FDA is alerting consumers that Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs, and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size, a discontinued product that consumers may still have in their homes, have all been associated with long lasting or permanent loss of smell (referred to as anosmia). These products, marketed by Matrixx Initiatives, are zinc-containing, nasal cold remedies used to reduce the duration and severity of cold symptoms. However, these products have not been shown to be effective in the reduction of the duration and severity of cold symptoms.
This advisory does not concern oral zinc tablets and lozenges taken by mouth.
FDA recommends that consumers stop using these products and throw them away. See the FDA website for How to Dispose of Unused Medicines.
For treating symptoms of the common cold, consumers can take a number of other over-the-counter drugs. However, the common cold goes away without treatment, usually within seven to ten days.
Since the introduction of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel to the market in 1999, FDA has received more than 130 reports of anosmia associated with the use of Zicam zinc-containing intranasal products. The reports vary. Many people state that the loss of sense of smell occurred with the first dose of the Zicam product, although some people report it happened after later doses. The loss of sense of smell may be long-lasting or even permanent in some people.
Loss of the sense of smell may cause serious problems, such as failing to smell smoke, a gas leak, or spoiled food. Also, loss of the sense of smell is often linked with a loss of the sense of taste. People who cannot taste could unintentionally eat spoiled food and not appreciate flavors, and lose much of the pleasure of eating.
FDA recommends that consumers contact their healthcare provider if they experience loss of the sense of smell or taste, or experience other problems after using any zinc-containing nasal products.
Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this Product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax, using the contact information at the bottom of this sheet.
Source: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PublicHealthAdvisories/ucm166059.htm
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Swine Flu Now Reported in All 50 States
TUESDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- Swine flu cases have now been reported in all 50 states, with the total number of people infected probably surpassing 200,000, U.S. health officials said Monday.
"It's accurate to say that there are probably several hundred thousand people that have been impacted by this flu," said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "But that's in line with what we would see with seasonal influenza if we had the number of cases we are reporting right now."
And while the outbreak continues to wane, new cases will continue to emerge, Skinner said.
On Monday, the CDC was reporting a total of 10,053 cases in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including 17 deaths. The agency has said in the past that confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu represent about one in 20 of actual cases, bringing the total number of cases to about 200,000.
Infections with the H1N1 swine flu virus continue to be mild and recovery is fairly quick, as is the case with seasonal flu, officials said. Testing has found that the virus remains susceptible to two common antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, according to the CDC.
What has been different about the swine flu outbreak, Skinner said, is that activity picked up late in the typical flu season. "What was unusual was that in late March into April and late May we saw activity at a higher-than-expected level," he said.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's interim deputy director for science and public health program, said last week that the newly identified H1N1 swine flu virus continues to behave much like seasonal H1N1 viruses, which may partly explain why this flu strain affects more younger people. "Seasonal H1N1 often causes more disease in younger people, compared with the other strains that can be more common in older people," she said.
Some older people may have partial immunity to the H1N1 swine flu virus because of possible exposure to another H1N1 flu strain that circulated prior to 1957.
Schuchat said a vaccine for the swine flu virus could be ready in October, if research and testing proceed on pace this summer. Candidate viruses have been shipped to vaccine manufacturers, she said.
It's still not clear whether a swine flu vaccine is needed, Schuchat said. Any decision to move forward would be based on several factors, including the severity and spread of the virus and whether there's a safe and effective vaccine, she said.
During the next few months, scientists will be looking to see if the swine flu virus mutates or becomes resistant to antiviral medications, or is more easily spread among people, Schuchat said. The flu season is winding down in the Northern Hemisphere but is just beginning in the Southern Hemisphere.
Schuchat said there's no way to tell now if the H1N1 virus will be more virulent when -- and if -- it returns to the Northern Hemisphere with the approach of winter.
The World Health Organization said Monday that 53 countries have reported 15,510 cases of H1N1 swine flu, including 99 deaths, most of them in Mexico, where the outbreak began.
(story not over...scroll down a page)
U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection (As of June 1, 2009, 11:00 AM ET)
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
More information
For more on swine flu, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Found at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090602/hl_hsn/swineflunowreportedinall50states
"It's accurate to say that there are probably several hundred thousand people that have been impacted by this flu," said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "But that's in line with what we would see with seasonal influenza if we had the number of cases we are reporting right now."
And while the outbreak continues to wane, new cases will continue to emerge, Skinner said.
On Monday, the CDC was reporting a total of 10,053 cases in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including 17 deaths. The agency has said in the past that confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu represent about one in 20 of actual cases, bringing the total number of cases to about 200,000.
Infections with the H1N1 swine flu virus continue to be mild and recovery is fairly quick, as is the case with seasonal flu, officials said. Testing has found that the virus remains susceptible to two common antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, according to the CDC.
What has been different about the swine flu outbreak, Skinner said, is that activity picked up late in the typical flu season. "What was unusual was that in late March into April and late May we saw activity at a higher-than-expected level," he said.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's interim deputy director for science and public health program, said last week that the newly identified H1N1 swine flu virus continues to behave much like seasonal H1N1 viruses, which may partly explain why this flu strain affects more younger people. "Seasonal H1N1 often causes more disease in younger people, compared with the other strains that can be more common in older people," she said.
Some older people may have partial immunity to the H1N1 swine flu virus because of possible exposure to another H1N1 flu strain that circulated prior to 1957.
Schuchat said a vaccine for the swine flu virus could be ready in October, if research and testing proceed on pace this summer. Candidate viruses have been shipped to vaccine manufacturers, she said.
It's still not clear whether a swine flu vaccine is needed, Schuchat said. Any decision to move forward would be based on several factors, including the severity and spread of the virus and whether there's a safe and effective vaccine, she said.
During the next few months, scientists will be looking to see if the swine flu virus mutates or becomes resistant to antiviral medications, or is more easily spread among people, Schuchat said. The flu season is winding down in the Northern Hemisphere but is just beginning in the Southern Hemisphere.
Schuchat said there's no way to tell now if the H1N1 virus will be more virulent when -- and if -- it returns to the Northern Hemisphere with the approach of winter.
The World Health Organization said Monday that 53 countries have reported 15,510 cases of H1N1 swine flu, including 99 deaths, most of them in Mexico, where the outbreak began.
(story not over...scroll down a page)
| States | # confirmed/probable cases | Deaths |
| Alabama | 84 | |
| Alaska | 1 | |
| Arkansas | 7 | |
| Arizona | 547 | 4 deaths |
| California | 804 | |
| Colorado | 61 | |
| Connecticut | 196 | |
| Delaware | 121 | |
| Florida | 166 | |
| Georgia | 29 | |
| Hawaii | 73 | |
| Idaho | 13 | |
| Illinois | 1103 | 3 deaths |
| Indiana | 146 | |
| Iowa | 71 | |
| Kansas | 79 | |
| Kentucky** | 77 | |
| Louisiana | 122 | |
| Maine | 11 | |
| Maryland | 48 | |
| Massachusetts | 470 | |
| Michigan | 234 | |
| Minnesota | 60 | |
| Mississippi | 16 | |
| Missouri | 36 | 1 death |
| Montana | 14 | |
| Nebraska | 43 | |
| Nevada | 102 | |
| New Hampshire | 40 | |
| New Jersey | 74 | |
| New Mexico | 108 | |
| New York | 605 | 4 deaths |
| North Carolina | 14 | |
| North Dakota | 6 | |
| Ohio | 23 | |
| Oklahoma | 82 | |
| Oregon | 148 | |
| Pennsylvania | 123 | |
| Rhode Island | 14 | |
| South Carolina | 46 | |
| South Dakota | 7 | |
| Tennessee | 104 | |
| Texas | 1403 | 3 deaths |
| Utah | 247 | 1 death |
| Vermont | 3 | |
| Virginia | 31 | |
| Washington | 575 | 1 death |
| Washington, D.C. | 20 | |
| West Virginia | 3 | |
| Wisconsin | 1641 | |
| Wyoming | 2 | |
| TOTAL*(51) | 10,053 cases | 17 deaths |
| *includes the District of Columbia **One case is resident of Ky. but hospitalized in Ga. | ||
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
More information
For more on swine flu, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Found at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090602/hl_hsn/swineflunowreportedinall50states
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Kan. abortion doc killed in church; suspect held
WICHITA, Kan. – Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher.
