Holograph help for firefighters

27 February 2013 Last updated at 09:00 ET

Infra-red holography could be more useful than the camera imagery currently used by firefighters searching for people trapped in burning buildings, researchers in Italy say.

They have built an imaging system that uses an infra-red laser to penetrate areas of thick smoke and flames.

The beam reflects off any objects, including people, within the area.

That data is then decoded by an imager to create a 3D model of everything inside the room.

Infra-red (IR) camera monitors currently used by firefighters require lenses that can be blinded by intense fire, said researcher Pietro Ferraro, of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Istituto Nazionale di Ottica in Italy.

"IR cameras cannot 'see' objects or humans behind flames because of the need for a zoom lens that concentrates the rays on the sensor to form the image," he said.

"It became clear to us that we had in our hands a technology that could be exploited by emergency responders and firefighters at a fire scene to see through smoke without being blinded by flames, a limitation of existing technology."

Mr Ferraro added that fire victims who were moving could also be picked up by the system.

"Perhaps most importantly, we demonstrated for the first time that a holographic recording of a live person can be achieved even while the body is moving."

Other potential applications include monitoring breathing and cardiac activity, said Mr Ferraro - but the next step for the researchers was to make the technology more portable.

The research has been published in journal Optics Express.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21602952#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Saban: 4 arrested Bama players dismissed from team

FILE -In a Jan. 8, 2013 file photo Alabama head coach Nick Saban poses with The Coaches' Trophy during a BCS National Championship college football game news conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. By the time Dylan Moses is old enough to play football at Alabama, Nick Saban would be 65 and starting his 11th season at Tuscaloosa. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

FILE -In a Jan. 8, 2013 file photo Alabama head coach Nick Saban poses with The Coaches' Trophy during a BCS National Championship college football game news conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. By the time Dylan Moses is old enough to play football at Alabama, Nick Saban would be 65 and starting his 11th season at Tuscaloosa. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) ? Four players for two-time defending national champion Alabama have been dismissed from school following their arrests after two robberies on campus.

University spokeswoman Deborah Lane said Wednesday that linebackers D.J. Pettway and Tyler Hayes, safety Eddie Williams and H-back Brent Calloway are no longer enrolled after a judicial review.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban had earlier said the players "are no longer associated with the football program."

"Their actions do not reflect the spirit and character that we want our organization to reflect," Saban said. "It's obviously very disappointing and unacceptable what happened.

"I also think I'm really proud over the last five years that our team has done a very good job with their personal responsibility and how they've represented the university. Some people learn by words, some people learn by consequences, some people can't learn."

Pettway, Williams and Hayes are charged with two counts of second-degree robbery. Williams and Calloway, who was not accused in the robberies, are charged with fraudulent use of a credit card.

Williams confessed to robbing a student who was punched in the head and face and kicked in the ribs and back. He said Pettway and Hayes watched him commit another robbery from a nearby vehicle about an hour later, according to court documents.

Hayes, 18, admitted to participating in the first robbery and watching the second, court documents said.

Williams and Calloway, both 20, are scheduled for preliminary hearings on March 19 in Tuscaloosa District Court.

Those two and 18-year-old Pettway have requested youthful offender status.

The first student reported having his Apple Macbook Pro stolen from his backpack. Both sustained mild concussions, cuts on the face and heavy swelling, and had items stolen, according to court documents.

All four players were backups last season for Alabama, which has won three of the past four BCS titles. Williams didn't play in 2012, but he was one of the nation's top prospects the previous year and moved from receiver to safety.

Saban also updated the status of four other players regarding injury or suspension.

Cornerback John Fulton and wide receiver Kevin Norwood are not participating in offseason conditioning workouts with turf toe injuries. Saban said both are uncertain for spring practice.

Saban said Fulton had surgery after the season and the recovery time is typically about three months. Alabama opens spring practice on March 16.

He said receiver Marvin Shinn has left the team and fellow receiver Danny Woodson is suspended for violating team rules and won't participate in spring practice.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-27-FBC-Alabama-Saban/id-685d1476f6144a3dbbf3fd339ca031b6

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Cheat on taxes? Not cool, say most Americans

IRS Oversight Board

Most Americans don't think it's OK to cheat on taxes.

By Allison Linn, TODAY

Americans may make plenty of jokes about cheating on their taxes, but a new survey finds that in reality most don?t think it?s OK to rob the tax man. Or at least, that?s what they?re telling the IRS Oversight Board.

The?2012 Taxpayer Attitude Survey, released Tuesday by the independent oversight board, finds that 87 percent of Americans don?t think it?s OK to cheat on your taxes. That?s a 3 percentage point increase from last year.

Only 11 percent think it?s OK to cheat, either a little or as much as possible.

Perhaps more surprising, 95 percent of Americans said their personal integrity influences them to report their taxes honestly, an 8 percentage point increase from five years earlier.

About 63 percent said they are influenced by fear of an audit, while 70 percent are motivated by third-party information that could show them to be a tax cheat.

The IRS Oversight Board, an independent body created by Congress in 1998 to oversee the Internal Revenue Service?s actions, completed its annual survey of 1,500 Americans last August and September. The survey has a 3.1 percent margin of error.

If they?re going to pay their taxes honestly, most Americans seem to think everyone else should, too.

The survey found that more than 90 percent of Americans think it?s important that the IRS ensures that low- and high-income taxpayers, small businesses and corporations honestly pay their taxes, too.

Those results appear to show that Americans have come to feel more strongly in recent years that everyone should pay their fair share of taxes, and the IRS should vigorously enforce tax laws.

The results come as many Americans are either getting ready to file their 2012 income tax returns, or already have done so.

They also follow a bruising battle in Washington over the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of tax hikes and spending cuts that were scheduled to take effect until Congress reached a last-minute deal.

The fiscal cliff agreement raised taxes for wealthy Americans earning $400,000 or more and allowed taxes on capital gains and dividends to go up. It also ended a payroll tax holiday, meaning that most Americans are seeing more of their paycheck going to the tax man for Social Security and other entitlements this year.

{"contentId":"17102914","totalVotes":"3478"}

How honest should people be on their tax returns?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/02/27/17102914-cheat-on-taxes-not-cool-say-most-americans?lite

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Fierce clashes near landmark mosque in Syria

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian rebels battled government troops near a landmark 12th century mosque in the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday, while fierce clashes raged around a police academy west of the city, activists said.

The fighting near the Umayyad Mosque in the walled Old City threatened to further damage the historic structure, part of which was burned during clashes last year.

Since July 2012, government forces and rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad have been battling over Aleppo, the country's largest city and a major prize in the civil war. While rebels have gradually expanded the amount of turf under their control, seven months of street fighting, airstrikes and shelling have left much of the city, considered one of Syria's most beautiful, in ruins.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported intense clashes with heavy gunfire and explosions near the mosque. Syria's state news agency said "terrorists" had detonated explosives near the building's south wall, causing "material damages."

