Sunday 4 August 2013

UCSB study finds climate change is causing modifications to marine life behavior

UCSB study finds climate change is causing modifications to marine life behavior [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 4-Aug-2013
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Contact: Julie Cohen
julie.cohen@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-7220
University of California - Santa Barbara

Research conducted by a National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis Working Group

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Oceans cover 71 percent of the Earth's surface, yet our knowledge of the impact of climate change on marine habitats is a mere drop in the proverbial ocean compared to terrestrial systems. An international team of scientists set out to change that by conducting a global meta-analysis of climate change impacts on marine systems.

Counter to previous thinking, marine species are shifting their geographic distribution toward the poles and doing so much faster than their land-based counterparts. The findings were published in Nature Climate Change.

The three-year study, conducted by a working group of UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and funded by the National Science Foundation, shows that warming oceans are causing marine species to change breeding, feeding, and migration timing as well as shift where they live. Widespread systemic shifts in measures such as distribution of species and phenology the timing of nature's calendar are on a scale comparable to or greater than those observed on land.

"The leading edge or front-line of marine species distributions is moving toward the poles at an average of 72 kilometers (about 45 miles) per decade considerably faster than terrestrial species, which are moving poleward at an average of 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) per decade," said lead author Elvira Poloczanska, a research scientist with Australia's national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Marine and Atmospheric Research in Brisbane. "And this is occurring even though sea surface temperatures are warming three times slower than land temperatures."

The report, which involved scientists from 17 institutions, including NCEAS associates Carrie Kappel and Ben Halpern and former NCEAS postdoctoral associates Mary O'Connor, Lauren Buckley, and Camille Parmesan, forms part of the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). The Geneva-based IPCC assesses scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for adaptation and mitigation.

"The effects of climate change on marine species have not been a major focus of past IPCC reports because no one had done the work to pull together all the disparate observations from around the world," said Kappel. "This study provides a solid basis for including marine impacts in the latest global accounting of how climate change is affecting our world."

Unlike previous climate change assessments, which relied heavily on terrestrial data to estimate marine impacts, the NCEAS working group scientists gathered from seven countries to assemble a large marine-only database of 1,735 changes in marine life from the global peer-reviewed literature. The biological changes were documented from time series, with an average length of 40 years of observation.

"Here's a totally different system with its own unique set of complexities and subtleties," said Camille Parmesan, professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at University of Texas at Austin. "Yet the overall impacts of recent climate change remain the same: an overwhelming response of species shifting where and when they live in an attempt to track a shifting climate.

"This is the first comprehensive documentation of what is happening in our marine systems in relation to climate change," added Parmesan. "What it reveals is that the changes occurring on land are being matched by the oceans. And far from being a buffer and displaying more minor changes, what we're seeing is a far stronger response from the oceans." Parmesan has been active in IPCC since 1997, and in her capacity as a lead author, she shared in the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to IPCC.

The research revealed telltale traces that collectively build the case for climate change causing modifications in the ocean. These fingerprints of climate change include movements of species toward the poles as ocean temperatures rise, with an average displacement up to ten times that for terrestrial species. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, and bony fish showed the largest shifts.

Researchers also found that the timing of spring events in the oceans had advanced by more than four days, nearly twice the figure for land. The strength of response varied among species, but again, the research showed the greatest response up to 11 days in advancement occurred in invertebrate zooplankton and larval bony fish.

Multiple lines of evidence supported the hypothesis that climate change is the primary driver behind the observed changes: for example, opposing responses in warm-water and cold-water species within a community and similar responses from discrete populations at the same range edge. In total, 81 percent of all observations, whether for distribution, phenology, community composition, abundance, or demography, across different populations and ocean basins were consistent with the expected impacts of climate change.

###


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UCSB study finds climate change is causing modifications to marine life behavior [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 4-Aug-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Julie Cohen
julie.cohen@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-7220
University of California - Santa Barbara

Research conducted by a National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis Working Group

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Oceans cover 71 percent of the Earth's surface, yet our knowledge of the impact of climate change on marine habitats is a mere drop in the proverbial ocean compared to terrestrial systems. An international team of scientists set out to change that by conducting a global meta-analysis of climate change impacts on marine systems.

Counter to previous thinking, marine species are shifting their geographic distribution toward the poles and doing so much faster than their land-based counterparts. The findings were published in Nature Climate Change.

The three-year study, conducted by a working group of UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and funded by the National Science Foundation, shows that warming oceans are causing marine species to change breeding, feeding, and migration timing as well as shift where they live. Widespread systemic shifts in measures such as distribution of species and phenology the timing of nature's calendar are on a scale comparable to or greater than those observed on land.

"The leading edge or front-line of marine species distributions is moving toward the poles at an average of 72 kilometers (about 45 miles) per decade considerably faster than terrestrial species, which are moving poleward at an average of 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) per decade," said lead author Elvira Poloczanska, a research scientist with Australia's national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Marine and Atmospheric Research in Brisbane. "And this is occurring even though sea surface temperatures are warming three times slower than land temperatures."