The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was detained some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours after the shooting, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.Although Stolz refused to release the man's name, Johnson County sheriff's spokesman Tom Erickson identified the detained man as Scott Roeder. He has not been charged in the slaying and was expected to be taken to Wichita for questioning.
Police did not release a motive for the shooting. But the doctor's violent death was the latest in a string of shootings and bombings over two decades directed against abortion clinics, doctors and staff.
Long a focus of national anti-abortion groups, including a summer-long protest in 1991, Tiller was shot in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church. Tiller's attorney, Dan Monnat, said Tiller's wife, Jeanne, was in the choir at the time.
The slaying of the 67-year-old doctor is "an unspeakable tragedy," his widow, four children and 10 grandchildren said in statement. "This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace."
The family said its loss "is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence."
Stolz said all indications were that the gunman acted alone, although authorities were investigating whether he had any connection to anti-abortion groups.
Tiller's Women's Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. The clinic was heavily fortified and Tiller often traveled with a bodyguard, but Stolz said there was no indication of security at the church Sunday.
Anti-abortion groups denounced the shooting and stressed that they support only nonviolent protest. The movement's leaders fear the killing could create a backlash just as they are scrutinizing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, whose views on abortion rights are not publicly known.
"We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down," Troy Newman, Operation Rescue's president, said in a statement. "Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning."
President Barack Obama said he was "shocked and outraged" by the murder. "However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence," he said.
At Tiller's church, Adam Watkins, 20, said he was sitting in the middle of the congregation when he heard a small pop at the start of the service.
"We just thought a child had come in with a balloon and it had popped, had gone up and hit the ceiling and popped," Watkins said.
Another usher came in and told the congregation to remain seated, then escorted Tiller's wife out. "When she got to the back doors, we heard her scream, and so we knew something bad had happened," Watkins said.
He said the service continued even after an associate pastor announced that Tiller had been injured. "We were just really shocked," he said. "We were kind of dumbfounded. We couldn't really believe it had happened."
Tiller had in the past endured threats and violence. A protester shot Tiller in both arms in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985. More recently, Monnat said Tiller had asked federal prosecutors to step up investigations of vandalism and other threats against the clinic out of fear that the incidents were increasing and that Tiller's safety was in jeopardy. Stolz, however, said police knew of no threats connected to the shooting.
In early May, Tiller had asked the FBI to investigate vandalism at his clinic, including cut wires to surveillance cameras and damage to the roof that sent rainwater pouring into the building.
In 1991, the Summer of Mercy protests organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of anti-abortion activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and mass arrests.
Tiller began providing abortion services in 1973. He acknowledged abortion was as socially divisive as slavery or prohibition but said the issue was about giving women a choice when dealing with technology that can diagnose severe fetal abnormalities before a baby is born.
Nancy Keenan, president of abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, issued a statement praising Tiller's commitment.
"Dr. Tiller's murder will send a chill down the spines of the brave and courageous providers and other professionals who are part of reproductive-health centers that serve women across this country. We want them to know that they have our support as they move forward in providing these essential services in the aftermath of the shocking news from Wichita," Keenan said.
The last killing of an abortion doctor was in October 1998 when Dr. Barnett Slepian was fatally shot in his home in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. A militant abortion opponent was convicted of the murder.
Tiller's clinic is fortified with bulletproof glass, and Tiller hired a private security team to protect the facility. Once outside the clinic, Tiller was routinely accompanied by a bodyguard.
At a recent trial, he told jurors that he and his family have suffered years of harassment and threats and that he knew he was a target of anti-abortion protesters.
Federal marshals protected Tiller during the 1991 Summer of Mercy protests, and he was protected again between 1994 and 1998 after another abortion provider was assassinated and federal authorities reported finding Tiller's name on an assassination list.
Tiller remained prominent in the news, in part because of an investigation begun by former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, an abortion opponent.
Prosecutors had alleged that Tiller had gotten second opinions from a doctor who was essentially an employee of his, not independent as state law requires. A jury in March acquitted Tiller of all 19 misdemeanor counts.
"I am stunned by this lawless and violent act, which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of law," Kline said in a statement. "We join in lifting prayer that God's grace and presence rest with Dr. Tiller's family and friends."
Wichita police say a 'high-profile individual in the community' has been shot and killed at the church where late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller attends.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_tiller_shooting
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Four states adopt 'no-smiles' policy for driver's licenses
Stopping driver's license fraud is no laughing matter: Four states are ordering people to wipe the grins off their faces in their license photos.
"Neutral facial expressions" are required at departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) in Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada and Virginia. That means you can't smile, or smile very much. Other states may follow.
LICENSE FRAUD: States take steps to cut down fake IDs
The serious poses are urged by DMVs that have installed high-tech software that compares a new license photo with others that have already been shot. When a new photo seems to match an existing one, the software sends alarms that someone may be trying to assume another driver's identity.
But there's a wrinkle in the technology: a person's grin. Face-recognition software can fail to match two photos of the same person if facial expressions differ in each photo, says Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor Takeo Kanade.
Dull expressions "make the comparison process more accurate," says Karen Chappell, deputy commissioner of the Virginia DMV, whose no-smile policy took effect in March.
Elaine Mullen of Great Falls, Va., bristled at the policy while renewing her license until she heard the reasoning. "It's probably safer from a national-security point of view," she says.
Arkansas, Indiana and Nevada allow slight smiles. "You just can't grin really large," Arkansas driver services chief Tonie Shields says.
A total of 31 states do computerized matching of driver's license photos and three others are considering it, says the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Most say their software matches faces regardless of expressions. "People can smile here in Pennsylvania," state Transportation Department spokesman Craig Yetter says.
In Illinois, photo matching has stopped 6,000 people from getting fraudulent licenses since the technology was launched in 1999, says Beth Langen, the state head of Drivers Services.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-05-25-licenses_N.htm?se=yahoorefer
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Craigslist to drop "erotic services" ads
BOSTON (Reuters) - Online classified site Craigslist will replace its "erotic services" ads with a new adult category following pressure by state authorities after the murder of a masseuse who advertised on the site.
The "erotic services" section will end within seven days and be replaced by an "adult services" category where advertisements will be individually screened by Craigslist staff, Craigslist said in a statement on Wednesday.
The measures could set a precedent for similar sites, said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who led a 40-state task-force on Craigslist and campaigned publicly for tighter controls on the San Francisco-based service.
"Closing the erotic services section, a blatant Internet brothel, should lead to other blocking and screening measures, and set a model for other sites, if Craigslist keeps its word," he said.
Craigslist's sex-service listings have faced intense scrutiny since the April 14 murder of 25-year-old masseuse Julissa Brisman, who advertised on Craigslist in Boston.
Philip Markoff, a 23-year-old Boston University medical student, was charged with killing Brisman and with attacks on two other women he met through Craigslist ads.
Craigslist, a 14-year-old online bazaar that generates more than 20 billion page views per month in 50 countries with a staff of just 28 people, is partially owned by online auctioneer eBay, which bought 25 percent in 2004.
Along with free listings for everything from apartments and furniture to jobs and cars, Craigslist.com carries one of the largest and most controversial sex-service listings. Its rapid growth and low-cost business model have hurt newspapers by siphoning away advertising revenue.
Craigslist had already made some changes to curb illegal activity on its site. Under pressure from 40 U.S. attorneys general, the site agreed in November to charge people posting erotic ads $5-$10 by credit card and require them to submit a working phone number to use the site.
'HALF BAKED'
From Wednesday, postings to the "erotic services" section will no longer be accepted, Craigslist said. Postings to the new section, which opened immediately, cost $10. Once they are approved, they will be eligible for reposting at $5.
Not every state was satisfied. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has pressed Craigslist to go further by tracking computer IP addresses of suspected prostitution rings and take other safeguards.
"Several weeks ago, we informed Craigslist of an impending criminal case that implicated its website. Rather than work with this office to prevent further abuses, in the middle of the night, Craigslist took unilateral action which we suspect will prove to be half-baked," Cuomo said in a statement.
