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Why everyone should be taking Coconut Oil at least once a day organicfacts.net/organic-oils/o?Il y a environ 4 heuresvia Tweet ButtonRetweeted by 1 person
FORT MEADE, Md. ? The U.S. military is making its case for why Army Pfc. Bradley Manning should be court-martialed on charges of endangering national security by stealing and leaking an enormous trove of government secrets.
Manning, 23, was to make his first public appearance Friday at the opening of his pretrial hearing at Fort Meade. The Army post near Washington is, ironically, home to U.S. Cyber Command, the organization whose mission includes protecting computer networks like the one Manning allegedly breached by illegally downloading huge numbers of classified documents in Iraq.
He is suspected of giving the documents to WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website that last year began publishing the materials.
The hearing was expected to last through the weekend and possibly beyond. Manning's lawyer asserts that the documents' release did little actual harm.
The case has spawned an international movement in support of Manning, who is seen by anti-war activists as a hero who helped expose American mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan. To others he is a villain, even a traitor, who betrayed his oath of loyalty by deliberately spilling his government's secrets.
Manning's supporters planned to maintain a vigil during the hearing and were organizing a rally for Saturday.
The hearing at Meade is intended to yield a recommendation to Army Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, commander of the Military District of Washington, on whether Manning should be court-martialed. Linnington could choose other courses, including applying an administrative punishment or dismissing some or all of the 22 counts against Manning.
If his case goes to trial and he is convicted, Manning could face life in prison. The government has said it would not seek the death penalty.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Manning's alleged actions damaging and unfortunate.
"I think that in an age where so much information is flying through cyberspace, we all have to be aware of the fact that some information which is sensitive, which does affect the security of individuals and relationships, deserves to be protected and we will continue to take necessary steps to do so," Clinton told reporters at the State Department.
The Manning case has led to a debate over the broader issue of whether the government's system for classifying and shielding information has grown so unwieldy that it is increasingly vulnerable to intrusions.
Absent from the Meade proceedings will be Julian Assange, who runs WikiLeaks from England. He is fighting in British courts to block a Swedish request that he be extradited to face trial over rape allegations.
A U.S. grand jury is weighing whether to indict Assange on espionage charges, and WikiLeaks is straining under an American financial embargo that Assange says has starved it of revenue.
The materials Manning is accused of leaking include hundreds of thousands of sensitive items: Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, State Department cables and a classified military video of a 2007 American helicopter attack in Iraq that killed 11 men, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver.
At the time, Manning, a native of Crescent, Okla., was a low-level intelligence analyst in Baghdad.
Manning, who turns 24 on Saturday, was detained in Iraq in May 2010 and moved to a Marine Corps brig at Quantico, Va., in July. Nine months later, the Army sent him to the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., after a series of claims by Manning of unlawful pretrial punishment.
When it filed formal charges against Manning in March 2011, the Army accused him of using unauthorized software on government computers to extract classified information, illegally download it and transmit the data for public release by what the Army termed "the enemy."
The first large publication of the documents by WikiLeaks in July 2010, some 77,000 military records on the war in Afghanistan, made global headlines. But the material provided only limited revelations, including unreported incidents of Afghan civilian killings as well as covert operations against Taliban figures.
In October 2010, WikiLeaks published a batch of nearly 400,000 documents that dated from early 2004 to Jan. 1, 2010. They were written mostly by low-ranking officers in the field cataloging thousands of battles with insurgents and roadside bomb attacks, plus equipment failures and shootings by civilian contractors. The documents did not alter the basic outlines of how the war was fought.
A month later, WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of State Department documents that revealed a hidden world of backstage international diplomacy. They divulged candid comments from world leaders and detailed occasional U.S. pressure tactics aimed at hot spots in Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea.
Last month, 54 members of the European Parliament signed a letter to the U.S. government raising concerns about Manning's lengthy detention. They questioned whether his right to due process has been violated by keeping him in pretrial confinement for 18 months.
It took months for the Army to reach the conclusion that Manning was competent to stand trial. In the meantime Manning's civilian lawyer, David E. Coombs, has sought to build a case that appears to rest in part on an assertion that the government's own reviews of the leaks concluded that little damage was done.
Indeed, the Pentagon determined in August 2010 that the initial leaks had not compromised intelligence sources or practices, although it said the disclosures could still cause significant damage to U.S. security interests.
___
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
___
Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP
Twitter / Mickey Brignall: new up and in podcast is u ...new up and in podcast is up. My day is complete. If you like baseball and you don't listen to this stuff, you are missing out my friend.Il y a environ 5 heuresvia web
TOKYO (Reuters) ? Sony Corp, set to report a $1 billion loss this year, is banking on a big slate of new software to drive sales of its new PlayStation Vita handheld games device, even as Fitch downgraded the Japanese electronics giant to a notch above junk.
Welshman Andrew House, who took the top job at Sony Computer Entertainment in September, must plot a much-needed success story for the Vita, negotiating a minefield of consumer gloom and competition from smartphones and tablet PCs such as Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad.
Sony, which has forecast a fourth straight annual loss this year, launches the Vita in Japan this weekend.
It hopes a package of 24 software titles at launch will help the gadget avoid the fate of rival Nintendo's 3DS, which flopped shortly after launch, forcing a hefty price cut.
"It's unprecedented for us to achieve that degree of publisher and development support ... we adopted a different approach to the lead-up to the platform in terms of our relationships with publishers and developers," House told reporters at Sony's Tokyo head office on Thursday.
He said he hoped the Vita would outsell its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which has shipped 73 million units since launching in late-2004.
