Saturday, June 29, 2013

IOC meets with success in co-processing non-edible vegetable oil in its refinery

IOC meets with success in co-processing non-edible vegetable oil in its refinery

The Research & Development Center of the state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has good reasons to cheer about. For the first time in India, and possibly the first in the world, Jatropha oil has been successfully used for co-processing in a petroleum refinery. Based on a press statement, 'IOC has successfully developed and commercialised a technology to co-process non-edible vegetable oil in the existing Diesel Hydrotreating (DHDT) units of a petroleum refinery to make bio-diesel'.

The company termed this as a "major technological breakthrough that can be a game changer for advancing use of bio-diesel in the country and ensuring ready acceptance of the fuel by the automobile industry," reported The Hindu.

Highlights on this achievement are as follows :

- During the development of this process technology, IOC also develped a process for de-metallisation and de-gumming of vegetable oils.?

- During the trial, the diesel cetane number improved by 2 units, sulphur content reduced and the inlet temperature of the reactor could also be reduced by 100 degrees Celsius with resultant energy savings.?
- Conventionally, bio diesel is produced by the trans-esterification process which requires separate plant to be set up. Bio diesel thus produced by the trans-esterification process has inferior properties in terms of oxidation stability, lower energy content and results in more deposits in the engine due to which it is not very well accepted by the automobile industry. However, the novel innovative co-processing technology developed by IOC overcomes these disadvantages and produces bio-diesel with higher Cetane number, good oxidation stability and lower density - based on a press release. Let's hope farmers in India do benefit out of the above for improving their earning capability.
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Source: http://www.merinews.com/article/ioc-meets-with-success-in-co-processing-non-edible-vegetable-oil-in-its-refinery/15887358.shtml

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Friday, June 28, 2013

IT Worker Loses Dream Job Over...A Bacon Sandwich? - Careers ...

Manchester Evening News - Clive HuntWhen it comes to discussing religion or politics in the office, of course, tact is required. But just how tight-lipped should you be? Clive Hunt, a 58-year old IT consultant in Manchester, England, confronted this question head-on earlier this month when he offered to pick up "bacon sandwiches" during a meeting with a new client. That reportedly offended a Muslim co-worker -- and soon after, Hunt says that he was told that he lost his job. According to a report in the Manchester Evening News, Hunt says that a manager told him the decision was made because of his "racist remark."

Hunt says that he was in a meeting at a Manchester office of the Reed recruitment company to discuss an eight-month contract worth 32,000 pounds (or $50,000) to work with the British National Health Service, or NHS. And during the meeting, Hunt offered to pick up "bacon sandwiches," which as the Examiner points out, is "standard English breakfast fare." He didn't know that a colleague in the meeting, Sharika Sacranie, 29, was an observant Muslim, forbidden from eating pig products.

Hunt says that he didn't intend to offend anyone. "I'd never met [Sacranie] before," he told the Daily Mail, adding "we got on fine." But after the meeting, Hunt says that he received the call telling him that his services were no longer needed due to his "racist" remark -- an allegation that Hunt disputes. "There was no slur at her because I'd already met all the contractors on site before and one of them had actually told me they had really good bacon sandwiches."

Hunt added that Sacranie herself chose not to address the incident both when it happened and during a follow-up phone-call about the hiring process that took place before he was told that he was being let go. He said the job loss was a blow; he's been out of work for two months. Finally, Hunt claims to be bewildered that Reed had the power to terminate his employment. The "agency was just a middle man. How can it rescind an offer that was made to me by the NHS?" he asked the Daily Mail.

But according to John Spitzler, the president and principal recruiter for the Perimeter Consulting Group, an Atlanta-based executive search firm, it is common practice for search firms to rescind job offers. But in an interview with AOL Jobs, he said that the decision is usually the result of a criminal or other background check. "It's unusual for the choice to be made as a result of a cross-cultural insult, unintenteded or not," he said.

Both the NHS and Sacranie have turned down media requests for comment. The Reed staffing firm, however, did release a statement defending the decision and suggesting that Hunt made additional "inappropriate" comments during a phone call:

Due to inappropriate comments made to members of our staff during the recruitment process before Mr Hunt started his new role, we do not feel we can represent this candidate further. ... A senior manager from the Reed team spoke to Mr Hunt via telephone ... [d]uring that conversation, Mr Hunt made further inappropriate comments. At this point it became clear to the senior manager that Reed could no longer represent Mr Hunt.

Both side are in agreement about the charge that Hunt had a strong reaction to the news. In recounting to the Daily Mail the conversation he had with the Reed manager, he said that he "got so exasperated that [he] told him to 'sod off' and put the phone down.'"

Either way, Hunt's fall from grace is in keeping with a trend in Europe of workers running into problems for how they've handled religious matters in the office. Seven years ago, British Airways suspended clerk Nadia Eweida for refusing to take off her cross, saying that she wasn't in compliance with the airline's uniform code. Earlier this year, however, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled that the airline discriminated against her, and said Eweida had the right to wear a symbol of her faith.

This story was updated on Thursday, June 27, at 4:30 p.m. EDT with quotes from John Spitzler.

What is the worst way to be fired? Check out the slideshow below.

