Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/316061967?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, June 30, 2013
Genomic atlas of gene switches in plants provides roadmap for crop research
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Public release date: 30-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Mathieu Blanchette
blanchem@mcb.mcgill.ca
514-398-5209
McGill University
Canadian-led study will help scientists identify key genomic regions in canola, other food plants
What allows certain plants to survive freezing and thrive in the Canadian climate, while others are sensitive to the slightest drop in temperature? Those that flourish activate specific genes at just the right time -- but the way gene activation is controlled remains poorly understood.
A major step forward in understanding this process lies in a genomic map produced by an international consortium led by scientists from McGill University and the University of Toronto and published online today in the journal Nature Genetics.
The map, which is the first of its kind for plants, will help scientists to localize regulatory regions in the genomes of crop species such as canola, a major crop in Canada, according to researchers who worked on the project. The team has sequenced the genomes of several crucifers (a large plant family that includes a number of other food crops) and analyzed them along with previously published genomes to map more than 90,000 genomic regions that have been highly conserved but that do not appear to encode proteins.
"These regions are likely to play important roles in turning genes on or off, for example to regulate a plant's development or its response to environmental conditions," says McGill computer-science professor Mathieu Blanchette, one of the leaders of the study. Work is currently underway to identify which of those regions may be involved in controlling traits of particular importance to farmers.
The study also weighs in on a major debate among biologists, concerning how much of an organism's genome has important functions in a cell, and how much is "junk DNA," merely along for the ride. While stretches of the genome that code for proteins are relatively easy to identify, many other 'noncoding' regions may be important for regulating genes, activating them in the right tissue and under the right conditions.
While humans and plants have very similar numbers of protein-coding genes, the map published in Nature Genetics further suggests that the regulatory sequences controlling plant genes are far simpler, with a level of complexity between that of fungi and microscopic worms. "These findings suggest that the complexity of different organisms arises not so much from what genes they contain, but how they turn them on and off," says McGill biology professor Thomas Bureau, a co-author of the paper.
###
Funding for the research was provided by Genome Canada and Gnome Qubec, along with the European Regional Development Fund, the Czech Science Foundation, and the National Science Foundation.
[ | 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: 30-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Mathieu Blanchette
blanchem@mcb.mcgill.ca
514-398-5209
McGill University
Canadian-led study will help scientists identify key genomic regions in canola, other food plants
What allows certain plants to survive freezing and thrive in the Canadian climate, while others are sensitive to the slightest drop in temperature? Those that flourish activate specific genes at just the right time -- but the way gene activation is controlled remains poorly understood.
A major step forward in understanding this process lies in a genomic map produced by an international consortium led by scientists from McGill University and the University of Toronto and published online today in the journal Nature Genetics.
The map, which is the first of its kind for plants, will help scientists to localize regulatory regions in the genomes of crop species such as canola, a major crop in Canada, according to researchers who worked on the project. The team has sequenced the genomes of several crucifers (a large plant family that includes a number of other food crops) and analyzed them along with previously published genomes to map more than 90,000 genomic regions that have been highly conserved but that do not appear to encode proteins.
"These regions are likely to play important roles in turning genes on or off, for example to regulate a plant's development or its response to environmental conditions," says McGill computer-science professor Mathieu Blanchette, one of the leaders of the study. Work is currently underway to identify which of those regions may be involved in controlling traits of particular importance to farmers.
The study also weighs in on a major debate among biologists, concerning how much of an organism's genome has important functions in a cell, and how much is "junk DNA," merely along for the ride. While stretches of the genome that code for proteins are relatively easy to identify, many other 'noncoding' regions may be important for regulating genes, activating them in the right tissue and under the right conditions.
While humans and plants have very similar numbers of protein-coding genes, the map published in Nature Genetics further suggests that the regulatory sequences controlling plant genes are far simpler, with a level of complexity between that of fungi and microscopic worms. "These findings suggest that the complexity of different organisms arises not so much from what genes they contain, but how they turn them on and off," says McGill biology professor Thomas Bureau, a co-author of the paper.
###
Funding for the research was provided by Genome Canada and Gnome Qubec, along with the European Regional Development Fund, the Czech Science Foundation, and the National Science Foundation.
[ | 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/mu-gao062713.php
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
Judge: Hobby Lobby won't have to pay fines
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? Hobby Lobby and a sister company will not be subject to $1.3 million in daily fines beginning Monday for failing to provide access to certain forms of birth control through its employees' health care plans, a judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton set a hearing for July 19 to address claims by the owners of Hobby Lobby and the Mardel Christian bookstore chains that their religious beliefs are so deeply rooted that having to provide every form of birth control would violate their conscience.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had said Thursday the companies were likely to prevail, comparing the companies to a kosher butcher unwilling to adopt non-kosher practices as part of a government order.
Until the hearing, the government cannot impose fines against Hobby Lobby or Mardel for failing to comply with all of the Affordable Care Act. The companies' owners oppose birth control methods that can prevent implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus, such as an intrauterine device or the morning-after pill, but are willing to offer the 16 other forms of birth control mentioned in the law.
