Obama Asks Russia For 15K Troops?

As insane as these times are and as many times as I have warned about this possibility, my mind is having trouble accepting that this might actually be happening.

Is this "eutimes" site credible or is it baloney? The world is so nutty anymore I now have significant difficulty telling fact from fantasy. But if this is indeed true, all I can say is hang on to your backsides because things are NOT good.

http://www.eutimes.net/2013/06/obama...ming-disaster/

An unsettling [COLOR=#CC0000 !important]report prepared by the Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) circulating in the Kremlin today on the just completed talks between Russia and the United States in[COLOR=#CC0000 !important]Washington[/COLOR] D.C. says that the Obama regime has requested at least 15,000 Russian troops trained in disaster relief and ?crowd functions? [i.e. riot control] be pre-positioned to respond to FEMA Region III during an unspecified ?upcoming? disaster.[/COLOR]
According to this report, this unprecedented request was made directly to Minister Vladimir Puchkov by US[COLOR=#CC0000 !important]Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Director Janet Napolitano who said these Russian troops would work ?directly and jointly? with her Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of whose mission is to secure the continuity of the US government in the event of natural disasters or war.[/COLOR]
Important to note, this report says, is that FEMA Region III, the area Russian troops are being requested for, includes Washington D.C. and the surrounding States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, ?strongly suggesting? that the Obama regime has lost confidence in its own military being able to secure its survival should it be called upon to do so.
In his public statements, yesterday, regarding these matters Minister Puchkov stated, ?We have decided that the US Federal Emergency Management Agency and Russia?s Emergencies Ministry will work together to develop systems to protect people and territory from cosmic impacts,? and further noted that his meeting with DHS Director Napolitano also covered other kinds of natural emergencies, such as recent years? extreme weather in both Russia and United States.

In this EMERCOM report, however, Minister Puchkov notes that the Russian troops being requested by the Obama regime would ?more than likely? be paired with US-DHS troops who last year purchased nearly 2 billion rounds of ammunition and just this past month placed and emergency order for riot gear.
As to what ?upcoming disaster? the US is preparing for, thisreport continues, appears to be ?strongly related? to last weeks assassination of American reporter Michael Hastings who was killed while attempting to reach the safety of the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, and as we had reported on in our 20 June report Top US Journalist Attempting To Reach Israeli Consulate Assassinated.
Further to be noted about Hastings assassination by the Obama regime is the continued US mainstream propaganda news cover-up of it, though many freelance reporters continue to uncover the truth, such as Jim Stone whose investigation noted that the rear portion of Hastings car was blown open and shredded with the rest of the car nicely intact, which runs counter to the ?official? story that this [COLOR=#CC0000 !important]vehicle has hit a tree.[/COLOR]

Not mentioned in this EMERCOM report is any suggestion that Russia would comply with this request from the Obama regime, especially in light of the horrifying information being given to Russian intelligence analysts from Edward Snowden who has been labeled as the most wanted man in the world.
According to one [COLOR=#CC0000 !important]Federal Security Services (FSB) bulletin on their continued debriefing of Snowden, and analysis of the information he has provided Russian intelligence officers, his [COLOR=#CC0000 !important]father[/COLOR], Lonnie Snowden, was an officer in the US Coast Guard during the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States who had ?direct knowledge? of the true events that occurred and whom the real perpetrators were.[/COLOR]

Being directly affected by the events of 9/11, this FSB bulletin says, Snowden ?self initiated? a multi-year effort to gain access to America?s top secrets, a mission which when recently completed led him to contact various international reporters, including Hastings, whom he believed could be trusted with disseminating the information he had obtained.
Though known to us directly from our Kremlin sources as to the exact connections Snowden?s information proves regarding 9/11 and both the Bush and Obama regimes, and the even more horrific event soon to come, a June 2013Defence Advisory Notice (DA-Notice) prevents our being able to?at this time.
Likewise, and as the assassination of Hastings clearly [COLOR=#CC0000 !important]shows, the Obama regime claims a legal right to kill anyone it so chooses without charges or trial they believe may threaten US national security, and what Snowden?s information reveals definitely falls into that category.[/COLOR]
What can be said though, there is a critical reason billionaires all over the world have been dumping their stocks, and fast; and those who are not able to read between the lines will soon find themselves in the most dangerous situation they?ve ever encountered.
Forewarned IS forearmed.

Source: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?419778-Obama-Asks-Russia-For-15K-Troops&goto=newpost

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Hungary to raise teachers' wages in September: minister

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary will raise teachers' wages from September, a government minister said on Sunday, in a move that could help the ruling Fidesz party cement its robust opinion poll lead ahead of a national election expected next April or May.

The announcement comes just nine days after the European Union took Hungary off the list of member states which must take measures to cut their budget deficits, removing the threat of cuts in development funds from Brussels.

Hungary had postponed the decision on the wage hikes, which are part of a new career model for teachers, to secure a favorable decision from the EU.

It also unveiled surprise measures this month to generate more than 100 billion forints ($441.32 million) in additional tax revenues, mainly from the telecoms and financial sectors, to help convince Brussels it can keep the budget deficit below the EU threshold of 3 percent of economic output.

Political analysts have said government-imposed energy utility price cuts have helped Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz keep its ratings well ahead of rivals in the opinion polls and wage increases could also support its popularity.

Zoltan Balog, minister for human resources, was quoted by the national news agency MTI as saying the rise would probably cover half of the planned total increase in teachers' wages.

The rest could come on January 1 or September 1 next year, or in two steps, but a decision will be taken later, he said.

The total monthly wage increase for a teacher with 30 years' experience would amount to about 110,000 forints ($490), Balog said, without disclosing the cost of the measure to the state budget.

According to media reports, the country of 10 million employed about 140,000 school and kindergarten teachers in 2012.

An opinion poll by Tarki carried out on June 12-21 showed that Fidesz had 26 percent support among all voters, twice as much as the main opposition party, the Socialists.

($1 = 226.5916 Hungarian forints)

(Reporting by Sandor Peto, editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hungary-raise-teachers-wages-september-minister-163649036.html

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What's Your Pick for a Google Reader Replacement?