The videogames unit made a first profit in 5 years in the year to March, as it squeezed production costs for the Playstation 3, boosting profits for the whole company. The unit's sales accounted for more than a tenth of Sony's 7 trillion yen in total revenue.
But costs involved in driving Vita sales may push the unit back into the red this year, adding to Sony's struggle with huge losses in televisions.
Sony needs the Vita to be a hit to ease the pain from its TV business, which is set for an annual loss of $2.2 billion, an eighth straight year of losses. Sony is looking to halve that loss next year, but has given few details on how it plans to get the business back into profit.
FITCH MOVE
The Fitch ratings agency turned up the heat by downgrading Sony to BBB- - a notch above non-investment, or junk, grade - from BBB, citing the group's weakened financial performance and the challenges it faces in recapturing its former strong position in key markets.
"A likely overall FY12 EBIT loss, excluding financial services, and an increase in debt driven by acquisitions will significantly weaken Sony's credit profile," said Nitin Soni, Associate Director in Fitch's Asia-Pacific Telecommunications, Media and Technology team.
Sony said in October it was taking over its mobile phone joint venture with Ericsson for $1.5 billion, and is also leading a group to buy EMI's music publishing operations in a deal valued at $2.2 billion.
"Of course, if the rating is downgraded it makes it more expensive for them to raise money, so it's not good," said Keita Wakabayashi, an analyst at Mito Securities.
"(Sony has) slashed its profit outlook for the current year and even if the North American market has improved slightly, European and Japanese markets and emerging markets are in a severe state. So downgrades are something we'll have to keep in mind."
VITA
The Vita, featuring a 5-inch OLED display and 3G connectivity, sold out in advance bookings in Japan, where buyers have rushed to upgrade from the PSP. Sony has not provided a unit sales target for the Vita.
The United States and Europe may pose a tougher challenge as a February 22 launch date for the Vita comes well after the crucial year-end holiday sales season.
"We've been told the PS Vita sold out on pre-bookings. How it sells next year depends on the software. If they can come up with something like Monster Hunter they will be able to sell a lot, but if they don't, prospects don't look so bright," said Mito's Wakabayashi, referring to a game title that drove sales of the PSP in Japan.
The challenge from smartphones and tablets comes on top of competition from long-standing domestic rival Nintendo, which aims to sell 16 million of its cheaper 3DS handheld games devices by March. Sony on Thursday said it was keeping to its target of selling 15 million PS3 game machines in the year through March.
Another rival, Microsoft, doesn't offer a portable device.
After a slump in sales, Nintendo slashed the price of its handheld gadget in August by about 40 percent to $170, compared with $249 for the PS Vita, or $299 for the 3G version.
The games industry has shrugged off the broader economic gloom and is forecast to top $81 billion by 2016, according to research firm DFC Intelligence, up 23 percent from this year and more than three times the size of the recorded music industry.
Much of that growth is likely to be in online, social and casual games, rather than the traditional hardware model that has been Sony's staple.
Japan's software houses are pouring resources into mobile social gaming, and industry executives have expressed some concern over the future for dedicated handheld gaming devices.
Sony was criticized in June, when it announced the pricing of the Vita, for making the gadget too expensive, and has teamed up with U.S. telecoms firm AT&T as Vita's exclusive carrier. Many U.S. iPhone users have complained that AT&T provided poor connectivity.
Sony shares closed down 1.5 percent on Thursday, their lowest in two weeks.
(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
WASHINGTON ? Young adults trying to get traction in a tough economy are getting a welcome assist: the new federal health care law has markedly improved their access to health insurance.
The number of young Americans ages 19-25 lacking health insurance has shrunk by 2.5 million since President Barack Obama's health care overhaul took effect, the administration announced in an analysis released Wednesday.
That drop is 2 1/2 times as large as the decline indicated by previous government and private estimates from earlier this year, which showed about 1 million had gained coverage.
The improvement comes even as the uninsured rate stayed basically stuck for those a little older, ages 26-35.
Under the health care overhaul, adult children can stay on a parent's plan until they turn 26, a provision that has proven popular in an otherwise divisive law.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the numbers show the law is making a big difference for families with adult children.
"Many of them gained coverage earlier this spring, meaning the law was there for young people as they graduated from college or high school and began their careers," she said.
Administration officials said there are a couple of reasons for the better-than-expected result.
First, there is more data available now than earlier this year. Secondly, analysts are slicing the numbers more precisely than the government usually does.
The health care law's main push to cover the uninsured doesn't come until 2014. But the young adults' provision took effect last fall, and most workplace health plans started carrying it out Jan. 1. Since then, families have flocked to sign up adult children making the transition to work in a challenging environment.
The overall fate of Obama's law remains uncertain, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear a constitutional challenge next year, and Republican presidential candidates vowing to repeal it. But this provision seems to have gotten a seal of approval from consumers.
"The increase in coverage among 19- to 25-year-olds can be directly attributed to the Affordable Care Act's new dependent coverage provision," said the HHS analysis.
Using unpublished quarterly statistics from the government's ongoing National Health Interview Survey, analysts in Sebelius' policy office determined that nearly 36 percent of those age 19-25 were uninsured in the third calendar quarter of 2010, before the law's provision took effect.
That translates to more than 10.5 million people.
By the second calendar quarter of 2011, the proportion of uninsured young adults had dropped to a little over 27 percent, or about 8 million people.
The difference ? nearly 2.5 million getting coverage ? can only be the result of the health care law, administration officials said, because the number covered by public programs like Medicaid went down slightly.
Overall, nearly 30 million Americans are ages 19 to 25.