"The opinion makes it very clear what is a valid religious belief and what is not," said Emily Hardman, spokeswoman for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The group is representing the companies and their owners, the Green family.
Heaton asked the government and companies to seek some sort of solution before the hearing, given that the 10th Circuit has already cleared the way for the companies to challenge the law on religious grounds. While not binding beyond the states in the 10th Circuit, Thursday's ruling could benefit others that oppose all forms of birth control, Hardman said, such as Catholic hospitals.
"We got a fantastic opinion from the 10th Circuit, which will impact all the cases," she said.
The companies had faced fines totaling $1.3 million daily beginning Monday. Had they dropped its health care plan altogether, they could have been fined $26 million. The only alternative would be to pay for birth control that violates its religious beliefs, the companies' owners said.
The appeals court on Thursday had suggested the companies shouldn't have to pay the fines, but there were unaddressed questions pending at the lower court. Heaton resolved those Friday in the companies' favor: Hobby Lobby had shown they would suffer financial or spiritual consequences, and that an injunction was in the public interest.
In fighting Hobby Lobby and other companies that oppose some or all forms of birth control, government lawyers had said companies cannot pick which portions of the Affordable Care Act with which they will comply.
Spokesmen for the Department of Health and Human Services have repeatedly declined to comment on pending lawsuits over birth control coverage.
Electronic court filings did not show any response from the government to Hobby Lobby's latest injunction request, but Heaton said in his order that lawyers from both sides had weighed in.
Hobby Lobby's lawyers have said the U.S. Department of Human Services has granted exemptions from portions of the health care law for plans that cover tens of millions of people and that allowing the companies an injunction would be no great burden to the government at the expense of the Greens' religious freedoms.
The companies' lawyers calculated potential losses at $475 million in a year ? $100 per day for 13,000 workers ? while harms to the government are "minimal and temporary."
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News in Brief: Pre-Inca empire tomb found untouched in Peru
Gold jewelry, bronze axes and dozens of bodies uncovered in Wari empire ceremonial room
Gold jewelry, bronze axes and dozens of bodies uncovered in Wari empire ceremonial room
By Bruce Bower
Web edition: June 28, 2013
Pre-Incan Gaze
A painting of a Wari lord decorates this 1,200-year-old ceramic flask, which archaeologists found with the body of a queen in a tomb in Peru.
Credit: Daniel Giannoni
Archaeologists have discovered the first unlooted royal tomb of the Wari empire, a pre-Inca civilization that covered what?s now western Peru from 700 to 1000.
A team led by Milosz Giersz of the University of Warsaw dug through rubble at a Wari site near Peru?s northern coast last September and entered a ceremonial room that contained a stone throne. There they found more than 1,000 artifacts, including gold and silver jewelry and bronze axes. A main chamber contained 60 human bodies buried in seated positions, possibly as ritual sacrifices. Bodies of three Wari queens rested in side rooms, along with possessions such as gold weaving tools and a ceramic flask decorated with a painted Wari lord.
Discoveries in the tomb suggest that the Wari developed a cult of royal ancestor worship. Giersz?s team suspects that the Wari periodically displayed mummies of their queens on the ceremonial room?s throne.
Giersz announced the discovery at a June 27 press conference at the South American site.
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Richard Branson on Risk, 3D Printing, Liability for Drunk Employees ...
Kaizen Weekly Review highlights activities of The Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship and recent business ethics and entrepreneurship news.
Editor: Virginia Murr
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Richard Branson on Taking Risks
Routine can be deadly to a business. In this article, Richard Branson explains that adding risk-taking to your business can spawn great innovations as well as workplace fun: ?One of the great benefits of taking on challenges in your working life is that you and your team learn to confront risk together ? and also to lose sometimes, because when you make a good wager, the odds are not going to be in your favor.?
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3D Printing and the New Industrial Revolution
Though 3D printing was first developed in 1984, the technology is finally becoming mainstream ? Amazon has even dedicated a storefront to it. What does this new technology mean for the big picture? Professor Richard D?Aveni of Dartmouth College states, ?We?re on the verge of the next industrial revolution, no doubt about it.? Read the article.
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Should Companies be Liable for Drunk Employees?
After becoming inebriated at a company party, an employee attempted to slide down the rail of an escalator, causing her to fall nearly 25 feet to the ground. Sustaining numerous injuries, she sued her company for workman?s compensation, arguing that even while companies are not usually liable for an employee?s actions while drunk, ?there is an exception when the alcohol is ?supplied by the employer.?? Read about the verdict.
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Bill Frezza on the Poverty Professionals
In 2012, welfare programs cost taxpayers nearly $588 billion, much of which went to overhead for government and private administration. In this Forbes article, ?Poverty Professionals and The Crony Capitalists Who Love Them,? Bill Frezza discusses the high costs, the lack of transparency, and why ?the marriage of convenience between the financial services industry and federal bureaucrats is no laughing matter.?
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Think Tanks: The Universities of the 21st Century?