The report, which involved scientists from 17 institutions, including NCEAS associates Carrie Kappel and Ben Halpern and former NCEAS postdoctoral associates Mary O'Connor, Lauren Buckley, and Camille Parmesan, forms part of the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). The Geneva-based IPCC assesses scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for adaptation and mitigation.

"The effects of climate change on marine species have not been a major focus of past IPCC reports because no one had done the work to pull together all the disparate observations from around the world," said Kappel. "This study provides a solid basis for including marine impacts in the latest global accounting of how climate change is affecting our world."

Unlike previous climate change assessments, which relied heavily on terrestrial data to estimate marine impacts, the NCEAS working group scientists gathered from seven countries to assemble a large marine-only database of 1,735 changes in marine life from the global peer-reviewed literature. The biological changes were documented from time series, with an average length of 40 years of observation.

"Here's a totally different system with its own unique set of complexities and subtleties," said Camille Parmesan, professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at University of Texas at Austin. "Yet the overall impacts of recent climate change remain the same: an overwhelming response of species shifting where and when they live in an attempt to track a shifting climate.

"This is the first comprehensive documentation of what is happening in our marine systems in relation to climate change," added Parmesan. "What it reveals is that the changes occurring on land are being matched by the oceans. And far from being a buffer and displaying more minor changes, what we're seeing is a far stronger response from the oceans." Parmesan has been active in IPCC since 1997, and in her capacity as a lead author, she shared in the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to IPCC.

The research revealed telltale traces that collectively build the case for climate change causing modifications in the ocean. These fingerprints of climate change include movements of species toward the poles as ocean temperatures rise, with an average displacement up to ten times that for terrestrial species. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, and bony fish showed the largest shifts.

Researchers also found that the timing of spring events in the oceans had advanced by more than four days, nearly twice the figure for land. The strength of response varied among species, but again, the research showed the greatest response up to 11 days in advancement occurred in invertebrate zooplankton and larval bony fish.

Multiple lines of evidence supported the hypothesis that climate change is the primary driver behind the observed changes: for example, opposing responses in warm-water and cold-water species within a community and similar responses from discrete populations at the same range edge. In total, 81 percent of all observations, whether for distribution, phenology, community composition, abundance, or demography, across different populations and ocean basins were consistent with the expected impacts of climate change.

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/2013-08/uoc--usf080213.php

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Sylvanian Families: Kimono Pattern for a Female Adult Figure

?What's in the Name...

I started creative blogging since 2008 on Multiply and is still glad to continue it here. Some of you may wonder why I call myself the crafty ladybug. The "crafty" simply because I love the arts and crafts, and "ladybug" simply because I am fascinated by these cute and colorful little critters. Please enjoy your stay and feel free to share your thoughts or share some loving if you like.

?Along came the Ladybugs...

I?ve read stories about ladybugs, but the one that captured my interest is how they came to be called ?Ladybugs?. They said that during the middle ages farmers were having trouble controlling pests that feed and destroy their crops, particularly, the aphids. It came to the point that they have exhausted every measures just to save their crops until they resorted in deeply praying to the Our Lady. Somehow, it seems as if their prayers were heard... then came along these new beetles which were first referred to as ?Beetles of Our Lady?. Through the years, generations to generations, these beetles have been called with so many names like ?Ladybirds?, ?Lady Beetles?, ?Ladybug Beetles?, and so on, but the most popular and is still being used up to present is ?Ladybugs?.

I would like to share the pattern I did to make the Kimono for a female adult Sylvanian Families figure. I made the Kimono for a friend last year. ?I referred to a Takara doll's Kimono for the concept. Please always refer to the figure or doll to proportion and get the correct measurement.

Description: Mother Cassandra of Macavity Cat family is wearing a Kimono
Inspiration: Tradition, Japan, Kimono
Outfit: Kimono, Sash/Obi, Headdress and Footwear (Geta Slippers)

Please note that this pattern is for personal enjoyment only and not to be distributed or posted on any other site.??However,?if you wish to share this pattern, I would be delighted and grateful if you simply link back to this post.??Thank you and happy crafting.


Source: http://journeywiththecraftyladybug.blogspot.com/2013/08/sylvanian-families-kimono-pattern-for.html

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EMC VSPEX Proven Infrastructure for Microsoft Sharepoint 2013

Posted:? 02 Aug 2013
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TechTarget provides enterprise IT professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective IT purchase decisions and managing their organizations' IT projects - with its network of

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All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2000 - 2013, TechTarget?|?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SearchcioAU-ResearchLibrary/~3/S0Cl359yesw/1374593058_564.html

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Simpson signs long terms deal with London Wasps

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.rugbyweek.com --- Saturday, August 03, 2013
Aviva Premiership Rugby club London Wasps have announced that scrum half Joe Simpson has signed a long term deal with the club. ...

Source: http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=39959

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The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan by Zhu Wen

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the Complete Review
the complete review - fiction

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The Matchmaker, the Apprentice,
and the Football Fan

by
Zhu Wen

general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

To purchase The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan



Title: The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan
Author: Zhu Wen
Genre: Stories
Written: (Eng. 2013)
Length: 166 pages
Original in: Chinese
Availability: The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan - US
The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan - UK
The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan - Canada
The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan - India
  • These stories were first published in Chinese between 1993 and 2009
  • Translated by Julia Lovell

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Our Assessment:

B : strong voices and fairly interesting case-studies of modern Chinese lives

See our review for fuller assessment.