Assad's regime refers to the opposition as "terrorists."

The mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Aleppo, sits near a medieval covered market in the Old City, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The mosque was heavily damaged in October, 2012, just weeks after a fire gutted the market.

Syria's nearly 2-year-old civil war has left its mark on other gems of the country's rich archaeological and cultural heritage.

At least five of Syria's six World Heritage sites have been damaged in the fighting, according to UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural agency. Looters have broken into one of the world's best-preserved Crusader castles, Crac des Chevaliers, and ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra have been damaged.

Both rebels and regime forces have turned some of Syria's significant historic sites into bases, including citadels and Turkish bath houses, while thieves have stolen artifacts from archaeological excavations and, to a lesser extent, museums.

To the west of Aleppo, activists reported fresh fighting Tuesday near the police academy that has become a key government military installation.

The Observatory said the two sides were shelling each other's positions while the government launched airstrikes in the area.

Video posted online in recent days shows rebel groups firing homemade rockets and mortars at the academy and blasting it with captured tanks. The videos appeared genuine and corresponded with other Associated Press reporting.

The Observatory said the dead in the last two days of fighting in the area included 26 rebel fighters, 40 soldiers and five pro-government militiamen.

The police academy, which activists say the government has turned into a military base, has recently emerged as a new front in the battle for Aleppo. Losing the facility would hinder the regime's ability to shell opposition areas and support its troops inside the city.

An Aleppo activist who goes by the name Abu al-Hassan said via Skype that rebels coming from Idlib province to the west are now trying to clear the army from residential areas near the academy before they attack it.

"Yesterday and today they have been trying to go forward but there are lots of shelling and airstrikes," he said.

The fighting has largely destroyed Aleppo and caused humanitarian conditions for the city's remaining civilians to plummet.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said more than 141 people, including 71 children, had been killed in at least four missile strikes by the Syrian government in and near the city of Aleppo last week. The New York-based group said the strikes hit residential areas and called them an "escalation of unlawful attacks against Syria's civilian population."

A Human Rights Watch researcher who visited the sites said up to 20 buildings were destroyed in each area hit by a missile. There were no signs of any military targets in the residential districts, located in rebel-held parts of Aleppo and its northern countryside, said Ole Solvang, the researcher.

"The extent of the damage from a single strike, the lack of (military) aircraft in the area at the time, and reports of ballistic missiles being launched from a military base near Damascus overwhelmingly suggest that government forces struck these areas with ballistic missiles," HRW said in its report.

It added that the Aleppo neighborhoods hit were Jabal Badro, Tariq al-Bab and Ard al-Hamra. The fourth strike documented by the group was in Tel Rifat, north of the city.

UNICEF said in a statement that it is "appalled" by the deaths of children, and called on all parties in the conflict to "ensure that civilians ? and children especially ? are protected, at all times."

U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman condemned the bombings in Aleppo and Damascus and repeated a call "to immediately end the supply of arms to both sides in this brutal conflict." He pledged that "perpetrators of serious crimes will be held accountable."

Syria has never acknowledged the strikes, and portrays the conflict as a foreign conspiracy carried out by "terrorists" to weaken the country.

The missile attacks have outraged the leaders of Syria's exiled opposition who have accused their Western backers of indifference to the suffering of civilians caught up in the conflict.

Also Tuesday, the Observatory said the death toll in a car bomb attack in Damascus had risen to eight. All were regime security officers, it said.

The blast late Monday struck a security checkpoint in the neighborhood of Qaboun, less than a kilometer (mile) from Abbasid Square, northeast of downtown. It was followed by several other smaller blasts thought to be mortar shells landing in various districts of the capital.

The explosions and subsequent gunfire caused panic among residents who hid in their apartments.

Syria's state news agency said the blast was caused by a suicide car bomber and caused an unspecified number of casualties.

The U.N. says some 70,000 have been killed since Syria's conflict began in March 2011.

___

Associated Press writer Ryan Lucas in Beirut and Edith M. Lederer at the U.N. contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fierce-clashes-near-landmark-mosque-syria-180508331.html

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'Identity Thief' tops box office with $14 million

NEW YORK (AP) ? A week after losing the box office title to Bruce Willis, Melissa McCarthy took it back again.

McCarthy's road trip comedy "Identity Thief" topped the box office in its third week of release on Oscar weekend with $14 million for Universal. 20th Century Fox's "A Good Day to Die Hard," starring Willis, slid to fifth with $10.1 million.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Identity Thief," Universal, $14,017,085, 3,222 locations, $4,350 average, $93,619,615, three weeks.

2. "Snitch," Lionsgate, $13,167,607, 2,511 locations, $5,244 average, $13,167,607, one week.

3. "Escape From Planet Earth," Weinstein Co., $10,682,037, 3,353 locations, $3,186 average, $34,812,699, two weeks.

4. "Safe Haven," Relativity Media, $10,454,713, 3,223 locations, $3,244 average, $47,916,356, two weeks.

5. "A Good Day to Die Hard," Fox, $10,165,633, 3,555 locations, $2,860 average, $51,967,897, two weeks.

6. "Dark Skies," Weinstein Co., $8,189,166, 2,313 locations, $3,540 average, $8,189,166, one week.

7. "Silver Linings Playbook," Weinstein Co., $5,750,866, 2,012 locations, $2,858 average, $107,176,012, 15 weeks.

8. "Warm Bodies," Lionsgate, $4,825,388, 2,644 locations, $1,825 average, $58,243,441, four weeks.

9. "Beautiful Creatures," Warner Bros., $3,608,333, 2,950 locations, $1,223 average, $16,570,598, two weeks.

10. "Side Effects," Open Road Films, $3,357,039, 2,070 locations, $1,622 average, $25,099,555, three weeks.

11. "Zero Dark Thirty," Sony, $2,230,084, 1,197 locations, $1,863 average, $91,539,075, 10 weeks.

12. "Argo," Warner Bros., $1,827,165, 802 locations, $2,278 average, $129,653,502, 20 weeks.

13. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," Paramount, $1,684,532, 1,425 locations, $1,182 average, $52,945,086, five weeks.

14. "Life of Pi," Fox, $1,605,366, 572 locations, $2,807 average, $113,525,126, 14 weeks.

15. "Lincoln," Disney, $1,481,081, 875 locations, $1,693 average, $178,603,571, 16 weeks.

16. "Mama," Universal, $1,173,900, 1,163 locations, $1,009 average, $70,230,570, six weeks.

17. "Quartet," Weinstein Co., $1,125,886, 356 locations, $3,163 average, $8,844,950, seven weeks.

18. "Django Unchained," Weinstein Co., $971,655, 659 locations, $1,474 average, $158,783,430, nine weeks.

