oritperlov: @Bassem_Sabry Facebook users in Egypt reach 8,790,000 via@ONtveg

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@Bassem_Sabry Facebook users in Egypt reach 8,790,000 via@ONtveg Il y a environ 2 heures via web

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Woman hears buzz of tattoo needle for first time

By Ree Hines

Sarah Churman was born deaf, but earlier this year, at the age of 29, she underwent a procedure that suddenly allowed her to hear. Soon after, Churman decided to celebrate the life-changing event with a new tattoo at Ami James' "NY Ink" hotspot, the Wooster St. Social Club.

See Churman share her story with tattoo artist Tim Hendricks in this sneak peek from TLC. ?

"(My husband's) mom came to us one day and she said, 'Listen, I'm going to pay for the sugery.' It absolutely broke my heart that his widowed mother was going to cash in her savings and didn't think twice," a teary-eyed Churman explained to Hendricks as he inked a pinup girl along her side. "As soon as the words were out of her mouth, I called and started setting stuff up and told them give me the soonest date they've got."

If her story sounds familiar, it should. Churman rose to viral video fame after her husband uploaded a clip to Youtube which featured her reacting to the very first sounds she'd ever heard beyond vibrations and some noises an earlier hearing aid provided.

She also visited TODAY in October and explained just how profound her experience has been.

To see more of Churman's moving story, and the completed tattoo she got to commemorate it, tune into to the season premiere of "NY Ink" Thursday night at 9 p.m. on TLC.

Have you followed Churman's story over the past few months? Will you watch her spot on "NY Ink"? Tell on our Facebook page.

?

Related content:

Also in the Clicker:

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/29/9805349-woman-celebrates-hearing-for-the-first-time-with-new-tattoo

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Deal of the Day: Seidio SURFACE Case for Motorola Droid Bionic

The Dec. 27 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Seidio SURFACE Case for Motorola Droid Bionic. Available in four colors -- black, sapphire blue, burgundy and amethyst --  this case consists of interlocking top and bottom pieces that fit your Motorola Droid Bionic snugly, and Seidio's signature soft touch finish provides a great feel and better grip without attracting lint. And, best of all, it's available today only for just $16.95 -- that's 43 percent off! Get yours while supplies last!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/UDHY_nMOYz8/story01.htm

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Texas killer of 6 wore Santa Claus outfit, police say

GRAPEVINE, Texas ? The man police say shot six family members to death in a Grapevine apartment on Christmas before killing himself was dressed as Santa Claus, according to a police spokesman.

Grapevine Police Lt. Todd Dearing said police are still working out the timeline of the massacre, the worst ever in Grapevine. The victims were found next to open gifts near a Christmas tree, police said.

"We don't know if he was with them or he came over later," Dearing said, referring to the man police believe was the killer.

Two handguns were found at the scene. Police say one of the dead, a middle-aged man, is suspected of being responsible for what is apparently a murder-suicide.

Police have said some of the victims were seated on furniture, and others were slumped on the floor.

Two of the women and one man were 18 to 20, police said. The other women were older, and the other men were in their 50s.

All seven were "related either by blood or marriage," Dearing said. Three of the victims lived in the apartment, he said.

The names of the victims were not immediately released.

"We're waiting on the autopsy report and for the medical examiner's office to contact next of kin and confirm identities," Sgt. Robert Eberling said

Late Sunday, bodies were still as they had been found in the apartment while investigators looked for clues.

Police received a 911 call from the Lincoln Vineyards Apartments late Christmas morning, but no one spoke on the other end.

When a patrolman arrived at an apartment near neighbor Claire Comparato's to check things out, he saw bodies slumped around the living room. No one answered the door. When officers forced their way in, they found the victims.

(This report includes material from Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives.)

Source: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/12/26/134135/texas-killer-of-6-wore-santa-claus.html

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Avastin Passes Test in Delaying Ovarian Cancer (LiveScience.com)

For women with advanced cases of ovarian cancer, the drug Avastin adds about four months to the time it takes for the cancer to worsen, according to a new report.

Patients treated with Avastin in addition to chemotherapy had about 14 months before their advanced ovarian cancer progressed, compared to about 10 months for those in the study who were ?treated with chemotherapy and a placebo.

An early analysis of the trial's results was presented in June 2010 at the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology; the complete report from the trial appears today (Dec. 28) in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This was the third clinical trial to show that adding Avastin to standard chemotherapy treatments extends the time before ovarian cancers progress, said Dr. Carol Aghajanian, chief of gynecologic medical oncology service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

"This is good news for women with ovarian cancer," said Aghajanian, who was not involved in the new study.

The European Commission approved Avastin as a treatment for ovarian cancer this month, but it is unclear whether the drug will be approved to treat this cancer in the United States, Aghajanian said. The Food and Drug Administration will be looking at the data.

The drug, made by pharmaceutical company Genentech, is designed to inhibit the growth of blood vessels that feed a tumor. It is currently approved to treat certain types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers, while the FDA recently disallowed its use for breast cancer.

Preventing cancer from worsening

The new report is based on 1,873 ovarian cancer patients who had been assigned at random to three groups. One received chemotherapy treatments along with a placebo; one received Avastin (generically known as bevacizumab) along with chemotherapy at the start of their treatment, then received only chemotherapy for the rest of their treatment; the third group received Avastin along with chemotherapy for the entirety of their treatment. The patients did not know which treatment they were receiving; neither did the doctors treating them.

The researchers measured the blood levels of a marker called CA-125 to determine whether the patients' cancers were progressing. CA-125 levels are a very early marker of worsening cancer, Aghajanian said. Levels of CA-125 begin to rise before a growing cancer is visible on a CT scan.

"They used a very conservative method of measuring progression, so we can be certain that it's meaningful," Aghajanian said.