His office declined to elaborate on the criminal case.
In April, Blumenthal asked Craigslist officials to eliminate photographs in the "erotic services" and similar sections of the site, hire staff to screen ads that violate Craigslist rules and offer incentives for people who flag and report prostitution advertisements.
"We will be monitoring closely to make sure that this measure is more than a name change from erotic to adult and that the manual blocking is tough and effective to scrub prostitution and pornography," Blumenthal said.
Tabloids dubbed Markoff "the Craigslist killer."
The murder followed the killing of George Weber, a New York reporter knifed to death after responding to a personal ad he placed on Craigslist in March, and the early-April sentencing of Michael Anderson, a Minnesota man convicted of killing a woman who responded to a babysitting ad.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE54C4YP20090513?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
The "erotic services" section will end within seven days and be replaced by an "adult services" category where advertisements will be individually screened by Craigslist staff, Craigslist said in a statement on Wednesday.
The measures could set a precedent for similar sites, said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who led a 40-state task-force on Craigslist and campaigned publicly for tighter controls on the San Francisco-based service.
"Closing the erotic services section, a blatant Internet brothel, should lead to other blocking and screening measures, and set a model for other sites, if Craigslist keeps its word," he said.
Craigslist's sex-service listings have faced intense scrutiny since the April 14 murder of 25-year-old masseuse Julissa Brisman, who advertised on Craigslist in Boston.
Philip Markoff, a 23-year-old Boston University medical student, was charged with killing Brisman and with attacks on two other women he met through Craigslist ads.
Craigslist, a 14-year-old online bazaar that generates more than 20 billion page views per month in 50 countries with a staff of just 28 people, is partially owned by online auctioneer eBay, which bought 25 percent in 2004.
Along with free listings for everything from apartments and furniture to jobs and cars, Craigslist.com carries one of the largest and most controversial sex-service listings. Its rapid growth and low-cost business model have hurt newspapers by siphoning away advertising revenue.
Craigslist had already made some changes to curb illegal activity on its site. Under pressure from 40 U.S. attorneys general, the site agreed in November to charge people posting erotic ads $5-$10 by credit card and require them to submit a working phone number to use the site.
'HALF BAKED'
From Wednesday, postings to the "erotic services" section will no longer be accepted, Craigslist said. Postings to the new section, which opened immediately, cost $10. Once they are approved, they will be eligible for reposting at $5.
Not every state was satisfied. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has pressed Craigslist to go further by tracking computer IP addresses of suspected prostitution rings and take other safeguards.
"Several weeks ago, we informed Craigslist of an impending criminal case that implicated its website. Rather than work with this office to prevent further abuses, in the middle of the night, Craigslist took unilateral action which we suspect will prove to be half-baked," Cuomo said in a statement.
His office declined to elaborate on the criminal case.
In April, Blumenthal asked Craigslist officials to eliminate photographs in the "erotic services" and similar sections of the site, hire staff to screen ads that violate Craigslist rules and offer incentives for people who flag and report prostitution advertisements.
"We will be monitoring closely to make sure that this measure is more than a name change from erotic to adult and that the manual blocking is tough and effective to scrub prostitution and pornography," Blumenthal said.
Tabloids dubbed Markoff "the Craigslist killer."
The murder followed the killing of George Weber, a New York reporter knifed to death after responding to a personal ad he placed on Craigslist in March, and the early-April sentencing of Michael Anderson, a Minnesota man convicted of killing a woman who responded to a babysitting ad.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE54C4YP20090513?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
Ivory sculpture in Germany could be world's oldest
BERLIN – A 35,000-year-old ivory carving of a busty woman found in a German cave was unveiled Wednesday by archaeologists who believe it is the oldest known sculpture of the human form. The carving found in six fragments in Germany's Hohle Fels cave depicts a woman with a swollen belly, wide-set thighs and large, protruding breasts.
"It's very sexually charged," said University of Tuebingen archaeologist Nicholas Conard, whose team discovered the figure in September.
Maria Malina, scientific employee, presents the photo of a carved ivory female figurine during its presentation in Tuebingen, southern Germany, Wednesday, May 13, 2009. The figurine, found in 2008 in a cave in Schelklingen, southern Germany is allegedly the world's oldest reproduction of a human with an estimated age of at least 35,000 years.
Carbon dating suggests it was carved at least 35,000 years ago, according to the researchers' findings, which are being published Thursday in the scientific journal Nature.
"It's the oldest known piece of figurative sculpture in the world," said Jill Cook, a curator of Paleolithic and Mesolithic material at the British Museum in London.
Stones in Israel and Africa almost twice as old are believed to have been collected by ancient humans because they resembled people, but they were not carved independently.
The Hohle Fels cave discovery suggests the humans, who are believed to have come to Europe around 40,000 years ago, had the intelligence to create symbols and think abstractly in a way that matches the modern human, Conard said.
"It's 100 percent certain that, by the time we get to 40,000 years ago in Swabia, we're dealing with people just like you and me," Conard told The Associated Press, referring to the southern German region where the sculpture was recovered along with other prehistoric artifacts.
Conard believes the 2.4-inch-tall (6-centimeter) figure may have been hung on the end of a string. The left arm is missing, but Conard said he hopes to find it by sifting through material from the cave.
The Hohle Fels sculpture is curvaceous and has neither feet nor a head, like some of the roughly 150 so-called Venus figurines found in a range from the Pyrenees mountains to southern Russia and dating back about 25,000-29,000 years.
But Cook warned against trying to draw any connections between the Venuses and the Hohle Fels figure, saying that would be like comparing Picasso to a classical sculptor — too much time had passed.
"I wonder whether at this point we're looking at figures which are unique within themselves and unique within the cultures that they're arising in," she said.
Archaeologist Paul Mellars, of the University of Cambridge, suggested a clearer continuum.
"We now have evidence of that sort of artistic tradition of Venus figurines going back 6,000 years earlier than anybody ever guessed," he said.
Neanderthals also lived in Europe around the time the sculpture was carved, and frequented the Hohle Fels cave. But Mellars said layered deposits left by both species over thousands of years prove the sculpture was crafted by humans.
"Nothing within a million miles of this has ever been found in a Neanderthal layer," Mellars said.
The archaeologists agreed the sculpture's age and features invite speculation about its purpose and the preoccupations of the culture that produced it.
Cook suggested it could be symbol of fertility, perhaps even portrayed in the act of giving birth.
Mellars suggested a more basic motivation for the carving: "These people were obsessed with sex."
Conard said the differing opinions reinforced the connection between the ancient artist and modern viewer.
"How we interpret it tells us just as much about ourselves as about people 40,000 years ago," he said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090513/ap_on_sc/eu_germany_oldest_sculpture
"It's very sexually charged," said University of Tuebingen archaeologist Nicholas Conard, whose team discovered the figure in September.
Carbon dating suggests it was carved at least 35,000 years ago, according to the researchers' findings, which are being published Thursday in the scientific journal Nature.
"It's the oldest known piece of figurative sculpture in the world," said Jill Cook, a curator of Paleolithic and Mesolithic material at the British Museum in London.
Stones in Israel and Africa almost twice as old are believed to have been collected by ancient humans because they resembled people, but they were not carved independently.
The Hohle Fels cave discovery suggests the humans, who are believed to have come to Europe around 40,000 years ago, had the intelligence to create symbols and think abstractly in a way that matches the modern human, Conard said.
"It's 100 percent certain that, by the time we get to 40,000 years ago in Swabia, we're dealing with people just like you and me," Conard told The Associated Press, referring to the southern German region where the sculpture was recovered along with other prehistoric artifacts.
Conard believes the 2.4-inch-tall (6-centimeter) figure may have been hung on the end of a string. The left arm is missing, but Conard said he hopes to find it by sifting through material from the cave.
The Hohle Fels sculpture is curvaceous and has neither feet nor a head, like some of the roughly 150 so-called Venus figurines found in a range from the Pyrenees mountains to southern Russia and dating back about 25,000-29,000 years.
But Cook warned against trying to draw any connections between the Venuses and the Hohle Fels figure, saying that would be like comparing Picasso to a classical sculptor — too much time had passed.
