Pentagon F-35 program chief lashes Lockheed, Pratt

AVALON, Australia (Reuters) - The Pentagon program chief for the F-35 warplane slammed the main contractors on the program, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney, accusing them of trying to "squeeze every nickel" out of the U.S. government and failing to see the long-term benefits of the project.

U.S. Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan made the comments on Wednesday during a visit to Australia, where he has sought to convince lawmakers and generals to stick to a plan to buy 100 of the jets, an exercise complicated by the second grounding of the plane this year and looming U.S. defense cuts.

Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp , is sole supplier of engines to the $396 billion F-35, or Joint Strike Fighter. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the radar-evading jet, the biggest weapons program in history.

"What I see Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney doing today is behaving as if they are getting ready to sell me the very last F-35 and the very last engine and are trying to squeeze every nickel out of that last F-35 and that last engine," Bogdan told reporters at the Australian International Airshow in southern Victoria state.

"I want them both to start behaving like they want to be around for 40 years," he added. "I want them to take on some of the risk of this program, I want them to invest in cost reductions, I want them to do the things that will build a better relationship. I'm not getting all that love yet."

Bogdan's tough remarks sent shock waves through the Pentagon and U.S. industry on Wednesday.

Lockheed said it was "singularly focused" on executing its contracts to develop, produce and sustain the new warplane, and insisted it was on track to finish development by 2017.

"We do this in partnership with Lieutenant General Bogdan and the entire JSF Program Office and strive daily to drive costs out of the program," said spokesman Michael Rein.

He said the company had reduced costs by 50 percent since the first production airplanes were built, and remained confident that the sixth and seventh production deals, currently under negotiation, would result in further savings.

Pratt & Whitney issued a strongly worded statement late on Wednesday, saying it had invested heavily to cut the cost of the plane's engine and was shouldering more risk than usual.

"Despite numerous cuts in the F-35 acquisition plan, Pratt & Whitney has maintained a long-term view and demonstrated our commitment by investing more than $50 million dollars of our own funds and taking on risk ahead of contract schedule to prevent the program from experiencing delays," company spokesman Matthew Bates said in a statement.

He said the company had offered to cover 100 percent of cost overrun risk for a fifth batch of engines, a year ahead of the government's plan, a step he described as "highly unusual" at such an early stage of a new weapons program. Pratt said it also invested heavily to cut the engine's cost by 40 percent since delivery of the first production engine for the new warplane.

Bogdan caused a stir shortly after joining the F-35 program last August when he described the relationship between the government and Lockheed Martin as the worst he'd ever seen. There had been little improvement since then, he said.

"Are they getting better? A little bit," he said. "Are they getting better at a rate I want to see them getting better? No, not yet."

If the project stays on track, Pratt & Whitney will eventually provide 4,000 engines and Lockheed Martin 3,000 planes to the U.S. military and its allies. The Pentagon plans to buy 2,443 F-35s in the coming decades, although many analysts believe budget constraints and deficits will reduce that number.

Australia, a close American ally, is considering doubling its fleet of 24 Boeing Co F/A-18 Super Hornets amid delays and setbacks in the F-35 project. That means Canberra could buy far fewer F-35s than initially planned.

LEAKS

Bogdan was also critical of what he suggested were leaks from Pratt & Whitney's camp about the engine issue, which led the Pentagon to suspend F-35 flights last Friday.

Two sources told Reuters that Pratt is 99 percent sure the fan blade problem that grounded the jets was not caused by high-cycle fatigue, which could force a costly design change, and the aircraft could be flying again within the week.

"Until all those tests are done and I see the results, I don't know what's going on," Bogdan said. "However ... my gut would tell me it's on the spectrum of the minor side - 99 percent is bold, flying next week is bold."

Bogdan also gave the example of taking six months to close a deal with Pratt & Whitney for engines on its fifth bloc of jets, shortly after General Electric Co had been dropped as a second supplier of engines for the program, leaving Pratt & Whitney as sole supplier for the next 40 years.

"Now, you would think a company like Pratt & Whitney that was just given the greatest Christmas gift you could ever, ever get for a company would act a little differently," Bogdan said.

Bogdan is flying back to the United States this weekend, just in time to hear about the future of U.S. military budgets, which are slated to be cut by nearly $500 billion over the next decade, an amount which could double unless Congress acts in the next week to avert spending reductions known as "sequestration".

Bogdan said he was confident he could keep the program on track and budget if he got the discretion to deal with any cuts.