"From September 2010 to June 2011, coverage rose only among those adults affect by the policy," said the HHS report.
The National Center for Health Statistics has documented a broadly similar trend in its official publications, only it's not nearly as dramatic.
Administration officials said those statistics did not focus on the change from calendar quarter to calendar quarter, as does the new HHS report. Instead, they pool data over longer time periods, and that has the effect of diluting the perceived impact of the law, officials said.
Traditionally, young adults have been more likely to be uninsured than any other age group.
Some are making the switch from school to work. Others are holding down low-wage jobs that don't usually come with health care. And some ? termed the "invincibles" ? pass up job-based health insurance because they don't think they'll use it and would rather get extra money in their paychecks.
Other early coverage expansions in the health care law have not worked as well, including a special program for people with health problems turned away by private insurers. Many applicants found the premiums unaffordable.
Young adults are less expensive to cover than people who are middle-aged, and many companies have spread the extra premiums among their workers. Benefits consultant Delloite LLP has projected additional health plan costs in the range of 1 percent to 2 percent for covering young adults.
Before the health care overhaul, families with adult children faced a hodgepodge of policies. Some health plans only covered older children while they were full-time students. Others applied an age cutoff.
MEXICO CITY ? Mexico said Wednesday it has broken up a plot to smuggle a son of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, al-Saadi Gadhafi, and his family into Mexico under false names and with false documents.
The elaborate plan, which allegedly involved two Mexicans, a Canadian and a Danish suspect, also involved opening bank accounts and buying properties in Mexico that were to have been used as safe houses by Gadhafi, Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire said.
The plan was uncovered by Mexican intelligence agents in early September and the suspects were arrested and placed under house arrest while they are being investigated for falsification of documents, Poire told a news conference.
Al-Saadi Gadhafi fled Libya and is living under house arrest in the Western African country of Niger.
NCAA president Mark Emmert speaks during a news conference at the NCAA headquarters Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, in Indianapolis. Emmert says he is asking the U.S. Education Department to help create advisory guidelines for universities about dealing with ball boys, ball girls and other minors on campus. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
NCAA president Mark Emmert speaks during a news conference at the NCAA headquarters Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, in Indianapolis. Emmert says he is asking the U.S. Education Department to help create advisory guidelines for universities about dealing with ball boys, ball girls and other minors on campus. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Mark Emmert is willing to help colleges and universities do a better job protecting minors on campus.
In the wake of two disturbing child sex-abuse allegations in the past month, the NCAA president said Monday he has contacted U.S. Education Secretary Arnie Duncan so he can advise school leaders about the best practices in dealing with ball boys, ball girls and students who attend summer camps.
"We're looking into that right now," Emmert told The Associated Press. "Because we've never been involved with this kind of thing before, we're trying to determine what is the best thing to do."
Emmert did not provide specific details on what those guidelines may include, how extensive they could be or when they might be completed.
No, Emmert does not intend to add the guidelines to the massive 400-plus page rulebook, but he wants to prevent future improprieties from occurring and wants to find out if there is a pervasive culture within athletic departments that could lead to cover-ups of criminal conduct.
"When you have a veil of secrecy, you have the potential for abusive behavior whether it's in the Catholic church, a school or whatever, and that applies to all of us, not just the NCAA," Emmert told reporters in Indianapolis.
Penn State has already said it is considering a change to its school policy, too.
"We are looking at issues such as you mentioned," school president Rod Erickson said. "For example, the sports camps, and who was allowed to participate in the supervisory or oversight kind of role. But we're also relying on the special investigations task force, which is looking at every aspect of policy and practice. I've already said as part of my five promises that will implement the recommendations that come out of that investigation."
Emmert's comments came in the final month of a scandal-tinged year that has damaged the images of athletic programs from Boise State and Tennessee to Miami and Ohio State.
But the recent allegations at Penn State and Syracuse are the most shocking.
After a grand jury report accused former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky of abusing eight boys over a 15-year period, university trustees fired coach Joe Paterno and school President Graham Spanier. Two other former Penn State officials are charged with failing to report complaints of abuse and with lying to a grand jury. They have pleaded not guilty.
Critics contended that Paterno, Spanier and other school officials should have done more to stop Sandusky, who is awaiting a preliminary hearing on 40 criminal counts.
Last week, after three men accused Bernie Fine of molesting them, Syracuse fired the longtime assistant basketball coach. Federal authorities are investigating, but no charges have been filed.
The Education Department announced a month ago that it would conduct an investigation at Penn State. Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., a former U.S. attorney, has encouraged Duncan to investigate possible Clery Act violations; the law requires schools to report the number of crimes on campus and provide warnings in a timely manner if safety is threatened.
Emmert sent a letter to Penn State officials last month, notifying the school that the NCAA had opened an inquiry into whether NCAA rules may have been violated. Emmert has asked the school to answer questions by Dec. 16, though he acknowledged Monday that the ongoing investigations make it unlikely he would hear back that soon.
"We have been in touch with Penn State and their board of trustees, and I would describe that relationship as extremely collaborative and we appreciate that," Emmert said. "But I think it's clear that it will be impossible for them to provide us with a lot of that information in that timeframe. We certainly want to get all of our questions answered, so we'll see what they're saying."
Emmert has said previously the information could lead to a formal investigation at Penn State.
Syracuse, however, is not facing an NCAA inquiry ? yet.
"We've not done that based on the information we have right now," Emmert said.
But it's clear Emmert is weary of all these allegations.
"We have had a heck of a year of scandals and disruptions," he said. "To have really good success on the one hand and all these grenades blowing up has been frustrating."