Think tanks such as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation and the Ludwig von Mises Institute are making waves in higher education. Some have transformed into or spawned new universities, and some are offering inexpensive, Massive Online Open Courses as an alternative for commuter students. Read more about the evolution of higher education and how think tanks are on the forefront.
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The Ethics of Experimental Drugs
Should terminal cancer patients have the right to take experimental medications? Are companies taking unfair advantage of sick, desperate people? In this segment of his Business Ethics Cases series, Stephen Hicks discusses the arguments for and against experimental cancer drugs by examining the infamous Laetrile case.
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See you in two weeks!
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Previous Issues of Kaizen Weekly Review.
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Source: http://www.ethicsandentrepreneurship.org/20130628/kwr16/
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Friday, June 28, 2013
Pakistan extends refugee status for Afghans
ISLAMABAD (AP) ? The United Nations says Pakistan has extended refugee status for over a million Afghans living in the country. It was set to expire June 30.
The U.N.'s refugee agency said Friday Pakistan agreed to extend their status while it comes up with a new policy.
Pakistan has been hosting Afghan refugees dating back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan three decades ago. There are 1.6 million in Pakistan. Many Pakistanis have become frustrated with the length of time the Afghans have stayed and want them to leave.
Pakistan has said it will not forcibly evict Afghans. However, revoking their refugee status would encourage people to return to Afghanistan.
Refugee status allows Afghans to get a government ID card that they use for everyday activities like banking or registering for school.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-extends-refugee-status-afghans-060448915.html
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This Gorgeous Warbird Is More Phoenix Than Mustang
The P-51 Mustang is one of the most iconic aircraft in aviation history. These long-range, single-seater fighter-bombers served throughout the Second World War as well as during in Korea before being relegated to scrap yards. But many have survived, some in the most unlikely of places. You'll never guess what quiet suburb the Lil' Margaret was found in.
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
NoteSuite organizes your digital life on iPad and Mac
Theory.io has released NoteSuite, a new integrated productivity app. It's the sequel to Projectbook, Theory's best-selling app from 2012. But NoteSuite takes the core idea of Projectbook and extends it much further - plus it adds support for OS X, so you can organize yourself from whatever machine you're working.
NoteSuite helps you take notes, manage to-dos, clip web pages, annotate content, read and search PDFs and MS Office files and web clips together. What's more, it syncs and backs up the data, and unlike some other products in this category like Evernote, it doesn't require a subscription fee.
That alone would make NoteSuite a worthy addition to the pantheon of iOS productivity apps, but NoteSuite takes it a step further by offering a Mac client, as well. The Mac version automatically syncs with NoteSuite for iPad.
With NoteSuite you can type and make lists, take photos, record audio and capture to-dos within note pages. PDF files can be marked up, highlighted, annotated, signed, and PDF forms can be filled out. You can also draw and handwrite on note pages in the iPad version.
NoteSuite lets you clip web pages for later consumption (including offline), and it incorporates to-do management functions like date tracking, reminders, and the ability to match to-dos with projects and relevant notes.
MS Office and Apple iWork files can be converted to PDF for further markup and annotation, and search will work with files that aren't organized too.
And if you're already a ProjectBook user, you're entitled to a free upgrade.
- $4.99 normally, $1.99 through July 15, 2013 - Download now
The Mac version has been similarly discounted.
- Normally $9.99, $4.99 through July 15 - Download now
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ukkHFLhrpJw/story01.htm
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TV-over-Internet service Aereo heading to Chicago
NEW YORK (AP) ? Aereo, a startup that is trying to challenge cable and satellite TV packages with an $8-a-month offering over the Internet, says it will expand to Chicago in September.
The service started in New York last year and expanded to Boston and Atlanta this spring. Service in the Chicago area will begin Sept. 13 and will come with several Chicago-area broadcast stations plus Bloomberg TV. Eligibility is limited to 16 counties in Illinois and Indiana.
Aereo converts television signals into computer data and sends them over the Internet to subscribers' computers and mobile devices. Subscribers can watch channels live or record them with an Internet-based digital video recorder. Viewers can pause and rewind live television.
Broadcasters have sued Aereo for copyright infringement, but Aereo has won key court rulings.
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States pressed for limits on gray wolf protections
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) ? Wildlife officials from western states lobbied for strict limits on federal protections for gray wolves before the Obama administration proposed to take the animals off the endangered list across most of the Lower 48 states, documents show.
During private meetings with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state officials threatened lawsuits and legislation as they pressed to exclude Colorado and Utah from a small area in the West where protections would remain in place.
The documents suggest the animal's fate was decided through political bargaining between state and federal officials, said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The nonprofit group obtained the records through a freedom of information lawsuit and provided them to The Associated Press.
"In simplest terms, these documents detail how the gray wolf lost a popularity contest among wildlife managers," Ruch said.
Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Director Gary Frazer rejected the assertion. He said science drove the administration's proposal, and the released documents reflect only a small portion of a years-long review of the legal status of gray wolves.
"It was not going in with some predetermined outcome," he said of the meetings with state officials. "It was to step back and engage experts from the state and federal agencies that are responsible for managing wolves."
