading cause of death in the region and rising rates of obesity and diabetes could soon start to reverse progress made in the past 30 years.
"For the most part and for most countries this is good news - the death rates have come down quite substantially in the last 30 years," said Nick Townsend of Britain's Oxford University, who worked on the study.
"But what we don't want to say is that the job is done, because we know by looking at trends in other conditions that they could reverse the trends we've worked so hard to achieve in heart disease."
According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases kill around 17 million people globally each year.
Townsend's team looked at deaths from coronary heart disease between 1980 and 2009 in both sexes and four age groups: under 45, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and 65 years and over.
They found that almost all EU countries had a large and significant decrease in death rates from heart disease over the last three decades in both men and women when all the age groups were considered together.
Britain, Denmark, Malta, The Netherlands and Sweden had the largest declines in death rates for both sexes, while among men in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, the decreases were small and not statistically significant. In Romanian men, there was a small but statistically significant increase.
Although the study did not look specifically for causes, Townsend said the progress was probably mainly due to better drugs - such as statins to treat high cholesterol and anti-hypertensives to treat high blood pressure - as well as lower rates of smoking in the region overall.
He warned, however, that other risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes, were a real concern: "It could lead to a future time bomb, whereby these fantastic gains in terms of heart disease mortality could start to reverse with the impact of rises in obesity and diabetes."
Commenting on the study's findings, Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation charity, said while the picture of heart disease mortality is improving "we're an awful long way from back-patting and hand-clapping".
"More than 2 million people are battling coronary heart disease in the UK and while our work in science labs and (in) improving prevention and care has made a huge difference, that's 2 million people too many," he said in a statement.
(Editing by Alison Williams)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/heart-disease-deaths-show-dramatic-decline-europe-230716816.html
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I have plenty of friends who have yet to go on a cruise vacation.? Not surprising due to the fact that about 70% of the US still has not been on a cruise vacation.
They each have their own reasons for not trying it out yet from thinking there is not enough to do on a cruise ship to concerns about motion sickness. ?Plus many of my friends seem to have stuck with their childhood family vacation traditions like renting a beach house for a week in the summer.
But, after hearing from their friends how their recent cruise experience or seeing their friends cruise photos on Facebook my cruise rookie friends start asking me questions about what would be a good cruise for them to test-out to see if cruising is for them.
When they say ?test-out?, they are saying ?what is a short 3 to 4 day cruise that we can go on to see what this whole cruising thing is all about.?
The issue is that most 3 to 5 night cruises are on slightly older ships that are not a true representation of what cruising is all about in 2013.? ?The cruise lines have pushed the envelope over the last 5 years with innovative new ships that are engineering masterpieces.
The cruise lines deploy their newest most innovative ships on 7+ night cruise vacation, with the exception of Royal Caribbean?s Liberty of the Seas.??Making the Liberty of the Seas my top recommendation for 1st time cruisers. ?[Help spread the word to your first-time cruisers]
The Liberty of the Seas was launched in 2007. Although 6 years old, there are only a few cruise ships larger than the Liberty of the Seas.? ?The Liberty of the Seas offers:
The Liberty of the Seas is the largest, most innovative cruise ship offering 4 ? 5 night cruises.? ?From November 2013 ? April 2014, the Liberty of the Seas will be sailing from Ft Lauderdale on 4 and 5 night Caribbean Voyages starting at low as $249 + taxes per person*!? ??Click to search for rates and availability.?
90% of the time, I try to get my first time cruising friends on the Liberty of the Seas. ?For some families with a bigger budget, I find the 3 ? 4 nt. Disney Dream Cruise to be great place to start.
*$249 per person rate is on the 4 night December 12th, 2013 departure of the Liberty of the Seas.?
Click Liberty of the Seas photos below to enlarge:
Captain Surfing Flowrider
Pool Deck
Full Court Basketball
Ice Skating with the Kids
Photo of balconies by ade_rob
Credit: roger4336 on Flickr
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Source: http://cruisesource.us/2013/06/best-ship-for-first-time-cruisers/
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WASHINGTON -- Ever since he ran off with bags full of secrets from the National Security Agency's towers of tricks, American dissident Edward Snowden has been wandering the world at top speed like a Tour de France driver who lost the roadway somewhere north of Nice.