The day we RSS fans have been dreading for months is almost here. On Monday, Google Reader dies. Forever. There's no going back. Everybody's been hawking their replacements, and we've brought you a little sampling, but now it's decision time. Who you goin' with?

Source: http://gizmodo.com/whats-your-pick-for-a-google-reader-replacement-619767444

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James Woods Girlfriend: Kristen Bauguess, 46 Years His Junior

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/james-woods-girlfriend-kristen-bauguess-46-years-his-junior/

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Google to loan Street View Trekker to third parties, build out Maps on the cheap

Are you a tourism board, non-profit, government agency, university or research organization? Google wants you to help add 360-degree imagery with its nifty Street View Trekker, through a brand-new loan program. If you get the nod from GOOG, you'll have a chance to roam the Earth with the company's human-mounted camera equipment. The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau was tapped as the first volunteer -- the group is currently hard at work shooting popular attractions throughout the 50th state. Though the terms aren't entirely clear, we're willing to bet that Google's giving preference to bonafide orgs, rather than sending its pricey gear off with individuals. Still, if you've been dying to contribute to Maps, it never hurts to apply. To get started, just fill out the form at the source link below. Oh, and as you've probably already guessed, there's a 60-second video after the break, too.

Filed under: GPS, Internet, Google

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Source: Google, Apply Here

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/google-street-view-trekker-loans/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Restaurant Sues Charter School, LAUSD for 'Malicious' Disruption of ...

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Home / Bell Gardens Sun, City Terrace Comet, Commerce Comet, East Los Angeles (LA City), Eastside Sun, ELA Brooklyn Belvedere Comet, General News, Mexican American Sun, Montebello Comet, Monterey Park Comet, Northeast Sun, Vernon Sun, Wyvernwood Chronicle / Restaurant Sues Charter School, LAUSD for ?Malicious? Disruption of Business

By EGP Staff Report

?

After years of strained relations, neighbors on North Huntington Drive in El Sereno could be headed to court now that one the parties has filed a lawsuit seeking over $1 million in damages from a local charter school and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Attorneys for the owners of El Sereno restaurant ?Hecho en Mexico Authentic Mexican Cuisine LLC? (Hecho En Mexico) on Monday served its neighbor, charter school ?Semillas Sociedad Civil? (Semillas), its operators and affiliated groups and individuals, with the lawsuit filed on June 7. They had previously served LAUSD, which is listed as a defendant because it authorized the charter school?s operation.

EGP Photo Archive

One of the main defendants called the lawsuit ?frivolous,? and the owners have no proof to back their claims.

The suit alleges that since 2009, when Semillas? opened its now defunct restaurant Xokolatl Caf?, LLC, school leadership, including Executive Director and Principal Marcos Aguilar, began to interfere with Hecho En Mexico?s business with the goal to ?ultimately seize the opportunity to operate the restaurant for themselves.?

The complaint alleges that Semillas affiliates have repeatedly and maliciously interfered the restaurant?s ability to do business by making it impossible for customers to park during peak business hours and creating a noise nuisance that has driven customers sway.

It further alleges that the school has allowed students to use the parking area as a playground, interfering with the restaurant?s ability to use covered patio seating because the noise and activity bothers customers. The school has also encouraged students to enter the restaurant?s property and climb on top of a metal patio roof to retrieve balls, causing damage to the roof and related drains, and exposing students to potential injuries, according to the complaint.

Perhaps the most damaging claim is the allegation that Semillas has engaged in a campaign of ?false allegations? to damage the restaurant?s and owner?s reputations. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Semillas falsely claimed the restaurant encouraged drug and alcohol use among minors, including Semillas students. It says people affiliated with the school have accused one of the owners of being a pervert taking photos of children, and one of the plaintiff?s cars being vandalized with the words ?no mas fotos? (no more photos). Semillas is alleged to have engaged launched a boycott of the restaurant aimed at driving customers away.

?We both immigrated from Mexico decades ago, became U.S. citizens and are trying to build the American dream. Now it has become a nightmare,? said Connie Castro, who with her husband Jorge Bravo owns the restaurant. ?We could have pursued business opportunities in South Pasadena or Alhambra, but we chose to stay in El Sereno because we wanted to help make the community better,? she said in a written statement.

The site where Hecho en Mexico is located has been a restaurant since 1950. Castro and Bravo purchased the restaurant in 2004 and claim that business had been growing at about 10% a year, but has ?plummeted by 50% since Semillas began its campaign against the restaurant.? The owners claim they have been forced to layoff employees and cut worker?s hours as a result of Semillas? disruptive actions.

?All my clients want is to be left alone to operate a community institution in the same manner it has operated for decades without trouble? The decision to go to court was long, hard and carefully considered, and we are confident the court will remedy the situation,? said Thomas W. Dressler, the attorney representing Hecho en Mexico.

Aguilar, who along with his wife Minnie Ferguson, Tzicatl Community Development Corporation (TCDC), Xokolatl Caf? LLC, and 1-100 John Does who aided and abetted the wrongful acts, are listed as defendants in the lawsuit along with LAUSD.

Earlier this week, in an email responding to EGP?s request for comment on the lawsuit, Aguilar asked, ?How is a frivolous lawsuit newsworthy?? but later emailed a statement responding to the lawsuit that also included a copy of a September 2012 letter to the Department of Beverage Control in which Aguilar issues a complaint regarding Hecho en Mexico?s liquor license.

According the statement, Semillas administrators and parents have been asking elected officials and oversight authorities to intervene and investigate ?the nature of Hecho en Mexico?s after-hours adult entertainment for over two years.?

The release states that they believe Hecho de Mexico?s complaint is without merit, and ??Semillas has pledged to continue to hold Hecho en Mexico accountable for filing this frivolous lawsuit.?