??From the Reviews:
  • "Almost all of the stories in The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan are told in the first person, yet, depending on the angle and distance of the narrator, they exert different effects. The best are those in which the speaker never poses as an objective outsider. (...) Other stories are damaged by the urge to distance the narrator." - Yiyun Li, Times Literary Supplement
  • "Mr. Zhu occasionally offers derisive political critiques of the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward and China's rampant corruption. But mostly his characters turn their sarcasm and loathing inward on themselves. This may be a tactic to escape the censors, a matter of style or both -- whatever the case, the book provides a fascinating, often bleakly amusing, snapshot of China's urban anomie." - Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.

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The complete review's Review:

???????The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan collects eight stories by Zhu Wen; all except one were first published between 1993 and 1999 (with 'The Wharf', an outlier set in Tibet, first published in 2009). All the stories from the 1990s are narrated in the first person and are, to varying degrees, confessional. 'Mr. Hu, are you coming out to play basketball this afternoon ?' is the most obviously so, the narrator beginning his account by explaining that he wants to: &quotclarify everything that has happened;" (but claiming he doesn't want to try justify what he has done) even as the exact nature of his shocking transgression is only revealed at the very end of his story.
???????Most of the narrators are of Zhu's generation, at university in the late 1980s, some taking to the streets "during the spring of 1989" -- but also just as quickly retreating. In the most overtly political of the stories, 'Reeducation', the class of 1989 is deemed, a decade on, not to have met the nation's expectations, and an entire generation is summoned back to school (and then out into some great unknown) in best Cultural Revolution-style for re?ducation -- "to begin anew the process of forging us into rustless screws" in what is called Operation Rebake. Yet Zhu's stories tend to be retrospective, the narrators looking back -- and so too even in 'Reeducation', where the narrator describes how he has cut himself off from all ties with the state bureaucracy (and his old classmates) and hopes to escape Operation Rebake "by remaining quietly in the shadows", only to find his past catching up with him in the present-day (while then the exact nature of Operation Rebake and what awaits them all remains untold).
???????Zhu's narrators tend to be loners, with women kept at some distance, the focus in their relationships on sex rather than intimacy (though they are not always able to escape the women's clutches). Yet people from outside family -- former classmates, for example -- are often significant figures, accompanying the characters, in one way or another, over extended periods of time. So also in 'Xiao Liu' the narrator writes about this eponymous character who was a student of his mother's during the Cultural Revolution; despite the fact that he was instructed to spy on the family, the mother was fairly supportive of him over the years and he remained close to the family.
???????Zhu has a vigorous style and exerts a welcome firm command over what seem, in summary, often very meandering (over great distances and periods of time) stories; despite roaming so far all over the place -- like his often aimless protagonists -- these are tight and well-structured tales. There's no predictable arc to most of the stories, either -- 'Mr. Hu [...]' being an exception, even as in its roundabout presentation the punch of the ending is no less effective -- and Zhu presents an interesting variety of characters who, even if not entirely sympathetic, are intriguing. Many of the stories capture a specific Chinese generation, and those who never quite moved beyond their college years (even if they believe otherwise) particularly well -- an interesting glimpse of modern China. ('The Wharf', dealing with different circumstances and longings -- an architect who wants to see his creation, and a caretaker stuck in the boondocks (and his efforts to raise a pig) --, narrated in the third person, and with a very different sort of conclusion, is an odd (not-quite-)fit for the collection -- though admittedly the ending does make for a fine finishing flourish for the book.)
???????Julia Lovell's translation seems to capture Zhu's strong narrative voices very well -- but there are some occasional jarring choices, most notably: "What Facebook was to the Winkelvoss twins the King of Faucets was to Xiao Liu" -- it simply doesn't ring right (and obviously wasn't what Zhu wrote in this story first published in 1999).
???????The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan presents only a slice of modern, post-Maoist Chinese life, but it's a solid, well-written collection and certainly offers some interesting glimpses of life in modern China. Worthwhile.

- M.A.Orthofer, 25 July 2013

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Links:

The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan: Reviews: Other books by Zhu Wen under review: Other books of interest under review:

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About the Author:

???????Chinese author Zhu Wen (??) was born in 1967.