Whether Avastin could extend patients' lives is a tricky question to try to answer with studies, Aghajanian said. At the end of this trial, for example, the patients and their doctors were told whether they had received Avastin or the placebo treatment, and it was entirely possible that those who had been on the placebo then received Avastin, she explained. Such a crossover in treatments after a study's conclusion would make it difficult to later determine whether patients who received a drug during a trial lived longer.?

Avastin and breast cancer

There are important differences between the studies of Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer and the studies of its use for ovarian cancer, Aghajanian said.

In November the FDA revoked its approval of Avastin to treat breast cancer because studies showed that breast cancer patients treated with it did not live any longer, and faced significant risks of severe side effects such as small holes developing in the intestines. The drug had been cleared by the FDA in February 2008 under an "accelerated approval" process based on promising early studies, allowing Avastin to be used for breast cancer patients while Genentech did further research.

"There was not a consistent benefit seen in the breast cancer studies," Aghajanian said. By contrast, three studies of the drug's use in ovarian cancer showed a consistent benefit.

The safety of the drug as seen in the new study "was reassuring," Aghajanian said, as was the finding that patients taking the drug reported no difference in their quality of life from patients receiving the placebo.

The rate of patients who developed gastrointestinal perforations was twice as high among those who received Avastin as among those who received a placebo, but the rate was still under 3 percent.

Elevated blood pressure was seen in more patients who received Avastin throughout the study than in those who received the drug only at the beginning or not at all.

Pass it on: A third study has found the drug Avastin can delay the worsening of advanced ovarian cancer.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. Find us on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20111228/sc_livescience/avastinpassestestindelayingovariancancer

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'Games Of Thrones' Director Alan Taylor To Helm 'Thor 2' (omg!)

"Thor 2" has found its director.

Alan Taylor will replace Patty Jenkins at the helm of the superhero sequel, according to Deadline, which was first to report the news.

PLAY IT NOW: Trailer: ?The Avengers?

Taylor, an accomplished TV director, is best known for his work on HBO's "Game of Thrones," as well as credits on small screen hits including "Boardwalk Empire," "Mad Men" and "Nurse Jackie."

Jenkins, director of 2003's crime drama "Monster," was originally slated to direct the film, but was removed from the project earlier this month following rumored creative differences with Marvel.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Superhero Star Chris Evans

The highly anticipated sequel, featuring returning star Chris Hemsworth as the hammer-wielding Norse god, is slated for theatrical release on November 13, 2013.

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_games_thrones_director_alan_taylor_helm_thor2_183118021/44007393/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/games-thrones-director-alan-taylor-helm-thor-2-183118021.html

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Tourist center planned at sensitive Jerusalem site

JERUSALEM?? A hard-line Israeli group said Tuesday it was launching plans for a new tourist center at the site of a politically sensitive archaeological dig in a largely Arab neighborhood outside Jerusalem's Old City, drawing fire from Palestinian officials.

The project's sponsor, the Elad Foundation, said the new visitors center and parking garage will be built above a section of the excavation area known as the City of David, leaving the ruins below accessible. The foundation said no additional land beyond the current excavation site would be used and that construction, which must pass several zoning committees, was still several years away.

Israeli archaeologists at the City of David, named for the biblical monarch thought to have ruled from the spot 3,000 years ago, are investigating the oldest part of Jerusalem. Finds there linked to life and ritual in ancient Jerusalem regularly make international headlines, and the dig has become one of Jerusalem's most popular tourist attractions.

The site is just outside the Old City walls at the edge of the neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem, the part of the city the Palestinian Authority says it wants as the capital of a hoped-for state.

Israeli construction in east Jerusalem is regularly subject to international criticism. Critics say the new plan will cement Israel's hold on Silwan and could destabilize the volatile neighborhood, where Palestinian residents clash on occasion with Jewish residents and police.

"This is dangerous and the Israeli government should understand that," said Adnan Husseini, the Palestinian Authority official responsible for Jerusalem.

Danny Seidemann, an expert on east Jerusalem who is critical of Israel's policies in the city, said the plan would result in "a pseudo-Biblical theme park which radically changes the fabric of an existing Palestinian neighborhood."

The Elad Foundation, which funds the dig, is associated with Israel's settlement movement and also brings Jewish families into Silwan, whose population is overwhelmingly Arab. The effort is intended to assert what the group sees as Israel's historic rights to the city and to keep it unified under Israeli control.

"The new center will serve tourists and visitors, Jews, Arabs, and anyone else coming to the City of David and the Western Wall," said Udi Ragones, a spokesman for the Elad Foundation.

A spokesman for Jerusalem City Hall, Stephan Miller, said the plans would be discussed in a committee Wednesday and would then be open to public objections as part of the standard zoning process. That process typically takes between several months and several years.

"The city of Jerusalem accords great importance to the development of the tourist and archaeology site in the City of David, where hundreds of thousands of visitors and tourists visit yearly," Miller said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45794905/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Working Hollywood: Animal trainer Bettina Browne

Bettina Browne trained tigers for Fox's new family film "We Bought a Zoo," but of all the felines she's recently wrangled for movies, she considers the toughest customers to be the ordinary house cats she was tasked with taming for director David Fincher's dark, biting thriller, Sony's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

"Tigers and lions are a little bit more dog-like in the sense that they still do like to please you," said Browne, who worked for Birds and Animals Unlimited on the two films. "House cats, if they feel like it, they will. But especially when you're working with them, they're like, 'Nah, I don't really want to do that. It's work.'"

Cattitudes haven't hampered Browne's lifelong love of animals, though. As an undergraduate at USC, she studied anthropology with an emphasis on primates and considered moving to South Africa to be a safari guide. But instead, she finished her degree and tried such endeavors as gallery work and fashion styling before answering the call of the wild. "I met my husband, Eric Weld, and he had just gotten into exotic animal training," she said. "I thought, 'Ah, that's what I want to do, too.'"