?Hecho en Mexico has presented no evidence to correlate their alleged decline in business to the supposed activities by Semillas. Furthermore, given the climate of a recession, a depressed business corridor, and rising levels of unemployment in the restaurant industry, we feel their allegations are unfounded. To the contrary, Semillas has been a leader in the community, revitalizing blighted buildings and reinforcing a decades-old moratorium on the proliferation of liquor licenses in El Sereno,? said Marcos Aguilar, Semillas? executive director.

UCLA professor and president of the Semillas Council of Trustees, Dr. Juan Gomez Quinones, adds that he finds it unfortunate that the restaurant owners feel singled out. ?This issue is more about school safety and adequate oversight of conditional liquor licenses around neighborhood schools which operate outside of those conditions,? Quinones said.

Aguilar goes on to state that the restaurant?s ?adult-oriented entertainment, such as strip teases and general debauchery? next to the school is outside the scope of the liquor license and has resulted in the school having to scale back on after school programming.

?Semillas is an educational organization dedicated to academic excellence for inner-city students. We have no interest in operating this restaurant as alleged by the complainants,? Aguilar added.

Semillas Community Schools is composed of two sites on Huntington Drive, one at 4976 Huntington Drive, next door to Hecho en Mexico; the other located down the street at 4736 Huntington Drive. The charter school operators have been operating an elementary school at one site and a high school at the other.

Last week, LAUSD denied the high school?s charter renewal despite the school having earned a six-year accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and five year re-authorization by the International Baccalaureate organization. School officials expressed concerns over Anahuacalmecac high school?s finances, under enrollment, and uneven academic progress, among other issues.

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Posted by admin ? Filed Under Bell Gardens Sun, City Terrace Comet, Commerce Comet, East Los Angeles (LA City), Eastside Sun, ELA Brooklyn Belvedere Comet, General News, Mexican American Sun, Montebello Comet, Monterey Park Comet, Northeast Sun, Vernon Sun, Wyvernwood Chronicle?

June 27, 2013? Copyright ? 2012 Eastern Group Publications, Inc.

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Source: http://egpnews.com/2013/06/restaurant-sues-charter-school-lausd-for-malicious-disruption-of-business/

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RECREATION CALENDAR | The Sports Desk

THE SPORTS DESK

The authority for sports coverage in the Fredericksburg region.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

June 29?30: Commonwealth Classic adult soccer tournament at Patriot Park in Spotsylvania County. This is a sanctioned event (must have player passes). Divisions: Men?s Premier, Competitive and Over-40; Coed Premier and Competitive; Women?s open invitational. For fees, rules and how to enter, visit commonwealthclassic.org.

June 29: Dirty Lion Mud Run. 9 a.m. at state routes 642 and 218 in King George. Cost: $50 for 5K Dirty Lion for ages 14-up; $15 for 1-mile Kids Leo Mud Run. Register at racetimingunlimited.org.

June 30: Splash-N-Dash biathlon, 7:30 a.m. at Curtis Memorial Park. Cost is $35?$45, depending on competition category. Events: 300-yard swim/1 mile run for ages 12-under, 750-yard swim/5k run 13 and over. Register at racetimingunlimited.org or sharkswim.org or email varoberson@comcast.net for additional information.

July 2: All-comers track meet, 6:30 p.m. at James Monroe High School. Competition is free; donations accepted, Held every Tuesday through July 30. Information:

runfarc.com.

July 4: Heritage Festival 5-miler, 7:45 a.m. at Fredericksburg train station. Cost: $25 ($30 on race day). Register at racetimingunlimited.org.

Aug. 3: Dahlgren Heitage 50K Rail Trail run, 6:30 a.m. in King George. Register at racetimingunlimited.org.

Aug. 17?18, 24?25: Washington Invitational youth soccer tournaments, FASA Complex at Routes 2 and 17 in Spotsylvania. Girls tournament Aug. 17?18, boys Aug. 24?25. Information: fasasoccer.org.

Send recreation calendar items to sports@freelancestar.com.

Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/sports/2013/06/27/recreation-calendar-47/

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Source: http://news.fredericksburg.com/sports/2013/06/27/recreation-calendar-47/

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YouWeb Founder Peter Relan Sunsets His Gaming Incubator, Will ...

Peter Relan is best known for his gaming and mobile incubator YouWeb, which spawned Crowdstar, Agawi, Spaceport, OpenFeint and others. Today, the serial entrepreneur is announcing that YouWeb will no longer be incubating any additional companies, and Relan will be moving on to a new venture.

With this move, Relan will be sunsetting the operational roles he took across a number of companies he co-founded. For example, he stepped in as the CEO of Crowdstar in 2011, and stepped down from the role last fall. He will remain in a chairman role of his companies, he tells us.

YouWeb had differed from other accelerators in that it was extremely early-stage, almost pre-Y Combinator incubator. YouWeb chose individuals based on talent, and entrepreneurs came in with no team, business model or idea. The individual was given $100,000, and developed a business or app in-house, with Relan advising the startup along the way. YouWeb usually incubated about two entrepreneurs per year.

OpenFeint was acquired by GREE a few years ago for over $100 million, and Facebook acqui-hired the team behind Spaceport. Mobile gaming company CrowdStar is still alive, having raised another $11 million in new funding last year. In total, Relan says that YouWeb companies raised $60 million in capital, and saw $120 million in three exits.

He adds that YouWeb generated three times the cash multiple for investors (YouWeb raised around $2 million in outside funding). YouWeb won?t be shut down entirely, as the entity will still have ownership in the incubator?s startups. But the entire YouWeb team will be moving to Relan?s new company.

With all of the YouWeb companies now matured to full-fledged companies, Relan is setting his sights on something larger. He plans to expand the concept of YouWeb at a larger scale, and will be launching a studio-like organization that goes beyond mobile gaming. He adds that the new company will give greater focus on mentorship, not on co-founding or operational roles. ?I was an operational co-founder and now I will become a mentor,? he explains.