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? 2013 the complete review

Main | the New | the Best | the Rest | Review Index | Links

Source: http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/china/zhuwen2.htm

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Obama Administration Sides With Apple on Import Ban Ruling

  • "The Apple vs. Samsung Chronicles: The US Steps in For the Sake of Innovation"?The Marmot's Hole?8:40 AM
  • "The History Of Apple's Lobby Spending"?Zero Hedge?8/3
  • "Obama Administration Sides With Apple on Import Ban Ruling"?Wired?8/3
  • "White House overrules ITC trade ban on Apple iPhones, iPads"?Los Angeles Times [Paid Membership Required]?8/3
  • "US vetoes import ban on Apple over Samsung patent claim"?PCWorld?8/3
  • "U.S. Import Ban on Older iPhones Overturned"?FOXBusiness?8/3
  • "Obama Administration Overturns Ban on Apple Products"?New York Times [Free/Paid Registration Required]?8/3
  • "Obama Administration Vetoes Partial Ban on Apple Products"?MacRumors?8/3
  • "Obama Vetos ITC Ban on Older iPhones, iPads"?iClarified?8/3
  • "Apple Can Continue Selling IPhone 4 After U.S. Reprieve"?Bloomberg?8/3
  • "President Obama vetoes Samsung ban on Apple, Inc. iPhones, iPads"?AppleInsider?8/3
  • "White House vetoes iPhone, iPad ban after Samsung patent spat"?ZDNet?8/3
  • "White House overrules ITC trade ban on Apple iPhones, iPads"?Los Angeles Times [Paid Membership Required]?8/3
  • "Apple wins reprieve from Obama administration over US iPhone and iPad ban"?Telegraph?8/3
  • "The Obama Administration Vetoes The iPhone 4 Sales Ban"?AppAdvice?8/3
  • "Ban on sales of certain Apple products overturned"?CNBC?8/3
  • "Obama vetoes attempted ban of selected Apple products"?T3?8/3
  • "President Obama lifts ban on sales of some iPhones & iPads"?VentureBeat?8/3
  • "Survey: 95% of developers working to support iOS 7, over half will require it"?AppleInsider?8/3
  • "Has the U.S. govt. confused Apple with AU Optronics?"?Fortune?8/3
  • "The 6 Ways Apple Should Copy Google"?Cult of Mac?8/3
  • "Why The 'Frosted Glass' Effect In iOS 7 Is A Sign Apple Is Running Out Of Ideas For The iPhone"?Business Insider?8/3
  • "Q2 Mobile Revenue Charts Show Just How Dominant Apple And Samsung Remain"?Redmond Pie?8/3
  • "Apple's New 'Mission Statement' Is Making People Worry That The Company Has Gone To Hell"?Business Insider?8/3
  • "This Week's Apple Rumors, Ranked From Dumbest to Most Plausible"?Wired?8/3
  • "The Macalope Weekly: Misplaced attention"?Macworld?8/3
  • "Apple, Inc. iPad is obliterating Samsung, Google's Android in tablet profits"?AppleInsider?8/3
Non-Apple
  • "Whining doesn't make you right"?bynkii?8/2
  • "Cassandra: Hamlet, Humpty Dumpty and the NSA"?eXtensions?8/2
  • "5 Reasons Your Old Gaming Console Is Still Awesome"?ReadWrite?8/2
  • "Google Chromecast review"?T3?8/2
  • "Chromecast: Google's second attempt to take over your TV"?The Verge?8/2
Humor/Cartoons

Source: http://www.macsurfer.com/redirr.php?u=801203

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Wednesday 10 July 2013

Death toll in Turkish protests raised to 5

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? A human rights group says a protester who was in a coma has died, increasing to five the death toll in nationwide anti-government protests that hit Turkey in June.

The Turkish Human Rights Foundation says university student Ali Ismail Korkmaz died in the hospital on Wednesday, some seven weeks after he was severely beaten as he escaped tear gas fired by police during anti-government protest in the city of Eskisehir.

His assailants have not been caught.

Four demonstrators, including Korkmaz, and one police officer were killed in the protests, which were sparked by a brutal police crackdown on environmental activists and soon turned into widespread denunciation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/death-toll-turkish-protests-raised-5-102819317.html

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US diplomats cry foul as Obama donors take over top embassy jobs

Barack Obama has rewarded some of his most active campaign donors with plum jobs in foreign embassies, with the average amount raised by recent or imminent appointees soaring to $1.8m per post, according to a Guardian analysis.

The practice is hardly a new feature of US politics, but career diplomats in Washington are increasingly alarmed at how it has grown. One former ambassador described it as the selling of public office.

On Tuesday, Obama's chief money-raiser Matthew Barzun became the latest major donor to be nominated as an ambassador, when the White House put him forward as the next representative to the Court of St James's, a sought-after posting whose plush residence comes with a garden second only in size to that of Buckingham Palace.

As campaign finance chairman, Barzun helped raise $700m to fund President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. More than $2.3m of this was raised personally by Barzun, pictured, according to party records leaked to the New York Times, even though he had only just finished a posting as ambassador to Sweden after contributing to Obama's first campaign.

Matthew Barzun, new US ambassador to London

State Department veterans are increasingly concerned about the size of donations raised by political supporters who go on to take up top foreign postings. Thomas Pickering, who recently led the investigation into lethal attacks on the US embassy in Libya and represented the US at the United Nations, claimed the practice had become nothing more than "simony" ? the selling of public office.

"All these people want to go to places where the lifestyle issues [are pleasant], and to some extent that produces this notion that life in these western European embassies is like Perle Mesta," he told the Guardian, referring to the "hostess with the mostest" who was ambassador to Luxembourg between 1949 and 1953 and who was known for her lavish parties.

"It has the effect of diminishing perhaps the sense that the US is treating these countries with the respect they deserve," Pickering said.