On her first job, she trained 7-month-old lion cubs for a Whiskas commercial. But the first time she ever worked with a full-grown male lion ? a 550-pound creature named Felix ? was on 2007's "Prey," which she considers the biggest step in her career.

"It was an unfortunate situation actually because my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, and another trainer on that movie, they got shot," she said. "The African farm they were staying at, these people came and robbed their bungalow and shot them, one in the shoulder and then my husband in his hand."

Browne stepped in to finish the movie with Felix and discovered that he responded much differently to a female rather than a male trainer. "They're a little more lovey, a little more accepting," she said.

Since then, Browne has trained animals of all sizes for films including "Step Brothers," "Angels & Demons" and "Zookeeper," but she saves the lion's share of her love for the big cats.

"Maybe it was from watching 'Born Free' when I was younger, but the big cats are really my first passion," she said. "I always have to step back while I'm working and just be amazed at the fact that I'm on leash, or I'm working a tiger or a lion, and I'm just loving the relationship that I can have with them."

Stars with stripes: Based on Benjamin Mee's memoir, director Cameron Crowe's "We Bought a Zoo" centers on a widowed journalist (Matt Damon) who moves his two children into a struggling California zoo. While Crowe focused on coaxing the best performances from the human actors, Browne turned her attention to the tigers.

"We had Katie, who played the old tiger, Spar," said Browne. "It was nothing too difficult, because it's a zoo. We did some interior shots where she would lie there, and Matt Damon would talk to her. He was very good with the tigers. We also had Kismet and Schicka, the younger tigers, who I actually hand-raised. We did have to teach them to jump up into where their indoor facility was on the movie set. They like to show off their jumping abilities. They all like to work for meat."

On a long leash: "One of the biggest and most important things that we taught the cats for 'We Bought a Zoo' was working on cables," said Browne. "The cables are black, plastic-coated steel aircraft cables, and they would attach to their collars. We had 10- and 20-foot cables, depending on the shot. Because we could not be close to them, they had to be secured so that they would be able to work together and around the actors safely."

Stop and go: According to Browne, house cats tend to work in teams of three, but in the case of the Sweden-set "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," one cat stole the show. "His name is Scotty, who is just a domestic short-haired brown tabby," she said. "He did a very good job playing all roles. He had to come in through the window, and then jump into the cottage and run across the floor into the kitchen."

Just act natural: "On 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' I definitely learned to work a cat without food, because director David Fincher likes a lot of natural action, and natural action you can't do with food," Browne said. "Scotty's very toy- and movement-driven. So I learned to work him with my hand and just little subtle movements. I had never worked with a cat in that way before, so that was fun and new. Whenever you go on set, you never know what you're getting into. You just have to have that personality where you can go with the flow."

calendar@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/entertainment/news/movies/~3/x_dgWR6MvPE/la-ca-working-hollywood-20111225,0,110453.story

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The GOP's Christmas Gift to the President

The president will have a more relaxed Christmas, I imagine, than the one he was expecting a month ago. His poll ratings have improved a lot in the past few weeks. It's too soon for him to be confident of re-election, obviously, but things are looking up.

Why? One possibility is that his new and more partisan posture--the Kansas speech, class warfare and all that--is paying off. I doubt it though. If I were advising him, I'd still caution against the newly pronounced "them and us" line, for reasons I've gone into before. But I could be wrong and we'll see.

The economy is showing tentative signs of recovery. That helps, and if the trend continues it will be the best possible news for Obama. The troop withdrawal from Iraq was another plus. But my guess would be that the main thing helping Obama right now is the performance of the Republicans. What more could they have done, really, to boost support for the president?

The debates, and even more the GOP's response to them, makes one wonder about Democratic black ops. They might have been carefully orchestrated to repulse independent voters. The party is not just persistently unimpressed with Romney, who nonetheless remains the putative front-runner: that would be bad enough. Even worse are the serial infatuations, implosions and repudiations. (Herman Cain? Newt Gingrich?) These attest to a kind of collective mental unfitness.

Then, to cap it all, the payroll tax fiasco. Republicans for higher taxes! On one side, the House GOP at its most unruly and shambolic; on the other, Senate and White House united in bipartisan moderation. Maybe somebody out there is impressed and wants to see these people in charge, but the swing voters who will settle this election certainly don't.

Merry Christmas, Mr President. With enemies like this, who needs friends?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CliveCrook/~3/RMC1ApwX9nE/click.phdo

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NFL: 21 Former Players Sue the League Over Severe Brain Damage Linked to Concussions

Nearly two dozen former NFL players are suing the league over severe and permanent brain damage they say is linked to concussions suffered on the job. ?Read more after the jump.

@Shay_Marie x @gametimegirl

The complaint filed Thursday in Miami follows a similar one in Atlanta earlier this week. It is the latest in a series of recent lawsuits against the NFL by ex-players.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of ex-Miami Dolphins?teammates?Patrick Surtain,?Oronde Gadsden?and 19 other players. It accuses the NFL of deliberately omitting or concealing years of evidence linking concussions to long-term neurological problems.

The NFL denies the charges and says player safety has long been a priority.

The players claim the NFL made misrepresentations about the seriousness of their injuries ?with the intent of inducing NFL players, including plaintiffs, to return to play as soon as physically possible after having suffered a football-related concussion and to promote an aggressive style of football that would attract viewers.?

According to the lawsuit, following numerous studies on the risks of concussions, the NFL created a committee of researchers and doctors in 1994 to study concussions.

The committee was supposed to be independent, but members were affiliated with the NFL, the lawsuit said, and the group did not include a doctor specializing in neurology or other brain research. When the committee published its findings in 2003, it stated ?there was no long-term negative health consequence associated with concussions,? according to the complaint.

The former players are seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.