  • <p> Firing long-serving employees over email is pretty cowardly and insensitive. But you probably lose an extra 5 trillion karma points if those long-serving employees are soldiers. Due to an alleged &quot;administrative error&quot; several dozen British soldiers, who had each served for over 20 years, including one fighting in Afghanistan, were told that their services, or rather their service, would not longer be required. The email advised the troops to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/8325202/Defence-Secretary-furious-after-MoD-sacks-soldiers-by-email.html" target="_blank">&quot;start planning your resettlement.&quot;</a></p> <p> Prime Minister David Cameron felt that &quot;the way this has been handled is completely unacceptable,&quot; according to a spokesman. Jim Murphy, shadow defense secretary for the opposition Labour Party had stronger words, calling it &quot;callous, cold-hearted, souless.&quot;</p>
  • <p> When a partially nude pic of Miss California Carry Prejean surfaced, Donald Trump stood by her side. &quot;We are in the 21st century. We have determined the pictures taken are fine&quot; and in some cases &quot;lovely,&quot; said <a href="http://voices.yahoo.com/donald-trump-carrie-prejean-retain-miss-california-3306808.html?cat=49" target="_blank">at a press conference in May 2009</a>. He also defended her answer to a pageant question about same-sex marriage (she's not into it).</p> <p> Less than a month later, Prejean got a call. It was radio and TV host Billy Bush, and he was wondering whether she had a statement. You know, about her losing her crown and her dreams being dashed in a hugely public and humiliating fall from grace?</p> <p> &quot;It is so bizarre to me how this has turned out,&quot; Prejean <a href="http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/06/video-carrie-prejean-says-she-learned-firing-through-reporter" target="_blank">told Fox News</a>. &quot;I just couldn't believe it. I was so shocked, I didn't know what to say.&quot;</p>
  • <p> Sarah Silverman was on &quot;Saturday Night Live&quot; for a year, but only one of her sketches actually made it to dress rehearsal, and none got on the air. She claims that she was notified of her dismissal by fax, which isn't very cool now, and still wasn't very cool in 1994. She parodied the experience on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VukCNBjRV6M" target="_blank">&quot;The Larry Sanders Show,&quot;</a> in which the chauvinist head writer blackballs her jokes because she's a lady.</p>
  • <p> Getting fired is a bummer. Getting fired for being tired all the time when you're pregnant is a bigger bummer. Being told that you have to give back your uniform shirts or pay $30 is pretty wounding. And then bumping into your bright-eyed replacement on the way out is like pouring five pounds of salt in that wound.</p> <p> That's what happened to one woman in East Hartford, Conn., who worked at Bell Foods grocery store. As she <a href="http://forum.baby-gaga.com/about766333.html" target="_blank">writes on her blog</a>, she immediately went to her car, grabbed the dirty work shirts, and threw them on her supervisor's desk. Unfortunately, her supervisor wasn't sitting there. She was giving the new girl a tour.</p>
  • <p> By the age of 21, Chris Colfer had two Emmy nominations and ranked among <em>Time'</em>s <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_2066369_2066418,00.html" target="_blank">100 most influential people in the world</a> last year for his groundbreaking portrayal of a struggling gay teen on the primetime series &quot;Glee.&quot; So he was a little surprised when he discovered that the show had tweeted that next season would be his last on the show. &quot;I don't necessarily want to leave so soon, but I mean, it's fine,&quot; <a href="http://www.accesshollywood.com/glee/chris-colfer-learned-of-glee-exit-on-twitter-excited-for-emmy-nomination_articletab_50654" target="_blank">he told&nbsp;Access Hollywood</a>. &quot;It's what it is. And all things come to an end.&quot;</p> <p> The show's creator, Ryan Murphy, had a different story. They'd been in talks about it for a while, he said, given that Colfer's character was graduating from high school, and that they were planning a spin-off. Annoyed about Colfer's comments, Murphy said that they were <a href="http://rumorfix.com/2011/07/is-glees-ryan-murphy-mad-at-chris-colfer/" target="_blank">scrapping the spin-off idea</a>. Colfer will be <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/09/glee-spin-off-dead-lea-michele-returning_n_1192864.html" target="_blank">back on the show</a> next season, however, as a high school graduate somehow integrated into high school plotlines with the logic-suspending grace of a truly great sitcom.</p>
  • <p> Sixteen-year-old Chelsea Taylor weekend job at a cafe called Cookies after she lost a ten-pound note (about $16). She was fired by a manager in a Facebook message riddled with the textspeak abbreviations that might be appropriate for dishing about the cute boy next to you in math class, but a little less appropriate for cutting someone off from their source of income.</p> <p> &quot;Sorry to send u a message like this but bin tryin to ring u but gettin no joy,&quot; she wrote. &quot;I had to tell the owner bout u losin that tenner coz obviously the till was down at the end of the day. she wan't very pleased at all and despite me trying to persuade her otherwise she said I have to let u go. I'm really sorry.&quot;</p> <p> Taylor shrugged it off with a resilient &quot;oki x,&quot; but her mom wasn't too pleased, and had a little talk <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1259763/Chelsea-Taylor-sacked-Facebook-Girl-discovers-shes-lost-Saturday-job.html" target="_blank">with the <em>Daily Mail</em></a>.</p>
  • <p> Back in 2010,&nbsp;Karen Ogilvie,&nbsp;a bartender in Dundee, Scotland, slept in and missed the start of her evening shift. She'd worked 11 hours the day before, four of them spent alone, so she couldn't even go to the bathroom, she claimed. Later that evening, she got a text. Bye-bye.&nbsp;Ogilvie replied with a few texts asking for her job back, but got no reply.</p> <p> But things turned out rosy for Ogilvie.&nbsp;In October 2010, she was awarded the sum of 14,355 pounds ($22,461)&nbsp;by an employment tribunal, which found that her dismissal was &quot;procedurally and substantively unfair.&quot;&nbsp;</p>
  • <p> <a href="http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/04/03/9-office-lottery-pools-gone-wrong/" target="_blank">10 Office Lottery Pools Gone Terribly Wrong</a></p> <p> <a href="http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/01/25/8-jobs-to-eavesdrop-on/">8 Jobs We'd Love To Eavesdrop On</a></p> <p> <a href="http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/01/13/top-10-jobs-than-burn-calories/">Top 10 Jobs That Burn Calories</a></p> <p> <a href="http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/01/30/do-people-think-your-profession-is-trustworthy/">Do People Think Your Profession Is Trustworthy?</a></p>

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Filed under: Stories of the Unemployed, Employment News & Trends

Source: http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/06/27/it-worker-fired-bacon-muslim/

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Friday Afternoon Was Made for In-Browser Orcas

Friday Afternoon Was Made for In-Browser Orcas

It's Friday, and you're just about in the home stretch. Well, assuming you're not on Pacific Time, that is, in which case stop reading right now because your entire day is about to go pleasantly bobbing down the drain. Bobbing. Always bobbing. Just like our new whale friend here.

Bestowed upon us by a friend of a friend of a friend, this mysterious site sends the giant sea mammal following your cursor wherever it may go. We have no idea from whence it came nor who made it. All we know is that we may have just found our new best friend. Whaley, Shamu, Tad, whatever your name might be?we love you.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/friday-afternoon-was-made-for-in-browser-orcas-611902288

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Guidance You Need To Improve Your Golf Skills | Sports & Recreation

There are many endeavors in life that call for concentration and exacting attention to detail. Golf is no exception. Golf is a game that requires skill and precision; even the slightest break in concentration can throw your entire game off. The challenge is what makes golf so much fun! Investigate these tips on the game of golf, and watch your game improve.