We?re seeing more and more serial entrepreneurs are forgoing traditional VC roles in favor of creating company-building studios. As Relan tells us, his new venture will have a slightly different take on this model by focusing on mentorship. Stay tuned.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/28/youweb-founder-peter-relan-sunsets-his-gaming-incubator-will-open-a-new-company-building-studio-soon/

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U.S. Senate committee to examine Smithfield-Shuanghui deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The proposed purchase of Smithfield Foods the world's largest pork processor, by Shuanghui International of China will be examined at a July 10 hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee, chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said on Thursday.

Smithfield chairman Larry Pope was scheduled to testify. Other witnesses have not been announced.

The hearing, "Smithfield and Beyond: Examining Foreign Purchases of American Food Companies" will look at how the government review of such takeovers account for food safety and protection of American technologies and intellectual property.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott; editing by Ros Krasny)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-committee-examine-smithfield-shuanghui-deal-144356411.html

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The Myth of the Komodo Dragon?s Dirty Mouth

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The Myth of the Komodo Dragon?s Dirty Mouth
In 1969, an American biologist named Walter Auffenberg moved to the Indonesia island of Komodo to study its most famous resident?the Komodo dragon. This huge lizard?the largest in the world?grows to lengths of 3 metres, and can take down large prey like deer and water buffalo. Auffenberg watched the dragons for a year and eventually published a book on their behaviour in 1981. It won him an award. It also enshrined a myth that took almost three decades to refute, and is still prevalent today.

Source: National Geographic
Posted on: Thursday, Jun 27, 2013, 8:51am
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128828/The_Myth_of_the_Komodo_Dragon___s_Dirty_Mouth

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Neighbor testifies about Martin-Zimmerman fight

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? Two neighbors and a police officer gave accounts Friday in George Zimmerman's murder trial that seemed to bolster the neighborhood watch volunteer's contention that he was on his back and being straddled by Trayvon Martin during their confrontation.

Neighbor Jonathan Good said it appeared the unarmed teen was straddling Zimmerman, while another neighbor, Jonathan Manalo, said Zimmerman seemed credible when he said immediately after the fight that he had shot Martin in self-defense. Officer Tim Smith testified that Zimmerman's backside was covered in grass and wetter than his front side.

All three were called as witnesses for prosecutors who are trying to convict him of second-degree murder.

Good, who had perhaps the best view of any witness, said he did not see anyone's head being slammed into the concrete sidewalk, as Zimmerman claims Martin did to him. Good initially testified that it appeared "there were strikes being thrown, punches being thrown," but during detailed questioning he said he saw only "downward" arm movements being made.

Zimmerman has claimed that he fatally shot 17-year-old Martin last year in self-defense as the Miami-area teen was banging his head into the concrete sidewalk behind the townhomes in a gated community.

Under prosecution questioning, Good said he never saw anyone being attacked that way during the fight between Zimmerman and Martin.

"I couldn't see that," Good said moments later while being cross-examined.

Good said he heard a noise behind his townhome in February 2012, and he saw what looked like a tussle when he stepped out onto his patio to see what was happening.

He said he yelled: "What's going on? Stop it."

Good testified he saw a person in black clothing on top of another person with "white or red" clothing. He said he couldn't see faces but it looked like the person on the bottom had lighter skin. Martin was black and was wearing a dark hoodie. Zimmerman identifies as Hispanic and was wearing a red jacket. Good was back inside calling 911 when he heard a gunshot.

"It looked like there were strikes being thrown, punches being thrown," Good said.

Later, under cross-examination, he said that it looked like the person on top was straddling the person on bottom in a mixed-martial arts move known as "ground and pound." When defense attorney Mark O'Mara asked him if the person on top was Martin, Good said, "Correct, that's what it looked like." Good also said the person on the bottom yelled for help.

Zimmerman, 29, could get life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. Zimmerman followed Martin in his truck and called a police dispatch number before he and the teen got into a fight.

Zimmerman has denied the confrontation had anything to do with race, as Martin's family and their supporters have claimed.

Manalo, whose wife had testified earlier in the week, was the first neighbor to step outside and see what happened with his flashlight after he heard a gunshot. He took cellphone photos of a bloodied Zimmerman and Martin's body, and those photos were shown to jurors on Friday. Manalo also described Martin's hands as being under his body.

Manalo said Zimmerman didn't appear shocked and acted calmly. After police officers arrived and handcuffed Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer asked Manalo to call his wife and tell her what happened.

Manalo started to tell Zimmerman's wife that her husband had been involved in a shooting and was being questioned by police when "he cut me off and said, 'Just tell her I shot someone,'" Manalo said.

Under cross-examination, Manalo said when he asked Zimmerman what happened, the neighborhood watch volunteer told him, "I was defending myself and I shot him."

"From what you could tell at that moment, that seemed completely true?" asked defense attorney Don West.

"Yes," Manalo said.

Smith, the police officer, testified that when he saw Zimmerman after the shooting, the neighborhood watch volunteer's backside was covered in grass and wetter than his front side, bolstering defense attorneys' contention that Martin was on top of Zimmerman.

As he walked to the squad car after he had been handcuffed, Zimmerman told the officer that "he was yelling for help and nobody would come help him," Smith said.

"It was almost a defeated ... a confused look on his face," Smith said.

Smith said Zimmerman described himself as "lightheaded" during the drive to Sanford Police Station but declined an offer to take him to a hospital.

The physician's assistant who treated Zimmerman the next day said that Zimmerman complained of feeling nauseated upon reflecting what had happened. But Lindzee Folgate attributed that to psychological factors rather than any physical condition. She also said it appeared his nose was broken, but it was impossible to say for sure since no X-rays were taken. She recommended he see an ear-and-nose doctor and a psychologist.

When O'Mara asked if abrasions on his head were consistent with someone who had his had slammed into concrete, Folgate said, "it could be consistent, yes."

She also testified that Zimmerman had written on a form reciting his medical history that he was exercising three times a week by doing mixed martial arts, a statement that prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda asked her to repeat.

Paramedic Stacy Livingston, who responded to the shooting scene, testified Zimmerman had a swollen, bleeding nose and two cuts on the back of his head an inch long. When O'Mara asked if Zimmerman should have been concerned with his medical well-being because of his injuries, Livingston said, "Possibly."