The lawsuit notes that in 2010, the NFL replaced the leaders of its research committee, and that the new leadership described the data used in the past by the NFL to counter the long-term effects of concussions as ?infected? and lacking in science.

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Source: http://www.inflexwetrust.com/2011/12/24/nfl-21-former-players-sue-the-league-over-severe-brain-damage-linked-to-concussions/

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lincolntribune: Thailand and Cambodia to withdraw troops from disputed temple: PHNOM PENH (BNO NEWS) -- Thailand and Cambodia ha... http://t.co/NsixomOO

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Thailand and Cambodia to withdraw troops from disputed temple: PHNOM PENH (BNO NEWS) -- Thailand and Cambodia ha... bit.ly/uUj2Fy Il y a environ 6 heures via twitterfeed

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Elephant's sixth 'toe' discovered

22 December 2011 Last updated at 20:28 ET By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC News

This CT scan reveals the sixth "toe" - here seen in dark green towards the back on the elephant's foot

A mysterious bony growth found in elephants' feet is actually a sixth "toe", scientists report.

For more than 300 years, the structure has puzzled researchers, but this study suggests that it helps to support elephants' colossal weight.

Fossils reveal that this "pre-digit" evolved about 40 million years ago, at a point when early elephants became larger and more land-based.

The research is published in the journal Science.

Lead author Professor John Hutchinson, from the UK's structure and motion laboratory at the Royal Veterinary College, said: "It's a cool mystery that goes back to 1706, when the first elephant was dissected by a Scottish surgeon."

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

Anyone who has studied elephants' feet has wondered about it. They've thought: 'Huh, that's weird'?

End Quote Professor John Hutchinson Royal Veterinary College

Many people, he said, thought that the structure was a huge lump of cartilage, and over the years its purpose or lack of purpose has been debated.

"Anyone who has studied elephants' feet has wondered about it. They've thought: 'Huh, that's weird,' and then moved on," he added.

But Prof Hutchinson and colleagues used a combination of CT scans, histology, dissection and electron microscopy to solve the puzzle.

The researchers said the structure was made of bone, although bone with a highly irregular and unusual arrangement.

But closer examination also revealed that it showed a strong similarity with an unusual bone that is found in the front feet of pandas.

This bone - which is not quite an extra digit, but does the job of one - helps the panda to grip bamboo, and is called the panda's "thumb" or "sixth finger". Moles too have a bone masquerading as an extra digit, which helps them to dig.

And now, the team says that elephants can be added to the list of species for whom five fingers or toes are not quite enough.

Prof Hutchinson said: "It would have started out as a little nub in the tissue, which may have not even have been bone originally - it could have been cartilage.

"A lot of animals have these structures, cartilaginous lumps, and they sometimes turn to bone with these very different functions in some species."

For elephants, the structure serves a simple purpose: it helps the hefty animals to stand up.

Unlike pandas and moles, which only have the false digit in their front feet, elephants have the bone in all four of their feet.

And although their feet may look like tree trunks, inside the anatomy is more complex.

Their five conventional toes point forwards, giving elephants a tip-toed stance, but the extra "toe" points backwards into the heel pad, adding extra support and helping the heaviest land animal to hold up its bulk.

Evolution example

To find out when and why this strange bone appeared, the researchers examined elephant fossils.

Prof Hutchinson said: "The first elephants appear around 55 million years ago.

"We looked at early elephants and they had a different kind of foot, which seemed to be quite flat footed and didn't leave much room for this structure underneath.

"The structure seemed to evolved around 40 million years ago, and it seems to have evolved in concert with elephants getting bigger and more terrestrial and having upright feet, with a more tip-toed foot posture."

He added that this was a remarkable case of evolution in action.

He said: "It is a great example of how evolution tinkers and tweaks tissue to provide different functions - in this case to be co-opted to be used like a digit."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-16250725

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cyberterrorist: i?m sick of the cold. i want to live in california, texas, or florida but my mommy...

cyberterrorist:

i?m sick of the cold.

i want to live in california, texas, or florida but my mommy says no. i want to live in LA because idk it?s warm and looks awesome, but my mom says it?s too hot. i want to live in miami because it?s warm and idk cuban boys but my mom says it?s too hot.

but most of all, i would kill to go live in el paso.

my mommy says no because ju?rez and drug war and murder and mexico and it?s too warm for her tastes.

i just want to leave milwaukee, god.

LA rules sometimes, just don?t complain when it hits 110 degrees and the smog starts setting in haha

Source: http://atomicsocialist.tumblr.com/post/14603386701

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Philippines buries dead, rebuilds after deadly storm (Reuters)

ILIGAN, Philippines (Reuters) ? Residents of two southern Philippine cities battered by a storm that left over 1,000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands started the hard work of reclaiming their lives as authorities buried dozens of bodies in concrete vaults on Wednesday.

The head of the national disaster agency, Benito Ramos, said 1,002 people were killed and dozens more remained unaccounted for on Mindanao island after landslides, flash floods, and falling logs triggered by typhoon Washi swept aside homes and roads as people slept in the early hours of Saturday.

"We have no other place to go but to our old homes," a woman who only gave her name as Marina told local ANC television, saying the evacuation centers were too crowded for her family.

"We have to get on with our lives, rebuild our house and forget this tragedy. We appeal to the kindhearted to give us lumber and galvanized iron so we can build a new home."

Washi was one of the deadlist typhoons to hit the country since 2008 when Fengshen killed 938 in the central Philippines, according to the national disaster agency. The worst typhoon was Thelma which struck Ormoc City on central island of Leyte in 1991, causing flash floods that killed more than 5,000 people.

Most of Washi's casualties were in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, with more than 275,000 people homeless, many now sheltering in dozens of evacuation areas.

Some of the displaced headed back to their villages to reclaim their lives and rebuild destroyed houses on Wednesday. Television footage showed residents shoveling mud, washing furniture and hanging clothes to dry under the sun.