Susan Johnson, president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), which represents career US diplomats, added: "The giving of ambassadorships to people who have raised a lot of money for the campaign has increased and that's a concern to us in particular.

"There was some thought that with Obama being such a 'change agent' that he might really do things differently ? but it has just been a bigger let down."

Clutch of foreign appointments

Obama has made a clutch of foreign appointments recently. The 16th century Villa Taverna in Rome has just gone to John Phillips, a Washington lawyer who raised at least $500,000. John Emerson, a Los Angeles fund manger, will get to meet future contacts as ambassador to Germany after he raised $1.5m. Jane Stetson, heiress to the IBM fortune, is tipped as frontrunner for Paris after she raised $2.4m for Obama.

In total, nine sought-after postings in Europe, the Caribbean or Asia have been given to major donors in recent weeks, with a further three in France, Switzerland and Hungary earmarked to come soon. Of these 12, the precise bundling data is available for 10. According to a Guardian analysis, using the figures leaked to the New York Times, the average amount raised by each donor is $1.79m.

Official campaign finance records give only minimum figures for how much each donor raised among friends and family (a process known as bundling). Even using the published 'minimum' donations declared for these bundlers, the amount raised by donors rewarded with foreign postings has soared. The appointees to those same 10 embassies raised at least $5m in 2013, compared to a minimum of $3.3m in 2009, at least $1.3m under George W Bush in 2005 and at least $800,000 for Bush donors in 2001.

Many of the capitals have grown resigned to the process. "All that really matters is that the ambassador is close to the White House ? and his top fundraiser usually is," said one British diplomat, speaking anonymously about Barzun's appointment.

But to State Department veterans, the notion that only fundraisers can get messages through the West Wing is even more alarming. "To some extent, this question of having the ear of the president, and who has it, shows the seriousness of the issue," said Ambassador Pickering.

Johnson, the AFSA president, said many donors have less political influence than their host countries like to imagine. "Some foreign countries like the idea that they are getting a friend of the president, but our experience has been that genuine friends are pretty small; most of these people are friends of friends; and they don't get to call the president right away," she said.

"In a few exceptional cases they are not detracting from credibility of diplomatic service, but at the scale it's being done it is undermining the concept of a career diplomatic service and weakening the strength and capacity of the diplomatic service."

Johnson estimates the percentage of ambassador posts given to political appointees rather than career diplomats has remained roughly steady under Obama at around 30%, but most of these are in parts of the world unattractive to wealthy donors. The share taken by political appointees in western Europe and wealthier Asian capitals has reached between 70% and 85%, the AFSA estimates.

One factor cited by defenders of the practice is that private means are needed to fund the lifestyle led by ambassadors, but the importance of this is disputed by State Department veterans.

"In the embassies I've been in, normally you have a representation budget," said Johnson. "Whether we skimp on it in places like London and Paris and these people add to it so they can serve the best champagne and canapes I don't know, but I don't think it's necessary to be wildly wealthy any more."

She also said many are disappointed by the reality of embassy life. "If the dog ruins the furniture, you have to pay for it. It's like being a guest in someone's house."

Dysfunctional leadership

This can cause problems of its own. A report by the State Department inspector general into a crisis at the embassy in the Bahamas found that Obama campaign finance chair Nicole Avant presided over "an extended period of dysfunctional leadership and mismanagement, which has caused problems throughout the embassy". Prior to her appointment as ambassador, Avant was vice president of Interior Music Publishing and was absent from the embassy 276 days between September 2009 and November 2011, according to the report. In response to the report Avant said she "had inherited a dysfunctional embassy".

Another official report into the Obama campaign donor appointed to Luxembourg, Cynthia Stroum, found she had been "aggressive, bullying, hostile and intimidating" and left her embassy in a "state of dysfunction". Stroum resigned after the report.

State Department veterans say motivations vary among political donors. "Some go to pleasant islands where the climate and residence are delightful, others just want the title, like British people lust after peerages," said AFSA's Johnson. "People think: gee, I really want to call myself ambassador, so I can go buy myself one. Others are perceived to want to just meet people, broaden their contacts of future business contacts people who can help them in their day job."

The White House insists all its ambassadors are well qualified, regardless of their campaign history. "I am proud that such experienced and committed individuals have agreed to serve the American people in these important roles," said Obama in a statement issued with Barzun's appointment.

The Foreign Service Act of 1980, states that "contributions to political campaigns should not be a factor in the appointment of an individual as a chief of mission."

At at time when the US is reaching the limits of its "hard power", career foreign service staff argue it is time for professional diplomacy to mount a comeback.

"We tried a lot of military stuff and have we come to the realisation that not every problem out there can be solved by troops, no-fly zones and drones," concludes Johnson.

"Diplomacy and managing the inter-relationships between countries is actually important, and we ought to be taking it more seriously, preparing people for it and seeing it as a long-term career ? not as just something you do for a few years while you are preparing to do something else."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/10/obama-donors-top-embassy-jobs-rewards

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Sarasota breast cancer survivor starts website to help others | Health ...