19. "Amour," Sony Pictures Classics, $716,186, 328 locations, $2,183 average, $5,147,242, 10 weeks.

20. "Wreck-It Ralph," Disney, $645,870, 402 locations, $1,607 average, $186,676,411, 17 weeks.

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/identity-thief-tops-box-office-14-million-222723197.html

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Kerry opens first official overseas trip in London

LONDON (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry kicked off his first official overseas trip by meeting Monday with British leaders in London, the first leg of a hectic nine-country dash through Europe and the Middle East.

Kerry's first diplomatic meeting abroad came with British Prime Minister David Cameron, where they discussed the prospects of a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union and the importance of the Middle East peace process.

Cameron's spokesman, Jean-Christophe Gray, said the prime minister and Kerry also "reiterated their shared determination to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran" ahead of talks between world leaders and Tehran in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this week.

The two also spoke about the challenges posed by fragile states such as Syria, Libya and Egypt, the spokesman added.

Later, Kerry is expected to discuss the Falkland Islands with U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague before flying to Germany for meetings in Berlin.

Kerry arrived on London late Sunday as the Obama administration launched a frantic effort to try to salvage a Syrian opposition conference that Kerry plans to attend this week in Rome. Some members of the sharply divided Syrian Opposition Council are threatening to boycott the meeting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-opens-first-official-overseas-trip-london-090645714.html

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Major powers to make "substantial and serious offer" to Iran

LONDON (Reuters) - Major powers are ready to make "a substantial and serious offer" to Iran during talks next week in return for concessions on its nuclear program, a Western diplomat said on Wednesday.

He declined to give details of the offer - aimed at reviving efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to long-stalled talks over Iran's disputed nuclear work.

"We will take an offer with us which we believe to be a substantial and serious offer," the diplomat said of talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan. "This is an offer which we think has significant new elements in it."

The West has imposed heavy economic sanctions on Iran to persuade it to abandon those parts of its program the powers suspect are intended to give it nuclear weapons capability.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes only.

"Diplomats are committed to finding a diplomatic solution, but the government of Iran really has to show that it's doing what it says it's doing," the diplomat said, on condition of anonymity.

The five permanent members of the Security Council along with Germany - the so-called P5+1 - will hold talks with Iran in Almaty on February 26.

Western officials in Washington have told Reuters they plan to offer to ease sanctions barring trade in gold and other precious metals in return for Iran shutting its Fordow uranium enrichment plant - a proposal already rejected by Tehran.

The Western diplomat declined to comment on that, nor to say in what way the offer to be made in Almaty would differ.

Another Western diplomat said hopes for the meeting were not "sky high" but the talks were being viewed as an opportunity to engage with Iran. "It's an open and positive offer and we hope that they will respond," he said.

"We've always offered quite a bit. The original offer in 2008 was a very generous offer, very comprehensive and that is still basically there on the table and what we're offering now is more precision about certain elements of that," he added.

The 2008 offer both acknowledged Iran's right to a civilian nuclear program and recognized its need for broader security guarantees against attack.

SANCTIONS SEEN BITING

Western diplomats argue that sanctions are taking their toll on Iran's economy and hoping as a result the new diplomatic push could succeed where past attempts have failed.

The negotiations held by the P5+1 also follow a renewed offer by the United States to hold direct talks with Iran if it showed it was serious about reining in its nuclear program.

Any broader political dialogue between the United States and Iran would be aimed at reducing mistrust dating back to the 1979 Iranian revolution and seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Such a dialogue would be a means of giving additional momentum to existing negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran has given little indication of what it would bring to the table in Almaty.

It rejected the offer of an easing of sanctions on gold trade as unacceptable and its ability to make significant concessions is seen as limited before Iranian presidential elections in June.

It has, however, resumed work to convert small amounts of higher-grade enriched uranium into fuel, a move which would slow its accumulation of stockpiles that could, if enriched further, be used for weapons.

Diplomats say it has also held off from putting into operational additional centrifuges at Fordow where it enriches uranium to 20 percent - a level that can be rapidly turned into weapons-grade material.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to issue shortly its latest report on Iran, which will indicate the size of its stockpiles of enriched uranium and detail other developments in its nuclear program.

(Additional reporting by Lou Charbonneau and Michele Nichols; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/major-powers-substantial-serious-offer-iran-194109167--finance.html

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Medicaid expansion pressure is having an effect (Offthekuff)

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PadGadget Daily App Deal ? 27 iPad Apps on Sale

By Bill | February 17, 2013 | No comment yet Share |

For today?s Daily Deal we?ve found 27 great apps to add to your iPad collection. ?We have 6 productivity / entertainment apps and 21 game apps in today?s bundle.

We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we?ll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 90% off, several are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.

Game Apps

1. Bad Piggies HD ? This very popular Angry Birds spin-off has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99.
2. Dead Space for iPad ? This space-themed iPad game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 90% off the apps? normal price of $9.99. This app weighs in at 437 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
3. FIFA SOCCER 13 by EA SPORTS () ? This fun soccer game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 80% off the apps? normal price of $4.99. This app is a whopper, it weighs in at 1.38 GB so be sure that you have enough space on your iPad and that you are on a speedy network before purchasing.
4. Fishdom 2 HD (Premium) ? This amusing game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $1.99.
5. Flight Control HD ? This extremely popular air traffic control game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 80% off the apps? normal price of $4.99.
6. Galaxy on Fire 2 HD () ? This great role playing game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $6.99. This app weighs in at 561 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
7. Gangstar Rio: City of Saints () ? This gangster game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 86% off the apps? normal price of $6.99. This app weighs in at 840 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
8. Infinity Blade () ? This awesome action game has a 5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $5.99. This app weighs in at 595 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
9. Lander Hero () ? This arcade game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $2.99. This app weighs in at 366 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
10. MADDEN NFL 12 by EA SPORTS For iPad ? This very popular football game is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 86% off the apps? normal price of $6.99. This app weighs in at 363 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
11. NBA 2K13 () ? This fun basketball game is now on sale for $2.99 instead of $7.99. This app is a whopper, it weighs in at 1.21 GB so be sure that you have enough space on your iPad and that you are on a speedy network before purchasing.
12. Need for Speed Most Wanted () ? This racing game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 80% off the apps? normal price of $4.99. This app weighs in at 607 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
13. NFL Kicker 13 () ? This extremely popular pigskin game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $1.99.
14. PAC-MAN for iPad ? This classic arcade game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $2.99 instead of $4.99.
15. Real Racing 2 HD ? This extremely popular racing game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 86% off the apps? normal price of $6.99. This app weighs in at 444 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
16. Real Racing HD ? This car racing game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 80% off the apps? normal price of $4.99.
17. Rock(s) Rider () ? This action game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $2.99. This app weighs in at 394 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
18. The Amazing Spider-Man () ? This very popular comic-inspired game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 86% off the apps? normal price of $6.99. This app weighs in at 791 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
19. The Sims Medieval For iPad ? This sim game is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 80% off the apps? normal price of $4.99.
20. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 for iPad ? This insanely popular sports game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 80% off the apps? normal price of $4.99. This app weighs in at 274 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
21. YAHTZEE HD ? This classic dice game is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 80% off the apps? normal price of $4.99.