There he was in Hong Kong! Snowden's people said the Chinese autonomous city-state had no extradition treaty with the U.S., but in fact it did. Then, there he was off to Iceland, or was it Venezuela, or was it simply Canada? No, in fact, it was Russia. He landed there (we know that) and apparently is hidden somewhere in the maze of airport transit lounges that closely resembles the map of Lubyanka prison.
Meanwhile, Washington, mad as hell over the antics of its prodigal son just when President Obama wants to deal with BIG issues, canceled Snowden's U.S. passport. No matter. He can get papers from the Russians, and word is that he will probably go to Ecuador.
Now, Ecuador, on the northwest corner of South America, is an exquisitely beautiful country with a lot of precious Inca history and -- if he goes to the exotic Galapagos Islands, he'll find some unbelievable animals, although none probably stranger than the ones he left behind.
In all, the 27-year-old Snowden, so far as we know a boy from a happy family who dropped out of high school and ended up working for one of those contractors doing specialized work for our intelligence agencies, is almost bound to end up a "man without a country," unless you consider his possibly becoming a member of the Ecuadorean Jivaro tribe, who are famous head-hunters.
But Snowden was not the first American to earn that sad title. One of the most famous stories of early American history, and the origin of the phrase, is author, historian and Unitarian clergyman Edward Everett Hale's famous work, "The Man Without a Country." In it, Philip Nolan is tried for treason in the American Civil War.
When Nolan said he never wanted to see America again, the judge took the unusual step of condemning him to sail around the world for the rest of his life, never to step foot on American soil. Nolan lived a tragic life, passed from ship to ship, never allowed even to hear anything of his country.
The story is meant as an allegory about the human chaos of the Civil War, and it worked all too well.
Now we have a number of Americans and even an Australian deeply involved in this new practice of deliberately spilling secrets for what they see as the greater good. Indeed, the Obama administration has prosecuted more individuals (seven) under the Espionage Act than all other administrations together.
Two of these young men, whom one would think, would now be gaily considering the lives ahead of them in their home countries, with their mothers and uncles and schoolmates at their sides, instead are wandering the world alone, honored by a few for giving up their countries' secrets, but disgraced by most. What will happen to them? And to us?
There have always been traitors -- Brutus and Benedict are names far less forgettable than those of their decent brethren -- and there have always been heroes. But there is something different here, in this Internet age, with these young people and their smartphones and tablets. Washington should remember how very easy it is with the new technology to copy things.
From the minute President George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld got us so deeply involved in unnecessary wars -- "wars of choice," they called them -- in Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan, it suddenly became fashionable to be against these stupid wars of waste -- of blood, of wealth, of time and culture, and the past and future.
When our Army went into Baghdad, for instance, it never even planned or, apparently, much thought about protecting the Baghdad museum.
This is one of the most glorious museums in the world, filled with unique antiquities from Ur, Nineveh, Hatra, Babylon and all the original cities of the Bible. Instead, we put our troops around the oil ministry, whose oil is now going to China, and many antiquities were destroyed.
When you have a nation like our beloved one that goes to war like the Mongols, one cannot long avoid the Julian Assanges or the Edward Snowdens.
Perhaps one needs remember the saga of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. We absorbed them and no one went racing across the world over them. But that was the original hated "war of choice." A better idea would be to stay away from these wars from the beginning.
(Georgie Anne Geyer has been a foreign correspondent and commentator on international affairs for more than 40 years. She can be reached at gigi_geyer(at)juno.com.)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-sign-times-230205324.html
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FILE - This Feb. 7, 2008 file photo shows Gary David Goldberg, producer of the "Family Ties" television series during his appearance on the NBC "Today" television show in New York. Goldberg died of brain cancer in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday, June 23, 2013, two days before his 69th birthday, The New York Times reported. Goldberg's TV successes also included "Spin City," reuniting him with "Family Ties" breakout star Michael J. Fox. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
FILE - This Feb. 7, 2008 file photo shows Gary David Goldberg, producer of the "Family Ties" television series during his appearance on the NBC "Today" television show in New York. Goldberg died of brain cancer in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday, June 23, 2013, two days before his 69th birthday, The New York Times reported. Goldberg's TV successes also included "Spin City," reuniting him with "Family Ties" breakout star Michael J. Fox. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Gary David Goldberg, who created the 1980s sitcom hit "Family Ties" and expanded into feature films, has died.