TIP! A helpful tip when it comes to golf is to consider checking with a golf professional before buying a new club or set of clubs. The information they can provide will be instrumental in purchasing the correct clubs for you, because they can tell you which type will fit you best and data about cutting edge products.

You can get a lot of help you in your golf game from your body. You have to use your body as a source of power, not just your arms. Use your whole body to execute every stage of your golf swing. You will be able to control the ball and send it further without injuring yourself.

TIP! Regarding the game of golf, try not to obsess over it. Things are bound to go wrong from time to time, so you need to learn to laugh at your mistakes.

When first learning to play, it is best to get the correct grip on the club. A common mistake many players make is thinking that a harder club grip means they can power the ball farther down the fairway. However, it?s best to use a firm, yet gentle grip. One popular piece of advice given by instructors across the country is to envision that you are trying to keep hold on bird.

TIP! So you need to drink lots of water and do your stretches before you play. The better shape your body is in, the better your game will be.

Use your entire body to power your golf swing. Novices tend to have the belief that strength is drawn primarily from the arms; however, using arms alone generates nothing but weak, ungainly swings. You get better results when your body is in sync with your arms and hands.

TIP! If you are investing in an expensive new golf club, having it custom-fitted may be a good choice. This will make the club suit your body type exactly.

When you finish one shot, turn your total attention to the next one. Don?t be distracted by your last bad shot or a water hazard on the next hole. Worrying about mistakes can have an effect on your swing, so forget them and move forward.

TIP! See to it that you?re holding the golf club the right way before your swing. Your thumbs should be pointing downward while the handle rests on your palms.

Make sure your left hand is actually ahead of your ball when you putt. Hold this position as you swing the club, maintaining it throughout your stroke. You will have more control over the club and direction of the ball.

TIP! Using an unnatural stance will be detrimental to your game. Practice standing without holding your club.

If you need to make a long putt, focus mostly on the speed that you hit the ball with. It?s best to try to hit the ball towards an intermediate target in this situation, rather than going straight for the hole. That way, you are less likely to either overshoot or undershoot, and your second putt is more likely to be a manageable one.

TIP! Avoid discouragement by playing with partners who share your skill level. As a beginning golfer choose to play easy courses with other golfers who are just starting to play.

One of the first things you need to learn about golf is the scoring rules. Many people live and die by their score, so messing it up will give you a horrible reputation. Every hit of the golf ball is counted as a stroke. The total amount of strokes it takes to place the ball in the cup determines the total score for that hole. Getting the least amount of strokes possible is the goal!

TIP! Make sure you position yourself well and put yourself behind your golf ball so that you can look ahead and see where the ball needs to go. At this time, you also need to factor in the wind and other conditions.

For a powerful swing, use all the muscles in the body, especially your core and leg muscles. Swing your body like a whip when you swing and get power from your lower body.

TIP! Perhaps one of the most important things to understand in the game of golf is that when the club strikes the ball, the club?s face must be perfectly square for maximum distance and accuracy. Doing so boosts the odds the ball will go in a straight path.

You probably want to bring a nice healthy snack to fuel your body and mind while you?re on the course. Golf can make a person both mentally and physically tired. However, the calories and protein in your snack can help you remain alert and prevent your muscles from becoming fatigued, so you can stay on top of your game throughout the 18th hole.

TIP! If your shots are cutting right, your body is probably shifting left when you swing. During your downswing, you need to focus on having your hands released more quickly to the ball.

Don?t mess up your game by messing up your stance. Practice standing without holding your club. Stand at the same distance from the ball you would stand if you were holding the club. Flex your knees, bend your waist slightly, let your arms down in a natural way. Clap your hands together, as if around a club. This position should feel natural to you, and if it does not, you might be overcompensating it.

TIP! Frame golf as an enjoyable activity, not something you have to master right now. Practice whenever you can, and seek advice from experienced golfers to help take your game to the next level.

Golfing with others who play at your level can keep your confidence up. While you are a beginner, find easier courses to play on with people of a similar skill level. Don?t crush your enthusiasm taking on tough courses and competing against those who are much better than you.

TIP! Increase the power of your swing by not bringing your club back too far. Pulling back the club will have a negative effect on your posture.

Try to find ways around the problem if you can?t figure out how to solve it. It could be an advantage in the long run, and make your golf style unique.

TIP! Tee height is an important item to be knowledgeable about if you are a golfing beginner. Your drives might not be efficient if the tree height is not right.

Breathe deeply just before hitting the ball. A deep breath will center your focus on the ball and calm your nerves. Take the time to visualize the destination you want your ball to go to, and take your swing. Deep breaths can also eliminate tension in a competition setting.

TIP! Try not to tense your muscles as your swing nears the ball. Unfortunately, tons of golfers do this, causing their stroke to produce negative results.

TIP! Remember that walking on the course all day often causes your feet to swell. Keep this in mind as you are shopping for new golf shoes; you may wish to buy one size larger than you would ordinarily.

When playing golf, keep in mind you need to practice proper etiquette and that includes speeding up your pace of play when you are going slow. The groups behind yours may become frustrated by excessive delays or slow play. When your group is moving slower across the green, it is proper etiquette to invite faster groups to ?play through?.

TIP! Don?t wear sneaker golf shoes in the early morning when the dew is still on the grass. There are some brands that offer this style with waterproofing, yet many don?t.

You do not need to work just at the driving range in order to improve your swing. Working on improving your swing impacts most of your total golfing game, so keep swinging.

TIP! When golfing, you need to constantly be paying attention. You must be prepared to play as soon as it is your turn.

The key to becoming a good golfer lies, in part, in learning which club does what. In many cases, knowing which club to use can mean the difference between landing the ball on the green or in the rough. It can be disastrous if you don?t use the right club in a certain situation.

TIP! The most essential factor is that the clubs you choose are the right fit for your particular game. Don?t forget that the golfers of a century ago were using clubs made of wood.

Try out tips like the ones you?ve just read above to help keep your game going as smoothly as possible. Employ what you?ve just learned here and you can continue to get better at golf, no matter how long you?ve been playing the game.

TIP! It?s important to know how each club works for your shots. You can shave a lot of points off your score by choosing the correct wood, iron or wedge for every shot.