Productivity and Entertainment Apps

1. CLIPish Pro Suite?() ? This ?social networking accessory app has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $2.99.
2. Dora & Diego s Vacation Adventure HD ? This popular Dora storybook app is now on sale for $2.99 instead of $4.99.
3. Dora?s Ballet Adventure HD ? This Dora storybook is now on sale for $2.99 instead of $4.99.
4. PerfectReader Pro ? Fas () ? This PDF reader app is now available for $0.99. That?s a savings of 86% off the apps? normal price of $6.99.
5. Splashtop 2 ? Remote Desktop ? This remote desktop app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $1.99.
6. The Three Little Pigs and Big Bad Wolf?() ? This classic fairytale book has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $2.99.

Also be sure to check out yesterday?s Daily Deal to find more great savings.

= Indicates app is Universal and will run on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

We use our PadGadget Apps Tracker to constantly monitor the App Store to find the biggest price changes on iPad apps. Our editorial team goes through the data, picks the best deals on the most interesting apps and then brings them to you on a regular basis. All app prices are checked at the time of posting but prices are subject to change without notice. When developers put their apps on sale it?s usually for a very limited time, often 24 hours or less, so be sure to check pricing on iTunes before making a purchase.

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Budget cut impact: Smaller Navy, fired teachers

What does smaller government look like? The budget standoff between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans means Americans may soon find out, and the picture the Obama administration sketches is downright scary.

Cuts in the Navy's Pacific operations of one-third. Furloughed food inspectors forcing nationwide closures of meat and poultry plants. Ten thousand laid-off teachers. A $1 billion reduction in the relief fund for disaster victims. Less secure airline flights and longer waits on airport security screening lines. Reduced monitoring of air pollution, oil spills and hazardous waste.

All this and more because $85 billion in cuts across most federal programs will be automatically triggered March 1 unless Obama and Republicans do something that's eluded them for months: approve alternative savings.

A look at the fight over the so-called sequester, and what its impact could be:

?State of play: The cuts ? plus nearly $1 trillion more over the coming decade ? were enacted two years ago in hopes that their sheer ugliness would force the two sides to replace the reductions with a sweeping, bipartisan deficit-reduction deal. So far that's not happened.

The administration has repeatedly warned that the sequester must be avoided. White House budget office controller Daniel L. Werfel told Congress on Thursday that they would have "destructive consequences."

Though many lawmakers of both parties would like to find a way out, conservative Republicans have said they're willing to live with the reductions. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told The Associated Press this week that "we're going to be stuck with it" until Obama proposes a solution that can pass the Democratic-led Senate.

?Overall impact: Administrations past and present always excel at threatening scenarios that make it appear that life as we know it will end. In this case, the law limits the flexibility government officials will have to protect favored programs, but Werfel wrote that the White House has instructed agencies to give priority to avoiding cuts that could "present risks to life, safety or health" and seek other ways to minimize harm to important government services.

The sequester law exempts Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps and Medicare recipients' benefits from cuts, but most programs are vulnerable.

The cuts were expected to mean reductions this year of 8 percent in defense and 5 percent in nondefense programs. But because lawmakers recently delayed the impact until March 1 ? meaning they will affect only the last seven months of the government's budget year ? the sequester will force deeper reductions of 13 percent for defense and 9 percent for other programs.

?Defense: The Defense Department announced last week that because of the cuts it is withdrawing one of its two aircraft carriers from the Persian Gulf region, but there's more coming.

The Navy's top officer, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, told Congress that because of the sequester and already planned long-range reductions, the Navy could not fully support counterterrorism operations in Somalia and Yemen. A letter the Pentagon sent to Congress this week says the military will protect operations for ongoing wars, but expects to curtail maintenance of aircraft and ships, reduce training and maintenance for some Army units and cut Air Force flying hours. There would probably be a freeze in hiring civilians, instead of the 1,500 to 2,000 new jobs monthly. Current civilian workers could be furloughed up to 22 days. And the military's Tricare health care system could lose $3 billion, threatening elective care for some military dependents and retirees.

?Homeland Security: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wrote to Congress that there will be fewer border agents and fewer facilities for detained illegal immigrants. There would be reduced Coast Guard air and sea operations, furloughed Secret Service agents and weakened efforts to detect cyberthreats to computer networks. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund would lose more than $1 billion. "We do not have the luxury of making significant reductions to our capabilities without placing our nation at risk," Napolitano wrote.

?Education: Education Secretary Arne Duncan told Congress that 70,000 Head Start pupils would be removed from the pre-kindergarten program, about 1 of every 13. Duncan warned those cuts would mean layoffs of 10,000 teachers and thousands of other staffers because of cuts in federal dollars that state and local governments use for schools. Cuts for programs for handicapped and other special needs students would threaten 7,200 teachers and aides, he said.

?Health: The National Institutes of Health would lose $1.6 billion, trimming research on cancer, drying up money for hundreds of other research projects and eliminating up 20,000 private research positions nationwide. Health departments would give 424,000 fewer tests for the AIDS virus this year. More than 373,000 seriously ill people may not receive needed mental health services.

?Transportation: The Federal Aviation Administration plans to furlough most of its 47,000 employees, including air traffic controllers, for an average of 11 days, with most furloughs probably over the summer. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told employees in a letter this week that while the furloughs can be managed safely, "We might see travel delays and disruptions during the critical summer travel season."

?Environment: Cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency would jeopardize its ability to protect the public from oil spills, air pollution and hazardous waste, according a letter from Bob Perciasepe, who becomes interim head of the agency on Friday until a replacement is named. States would have to shut down some pollution monitors that determine if air is healthy to breathe. The popular color-coded air quality forecasting system that keeps schoolchildren and others inside on bad-air days would be curtailed or eliminated.

The EPA, which already inspects only a tiny fraction of facilities with the potential to spill oil, would do even less. New models of cars and trucks could be delayed from getting to dealership lots because the EPA couldn't quickly validate that they meet emissions standards.

?Internal Revenue Service: A Treasury Department letter to Congress said the IRS would review fewer tax returns, which "could result in billions of dollars in lost revenue." The agency offered no specifics but said each $1 spent on the IRS has meant at least $4 in additional revenue.

?Agriculture: The Agriculture Department says meat inspectors could be furloughed up to 15 days, shutting meatpacking plants intermittently and costing up to $10 billion in production losses and $400 million in lost wages. The Food and Drug Administration would conduct 2,100 fewer food facility inspections this year. About 600,000 low-income pregnant women and new mothers would lose food aid and nutrition education.