When photos of Martin's body were shown on a courtroom projector during Livingston's testimony, Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, looked away and blinked back tears.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/neighbor-testifies-martin-zimmerman-fight-142241374.html

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AP Interview: Egypt's Moussa urges new election

CAIRO (AP) ? Leading Egyptian opposition figure Amr Moussa on Thursday urged the country's Islamist president to listen to the voices of the opposition and respond to their demands by holding early presidential elections.

In an interview with The Associated Press at his office in downtown Cairo, Moussa, a leading member of Egypt's main opposition bloc, the National Salvation Front, said the group is not calling for "the fall of the regime or staging a coup but heading to the ballot box" to change the president.

"Democracy should be the name of the game. Any change should be through democratic means," he said, adding: "Egypt needs real change in the way Egypt is managed."

Moussa's remarks came after President Mohammed Morsi delivered a lengthy speech late Wednesday ahead of opposition-led mass rallies on June 30 that aim to force him from office, claiming he has failed in office.

In his 2 ?-hour address, Morsi defended his performance in his first year in office, admitting to making mistakes but also claiming achievements. He offered no compromises in the confrontation with his opponents.

Those organizing the protests for Sunday ? the anniversary of Morsi's inauguration ? say he must go because he has mismanaged the country, given a monopoly on decision-making to the Muslim Brotherhood and his Islamist allies and has encroached on the judiciary.

Commenting on the speech, Moussa said the president and his Islamist backers are "not taking the opposition seriously."

"They don't want to recognize that there is anger. They are missing the point, a major point," he said and added, "they are in a state of denial." He then addressed Morsi personally, saying: "take the voice of the people seriously ... and the angry comments as major expression of dissatisfaction. Please take that seriously and accept early elections."

Moussa urged protesters to remain peaceful and refrain from violence in order to "prevail."

"The worst case scenario is chaos and anarchy, and this worst case should be avoided by all means," he said, urging protesters: "please come out and show your strength ... protest and say what you want to say but peacefully, peacefully, and don't get into bloodshed."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-egypts-moussa-urges-election-185931640.html

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Senate passes immigration bill, but future prospects are cloudy ...

Republican Senator from Arizona John McCain (L) and Democratic Senator from New York Chuck Schumer (R) talk with the media outside the Senate chamber after the immigration bill passed a crucial vote to move forward to a final vote in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 27 June 2013. (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA)

The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill with bipartisan support on Thursday, the culmination of months of negotiations between Democratic and Republican senators. But their effort faces diminishing prospects in the Republican-led House, where Speaker John Boehner reiterated on Thursday that he would not vote on the Senate?s bill.

The bill passed on a 68-32 vote presided over by Vice President Joe Biden. Every Democratic senator voted ?aye? along with 14 Republicans, including the GOP members of the bipartisan ?Gang of Eight? who negotiated the bill: Marco Rubio of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

?The finish line is very close to here,? Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a speech immediately preceding the vote. ?Down this very long hallway to the House of Representatives.?

In an effort to bring more Republicans on board and put pressure on the House to follow their lead, Democrats agreed to back an amendment by GOP senators Bob Corker and John Hoeven adding $38 billion to border security. While its passage brought some Republicans into the fold, it fell just short of reformers? stated goals of attracting 70 or more votes. And if the goal was to make the House feel compelled to act, they haven?t shown much willingness to do so.

Related: DOMA decision to end exile of gay couples abroad

While Reid said he was ?confident? that Congress would follow suit, recent developments have pro-reform lawmakers concerned that House Republican leaders are souring on a broad immigration bill along the Senate?s lines. On Thursday, Boehner set the bar high for a vote on any immigration legislation, saying that it would have to first garner support from a majority of Republicans.

?The House is not going to take up and vote on whatever the Senate passes,? Boehner told reporters. ?We?re going to do our own bill through regular order, and it will be legislation that reflects the will of our majority and the will of the American people.?

Few political observers believe there are enough GOP votes in the conservative House, whose members are mostly insulated from Latino voters in safe seats, to pass a bill with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Recently, the House Judiciary Committee has started work on legislation aimed at criminalizing and deporting undocumented immigrants with help from local authorities, a policy modeled on Arizona?s SB 1070 law, which helped spark a backlash from Latino voters around the country. They could follow through with several smaller bills on high-tech visas and guest workers, but Senate Democrats and Latino groups are unlikely to support anything short of a comprehensive package that includes a citizenship component.

The Senate?s bill includes four main components. First, it would provide limited legal status to undocumented immigrants who register with the government, pay a fine, and pass a background check. It would also give many of them the option to apply for a green card after 10 years and citizenship after 13 if they stay out of legal trouble and learn English. Second, it would crack down on illegal hiring by requiring businesses to check whether their employees are authorized to work using the government?s E-Verify system. Third, it would overhaul the legal immigration system, allowing businesses to hire low-skilled workers for jobs they can demonstrate Americans won?t take and encouraging high-skilled foreign-born graduates to stay in the United States by making it easier to acquire a visa. Finally, the bill would massively expand the nation?s border security apparatus by doubling the border patrol to 40,000 agents, building hundreds of miles of fence, funding a slew of new technology to stop illegal crossings, and instituting a system to track undocumented immigrants who overstay their visas.

These components are all designed to work together as a unit. The legalization and worker visa components are an acknowledgement that existing undocumented immigrants have become a permanent part of the national fabric and that many businesses, especially agriculture, require migrant labor to function. In exchange, the border security and E-verify portions are intended to discourage future illegal entry.

Source: http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/06/27/senate-passes-immigration-bill-but-future-prospects-are-cloudy/

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Acid reflux surgery could help prevent rejection in lung transplant patients

June 28, 2013 ? A Loyola University Medical Center study suggests that a procedure to treat acid reflux could help prevent chronic rejection in lung transplant patients.

The study also found that certain proteins found in lung fluid can help predict whether a patient's transplanted lung is more likely to fail.