Source: http://www.after-i-do.com/guidance-you-need-to-improve-your-golf-skills/

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Perry, Texas GOP revive abortion limits fight

In this Tuesday, June 25, 2013 photo, Texas state Senators Wendy Davis, left, and Sylvia R. Garcia cast their votes against Senate Bill 5 amidst the cheers of the Senate Gallery, in Austin, Texas. As she spoke late into the night, railing against proposed abortion restrictions, Davis, a former Texas teen mom, catapulted from little-known junior state senator to national political superstar in pink tennis shoes. (AP Photo/The Daily Texan, Emily Ng)

In this Tuesday, June 25, 2013 photo, Texas state Senators Wendy Davis, left, and Sylvia R. Garcia cast their votes against Senate Bill 5 amidst the cheers of the Senate Gallery, in Austin, Texas. As she spoke late into the night, railing against proposed abortion restrictions, Davis, a former Texas teen mom, catapulted from little-known junior state senator to national political superstar in pink tennis shoes. (AP Photo/The Daily Texan, Emily Ng)

Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, left, who tries to filibuster an abortion bill, reacts as time expires, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, in Austin, Texas. Amid the deafening roar of abortion rights supporters, Texas Republicans huddled around the Senate podium to pass new abortion restrictions, but whether the vote was cast before or after midnight is in dispute. If signed into law, the measures would close almost every abortion clinic in Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Members of the gallery cheer and chant as the Texas Senate tries to bring an abortion bill to a vote as time expires, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in Austin, Texas. Amid the deafening roar of abortion rights supporters, Texas Republicans huddled around the Senate podium to pass new abortion restrictions, but whether the vote was cast before or after midnight is in dispute. If signed into law, the measures would close almost every abortion clinic in Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, sits at his desk as the session where Democrats tried to filibuster an abortion bill draws to a close, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, in Austin, Texas. Despite barely beating a midnight deadline, hundreds of jeering protesters helped stop Texas lawmakers from passing the abortion bill. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

(AP) ? Texas Gov. Rick Perry is set to address a national convention of anti-abortion activists Thursday little more than a day after a special legislative session failed to approve sweeping restrictions to make abortion all but impossible for many women in the state.

The Republican leader has called a second special legislative session beginning July 1, allowing the GOP-controlled Texas statehouse another crack at passing the restrictions that opponents say could shutter nearly all abortion clinics in the country's second-largest state.

Perry's announcement came hours after the much-watched proposal failed in the face of a Democratic filibuster in the Senate that turned chaotic when Republicans used parliamentary rules to cut it short. The hubbub from jeering opponents of the proposal in the public gallery became so deafening that it halted all action on the floor.

Perry, who has said he'd like to make abortion at any stage of pregnancy a thing of the past in Texas, called the special session after lawmakers finished the regular session May 27. He didn't add the abortion measure to the issues to be discussed until late in the session.

The omnibus abortion measure passed the Texas House after nearly an entire night of heated debate Sunday, but the effort to get Senate approval before the session ended at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday failed.

Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth staged a filibuster for more than 11 hours. But when Republicans were able to silence her on a technicality minutes before midnight, hundreds of protesters raised such a ruckus that lawmakers were unable to hold a final vote until after the clock had run out.

The spectacle put the spotlight on Perry as he prepared to open the 43rd annual National Right to Life Convention in Dallas on Thursday.

His decision to call another special session gives lawmakers 30 more days to push the abortion restrictions ? perhaps enough time to withstand Democratic stalling tactics. The governor can call as many special sessions as he likes, though lawmakers can only work on the agenda Perry sets.

In addition to a renewed abortion fight, Perry asked lawmakers to pass two pieces of legislation that also died with Davis' filibuster: funding for major transportation projects statewide, and approval of new, stricter sentencing guidelines for 17 year olds in capital murder cases.

"I am calling the Legislature back into session because too much important work remains undone for the people of Texas," Perry said in a statement. "Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn."

The entire process starts over with lawmakers filing the bills that then undergo public hearings before being passed out of committee. Only then can they be considered by both chambers.

Supporters are likely to draft a measure similar to the one that nearly passed this week that sought a statewide ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy ? the point at which anti-abortion activists claim a fetus can feel pain. There is no scientific evidence to support that claim.

It also would have forced many clinics that perform abortions to upgrade their facilities to be classified as ambulatory surgical centers. Doctors would have been required to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles.

If such a provision became law, it is possible only five of Texas' 42 abortion clinics would remain in operation in a state 773 miles wide and 790 miles long ? and with 26 million people.

In a statement Wednesday night, Davis said that if her GOP colleagues intend "to keep pushing their extreme personal political agenda ahead of the interests of Texas families, I will not back off of my duty to fight on their behalf."

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, said: "While yesterday was a great victory, we knew the fight was not over. And it's a fight we will win. The nation is watching and we will defeat this again."

But Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who oversees the Texas Senate, said an extra session will let lawmakers "address the issues derailed by the actions of an angry mob."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-27-Abortion%20Restrictions-Texas/id-0531b90bc5184058a9ebff376f51b713

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New flame trench will support new era at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B

June 27, 2013 ? For the first time since NASA's Apollo-era rockets and space shuttles lifted off on missions from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the launch pads is undergoing extensive upgrades to support the agency's 21st century space launch complex.

At launch pad B, construction workers are removing the legacy flame deflector that sits below and between the left and right pad surface crawlerway track panels, along with Apollo-era bricks from both walls of the flame trench. A contract to perform the work was awarded earlier this year to Vanguard Contractors in Paducah, Ky.

"A new universal flame deflector is being designed that will support NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and a variety of other commercial launch vehicles," said Jose Perez Morales, the Pad Element project manager in the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program. "The bricks will be removed due to their age and because they are debonding from the flame trench structure."

Constructed specifically for space shuttle launches, the current flame deflector was designed to deflect the rocket exhaust away from the launch vehicle and launch pad to reduce the potential for damage. The flame trench bricks, which date back to the Apollo program, were installed during construction of the pad in the 1960s.

Perez Morales said the bricks have lost some of the bonding from the pad structure and represent a safety hazard for new launch vehicles and need to be replaced.

Dr. Bruce Vu, the Gas and Fluid Systems lead in the Design and Analysis Branch in Kennedy's Engineering Directorate, with assistance from NASA's Ames Research Center, at Moffett Field, Calif., worked with three different design concepts and used several computational methods to analyze each design's performance.

"We spent almost a year working with other NASA centers and the commercial space partners to come up with several concepts," Vu said. "The three primary objectives we focused on while evaluating these concepts were plume containment, surface pressure and thermal performance."