?FBI: FBI Director Robert Mueller wrote to Congress that sequestration would be the equivalent of cutting 2,285 employees, including 775 agents, through furloughs and a hiring freeze. Every FBI employee would be furloughed for 14 workdays.

? Interior Department: The department says it is preparing to reduce hours and services at all 398 national parks and might close up to 128 wildlife refuges. As much as $200 million in direct payments to states, mainly the West, could be eliminated. The cuts could force local governments to cut back on police and fire protection, schools, road maintenance and more.

?Labor: More than 3.8 million people jobless for six months or longer could see their unemployment benefits reduced by as much as 9.4 percent. Thousands of veterans would not receive job counseling. Fewer Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors could mean 1,200 fewer inspections of dangerous work sites. There would be fewer investigations into complaints workers are being denied minimum wage and overtime pay. About 1 million fewer people would get help finding or preparing for new jobs.

?NASA: Nearly $900 million in cuts would come from programs including money to help private companies build crew capsules to eventually send astronauts to the International Space Station, and to test new technologies for sending astronauts into deep space.

?Housing: The Department of Housing and Urban Development said about 125,000 households could lose benefits from the agency's Housing Choice Voucher program and risk becoming homeless. The vouchers are the federal government's major program to assist low-income families, the elderly and the disabled.

___

Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein, Dina Cappiello, Matthew Daly, Philip Elliott, Sam Hananel, Mary Clare Jalonick, Richard Lardner, Joan Lowy, Andrew Miga, Lauran Neergaard, Stephen Ohlemacher and Pete Yost contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/budget-cut-impact-smaller-navy-fired-teachers-222234326.html

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Fighting Cancer with Poxviruses

Just saying, "the pox" out loud sends a microbial shiver down the spine, given the tremendous amount of death and disease the poxviruses have wreaked on mankind. The scourge of perhaps the most notorious member of the poxvirus family, variola virus, which causes smallpox, extended across human history from the ancient Egyptian dynasty to the late 20th century. This continued until the widespread implementation of an overwhelmingly successful vaccine developed through the efforts of a certain gentleman scientist, Edward Jenner. He famously observed that milkmaids who came into contact with cowpox virus (a close cousin of variola virus) experienced a mild skin infection that protected them against smallpox. After inoculating other people with material scraped from the milkmaids' eruptions, Jenner noted that they, too, became immune to smallpox. Nowadays, in a pleasant refinement from pustule scrapings, the smallpox vaccine contains a live version of vaccinia virus, a related but much milder poxvirus that looks and behaves enough like variola virus to trick the immune system into developing "smallpox" immunity. So, poxviruses, like vaccinia virus, can be tamed and moulded from old villains into useful tools to avert or treat human disease. This is particularly true for cancer. Since the mid-1800's, natural virus infections, such as influenza, have been reported to cure cancer patients of their disease. Such testimonials helped to drive the modern development of poxviruses as anti-cancer agents, harnessing their natural preference to search out, infect and kill cancer tissue while shunning normal, healthy areas. For a poxvirus focused on replicating to produce lots of tiny virus offspring, tumour tissue is a surefire location for success: the mutations that allow cancer cells to grow so quickly also render them defenceless to viral attack. Typically, viral replication in tumour cells pops them open, disgorging their contents and releasing newly-hatched viruses to spread throughout the tumour, before being mopped up, neutralised and contained by the immune system. This approach can have brilliant results for some cancer patients, and poxvirus-based cancer treatments are now into advanced stage clinical trials. Recently, poxviruses have also been applied to address a long-standing problem affecting cancer patients undergoing tumour removal surgery. Particularly after long and complicated procedures, cancer patients naturally enter a bodywide state of repair, where most energy is diverted into the healing process. Perversely, this temporary disturbance in the natural biological balance actually encourages any missed bits of tumour to spread, causing new patches of disease to spring up. While the reason for this is not entirely understood, suppression of the normal immune response, in particular a specific population of immune cells known as, 'natural killer' cells, is at least part of the problem. A team at the University of Ottawa, led by surgical oncologist Dr. Rebecca Auer, reasoned that applying an engineered poxvirus an hour before surgery, which would home to the tumour and deploy immune-stimulating payloads, could restore the balance of the immune system. As they report in the journal, Cancer Research, this happily proved to be true: the virus kicked the apathetic natural killer cells into upping their game, reinvigorated the surgically-stunned immune system and, in mice at least, prevented the surgery-induced spread of tumour material. Poxviruses were therefore blended seamlessly into a normal surgical regime with excellent results. Since poxviruses have been so widely applied to humans in the smallpox vaccine, there is a huge amount of safety data to recommend their use in the clinic, and in the treatment of over 500 cancer patients, there have been no serious complications. Incorporating a naturally-adapted cancer-loving microorganism like poxvirus into the available arsenal of anti-cancer treatments is plainly a splendidly progressive choice. Image: Pox, by Sanofi Pasteur on Flickr Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fighting-cancer-poxviruses-113600020.html

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Comics.

This is about comics and comics related stuff. I love comics. I love discovering new comics to read and I also love rediscovering the classic which I used to love so much. I hope to be able to share my love of comics (and sometimes cool stuff) with you too.

I grew up reading Spider-Man, Beano, Dandy, Dan Dare, Oink! and more...I remember reading my first issue of New Mutants and was totally blown away by the beautiful cover art. I remember seeing my first John Romita Sr. work and discovering a then unknown Jim Lee. They still are some of my favorite pencillers.

Disclaimer: I am in no way currently associated with any of the comics or companies that publish the comics I read and write about. I don't get paid doing this and I don't sell any of these works I post about. Copyright of the materials are owned by their respective creators unless otherwise indicated. If I had posted something I shouldn't have, I am deeply sorry and please let me know so that I may have it removed.

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Supernova remnants produce cosmic rays

Feb. 14, 2013 ? A new study using observations from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope reveals the first clear-cut evidence the expanding debris of exploded stars produces some of the fastest-moving matter in the universe. This discovery is a major step toward understanding the origin of cosmic rays, one of Fermi's primary mission goals.

"Scientists have been trying to find the sources of high-energy cosmic rays since their discovery a century ago," said Elizabeth Hays, a member of the research team and Fermi deputy project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Now we have conclusive proof supernova remnants, long the prime suspects, really do accelerate cosmic rays to incredible speeds."

Cosmic rays are subatomic particles that move through space at almost the speed of light. About 90 percent of them are protons, with the remainder consisting of electrons and atomic nuclei. In their journey across the galaxy, the electrically charged particles are deflected by magnetic fields. This scrambles their paths and makes it impossible to trace their origins directly.

Through a variety of mechanisms, these speedy particles can lead to the emission of gamma rays, the most powerful form of light and a signal that travels to us directly from its sources.