Washi brought more than 180mm (7 inches) of rainfall over a 24-hour period over northern Mindanao, more than the average of 113 mm (4.5 inches) for an entire December month in the area, Rosalina de Guzman of the weather bureau's climate data office told Reuters.

It was the worst typhoon in northern Mindanao in more than 50 years, or since November 1958 when 227 mm (9 inches) of rain fell, de Guzman said.

OVERCROWDED

Some of the displaced spent the night on sidewalks due to overcrowding in schools, churches, gymnasiums and army bases, raising public health concerns due to poor sanitation and lack of potable water.

Nestor dela Cruz, whose two-storey house was swept to the sea, appealed to the government to relocate his family and his neighbors to a safer place. About 70 percent of houses in his village were either destroyed or badly damaged.

"We're returning to our village, but, we would welcome help from the government if they can give us land and build us new houses."

Benito Ramos, a retired general and head of the national disaster agency, said it may take time to build new communities for the displaced as they focus on search, relief and recovery operations.

"Core shelters may take time to build because of the requirements involved," Ramos told a radio interview. "There are environmental clearances to secure and you have to show the locations is not prone to floods or landslides."

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said the president gave officials at least 50 million pesos ($1.14 million) to begin building new houses in the two cities.

MASS BURIAL

City officials in Iligan continued to bury drowning victims, many of them in a decomposing state, in newly-built concrete crypts at a public cemetery.

A Reuters photographer saw bodies of one family lying in coffins built from logs that destroyed homes during the flood being pushed inside one crypt in Iligan city. About 50 bodies were buried late on Tuesday and dozens more were buried on Wednesday.

Officials in nearby Cagayan de Oro delayed mass burial to allow police to tag for identification more than 600 bodies recovered.

On Tuesday, Aquino declared a state of national calamity and ordered an investigation into the disaster. He said Manila would use more than 1 billion pesos ($22.79 million) in calamity funds and soft loans from multilateral lending agencies such as the World Bank for reconstruction.

The disaster agency said nearly 1 billion pesos worth of infrastructure, schools and hospitals were destroyed in floods. The Agriculture department said more than 15 million pesos worth of crops, mostly rice and corn, were damaged.

($1 = 43.8750 Philippine pesos)

(Writing By Manuel Mogato; Editing By Rosemarie Francisco)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/wl_nm/us_philippines_typhoon

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Looking for benefits in birdsong

20 December 2011 Last updated at 19:11 ET By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News

Conservation charities and scientists are beginning a research project to find out whether birdsong has any impact on people's mental wellbeing.

Surrey University, in conjunction with the National Trust and Surrey Wildlife Trust, will look for effects on mood, creativity and behaviour.

Though many people say they enjoy birdsong and other natural sounds, there is a lack of academic evidence.

The project will involve laboratory and field research, and questionnaires.

Although there has been a lot of research on responses to nature in vision - for example, showing that hospital patients respond to treatment better if they see images of landscapes rather than urban walls - relatively little has been done on sound.

"There have been a studies showing for example that natural sounds can help people recover physiologically from stress," said Eleanor Ratcliffe, the psychologist from Surrey University in Guildford who will lead the project.

"I'm interested in breaking that down, finding out what sorts of natural sounds and even what species people prefer listening to and find most interesting."

Initially, volunteers from the National Trust and the Surrey Wildlife Trust will fill in questionnaires to find out their preferences and how they self-rate the impact of hearing birds.

In time, this will progress to lab-based work in which people will be asked to perform various tasks while listening to different types of birdsong.

These may be problem-solving or creative; and the impact of different sounds on parameters such as stress will also be assessed.

"I'm really interested in how people rate and respond to different types of song, for examples comparing a crow with a wren," Ms Ratcliffe told BBC News.

"There's also the issue of the symbolic associations people have with different bird sounds - for example, if they associate hearing a particular species with a nice holiday."

Last year, the National Trust launched a scheme encouraging people to listen to birdsong for five minutes each day, as a way of combatting the "winter blues".

"Birdsong gets us closer to nature, and links people to places and memories in a way that few other sounds can," said Peter Brash, an ecologist with the Trust.

"It's a simple pleasure that most of us can enjoy, even if we live in towns and cities."

The new study will find out whether this mood enhancement is a reality for people who are not already bird or nature enthusiasts.

The three-year project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, with additional money from the National Trust and Surrey Wildlife Trust.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-16262223

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US stocks headed for higher open (AP)

NEW YORK ? U.S. stocks are poised to rise Tuesday as encouraging signs from Europe's largest economy gave some relief from overhanging fears of the eurozone's troubles and a report showed that a surge in apartment construction gave builders more work last month.

German business confidence rose unexpectedly in December, while German consumers were resilient in the face of rising economic risks and the ongoing debt crisis.

"The main support factor here continues to be the robust labor market coupled with a solid upward trend in effective wages," UniCredit Research economist Alexander Koch said in a note to clients Tuesday.

GfK, the German research institute that carried out the consumer confidence study, warned that while economic expectations are "defying the rising fears of recession," that might change as the debt crisis becomes an increasing problem for Germany's exports.

The Commerce Department said builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 homes last month, a 9.3 percent jump from October. That's the highest level since April 2010. Still, that's far below the 1.2 million homes that economists say would be built each year in a healthy housing market.

Building permits, a gauge of future construction, rose by 5.7 percent. The increase was spurred by more apartment permits.

A debt auction in Spain was also encouraging for investors. Borrowing costs for 3- and 6-month notes fell sharply amid strong demand, indicating market confidence in the country's ability to handle its debt is recovering.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are rising 130, or 1.1 percent, to 11,833, while Standard & Poor's 500 index futures are climbing 15.80, or 1.3 percent, to 1214.80. Nasdaq futures are rising 1.2 percent, or 26.25, to 2239. European markets advanced amid thin holiday season trading.