"I wonder whether at this point we're looking at figures which are unique within themselves and unique within the cultures that they're arising in," she said.
Archaeologist Paul Mellars, of the University of Cambridge, suggested a clearer continuum.
"We now have evidence of that sort of artistic tradition of Venus figurines going back 6,000 years earlier than anybody ever guessed," he said.
Neanderthals also lived in Europe around the time the sculpture was carved, and frequented the Hohle Fels cave. But Mellars said layered deposits left by both species over thousands of years prove the sculpture was crafted by humans.
"Nothing within a million miles of this has ever been found in a Neanderthal layer," Mellars said.
The archaeologists agreed the sculpture's age and features invite speculation about its purpose and the preoccupations of the culture that produced it.
Cook suggested it could be symbol of fertility, perhaps even portrayed in the act of giving birth.
Mellars suggested a more basic motivation for the carving: "These people were obsessed with sex."
Conard said the differing opinions reinforced the connection between the ancient artist and modern viewer.
"How we interpret it tells us just as much about ourselves as about people 40,000 years ago," he said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090513/ap_on_sc/eu_germany_oldest_sculpture
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Hobbits 'are a separate species'
Scientists have found more evidence that the Indonesian "Hobbit" skeletons belong to a new species of human - and not modern pygmies.
The 3ft (one metre) tall, 30kg (65lbs) humans roamed the Indonesian island of Flores, perhaps up to 8,000 years ago.
Since the discovery, researchers have argued vehemently as to the identity of these diminutive people.
Two papers in the journal Nature now support the idea they were an entirely new species of human.
The team, which discovered the tiny remains in Liang Bua cave on Flores, contends that the population belongs to the species Homo floresiensis - separate from our own grouping Homo sapiens .
They argue that the "Hobbits" are descended from a prehistoric species of human - perhaps Homo erectus - which reached island South-East Asia more than a million years ago.
Scientists on the discovery of the 'hobbit' in 2004
Over many years, their bodies most likely evolved to be smaller in size, through a natural selection process called island dwarfing, claim the discoverers, and many other scientists.
However, some researchers argued that this could not account for the Hobbit's chimp-sized brain of almost 400 cubic cm - a third the size of the modern human brain.
Disease theory
This was a puzzle, they said, because the individuals seem to have crafted complex stone tools.
They said the Hobbits were probably part of a group of modern humans with abnormally small brains.
One team led by William Jungers from Stony Brook University in the US analysed remains of the Hobbit foot.
They found that, in some ways, it is incredibly human. The big toe is aligned with the others and the joints make it possible to extend the toes as the body's full weight falls on the foot, attributes not found in great apes.
But in other respects, it is incredibly primitive. It is far longer than its modern human equivalent, and equipped with a very small big toe, long, curved lateral toes, and a weight-bearing structure that resembles that of a chimpanzee.
So unless the Flores Hobbits became more primitive over time - a rather unlikely scenario - they must have branched off the human line at an even earlier date.
In another study, Eleanor Weston and Adrian Lister of London's Natural History Museum looked at fossils of several species of ancient hippos. They then compared those found on the island of Madagascar with the mainland ancestors from which they evolved.
"It could be that H. floresiensis' skull is that of a Homo erectus that has become dwarfed from living on an island, rather than being an abnormal individual or separately-evolved species, as has been suggested," said Dr Weston, a palaeontologist at the museum.
"Looking at pygmy hippos in Madagascar, which possess exceptionally small brains for their size, suggests that the same could be true for H. floresiensis , and that (it could be) the result of being isolated on the island."
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8036396.stm
Texas police will return cash in case that prompted lawsuit
of unjustly taking valuables from motorists.
Authorities who seized $8,500 and assorted jewelry from a Tennessee man after a traffic stop in east Texas have agreed to return the property after his case drew attention from CNN.
Roderick Daniels said police in Tenaha, Texas, took the money in October 2007 after they stopped him for doing 37 mph in a 35-mph zone. He said police threatened him with money-laundering charges and promised not to prosecute if he signed over the cash, which Daniels said was to buy a new car.
Daniels and other motorists who have been stopped by Tenaha police are part of a lawsuit seeking to end what plaintiff's lawyer David Guillory calls a systematic fleecing of drivers passing through the town of about 1,000. On Friday, after Shelby County District Attorney Lynda Russell refused repeated requests to discuss cases like Daniels' with CNN, her office filed papers dropping its claim on his property.
"I just feel blessed," Daniels said. "I am happy everything is going good right now. ... I just want to celebrate."
Texas law allows police to confiscate drug money and other personal property they think is used in the commission of a crime. If no charges are filed or the person is acquitted, the property has to be returned.
Russell issued a statement through her attorneys denying impropriety, and George Bowers, Tenaha's longtime mayor, says his police follow the law. But Guillory, who brought the lawsuit challenging the seizures, called cases like Daniels' "a shakedown" and "a piracy operation."
Guillory said authorities in Tenaha, about 180 miles east of Dallas, seized $3 million from 2006 to 2008. In about 150 cases, virtually all involving African-American or Latino motorists, the seizures were improper, he said.
All defendants in the lawsuit deny wrongdoing. In a written statement, Russell's attorneys said the prosecutor "has used and continues to use prosecutorial discretion ... and is in compliance with Texas law, the Texas constitution and the United States Constitution."
But the attention paid to Tenaha has led to an effort by Texas lawmakers to tighten the state's forfeiture laws.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/06/texas.police.seizures/index.html?eref=rss_latest
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Brothels in Ecuador Skirt Law Banning Minors
Brothels in the petroleum port province of Esmeraldas provide an employment magnet for underage women. A significant number are lured into the work by a man they consider a romantic partner. Third of six on Ecuador's sex industry.
Brothel worker in Esmeraldas Quito Ecuador
ESMERALDAS, Ecuador (WOMENSENEWS)--The clients start filing in shortly after lunch. Beer flows. Women lead them into tiny rooms. A young woman sits to the side, forlorn, making no effort to get their attention.
"The hardest thing is when a drunken client comes in. They are rude and violent people," Jacklyn, who works in a brothel in Esmeraldas, told Women's eNews earlier this year.
Jacklyn said she is 22 years old, but doesn't look it. When pressed for her age, she admitted to entering the business at 15, but said a growing number in Esmeraldas are starting out as young as 12. That is three years younger than the national average age of minors who entered the sex industry in 2006.
This oil port, tourist destination and province bordering Colombia has a high concentration of formal and informal brothels.
It is one of the country's centers for the sexual exploitation of minors, according to a 2008 Organization of International Migration report. Three quarters of the teens and preteens trafficked in Ecuador pass through the brothels, bars, hotels and motels along this coastline, making the province a gateway for minors to join its sex industry.
Licensed centers of tolerance--a euphemism for brothels in Ecuador--conceal the trafficking and exploitation of minors for commercial sex. Local fishermen, migrant oil workers, police and military provide a steady clientele.
The age of consent is 14 in Ecuador and teenagers can start working age 15. But the country's new constitution, introduced last year, specifies that work for those under age 15 should not conflict with a child's right to education or put their development in danger. It explicitly calls for the protection of minors from sexual exploitation.
"The line between sex work and exploitation is blurred," Tania Moreno, a Quito-based sex crimes prosecutor told Women's eNews in February. "And teens are sadly the ones in highest demand in the sex market."
Reluctant Law Enforcers
In last year's report to the Organization of International Migration, Moreno detailed law enforcers' reluctance to interfere in brothels that hire or hide minors when the legal age to work is 15. He also noted the prevalent misconception that underage girls enter the sex industry out of enjoyment.
The reality, Moreno said in an interview, is that adolescent sex workers are children made vulnerable by their poverty. The majority leave school at 11 and often support entire families. Many, said Moreno, have a history of sexual abuse.
"'I was abused and not paid,' goes the logic," said Moreno. "So why not get paid?" The victim of sexual exploitation doesn't recognize herself as such because she has received money for the work she is doing so she doesn't see it as exploitation."
Jacklyn works at Las Hermanitas (The Little Sisters), one of two female-run brothels in Esmeraldas. It is sparse and overheated. Rooms offer three buckets instead of a sink for washing. Small corner shelves support personal belongings, ranging from vanity mirrors to condoms to nail polish.