Since its launch in 2008, Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) has mapped million- to billion-electron-volt (MeV to GeV) gamma-rays from supernova remnants. For comparison, the energy of visible light is between 2 and 3 electron volts.

The Fermi results concern two particular supernova remnants, known as IC 443 and W44, which scientists studied to prove supernova remnants produce cosmic rays. IC 443 and W44 are expanding into cold, dense clouds of interstellar gas. These clouds emit gamma rays when struck by high-speed particles escaping the remnants.

Scientists previously could not determine which atomic particles are responsible for emissions from the interstellar gas clouds because cosmic ray protons and electrons give rise to gamma rays with similar energies. After analyzing four years of data, Fermi scientists see a distinguishable feature in the gamma-ray emission of both remnants. The feature is caused by a short-lived particle called a neutral pion, which is produced when cosmic ray protons smash into normal protons. The pion quickly decays into a pair of gamma rays, emission that exhibits a swift and characteristic decline at lower energies. The low-end cutoff acts as a fingerprint, providing clear proof that the culprits in IC 443 and W44 are protons.

"The discovery is the smoking gun that these two supernova remnants are producing accelerated protons," said lead researcher Stefan Funk, an astrophysicist with the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at Stanford University in Calif. "Now we can work to better understand how they manage this feat and determine if the process is common to all remnants where we see gamma-ray emission."

In 1949, the Fermi telescope's namesake, physicist Enrico Fermi, suggested the highest-energy cosmic rays were accelerated in the magnetic fields of interstellar gas clouds. In the decades that followed, astronomers showed supernova remnants were the galaxy's best candidate sites for this process.

A charged particle trapped in a supernova remnant's magnetic field moves randomly throughout the field and occasionally crosses through the explosion's leading shock wave. Each round trip through the shock ramps up the particle's speed by about 1 percent. After many crossings, the particle obtains enough energy to break free and escape into the galaxy as a newborn cosmic ray.

The supernova remnant IC 443, popularly known as the Jellyfish Nebula, is located 5,000 light-years away toward the constellation Gemini and is thought to be about 10,000 years old. W44 lies about 9,500 light-years away toward the constellation Aquila and is estimated to be 20,000 years old. Each is the expanding shock wave and debris formed when a massive star exploded.

The Fermi discovery builds on a strong hint of neutral pion decay in W44 observed by the Italian Space Agency's AGILE gamma ray observatory and published in late 2011.

NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership. Goddard manages Fermi. The telescope was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, with contributions from academic institutions and partners in the United States France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. M. Ackermann, M. Ajello, A. Allafort, L. Baldini, J. Ballet, G. Barbiellini, M. G. Baring, D. Bastieri, K. Bechtol, R. Bellazzini, R. D. Blandford, E. D. Bloom, E. Bonamente, A. W. Borgland, E. Bottacini, T. J. Brandt, J. Bregeon, M. Brigida, P. Bruel, R. Buehler, G. Busetto, S. Buson, G. A. Caliandro, R. A. Cameron, P. A. Caraveo, J. M. Casandjian, C. Cecchi, O. Celik, E. Charles, S. Chaty, R. C. G. Chaves, A. Chekhtman, C. C. Cheung, J. Chiang, G. Chiaro, A. N. Cillis, S. Ciprini, R. Claus, J. Cohen-Tanugi, L. R. Cominsky, J. Conrad, S. Corbel, S. Cutini, F. D'Ammando, A. de Angelis, F. de Palma, C. D. Dermer, E. do Couto e Silva, P. S. Drell, A. Drlica-Wagner, L. Falletti, C. Favuzzi, E. C. Ferrara, A. Franckowiak, Y. Fukazawa, S. Funk, P. Fusco, F. Gargano, S. Germani, N. Giglietto, P. Giommi, F. Giordano, M. Giroletti, T. Glanzman, G. Godfrey, I. A. Grenier, M.- H. Grondin, J. E. Grove, S. Guiriec, D. Hadasch, Y. Hanabata, A. K. Harding, M. Hayashida, K. Hayashi, E. Hays, J. W. Hewitt, A. B. Hill, R. E. Hughes, M. S. Jackson, T. Jogler, G. Johannesson, A. S. Johnson, T. Kamae, J. Kataoka, J. Katsuta, J. Knodlseder, M. Kuss, J. Lande, S. Larsson, L. Latronico, M. Lemoine-Goumard, F. Longo, F. Loparco, M. N. Lovellette, P. Lubrano, G. M. Madejski, F. Massaro, M. Mayer, M. N. Mazziotta, J. E. McEnery, J. Mehault, P. F. Michelson, R. P. Mignani, W. Mitthumsiri, T. Mizuno, A. A. Moiseev, M. E. Monzani, A. Morselli, I. V. Moskalenko, S. Murgia, T. Nakamori, R. Nemmen, E. Nuss, M. Ohno, T. Ohsugi, N. Omodei, M. Orienti, E. Orlando, J. F. Ormes, D. Paneque, J. S. Perkins, M. Pesce-Rollins, F. Piron, G. Pivato, S. Raino, R. Rando, M. Razzano, S. Razzaque, A. Reimer, O. Reimer, S. Ritz, C. Romoli, M. Sanchez-Conde, A. Schulz, C. Sgro, P. E. Simeon, E. J. Siskind, D. A. Smith, G. Spandre, P. Spinelli, F. W. Stecker, A. W. Strong, D. J. Suson, H. Tajima, H. Takahashi, T. Takahashi, T. Tanaka, J. G. Thayer, J. B. Thayer, D. J. Thompson, S. E. Thorsett, L. Tibaldo, O. Tibolla, M. Tinivella, E. Troja, Y. Uchiyama, T. L. Usher, J. Vandenbroucke, V. Vasileiou, G. Vianello, V. Vitale, A. P. Waite, M. Werner, B. L. Winer, K. S. Wood, M. Wood, R. Yamazaki, Z. Yang, S. Zimmer. Detection of the Characteristic Pion-Decay Signature in Supernova Remnants. Science, 2013; 339 (6121): 807 DOI: 10.1126/science.1231160

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/sSfVubV8Rlg/130214194147.htm

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Soccer gambling thrives in Cambodian border town

A Cambodian Buddhist monk takes a morning alms next to a casino signboard in Poipet, Cambodia Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. Soccer betting is illegal in Cambodia, but visitors to this seedy frontier town wouldn't know it. In the rundown market where the smell of incense mixes with rotting garbage, betting goes on 24 hours a day inside shiny, glass-fronted parlors emblazoned with photos of famous European soccer players. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

A Cambodian Buddhist monk takes a morning alms next to a casino signboard in Poipet, Cambodia Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. Soccer betting is illegal in Cambodia, but visitors to this seedy frontier town wouldn't know it. In the rundown market where the smell of incense mixes with rotting garbage, betting goes on 24 hours a day inside shiny, glass-fronted parlors emblazoned with photos of famous European soccer players. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