For several weeks, Vu and his team ran simulations of a single launch vehicle over a flame deflector concept, using Ames' supercomputer. They were looking for a deflector design that could withstand the high heat from plume exhaust, that did not result in plume blow-back, and whose surface pressure was within design margin limits.

"At the end of the simulations, we selected the best design and received approvals from the Engineering Review Board and the Element Integrated Team to proceed with the design," Vu said. "The design actually is closer to that of Apollo rather than space shuttle."

Now that the shape of the deflector has been selected, Vu said there are many other details to be worked out, including what kind of surface refractory to use and what to do about the south slope of the deflector where there will be no exhaust plume.

The universal flame deflector design must be able to accommodate the SLS and other commercial launch vehicles.

The firm Reynolds, Smith and Hills, with offices in Merritt Island, is designing the new flame deflector and the refurbishment of the flame trench. The design review currently is at the 30 percent phase.

"The goal is to create a deflector design that will be less costly to construct and more efficient," Vu said.

The new flame deflector and flame trench designs are schedule to be completed in early 2014. The construction of the flame trench and deflector is scheduled to start in early 2015.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/_uQsCyOHlCo/130627135349.htm

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Texas Governor Perry vows to pass 20-week abortion ban

President Obama said on Thursday that while he is concerned about Edward Snowden and wants to bring the NSA leaker back to America, he's not interested in "wheeling and dealing and trading" to get him extradited.?Obama, at the first press conference on his week-long trip to Africa, took questions from the media while in Dakar, Senegal, but naturally everyone wants to talk about the news from home. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-governor-perry-vows-pass-20-week-abortion-155905334.html

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Obesity May Boost Migraine Odds - Health News and Views - Health ...

By Marijke Vroomen Durning
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) ? Obese people may be at higher risk for episodic migraine headaches, a new study suggests.

Migraines involve intense pulsing or throbbing pain in one area of the head, according to the American Academy of Neurology. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraines affect more than 10 percent of the population.

Episodic migraines ? the more common type of migraine ? occur 14 days or fewer per month, while chronic migraines occur at least 15 days per month. Low-frequency episodic migraines occur the least often.

In the new study of nearly 3,700 adults, those with a high body-mass index ? a measure of body fat determined using height and weight ? had much higher odds of having episodic migraines than did those with a lower body-mass index (BMI). This was particularly true among women, whites and people under 50 years old. As the BMI moved from normal weight to overweight to obese, so did the rate of headaches.

The cross-sectional study doesn?t prove that obesity causes episodic migraines. The study does, however, demonstrate that people who are obese have an increased risk of having more of them, even low-frequency ones, said lead author Dr. B. Lee Peterlin, an associate professor of neurology and the director of headache research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore.

The study is to be presented this week at the International Headache Congress, in Boston. The data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Dr. Gretchen Tietjen, a professor of neurology and director of the headache treatment and research program at the University of Toledo, in Ohio, said she found the study interesting because previous studies had looked for connections between obesity and chronic migraines.

?That the researchers were able to show an association between obesity and episodic migraine lends more credence to some of the earlier studies that found similar things,? she said.

She pointed out, however, that it still isn?t known which came first ? the obesity or the migraine. There are many possible scenarios, Tietjen said. ?Maybe the person had the migraines first and then started taking medications like amitriptyline or valproic acid,? she said. ?Those medications are associated with weight gain.?

The possible connection between obesity and migraines is under debate. One theory involves inflammatory substances from fat tissue (adipose) that are released into the system, Tietjen said.

Premenopausal women have more total adipose tissue in general than men, and women have more superficial and less deep adipose tissue, Peterlin said. But after menopause, adipose tissue is more similar between the two sexes.

Adipose tissue secretes different inflammatory proteins based on how much tissue there is and where it is located. Since younger women and obese people have more adipose tissue, this could, at least in part, explain why they get more headaches.

On the other hand, Peterlin also suggested that a possible connection may be related to the brain. ?Previous imaging data in migraine patients have shown activation of the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls the drive to feed,? she said. Alternatively, it could be that people who have migraines may be more inclined to behaviors associated with weight gain, such as being less active.

Would losing weight mean that migraines will decrease in frequency? Although weight loss is generally encouraged for people who are obese, that won?t necessarily result in migraine relief, both Peterlin and Tietjen cautioned.

At least two small studies have evaluated migraines on people who were obese and underwent bariatric surgery to lose weight, Peterlin said. Although these studies did find that some patients experienced fewer headaches, the studies were small and more research needs to be done to see if this is consistent.

It?s possible that the lifestyle changes needed for weight loss cut the migraine frequency, rather than the weight loss itself, the experts said. People who eliminate processed foods, high-calorie foods and alcohol ? all of which can be migraine triggers ? could end up experiencing fewer headaches.

Unfortunately, the opposite could also be true if dieters introduce new foods that are migraine triggers. Some people may develop migraines when they consume certain sugar substitutes, for example. There also is limited data suggesting that people with severe obesity who exercise may have fewer migraines, Peterlin said.

?Our data and previous research serve as a call to researchers in the headache field to identify safe and appropriate treatment options for obese [people with] episodic migraines of all classifications and not just those who qualify for [weight-loss] surgery,? she said.

Peterlin also suggested that physicians, in addition to providing lifestyle education to their obese patients with episodic migraines, take into account the weight-gain or weight-loss effect that migraine medications may have on their patients.

More information

Find out more about migraines at the American Academy of Neurology.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/06/26/obesity-may-boost-migraine-odds/

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Team Light Skin vs. Team Dark Skin? Your Beauty and Relationships

Welcome to Love School. Class is in session! Abiola?s Love School is a weekly empowered Love Lesson, inspirational class and juicy conversation about love, relationships, dating, sex, commitment and self worth. Each assignment will include homework, resources and actionable steps. Let?s move beyond the surface to experience the true love and intimacy we deserve. Are you in??

?To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don?t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.? ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Lesson: #TeamBeauty, Self-Love and Why It Matters

When OWN broadcast the heartfelt documentary ?Dark Girls,? it didn?t reveal anything new. That was not the objective, however. The film was extremely valuable in bringing a conversation to the forefront that most people still view as ?dirty laundry.? In addition, it gives voice to deep shame that many people thought was long gone.

Just as any individual is only as sick as her secrets, the same can be said for any group of people. Bill Duke and his team created a naked and honest examination of colorism and the beauty myth in the African American community, the legacy of mass historical ?trauma.

Dark Child.