Goldberg died of brain cancer in Montecito, Calif., on Saturday, days before his 69th birthday, The New York Times reported.
Goldberg's TV successes also included the ABC comedy "Spin City," which in 1996 reunited him with "Family Ties" breakout star Michael J. Fox as the deputy mayor of New York City.
"With a full heart I say goodbye to my mentor, benefactor, partner, second father and beloved friend," Fox said in a statement on Monday. "He touched so many with his enormous talent and generous spirit. He changed my life profoundly."
A more modest hit for Goldberg yet much-acclaimed, CBS' "Brooklyn Bridge" (1991-93) was a tender comedy based on his experiences growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. Marion Ross starred as a character inspired by his grandmother.
Goldberg's films included "Dad" (1989), starring Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson, as well as "Bye Bye Love" (1995) and "Must Love Dogs" (2005), which he wrote as well as directed.
His own dog, Ubu, contributed the name of his production company and was widely known from the onscreen credit where viewers heard the command, "Sit, Ubu, sit," then a bark.
Goldberg began his TV career in the 1970s as a writer for series including "The Bob Newhart Show," and was a producer of "Lou Grant."
In 1982 "Family Ties" premiered on NBC, introducing Michael J. Fox as a business-loving Young Republican son of left-wing baby boomers who were former hippies.
"Basically, those parents are me and Diana," Goldberg once said, referring to his wife, Diana Meehan, who survives him.
The series became a huge hit, making Fox a star and Goldberg an important behind-the-camera name.
During his career, Goldberg won two Emmy awards, two Golden Globes and a Peabody award.
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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- For jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney, a long-simmering dispute over worker illnesses was settled by a massive 11-year study that found no elevated risk of brain cancer at its plants. But for dead workers' relatives who first raised concerns years ago, the matter is far from closed.
Their next step hasn't been decided, and the choices are limited. Matt Shafner, a New London lawyer who represents families, said more than 90 workers' compensation claims have been filed. But he won't move forward until an independent review of the study is completed, he said.
"It's not over," said Carol Shea, whose husband, John Shea, worked at Pratt & Whitney's North Haven plant for 35 years and died of brain cancer in 2000 at age 56.
Some relatives of workers who died of brain cancer a decade or more ago are dissatisfied with the study, saying it failed to prove that the deaths of their loved ones were part of a broader problem.
Todd Atcherson, whose father, Charles Atcherson, died in 1998 after working at Pratt & Whitney for about 25 years, said the enormous scope of the study ? health and work records of more than 200,000 employees were reviewed ? fail to explain the deaths of his father and a small group of other workers at the North Haven plant.
"They skewed out the numbers so far, they lost focus of five people who worked in the same site and all died," he said.
Shea said she believes the researchers are "way off."
"I couldn't believe they couldn't come up with anything," she said.
The study, released last month, was launched "in response to the perception of an unusual occurrence" of glioblastoma, a common and aggressive malignant brain tumor, at the North Haven plant. It found the incidence rates of glioblastoma at the site weren't related to workplace exposures.
The environment at the plant featured a blue haze, a product of aerosol generated from metalworking fluids during fast, hot grinding.
The study, which examined seven other Pratt & Whitney plants in Connecticut, found no statistically significant elevations in the rate of cancer among workers. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Illinois at Chicago said they identified 723 workers diagnosed with tumors between 1976 and 2004 at the subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
The tumors were malignant, benign or unspecified and included 277 cases of brain cancer. Of those, 167 were at Pratt & Whitney's East Hartford site and 57 at North Haven, though North Haven workers were at greater risk of having brain cancer, the study said.
But following a study of the North Haven plant, researchers said they couldn't conclude that the environment or exposures were related to the overall elevations in brain cancer.
Gary Marsh, the University of Pittsburgh researcher who led the study, said that he understands family members' frustrations but that the study is conclusive and definitive.