Emmert reiterated his desire to reform the rule book, saying NCAA leaders had held two meetings in the past week to discuss how to simplify the rulebook. He wants more emphasis on allegations that threaten the integrity of the game, a more streamlined hearing process and a multi-tiered penalty structure, rather than the two-tiered system that currently exists.
Those measures could be passed by April.
"I am adamant, and the membership is adamant, that we make changes quickly and that we base them around the core values of college athletics," Emmert said.
He also rejected the notion of paying athletes more than the $2,000 stipend that was approved by the board in October, and acknowledged that a college football playoff is likely to become a hot topic after this year's bowl season because the BCS contracts expire in two years.
Could there be a playoff? Perhaps. Emmert mentioned the model of a bowl season plus-one, a national championship game, though he expressed concerns over injuries and academics if an eight-team or 16-team tournament were implemented.
"If you start with a playoff model, you could have kids playing 16 games and that becomes a physical strain as well as a huge academic strain," he said. "We've been looking at the construction of the current postseason calendar because you're seeing a creep into early January and a creep earlier into December. We want the games to occur after the end of the semester, the 15th or 16th of December, and before the start of the winter semester, so to fit a 16-team playoff into that timeframe would be pretty bloody tough."
___(equals)
Associated Press writer Genaro C. Armas in State College, Pa., also contributed to this report.
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is keeping supporters in suspense ahead of his expected announcement Saturday about whether he will quit the race in after a string of sexual harassment allegations and a claim of an extramarital affair.
The Georgia businessman planned to announce his decision at what was supposed to be a festive opening of a new headquarters in Atlanta. The space was rented when Cain sat surprisingly atop the GOP pack.
With the candidate's poll numbers plummeting and fundraising stalled, some campaign aides said privately they expected him to drop out. But Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon said late Friday that no decision had been made.
A meeting with top staff members was expected early Saturday.
Cain returned to his suburban Atlanta home Friday and met with his wife, Gloria. It was the first time they have seen each other face to face since 46-year-old Ginger White came forward on Monday, and said she and Herman Cain had carried on a 13-year relationship.
Cain has denied having an affair with White. He said the concern over the toll the allegations were having on his family as well as a candid assessment of whether his campaign could still attract the needed support would inform his decision on whether to press ahead.
Campaign volunteers were keeping busy Friday night, tacking up signs at his headquarters. A contingent of Secret Service agents inspected the site in advance of Cain's arrival.
"We are moving ahead," said Cain's Georgia director David McCleary, who said he had talked to the candidate earlier in the day and describe him as "upbeat."
Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza chief executive who has never held elected office, rose to become an unexpected front-runner in the volatile Republican race just weeks ago. A self-styled outsider, Cain enjoyed strong tea party support from conservatives who viewed him as an alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
But once in the national spotlight, Cain fumbled policy questions, leaving some to wonder whether he was ready for the presidency. Then it was revealed at the end of October that the National Restaurant Association had paid settlements to two women who claimed Cain sexually harassed them while he was president of the organization.
A third woman told The Associated Press that Cain made inappropriate sexual advances but that she didn't file a complaint. A fourth woman also stepped forward to accuse Cain of groping her in a car in 1997.
Cain has denied wrongdoing in all cases.
Polls suggest his popularity has suffered. A Des Moines Register poll released Friday showed Cain's support plunging, with backing from 8 percent of Republican caucus-goers in Iowa, compared with 23 percent a month ago.
Fundraising has also fallen off. He issued an email appeal to supporters on Friday asking for donations, in an attempt to gauge whether his financial support has dried up.
"I need to know that you are behind me 100 percent," Cain told backers. "In today's political environment, the only way we can gauge true support is by the willingness of our supporters to invest in this effort."
On Friday, Cain urged backers in South Carolina to look past the allegations.
"There's a lot of garbage on the Internet. There's a lot of garbage out there on the TV. There's a lot of garbage out there about me, don't you know? There's a lot of misinformation out there. You have to stay informed and check out the facts for yourself," Cain said.
He added: "I'm on this journey for a reason. I don't look back."
___
Associated Press writers Philip Elliott in South Carolina and Steve Peoples in New Hampshire contributed to this report.
You Are Here: Home ? ICT ? Government would insist on quality and efficient services ? Communications Minister
Page last updated at Monday, December 5, 2011 14:14 PM //
Haruna Iddrisu - Communications Minister
The Communications Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has said he would insist on efficient and quality services by the telecommunications operators and that the government would ensure improvement in services, particularly in the rural areas.
He was addressing a consumer forum organized by the National Communication Authority (NCA) at the Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi.
The goal was to provide the platform for the operators, consumers and regulators to interact and discuss solutions to challenges.
?Creating frontiers for consumer awareness? was the theme.
Mr Iddrisu said in line with the vision of promoting sound quality, measures were being? put in place to switch from analogue television and radio to digital.
Mr Kofi Quakyi, Board Chairman of the NCA, said the authority would make sure of high standards of performance and competitiveness by all players in the industry.
The NCA has the mandate to regulate communication by wire, cable, radio, satellite and other means of technology for the orderly development and operation of efficient communication service.
Mr Quakyi said the Authority aimed at becoming the most forward-looking and innovative communication authority in the sub-region by creating and maintaining efficient, transparent and business friendly environment.
This would help transform Ghana into premium destination for Information, Communication Technology (ICT) investment in the sub-region.
Concerns raised at the forum included high rate charges by some of the mobile telephone companies and overspending on other activities rather than concentrating on improving the network quality.
