Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295734546?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, 31 March 2013
Mars sand dunes may hint at water beneath
The discovery, based on research in Alaska, opens a window on processes at play early in Mars' history, when it hosted an environment that could have harbored microbial life.
Dunes spanning an area about the size of Texas in the Martian equivalent of the Arctic.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
EnlargeShifting dunes on Mars, especially those near the planet's north pole, may harbor layers of liquid water not far beneath their ice-encrusted surfaces.
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That is the implication of studies of sand dunes in Alaska's Kobuk Valley National Park, some 380 miles northwest of Fairbanks. There, above the Arctic Circle, researchers using the dunes as stand-ins for dunes on Mars have found evidence for liquid water trapped between the dunes' icy winter coat and subsurface layers of ice or freeze-dried silt that form a temporary, cement-like barrier that prevents the water from percolating deeper into the dune.
The water remains liquid because it exists in an environment of temperature and pressure that allows liquid water, ice, and water vapor to exist side by side.
The discovery of this seasonal mechanism for storing liquid water on Mars-like features at Mars-like temperatures opens a window on processes that could have been at play early in Mars' history, when it hosted an environment that could have harbored microbial life.
?And it could help explain debris flows scientists have spotted on sunlit sections of crater and canyon walls in various locations around the planet.
"Mars has likely had active sand dunes during every geologic era, and some of these eras were warmer and wetter than Mars is today," notes Cynthia Dinwiddie, a researcher with the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo.
"There is some possibility that equivalent processes are currently occurring on Mars," primarily in dune fields in Mars' equivalent of the Arctic, she writes in an email. Still, "the likelihood is even greater that equivalent processes occurred on ancient Mars."
The dune field in Alaska that Dr. Dinwiddie and Southwest Research Institute colleague Don Hooper study sits on the boundary between boreal forests to the south and Arctic tundra to the north. Known as the Great Kobuk Sand Dune field, the sands were first formed during ice ages that occurred between 300,000 and 130,000 years ago.
Glaciers sculpted the Brooks Range to the north and left the sandy debris in the Kobuk River Valley. There, wind, meltwater, and more-recent ice ages would continue to rework the material to leave some 24 square miles of mobile dunes on the surface and another 250 square miles of sandy soils that don't get around much anymore.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/0VeKzHi3DNg/Mars-sand-dunes-may-hint-at-water-beneath
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Restorative justice: One high school's path to reducing suspensions by half
In one tough high school in Oakland, Calif., a restorative justice program has cut suspensions in half in just a year.
Ralph J. Bunche Academy principal Betsye Steele speaks to students at the alternative school's restorative justice appreciation lunch on March 14 in Oakland, California.
Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor
EnlargeIn the open-air corridor just outside his classroom, Eric Butler could hear snatches of escalating conflict: two girls talking trash about Mercedes Morgan ? calling her the B-word and, even worse, a liar.
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He saw Mercedes standing apart, pretending not to hear. He called the senior into his room. She was reluctant, resisting his first attempt to find out what was going on. So he started over and introduced himself, made her laugh, asked about her life. He didn't dress or talk like a typical teacher, and he lived nearby in the 'hood.
Here's what really got her curious: He apologized. He told her what he always tells students when he first introduces himself as the restorative justice coordinator at Ralph J. Bunche Academy: "A lot of adults have been promising you things and not following through, and I'm sorry for that. It won't happen with me. I don't blame. I don't punish."
His role, he explained, is to help people resolve problems and repair harm.
Mercedes finally opened up, telling him her friend was accusing her of stealing shoes from her house. It took another half-hour before she trusted him enough to admit it was true ? and that she'd been afraid of what might happen if she "punked out" and didn't fight. The 18-year-old had been fighting with girls since elementary school, as if she didn't know any other way.
All three girls agreed to attend a "circle," an eye-to-eye talk in the folding chairs in "Eric's room" that are always set up in the round. The anger was palpable at first, but Mercedes apologized ? and explained that she'd stolen the shoes to sell them so she could help her mom pay for a drug test. If her mom could prove to the court that she was clean, she might be able to get Mercedes's younger siblings returned to her from protective custody. When the other girls saw Mercedes crying, they empathized and gave her a hug. They didn't ask her to replace what she'd stolen, but they wanted to know that, going forward, she would be trustworthy.
That was shortly after Mercedes had arrived last fall at the 250-student Bunche Academy, a continuation school where she was sent after being expelled because of too many fights at Oakland High School.
"It was cool, because if Eric wasn't here, I probably would have been suspended, but he taught me a way to handle things," Mercedes says. She has surprised herself by managing to avoid fights ever since.
Restorative justice, which has cut suspensions by more than half at Bunche, is one of several strategies the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is embracing as it attempts a seismic shift in the culture of discipline ? from punitive to preventive, exclusion to inclusion.
A model of restorative justice
Increasingly, adults here are tossing lifelines to students who've had trouble at home, felt harassed by police, or witnessed traumatizing crimes in one of the most violent cities in the country. Oakland's overall rate of suspension mirrors the nation's, with about 7 percent of OUSD students suspended in the 2010-11 school year. School discipline is now a focus because, for years, African-American students have been suspended and expelled at very high rates.
In the 2011-12 school year, African-Americans made up 32 percent of Oakland's students but 63 percent of the students suspended. In middle schools, principals suspended about 1 out of 3 black boys.
The US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights investigated whether the discipline was discriminatory. Before making a legal finding, OCR collaborated with the district last fall on a five-year voluntary resolution plan to reduce suspensions, expulsions, and the racial disparity.
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Saturday, 30 March 2013
Business, labor groups reach immigration deal as overhaul advances
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major U.S. business and labor groups have reached an agreement on a guest-worker program that removes a major hurdle to a broad immigration overhaul and clears the way for Senate legislation to be introduced soon, a source familiar with the deal said on Saturday.
The agreement was reached on Friday night between the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donohue, and the president of the AFL-CIO labor organization, Richard Trumka, with New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer acting as the mediator, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A guest-worker program has been a major stumbling block to efforts by a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Eight to come up with a compromise on a way to create a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
Labor unions have worried that a flood of low-wage immigrant laborers would take away jobs from Americans. The agreement covers the pay levels for low-skilled temporary workers and the types of jobs that would be included.
Schumer briefed White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on Saturday on the breakthrough, the source said.