The administration's plan unveiled earlier this month would declare gray wolves are only endangered in a relatively small part of the Southwest inhabited by a few dozen Mexican wolves ? a subspecies of the gray wolf.
Meanwhile, gray wolves would lose protections on millions of acres in Colorado and Utah ? an area the wildlife service earlier had said was suitable for wolves but currently has none of the predators.
The documents from 2010 and 2011 include detailed notes from closed-door meetings between state and federal officials, presentations by federal wildlife experts, and maps of potential wolf habitat.
The meetings laid the groundwork for the administration's proposal, which is expected to be finalized next year. It reflects the federal government's desire to largely exit the wolf restoration business following protracted and hotly contested programs in the northern Rocky Mountains and western Great Lakes.
More than 6,000 wolves now roam those two regions after government-sponsored poisoning and trapping nearly exterminated wolves in the past century.
But with vast areas of wild habitat still devoid of gray wolves, some wildlife researchers and advocacy groups say it's too soon to say the species has recovered.
The documents show the government weighed a variety of factors beyond gray wolf survival, including economic impact on the livestock industry, public tolerance and other issues outside the scope of the Endangered Species Act.
Frazer said the government didn't take anything off the table during its discussions with the states but stressed that its final decision would be based solely on the authority provided by the act.
Under the pending proposal, Mexican wolves that spread into Colorado, Utah or other states still would be protected. That would not be true for wolves that dispersed south from the much larger northern Rockies population.
Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton said the state supports the administration's plan. He declined to comment on how the federal government reached its conclusions.
Michigan Technological University biologist John Vucetich, a member of a scientific panel that advised the Fish and Wildlife Service on Mexican wolves, said the agency gave states too much deference. The panel's experts agreed that the Mexican wolf population would need to reach around 700 animals and cover significant parts of Colorado and Utah to survive in the long term, he said.
"It's almost as if the real limiting factor to wolves right now is not the intolerance of citizens who are shooting them," he said. "It's the intolerance of federal government to keep working on the problem."
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Flesher reported from Traverse City, Mich.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/states-pressed-limits-gray-wolf-protections-144237564.html
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Haunting photos and unexpected support for defense on Day 2 of Zimmerman trial
SANFORD, Fla.?The photos were as unforgettable as they were haunting: Trayvon Martin?s dead body, sprawled out in wet grass; the 17-year-old?s Nike shirt, pierced with a bullet hole; his limp wrist; his chest; and his face, slack.
The second day of the murder trial of George Zimmerman brought forth those photos and other powerful pieces of evidence, including the clothes Zimmerman was wearing and the gun he carried on the night he fatally shot Martin in February 2012. There was also a display of the now-iconic hoodie Martin wore on the night he died.
Zimmerman looked at the images without a strong reaction, though with more focus than he showed during opening arguments. Martin?s parents turned away, looked down and eventually left the courtroom as the photos of their son were shown to the jury.
The litany of graphic evidence, paired with the testimony of the Sanford police officer who described his efforts to save Martin, brought the trial to an early emotional crescendo. The 14-year veteran of the department, Anthony Raimondo Jr., gave sober detail of the bubbling sound coming from Martin?s lungs as he tried to administer CPR. He eventually placed a blanket over Martin that was too small, leaving his lower legs and feet exposed in another poignant crime scene photograph.
Emotionally, the significance of the photos is unmistakable and resonant. Legally, the most important turn in the second day of proceedings might have been something far more mundane: In the morning session, before the crime scene photos were shown, a neighborhood watch supervisor with the Sanford police department was called to the stand by the prosecution?and emerged as a key witness for the defense.
Wendy Dorival, who trained Zimmerman in his duties as the watch representative for his gated community, described him as ?a little meek? and someone who wanted to ?make changes in his community to make it better.?
Although a PowerPoint slide as part of Dorival?s orientation presentation declared citizens are ?NOT the vigilante police,? she told defense attorney Don West that seeing an unknown or suspicious person walking around in the rain or on a pathway not meant for walking would be grounds for calling the police department?s nonemergency number. That testimony could assist the defense in painting Zimmerman as someone who was simply carrying out his neighborhood watch duties rather than hunting down an unarmed teenager.
The defense?s case was further strengthened by testimony that there had been burglaries in Zimmerman?s community, including one in which a home was entered while a mother of a small child was upstairs. ?She was alone,? Dorival said. ?It was terrifying for her. She was still shaken up by it. It seemed very fresh to her.?
Dorival testified that residents who had an issue ?were directed to call Mr. Zimmerman.?
Perhaps just as significantly, Dorival came to Zimmerman with the idea of assuming greater duty in community policing. Asked why, Dorival said it was because of Zimmerman?s ?demeanor? and ?his high interest in being part of a Sanford community.?
The prosecution will continue to argue that Zimmerman went against protocol by leaving his car after he saw Martin rather than waiting for police to arrive.
?Let law enforcement take the risk of approaching the suspect,? Dorival said.