She earns $500 per month, charging $6 for each 15 minutes of intercourse or "el punto." This is a high income compared to domestic worker wages. She pays a $1-per-client commission to the brothel owners and sends the balance to her sister-in-law who is caring for Jacklyn's two out-of-wedlock children. Jacklyn says the financial responsibilities of motherhood lock her into sex work.
'No-Fail' Business
"Girls do not enter this job because they like it," said Pavel Tenorio, a 22-year-old pimp working in Esmeraldas. "They do it out of need. This is a business that does not fail."
A 2008 survey of underage sex workers showed that the majority--42 percent--cited economic reason as a primary motivation for their activity. The second most common reason was fear of their partner, with 81 percent reporting a history of abuse. A quarter of underage sex workers hand over their income directly to the partner--often a chulo or pimp--who put them in the business.
One strategy pimps use is seducing a teenager and then forcing her into sex work.
Silvia Barragan is president of the shelter Foundation for our Young in Quito which offers shelter to victims of sexual exploitation or family violence from across the country.
"The hardest part of rehabilitating these girls is getting them to understand that they are victims, that these men do not love them and that they should not go back into the business," said Barragan.
In 37 percent of cases, the pimp or trafficker is a friend, classmate or boyfriend of the sex worker. The recruiter is a young adult, typically between the ages of 19 and 25, according to a summary of investigations in the first half of 2008, included in a database maintained by the shelter.
Brother Owner Expresses Shock
"As a mother, I am shocked to see girls come in at 14," said Lucia Quinonez, owner of Las Hermanitas. "But their 'husbands,' boyfriends, pimps--assholes--get them false documents and put them to work. Authorities try to control it but can't overcome the mafias. And us owners, some close our eyes. Others open them."
Quinonez, age 46, said she runs a tight ship at Las Hermanitas and handpicks her workers to avoid minors. But Quinonez said brothel owners who try to work within the law are facing a surge of false documents and minors who lie about their age.
Quinonez said she can spot a minor. Shaking or trembling are two give-away signs of inexperience. She added the majority of these adolescents robotically repeat that they are over 20 when asked for their age and identification papers. A few cry, sigh, and finally break down, saying they came into the business because they were forced by a boyfriend or because they have a family to support.
Quinonez said she turns them away but admits that mistakes can be made.
In December, a young woman entered Las Canitas--a brothel run by Quinonez's sister-- wearing a blonde wig. Quinonez told Women's eNews that she suspected the girl was a minor but the young woman insisted she was 19.
Maruja, Quinonez's sister, hired her. She ended up in the emergency room, with her vagina ripped apart by her 22nd client.
Source: http://www.womensenews.org/story/the-world/090506/brothels-ecuador-skirt-law-banning-minors
ESMERALDAS, Ecuador (WOMENSENEWS)--The clients start filing in shortly after lunch. Beer flows. Women lead them into tiny rooms. A young woman sits to the side, forlorn, making no effort to get their attention.
"The hardest thing is when a drunken client comes in. They are rude and violent people," Jacklyn, who works in a brothel in Esmeraldas, told Women's eNews earlier this year.
Jacklyn said she is 22 years old, but doesn't look it. When pressed for her age, she admitted to entering the business at 15, but said a growing number in Esmeraldas are starting out as young as 12. That is three years younger than the national average age of minors who entered the sex industry in 2006.
This oil port, tourist destination and province bordering Colombia has a high concentration of formal and informal brothels.
It is one of the country's centers for the sexual exploitation of minors, according to a 2008 Organization of International Migration report. Three quarters of the teens and preteens trafficked in Ecuador pass through the brothels, bars, hotels and motels along this coastline, making the province a gateway for minors to join its sex industry.
Licensed centers of tolerance--a euphemism for brothels in Ecuador--conceal the trafficking and exploitation of minors for commercial sex. Local fishermen, migrant oil workers, police and military provide a steady clientele.
The age of consent is 14 in Ecuador and teenagers can start working age 15. But the country's new constitution, introduced last year, specifies that work for those under age 15 should not conflict with a child's right to education or put their development in danger. It explicitly calls for the protection of minors from sexual exploitation.
"The line between sex work and exploitation is blurred," Tania Moreno, a Quito-based sex crimes prosecutor told Women's eNews in February. "And teens are sadly the ones in highest demand in the sex market."
Reluctant Law Enforcers
In last year's report to the Organization of International Migration, Moreno detailed law enforcers' reluctance to interfere in brothels that hire or hide minors when the legal age to work is 15. He also noted the prevalent misconception that underage girls enter the sex industry out of enjoyment.
The reality, Moreno said in an interview, is that adolescent sex workers are children made vulnerable by their poverty. The majority leave school at 11 and often support entire families. Many, said Moreno, have a history of sexual abuse.
"'I was abused and not paid,' goes the logic," said Moreno. "So why not get paid?" The victim of sexual exploitation doesn't recognize herself as such because she has received money for the work she is doing so she doesn't see it as exploitation."
Jacklyn works at Las Hermanitas (The Little Sisters), one of two female-run brothels in Esmeraldas. It is sparse and overheated. Rooms offer three buckets instead of a sink for washing. Small corner shelves support personal belongings, ranging from vanity mirrors to condoms to nail polish.
She earns $500 per month, charging $6 for each 15 minutes of intercourse or "el punto." This is a high income compared to domestic worker wages. She pays a $1-per-client commission to the brothel owners and sends the balance to her sister-in-law who is caring for Jacklyn's two out-of-wedlock children. Jacklyn says the financial responsibilities of motherhood lock her into sex work.
'No-Fail' Business
"Girls do not enter this job because they like it," said Pavel Tenorio, a 22-year-old pimp working in Esmeraldas. "They do it out of need. This is a business that does not fail."
A 2008 survey of underage sex workers showed that the majority--42 percent--cited economic reason as a primary motivation for their activity. The second most common reason was fear of their partner, with 81 percent reporting a history of abuse. A quarter of underage sex workers hand over their income directly to the partner--often a chulo or pimp--who put them in the business.
One strategy pimps use is seducing a teenager and then forcing her into sex work.
Silvia Barragan is president of the shelter Foundation for our Young in Quito which offers shelter to victims of sexual exploitation or family violence from across the country.
"The hardest part of rehabilitating these girls is getting them to understand that they are victims, that these men do not love them and that they should not go back into the business," said Barragan.
In 37 percent of cases, the pimp or trafficker is a friend, classmate or boyfriend of the sex worker. The recruiter is a young adult, typically between the ages of 19 and 25, according to a summary of investigations in the first half of 2008, included in a database maintained by the shelter.
Brother Owner Expresses Shock
"As a mother, I am shocked to see girls come in at 14," said Lucia Quinonez, owner of Las Hermanitas. "But their 'husbands,' boyfriends, pimps--assholes--get them false documents and put them to work. Authorities try to control it but can't overcome the mafias. And us owners, some close our eyes. Others open them."
Quinonez, age 46, said she runs a tight ship at Las Hermanitas and handpicks her workers to avoid minors. But Quinonez said brothel owners who try to work within the law are facing a surge of false documents and minors who lie about their age.
Quinonez said she can spot a minor. Shaking or trembling are two give-away signs of inexperience. She added the majority of these adolescents robotically repeat that they are over 20 when asked for their age and identification papers. A few cry, sigh, and finally break down, saying they came into the business because they were forced by a boyfriend or because they have a family to support.
Quinonez said she turns them away but admits that mistakes can be made.
In December, a young woman entered Las Canitas--a brothel run by Quinonez's sister-- wearing a blonde wig. Quinonez told Women's eNews that she suspected the girl was a minor but the young woman insisted she was 19.
Maruja, Quinonez's sister, hired her. She ended up in the emergency room, with her vagina ripped apart by her 22nd client.
Source: http://www.womensenews.org/story/the-world/090506/brothels-ecuador-skirt-law-banning-minors
Friday, April 3, 2009
Pictured: The credit crunch tent city which has returned to haunt America
A century and a half ago it was at the centre of the Californian gold rush, with hopeful prospectors pitching their tents along the banks of the American River.