The agreement still must be approved by the Gang of Eight senators. If they do so as expected, Senate legislation on a broad new immigration law would be advanced in the Senate in the coming weeks.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Will Dunham)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/business-labor-groups-reach-immigration-deal-overhaul-advances-193136796.html
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Kansas Couple: Indoor Gardening Prompted Pot Raid ? CBS St. Louis
File photo of a garden. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
LEAWOOD, Kan. (AP) ? Two former CIA employees whose Kansas home was fruitlessly searched for marijuana during a two-state drug sweep claim they were illegally targeted, possibly because they had bought indoor growing supplies to raise vegetables.
Adlynn and Robert Harte sued this week to get more information about why sheriff?s deputies searched their home in the upscale Kanas City suburb of Leawood last April 20 as part of Operation Constant Gardener ? a sweep conducted by agencies in Kansas and Missouri that netted marijuana plants, processed marijuana, guns, growing paraphernalia and cash from several other locations.
April 20 long has been used by marijuana enthusiasts to celebrate the illegal drug and more recently by law enforcement for raids and crackdowns. But the Hartes? attorney, Cheryl Pilate, said she suspects the couple?s 1,825-square-foot split level was targeted because they had bought hydroponic equipment to grow a small number of tomatoes and squash plants in their basement.
?With little or no other evidence of any illegal activity, law enforcement officers make the assumption that shoppers at the store are potential marijuana growers, even though the stores are most commonly frequented by backyard gardeners who grow organically or start seedlings indoors,? the couple?s lawsuit says.
The couple filed the suit this week under the Kansas Open Records Act after Johnson County and Leawood denied their initial records requests, with Leawood saying it had no relevant records. The Hartes say the public has an interest in knowing whether the sheriff?s department?s participation in the raids was ?based on a well-founded belief of marijuana use and cultivation at the targeted addresses, or whether the raids primarily served a publicity purpose.?
?If this can happen to us and we are educated and have reasonable resources, how does somebody who maybe hasn?t led a perfect life supposed to be free in this country?? Adlynn Harte said in an interview Friday.
The suit filed in Johnson County District Court said the couple and their two children ? a 7-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son ? were ?shocked and frightened? when deputies armed with assault rifles and wearing bulletproof vests pounded on the door of their home around 7:30 a.m. last April 20.
?It was just like on the cops TV shows,? Robert Harte told The Associated Press. ?It was like ?Zero Dark Thirty? ready to storm the compound.?
During the sweep, the court filing said, the Hartes were told they had been under surveillance for months, but the couple ?know of no basis for conducting such surveillance nor do they believe such surveillance would have produced any facts supporting the issuance of a search warrant.?
Harte said he built the hydroponic garden with his son a couple of years ago. He said they didn?t use the powerful light bulbs that are sometimes used to grow marijuana and that the family?s electricity usage didn?t change dramatically. Changes in utility usage can sometimes lead authorities to such operations.
When law enforcement arrived, the family had just six plants ? three tomato plants, one melon plant and two butternut squash plants ? growing in the basement, Harte said.
The suit also said deputies ?made rude comments? and implied their son was using marijuana. A drug-sniffing dog was brought in to help, but deputies ultimately left after providing a receipt stating, ?No items taken.?
Pilate said no one in the Harte family uses illegal drugs and no charges were filed. The lawsuit noted Adlynn Harte, who works for a financial planning firm, and Robert Harte, who cares for the couple?s children, each were required to pass rigorous background checks for their previous jobs working for the CIA in Washington, D.C. Pilate said she couldn?t provide any other details about their CIA employment.
Pilate said any details gleaned from the open records suit could be used in a future federal civil rights lawsuit.
?You can?t go into people?s homes and conduct searches without probable cause,? Pilate said.
Leawood City Administrator Scott Lambers said Friday that he couldn?t comment on pending litigation. The sheriff?s office also had no comment.
?Obviously with an ongoing lawsuit we are not able to talk about any details of it until it?s been played out in court,? said Johnson County Deputy Tom Erickson.
(? Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Source: http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/03/29/kansas-couple-indoor-gardening-prompted-pot-raid/
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NYPD braces for 'wilding' gang violence in Times Square on Easter
By Ida Siegal, NBCNewYork.com
NEW YORK CITY -- The NYPD is again planning to beef up patrols in Times Square and Midtown the night of Easter Sunday, a day that in recent years has seen violence as part of a yearly gang initiation ritual following the Javits Center car show.
Police say the Easter Day "wilding" started years ago but became especially violent in 2010, when hundreds of gang members attended the annual auto show at the Javits Center, then conducted gang initiations in Times Square.
Two women were shot during the sprawling brawl, two other people were wounded and several police officers injured. More than 50 people were arrested.
Since then, police have beefed up Easter patrols and monitored activity at the car show. The Daily News reports the NYPD is also monitoring social media to look for gang members who may be planning a "mobbing" through Times Square.
Read more news from NBCNewYork.com
There have not been any gang incidents on Easter since 2010, and the NYPD is looking to keep it that way.
"For me, it's a religious holiday and it should be respected," said Michael Hoard in Times Square Friday night.
The police "are here to protect us, that's the bottom line," said Al Centrella of Hempstead, who was in the area with his wife to see a show.
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Friday, 29 March 2013
Look and feel your best with health-boosting beauty detox foods ...
Th? foods ??? eat n?t ?n?? play a role ?n h?w ??? feel, th?? ??n ???? impact th? way ??? look. An unhealthy diet ??n mean ???? skin, dry hair, brittle nails ?n? blemishes, ?m?n? a whole host ?f ?th?r problems.
Best beauty detox foods
W??re sharing ??m? ?f th? best foods ??? ??n eat t? boost n?t ?n?? ???r appearance b?t ???? ???r overall health.
W? ??k?? Kimberly Snyder, celebrity nutritionist ?n? author ?f Th? Beauty Detox Foods, t? share ??m? ?f th? healthiest ? ?n? m??t beauty-boosting foods ? t? add t? ???r diet.