The American Society of Hematology announces awards honoring abstracts at 2011 Annual MeetingPublic release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lindsey Love llove@hematology.org 202-552-4925 American Society of Hematology
WASHINGTON The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recognizes the following abstract presenters at the 53rd ASH annual meeting in San Diego, CA, with the highest scoring abstracts in the categories of undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, and postdoctoral fellow. Outstanding Abstract Achievement Award (formerly Merit Award) winners receive a $500 honorarium plus annual meeting travel reimbursement.
The 2011 Outstanding Abstract Achievement Award recipients are:
Undergraduate Student Kathryn Luk University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN Association of Mu Opioid Receptor with Neurogenic Inflammation in Sickle Mice Abstract #895
Medical Student Morgan Jones University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI The Trithorax Group Protein Ash1l Is An Essential Epigenetic Regulator of Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cell Maintenance Abstract #387
Alison Schram Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY Genetic and Functional Investigation of Germline JAK2 Alleles That Predispose to Myeloproliferative Neoplasms? Abstract #124
Graduate Student Jin Yuan Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan Lethal Myelofibrosis Induced by Bmi1-Deficient Hematopoietic Cells Unveils a Tumor Suppressor Function of the Polycomb Group Genes Abstract #390
Resident Physician Christian Braun, MD University Children's Hospital, Dr. von Haunersches Kinderspital, Munich, Germany Efficacy of Gene Therapy for Wiskott-Aldrich-Syndrome Abstract #165
Postdoctoral Fellow Kathryn Roberts, PhD St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Nashville, TN Novel Chromosomal Rearrangements and Sequence Mutations in High-Risk Ph-Like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Abstract #67
Mary Rodes Gibson Memorial Award in Hemostasis and Thrombosis This award was established to recognize the trainee (undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, or postdoctoral fellow) who is the first author and presenter of the highest scoring abstract submitted in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis. This annual award is made possible by the Mary Rodes Gibson Hemostasis-Thrombosis Foundation to continue the legacy of Mary Rodes Gibson, who suffered from severe, type 3 von Willebrand disease.
The 2011 recipient is: Sou Nakamura Center for IPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan Platelet Production System Using An Immortalized Megakaryocyte Cell Line Derived From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Abstract #2
Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement Award The Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement Award was established in 2011 with the goal of attracting and/or retaining minority PhD students to the field of hematology through the ASH annual meeting.
The inaugural recipients of this award are:
Patrice Capers Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA What's Your Tanner? An Analysis of the Impact of Sickle Cell Disease Phenotype on Pubertal Development and Body Mass Abstract #2123
Nyasha Chambwe Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY Epigenetic Profiling of Primary DLBCLs Reveals Novel DNA Methylation-Based Clusters and New Underlying Mechanisms of Lymphomagenesis Abstract #556
Grace I. Aldana Masangkay University of California, Los Angeles, CA A Small Molecule Inhibitor Targeting CREB and CBP Inhibits Proliferation of AML Cells In Vitro and In Vivo Abstract #3607
Marthe-Sandrine Eiymo Mwa Mpollo University of Cincinnati, Cincinatti, OH Sickle Cell Disease Is Associated with Reduced Adenosine Deaminase Catalytic Activity, Resulting in Altered Adenosine Metabolism Abstract #1078
Muithi Mwanthi Indiana University School of Medicine, Bloomington, IN PAK1 Regulates Eotaxin-Mediated Murine Eosinophil Migration in Vitro and In Vivo Abstract #18
D'Andra Parker McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Characterization of the Binding Between the Polymeric Platelet Adhesive Proteins, Multimerin 1 and Von Willebrand Factor Abstract #1144
Colles Orrin Joseph Price University of Chicago, Chicago, IL MLL-Rearrangements Result in Upregulation of Mir-9 and Subsequent Inhibition of the Tumor Suppressor TGFBI Abstract #2453
National Marrow Donor Program Award for Best Abstracts To commemorate the National Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) 25th anniversary and to honor the program's facilitation of 50,000 transplants, ASH and NMDP have partnered in 2011 to provide ten $2,500 awards to the highest scoring abstract in the following categories:
Clinical Allogeneic and Autologous Transplantation: Results
Clinical Allogeneic Transplantation: Conditioning Regimens, Engraftment and Acute Transplant Toxicities
Clinical Allogeneic Transplantation: Acute and Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease and Immune Reconstitution
Clinical Allogeneic and Autologous Transplantation: Late Complications and Approaches to Disease Recurrence
Health Services and Outcomes Research
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See the National Marrow Donor Program press release for a listing of 2011 NMDP Award for Best Abstract recipients.
To see a schedule of when these abstracts will be presented at this year's annual meeting in San Diego, please visit http://www.hematology.org/2011abstracts.
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align=center>The American Society of Hematology is the world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. The official journal of ASH is Blood, the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online.
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The American Society of Hematology announces awards honoring abstracts at 2011 Annual MeetingPublic release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lindsey Love llove@hematology.org 202-552-4925 American Society of Hematology
WASHINGTON The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recognizes the following abstract presenters at the 53rd ASH annual meeting in San Diego, CA, with the highest scoring abstracts in the categories of undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, and postdoctoral fellow. Outstanding Abstract Achievement Award (formerly Merit Award) winners receive a $500 honorarium plus annual meeting travel reimbursement.