And the defense got some help from the 911 dispatcher who took Zimmerman?s call, who testified on Monday that his foul language didn?t raise any red flags.
What may raise flags with the jury would be the multiple calls Zimmerman made in the weeks and months leading up to Martin?s death. Several were played in the courtroom without the jury present in the prosecution?s efforts to bring them into testimony. The calls featured Zimmerman mentioning recent break-ins and alerting authorities of African-Americans in the gated community where he lived. The judge has not yet decided if the calls will be permitted.
If they are heard by jurors, defense will argue that they were ?good acts? meant to help keep watch over a community that had crime problems. Prosecutors will say the repeated calls reflected anger that climaxed on the fateful February night Martin returned from a local convenience store with Skittles and a can of Arizona iced tea.
The crucial moments between Zimmerman leaving his vehicle and the shooting of Martin will put even more emphasis on the expected testimony of the young woman Martin was speaking with on the phone as the confrontation loomed. She was reported to be scheduled on Tuesday but has not yet taken the witness stand.
Instead, the jury heard from a witness who said she looked out her window on the night of the shooting and saw ?arms flailing? and heard yells of ?no? and ?uhh.? She said it was too dark to identify who was outside her townhouse, but she went to check the stove and heard a gunshot. She then returned to see a body laying in the grass.
The witness also said she saw movement from ?left to right,? and the defense grilled her on cross-examination, suggesting that she had never said that before to law enforcement. The ?left to right? action is important because that might imply some kind of pursuit.
Zimmerman?s mindset during those moments will have to be shown as something other than the ?meek? persona Dorival described. Asked on Tuesday if Zimmerman was ?polite, courteous and respectful,? she replied: ?Yes, every time.?
Jurors will likely not forget the images of Martin?s body, yet their mental picture of Zimmerman on the night of Martin?s death will weigh far more in the outcome of this trial.
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AP Interview: UN Iraq rep urges exile cooperation
BAGHDAD (AP) ? The United Nations envoy to Iraq said Wednesday that residents of an Iranian dissident camp in Iraq are denied freedom of movement by the exile group, and that efforts to relocate them are being stymied in part by lack of cooperation from the residents themselves.
Martin Kobler made the comments in an interview with The Associated Press at his residence inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone as he prepares to leave the country at the end of his term.
The U.N. mission to Iraq has been involved in relocating members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq dissident group to a camp on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital while it works to resettle them abroad.
The MEK is the militant wing of a Paris-based Iranian opposition movement known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran that opposes Iran's clerical regime and has carried out assassinations and bombings there. They fear persecution if sent back to Iran.
About 3,100 MEK members live in Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near Baghdad airport. The Iraqi government wants the group's members out of the country. So do Iranian-backed Shiite militants, who have claimed responsibility for deadly rocket strikes on the camp.
Kobler acknowledged that a major problem in resettling camp residents is a shortage of countries willing to accept them, and he has repeatedly urged U.N. member states to do more. Albania has agreed to take 210 camp residents, but only 71 have made the move so far. Germany has also offered to take 100 residents.
A lack of cooperation from the exiles themselves is also to blame, he said.
"We do not have enough recipient countries. ... There is also reluctance from the side of the Liberty residents to cooperate with the UNHCR," he said, referring to the U.N. refugee agency.
Kobler also cited concerns about what he called "human rights abuses inside Camp Liberty done by the MEK themselves."
Residents are divided into various segments of the camp and have no freedom of movement between them without the approval of their supervisors, he said. Some residents are also denied Internet and mobile phone access by MEK officials and frequently do not have access to outside medical facilities, because they are prevented from leaving by the group, he alleged.
"There are, of course, MEK residents who probably would like to disassociate themselves from the MEK. They should be given the chance. Everybody who wants to go out of the camp to the Iraqi authorities should have the chance to do so," he said.
Shahin Gobadi, a spokesman for the NCRI, the affiliated Paris-based group, dismissed Kobler's comments as baseless.
"The only purpose they serve is they set the stage for more attacks" on the camp, he said. Gobadi also charged that "Kobler has never been an impartial person and does not represent the values of the U.N."
The MEK fought alongside Saddam Hussein's forces in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, and several thousand of its members were given sanctuary at a facility known as Camp Ashraf near the Iranian border. The MEK renounced violence in 2001, and was removed from the U.S. terrorism list last year.
Iraq's current Shiite-led government, which has close ties to Iran, considers the MEK a terrorist group and says its members are living in Iraq illegally. Iraqi security forces launched two deadly raids since 2009 on Camp Ashraf, and in 2012 most residents were moved to Camp Liberty, which is meant to be a temporary way station.
The exiles say their new home is unsafe and they want to return to Camp Ashraf. Several residents were killed in a Feb. 9 rocket strike on the camp, and two others died in a similar attack this month.
Shiite cleric Wathiq al-Batat, who leads the Mukhtar Army militant group, claimed responsibility for the strikes and vowed to carry out further attacks. The Iraqi government has said it is investigating and wants to arrest al-Batat.