Cabbage
Cabbage m??ht n?t b? pretty t? look ?t, b?t ?t ???? ?h?w th?t beauty-boosting foods don?t always h??? t? b? exotic ?r rare t? b? beneficial. ?Cabbage contains vitamins A, C ?n? E, m?k?n? ?t a ?r??t skin ?n? hair food,? ???? Snyder. ?It ?? n?t commonly known th?t cabbages actually contain ?b??t 11 percent more vitamin C th?n oranges b? weight, ?n? vitamin C ?? th? super anti-aging nutrient th?t helps heal ??m???? tissues ?n? boosts collagen production,? ?h? ??????n?. ?It?s ???? high ?n fiber, wh??h ?? ?m??rt?nt f?r ongoing cleansing, a critical component ?f boosting beauty.? Chop ?t ?nt? salads, add ?t t? stir-fries ?n? stir ?t ?nt? soups.
Turmeric
Turmeric ?? popping up ?n more ?n? more m??t-try lists due t? th? number ?f health benefits ?t offers. ?Turmeric keeps red blood cells fr?m clumping, promotes th??r formation, increases circulation ?n? aids ?n tissue healing,? ???? Snyder. ?B?????? ?t helps increase circulation via better blood flow, turmeric helps m?k? th? skin more glowing, supple ?n? healthy looking,? ?h? adds. ?Cleansed blood ???? helps prevent acne ?n? skin disorders.? U?? turmeric ?? a seasoning ?n sauces, marinades ?n? dressings.
Lemon
If ??? want clear, glowing ?n? blemish-free skin, m?k? sure lemons ?r? ??rt ?f ???r daily diet. ?Lemon aids w?th digestion b? increasing th? secretion ?f bile fr?m th? liver, wh??? ???? acting ?? a strengthening agent f?r th? liver?s enzymes. An? support t? th? liver, wh??h ?? ??r primary detoxifying organ, ?? going t? h??? clear up acne ?n th? long r?n,? ??????n? Snyder. ?Lemon ?? ???? a vitamin C-rich citrus fruit th?t helps bring a radiant glow t? ???r complexion, fighting wrinkles ?n? rejuvenating skin fr?m within. It ???? contains th? minerals calcium, potassium ?n? magnesium.? Sip warm lemon water ?n th? morning (?r through th? day) ?n? ??? lemon ?? a seasoning f?r seafood ?n? salad.
Th? food-beauty connection
Th? connection between food ?n? beauty ?? a strong one. J??t b? changing th? foods ??? eat, ??? ??n m?k? a b?? change ?n th? way ??? look ?n? feel. Beyond ???t numbers (counting calories, carbs, etc.), Snyder ???? th?t ?t?s ?m??rt?nt t? take ?nt? account h?w a food digests ?n ???r body (?f ?t ?? alkaline-forming ?r acid-forming, whether ?t ?? non-processed, contains fiber, etc.). ?Wh?n w? eat lots ?f acid-forming foods w? ?r??t? toxicity ?n th? body ?n? tend t? hold onto more weight. Alkaline-foods m?k? ??r body more alkaline, ?n? wh?n ??r body ?? more alkaline w? ?r? generally more b???t?f??, healthy ?n? balanced,? ?h? ??????n?. ?Th? truly alkaline foods ?r? fresh fruits ?n? vegetables, wh??h ?r? ???? loaded w?th fiber.?
Y?? ??n t??? a lot ?b??t a person?s diet b? th??r looks. Snyder meets many young women w?th faces th?t ?t?rt t? look hard ?n? lined ?t a f??r?? young age, something ?h? calls th? ???? skinny? look. ?It ?? n? surprise th?t m??t ??? ?f th?m ?r? eating a mostly acidic diet ?n?/?r ?r? constipated. Constipation ?? th? death ?f beauty; th? holding ?n ?f toxicity ?n? waste, wh??h th?n recirculate, wh??? space ?n th? body f?r oxygen t? flow through decreases,? ?h? ??????n?. ?Adding more fiber ?? critical. Th? easiest way t? ?? th?t ?? t? h??? a Glowing Green Smoothie ???r? day.? W? ??k?? Snyder t? share th? recipe (see below). Each 16-ounce serving supplies ??m??t 13.5 grams ?f fiber.
Beauty detox m??t-haves
Ready t? stock ???r fridge w?th th? best ?n beauty detox foods? Aside fr?m th? items already mentioned, Snyder shares a few ?th?r foods ?h? always h?? ?n hand.
Salad ingredients: Stock up ?n ??rk leafy greens ??k? kale, spinach ?r romaine, ?n? sprouts, ?? th?r? ?? n? excuse n?t t? toss together a q???k salad ?t lunch ?n? dinner.
Q???k dinner ingredients: Always keep lemons ?n hand, ?? well ?? quinoa, squash, sweet potatoes ?n? avocados. ?Th??? ?r? easy foods t? grab ?n? th?t store well f?r ?t ????t a few days, ?? ????re never ?n a h??? bind,? ???? Snyder. ?Y?? ??n always cook quinoa ?n 12 minutes ?n? eat a b?? salad w?th ?t ?? a simple dinner.?
Healthy snacks: If ??? ??k? t? snack, keep veggie sticks ?n? hummus ?r salsa around, ?r even ??m? gluten-free crackers.
?Stocking ???r house w?th th??? ????-f?r-??? ingredients means ????ll b? more willing t? snack ?n those wh?n ????re hungry. G? t? th? grocery store ?t ????t once a week.?
G?t glowing w?th th? Glowing Green Smoothie
Th? N?. 1 thing Snyder recommends t? ??? ?f h?r celebrity clients ?? t? ?t?rt drinking h?r Glowing Green Smoothie ???r? day f?r breakfast t? kick-?t?rt th??r healthier lifestyle. ?It?s such ?n easy way t? boost ???r beauty ???r? day ? ???r skin w??? ?t?rt t? glow. It?s packed w?th more greens th?n m??t people w???? ??t ?n ?n entire day, though th? fruit ?n? lemon h??? ?t taste yummy,? ?h? ????. ?Y???ll ingest a ?r??t deal ?f vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants ?n? minerals, plus ?t w??? give ??? a h??? boost ?f energy th?t ??? wouldn?t ??t fr?m a standard breakfast.?
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1 head organic romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 stalks organic celery
1/2 ?f a large bunch ?f spinach ?r 3/4 ?f a small bunch ?f spinach
1 organic apple, cored ?n? chopped
1 organic pear, cored ?n? chopped
1 organic banana
Juice ?f half ?f a fresh organic lemon
Optional:
1/3 bunch organic cilantro (stems OK)
1/3 bunch organic parsley (stems OK)
Directions:
Add th? water ?n? chopped head ?f romaine t? th? blender. Starting th? blender ?t low speed, mix until smooth.