The reassuring macroeconomic news reinforced improving market sentiment as the leadership succession in North Korea appeared to be progressing. North Korean state media have given clear indications that Kim Jong Un will succeed his father, late dictator Kim Jong Il, who died of a massive heart attack on Saturday.

The possibility of a power struggle in a country pursuing nuclear weapons and known for its secrecy and unpredictability have heightened tensions in the region and unsettled markets on Monday.

But at midday Tuesday, Germany's DAX rose 1 percent to 5,723 while France's CAC 40 index gained 1 percent to 3,005. The FTSE 100 index of leading British companies was steady at 5,362.50.

Markets shrugged off news after trading closed Monday that European Union finance ministers raised only three-quarters of the euro200 billion ($261 billion) that they wanted to provide the International Monetary Fund to help heavily indebted nations avoid default.

Countries that use the euro are hoping the extra IMF loans ? meant to be channeled into a special fund that will invest alongside Europe's own bailout fund ? will encourage non-European countries to provide support for Europe via the IMF.

The failure to come up with the full amount that had been indicated at a summit of EU leaders just 10 days ago signals further rifts within the 27-country EU. At the summit, the 17 eurozone countries also agreed to set up a new treaty to create tighter fiscal rules for the currency union, which has been rocked by a debt crisis for the past two years.

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi led regional gains, rising 0.9 percent to close at 1,793.06 a day after tumbling 3.4 percent on news of Kim's death.

In currencies, the euro strengthened to $1.3080 from $1.3017 late Monday in New York. The dollar was stable against the Japanese yen.

Benchmark oil for January delivery was up $1.28 at $95.16 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 35 cents to settle at $93.88 per barrel on Monday.

_________

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111220/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street

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Arianna Huffington: Sunday Roundup

This week, the Pentagon marked the official end to the war in Iraq with a brief ceremony in a secure part of the Baghdad airport -- helicopters hovering protectively overhead. Although Defense Secretary Leon Panetta later declared that the cost paid by America was "worth it," a look at the price tag offers a more sobering assessment: 4,487 U.S. military personnel killed, over 2,000 U.S. government contractors killed, over 40,000 American troops wounded, over 100,000 Iraqis killed, at least 2 million Iraqis displaced from their homes, and a final tab that could ultimately reach $4 trillion doled out by U.S. taxpayers (a far cry from the $50 billion to $80 billion the Defense Department originally predicted it would cost). And beyond the cost in lives and treasure are the less quantifiable costs we'll be paying for years to come, including the strengthening of Iran and the weakening of America's moral standing in the world.

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Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:

Stephanie Schriock: Women and the Road Home From Iraq

Though there are no words, I can only say today thank you to every American woman and man who served in Iraq. I will always be grateful for their sacrifice, and grateful for the women fighting to make sure that sacrifice is honored.

Tom Matzzie: You Ended the War in Iraq

America is weary of war and this war has been a psychic trauma on the United States that has shaken core beliefs of many. Now that it is over we must work to end other wars and start nation building here at home.

Alex Cornell du Houx: Welcome Home

The men and women of our military have, with skill and bravery, brought Iraq back from the brink. Today, they can all be proud of what they've accomplished and overjoyed to be coming home.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/sunday-roundup_212_b_1155689.html

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IDC: iPad maintains tablet dominance, HP's TouchPad fire sale burned brightly

While the Android tablets continue to roll in, Apple can still lay claim to the lion's share of the tablet market according to IDC's latest report. Its research suggests that the iPad holds onto 61.5 percent of the worldwide market share, down from 63.3 percent last quarter. Android devices in total also saw a slight contraction, down from 33.2 percent to 32.4 percent. This is partly explained by the HP TouchPad's final hurrah, which rocketed the ill-fated webOS tablet up to third place with a 5 percent of share of tablet sales and an estimated 903,354 devices sold. Samsung maintained its Honeycomb tablet crown, nabbing 5.6 percent of all tablet sales. The Korean manufacturer was closely tailed by Barnes and Noble's Nook Color with 4.5 percent and Asus, arriving at fifth place with a four percent share. Tablets in total sold less than the analysts had predicted, although growth has still exploded 264 percent compared to this time last year. Meanwhile, E-readers outperformed estimates, with 6.5 million E-readers sold in the third quarter, up 165.9 percent from last year. IDC expects some disruptive new tablets will spice up the fourth quarter results and you can take a look at its findings and predictions at the full press release below.

Continue reading IDC: iPad maintains tablet dominance, HP's TouchPad fire sale burned brightly

IDC: iPad maintains tablet dominance, HP's TouchPad fire sale burned brightly originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/b8Hn3h9dius/

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Dudley: Fed's dollar lines shield U.S. from Europe (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A top U.S. Federal Reserve official on Thursday defended the central bank's decision to provide dollars for overseas banks stressed by Europe's debt crisis, saying the action was needed to protect the U.S. economy.

New York Fed President William Dudley, in testimony to Congress released on Thursday, said the Fed had put in place dollar swap lines with other central banks to help protect the U.S. economy from the potential risk of a big selloff in dollar assets.

"If the access to dollar funding were severely impaired, this would necessitate the abrupt forced sales of dollar assets by these banks, which could seriously disrupt U.S. markets and adversely affect U.S. businesses, consumers and jobs," Dudley said in remarks prepared for a hearing scheduled for Friday.

The Fed collaborated with other central banks in late November to prevent a global credit crunch stemming from European turmoil, lowering the cost of existing dollar swap lines. The arrangements permit the Fed to provide dollars to the European Central Bank and four other central banks in exchange for local currencies.

The swap facilities have drawn criticism from U.S. lawmakers who say they could hand U.S. taxpayers the bill for a European financial bailout.