Results are published in the July 2013 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Authors are P. Marco Fisichella, MD, FACS (first author), Christopher S. Davis, MD, MPH; Erin Lowery, MD, MS; Luis Ramirez, BS; Richard L. Gamelli, MD, FACS and Elizabeth J. Kovacs, PhD.

Lung transplant patients have the worst survivals of all solid organ transplant recipients. A major reason is bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), a condition in which scar tissue forms around small airways in the lungs. BOS results from chronic rejection of the transplanted lung, and affects about half of lung transplant patients within five years.

Following lung transplantation, patients undergo a procedure every few months to inspect the airways. The procedure, called a bronchoscopy, removes fluid from the lung.

Loyola researchers analysed various biomarkers taken from lung fluid during bronchoscopies. Researchers found that, in patients examined 6 to 12 months after transplant, concentrations of certain biomarkers could predict the likelihood of BOS 30 months after transplant. For example, patients with high concentrations of the biomarker myeloperoxidase and low concentrations of the biomarker ?-1 antitrypsin were more likely to develop BOS.

The study also found that patients who aspirate (inhale fluid into the lungs) show evidence of a more active immune system. In a condition called acid reflux, gastric contents back up from the stomach into the esophagus and can be inhaled into the lungs. The gastric contents irritate the lungs, triggering the immune system to ramp up and begin rejecting the transplanted lung. As evidence of this, patients who aspirate showed higher levels of neutrophils (a type of immune system white blood cell) and the immune system biomarker interleukin-8 (IL-8).

A minimally invasive procedure called laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery can treat acid reflux. The surgeon reinforces the valve between the esophagus and stomach by wrapping the upper portion of the stomach around the lowest portion of the esophagus. The 90-minute procedure requires five small incisions. Patients typically go home the next day, and take about one week to recover, Fisichella said.

Researchers wrote that their findings "justify the surgical prevention of aspiration and argue for the refinement of antirejection regimens."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/8g4S0XIeXPU/130628103147.htm

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Lead bar falls from sky, crashes into Seattle family's home | MyFOX8 ...

SEATTLE, Wash. ? The crashing, pulverizing sound of heavy metal invading a home can ruin a quiet weekend spent with the family.

It led some Seattle residents to call the police. But it wasn?t a noise nuisance caused by hard rock music that they complained about.

The heavy metal was a bar of lead that plummeted from the sky Sunday, puncturing the roof of a Seattle home, police said.

The three-pound chunk left a hole the size of a small shoe box, according to the Seattle police department.

Luckily, no one was reported injured; the metal apparently did not bang any heads.

The lead part had a serial number and two holes that would accommodate bolts. Two days after it dropped in for an unannounced visit, the family decided to call 911.

An officer responding to the call figured it had to have dropped off of a plane flying by overhead. Police are checking with aviation authorities.

It was either that, the officer said, ?or a really big bird that had stolen a lead bar.?

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? & ? 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

Source: http://myfox8.com/2013/06/27/lead-bar-falls-from-sky-crashes-into-seattle-familys-home/

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Missouri governor vetoes bill aimed at restricting union dues (reuters)

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7 Ways to Stay Cool—and Save Money—This Summer

It doesn't make sense to have the a/c cooling your house while you're not there. Sure, you could switch it off on your way out, but it's no fun coming home to a hot and stuffy house. Set a programmable thermostat to a few degrees warmer for when you're out, and then have it cool the house to a comfortable temperature about an hour before you get home. Installing a programmable thermostat can save you about $180 a year in cooling costs.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/energy-efficient/7-ways-to-stay-cool-and-save-money-this-summer?src=rss

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Why You Can't Get Stoned from Smoking Hemp

It's an honest mistake, thinking that marijuana and industrial hemp are one and the same. And in some ways they are: both are species of the genus cannabis, they both have the iconic five-fingered pot leafs, and both are widely sought after the world over. But aside from their outward appearance, they two have very little in common, including where it counts the most.

A Quick History of Hemp

We've been cultivating hemp for more than 12,000 years, making it one of humanity's earliest domesticated plants. While the Chinese have used the material in everything from shoes to paper since at least the 5th century BC, it did not arrive in Western Europe until relatively recently.

Cannabis sativa, "grew and was known in the Neolithic period all across the northern latitudes, from Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Romania, Ukraine) to East Asia (Tibet and China)," stated Elizabeth Wayland Barber in her book Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with Special Reference to the Aegean, noting that it did not reach Western Europe until the Iron Age. "I strongly suspect, however, that what catapulted hemp to sudden fame and fortune as a cultigen and caused it to spread rapidly westwards in the first millennium BC was the spread of the habit of pot-smoking from somewhere in south-central Asia, where the drug-bearing variety of the plant originally occurred. The linguistic evidence strongly supports this theory, both as to time and direction of spread and as to cause."

When it did land in Europe, hemp became a very valuable crop as its fibers could be processed into rope and sailcloth, as Christopher Columbus did. What's more, hemp fibers have proven themselves longer, stronger, more absorbent and insular than cotton, which is why George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew it. The plant has even shown promise as both a biogas precursor, thanks to the long hydrocarbons in its oil, and as a soybean replacement, as it contains more fatty acids and dietary fiber than soy.

Today, hemp is big business. China is the single largest grower and exporter of industrial hemp, though more than 30 countries produce the crop. It goes into everything from foodstuffs to cosmetics to textiles. Hemp is legal to import into the United States; however, due to our draconian prohibition of cannabis, hemp is illegal to grow, at least on the federal level. Nineteen states have enacted legislation to promote the use of hemp while another nine?Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia?have legalized its production outright.

A Weed by Any Other Name

As any self-respecting stoner can tell you, there are two strains of weed that get you high: the tall, scraggly sativas that originated in Southeast Asia and the short, bushy indicas from the Middle East. But there's actually a third strain, cannabis ruderalis, from which we derive industrial hemp. These three species all produce a pair of antagonistic chemical compounds? cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)?albeit in varying ratios.