Gradually moving t? higher speeds, add th? celery, apple ?n? pear. Add th? cilantro ?n? parsley ?? desired. Add th? banana ?n? lemon juice last.
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Source: http://mybodyhealth.net/look-and-feel-your-best-with-health-boosting-beauty-detox-foods/
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Social App MeetMe Introduces In-Feed Advertising With Flurry Partnership
Social discovery startup MeetMe is ramping up the advertising in its smartphone app. CEO Geoff Cook told me via email that the app was already running ads, for example at the top of the screen, but its mobile monetization efforts have been more focused on payments. The new ads, which are being introduced through a partnership with Flurry, will appear in the Live Stream, offering a more "native" approach, Cook said: "This is the first time we are placing ads within the context of the application itself, where the user encounters advertising while scrolling. The ads look and feel more like content with social cues like ratings and comments surfaced."Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/032orbGo7JM/
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Thursday, 28 March 2013
Worker denies drinking thousands of dollars of old whiskey mansion
SCOTTDALE, Pa. (AP) ? The former live-in caretaker of a southwestern Pennsylvania mansion is denying he drank four dozen bottles of well-aged whiskey, saying it wouldn't have been safe to drink and "evaporated" instead.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/16jQrhx ) reports 63-year-old John Saunders issued that denial outside a district judge's courtroom on Wednesday. It came after his preliminary hearing on theft and other charges was postponed until May 15 so he could apply for a public defender.
Owner Patricia Hill found 52 bottles of Old Farm Pure Rye Whiskey in a century-old Georgian mansion she bought last year and police say an expert appraised them at more than $102,000.
Scottdale police charged Saunders with stealing the whiskey ? by drinking it ? after his DNA was found on some empty bottles.
Saunders says Hill is exaggerating the whiskey's value.
___
Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/worker-denies-drinking-old-whiskey-pa-mansion-132227763.html
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Sun block for the 'Big Dog': Astronomers detect titanium oxide and titanium dioxide around the giant star VY Canis Majoris
Mar. 27, 2013 ? An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and from the University of Cologne, successfully identified two titanium oxides in the extended atmosphere around a giant star. The object VY Canis Major is one of the largest stars in the known universe and close to the end of its life. The detection was made using telescope arrays in the USA and in France.
The discovery was made in the course of a study of a spectacular star, VY Canis Majoris or VY CMa for short, which is a variable star located in the constellation Canis Major (Greater Dog). "VY CMa is not an ordinary star, it is one of the largest stars known, and it is close the end of its life," says Tomasz Kami?ski from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR). In fact, with a size of about one to two thousand times that of the Sun, it could extend out to the orbit of Saturn if it were placed in the centre of our Solar System.
The star ejects large quantities of material which forms a dusty nebula. It becomes visible because of the small dust particles that form around it which reflect light from the central star. The complexity of this nebula has been puzzling astronomers for decades. It has been formed as a result of stellar wind, but it is not understood well why it is so far from having a spherical shape.
Neither is known what physical process blows the wind, i.e. what lifts the material up from the stellar surface and makes it expand. "The fate of VY CMa is to explode as a supernova, but it is not known exactly when it will happen," adds Karl Menten, head of the "Millimetre and Submillimetre Astronomy" Department at MPIfR.
Observations at different wavelengths provide different pieces of information which is characteristic for atomic and molecular gas and from which physical properties of an astronomical object can be derived. Each molecule has a characteristic set of lines, something like a 'bar code', that allows to identify what molecules exist in the nebula.
"Emission at short radio wavelengths, in so-called submillimetre waves, is particularly useful for such studies of molecules," says Sandra Br?nken from the University of Cologne. "The identification of molecules is easier and usually a larger abundance of molecules can be observed than at other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum."
The research team observed TiO and TiO2 for the first time at radio wavelengths. In fact, titanium dioxide has been seen in space unambiguously for the first time. It is known from every-day life as the main component of the commercially most important white pigment (known by painters as "titanium white") or as an ingredient in sunscreens. It is also quite possible that the reader consumed some amounts of it as it is used to colour food (coded as E171 in the labels).
However, stars, especially the coolest of them, are expected to eject large quantities of titanium oxides, which, according to theory, form at relatively high temperatures close to the star. "They tend to cluster together to form dust particles visible in the optical or in the infrared," says Nimesh Patel from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "And the catalytic properties of TiO2 may influence the chemical processes taking place on these dust particles, which are very important for forming larger molecules in space," adds Holger M?ller from the University of Cologne.
Absorption features of TiO have been known from spectra in the visible region for more than a hundred years. In fact, these features are used in part to classify some types of stars with low surface temperatures (M- and S-type stars). The pulsation of Mira stars, one specific class of variable stars, is thought to be caused by titanium oxide. Mira stars, supergiant variable stars in a late stage of their evolution, are named after their prototype star "Mira" (the wonderful) in the constellation of Cetus (the 'sea monster' or the 'whale').
The observations of TiO and TiO2 show that the two molecules are easily formed around VY CMa at a location that is more or less as predicted by theory. It seems, however, that some portion of those molecules avoid forming dust and are observable as gas phase species. Another possibility is that the dust is destroyed in the nebula and releases fresh TiO molecules back to the gas. The latter scenario is quite likely as parts of the wind in VY CMa seem to collide with each other.
The new detections at submillimetre wavelengths are particularly important because they allow studying the process of dust formation. Also, at optical wavelengths, the radiation emitted by the molecules is scattered by dust present in the extended nebula which blurs the picture, while this effect is negligible at radio wavelengths allowing for more precise measurements.