After recovering from surgery and chemotherapy for breast cancer, Angela Long knew she wanted to make a difference for women who were facing the same disease. She participated in fundraisers such as Strides for Breast Cancer and met with women who were newly diagnosed to let them know they weren't alone and share how she got through it.

Long, who lives in Sarasota, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. She was 35 years old and had two small children, ages 5 and 2.

She is now the CEO of Breast Investigators, a website (www.BreastInvestigators.com) she founded that combines social networking, education, breast cancer resources and events specific to Sarasota and Bradenton.

The format is one she hopes will be adopted in other cities in Florida and elsewhere. Visitors to the site can apply to be breast health advocates in their own regions. Long is planning to train them on how to work within their communities.

Breast Investigators has a Twitter feed, Facebook page and YouTube channel. Its advisory council includes Sarasota physicians Thomas Bakondy, a breast radiologist; and general surgeon Russell Novack, plus breast care physicians in Texas and California, and Sarasota genetics counselor Cristi Radford.

Long named the site Breast Investigators because breast cancer patients must be investigators to learn about the disease and understand their options, she said. The site's tagline is "a community taking the mystery out of breast cancer."

"What happens is you really don't know what is out there unless you're fortunate to have someone to help you," she said.

"We all have to investigate to stay on top of all that's available to make the best decisions."

In her case, she didn't know anyone who was a young mother and breast cancer patient or how to find one when she was diagnosed. The majority of breast cancer occurs in post-menopausal women.

Long went to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society that offered free wigs to women losing their hair to chemotherapy. She was disheartened to see that the wigs looked like something only an older woman would want to wear.

"They have a great wig shop now that is large with a good variety," said Long. "But at the time, they didn't and I understood the reality of what I was facing."

"It was a challenge -- I think it is for anyone at any age -- but there was nobody like me to talk with and no one to reach out to who could guide me through the process," she said.

She found that she had to navigate confusing decisions that required medical knowledge. Breast cancer comes in many forms with multiple treatment options that depend on factors such as size, stage and hormone patterns.

Then there is the emotional shock of having cancer.

"Honestly, when I was diagnosed, I was really fortunate. My husband was my advocate," she said. "I was really fortunate to have a great medical team.

"But there is so much to know and women need to know they are their own best advocates and they are their own decision makers," said Long.

Breast Investigators is designed to be a clearinghouse site. There are other advocacy groups for breast cancer but no one-stop place for information about all of them.

"I think really the gap is that each organization does what they do and do it well, but there was nothing out there that really pulls everything together," said Long.

Breast Investigators also includes breast-cancer bloggers who can post on the site once they are approved. There are survivor stories and articles by physicians, a local providers directory and event listings.

With so much information on the Internet, a credible site fills an important need, said Marie Borsellino, a breast health facilitator at Sarasota Memorial Hospital who is an advisory board member for Breast Investigators.

Borsellino's job at Sarasota Memorial is to help breas cancer patients find resources. She includes Breast Investigators as a source they can turn to.

"I think her voice resonates with so many women," said Borsellino in describing how Long's work touches breas cancer patients.

Long said she is constantly discovering new resources in the area for breast cancer patients.

She recently learned about We Care, the organization in Bradenton that helps uninsured patients who can't afford medical care.

Long works closely with the Center for Building Hope, the organization in Lakewood Ranch that offers programs for cancer patients and their families. In April, she was chosen as one of the center's annual Keystone Award honorees for her work in helping people with cancer.

"She's very much aligned with who we are and what we do," said Andrea Feldmar, program director at the center.

Managing the Breast Investigators site and related social media takes up most of her time, said Long. She also is active in breast cancer advocacy through groups such as the Young Survivors Coalition, a national organization for young women with breast cancer, and frequently travels to conventions.

"It is definitely a full-time job. I'm one of those who sleeps and breathes it," said Long. "I'm developing the model that I hope to teach others."

Susan Hemmingway, Herald health correspondent, can be reached at shemmingway@hotmail.com.

Source: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/07/09/4600431/sarasota-breast-cancer-survivor.html

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Tuesday 9 July 2013

Robbie Deans quits as Wallabies coach

Robbie Deans quit Tuesday as coach of the Wallabies following their series loss to the British and Irish Lions with Ewen McKenzie widely expected to be announced as his replacement.

New Zealand-born Deans, who broke new ground by becoming the first non-Australian to take charge of the national side when appointed five years ago, lasted for a record 74 Tests.

The Australian Rugby Union said his successor, seen as Queensland Reds director of coaching McKenzie, an Australian, would be announced later in the day.

"I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in Australian rugby for their support through the duration of my tenure," said Deans, who was contracted until the end of the year.

"It has been a rewarding five years and I am proud of all that we have achieved.

"Most especially I would like to thank the players for their efforts and wish them all the best going forward."

Deans, a former All Black and the most successful Super Rugby coach in history, has had a chequered time with the Wallabies with a 58 percent success rate -- winning 43 Tests, losing 29 and drawing two.

The team's 41-16 thrashing by the Lions in Sydney on Saturday in what was deemed their most important match since the 2003 World Cup final means he leaves without a defining moment in charge.

His high point remains the 2011 Tri Nations triumph in the weeks before the World Cup in New Zealand.