Today, tents are once again springing up in the city of Sacramento. But this time it is for people with no hope and no prospects.
With America's economy in freefall and its housing market in crisis, California's state capital has become home to a tented city for the dispossessed.
Rich and poor: The tents and other makeshift homes have sprung up in the shadow of Sacramento's skyscrapers
Shanty town: The tent city is already home to dozens of people, many left without jobs because of the credit crunch
Those who have lost their jobs and homes and have nowhere else to go are constructing makeshift shelters on the site, which covers several acres.
As many as 50 people a week are turning up and the authorities estimate that the tent city is now home to more than 1,200 people.
In a state more known for its fantastic wealth and the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, the images have shocked many Americans.
Conditions are primitive, with no water supply or proper sanitation.
Many residents have to walk up to three miles to buy bottled water from petrol stations or convenience stores.
Ben Cardwell, carries supplies to his tent at a homeless settlement
Tammy Day, a homeless woman, cooks potatoes on a campfire at the site
At other times, charity workers arrive to hand out free food and other supplies.
Joan Burke, who campaigns on behalf of the homeless, said the images of Americans living in tents would shock many.
'It should be an eye- opener for everybody,' she said. 'But we shouldn't just be shocked, we should take action to change things, because it's unacceptable.
'It is unacceptable that in this day and age we have gone back to a situation like we had during the Great Depression.'
Homeless: Keith and Tammy Day cook dinner
Authorities in Sacramento, where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has his office, admit the sight of families living in such poverty is not pretty.
But faced with their own budget crisis and a £30billion deficit, they have had little choice but to consider making the tent city a permanent fixture.
The city's mayor Kevin Johnson said: 'I can't say tent cities are the answer to the homeless population in Sacramento, but I think it's one of the many things that should be considered and looked at.'
Shanty towns sprung up during the Great Depression as people lost their jobs and homes
Migrant Mother: Dorothea Lange's famous photograph from the Great Depression features Florence Owens Thompson, 32, a mother-of-three who had just sold the family's tent to buy food
As America's most powerful state California had the same gross domestic output as Italy and Spain, but it has been among the hardest hit by the recession and housing crisis.
Foreclosure rates last year rocketed by 327 per cent, with up to 500 people a day losing their home.
Coupled with massive job cuts that have seen one in ten workers laid off, many people who once enjoyed a middle class existence are now forced into third world conditions.
Former car salesman Corvin and his wife Tena are among the newest residents of the tent city.
Tent city residents queue up to receive supplies handed out by a local charity
The couple, who are in their fifties, lost their home and jobs around the same time.
With homeless shelters full in Sacramento, they had little choice but to use what savings they had left to buy a tent.
The couple admit they have yet to tell their grown-up children about their hand-to-mouth existence.
Tena said: 'I have a 35-year-old son, and he doesn't know. I call him, about once a month and on holidays, to let him know that I'm well and healthy.
'He would love me anyway, but I don't want to worry him.'
The shame of Sacramento's tent city was given a much wider airing after it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show which is watched by more than 40million people a week.
Many of those who have found themselves homeless worked in the building trade.
But with no new home builds and as many as 80,000 people losing their job every month, there is little chance of employment. Governor Schwarzenegger last month approved a budget to address the state's deficit, ending a three-month stalemate among lawmakers.
As well as increasing taxes, he has imposed drastic cuts in education, healthcare and services that will affect everyone living in the state.
Many of those living in the tent city are pinning their hopes on President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package which is aimed at rescuing the economy and creating jobs.
The President has also announced plans to save the homes of nine million people from foreclosure by restructuring their mortgage debt.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1159677/Pictured-The-credit-crunch-tent-city-returned-haunt-America.html
Today, tents are once again springing up in the city of Sacramento. But this time it is for people with no hope and no prospects.
With America's economy in freefall and its housing market in crisis, California's state capital has become home to a tented city for the dispossessed.
Those who have lost their jobs and homes and have nowhere else to go are constructing makeshift shelters on the site, which covers several acres.
As many as 50 people a week are turning up and the authorities estimate that the tent city is now home to more than 1,200 people.
In a state more known for its fantastic wealth and the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, the images have shocked many Americans.
Conditions are primitive, with no water supply or proper sanitation.
Many residents have to walk up to three miles to buy bottled water from petrol stations or convenience stores.
At other times, charity workers arrive to hand out free food and other supplies.
Joan Burke, who campaigns on behalf of the homeless, said the images of Americans living in tents would shock many.
'It should be an eye- opener for everybody,' she said. 'But we shouldn't just be shocked, we should take action to change things, because it's unacceptable.
'It is unacceptable that in this day and age we have gone back to a situation like we had during the Great Depression.'
Authorities in Sacramento, where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has his office, admit the sight of families living in such poverty is not pretty.
But faced with their own budget crisis and a £30billion deficit, they have had little choice but to consider making the tent city a permanent fixture.
The city's mayor Kevin Johnson said: 'I can't say tent cities are the answer to the homeless population in Sacramento, but I think it's one of the many things that should be considered and looked at.'
As America's most powerful state California had the same gross domestic output as Italy and Spain, but it has been among the hardest hit by the recession and housing crisis.
Foreclosure rates last year rocketed by 327 per cent, with up to 500 people a day losing their home.
Coupled with massive job cuts that have seen one in ten workers laid off, many people who once enjoyed a middle class existence are now forced into third world conditions.
Former car salesman Corvin and his wife Tena are among the newest residents of the tent city.
The couple, who are in their fifties, lost their home and jobs around the same time.
With homeless shelters full in Sacramento, they had little choice but to use what savings they had left to buy a tent.
The couple admit they have yet to tell their grown-up children about their hand-to-mouth existence.
Tena said: 'I have a 35-year-old son, and he doesn't know. I call him, about once a month and on holidays, to let him know that I'm well and healthy.
'He would love me anyway, but I don't want to worry him.'
The shame of Sacramento's tent city was given a much wider airing after it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show which is watched by more than 40million people a week.
Many of those who have found themselves homeless worked in the building trade.
But with no new home builds and as many as 80,000 people losing their job every month, there is little chance of employment. Governor Schwarzenegger last month approved a budget to address the state's deficit, ending a three-month stalemate among lawmakers.
As well as increasing taxes, he has imposed drastic cuts in education, healthcare and services that will affect everyone living in the state.
Many of those living in the tent city are pinning their hopes on President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package which is aimed at rescuing the economy and creating jobs.
The President has also announced plans to save the homes of nine million people from foreclosure by restructuring their mortgage debt.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1159677/Pictured-The-credit-crunch-tent-city-returned-haunt-America.html
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Fiancé Drops Engagement Ring Off Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge's pedestrian walkway while proposing.
Imagine saving enough money to buy the love of your life a beautiful diamond ring only to drop it off the Brooklyn Bridge just as she agrees to marry you.
A local groom-to-be experienced the horror for himself.
Don Walling planned the day with the precision of a classroom lesson. He would propose to his girlfriend, Gina Pellicani, on the Brooklyn Bridge’s pedestrian walkway. His family would be looking on and his sister-in-law would videotape the whole thing.
But at the moment of truth – with ring in hand – disaster struck, and it wasn’t because Gina refused to say, “I do.” Walling dropped the ring through a crack in the pedestrian bridge and into traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge roadway below.
“I got on one knee, proposed and it just flew out,” Walling said. “I watched it fall through the crack on the bridge, right between the wood planks.”
But he didn’t let his shock sway him for long. Walling swung into action.
“I kissed her, said I was sorry and told her I am going to get that ring back,” Walling said.
The groom-to-be jumped onto the bridge's roadway and began looking for the ring. Miraculously, he found it, with the help of his family and fiancée looking on from above.
Pellicani couldn’t wear the ring because the band bent in the fall, but the diamonds were intact -- not bad for falling onto traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge.
The ring is being repaired and will be restored to its former luster, but Walling said the next time he gives it to his fiancée, it will be in the safety of his home.
Source: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Oops-Fiancee-Drops-Engagement-Ring-Off-Brooklyn-Bridge.html
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Last-minute Conficker survival guide
Tomorrow -- April 1 -- is D-Day for Conficker, as whatever nasty payload it's packing is currently set to activate. What happens come midnight is a mystery: Will it turn the millions of infected computers into spam-sending zombie robots? Or will it start capturing everything you type -- passwords, credit card numbers, etc. -- and send that information back to its masters?