The discoveries of TiO and TiO2 in the spectrum of VY CMa have been made with the Submillimetre Array (SMA), a radio interferometer located at Hawaii, USA. Because the instrument combines eight antennas which worked together as one big telescope 226-meters in size, astronomers were able to make observations at unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. A confirmation of the new detections was successively made later with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) located in the French Alps.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- T. Kami?ski, C. A. Gottlieb, K. M. Menten, N. A. Patel, K. H. Young, S. Br?nken, H. S. P. M?ller, M. C. McCarthy, J. M. Winters, L. Decin. Pure rotational spectra of TiO and TiO2in VY Canis Majoris. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2013; 551: A113 DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201220290
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/top_news/~3/2TrLzq1N3xU/130327143841.htm
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A Wooden Chair That's As Comfy As a Cushion
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/sBabBzs3ZgM/a-wooden-chair-thats-as-comfy-as-a-cushion
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Samsung Galaxy S 4 hits the FCC in MetroPCS and Sprint forms
Get ready for a small deluge of Galaxy S 4 filings at the FCC in the near future. Just a couple of weeks after Samsung's flagship hit the US agency in its international guise, we're now seeing the first US editions of the smartphone receive approval, starting with both MetroPCS (SCH-R970) and Sprint (SPH-L720) examples. Either has CDMA, EV-DO and LTE, although there's variances you'll want to watch for if you're free to choose between carriers: the Sprint version has HSPA 3G for world roaming, while the MetroPCS model drops HSPA but has a broad four bands of LTE meant mostly to support other mid-size American networks, like US Cellular. We still have AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon to go among the bigger US providers supporting the GS4, although it's just a matter of time before their models make FCC appearances.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Sprint
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/27/samsung-galaxy-s-4-hits-the-fcc-in-metropcs-and-sprint-forms/
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Wednesday, 27 March 2013
10 Things We Wish Ryan Gosling Would Say to Us
Now that The Place Beyond the Pines is hitting theaters, we're gearing up for some quality time with our boyfriend Ryan Gosling. (Okay, fine, he's not our boyfriend, but as soon as Eva Mendes is done with him, we call dibs.) Though he's threatened to take a break from acting -- say it ain't so! -- he's given us plenty of magical moments to re-watch over and over. Here, 10 things we wish we could hear Ryan Gosling say to us in real life!
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UK "snoopers charter" pits privacy against security
By Michael Holden and Kate Holton
LONDON (Reuters) - At the height of an investigation into a group of Islamists plotting al Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks across Britain in 2004, British spies analyzed more than 4,000 telephone contacts to build up a picture of what they were planning and with whom.
The security services say the information was crucial in helping to thwart what could have been one of the deadliest attacks on Britain and to bring the cell to justice.
But a decade on, the police and intelligence agencies warn they have fallen behind those they are trying to track, as advances in technology and the growth of services like Skype and Facebook, increasingly put criminals beyond their reach.
In response, Britain is seeking to bring in what critics say are the West's most far-reaching surveillance laws that could change the international landscape in this area. The proposals would force communications firms to collect and store vast reams of data about almost every click of British online activity.
By doing so, ministers have provoked the wrath of human rights campaigners, sown division within the coalition government and alarmed major corporations such as Google and Microsoft.
"Nobody wants to live in a tyranny. I certainly don't and I don't want people snooping on what I do," said Gary Beautridge, the lead chief British police officer on the issue.
"This is about maintaining capability. It's not increasing capability, it's maintaining it in the face of change in technology," he said, rejecting talk of an Orwellian scheme.
Beautridge and all those involved in law enforcement say they are now unable to see about 25 percent of all communications data, hindering the secret war against bomb plotters, drug lords and pedophiles.
SECRET WAR
Almost everyone, from lawmakers to privacy campaigners, accepts something needs to be done. But trying to find a solution that is technically possible, will not cost billions and is not overly intrusive is proving a challenge.
Politicians across the world are grappling with the same problem but privacy campaigners say Britain is going further than any other democratic state.
Some countries such as France and Denmark are interested in new laws but campaigners said most other states had so far steered clear.
"The UK is the first mover in this. If the UK is successful, they will have changed the landscape for the rest of the world," said Gus Hosein, Executive Director of Privacy International.
Currently, if British authorities want to find out details about who has been talking to who they make a request to a senior police or intelligence officer who can approve the application without the need for a warrant.
British mobile and landline telephone providers must retain records for 12 months, in line with an EU directive, and figures for 2011 show some 494,078 applications were made.
Now Britain's Home Office, or interior ministry, plans to expand these powers to include online activities, such as which web sites were looked at and who was talking to who on social networks.
The new law would force British Internet service providers (ISP) and mobile operators to store data they would not normally keep for billing purposes and could even require them to keep data generated by internet groups based outside Britain.
The government insists it does not want to look at the content of the exchanges, but merely the details of the contact.
"NO FISHING EXPEDITIONS"
"All we're talking about is keeping the communications log of actually who owns that account, when a call was made and to whom or from whom and that is it," Beautridge said.
"It's not the content, it's never the content. Fishing expeditions should not happen. The processes have been designed to ensure that."
However, last December a draft version of the bill was heavily criticized by a parliamentary committee, which said it was too sweeping in its remit, would give ministers too much power and was likely to be too expensive.
The government is now expected to outline an amended bill in weeks with many of the same powers, according to sources familiar with discussions, having made it clear it cannot wait.
"Technical experts are clear that everything in the bill is feasible and we are continuing to consult with communications service providers on our proposals," said a Home Office spokeswoman, adding the aim was to bring a law forward "at the earliest opportunity" along with its cost implications.
Unlike the original plans which placed huge powers in the hands of the home secretary, the new proposals are likely to give parliament a greater say in what is permissible.
But privacy campaigners warn that might just put a gloss on something still unpalatable, putting in place a system which could be extended at a later date.
"If the police want to investigate me, they should be able to ask any company that has data on me to disclose that information. That's generally not a problem," said Hosein from Privacy International.
"The problem is the Home Office want much more than that. They want these companies to record these activities just in case at some point in the future I may become a suspect. That's not the way things work in a democratic society."
Among the concerns are proposals that service providers keep weblogs - records of websites people have visited - and a "filter" system which would ask them complex questions and filter data accordingly, something Hosein describes as mass surveillance.
"Having a list for 12 months of every single website you go to, that's quite a lot of information about yourself, very personal information," said Julien Huppert, who speaks on the issue for the Liberal Democrats, the junior members of Britain's coalition government.
But it's not just the rights or wrongs of the system at stake, there are also concerns it will not work in a world of mass communications provided by firms located across the globe.
One of the main sticking points will be how the authorities get information from so-called third party service providers based outside British jurisdiction, such as Google's Gmail, Facebook and Microsoft's Skype.