Sativas are especially high in THC (containing anywhere from 10 to 30 percent THC), which produces the euphoric stoner "head high," and low in CBD, which has been shown to relieve a number of maladies. Indicas are also high in THC but have elevated levels of CBD, which provides a mellower "body high." Ruderalis is the inverse of sativas in that they contain virtually zero THC and massive amounts of CBD. This is the result of both the species' natural disposition and generations of breeding.

The certified low-THC varieties used in Europe and Canada contain maybe 0.2 to 0.3 percent THC when fully matured, and even the lesser-used varieties bred as biofuel precursors top out at 1 percent THC by volume. Trying to get high smoking a one percent THC concentration would be akin to getting hammered on O'Douls, as studies have shown that a sub-one percent concentration produces the same effects as placebo. What's more, the large amounts of the non-psychotropic antagonistic CBD compound further overwhelms the effects of the THC.

As Test Pledge, an arm of the Hemp Industries Association, suggested in a 2000 study, industrial hemp doesn't even contain enough THC to set off a common pre-employment urine test:

Even industrial hemp varieties, bred for low THC content, produce small non-psychoactive quantities of THC - short for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. If seeds are not properly cleaned after harvesting, excess trace residual THC sticks to their hulls and infuses oil and other products. Until 1998, when thoroughly cleaned seeds from Canada and the European Union became widely available, hemp oil containing more than 50 parts per million (ppm) of THC was often found in the market. While too low in THC to cause psychoactivity, studies have shown that such oil may produce a positive drug test for marijuana. Of course, that has also caused a few cases of alleged false-positives in workplace drug testing.

To determine whether current hemp foods can still cause positive drug tests, a Canadian governmental research program (ARDI) and members of the hemp industry commissioned a toxicological study. 15 individuals consumed hemp oil with a known THC concentration. Four different daily doses were given, each for a ten-day period, to allow the THC concentration to reach steady-state concentration in the body. At the end of each period, two urine samples were collected and analyzed. The study found that none of the 15 individuals who consumed up to 600 ?g (micrograms, or one-millionth of a gram) of THC per day were even close to producing a urine sample that was "confirmed positive".

With current seed-cleaning technology and the correspondingly low trace THC levels in hemp oil and hemp nut, producing a confirmed positive test result would require that unrealistically high amounts of hemp oil or hemp nut be eaten. The practice of "confirming" all urine samples, which test positive in an initial screening test is followed by all federal and most private employers. Because some employers and law enforcement agencies rely on screening tests only, screening positive results caused by copious hemp food ingestion are conceivable, yet not likely.

Turns out the well-worn idiom, "you'd need to smoke a hemp joint the size of a telephone pole to get high" isn't that far from the truth. [Cannabis News - Test Pledge - Wikipedia - 420 Times - HuffPo - National Cancer Institute - Top Image: paul prescott/ Shutterstock]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/why-you-cant-get-stoned-from-smoking-hemp-514157145

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Should Apple make OS X look and feel like iOS 7? ? [Poll]

Should Apple bring iOS 7's new, clarified, deferential, depth-driven look and feel OS X? For the last few years Apple has worked diligently and deliberately to bring iOS nomenclature and metaphors back to the Mac, and create a more consistent experience between their two platforms. Right now, however, iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks couldn't look more different.

iOS 7 has an all-new physics and particle engine, making it feel like a collection of objects in space, and work more like a video game, as well as a completely new paint job with icons and interface elements the likes of which we've never seen on an Apple product before. They've both had their richly rendered textures removed, but where Mavericks lost the old leather, it didn't lose it's Aqua-era gloss, at least not entirely, and it didn't gain any of the new print-inspired look, at least not yet.

Macs are often said to enjoy a halo effect from iOS devices -- people buy iPhones and iPads and then start considering the Mac s well. For the last few years, no matter how different the two platforms, the interfaces looked familiar enough that the Mac was approachable to iOS users in a very direct and comforting way.

Likewise, Jony Ive is now vice president of all design, not just hardware, and not just iOS. It's not unreasonable to think his grand digital plans will eventually encompass future versions of OS X, as they're about to do to iOS. After all, even the best designer and design teams in the world can't do everything at once.

So here's the question -- do you think the new iOS 7 design language will be brought back to the Mac? Will the next version of OS X once again be made familiar to iPhone and iPad users? Should there once again be a single, unified look and feel to Apple's products going forward?

Vote in the poll up top and then tell me why or why not in the comments below!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/GhqBMMZHhJI/story01.htm

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Rutgers-Camden professor examines social capabilities of performing multiple-action sequences

Public release date: 26-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tom McLaughlin
trm100@camden.rutgers.edu
856-225-6545
Rutgers University

The day of the big barbecue arrives and it's time to fire up the grill. But rather than toss the hamburgers and hotdogs haphazardly onto the grate, you wait for the heat to reach an optimal temperature, and then neatly lay them out in their apportioned areas according to size and cooking times. Meanwhile, your friend is preparing the beverages. Cups are grabbed face down from the stack, turned over, and using the other hand filled with ice.

While these tasks like countless, everyday actions may seem trivial at first glance, they are actually fairly complex, according to Robrecht van der Wel, an assistant professor of psychology at RutgersCamden. "For instance, the observation that you grab a glass differently when you are filling a beverage than when you are stacking glasses suggests that you are thinking about the goal that you want to achieve," he says. "How do you manipulate the glass? How do you coordinate your actions so that the liquid goes into the cup? These kinds of actions are not just our only way to accomplish our intentions, but they reveal our intentions and mental states as well."

van der Wel and his research partners, Marlene Meyer and Sabine Hunnius, turned their attention to how action planning generalizes to collaborative actions performed with others in a study, titled "Higher-order Planning for Individual and Joint Object Manipulations," published recently in Experimental Brain Research.

According to van der Wel, the researchers were especially interested in determining whether people's actions exhibit certain social capabilities when performing multiple-action sequences in concert with a partner. "It is a pretty astonishing ability that we, as people, are able to plan and coordinate our actions with others," says van der Wel. "If people plan ahead for themselves, what happens if they are now in a task where their action might influence another person's comfort? Do they actually take that into account or not, even though, for their personal action, it makes no difference?"