"Let's face it: Brain cancer is a terrible disease and anyone who suffers from it or had a loved one suffer from it wants to know why they got that disease," he said. "We looked at everything conceivable as a possible cause of brain cancer."
Ray Hernandez, a spokesman for Pratt & Whitney, said the company is satisfied with the study's conclusions and considers the matter closed.
"Since we are confident in the scientific rigor of this comprehensive study, we think it provides the best possible information about this issue," he said in an emailed statement.
The study found no connection between brain cancer and the workplace and researchers found no patterns or trends of other causes of death "suggestive of a workplace relationship," Hernandez said.
In Connecticut, Pratt & Whitney over the years has shut down all but its Middletown and East Hartford plants. Manufacturing processes from decades ago have been transformed and haven't recently raised safety issues.
A few family members said they are wary of the study because it was commissioned by Pratt & Whitney at a cost of $12 million. The university researchers worked independently of Pratt & Whitney and the state Department of Public Health established an advisory group to review the progress, methods and other aspects of the study and address concerns about the study's independence.
John DeLeone, a grinding machine operator at the North Haven plant from 1984 until it closed in 2002, said workers suspected that chemicals specific to that plant were lethal. He criticized the study, which was launched in 2002 in response to concerns about employee deaths at North Haven, for being overly broad rather than focusing on that plant.
"It seemed that only people who got sick were those who transferred from North Haven," he said.
Marsh said the study adds to the body of knowledge of occupational health, used by researchers and relevant to other jet engine manufacturers, such as General Electric Co. and Rolls Royce, he said.
"We concluded there is no evidence of elevated health risks of this population. That's a good thing to know," he said.
But Debra Belancik, the Machinists' union's safety and health representative, said the study "doesn't bring any closure at all."
"All this work we did, all the high rates, all the funerals and wakes I went to, it kind of bothered me a little bit," she said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/families-skeptical-pratt-cancer-study-180254208.html
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100 Bullets: Brother?Lono?#1 by Dave Johnson
?Ay,?caramba!?Such a delightfully pulpy cover by the Reverend Dave Johnson.?While his covers are frequently featured here, it looks like he really took his time illustrating this cover in particular. Just look at Brother?Lono?s?face; it?s definitely seen some action. The floating hypnotic skull in the background is a wonderfully eerie image, and the cherry on top has to be the color palate Johnson chose for the overall look and feel. It all feels so?right,?and yet so wrong.
Right off the bat I really like the softer tones being used in the background. Yes Captain Marvel is a part of a bigger team, but she?s obviously shining pretty bright on the cover of her own title. The evil eyes up top surveying the scene add a nice sinister touch to the overall theme of distress, with all Avengers present ready for action.?Lots of warm colors, both muted and bold.?Great stuff from Joe Quinones.
? 
If I was surrounded by gigantic rats, I too would be clutching my teddy bear?rather?tightly!?The look and colors of the three rats in the back remind me of the orange and black designs displayed on the pots from ancient Greece. The ones up front look rather ugly, as we?re able to see every wart and whisker?on their yellow faces. They may be misunderstood creatures, but they?re still pretty hideous. Only a talented hand such as?Ruas? can make them appear?beautiful.
It?s a cover crossover! Wonder Woman and friends are being sucked through a boom tube, and they?ll reappear in the cover of?100 Bullets: Brother?Lono?#1!?I just love how Chiang shows how powerful?the boom tube is by having immortals like?Orion and Diana being pulled in. Hell, Diana is about to lose her favorite tiara! The cherry on top is of course the Kirby crackle, for you can?t draw the New Gods without a little tip of the hat to the man who started it all.
This is my favorite cover of the week, hands down.?The cold, alien look she?s giving is very unsettling, and yet I?m enticed by her cybernetic-like beauty.?The radical outline of a skull in her hair adds to the mystery of?who?or what she is exactly.?Rossmo?is just one of those artists where everything he touches turns to gold. I may not care for the title, but dammit do I care about that fantastic cover art!
Cameron Hatheway is the host of?Cammy?s?Comics Corner?and Arts & Entertainment Editor of the?Sonoma State STAR. You candoodle?him a noodle?on Twitter?@CamComicCorner.
Source: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/22/cammys-covers-100-bullets-to-occupy-comics/
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