A woman sweeps the ground outside an online gambling shop in Poipet, Cambodia Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. Soccer betting is illegal in Cambodia, but visitors to this seedy frontier town wouldn't know it. In the rundown market where the smell of incense mixes with rotting garbage, betting goes on 24 hours a day inside shiny, glass-fronted parlors emblazoned with photos of famous European soccer players. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

In this photo taken Sarturday, Dec. 8, 2012, people chat while waiting for soccer matches to be played on the screens outside an online gambling shop in Poipet, Cambodia. Soccer betting is illegal in Cambodia, but visitors to this seedy frontier town wouldn't know it. In the rundown market where the smell of incense mixes with rotting garbage, betting goes on 24 hours a day inside shiny, glass-fronted parlors emblazoned with photos of famous European soccer players. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

Cambodian motorcycle taxi drivers wait for customers outside the Genting Crown Casino in Poipet, Cambodia Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. Soccer betting is illegal in Cambodia, but visitors to this seedy frontier town wouldn't know it. In the rundown market where the smell of incense mixes with rotting garbage, betting goes on 24 hours a day inside shiny, glass-fronted parlors emblazoned with photos of famous European soccer players. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

Cambodians work atop of a new casino building in Poipet, Cambodia Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. Soccer betting is illegal in Cambodia, but visitors to this seedy frontier town wouldn't know it. In the rundown market where the smell of incense mixes with rotting garbage, betting goes on 24 hours a day inside shiny, glass-fronted parlors emblazoned with photos of famous European soccer players.(AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

POIPET, Cambodia (AP) ? Soccer betting is illegal in Cambodia, but visitors to this seedy frontier town wouldn't know it.

In the rundown market where the smell of incense mixes with rotting garbage, betting goes on 24 hours a day inside shiny, glass-fronted parlors emblazoned with photos of famous European soccer players. Fidgety men break from lines of computers displaying odds to place bets with cashiers on matches around the world, from the obscure leagues of India and New Zealand to the giants of Europe.

"We can't always pronounce the teams we are betting on, but that doesn't matter," said Sampoath Pererra, a Sri Lankan palm oil worker who has made his life in Poipet, a two-street town sandwiched between the Cambodian and Thai borders. "The important thing is we can recognize them."

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of a six-month, multiformat AP examination of how organized crime is corrupting soccer through match-fixing.

___

Poipet has a long association with gambling. In the early 1990s, the government allowed casinos to be built there, and the gaudy, mostly threadbare venues continue to attract thousands of customers from Thailand, where all forms of gambling are illegal.

Soccer bookmakers ? also illegal in most Asian countries ? have sprung up inside the casinos and in nearby streets.

The cash bets placed with the bookies in Poipet and the many more via websites operating out of the town form part of a billion-dollar unregulated industry in Asia that is at the heart of match-fixing. To spend a weekend there is to see up close the region's obsession with soccer gambling, as well as some of the challenges facing those who seek to keep the sport clean.

While bets of upward of $50,000 on a single game are not uncommon in Asia, most wagers are much smaller, reflecting average incomes in a region that remains mostly poor. On a weekend in late November, there were few big bettors in Poipet, little glamour and many tales of lives taken over by gambling.

In the snazziest of the town's bookmakers, called footballbet.com, a gap-toothed Singaporean who gave his name only as Michael needed several late goals and turnarounds to win his $25 wager on a series of five matches.

As the final whistle approached on several matches in England's Premier League, his hope slowly turned to disappointment.

He fingered his betting slips in the manner of gamblers around the world, and a 6-year-old boy whom he referred to as his son bounded from his lap to the floor of the bookmakers, playing in the cigarette ash left behind.

Authorities turn a blind eye to the bookmakers, even those who operate outside the casinos, which are run by powerful tycoons with links to the corruption-riddled government in Phnom Penh, the capital.

In September, police arrested 100 Indonesians in Phnom Penh for illegally running a soccer betting site from two houses in the city.

One bookmaker's Malaysian manager, who refused to give his name because of the illegal nature of his business, conceded that the operation was running "on borrowed time."

The websites operating in the town employ Indonesians, Thais and other nationalities on telephone help lines and computer chat rooms to assist people setting up accounts in their home countries.

Rooms in hotels and casinos are rented out to these operators, giving the town something of a gold rush atmosphere.

Poipet is a town where few would choose to live unless they were making money, or have gambling addictions to feed.

In the daytime, trucks carrying squealing pigs roll through town, as do vehicles full of foreign tourists on their way to the ruins of Angkor Wat, Cambodia's iconic 12th century temple.

By night, touts on motorbikes patrol the main drag offering women and drugs, while children beg. A stinking, rubbish-clogged river dissects the town.

Unlicensed Asian betting sites and bookmakers like those in Poipet function as unofficial agents of the larger Asian betting operators, most of them based in the Philippines. Unlike in regulated markets, syndicates are able to place bets anonymously, with no cash trail to follow or betting patterns to examine if fixing suspicions emerge, said David Forrest, an applied economist who specializes in sports gambling at the University of Salford Business School in Britain.

"Asia is the dominant betting market, even though the sport is European. And most criminals, whether they come from Asia or Europe, will place the bets in Asia because of the non-regulated sector of that market," he said. "It's a huge market, and easy to hide money."

Bookmakers and bettors alike in Poipet are aware that some matches are fixed, but such information is closely held by the syndicates and doesn't reach ordinary gamblers. The Premier League is regarded as fix-proof, but the Italian, Russian and smaller Asian leagues are suspect. The gamblers say it doesn't affect their betting.

___

AP Assistant Europe Editor Sheila Norman-Culp contributed from London.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-15-The%20Dirty%20Game-Betting%20Boomtown/id-ffbdd4b7821c475e9fab47a0d9b3bcac

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Texas-Arlington v Idaho basketball Live Stream 14.02.2013

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Two California Men Indicted in Federal Hate Crime Case Stemming ...

A federal grand jury has indicted two members of the Compton 155 street gang on federal hate crime charges related to a racially motivated attack on four African-American juveniles at a residence in the city of Compton, Calif., on New Year?s Eve.

Jeffrey Aguilar, aka ?Terco,? 19, and Efren Marquez Jr., who is also known as ?Stretch? and ?Junior,? 21, were named in a five-count indictment returned late yesterday by the grand jury.

The indictment specifically charges Aguilar and Marquez with one count of conspiracy to interfere with housing rights and four counts of interfering with housing rights. The indictment alleges that they attempted to intimidate African-Americans from living in Compton.

Aguilar and Marquez allegedly are members of the Compton 155 street gang, which uses violence and threats of violence in an effort to drive African-Americans out of their ?territory? on the west side of Compton. According to the indictment, members of the Compton 155 gang often refer to themselves as ?NK? or ?N***** Killers.? To instill fear in African-Americans, members of the gang tag their gang moniker and ?NK? throughout their ?territory.?