British-based mobile operators have told Reuters they are happy to cooperate with the government, but they insist that the same rules must apply to the likes of Facebook.
"From a security point of view, you need to be able to have access to the full pool of communication otherwise you're fishing in a sub-set of a sub-set," said Ronan Dunne, the chief executive of O2 UK.
DEEP-PACKET INSPECTION
If internet groups based outside Britain do not comply, the Home Office envisages forcing the British Internet Service Providers who carry their services to access the data instead, through a process known as deep-packet inspection.
But, it is not clear if this will be technically possible. Google has said it would not allow another service provider to decrypt its information on its Gmail service, and Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, has said he would not cooperate.
"If we find that UK ISPs are mandated to keep track of every web page that someone reads on Wikipedia, I am almost certain ... that we would immediately move to a default of encrypting all the connections to the UK," Wales said.
The government, which has already spent 400 million pounds so far on the scheme without it getting off the ground, has estimated that it would cost 1.8 billion pounds over the 10 years until 2020-1, a figure that has been disputed. The Treasury has also said the funds have not been approved.
"We got widely divergent estimates of the cost and none of them were lower than the Home Office suggestion," said lawmaker Stephen Mosley, a member of Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservative Party who sat on the parliamentary committee which scrutinized the draft bill.
Polls indicate that the majority of Britons do not like the plans, think they are a waste of money and do not have faith that the information will be secure.
Mosley, co-chairman of the Parliamentary Internet, Communications and Technology Forum, warned it was vital that any law could not give succor to draconian regimes which sought to censor their citizens activities.
"We as a country do want to be a beacon for freedom and liberty. We've got to make sure that legislation we introduce can't be misused elsewhere," he said.
(Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Anna Willard)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-snoopers-charter-pits-privacy-against-security-105141016--finance.html
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Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Mindfulness improves reading ability, working memory, and task-focus
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 26-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Sonia Fernandez
sonia.fernandez@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-4765
University of California - Santa Barbara
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) If you think your inability to concentrate is a hopeless condition, think again and breathe, and focus. According to a study by researchers at the UC Santa Barbara, as little as two weeks of mindfulness training can significantly improve one's reading comprehension, working memory capacity, and ability to focus.
Their findings were recently published online in the empirical psychology journal Psychological Science.
"What surprised me the most was actually the clarity of the results," said Michael Mrazek, graduate student researcher in psychology and the lead and corresponding author of the paper, "Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering." "Even with a rigorous design and effective training program, it wouldn't be unusual to find mixed results. But we found reduced mind-wandering in every way we measured it."
Many psychologists define mindfulness as a state of non-distraction characterized by full engagement with our current task or situation. For much of our waking hours, however, we are anything but mindful. We tend to replay past events like the fight we just had or the person who just cut us off on the freeway or we think ahead to future circumstances, such as our plans for the weekend.
Mind-wandering may not be a serious issue in many circumstances, but in tasks requiring attention, the ability to stay focused is crucial.
To investigate whether mindfulness training can reduce mind-wandering and thereby improve performance, the scientists randomly assigned 48 undergraduate students to either a class that taught the practice of mindfulness or a class that covered fundamental topics in nutrition. Both classes were taught by professionals with extensive teaching experience in their fields. Within a week before the classes, the students were given two tests: a modified verbal reasoning test from the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and a working memory capacity (WMC) test. Mind-wandering during both tests was also measured.
The mindfulness classes provided a conceptual introduction along with practical instruction on how to practice mindfulness in both targeted exercises and daily life. Meanwhile, the nutrition class taught nutrition science and strategies for healthy eating, and required students to log their daily food intake.
Within a week after the classes ended, the students were tested again. Their scores indicated that the mindfulness group significantly improved on both the verbal GRE test and the working memory capacity test. They also mind-wandered less during testing. None of these changes were true of the nutrition group.
"This is the most complete and rigorous demonstration that mindfulness can reduce mind-wandering, one of the clearest demonstrations that mindfulness can improve working memory and reading, and the first study to tie all this together to show that mind-wandering mediates the improvements in performance," said Mrazek. He added that the research establishes with greater certainty that some cognitive abilities often seen as immutable, such as working memory capacity, can be improved through mindfulness training.
Mrazek and the rest of the research team which includes Michael S. Franklin, project scientist; mindfulness teacher and research specialist Dawa Tarchin Phillips; graduate student Benjamin Baird; and senior investigator Jonathan Schooler, professor of psychological and brain sciences are extending their work by investigating whether similar results can be achieved with younger populations, or with web-based mindfulness interventions. They are also examining whether or not the benefits of mindfulness can be compounded by a program of personal development that also targets nutrition, exercise, sleep, and personal relationships.
###
For more information on the mindfulness training program, contact Dawa Tarchin Phillips at (805) 680-3988 or phillips@psych.ucsb.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 26-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Sonia Fernandez
sonia.fernandez@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-4765
University of California - Santa Barbara
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) If you think your inability to concentrate is a hopeless condition, think again and breathe, and focus. According to a study by researchers at the UC Santa Barbara, as little as two weeks of mindfulness training can significantly improve one's reading comprehension, working memory capacity, and ability to focus.
Their findings were recently published online in the empirical psychology journal Psychological Science.
"What surprised me the most was actually the clarity of the results," said Michael Mrazek, graduate student researcher in psychology and the lead and corresponding author of the paper, "Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering." "Even with a rigorous design and effective training program, it wouldn't be unusual to find mixed results. But we found reduced mind-wandering in every way we measured it."
Many psychologists define mindfulness as a state of non-distraction characterized by full engagement with our current task or situation. For much of our waking hours, however, we are anything but mindful. We tend to replay past events like the fight we just had or the person who just cut us off on the freeway or we think ahead to future circumstances, such as our plans for the weekend.
Mind-wandering may not be a serious issue in many circumstances, but in tasks requiring attention, the ability to stay focused is crucial.
To investigate whether mindfulness training can reduce mind-wandering and thereby improve performance, the scientists randomly assigned 48 undergraduate students to either a class that taught the practice of mindfulness or a class that covered fundamental topics in nutrition. Both classes were taught by professionals with extensive teaching experience in their fields. Within a week before the classes, the students were given two tests: a modified verbal reasoning test from the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and a working memory capacity (WMC) test. Mind-wandering during both tests was also measured.