Whenever I give talks as a coach about being bullied, people assume that I am discussing experiences at the predominantly wealthy, white prep school I attended. They?re shocked when I reveal that while in school I was a curiosity and often felt excluded for class-based reasons, it was in my own neighborhood that I was taunted by people who looked exactly like me. My Queens block was populated by mostly light-skinned descendants of the South. Nicknames like ?Blackie? rolled easily off of their tongues.

Being a dark brown girl whose parents are from another country I was bullied terribly in my black New York City neighborhood. Many children are teased but my I was actually bullied by the children AND adults that I grew up with. Parents of my ?friends? routinely said things like, you need to get back on the boat to Africa as their kids called me ?African Booty Scratcher.? I remember even at a young age feeling sorry for the people who bullied me and verbally harassed my family because my parents had steeped me with a strong sense of history.

Although this a a love column, this is a critical conversation to have on a parenting blog. My father named me ?Abiola? in tribute to his love and respect of African culture. I read his worn copy of ?The Autobiography of Malcolm X? at age 8 and saw a dashiki as the wardrobe of strength. I had a dress called my ?Afro Dress? that I remember wearing when my Aunt Wendy visited from Tuskegee. My natural hair was a source of pride although I remember people questioning my mom (as several ignorant stylists have done now) about why my soft coily wavy kinks didn?t ?match? my complexion. They made the same comments when my brother?s hair grew from the scalp red and my sister burned easily in the sun.

Because my parents had given me a strong foundation in this area, it took a long time for me to feel the effects. My family is a rainbow and all skin tones are praised. I knew that ?redbone? and ?ebony? skin were equally beautiful. In fact, the aunt in my family regarded as most beautiful was the darkest. I remember not being able to even process the bullies? ideas that I might be inherently inferior as a blacker berry. It was as foreign, funny and ridiculous at first; as if someone said, ?You?re a green Martian.?

Sure I wore hideous glasses until I got contacts at age 12, I was a shy, super geek who loved to sit in the front row and raise her hand, but ugly? Me? The idea (until adolescence) was laughable because I had been pre-programmed first with other messages.

Dark Woman.

The ?Dark Girls? movie and experiences of my brown-skinned friends unveil a coterie of male opinions and the flat out rejection of black beauty. Much is made of black women?s self hatred but a critical conversation to have is the rampant self-loathing of African American men. One only need listen to almost any rap song or visit a barber shop wall in Anyhood, USA to get the same message.

  • Consider this is a self-love assignment for all of us, regardless of skin color or ethnicity. Black, white, yellow, red or brown, feeling ?beauty-full? is a part of your birthright as a fully expressed and self-loving human being.

When I hosted my own show at BET and viewers complained about the dim lighting of the program, my producer said, ?Maybe the problem is the black ass host.? He laughed and I stupidly laughed along, not feeling the same confidence I had as a kid to stand up and say, ?You?re an idiot and that?s ignorant.? After all, now I was an adult with a job and needed to pay pills and make career moves. I died a little inside for not having the courage to defend myself when these kinds of comments were made frequently.

Whenever I tried to discuss these things my lighter-skinned black friends said, ?but I was called ?high yella?? and my white friends lamented not having blonde hair and blue eyes. I wanted to explain that the difference was those equally idiotic comments were bouncing against a greater opinion of society that you are beautiful.

  • However, the most unhealthy conversations are competitions for suffering of the ?I had it worse? variety. Everyone?s pain deserves a voice.

What?s Beauty Got to Do With It?

Beauty matters. Beauty is different from vanity. True beauty is inherent. We all know that a woman?s only worth is not in the way she looks. Our battles with body acceptance, hair appreciation and skin color may seem like surface issues but they aren?t. Being able to look into a mirror and loving the reflection is a critical key of self-worth. Self-acceptance is everything. In addition, beauty is currency in our society.

The psychological effects of black women being rejected by black men cannot be underestimated. Just as women are taught to hate themselves and each other, so are people of African descent.

It was a light skinned sister who leaned in conspiratorially during my starter marriage to an Ivy League brother to say, ?Look around. You?re the only one.? We were in the Hamptons for a weekend wedding of one of my ex?s frat brothers. She was pointing out what I had failed to notice: I was the only chocolate woman there. All of my husband?s Ivy League brothers and corporate buddies had wives and girlfriends who were light skinned with long hair. It was certainly an interesting observation, to say the least.

I didn?t notice because my brain isn?t tuned to that particular inferiority channel. If we don?t check ourselves we have many reasons to indulge in self-rejection or to feel ugly. Unfortunately, I was probably tuning into other reasons to feel less than worthy like my body size, age or career achievements. The words ?black is beautiful? cause a response of ?duh, obviously? in my head.

Maybe it?s for that reason that I?ve never experienced a drought of ?quality? eligible men of any complexion who seek to make me their long term mate. Perhaps that?s why I?ve been derided as ?Miss Picky,? as in how dare you have the nerve to be selective about who to love. This could be why when someone I was dating asked whether I was jealous of another woman solely for the reason that she could pass a paper bag test I laughed and asked,?You think that I would be jealous of another woman over her skin tone? Have you seen me??

Takeaways on Your Beauty & Your Love Life.

  1. If no one has told you today, you?re gorgeous! Don?t just fall in and believe everything you already think. Question what has been handed down to you.
  2. Your love life reflects exactly what you think of yourself. When you know that you are worthy and you love yourself, you will only accept partners who feel the same way. Don?t play the race martyr in your love life.?You deserve big, bodacious, full love.
  3. If you feel rejected by the dating pool you?re swimming in then jump into a bigger pool. It?s a big world filled with all colors, races, religious backgrounds, creeds and religions. You don?t need everyone to think you?re beautiful and you don?t need every man to want you. You only need one.
  4. Release diminishing tags like #TeamLightSkin and #TeamDarkSkin. Be #TeamSelfWorth instead.?You are not pretty for a dark-skinned girl or pretty for a light skinned girl. You are a beautiful and valuable expression of the Most High. -Anyone who disagrees is not worthy of your consideration. Period.

This Week?s Self Love Homework:

1. Self Love Assessment.

You can?t love anyone else if you hate yourself. How much do you really love yourself? Women are taught to care for everyone else besides themselves. When you love someone you treat them in loving ways. You give them only the very best in company, food and affection.

Questions: How do you treat yourself? Do you only accept friends and romantic partners who treat you like the jewel you are? Do you feed yourself with healthy food and positive images and entertainment? Do you affirm your own beauty?