The 2011 Outstanding Abstract Achievement Award recipients are:
Undergraduate Student Kathryn Luk University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN Association of Mu Opioid Receptor with Neurogenic Inflammation in Sickle Mice Abstract #895
Medical Student Morgan Jones University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI The Trithorax Group Protein Ash1l Is An Essential Epigenetic Regulator of Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cell Maintenance Abstract #387
Alison Schram Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY Genetic and Functional Investigation of Germline JAK2 Alleles That Predispose to Myeloproliferative Neoplasms? Abstract #124
Graduate Student Jin Yuan Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan Lethal Myelofibrosis Induced by Bmi1-Deficient Hematopoietic Cells Unveils a Tumor Suppressor Function of the Polycomb Group Genes Abstract #390
Resident Physician Christian Braun, MD University Children's Hospital, Dr. von Haunersches Kinderspital, Munich, Germany Efficacy of Gene Therapy for Wiskott-Aldrich-Syndrome Abstract #165
Postdoctoral Fellow Kathryn Roberts, PhD St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Nashville, TN Novel Chromosomal Rearrangements and Sequence Mutations in High-Risk Ph-Like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Abstract #67
Mary Rodes Gibson Memorial Award in Hemostasis and Thrombosis This award was established to recognize the trainee (undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, or postdoctoral fellow) who is the first author and presenter of the highest scoring abstract submitted in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis. This annual award is made possible by the Mary Rodes Gibson Hemostasis-Thrombosis Foundation to continue the legacy of Mary Rodes Gibson, who suffered from severe, type 3 von Willebrand disease.
The 2011 recipient is: Sou Nakamura Center for IPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan Platelet Production System Using An Immortalized Megakaryocyte Cell Line Derived From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Abstract #2
Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement Award The Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement Award was established in 2011 with the goal of attracting and/or retaining minority PhD students to the field of hematology through the ASH annual meeting.
The inaugural recipients of this award are:
Patrice Capers Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA What's Your Tanner? An Analysis of the Impact of Sickle Cell Disease Phenotype on Pubertal Development and Body Mass Abstract #2123
Nyasha Chambwe Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY Epigenetic Profiling of Primary DLBCLs Reveals Novel DNA Methylation-Based Clusters and New Underlying Mechanisms of Lymphomagenesis Abstract #556
Grace I. Aldana Masangkay University of California, Los Angeles, CA A Small Molecule Inhibitor Targeting CREB and CBP Inhibits Proliferation of AML Cells In Vitro and In Vivo Abstract #3607
Marthe-Sandrine Eiymo Mwa Mpollo University of Cincinnati, Cincinatti, OH Sickle Cell Disease Is Associated with Reduced Adenosine Deaminase Catalytic Activity, Resulting in Altered Adenosine Metabolism Abstract #1078
Muithi Mwanthi Indiana University School of Medicine, Bloomington, IN PAK1 Regulates Eotaxin-Mediated Murine Eosinophil Migration in Vitro and In Vivo Abstract #18
D'Andra Parker McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Characterization of the Binding Between the Polymeric Platelet Adhesive Proteins, Multimerin 1 and Von Willebrand Factor Abstract #1144
Colles Orrin Joseph Price University of Chicago, Chicago, IL MLL-Rearrangements Result in Upregulation of Mir-9 and Subsequent Inhibition of the Tumor Suppressor TGFBI Abstract #2453
National Marrow Donor Program Award for Best Abstracts To commemorate the National Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) 25th anniversary and to honor the program's facilitation of 50,000 transplants, ASH and NMDP have partnered in 2011 to provide ten $2,500 awards to the highest scoring abstract in the following categories:
Clinical Allogeneic and Autologous Transplantation: Results
Clinical Allogeneic Transplantation: Conditioning Regimens, Engraftment and Acute Transplant Toxicities
Clinical Allogeneic Transplantation: Acute and Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease and Immune Reconstitution
Clinical Allogeneic and Autologous Transplantation: Late Complications and Approaches to Disease Recurrence
Health Services and Outcomes Research
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See the National Marrow Donor Program press release for a listing of 2011 NMDP Award for Best Abstract recipients.
To see a schedule of when these abstracts will be presented at this year's annual meeting in San Diego, please visit http://www.hematology.org/2011abstracts.
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align=center>The American Society of Hematology is the world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. The official journal of ASH is Blood, the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online.
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LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Drake Doremus doesn't do scripts.
Instead, the director of the Sundance Grand Jury-winning "Like Crazy" gave the stars of his festival hit an outline -- and some music.
It's an unconventional approach that the the indie director labeled a "scriptment," during a Q&A after a presentation of the film at TheWrap's Awards Season Screening Series at the Landmark Theater on Thursday night,
Doremus told TheWrap's Editor-in-Chief Sharon Waxman that a "scriptment" was a 50-page short story that included back story and the occasional line of dialogue.
But he gave them more than that, said Anton Yelchin, who stars with Felicity Jones in the romantic drama.
The outlines "came with a CD of songs that matched the scenes," Yelchin said.
The music -- including songs from the bands M83 and Fool's Gold and the pianist Dustin O'Halloran, helped the actors dive into their characters.
"I listened to that CD a lot when we were shooting," Yelchin said. "I tend to be very cynical and coldhearted about love stories, but the CD really got to me."
Doremus said he gave the CD to the entire crew.
"Everyone got it," he said. "The production designer and the DP We were playing it on the set."
In the case of "Like Crazy," "everyone" isn't a whole lot of people. The movie, shot in Los Angeles and London for $250,000 -- including airfare -- had a crew of about 20.
And there were times when Doremus shot with as few as three.
A scene filmed on the beach in Santa Monica was Doremus, a cinematographer and a sound guy, along with the two actors.
"That was it," Doremus said.
To do that, he shot the movie on a Canon 7D -- a still camera.
"It takes videos and we built a rig. Our incredible DP built a special rig, put cinema lenses on," Doremus said.