But he is better remembered for overseeing shattering defeats to Scotland (twice), Samoa at home, a 53-8 rout by South Africa in Johannesburg and an ill-fated World Cup campaign in New Zealand two years ago, when the Wallabies never recovered from a 15-6 mugging by Ireland in the group stage.

Australian Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver said Deans advised him of his decision late Monday, although it has been reported that he was given an ultimatum to quit or be sacked as the team seek to rebuild ahead of the Rugby Championship in August.

Pulver said Deans had made a significant contribution to Australian rugby over a long period of time.

"Robbie came into the job in 2008, improved our away record almost immediately, delivered a Tri Nations title in 2011, and has been a significant part of a Lions Tour that overshadows any other rugby event in Australia since the 2003 Rugby World Cup," he said.

"We wish him all the best in his future endeavours and to build further on what is one of world rugby's most impressive coaching resumes.

"As a consequence of a coaching review process that has been ongoing through 2013, we are also in a position to make a further announcement on the coaching position -- and name Robbie's replacement -- later today."

Australia's next Test is against the world champion All Blacks in Sydney on August 17 -- their opening match of the Rugby Championship, which includes South Africa and Argentina.

McKenzie is expected to be in charge, having reportedly beaten off competition from the ACT Brumbies' South African coach Jake White to take over the top job and lead the team to the 2015 World Cup.

McKenzie, a prop and Wallaby during his playing days, announced in March that he would quit the Reds at the end of the Super Rugby season, saying he was ready to move to "the next level".

After joining in 2009, he guided the franchise to a first Super 15 championship in 2011 in addition to back-to-back Australian conference titles.

Prior to the Reds, he guided the NSW Waratahs to two Super Rugby finals in 2005 and 2008 before moving to France where he coached Stade Francais.

Source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/81iGoET0PzI/

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Tiny Love Magical Night Baby Mobile - Review and Giveaway

Tiny Love Magical Night Baby Mobile - Review and Giveaway 0 Flares 0 Facebook 0 Google+ 0 StumbleUpon 0 LinkedIn 0 Email -- Pin It Share 0 Filament.io -- 0 Flares ?

Source: http://ohsosavvymom.com/2013/07/tiny-love-magical-night-baby-mobile-review-and-giveaway/

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NYC's Simulated Toxic Gas Attack Begins Today

NYC's Simulated Toxic Gas Attack Begins Today

This morning, the NYPD flooded the New York subway system with an odorless, invisible gas. The simulated terror attack is part of a three-day test that will generate a map of how air flows through the subways, helping emergency responders if a real airborne toxic event ever occurs.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/PYnfrirknNg/nycs-simulated-toxic-gas-attack-begins-today-718976516

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Slate?s Definitive Guide to Potty Training

Potty training. How do you know when your kid is ready to potty train?

Photo by Thinkstock

I can?t think of two words that elicit more anxiety and confusion among parents of toddlers than potty training. As the mother of a (still diaper-donning) 26-month-old boy, I am approaching the peak of toilet trepidation, and it isn?t helped by the fact that every piece of information I come across contradicts a recommendation I already filed away. Training pants? No, go diaperless. Praise him for peeing in the potty? Well, if you get too excited you?ll never, ever get him on a toilet again. Prompt him to go? Yes, but be careful not to over-prompt, and whatever you do, don?t ?hover within the prompt.?

My usual solution for information overload is to drown myself in even more information, until I come out the other side bearing a nugget of understanding. So that?s what I?ve done with toilet training. I?ve read studies with titles like ?Dry Pants: A Rapid Method of Toilet Training Children,? published in journals with names like Neurourology and Urodynamics. I?ve talked to several developmental pediatricians who have spent their careers studying toilet training. And what I?ve discovered is that, although there?s some good information suggesting when parents should potty train, and studies detailing which kids have an easier or harder time doing it, the how best to potty train part has still been largely unanswered. Why? One report put it this way: ?Toilet training for healthy children is not a subject that invokes passion among researchers.?

I get it?cure cancer, or watch kids poop all day? I know what I?d choose. But the net result is that parents are bombarded with ?best? techniques that have never been backed by much (if any) science. Worse, much of the research that does exist is hard to decipher. (I still don?t know what it means to ?hover within the prompt.?)

First, let?s tackle the (relatively) easy stuff. How do you know when your kid is ready to potty train? One review surveyed 23 studies on potty training and identified 21 ?signs of readiness? that parents should look for. Some are obvious: Your kid has to be able to sit up, take her pants/diaper off, follow simple commands, and understand potty words. It also helps if she sometimes keeps a diaper dry for at least 90 minutes, a sign that her bladder muscles are under the control of her brain (rather than contracting reflexively?often hourly?as happens in babies), and if she doesn?t poop in the middle of the night anymore. Bonus if your child is showing an interest in the potty. These skills and behaviors come together at the different ages depending on the child, but it?s rarely before the age of 18 months, and?yes, it?s true?boys often train later than girls. Earlier is not necessarily better, either: One study found that when parents started to intensively toilet train their children before the age of 27 months, the training took quite a bit longer than it did for parents who waited until their kids hit the 27 month mark. (Yes, some parents start training much, much earlier?I?ll get to that below.)