The mindfulness classes provided a conceptual introduction along with practical instruction on how to practice mindfulness in both targeted exercises and daily life. Meanwhile, the nutrition class taught nutrition science and strategies for healthy eating, and required students to log their daily food intake.
Within a week after the classes ended, the students were tested again. Their scores indicated that the mindfulness group significantly improved on both the verbal GRE test and the working memory capacity test. They also mind-wandered less during testing. None of these changes were true of the nutrition group.
"This is the most complete and rigorous demonstration that mindfulness can reduce mind-wandering, one of the clearest demonstrations that mindfulness can improve working memory and reading, and the first study to tie all this together to show that mind-wandering mediates the improvements in performance," said Mrazek. He added that the research establishes with greater certainty that some cognitive abilities often seen as immutable, such as working memory capacity, can be improved through mindfulness training.
Mrazek and the rest of the research team which includes Michael S. Franklin, project scientist; mindfulness teacher and research specialist Dawa Tarchin Phillips; graduate student Benjamin Baird; and senior investigator Jonathan Schooler, professor of psychological and brain sciences are extending their work by investigating whether similar results can be achieved with younger populations, or with web-based mindfulness interventions. They are also examining whether or not the benefits of mindfulness can be compounded by a program of personal development that also targets nutrition, exercise, sleep, and personal relationships.
###
For more information on the mindfulness training program, contact Dawa Tarchin Phillips at (805) 680-3988 or phillips@psych.ucsb.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uoc--mir032613.php
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'Breaking Bad' script stolen from Cranston's car
By Sophie Schillaci, The Hollywood Reporter
Ursula Coyote / AMC
Bryan Cranston as Walter White on "Breaking Bad."
"Breaking Bad?s" tightly guarded secrets could come to light before the series returns this summer.?
Star?Bryan Cranston?reported a theft on March 1, alleging that someone broke his car window and snatched a shoulder bag containing an iPad and his "Breaking Bad"?script, according to Albuquerque?s ABC affiliate,?KOAT-TV.
Photos from THR: 'Breaking Bad' principals strike a pose for THR
Court documents obtained by?ABCNews.com?reveal that one of Cranston?s employees,?Taryn Feingold, was contacted by a confidential informant, who reportedly overheard a man at a local bar boasting about how he broke into a vehicle in the Sandia Mountain Range. He then reportedly showed his company ?some type of laptop or iPad,? according to the complaint, while ?describing how he also had a script from the 'Breaking Bad'?series.?
On Saturday, the Bernalillo County Sheriff?s Office arrested suspect?Xavier McAfee?for burglary, the complaint states.
Photos from THR: Cooking up season 5 on set with Cranston and Vince Gilligan
The hit AMC series is currently wrapping up its final season with eight episodes remaining. Cranston, 57, plays high-school chemistry teacher Walter White, who becomes entangled in the world of meth dealing after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. A date has not yet been set for its return.
A rep for Cranston did not immediately return?The Hollywood Reporter's request for comment.
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We're Jealous! Celebrity Kids with Awesome Hairstyles
We wouldn't usually take our style cues from a 4-year-old, but after seeing Seraphina Affleck's new bob, consider us inspired! Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's daughter stepped out with a new cut recently, and the blunt chin-length style takes her natural cuteness to a whole new level. (It also goes perfectly with her chic grey cardigan -- very European!)
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Monday, 25 March 2013
T-Mobile gets rid of contracts for cellphones
NEW YORK (AP) ? T-Mobile USA, the struggling No. 4 cellphone company, is ditching plans centered on familiar two-year contracts in favor of selling phones on installment plans.
T-Mobile is the first major U.S. carrier to break from the contract model. The company changed its website over the weekend to begin selling the new plans. It plans to lay out the rationale for the change on Tuesday at an event in New York, which could also reveal when T-Mobile will start selling the iPhone.
T-Mobile has been losing subscribers from its contract-based plans for more than two years, chiefly to bigger competitors Verizon Wireless and AT&T. T-Mobile has done better with contract-less, prepaid plans, but those aren't as profitable for the company.
The new plan blurs the boundaries between the two types. Prepaid plans have lower monthly fees, but the buyer usually has to pay full or nearly full price for the phones. With T-Mobile's new plans, the initial phone-buying experience won't be much different from what it's like for contract plans, but customers could save money in the long run.
For instance, someone who wants a Samsung Galaxy S III would pay $70 upfront and then $90 per month for unlimited calling, text and data. That monthly fee includes $20 to pay off the cost of the phone over two years.
By separating the cost of the phone from the service, T-Mobile is making its plans and upgrade options easier to understand. When the phone is paid off, the $20 fee in that example disappears. On traditional contract-based plans, the buyer is deemed to have "paid off" the phone after a certain period of time and become eligible for a new, subsidized phone, but the monthly payments don't decline.
As before, T-Mobile's prices generally undercut those of the bigger phone companies. The chief downside is that its data network coverage is poorer in rural areas.
T-Mobile stopped short of adopting shared-data plans that Verizon Wireless and AT&T introduced last year. Those plans allow all of a family's devices to share a pool of monthly data usage. Instead, T-Mobile is selling data per line in three tiers. The talk and text portion of the plan comes with 500 megabytes of data usage per month. Adding $10 bumps that to 2 gigabytes per month, while adding $20 provides unlimited data.
A big part of the reason for the exodus of contract-signing customers from T-Mobile is that it, alone among the four national-level cellphone carriers, hasn't sold the iPhone. That's because its network has, until recently, not been able to offer high-speed data service to iPhones. It's now able to offer high-speed data to iPhones in some cities, and in January, the company said it would start selling the iPhone this spring. It has also been trying to persuade iPhone owners whose contracts have expired with AT&T to move their phones to T-Mobile.
T-Mobile is a unit of Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG, which has agreed to merge it with No. 5 carrier MetroPCS Communications Inc. That deal faces opposition from shareholders of MetroPCS, which provides only prepaid service.
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Writing the Wrongs: Obama???s Visit to Israel: A Turning Point?
Isi Leibler
March 24, 2013
http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=4558
Wishing all my readers a very Happy Passover
Chag Sameach,
Isi and Naomi Leibler
Both American and Israeli leaders must have heaved sighs of relief as Air Force One departed from Ben-Gurion Airport with President Obama?s visit culminating on a high note for both parties.