?Hate-fueled crimes have no place in our society,? said U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Andre Birotte Jr. ?No one should have to look over their shoulder in fear because of who they are. Incidents like the one described in the federal indictment prove that we must remain vigilant to ensure that the rights of every single American resident are protected at all times.?

?The Civil Rights Division will continue to protect the right of every person who lives in this country to do so free of racially-based violence and intimidation,? said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.? ?The Justice Department will not tolerate those individuals or gangs who would prevent a family from living in a particular neighborhood simply because of their race or the color of their skin.?

The indictment specifically alleges that on Dec. 31, 2012, Aguilar, Marquez and a co-conspirator confronted an African-American juvenile, who was walking on a street in Compton, and threatened him by referring to themselves as ?NKs.? The 17-year-old victim ran to his girlfriend?s house, where three other African-American juveniles were located. Aguilar and Marquez followed the 17-year-old victim to the home, yelled racial slurs at the four juveniles at the residence, and demanded that the African-Americans get out of the neighborhood.???Aguilar and Marquez then allegedly assaulted the 17-year-old victim with a metal pipe and threatened another juvenile with a gun.

After the juveniles managed to escape and run into the house, the indictment alleges that Aguilar and Marquez left the scene and informed other gang members that the African-American juveniles lived in their ?territory.? Shortly thereafter, Aguilar and approximately 15 other gang members went to the victims? home and threatened them by yelling racial slurs and warning the juveniles that they did not belong in the neighborhood. During this time, a member of the gang smashed one of the windows of the house.

?The FBI is committed to the protection of civil liberties,? said Bill Lewis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI?s Los Angeles Field Office. ?No one should tolerate violence based on the color of their skin or live in fear based on the hatred of others.?

?Hate crimes seriously threaten our society?s democratic principles and affect the entire community,? said Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. ?We had one hate crime in Compton for 2012, but one is too many. Tolerance is the key element of democracy.?

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Aguilar and Marquez had been in state custody on unrelated charges. They were transferred to federal custody early this morning and are expected to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

If convicted, Aguilar and Marquez each would face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each of the five civil rights charges alleged in the indictment.

The case against Aguilar and Marquez is the result of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles County Sheriff?s Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reema El-Amamy of the Violent and Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney?s Office and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Original Article

Topics: Hate Crimes and Hoaxes, Racial Conflict, Segregation

Source: http://www.amren.com/news/2013/02/two-california-men-indicted-in-federal-hate-crime-case-stemming-from-new-years-eve-attack-on-african-american-youths/

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One-man bank keeps German village business running

GAMMESFELD, Germany (Reuters) - Peter Breiter, 41, is an unusual banker. Not for him the big bonuses, complicated financial instruments and multi-million deals.

He is happy instead writing transaction slips out by hand for the 500 inhabitants of the tiny southern German village of Gammesfeld.

"Why would I use a cash machine?" said Friedrich Feldmann, a customer sitting in the bank's small waiting room on his once-weekly visit to withdraw cash. "They cost money anyway."

The Raiffeisen Gammesfeld eG cooperative bank in southern Germany is one of the country's 10 smallest banks by deposits and is the only one to be run by just one member of staff.

Small banks like this dominate the German banking landscape. Rooted in communities, they offer a limited range of accounts and loans to personal and local business customers.

While numbers have shrunk from around 7,000 in the 1970s to around 1,100 now, cooperative banks like Raiffeisen Gammesfeld provide competition for Germany's two largest banks - Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank.

A typical day's work for Breiter involves providing villagers with cash for their day-to-day needs and arranging small loans for local businesses. Not to mention cleaning the one-story building that houses the bank, which is 200 metres from his own front door.

Moving from a bigger bank, where it was all "sell, sell, sell", Gammesfeld-born Breiter says taking up this job in 2008 was the best decision he ever made.

The advertisement required someone to work by hand, without computers. The typewriter and the adding machine bear the signs of constant use, although Breiter, in his standard work outfit of jeans and jumper, does now have a computer.

"It's so much fun," Breiter, a keen mathematician, says as he deals with a steady stream of lunchtime customers. He knows his customers by name and regularly offers advice on jobs, relationship and money woes.

"People said I would get bored, but I'm not," he said.

Breiter doesn't even mind that he gets barely any holiday each year, saying he is happy to settle for weekends skiing in the mountains nearby. "My hobby is my job. What could be finer?"

The cooperatives' existence is entwined closely with that of the Mittelstand, Germany's medium-sized and often family-run firms responsible for much of its export success.

"The Mittelstand is the lifeblood of Germany, and these are often our customers," Steffen Steudel, a spokesman for the BVR cooperative banking group association told Reuters.

Mittelstand customers served by Gammesfeld include farmers, a maker of solar panels with around 100 employees, and a window firm, which supplied the windows for the bank.

CAN WE HAVE ONE TOO?

While many cooperative banks took a hit from the financial crisis, they fared better than some banks because they had mostly not tried to expand too quickly or take on too much risk-laden business.

The shock of seeing big banks go bust has also sparked renewed interest in the cooperatives, seen as steady and reliable, according to the BVR.

"Just as consumers want to know where their food is coming from, they also want to see what the bank is doing with their money," Steudel said.

Raiffeisen Gammesfeld restricts its business to traditional retail banking - no credit cards, shares, funds or even online banking. Annual profits are stable at around 40,000 euros and the biggest loan it ever agreed was for 650,000 euros.

Breiter said the financial crisis prompted interest in his bank from all over Germany: "One person rang up five times asking for a 4 million euro loan but I had to refuse because he wasn't from Gammesfeld!"

Breiter also says people have called to ask how they too can recreate Gammesfeld in their own village, although he says that the model is impossible to start from scratch today because of the sums of money that would be needed.

Breiter is also proud that Gammesfeld is there to serve the community and not just make profit. Each customer is offered the same interest rate, whether they earn 1,000 or 10,000 euros a month.

Inge Dill, whose son went to school with Breiter, says the bank offers the best interest rates around. "Why would I go anywhere else?"

The bank, however, almost did not make it this far.

Back in the 1980s, the bank's previous CEO, Fritz Vogt - whose grandfather founded the bank back in 1870 - had to go through the courts to ensure the bank kept its licence because it did not have a permanent second member of staff to act as a "second pair of eyes" to double-check transactions.

Even now, 82-year old Vogt, whose house backs onto the bank, still pops in each week to help out and cast an eye over the books.

Breiter says he too wants to stay working at the bank as long as possible. "Of course I have to be careful not to withdraw completely into my shell. There's a whole world outside Gammesfeld after all."

(Additional reporting by Lisi Niesner; Editing by Stephen Brown and Peter Graff)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/one-man-bank-keeps-german-village-business-running-100712860--sector.html

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