In the research study, participants first completed a series of individual tasks requiring them to pick up a cylindrical object with one hand, pass it to their other hand, and then place it on a shelf. In the collaborative tasks, individuals picked up the object and handed it to their partner, who placed it on the shelf. The researchers varied the height of the shelf, to test whether people altered their grasps to avoid uncomfortable end postures. The object could only be grasped at one of two positions, implying that the first grasp would determine the postures and comfort of the remaining actions.

According to the researchers, the results from both the individual and joint performances show that participants altered their grasp location relative to the height of the shelf. The participants in both scenarios were thus more likely to use a low-grasp location when the shelf was low, and vice versa. Doing so implied that the participants ended the sequences in comfortable postures. The researchers conclude that, in both individual and collaborative scenarios, participants engaged in extended planning to finish the object-transport sequences in a relatively comfortable posture. Given that participants did plan ahead for the sake of their action partner, it indicates an implicit social awareness that supports collaboration across individuals.

van der Wel notes that, while such basic actions may seem insignificant, it is important to understand how people perform basic tasks such as manipulating objects when considering those populations that aren't able to complete them so efficiently. "How to pick up an object seems like a really trivial problem when you look at healthy adults, but as soon as you look at children, or people suffering from a stroke, it takes some time to develop that skill properly," says van der Wel. "When someone has a stroke, it is not that they have damage to the musculature involved in doing the task; rather, damage to action planning areas in the brain results in an inability to perform simple actions. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in action planning may guide rehabilitation strategies in such cases."

According to van der Wel, the researchers are currently working on modifying the task to determine the age at which children begin planning their actions with respect to other peoples' comfort. In particular, they want to understand how the development of social action planning links with the development of other cognitive and social abilities.

###

Marlene Meyer is a Ph.D. candidate at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Sabine Hunnius, Ph.D., is the director of the Baby Research Center at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

---

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?

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-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tom McLaughlin
trm100@camden.rutgers.edu
856-225-6545
Rutgers University

The day of the big barbecue arrives and it's time to fire up the grill. But rather than toss the hamburgers and hotdogs haphazardly onto the grate, you wait for the heat to reach an optimal temperature, and then neatly lay them out in their apportioned areas according to size and cooking times. Meanwhile, your friend is preparing the beverages. Cups are grabbed face down from the stack, turned over, and using the other hand filled with ice.

While these tasks like countless, everyday actions may seem trivial at first glance, they are actually fairly complex, according to Robrecht van der Wel, an assistant professor of psychology at RutgersCamden. "For instance, the observation that you grab a glass differently when you are filling a beverage than when you are stacking glasses suggests that you are thinking about the goal that you want to achieve," he says. "How do you manipulate the glass? How do you coordinate your actions so that the liquid goes into the cup? These kinds of actions are not just our only way to accomplish our intentions, but they reveal our intentions and mental states as well."

van der Wel and his research partners, Marlene Meyer and Sabine Hunnius, turned their attention to how action planning generalizes to collaborative actions performed with others in a study, titled "Higher-order Planning for Individual and Joint Object Manipulations," published recently in Experimental Brain Research.

According to van der Wel, the researchers were especially interested in determining whether people's actions exhibit certain social capabilities when performing multiple-action sequences in concert with a partner. "It is a pretty astonishing ability that we, as people, are able to plan and coordinate our actions with others," says van der Wel. "If people plan ahead for themselves, what happens if they are now in a task where their action might influence another person's comfort? Do they actually take that into account or not, even though, for their personal action, it makes no difference?"

In the research study, participants first completed a series of individual tasks requiring them to pick up a cylindrical object with one hand, pass it to their other hand, and then place it on a shelf. In the collaborative tasks, individuals picked up the object and handed it to their partner, who placed it on the shelf. The researchers varied the height of the shelf, to test whether people altered their grasps to avoid uncomfortable end postures. The object could only be grasped at one of two positions, implying that the first grasp would determine the postures and comfort of the remaining actions.

According to the researchers, the results from both the individual and joint performances show that participants altered their grasp location relative to the height of the shelf. The participants in both scenarios were thus more likely to use a low-grasp location when the shelf was low, and vice versa. Doing so implied that the participants ended the sequences in comfortable postures. The researchers conclude that, in both individual and collaborative scenarios, participants engaged in extended planning to finish the object-transport sequences in a relatively comfortable posture. Given that participants did plan ahead for the sake of their action partner, it indicates an implicit social awareness that supports collaboration across individuals.

van der Wel notes that, while such basic actions may seem insignificant, it is important to understand how people perform basic tasks such as manipulating objects when considering those populations that aren't able to complete them so efficiently. "How to pick up an object seems like a really trivial problem when you look at healthy adults, but as soon as you look at children, or people suffering from a stroke, it takes some time to develop that skill properly," says van der Wel. "When someone has a stroke, it is not that they have damage to the musculature involved in doing the task; rather, damage to action planning areas in the brain results in an inability to perform simple actions. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in action planning may guide rehabilitation strategies in such cases."

According to van der Wel, the researchers are currently working on modifying the task to determine the age at which children begin planning their actions with respect to other peoples' comfort. In particular, they want to understand how the development of social action planning links with the development of other cognitive and social abilities.

###

Marlene Meyer is a Ph.D. candidate at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Sabine Hunnius, Ph.D., is the director of the Baby Research Center at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ru-rpe062613.php

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Putin would never get away with stealing a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl ring: Sen. Cruz

By Frank Jack Daniel ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's once thriving mountaineering industry is reeling from the killing by militants of 10 foreign climbers, a massacre likely to drive away all but the hardiest adventurers from some of the world's tallest and most pristine peaks. A tour company present during the attack said gunmen dressed as police ordered tourists out of tents at the 4,200-meter (13,860-foot) base camp of Nanga Parbat, the country's second highest peak, late on Saturday night, then shot them and a Pakistani guide. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/putin-never-away-stealing-dallas-cowboys-superbowl-ring-165208535.html

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Court Strikes Down Defense of Marriage Act (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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