As for methods, let me start by saying that the ones parents use today are a lot better?and by that I mean less emotionally scarring?than the ones parents used several generations ago. In 1932, the U.S. Government published a book called Infant Care that recommended that kids be done with toilet training by the age of 8 months. To facilitate the process, parents were told to insert ?soap stick? rectal conditioners into their babies? butts to get them to poop on command in the toilet. This ?coercive bowel training,? as it was called, eventually elicited frowns from child psychologists, who linked it to constipation, refusal to poop on toilets (wouldn?t you?), anxiety and rage. In response, Harvard pediatrician Berry Brazelton developed a much more gradual ?child-oriented? toilet training approach in the 1950s, which attempted to potty train in a way that ?utilized the child?s developmental capacities and interest.? Fewer soap sticks; more praise.

The Brazelton approach still forms the basis for the American Academy of Pediatrics? toilet training recommendations (in fact, Brazelton co-authored them; the main difference between the two is that the AAP doesn?t recommend rewarding children with food as Brazelton does). The technique has four stages, which go something like this:

1) Kid meets potty and sits on it, fully-clothed.

2) Kid sits on potty with pants and diapers off and is praised?though not TOO heartily, some experts warn, as that can build pressure?if she goes.

3) Kid is put on potty after she soils her diaper and the dirty diaper is emptied into the potty; parent explains that poop and pee go into the potty.

4) Kid goes diaperless for short periods of time and is encouraged to use the potty independently.

(If, during this process, the child ever resists the potty, the parent is supposed to immediately stop training for one to two months and then start it over again.)

The Brazelton approach is easy for doctors to support because it?s simple, safe and it makes sense. ?It is consistent with views of positive approaches to parenting and with our increasing understanding of brain development,? says Nathan Blum, a behavioral pediatrician at the Children?s Hospital of Philadelphia, who has studied toilet training. But little research has been done to evaluate how well the Brazelton method actually works. Brazelton himself reviewed the charts of 1,170 of his patients in a 1962 paper and reported that most of the kids were potty trained by 28 months (remember this was back when parents started toilet training much earlier), but the kids weren?t necessarily trained using his method?he sometimes helped parents with other techniques, so it?s impossible to conclude much from these findings. A second study published in 1997 evaluated 482 children who had been toilet trained using the Brazelton approach and found that 88 percent of the kids were toilet trained at 3 ? and that 98 percent were trained by age 4. But the Brazelton approach doesn?t work overnight?research suggests that it can take five to 10 months from start to finish. And some critics point out that it?s funny that Brazelton advocates gradual training considering that he has also been a paid spokesperson for Pampers diapers?obviously, the longer toilet training takes, the more diapers children wear.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/the_kids/2013/07/potty_training_tips_how_to_get_your_child_out_of_diapers_by_high_school.html

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New mouse model reveals a mystery of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy often die as young adults from heart and breathing complications. Now, researchers have developed a mouse model that accurately mimics the course of the disease in humans.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/-JdBLdOkwwc/130707162954.htm

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Monday 8 July 2013

In baseball, bigger still better: Elite pitchers continue to be taller and thus throw faster

[unable to retrieve full-text content]What unites golf, baseball and hockey is the "falling forward" motion involved, whether it is a pitcher's arm or golfer's swing. Basically, the larger and taller the athlete, the more force he or she can bring to bear as his or her mass falls forward. A new theory predicts that elite pitchers will continue to be taller and thus throw faster and seems also to apply to athletes who compete in golf, hockey and boxing.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/2CNnjZ-gGzg/130708161943.htm

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Sunday 7 July 2013

Sports on TV: Major League Baseball All-Stars will be announced

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Will Los Angeles Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig be named to the All-Star team. The squads will be announced Saturday during Fox's pregame baseball show at 6:30 p.m. (Mark J. Terrill | The Associated Press)

Baseball
1 p.m. MLB: Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees (YES)
4 p.m. MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs (WGN)
6:30 p.m. MLB All-Star announcements (FOX)
7 p.m. MLB: New York Mets vs. Milwaukee Brewers (FOX)
7 p.m. IL: Syracuse Chiefs at Buffalo Bisons (TWCS 323)

Cycling
8 a.m. Tour de France: Stage 8 Castres - Ax 3 Domaines (NBC)

Extreme
4 p.m. Action Sports World Tour: Red Bull Wake Open (NBC)

Golf
8 a.m. European PGA Tour: Open de France Round 3 (GOLF)
1 p.m. PGA Tour: The Greenbrier Classic Round 3 (GOLF)
3 p.m. PGA: The Greenbrier Classic Round 3 (CBS)

Motorcycle Racing
3 p.m. AMA: Motocross (NBC)

Soccer
6:55 p.m. International Friendly: Teams TBA (ESPN)
7 p.m. USL: Charlotte Lady Eagles vs. Rochester Raging Rhinos (TWCS 324)

Tennis
9 a.m. Wimbledon: Women's Championship (ESPN)

&raquo See more of the Central New York Sports TV schedule

Source: http://blog.syracuse.com/sports/2013/07/sports_on_tv_major_league_base.html

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