He said that John Guleserian's rig made it possible to keep the movie's intimate tone -- important since the largest crew was about 20 people, when the movie shot on Catalina Island.
Jones said Doremus tried to keep the set as low-key as possible, and to have the fewest possible number of people onset.
"He makes it very intimate," she said. "There's not many people allowed on set. Hair and makeup, you kind of do that in the morning, and once you're on set, people don't come in and do touch-ups constantly, so it means that you don't break out of it."
In addition to having a slim crew and budget, "Like Crazy," released by Paramount Vantage, had a brief shooting schedule.
The movie is about a British college student, Anna, played by Jones, who falls in love with an American, Jacob, played by Yelchin, while studying in Los Angeles. After Anna overstays her visa, she is banned from reentering the United States, and she and Jake have to figure out whether their love is sustainable.
The movie unfolds over six years, but was shot in just 22 days.
Doremus said he cast Yelchin first before searching for a female lead.
Jones convinced him to cast her by sending him a video she shot herself.
There's an emotional scene in the movie in which the two characters are in a shower.
Jones set up a tripod in her shower in England and started shooting.
"I was like come to L.A. right now," Doremus said. "And then she did and we were shooting seven days later."
Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion, speaks about the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, during BlackBerry's DevCon at the Moscone West Center in San Francisco, California, October 18, 2011.
By Peter Svensson, The Associated Press
Research In Motion Ltd., the struggling maker of the BlackBerry phones, is writing off much of its inventory of PlayBook tablets, since it has to sell them at a deep discount.
The Canadian company on Friday said it's taking a pre-tax charge of $485 million in the just-ended quarter to account for the declining value of the tablets. The model originally priced at $500 now costs $200.
A year ago, co-CEO Jim Balsillie said pent-up interest in the PlayBook was "really overwhelming." Companies are looking for an equivalent of the iPad of corporate use, he said.
In March, Balsillie said "The launch of the PlayBook may well be the most significant development for RIM since the launch of the of the first BlackBerry device back in 1999."
But when the tablet went on sale in April, reviewers puzzled over the lack of email software, saying the device seemed half-baked. RIM now promises updated software in February.
RIM said it shipped 150,000 PlayBooks to stores and distributors in the fiscal third quarter, which ended Nov. 26. "Sell-through," or the number actually bought by users, was slightly higher, reflecting sales of tablets shipped earlier. It shipped 500,000 in the first quarter and 200,000 in the second.
RIM also said it sold 14.1 million BlackBerrys in the quarter, slightly better than analysts expected. Revenue and profit figures were lower than previously projected, but in line with analyst expectations.
RIM shares fell 98 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $17.60 in pre-market trading Friday. The stock hit a seven-year low of $15.98 last month.
The company is also taking a charge of $50 million for an embarrassing October outage of email and Web services that lasted days for millions of overseas BlackBerry users. It briefly spread to the U.S. and Canada before the company was able to contain the damage.
RIM reports fiscal third-quarter earnings on Dec. 15.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Jim Boeheim's spot on the coaching staff of the U.S. basketball team is secure, though the U.S. Olympic Committee is monitoring the child sex abuse investigation of Boeheim's longtime assistant at Syracuse.
Boeheim is the top assistant to Mike Krzyzewski on the team that will play at the 2012 London Olympics.
Asked about Boeheim's status, USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller said, "Jim Boeheim is a member of the USA Men's National Team coaching staff.'"
The USOC declined comment, though a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press the federation is following the issue. The person spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Three men, including two former Syracuse ballboys, have accused Boeheim's longtime assistant Bernie Fine of molesting them as minors.
Fine, who was fired Sunday, has denied the allegations.
Two high-profile Olympic sports have dealt with allegations of child sex abuse in the past two years.
In 2010, USA Swimming was hit by a number of sex-abuse allegations by coaches. More recently, 1984 Olympic gymnastics coach Don Peters was banned for life by USA Gymnastics after being accused of sexually abusing two athletes in the 1980s.
Over the past 18 months, the USOC has increased efforts to ensure safe environments for children who participate in Olympic sports.
The federation adopted a task force that encouraged the national governing bodies to adopt standardized policies to prevent abuse. It also hired an attorney to serve as the director of ethics and safe sport.
Boeheim was on the U.S. coaching staff in 1990 and returned in 2006.
Because Boeheim does not fall under the USOC's umbrella until the Olympic team is officially named, the USOC does not consider his status on USA Basketball to currently be its issue.
Meanwhile, USA Basketball officials say the federal investigation of Fine doesn't affect Boeheim's status in their organization, but that they, too, continue to keep an eye on developments.
Advocates for sex abuse victims have said Boeheim should resign or be fired for his adamant defense of Fine when the allegations first surfaced and for verbally disparaging the accusers.
"Based on what I knew at that time, there were three investigations and nothing was corroborated," Boeheim said earlier this week "That was the basis for me saying what I said. I said what I knew at the time."
BECAUSE THE RICH PEOPLE IN VERMONT DRINK BOTTLED SPRING WATER, WHILE 1/3 OF VERMONTERS DRAW THEIR DRINKING WATER FROM LAKE CHAMPLAIN WATER WHICH HAS DOZENS OF SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS DUMPING TREATED SEWAGE INTO IT.
ALL OF THE CHEMICAL TREATMENTS INCREASE THE INCIDENT RISKS OF CANCER.
THIS IS DISGUSTING.
"OCCUPY LAKE CHAMPLAIN" AND TAKE IT BACK TO NATURE FOR THE POOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO OTHER SOURCE OF DRINKING WATER.