2. The Mirror Exercise.

The most powerful thing you can do is to look into your own eyes and say ?I love you.? Maybe you won?t mean it at first and maybe you will, but here?s the assignment. Every morning when you wake up, look into your own eyes and say, ?I love you? plus your name. Do the same at night before you go to bed.

A woman who knows her own worth and beauty is magnetic and attractive to all she desires. There is no force more powerful than a woman who genuinely loves herself without comparisons to or in competition with others. If you love your own beauty there is no need to hate, reject or ridicule anyone else?s.

3. Makeup Free Mondays.

In the book ?Mirror Mirror Off the Wall,? author Kjerstin Gruys went without looking into a mirror for a year and also enacted ?Makeup-free Mondays? for herself.?Do you dare?

There is nothing on the surface wrong with makeup, weaves, wigs and other adornment. Dressing up is a fun means of self expression. However, if you can?t appear publicly and feel good in your skin without these extras, this is something to think about. Revel in your natural beauty. Make a cut and paste collage of your most beautiful moments.

4. Self Talk, Self Care.

What kind of language do you use to speak about yourself? Whether you?re talking to yourself or others this is super important to your overall well beings. Make note of any negative self talk. Use affirmations such as: I am incredibly beautiful, I love life and life loves me, It feels good to take great care of myself, I love, honor and cherish myself, I love me, I am enough.

Don?t indulge in any ignorant conversations like ?You know how black people are.? Even seemingly harmful statements like, ?that?s black parenting? are ignorant and limiting. There is no such thing as ?black parenting.? Were those of us not parented in ?expected? ways less than black? Stop feeding into stereotypes. Let dangerous and damaging cycles end with you.

5. Girlfriend, Interrupted.

Entrenched limiting beliefs can?t be affirmed and vision boarded away, although these tools help. Beliefs like ?I am ugly? and ?Men aren?t attracted to women like me? have to be dissolved on a core level. Try a thought-interrupting method such as Emotional Freedom Technique to transform and dismantle negative beliefs about yourself.

Good self care is not just manicures, pedicures and massages. It?s getting help for yourself if you have any issues to double that you are worthy, that you are enough. That?s how to be a good girlfriend to yourself.

?

Passionate Living Coach Abiola Abrams gives extraordinary women inspiring advice on healthy relationships, evolved sexuality and getting the love we deserve. You?ve seen her love interventions in magazines from Essence to JET and on shows from MTV?s ?Made? to the CW Network?s ?Bill Cunningham Show.? Find love class worksheets, advice videos, coaching, and more at ?Abiola?s Love University.? Tweet @abiolaTV or #loveclass.?

Source: http://mommynoire.com/33722/dark-girls-skin-color-self-love-relationships/

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Obama links Keystone approval to carbon emissions

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project from Canada to Texas should only be approved if it doesn't worsen carbon pollution.

The $7 billion pipeline has become a contentious issue, with Republicans touting the jobs it would create and demanding its approval and environmentalists urging the Obama administration to reject it, because it would carry carbon-intensive oil from Canadian tar sands to the Texas Gulf Coast.

"Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation's interests," Obama said in a speech on climate change at Georgetown University. "Our national interest would be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution."

While his remarks appeared designed to reassure environmentalist fearful that the pipeline will be approved, they could also indicate an easing of the way for the pipeline, if the carbon standard is met.

The White House has insisted the State Department is making the decision about whether the pipeline is in the national interest, but Obama made it clear Tuesday he was instructing the department to approve it only if the project won't increase overall, net emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

A State Department report on the pipeline earlier this year acknowledged that development of tar sands in Alberta would create greenhouse gases, but also made clear that other methods to transport the oil ? including rail, trucks and barges ? also pose a risk to the environment. For instance, a scenario that would move the oil on trains to mostly existing pipelines would release 8 percent more greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide than Keystone XL, the State report said.

The report also said that even without the pipeline, extraction of oil from the tar sands would likely not be affected.

A top aide to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama's comments indicated that the pipeline should be approved.

"The standard the president set today should lead to speedy approval of the Keystone pipeline," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said. "Based on the lengthy review by the State Department, construction of the pipeline would not have a significant environmental impact. It's time to sign off on Keystone and put Americans to work."

Still, environmentalist took heart in Obama's remarks, noting it was the first time the administration had directly linked approval of the 1,700-mile pipeline to its effect on pollution. The White House has previously resisted efforts by environmental groups to link the Keystone project to broader efforts to curb carbon pollution from power plants.

"Today President Obama set a standard that the Keystone XL pipeline cannot harm the climate if it is to be approved. That will be difficult standard to meet," said Daniel J. Weiss, a senior fellow at the liberal leaning Center for American Progress.

"For the first time, the president has set a do-no-climate harm standard before he approves the Keystone XL pipeline," Weiss said.

Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said the argument that the pipeline will exacerbate climate change is "very strong and compelling." He said he expects Obama to reject the pipeline.

TransCanada, the Calgary-based company that has proposed the pipeline, said in a statement Tuesday it was pleased with Obama's comments setting out criteria for pipeline approval.

"The almost five-year review of the project has already repeatedly found that these criteria are satisfied," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and CEO.

"If Keystone XL is not built, it's clear that the oil will move to market by truck, rail and tanker, which will significantly add to global greenhouse gas emissions to move the product," Girling said. Pipelines far safer than any other option, he added.

Canada's natural resources minister, Joe Oliver, said Tuesday the proposed pipeline meets Obama's requirement that it not lead to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Oliver pointed to the State Department report, which he said concluded that the pipeline "is unlikely to have a substantial impact on the rate of development in the oil sands" of Alberta, where the pipeline would begin.

The pipeline would carry 800,000 barrels of oil a day across six states to refineries along the Gulf Coast. A southern leg from Cushing, Okla., to ports near Houston, already has been approved and construction is proceeding.

Supporters say the pipeline would create thousands of jobs, help lower fuel prices and bolster North American energy resources.

Opponents call the project a "carbon bomb" that would carry "dirty oil" that could trigger global warming. They also worry about a spill. Converting tar sands into oil uses as much as 15 percent more energy than conventional oil production.

Obama has twice thwarted the pipeline project amid concerns about a proposed route through environmentally sensitive land in Nebraska. The state's governor and congressional delegation ? all Republicans ? have either backed the plan or relaxed their opposition after the project was re-routed last year.

A national poll by the Pew Research Center showed that 66 percent of those polled favor building the pipeline, compared with 23 percent who oppose it.