Obama engaged in an unprecedented charm offensive in order to overcome the intense Israeli distrust towards him stemming from his initial efforts to appease the Arabs by ?providing daylight? between the US and Israel. To that end, four years ago in Cairo, he groveled to the Moslem world and basically endorsed the Palestinian narrative. Subsequently he demanded a unilateral settlement freeze including the Jewish suburbs of East Jerusalem, issued one-sided condemnations of Israel and repeatedly snubbed Prime Minister Netanyahu.
What particularly rankled Israelis in his Cairo speech was his attribution of the creation of Israel to the Holocaust, effectively ignoring the Jewish links with Eretz Israel for 3000 years.
His first speech on arrival at the airport totally repudiated this. He related movingly ?to the Jewish homeland? in which Jews prayed and tended the land for 3000 years, describing the rebirth of the Jewish state as an unparalleled historic act of redemption. He subsequently said that Israel was the guarantor that a future Holocaust would never recur. He reaffirmed that ?the US is proud to stand with you as your greatest ally and your greatest friend?, describing the ?unbreakable? US-Israel alliance as ?eternal?.
He subsequently visited the Israel Museum where he viewed the Dead Sea Scrolls ?- evidence of the historical linkage between Israel and the Jewish people. He also visited the graves of Zionism?s patriarch, Theodor Herzl directly repudiating Erdogan?s outrageous remarks against Zionism in order to facilitate Netanyahu?s unsavory back down to Turkey which realpolitik demanded for tangible strategic reasons.
Obama repeated his mantra opposing settlement expansion and calling for implementing the two-state solution. He irritated many Israelis by referring to Palestinian suffering without relating it to terrorism and incitement as well as praising the PA as a genuine peace partner. But for the first time he explicitly urged the Palestinians to accept Israel?s offer of negotiating without preconditions. He also made no demands on Israel for further unilateral concessions and hinted but avoided explicitly repeating his former demand that the indefensible 1949 armistice lines with swaps serve as a benchmark for negotiations. Of course, that may be resurrected at a future date.
Israelis remain somewhat queasy as to Obama?s ultimate intentions regarding Iran. Whilst expressing hope that diplomacy could still succeed, he reiterated that he was not bluffing when he vowed as a last resort, to exercise all options to prevent the Iranians from achieving nuclear status, but still declined to set deadlines. There are also concerns that the US may agree to a partial deal in which the Iranians would be permitted to develop medium enriched uranium enabling them subsequently to create a bomb within a very short time span.
Yet on the positive side, a nuclear Iran is now recognized as a threat to the US and the West. And for the first time, Obama stated explicitly that the US accepted and respected Israel?s right to take whatever steps deemed necessary to defend itself ? a clear message to the Iranians that if they maintained their current course, the US would not block an Israeli strike.
If after his repeated undertakings, Obama fails to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, he would lose enormous global credibility amongst friends and foes alike and irretrievably tarnish his legacy.
It would however be premature for Israelis to conclude that Obama?s intensively friendly statements and hugs signify a reversal of his political approach.
Even on this visit, unlike Presidents Clinton and Bush, he refused to address the Knesset ? the embodiment of Israel?s democratic ethos; declined to visit the Kotel and the Temple Mount to avoid compromising US policy which stipulates that these are disputed areas; and excluded Ariel University students from his address.
American Jewish journalist, Jeffery Goldberg, who is close to Obama, described his views on Israel as being more akin to Israel?s far left newspaper, Ha?aretz, than the political mainstream. His administration is thus likely to remain isolationist and continue to appease rather than confront Islamist regimes.
Some suggest that he seeks popular support in order to renew pressure on Israel to make further unilateral concessions and accept his formula based on the indefensible pre-1967 borders. There is already talk of Secretary of State John Kerry reintroducing the Arab League ?peace initiative? based on 1967 borders and repatriation to Israel of Arab refugees.
But Obama is a pragmatist and aware that opinion polls demonstrate that Americans today are more supportive of Israel than ever before and that ongoing confrontation with the Jewish state would create needless problems in Congress where he faces crucial challenges. Indeed, on the eve of his visit over three quarters of the Congress petitioned him to stand by Israel. He has probably also concluded that one sided pressurizing of Israel has been counterproductive.
Some Israelis will dismiss his utterances as mere platitudes and warn against becoming bedazzled by a false dawn. But the political gravitas of such statements should not be underestimated. Never has an American president spoken out with such commitment and passion about Israel and effectively identified himself with the Zionist vision.
He also repudiated calls from the far left, including Israeli so called ?peaceniks? and Jews like J Street, urging him to employ ?tough love? and pressurize Israel. More importantly he conveyed a powerful message to the Islamists.
Indeed, without suggesting that Israelis were transformed overnight into fans, his unprecedented passionate Zionist speeches and extraordinary efforts to overcome the personal animus with Netanyahu did more than merely ease acute concerns. At least symbolically, they represented a sea change and will historically be recorded as the highlight of his visit.
Politicians must be judged by their actions. Whilst the selection of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, uncertainty over timing in relation to Iran, the Administration?s infatuation with Abbas and the ongoing US ?engagement? with undemocratic Islamist regimes remain grounds for concern, the powerful messages of friendship and support directed towards us by an American President are of enormous significance.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who only days earlier succeeded in cobbling together a government, must be immensely satisfied with Obama?s extraordinary public displays of friendship. Netanyahu spoke for the entire nation when conveying gratitude for US military support which despite the tensions, actually expanded under the Obama administration.
However, most Israelis appreciate that we cannot subcontract our security to any third party ? not even the United States - and must rely on our own defensive capabilities.
In the short term, achieving a peace settlement remains a mirage. However, transitory agreements can be implemented which would improve the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis.
The new Israeli government is in an ideal position to move in this direction. If instead of pressuring Israel to commit to final borders or make further unilateral concessions, the Obama administration endorsed its efforts to create interim or partial agreements providing the Palestinians with improved quality of life, this would represent considerable progress. Over time, it may even encourage the emergence of a moderate Palestinian leadership willing to negotiate towards a comprehensive peace settlement.
The writer?s website can be viewed at www.wordfromjerusalem.com.He may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com
Source: http://writingtw.blogspot.com/2013/03/obamas-visit-to-israel-turning-point.html
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