PLEASE SIGN MY NEW LAKE CHAMPLAIN DRINKING WATER QUALITY online "We the People" White House petition:
http://wh.gov/jwh
From: Whitehouse.gov [info [at] messages.whitehouse.gov] Sent: 11/26/2011 11:36:07 AM
You now have 30 days to get 25,000 signatures in order for your petition to be reviewed by the White House. Until your petition has 150 signatures, it will only be available from the following URL and will not be publicly viewable on the Open Petitions section of We the People:
http://wh.gov/jwh
NEW LAKE CHAMPLAIN DRINKING WATER QUALITY PETITION:
1/3 of Vermonters draw their drinking water from Lake Champlain so dumping treated sewage into it should be prohibited.
1/3 of Vermont residents draw their drinking water from Lake Champlain, while simultaneously dozens of sewage treatment plants in VT, New York and Canada dump treated sewage into the peoples' drinking water. The use of chemicals raises the incident risks of cancer. Thousands of motor boats are licensed on Lake Champlain and they drip drops of oil and gas into the peoples' drinking water. Hunters shooting ducks and geese with rifles drop bullets into Lake Champlain, polluting the peoples' drinking water.
Lake Champlain ferries could be run by solar power and horse power. Vacationers and Sportsmen could use kayaks, canoes and row boats, and bows and arrows. Why is Vermont the only State where the peoples' drinking water is allowed to be seriously and willfully and intentionally polluted?
Please click & sign this petition now! http://wh.gov/jwh
ps. the next time mega-millionaire Governor Peter Shumlin or any members of the VT State Legislature ask for bottled spring water, tell them to take a hike to Lake Champlain and drink that!
THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST DISPARITIES BETWEEN RICH AND POOR IN VERMONT.
PLEASE CLICK & SIGN THIS PETITION NOW http://wh.gov/jwh
Each year we poll scientists and educators on ideas for books, puzzles and toys that foster inquiry. This season's picks range from a top that never stops spinning to a build-it-yourself skull.
By Anna Kuchment
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November 25, 2011
Image: Photograph by Lucas Zarebinski
1. Your Body puzzle $24.95 at fatbraintoys.com; ages 4 and up
A five-layer birch puzzle lets kids peer inside the human body, revealing the digestive tract, nerves and skeleton. Katy Shepard, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at Emory University, says her three-year-old cousin received this puzzle after he pointed to his skin and asked, ?What comes next??
2. Life Cycle Stacking Blocks $19.95 at forsmallhands.com; ages 2 to 6
Paperboard boxes that stack nearly three feet high and feature beautiful illustrations of the life cycles of the butterfly and frog are accompanied by an informative poem, says Julie Frey, a fifth grade teacher at Stuard Elementary School in Aledo, Tex.
3. Skull puzzle $23 at theevolutionstore.com; ages 8 and up
This 39-piece 3-D puzzle comes with a removable brain. ?This puzzle is educational, challenging and, most important, fun,? says Kent Kirshenbaum, a chemistry professor at New York University. ?Bonus: the jaw swings open and shut hauntingly after you complete it.?
4. Bones: Skeletons and How They Work by Steve Jenkins (Scholastic, 2010); ages 7 and up
Michelle Nijhuis, a biologist and author, recommended this book and the two following ones. (For more of her suggestions, go to lastwordonnothing.com.) Bones, she writes, has fantastic illustrations and ?is also great for inspiring hands-on research.?
5. Far from Shore: Chronicles of an Open Ocean Voyage by Sophie Webb (Houghton Mifflin, 2011); ages 9 to 12
This book chronicles the author?s four-month-long Pacific research voyage. ?Webb describes her work in some depth, but she emphasizes not the results but the experience: the starlit nights on deck, the sightings of dolphins and whales and seabirds, and daily life with her fellow scientists,? Nijhuis writes.
6. Tuesday by David Wiesner (Clarion, 1997); ages 5 to 8
?Late one Tuesday evening a mob of frogs flies through town on lily pads, disappearing as quickly as it came. Why? This almost wordless story doesn?t say, leaving kids free to form their own theories about spontaneous frog flight,? Nijhuis says.
7. Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be by Daniel Loxton (2010); $18.95 at kidscanpress.com; ages 8 to 13
Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, touts this book as ?an excellent introduction to a topic not frequently covered in children?s books. There?s more to evolution than dinosaurs, after all!?
8. Magic Briks bristle blocks $26.95 at kaplanco.com; ages 3 and up
Never underestimate simple building blocks. Noah Cowan, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University?s Whiting School of Engineering, says they are ?an essential component in developing a child?s ability to reason about space, time and even challenging concepts like entropy. Bristle blocks are particularly good for young children who don?t yet have the dexterity for Legos?and, frankly, bristle blocks are even more open-ended because the connector density is higher.?
9. Shark in a Jar?Squalus acanthias $29 at theevolutionstore.com
This real baby shark taken from an adult caught by a commercial fisher ?offers a launching point for discussions about the differences between sharks and bony fish, the diverse ways sharks bear their young, and the importance of conservation for threatened shark species,? N.Y.U.?s Kirshenbaum says.
10. Science kits from Thames & Kosmos From $13.95 at thamesandkosmos.com; ages 5 and up
Christof Koch, a professor of cognitive and behavioral biology at the California Institute of Technology, grew up playing with these designer sets, many made by a 189-year-old German company. ?These days kids see computer simulations and watch YouTube but don?t do that much with their own hands anymore,? he says. More than 60 different kits are available for various ages and specialties?from chemistry and biology to energy and forensics.
Why everyone should be taking Coconut Oil at least once a day organicfacts.net/organic-oils/o? 
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Public release date: 1-Dec-2011
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