Kobler said he believes Baghdad is serious about stopping attacks on the camp but is struggling to maintain security in the country.
"The government has an interest that these people leave. Whenever there is an attack, there is a feeling of solidarity and positions harden," he said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-un-iraq-rep-urges-exile-cooperation-163517746.html
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
New features: SEO improvements, more Twitter integration ...
Every once in a while, as I?m sure you?ve noticed, ScribbleLive rolls out a few changes to the platform. It happened again today.
The highlights?
We?ve improved the information available to search engines crawling white label sites. Among the changes, the description of your event will now become the meta description tag. What?s more, if you add images to your event, they will now appear alongside your links on Twitter and Facebook.
Speaking of Twitter, we?ve improved our integration with the social network. Linked cashtags now appear, and there are improved Twitter card functions. Twitter isn?t the only network with which we?ve improved our functionality ? we?ve added the ability to log out of all your social networks from your profile page.
Ever used our discussions feature? Everyone now has access to the tool. I would suggest you check it out, especially if you run a lot of Q&As or live chats.
As well, don?t forget to update Firefox and Chrome. Using the most recent versions of these browsers, you can upload FLV as you would photos/video/audio. Just drag and drop your file into the posting box after clicking the ?Quick Post? tab.
Here?s the full list of changes:
Improvements
- Change the changefreq in all white label sitemaps to Always.
- Add an image to all white label event sitemaps.
- Link cashtags ($AAPL) to Twitter search when Tweets are pulled in from social sidebar.
- Improved several error messages to make them more helpful.
- Improve look of Instagram images dragged into Advanced Posts.
- Add meta description tag to all white label sites.
- Tweets dragged from one event into another now display as Twitter cards.
- Clear the social sidebar of old search results when a new search is performed.
- Enable discussions for all ScribbleLive accounts.
- Add ability to logout of all social networks (Twitter, Instagram) on your Profile page.
- Allow users with ScribbleLive permission level to view Articles.
- Use syndication image of an event for open graph tags.
- Allow users to preview mobile templates before publishing them.
- Minor security improvements to our API and writer interface.
- Let users know that commenting has been disabled when using the Q&A writer interface.
- Support drag and drop for FLV files in Firefox and Chrome.
- Add internal chat functionality to Article pages.
- Articles now support tab indentation.
Fixes
- Resolve an issue where clicking on links in the writer interface brought up the edit dialog.
- Resolve an issue where Twitter login dialog would prevent use of Article page.
- Fix timezone bug in metadata of images uploaded directly to articles.
- Resolve an issue with pagination of the Event Archive.
- Fixed several minor style issues in the writer interface in all major browsers.
- Properly display lists in embeds.
- Resolve an issue where blockquote text was duplicated when dragging into Articles.
- Properly display slideshow previews on Articles page.
- Resolve an issue where retweets were cut off when pulled into an event.
- Resolve an issue where republishing a slideshow may have started the slideshow on an image other than the first image.
- Resolve an issue with links in Articles not linking properly in FireFox.
- Prevent Facebook auto-post from pulling in duplicate posts.
- Resolve an issue where articles published to white label sites were not displaying as published on the Articles page.
- Resolve an issue where uploading multiple images to an article can cause them to get stuck on top of each other.
- Resolve an issue where using the enter key did not allow you to search the Event Archive.
- Resolved an issue where tweets sent using the tweet + comment feature were too short.
- Remove the ability to hide Twitter avatars in white label templates since Twitter demands they be displayed at all times.
Source: http://www.scribblelive.com/announcements/new-features-seo-improvements-more-twitter-integration/
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Car bombs kill dozens in Baghdad
By Kareem Raheem
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Ten car bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital on Monday, killing nearly 40 people in markets and garages on the evening of a Shi'ite Muslim celebration, police and medical sources said.
Some of the attacks targeted districts where Shi'ites were commemorating the anniversary of the birth of a revered Imam, but there also were explosions in mixed neighborhoods and districts with a high population of Sunnis.
The violence reinforced a growing trend since the start of the year, with more than 1,000 people killed in militant attacks in May alone, making it the deadliest month since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006-07.
Waleed, who witnessed one of Monday's explosions in which five people were killed in the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City, described a scene of chaos: "When the explosion happened, people ran in all directions."
"Many cars were burned, pools of blood covered the ground, and glass from car windows and vegetables were scattered everywhere."
Eight people were killed in two car bomb explosions in the central district of Karada, one of them in a car garage. Two car bombs exploded simultaneously near a market in the western district of Jihad, killing eight.
Separately, a bomb placed in a cafe in the northern city of Mosul killed five people, pushing Monday's death toll over 40.
Insurgents, including al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, have been recruiting from the country's Sunni minority, which feels sidelined following the U.S.-led invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein and empowered majority Shi'ites.
Since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December 2011, critics say Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has consolidated his power over the security forces and judiciary, and has targeted several high-level Sunni leaders for arrest.
Sunnis took to the streets last December in protest against Maliki, but the demonstrations have thinned and are now being eclipsed by intensifying militant activity.