______

Associated Press writers Josh Lederman in Washington and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to the report.

Follow Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-links-keystone-approval-carbon-emissions-182107006.html

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Sony announces the Xperia SP M35t, its first TD-LTE device for China Mobile

Sony Xperia SP M35t with TDLTE radio announced for China Mobile

Announced alongside the Xperia C just now is the TD-LTE version of the Xperia SP (M35t), and naturally, it's headed to China Mobile, which pretty much owns the technology right now. Like before, the device comes with a 4.6-inch 720p plus a touchscreen that works fine with gloves. Additionally, NFC and the iconic illuminating transparent element are still present. Not much was said about the detailed specs, though, so we're not sure if it's the same chipset inside. Again, stay tuned for further announcements.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/fUU9bWJ3jaY/

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Spatial training boosts math skills

June 25, 2013 ? Training young children in spatial reasoning can improve their math performance, according to a groundbreaking study from Michigan State University education scholars.

The researchers trained 6- to 8-year-olds in mental rotation, a spatial ability, and found their scores on addition and subtraction problems improved significantly. The mental rotation training involved imagining how two halves of an object would come together to make a whole, when the halves have been turned at an angle.

Past research has found a link between spatial reasoning and math, but the MSU study is the first to provide direct evidence of a causal connection -- that when children are trained in one ability, improvement is seen in the other. The findings will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Cognition and Development.

Kelly Mix, professor of educational psychology, said the findings suggest spatial training "primes" the brain to better tackle calculation problems. Mix authored the study with Yi-Ling Cheng, a doctoral student in MSU's College of Education.

"What's shocking is that we saw these improvements in math performance after giving the students just one 20-minute training session in spatial ability," Mix said. "Imagine if the training had been six weeks."

Understanding the connection between spatial ability and math, she said, is especially important in the early elementary grades because many studies indicate early intervention is critical for closing achievement gaps in math.

Spatial ability is important for success in many fields, from architecture to engineering to meteorology, according to a Johns Hopkins University paper. An astronomer must visualize the structure of the solar system and the motions of the objects in it, for example, while a radiologist must be able to interpret the image on an X-ray.

Some education experts have called for including spatial reasoning in the elementary math curriculum. But there are many forms of spatial ability and Mix said it's important to first figure out how each of them may or may not relate to the various math disciplines.

To that end, Mix is leading a larger study that tests elementary students on different forms of spatial ability and math performance.

Mix's research into spatial ability and math is funded by two grants totaling $2.8 million from the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/qnePuR5O67Q/130625121239.htm

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Friday, June 7, 2013

USTR nominee asked about offshore investments

FILE - In this May 2, 2013 file photo, Michael Froman, President Barack Obama's choice to become US Trade Representative, listens as the president speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Forman appears headed for Senate confirmation despite Republican questions about nominee Michael Froman?s investments in a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this May 2, 2013 file photo, Michael Froman, President Barack Obama's choice to become US Trade Representative, listens as the president speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Forman appears headed for Senate confirmation despite Republican questions about nominee Michael Froman?s investments in a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

(AP) ? Michael Froman, the administration's choice to become the next U.S. Trade Representative, appeared headed for Senate confirmation despite Republican questions Thursday about his investments in a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven.

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said he planned to vote for Froman, who most recently has served as President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs. He has also helped negotiate past trade agreements.

But Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said Froman was the third cabinet-level nominee this year to have made use of offshore investments. Hatch spoke of the "hypocrisy" of the Obama administration, which has strongly condemned corporations and the wealthy who keep money in foreign tax shelters. The other two were Jack Lew, now the Treasury Secretary, and Penny Pritzker, the nominee to head the Commerce Department.

Hatch also noted that Froman received more than $5 million in bonuses while working for Citigroup during the financial crisis when Citigroup was receiving $45 billion in taxpayer assistance.

"The president's rhetoric," Hatch said, "seemed to suggest that offshore investments, investments in outsourcing and Wall Street bonuses are not simply bad policy, but morally wrong. Yet the same vitriol used to attack the president's political opponents does not seem to apply to his nominees for cabinet positions."

Froman, asked about his investment by committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he had invested in the employee-based international fund to diversify his portfolio and not because of where it was located. "I paid every penny of taxes due on that fund. I am not aware of any tax benefit that I received by virtue of investment in that fund," he said.

Otherwise, Froman was widely praised by the committee, and Baucus said he hoped to win quick confirmation for Froman to head the trade office, which employs less than 250 but is responsible for negotiating several major trade agreements.

The USTR hopes to conclude talks this year on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an Asia-Pacific trading bloc that last year purchased some $620 billion, or 40 percent of U.S. goods exports. The administration is also set to launch talks on reducing trade barriers with the European Union known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

It is "one of the most ambitious trade agendas in U.S. history," Froman said.

Froman also assured the senators that Obama supported the renewal of Trade Promotion Authority, also known as fast track, which expired in 2007. Trade Promotion Authority assures that the administration can negotiate trade deals that Congress can accept or reject but cannot change. Trading partners are reluctant to sign on to trade deals that are subject to congressional tinkering, but TPA has never been popular among unions and some Democrats who want to ensure that labor and environmental rights are protected in trade deals.

Senators also presented Froman with a long list of specific trade concerns, including Chinese solar energy exports, Chinese and Japanese currency rates, Japanese obstacles to auto imports, labor rights in Bangladesh and European sanitary standards that block U.S. food product imports. Several senators urged Froman to take a tough stand on Indian policies they said have led to violations of U.S. intellectual property rights and obstacles to U.S. investment.

On Thursday a bipartisan group of 230 House members sent Obama a letter urging him to address currency manipulation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.

"Over the last couple years I've been in countless meetings with USTR and Treasury pressing them to include meaningful currency provisions in our trade agreements," said Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine. "To date they have done nothing."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-06-Trade%20Representative/id-da830a18f0974b8fb6f4d509ef600c20

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These Armored Nike Air Mags Were Made for Iron Man

These Armored Nike Air Mags Were Made for Iron Man

Though the Nike MAGs are already nostalgically beautiful in their own Back to the Future style, this custom Iron Man version of the Nike MAGs transforms the boot into something even more futuristic. Something that Tony Stark would invent. Something that you could imagine as part of Iron Man's armor. Something that I so desperately want.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/HE45JZPSilI/these-armored-nike-air-mags-were-made-for-iron-man-511794376

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