The swap arrangements are safe for the Fed and U.S. taxpayers, Fed Division of International Finance Director Steven Kamin said in testimony prepared for delivery to the same panel.

The announcement of the swap arrangement changes has already had a beneficial effect on dollar funding markets, Kamin said.

Dudley said while U.S. financial institutions are not directly exposed to the sovereign debt of European countries in the most trouble, they are deeply entwined with other "core" European countries and the European banking system as a whole.

"This means that if the crisis were to broaden further and intensify, this could put greater pressure on U.S. banks' capital and liquidity buffers," he said.

The U.S. economy is on a moderate growth path and but faces a significant risk from the euro area crisis, Dudley said.

If conditions were to worsen, the U.S. central bank is prepared to put any number of tools to use to provide a liquidity backstop for any U.S. banks facing a credit freeze, he said.

"Although at this time, I do not anticipate further efforts by the Federal Reserve to address the potential spillover effects of Europe on the United States, we will continue to monitor the situation closely," he said.

(Reporting by Timothy Ahmann and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Andrew Hay and Jan Paschal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/bs_nm/us_eurozone_usa_fed

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Libyan evacuees protest in Greece (AP)

THESSALONIKI, Greece ? Several dozen Libyans, flown to Greece for medical treatment and physiotherapy after the country's eight-month civil war, blocked traffic in protest in this northern city, after four people were injured in a hotel brawl.

Hospital and ambulance officials confirmed that four Libyans were being treated late Wednesday for minor injuries.

Police said the cause of the fight between the Libyans and other hotel guests remained unclear, and made no arrests. Traffic was blocked for about two hours before the protest ended peacefully.

Several hundred Libyan civil war victims are being treated in Greece.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_re_eu/eu_greece_libyan_protest

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FAMU Hires PR Firm for Crisis Communications Management ...

Posted on Dec 15, 2011 in Florida A&M University

Florida A&M today announced the hiring of a public relations firm to manage its communications strategy following the death of Marching 100 drum major Robert Champion. FAMU officials and students embrace the potential for the firm to have a positive impact on national coverage of the story.

The PR firm that FAMU hired is Dan Klores Communications. The firm has a lengthy list of clients that include some pretty big names.

DKC is based in New York. Its website lists Delta Airlines, the TV show Glee, and Yahoo among their many clients.

FAMU student Ciera Butts says, ?I think it is a good idea. But, it?s kind of sad in a way that we couldn?t stop it without getting a P.R. firm. But, I think it?s a good idea to have more help. They can say the right things and good things as they come on and look on how we progress in the hazing situation. That?ll give us positive feedback.?

Source: http://www.hbcudigest.com/famu-hires-pr-firm-for-crisis-communications-management/

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Satellite TV news, serials widen Iranian-Arab gulf (Reuters)

DUBAI (Reuters) ? Satellite television channels are widening the divide between Arabs and Iranians by airing alleged calls by Iran for revolt in Gulf states and what Tehran sees as Western-driven cultural propaganda aimed at toppling its Islamic theocracy.

Mistrust has long vexed relations between Shi'ite Muslim Iran and the U.S.-backed, conservative Sunni Muslim Arab monarchies on the other side of the Gulf.

But the atmosphere worsened dramatically this year as contagion from popular protests that overthrew three North African leaders reached Gulf Arab states with substantial but largely powerless Shi'ite communities.

Bahrain has accused Iran's Arabic-language news channel Al Alam of inciting Shi'ite-led protests that threatened the Sunni al-Khalifa ruling family earlier this year before they were suppressed with the help of Saudi and Emirati forces.

Likewise, Saudi Arabia has indirectly blamed Iran for unrest in its oil-producing Eastern Province, home to many Shi'ites.

"Around-the-clock broadcasts in Arabic by Iran's state-run radio and television stations incited our population to engage in acts of violence, sabotage, and insurrection," Bahraini King Hamad complained in November.

"Iran's propaganda fuelled the flames of sectarian strife." Tehran has denied egging on Shi'ite protesters abroad.

Iran's bete noires in the Arab world include Gulf-based television stations backed by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which air popular soaps and romantic dramas deemed "immoral" by the Iranian clerical authorities.

The region has a long history of states beaming propaganda at each other's populations. But the current informal "TV wars" have exacerbated tensions between the Western-aligned Gulf states and Iran, kindled by issues like Tehran's shadowy nuclear power program and reliance of Arab dynasties on U.S. military aid.

"This (the "TV wars") is at the level of people's perceptions so it raises the level of anger and anxiety," said Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai.

AL ALAM CHANNEL

Launched in 2003, Al Alam has become popular among the Shi'ite majority in Bahrain and their brethren in Saudi Arabia for its hard-hitting coverage of unrest in the two countries. Al Alam often airs amateur footage of alleged police brutality.

Many Shi'ites say they watch Al Alam because mainstream Arab channels such as Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera pay little attention to the protests. Gulf Arab monarchies fear such publicity could boost the influence of regional Shi'ite giant Iran.

The two satellite channels, owned by conservative Saudi and Qatari investors, have devoted elaborate coverage to uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria, in contrast with demonstrations closer to home in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

"Because there's no coverage from the international or free media, everybody is focusing on Al Alam and the (Lebanese Hezbollah's channel) Al-Manar," said a Shi'ite activist in the Eastern Province who did not want to be named.

"They're the only two that are covering the situation in Qatif," he said, referring to a town which has seen frequent protests by Shi'ites who complain of systematic discrimination, a charge denied by the Saudi leadership.

But many who watch Al Alam are aware that the satellite channel may be carrying exaggerated reports.

"If one person dies, they will say four people died," the activist told Reuters by telephone.

Al Alam has complained since late 2009 of being knocked off the air by the Saudi-based Arabsat network and Egypt's Nilesat, but this did not appear to have hurt its audience share.