Sectarian tensions have been inflamed by the civil war in Syria, which is fast spreading into a region-wide proxy war, drawing in Shi'ite and Sunni fighters from Iraq and beyond to fight on opposite sides of the conflict.
Political deadlock in Baghdad has strained relations with Iraq's ethnic Kurds who run their own administration in the north of the country, and are at odds with the central government over land and oil.
(Reporting Kareem Raheem; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/seven-bomb-blasts-kill-27-people-iraqi-capital-170556994.html
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Documents show IRS also screened liberal groups
FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo, acting IRS commissioner Danny Werfel testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Werfel unveils his plan to fix an agency besieged by scandal. President Barack Obama ordered Werfel to conduct a 30-day review of the IRS when he appointed him last month. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo, acting IRS commissioner Danny Werfel testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Werfel unveils his plan to fix an agency besieged by scandal. President Barack Obama ordered Werfel to conduct a 30-day review of the IRS when he appointed him last month. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Internal Revenue Service's screening of groups seeking tax-exempt status was broader and lasted longer than has been previously disclosed, the new head of the agency acknowledged Monday. Terms including "Israel," ''Progressive" and "Occupy" were used by agency workers to help pick groups for closer examination, according to an internal IRS document obtained by The Associated Press.
The IRS has been under fire since last month after admitting it targeted tea party and other conservative groups that wanted the tax-exempt designation for tough examinations. While investigators have said that agency screening for those groups had stopped in May 2012, Monday's revelations made it clear that screening for other kinds of organizations continued until earlier this month, when the agency's new chief, Danny Werfel, says he discovered it and ordered it halted.
The IRS document said an investigation into why specific terms were included was still underway. It blamed the continued use of inappropriate criteria by screeners on "a lapse in judgment" by the agency's former top officials. The document did not name the officials, but many top leaders have been replaced.
In a conference call with reporters, Werfel said that after becoming acting IRS chief last month, he discovered varied and improper terms on the lists and said screeners were still using them. He did not specify what terms were on the lists, but said he suspended the use of all such lists immediately.
"There was a wide-ranging set of categories and cases that spanned a broad spectrum" on the lists, Werfel said. He added that his aides found those lists contained "inappropriate criteria that was in use."
Werfel ordered a halt in the use of spreadsheets listing the terms ? called BOLO lists for "be on the lookout for? on June 12 and formalized their suspension with a June 20 written order, according to the IRS document the AP obtained. Investigators have previously said that the lists evolved over time as screeners found new names and phrases to help them identify groups to examine.
Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee released one of the lists, dated November 2010, that the IRS has provided to congressional investigators. That 16-page document shows that the terms "Progressive" and "Tea Party" were both on that list, as well as "Medical Marijuana" and "Healthcare legislation."
Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on the Ways and Means panel, said he was writing a letter to J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general whose audit in May detailed IRS targeting of conservatives, asking why his report did not mention other groups that were targeted.
"The audit served as the basis and impetus for a wide range of congressional investigations and this new information shows that the foundation of those investigations is flawed in a fundamental way," Levin said.
George's report criticized the IRS for using "inappropriate criteria" to identify tea party and other conservative groups. It did not mention more liberal organizations, but in response to questions from lawmakers at congressional hearings, George said he had recently found other lists that raised concerns about other "political factors" he did not specify.
Democratic staff on Ways and Means said in a press release that they had verified that of the 298 groups seeking tax-exempt status that George's audit had examined, some were liberal organizations ? something George's report did not mention.
Many organizations seeking tax-exempt designation were applying for so-called 501(c)(4) status, named for its section of the federal revenue code. IRS regulations allow that status for groups mostly involved in "social welfare" and that don't engage in election campaigns for or against candidates as their "primary" activity, and it is up to the IRS to judge whether applicants meet those vaguely defined requirements.
Werfel's remarks came as he released an 83-page examination he has conducted of his embattled agency. The conclusions, which Werfel cautioned are preliminary, have so far found there was "insufficient action" by IRS managers to prevent and disclose the problem involving the screening of certain groups, but no specific clues of misconduct.
"We have not found evidence of intentional wrongdoing by anyone in the IRS or involvement in these matters by anyone outside the IRS," he told reporters.
The report found no indication so far of improper screening beyond the IRS offices, mostly in Cincinnati, that examine groups seeking tax-exempt status.
Werfel's report describes several new procedures the agency is installing to prevent unfair treatment of taxpayers in the future. They include a fast-track process for groups seeking tax-exempt status that have yet to get a response from the IRS within 120 days of applying. He is also creating an Accountability Review Board, which within 60 days is supposed to recommend any additional personnel moves "to hold accountable those responsible" for the targeting of conservative groups, a Treasury Department fact sheet on Werfel's report.
The top five people in the agency responsible for the tax-exempt status of organizations have already been removed, including the former acting commissioner, Steven Miller, whom President Barack Obama replaced with Werfel.
"The IRS is committed to correcting its mistakes, holding individuals accountable as appropriate" and establishing new controls to reduce potential future problems, Werfel told reporters.