No one knows, but we'll probably find out soon.
Or not. As Slate notes, Conficker is scheduled to go "live" on April 1, but whoever's controlling it could choose not to wreak havoc but instead do absolutely nothing, waiting for a time when there's less heat. They can do this because the way Conficker is designed is extremely clever: Rather than containing a list of specific, static instructions, Conficker reaches out to the web to receive updated marching orders via a huge list of websites it creates. Conficker.C -- the latest bad boy -- will start checking 50,000 different semi-randomly-generated sites a day looking for instructions, so there's no way to shut down all of them. If just one of those sites goes live with legitimate instructions, Conficker keeps on trucking.
Conficker's a nasty little worm that takes serious efforts to bypass your security defenses, but you aren't without some tools in your arsenal to protect yourself.
Your first step should be the tools you already have: Windows Update, to make sure your computer is fully patched, and your current antivirus software, to make sure anything that slips through the cracks is caught.
But if Conficker's already on your machine, it may bypass certain subsystems and updating Windows and your antivirus at this point may not work. If you are worried about anything being amiss -- try booting into Safe Mode, which Conficker prevents, to check -- you should run a specialized tool to get rid of Conficker.
Microsoft offers a web-based scanner (note that some users have reported it crashed their machines; I had no trouble with it), so you might try one of these downloadable options instead: Symantec's Conficker (aka Downadup) tool, Trend Micro's Cleanup Engine, or Malwarebytes. Conficker may prevent your machine from accessing any of these websites, so you may have to download these tools from a known non-infected computer if you need them. Follow the instructions given on each site to run them successfully. (Also note: None of these tools should harm your computer if you don't have Conficker.)
As a final safety note, all users -- whether they're worried about an infection or know for sure they're clean -- are also wise to make a full data backup today.
What won't work? Turning your PC off tonight and back on on April 2 will not protect you from the worm (sorry to the dozens of people who wrote me asking if this would do the trick). Temporarily disconnecting your computer from the web won't help if the malware is already on your machine -- it will simply activate once you connect again. Changing the date on your PC will likely have no helpful effect, either. And yes, Macs are immune this time out. Follow the above instructions to detect and remove the worm.
Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/132464
No one knows, but we'll probably find out soon.
Or not. As Slate notes, Conficker is scheduled to go "live" on April 1, but whoever's controlling it could choose not to wreak havoc but instead do absolutely nothing, waiting for a time when there's less heat. They can do this because the way Conficker is designed is extremely clever: Rather than containing a list of specific, static instructions, Conficker reaches out to the web to receive updated marching orders via a huge list of websites it creates. Conficker.C -- the latest bad boy -- will start checking 50,000 different semi-randomly-generated sites a day looking for instructions, so there's no way to shut down all of them. If just one of those sites goes live with legitimate instructions, Conficker keeps on trucking.
Conficker's a nasty little worm that takes serious efforts to bypass your security defenses, but you aren't without some tools in your arsenal to protect yourself.
Your first step should be the tools you already have: Windows Update, to make sure your computer is fully patched, and your current antivirus software, to make sure anything that slips through the cracks is caught.
But if Conficker's already on your machine, it may bypass certain subsystems and updating Windows and your antivirus at this point may not work. If you are worried about anything being amiss -- try booting into Safe Mode, which Conficker prevents, to check -- you should run a specialized tool to get rid of Conficker.
Microsoft offers a web-based scanner (note that some users have reported it crashed their machines; I had no trouble with it), so you might try one of these downloadable options instead: Symantec's Conficker (aka Downadup) tool, Trend Micro's Cleanup Engine, or Malwarebytes. Conficker may prevent your machine from accessing any of these websites, so you may have to download these tools from a known non-infected computer if you need them. Follow the instructions given on each site to run them successfully. (Also note: None of these tools should harm your computer if you don't have Conficker.)
As a final safety note, all users -- whether they're worried about an infection or know for sure they're clean -- are also wise to make a full data backup today.
What won't work? Turning your PC off tonight and back on on April 2 will not protect you from the worm (sorry to the dozens of people who wrote me asking if this would do the trick). Temporarily disconnecting your computer from the web won't help if the malware is already on your machine -- it will simply activate once you connect again. Changing the date on your PC will likely have no helpful effect, either. And yes, Macs are immune this time out. Follow the above instructions to detect and remove the worm.
Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/132464
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
'The Bachelor': We're Just Not That Into You
After 50 roses, weeks of speculation, plenty of spoilers and even a conspiracy theory or two, the most! historic! finale! ever! of ABC's "The Bachelor" ended Monday with 32-year-old Seattle account executive and single dad Jason Mesnick slipping a ring on the finger of 25-year-old Dallas sales rep Melissa Rycroft in New Zealand. Cue the violins and ring up the wedding planners, right? Wrong. You see, that just wouldn't be dramatic (or "historic") enough. So a mere hour later (actually six weeks in real time), during the "After the Final Rose" special, viewers watched as Jason shocked his putative fiancée when he told her that, well, he just wasn't that into her. Instead, he said, he still had feelings for the show's runner-up, Molly Malaney, a 24-year-old department store buyer from Michigan.
"You are such a b*****d," Melissa responded, "you should know better than to do something like that," perhaps referring to the fact that Jason had been humiliated on national television during last season's "The Bachelorette", when DeAnna Pappas rejected him. As for the unsinkable Molly, "This is something I dreamt of, but never expected to hear. I'm blown away right now," she told Jason. And then they proceeded to make out -- while millions of women across America immediately revised their feelings for the supposedly most likable Bachelor in series history.
Here's just a small sampling of what fans had to say in Television Without Pity's forums immediately following the three-hour finale. Jason, pray that your adorable little son Ty doesn't know how to use the Internet, because there's plenty more where this came from:
"Molly, you’re next. I give it a few months before he just has to follow his heart again (a.k.a. dump you)." – goddessrin
"It was all appalling on some level--was it necessary to do all this on the air--but I actually groaned, 'Oh, Molly,' when she started making out with him. Bad enough the way the whole thing played out, but to start with the face-sucking at that point?" – Kmax
"Melissa showed a lot of class." – 007Girl
"That was the biggest vat of Velveeta I've ever seen." – TooMuchFreeTime
"Am I the only one thinking that was totally fake? I had friends arguing with me on how real it is." – Laurie4H
"Jason is such a pig. Changing your heart is one thing, doing it on national television is another. AND hooking up with a girl within an hour of dumping your fiancée . UGH. I wish him much unhappiness." – Wrong Heaven
"I have never thought this before about her, but tonight I realized Molly is an actress. Her confused look when Jason told her he wants her back and everything after that was right out of a soap opera." – Carus
"I thought Melissa handled the whole thing great. She kept her dignity while also expressing what a bastard Jason is." – agockows
"Jason had every right to change his mind, but breaking it off in front of the cameras is a new low. Molly, congrats, honey. You 'won.' I think it'll become really clear really soon just what a 'prize' he isn't." – Mamabisi
"Molly is just a poor example of what unfortunately many girls have become these days. A boy does all the wrong things to someone else but maybe I can change him so I'm going to take him back because hey, I'M MOLLY and no guy walks away from me. Well, he did walk away from you and who's to say in six weeks he won't be backing up to call Jillian?" – nymetsgirl22
"Jason's 15 minutes for me expired about two hours ago. He's a loser. Molly's a fool for agreeing to anything other than a cup of coffee for old time's sake. There's no future in that relationship because, really, the guy can't tell the truth unless it's dragged out of him and that will destroy any relationship he's in." – becca656
"And total ewwwwwww when they started making out at the end. Yeah, Melissa's body wasn't even cold yet and they were pawing each other." – weezer95
"Jason, you have seriously underestimated how people will react to what you did just now but I suspect you'll find out quickly enough. Good luck, Molly! Oh, one other thing - consider this: Melissa will move on and find a decent guy who will treat her right. Meanwhile, every time you and Jason have problems or get into a fight, you'll be left wondering if his silence means he's thinking about how he made a mistake with you and regretting letting Melissa go." – The Closer
"As the single mom of 2 girls, who is getting back into dating after a divorce, it makes me SICK that he would bring Melissa into Ty's life for 6 weeks, including holidays, and then yank her out and bring Molly in. He didn't mention Ty ONCE tonight." – brgrayduck
"Jason needs therapy before he commits to anyone else. He's clearly very needy and confused, and should probably not be getting engaged to anyone at this point. I think he has maturity issues too." – DebbieM
Jason is such a jerk. How could he immediately go from breaking off his engagement with Melissa to kissing Molly mere minutes after? And no tears for Melissa, the woman he was just engaged to, while he had this huge emotional reaction after he rejected Molly?" – Coco79
"I honestly could not believe my eyes, watching that circus. I mean...do people have NO shame? To have these kinds of personal things televised? What have we come to? On the one hand, great drama to watch...on the other, I feel dirty for even participating." – PetuniaP
"I hope Jason's ex-wife is out hiring a lawyer to try to get full custody of Ty." – Whataconcept
"Wow, that was good television. I was genuinely surprised. I had the same freeze frame, deer in headlights look that Molly had." -- TrebledTimes
Source: http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/the-bachelor-were-just-not-that-into-you--159
Monday, February 16, 2009
Galaxy has 'billions of Earths'
There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard.
Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms.
He was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago.
So far, telescopes have been able to detect just over 300 planets outside our Solar System.
Very few of these would be capable of supporting life, however. Most are gas giants like our Jupiter, and many orbit so close to their parent stars that any microbes would have to survive roasting temperatures.
But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one "Earth-like" planet.
This simple calculation means there would be huge numbers capable of supporting life.
"Not only are they probably habitable but they probably are also going to be inhabited," Dr Boss told BBC News. "But I think that most likely the nearby 'Earths' are going to be inhabited with things which are perhaps more common to what Earth was like three or four billion years ago." That means bacterial lifeforms.
Dr Boss estimates that Nasa's Kepler mission, due for launch in March, should begin finding some of these Earth-like planets within the next few years.
Recent work at Edinburgh University tried to quantify how many intelligent civilisations might be out there. The research suggested there could be thousands of them.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7891132.stm
Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms.
He was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago.
So far, telescopes have been able to detect just over 300 planets outside our Solar System.
Very few of these would be capable of supporting life, however. Most are gas giants like our Jupiter, and many orbit so close to their parent stars that any microbes would have to survive roasting temperatures.
But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one "Earth-like" planet.
This simple calculation means there would be huge numbers capable of supporting life.
"Not only are they probably habitable but they probably are also going to be inhabited," Dr Boss told BBC News. "But I think that most likely the nearby 'Earths' are going to be inhabited with things which are perhaps more common to what Earth was like three or four billion years ago." That means bacterial lifeforms.
Dr Boss estimates that Nasa's Kepler mission, due for launch in March, should begin finding some of these Earth-like planets within the next few years.
Recent work at Edinburgh University tried to quantify how many intelligent civilisations might be out there. The research suggested there could be thousands of them.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7891132.stm
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Blue the hue of creativity? Red for detail?
WASHINGTON – We learn from toddlerhood that red means danger — so should we use red ink for medication warnings? And if blue signals the freedom of open skies, how about brainstorming in a room painted blue?
Maybe so, says new research into how the brain reacts to colors: Red seems to improve attention to detail while blue sparks creativity.
"People are not aware of this effect at all," marvels lead researcher Juliet Zhu of the University of British Columbia, who studies how environmental cues affect behavior.
The subconscious effect of color is a hot area of psychology research, in part because marketers try to use color to hook us on whatever they're trying to sell.
And the newest research, published Thursday by the journal Science, suggests they'd better be careful — because red or blue can spark very different brain reactions depending on the task involved.
The study put college students through a series of cognitive tests, most involving computer screens colored either red or blue. Both colors could enhance performance but in very different ways.
Students memorized more words when the list was on a red screen, for instance. Told to think of different uses for a brick, those shown a red screen listed practical things like "build a house" while those who saw blue got more creative with "make a paperweight' and "build a pet scratching post."
When they rated ads, those who saw red backgrounds focused on what to avoid — they liked toothpaste that stressed cavity-fighting over tooth-whitening — while those who saw blue went for the creativity of a camera ad that showed travel images instead of touting the zoom lens.
Because we learn early that red means to avoid danger, maybe it's slowing us down in detail-oriented tasks so we can do them better — things like memorizing, proofreading, reading warning labels, concluded Zhu, an assistant marketing professor, and co-author Ravi Mehta.
But people associate blue with sky, freedom, peace, maybe sparking a feeling of exploration than in turn enhances creativity.
"It's really this learned association with these colors that drive these different motivations," Zhu said.
If the findings are right, the creativity discovery could be a big advance — no one's ever made such a link, said Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester, a leader in the field of color psychology.
But he had a big caution: The study focused on hue without properly taking into account the intensity and brightness of the colors, meaning it should be repeated to be sure.
Most color research has focused on red, finding, for example, that it makes good sports uniforms because it's intimidating. Elliot found red is truly a good Valentine's color, making men consider women more sexually attractive than other colors do.
But how the brain reacts depends on the question you ask, Elliot said. When he flashed red at students before an IQ test or exam he found it undermines performance, maybe making them think of the failure that a teacher's red pen marks evoke.
That doesn't contradict Zhu's results, Elliot cautioned — proofreading or memorizing is more detail-oriented than a big exam.
The bottom line: "What color research shows is our behavior is driven by things we aren't aware of, by things we see on a regular basis," he said. "It's important to know, so when one sees red one can maybe try to counteract the natural tendency to make mistakes and fail."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_sc/med_color_psychology
Maybe so, says new research into how the brain reacts to colors: Red seems to improve attention to detail while blue sparks creativity.
"People are not aware of this effect at all," marvels lead researcher Juliet Zhu of the University of British Columbia, who studies how environmental cues affect behavior.
The subconscious effect of color is a hot area of psychology research, in part because marketers try to use color to hook us on whatever they're trying to sell.
And the newest research, published Thursday by the journal Science, suggests they'd better be careful — because red or blue can spark very different brain reactions depending on the task involved.
The study put college students through a series of cognitive tests, most involving computer screens colored either red or blue. Both colors could enhance performance but in very different ways.
Students memorized more words when the list was on a red screen, for instance. Told to think of different uses for a brick, those shown a red screen listed practical things like "build a house" while those who saw blue got more creative with "make a paperweight' and "build a pet scratching post."
When they rated ads, those who saw red backgrounds focused on what to avoid — they liked toothpaste that stressed cavity-fighting over tooth-whitening — while those who saw blue went for the creativity of a camera ad that showed travel images instead of touting the zoom lens.
Because we learn early that red means to avoid danger, maybe it's slowing us down in detail-oriented tasks so we can do them better — things like memorizing, proofreading, reading warning labels, concluded Zhu, an assistant marketing professor, and co-author Ravi Mehta.
But people associate blue with sky, freedom, peace, maybe sparking a feeling of exploration than in turn enhances creativity.
"It's really this learned association with these colors that drive these different motivations," Zhu said.
If the findings are right, the creativity discovery could be a big advance — no one's ever made such a link, said Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester, a leader in the field of color psychology.
But he had a big caution: The study focused on hue without properly taking into account the intensity and brightness of the colors, meaning it should be repeated to be sure.
Most color research has focused on red, finding, for example, that it makes good sports uniforms because it's intimidating. Elliot found red is truly a good Valentine's color, making men consider women more sexually attractive than other colors do.
But how the brain reacts depends on the question you ask, Elliot said. When he flashed red at students before an IQ test or exam he found it undermines performance, maybe making them think of the failure that a teacher's red pen marks evoke.
That doesn't contradict Zhu's results, Elliot cautioned — proofreading or memorizing is more detail-oriented than a big exam.
The bottom line: "What color research shows is our behavior is driven by things we aren't aware of, by things we see on a regular basis," he said. "It's important to know, so when one sees red one can maybe try to counteract the natural tendency to make mistakes and fail."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_sc/med_color_psychology
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