According to an internal Bahraini government survey in May, cited by Western media, 90 percent of surveyed Shi'ites in the Gulf state obtained their news from Al Alam.

IRAN SEES ROMANTIC TELE-NOVELLAS AS THREAT

For Iran, steamy Hispanic tele-novellas and popular Korean and U.S. shows - all dubbed into Persian and aired by Murdoch-backed channels out of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates - pose the biggest threat, along with Western-style news from the BBC Persian and U.S.-funded Radio Farda (Tomorrow) services.

Iran's hardline Islamist rulers often accuse the United States and other Western countries of seeking to overthrow clerical rule through a "soft" or "velvet" revolution with the help of foreign satellite channels and Internet websites.

Launched in 2009, Farsi1 is popular among many Iranians, and its Murdoch-backed broadcaster this year launched Zemzemeh (Murmur), a channel targeting female viewers in Iran.

"Our content is non-political and is purely entertainment, so there is no reason for anyone to be concerned about our broadcasts." said Zaid Mohseni, the CEO of Broadcast Middle East, a Dubai-based joint venture of News Corp and Afghanistan's Moby group that broadcasts Farsi1.

"We basically fill a demand that's already there for good family entertainment programs and we don't see the need for anyone to censor or try to stop people from watching us."

Since the 1979 revolution that implanted strict Islamic sharia law in Iran, Iranian TV shows and films have had to heed religious values by avoiding scenes that show intimate relations between men and women or flout dress codes for women.

Such restrictions have pushed many Iranians to discreetly watch illegal satellite channels for uncensored entertainment and international news.

BROADCASTERS FACE JAMMING

Iran has piled pressure on the channels, arresting people accused of working for Farsi1 and BB Persian or having links to Radio Farda, and the Iranian police chief warned in November that companies advertising on satellite TV may face charges.

"As the level of rhetoric gets too (high), I assume there will be more moves towards blocking programs," Karasik said.

While Al Alam has been barred by some satellite operators, broadcasters say Iran has long used jamming stations to block the signals of Gulf-based and Western satellite stations.

Last week, five international broadcasters, including the BBC and the Voice of America, issued a statement calling on regulatory authorities to take action against "an increase in deliberate interference" with their signals this year in countries such as Iran.

They said satellite operators believed that jamming of programs in Persian originated in Iran.

(Additional reporting by Angus Mcdowall; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/tv_nm/us_arabs_iran_television

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Italian govt releases $6.4 bln for infrastructure (AP)

MILAN ? Italy's government on Tuesday approved the release of euro4.8 billion ($6.4 billion) from state coffers to fund strategic infrastructure projects aimed at stimulating economic growth.

The funds will pay for highway projects, high-speed railways and retractable underwater barriers to help protect Venice from flooding. They were released as part of Premier Mario Monti's program to help Italy exit the sovereign debt crisis and build market confidence to save the euro currency.

Monti, an economist and former EU commissioner who took office less than three weeks ago, announced emergency measures on Sunday that seek to save euro30 billion through austerity measures, and reinvest euro10 billion of savings from those measures to enhance growth, stuck at zero for a decade.

The emergency decree allows the funds to be released immediately, but Parliament must still convert the measures to law. Approval is expected by Christmas, although major parties on the right and left want to make changes.

Monti has combined the powerful economic development and infrastructure ministries under Corrado Passera, formerly CEO of Banca IntesaSanpaolo, to ensure good coordination on projects that can boost economic growth. Many of the projects have been stalled in progress or stuck in planning due to a combination of local resistance and interruptions in state funding.

Economists have mixed views on how effective infrastructure programs are for spurring economic growth, with most favoring privately funded projects for better stimulus. Still, longer-term projects, like railways, usually require state funding because the investment period is too long for many investors.

The new funding includes euro2 billion to upgrade the Treviglio-Brescia and Milan-Genoa railway lines, both in the north, to highspeed, euro598 million for highways, and euro600 million for the Venetian lagoon mobile barriers, a project already more than two years behind schedule due to financial problems.

The projects are expected to stimulate growth through putting people to work, as well as keeping construction contracts flowing.

The gates ? called Moses, after the Old Testament figure who parted the Red Sea ? would be activated when the tide reaches 110 centimeters (43 inches), which happens on average four times a year. St. Mark's Square floods when the tide reaches just 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) ? and most of the city's artistic treasures are kept above 2 meters (6.6 feet) for their protection.

Other measures taken by the Monti government include raising the pension age and seniority requirements, slimming down provincial governments, reinstating a tax on first homes, raising taxes on large boats, high-performance cars and private jets and helicopters.

Monti has described the measures as a first step by his government of technocrats tasked with reforming the Italian economy, balancing its budget and spurring moribund growth. He has emphasized that he will step down at the end of his mandate, which could run into 2013, a fact that frees him from re-election pressures that have hampered long-needed reforms.

Unicredit economic analyst Chiara Corsa said the measures appear "sufficiently bold" to allow Italy to balance its budget by 2013," even with recession looming.

"In turn this should allow Italy's debt-to-GDP ratio to enter a downward trajectory soon," she said.

Italy's debt of euro1.9 trillion, or 120 percent of GDP, is considered too big to bail out if the eurozone's third-largest economy cannot continue to turn over its debt.

Monti's measures come on top of euro59.8 billion in adjustments made by Silvio Berlusconi's government, before he resigned after proving unable to take even more stringent, politically costly, steps

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111206/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_financial_crisis

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You Must Get The Free NASA Ascent Shuttle App for iPad [Video]

I'm surprised that, after three decades of amazing launches, hundreds of outstanding missions, great science and some very sad moments, there's no more stuff celebrating the space shuttle. Thankfully, NASA is coming to the rescue with this free iPad app. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KzIGnV84LMY/you-must-get-the-free-nasa-ascent-shuttle-app-for-ipad

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