IRS screening of conservative groups had sparked investigations by three congressional committees, the Justice Department and a Treasury Department inspector general.
Werfel's comments and report drew negative reviews from one of the IRS's chief critics in Congress, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Issa said the review "fails to meaningfully answer the largest outstanding questions about inappropriate inquiries and indefensible delays. As investigations by Congress and the Justice Department are still ongoing, Mr. Werfel's assertion that he has found no evidence that anyone at IRS intentionally did anything wrong can only be called premature."
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., whose panel is also investigating the agency, said the IRS "still needs to provide clear answers to the most significant questions ? who started this practice, why was it allowed to continue for so long, and how widespread was it? This culture of political discrimination and intimidation goes far beyond basic management failure and personnel changes alone won't fix a broken IRS."
Werfel had promised to produce a report within a month of taking over the agency.
Werfel said he briefed Obama and Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on the report earlier Monday.
Werfel, initially named the IRS's acting commissioner, is now the agency's deputy principal commissioner because federal law limits the time an agency can be led by an acting official.
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.
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Monday, June 24, 2013
Wildfire grows, but teams work to save Colo. town
DEL NORTE, Colo. (AP) ? A wildfire threatening a tourist region in southwestern Colorado mushroomed to about 100 square miles Saturday, but officials said that they remained optimistic they could protect the town of South Fork.
The rapid advance of the erratic blaze prompted the evacuation of hundreds of summer visitors and the town's 400 permanent residents Friday, and it could be days before people are allowed back into their homes, cabins and RV parks, fire crew spokeswoman Laura McConnell said. South Fork Mayor Kenneth Brooke estimated that 1,000 to 1,500 people were forced to flee.
Saturday night, officials provided an estimate of the size of the wildfire burning through a rugged and remote mountainous region, but said they wouldn't have a better idea of its size until infrared imaging is done overnight.
Some business owners were being allowed back into South Fork during the day Saturday to tie up issues left unattended in the rush to leave.
Officials, meanwhile, closely monitored an arm of the blaze moving toward the neighboring town of Creede.
"We were very, very lucky," said Rio Grande County Commissioner Carla Shriver. "We got a free pass yesterday."
McConnell said no structures had been lost and the fire was still about 5 miles from the town.
The blaze had been fueled by dry, hot, windy weather and a stand of dead trees, killed by a beetle infestation. The fire's spread had slowed for a while Saturday morning after the flames hit a healthy section of forest. Fire crews remained alert as more hot, dry and windy weather was forecast.
The wildfire, a complex of three blazes, remains a danger, officials said.
"The fire is very unpredictable," Shriver told evacuees at Del Norte High School, east of the fire. "They are saying they haven't quite seen one like this in years. There is so much fuel up there."
Winds picked up Saturday afternoon and a heavy black again permeated the air in Del Norte, where a Red Cross shelter was set up for evacuees. Anticipating the mandatory South Fork evacuation would last for days, the Red Cross promised more supplies and portable showers.
Ralph and Leilani Harden of Victoria, Texas, spend summers in South Fork.
"We jumped out of the South Texas hot box into the Colorado frying pan," Ralph Harden said.
Bob and Sherry Mason bought the Wolf Creek Ski Lodge on the Western Edge of South Fork about a year and a half ago.
"This (wildfire) was in our contingency plan being in Colorado, but we didn't expect it this soon," Bob Mason said.
New fire crews, meanwhile, descended from other areas to join more than 32 fire engines stationed around South Fork, with hoses and tankers at the ready. Firefighters also worked to move potential fuel, such as lawn furniture, propane tanks and wood piles, away from homes and buildings.
The town of Creede's 300 residents were under voluntary evacuation orders as officials feared the fire could reach the roads leading out of town.
The heavy black smoke, broken up only by an orange glow over the outlines of the San Juan mountains, was so thick Friday that the plume helped keep an 18-square-mile wildfire burning 100 miles to the east near Walsenburg from spreading as fast as it would have otherwise.
Susan Valente, an on-site spokeswoman for the fire near Walsenburg, said the shade helped keep the forest from drying out in the hot afternoon sun. Residents from 300 homes remain evacuated while in the city of Walsenburg and the town of Aguilar remain on pre-evacuation notice, meaning residents must be ready to flee at a moment's notice.
"Fire conditions are prime with the combination of fuels, heat, winds and low humidity," fire information officer Mike Stearly of the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, "It's expected to be like this through next Tuesday."
There are 12 wildfires burning in Colorado that have scorched 133 square miles, which includes the Black Forest fire that destroyed 511 homes north of Colorado Springs and is the most destructive in Colorado history.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wildfire-grows-teams-save-colo-town-041754819.html
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How iOS 7 compares to previous versions [Chart]
iOS 7, at least as much as we saw of it at WWDC 2013, compared at a glance with previous major releases. We began including version charts in our reviews last year, including our monster iOS 6 review, and we'll be doing more with this come the fall. For now, however, I'll just leave it here so you can check it out, and weigh in where Apple's focus seems to be this year.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/fZZzDxGYeyg/story01.htm
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