The risk is that money is cut from the $6 billion set aside for the development program by the end of October next year.

"I need every penny of that $6 billion to get over the finish line," he said. "If they take money out of development, something's going to have to give. I'm either going to have to push the program out or I'm going to have to shed capability."

Budget cuts have already forced Italy to scale back its F-35 orders, and Turkey has delayed its purchases by two years. Orders from Japan and Israel have buoyed the project, and additional Israeli orders are expected in 2013.

(Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa in Washington; Editing by Dean Yates, Leslie Gevirtz and Ken Wills)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-f-35-program-chief-lashes-lockheed-pratt-030039556--sector.html

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Iron Man 3 Poster: Iron Legion Revealed?

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New study shows continued decline in the last remaining stronghold for leatherback sea turtles

New study shows continued decline in the last remaining stronghold for leatherback sea turtles

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Critically endangered leatherback sea turtle populations in the western Pacific Ocean may be losing their last foothold of survival on the beaches of Indonesia, according to a paper published today in the scientific journal Ecosphere by an international group of scientists.

Researchers from the State University of Papua Indonesia, NOAA Fisheries Service, University of Alabama at Birmingham and World Wildlife Fund Indonesia released a report today documenting the continued decline of leatherback sea turtle nesting in the western Pacific Ocean.

"At least 75 percent of all Leatherback turtles in the western Pacific Ocean hatch from eggs laid on a few beaches in an area known as Bird's Head Peninsula in Papua Barat-Indonesia," said Peter Dutton of NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center and one of the researchers who co-authored the paper. "Our analysis indicates the number of leatherback turtle nests on this beach has declined 78 percent over the last 27 years."

Leatherbacks are the largest of all marine turtles and the largest living reptile in the world weighing up to 2000 pounds and over six feet in length. Female leatherbacks lay clutches of approximately 100 eggs and typically nest several times during a nesting season. After about two months, the hatchlings emerge from the nest and enter the ocean where they mature and may migrate as far away as California to feed on jellyfish; a distance of about 6,000 miles.

Scientists believe there are a number of reasons why the leatherback turtle populations have continued to decline over the past three decades. Extensive harvesting of eggs, predation of nests by feral pigs and other predators, and the accidental capture in commercial fisheries are the primary factors involved.

Ricardo Tapilatu, lead author on the Ecosphere paper, and co-authors Manjula Tiwari and Dutton, began assessing and developing a nesting beach census and management plan over a decade ago as part of an international partnership to halt the species decline.

"The turtles nesting at Papua Barat, Papua New Guinea, and other islands in our region depend on food resources in waters managed by many other nations for their survival," said Tapilatu. "It is important to protect leatherbacks in these foraging areas so that our nesting beach conservation efforts can be effective".

"The international effort has attempted to develop a science-based nesting beach management plan by evaluating and addressing the factors that affect hatching success such as high sand temperatures, erosion, feral pig predation, and relocating nests to maximize hatchling output," said Manjula Tiwari, a researcher at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, in La Jolla, California.

The conservation value of nesting beach protection has also been recognized by groups like the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) that have raised funds from industry-affiliated members including tuna canners and processors, to help support UNIPA's nest protection program with the local communities on Bird's Head Peninsula.

"NOAA Fisheries Service is committed to doing our part in the international effort to recover the leatherback turtle through advancing science, implementing our recovery plans and management efforts such as the establishment of critical habitat off California," said Cisco Werner, Director of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. "Reducing threats on the nesting beaches and at leatherback foraging areas will require continued international cooperation and action if we hope to save Pacific leatherbacks from extinction."

###

NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov

Thanks to NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127039/New_study_shows_continued_decline_in_the_last_remaining_stronghold_for_leatherback_sea_turtles

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These fish migrate to stay off the menu

Niklas Liljeback

In the winter, thousands upon thousands of the common roach fish migrate to nearby streams throughout Europe.

By Joseph Castro
LiveScience

From birds to crustaceans, numerous animal species migrate each year to find more food, pleasant weather or the perfect place to breed. But at least one species ??a freshwater fish called the common roach ??migrates to avoid getting eaten, new research suggests.

Researchers used identifier tags to track the seasonal movements of the common roach (Rutilus rutilus) for four years. These fish live in freshwater lakes throughout Europe and are partially migratory ??that is, during winter, up to 80 percent of the fish migrate to nearby streams, while the rest stay put.

"It's a bit of an overwhelming sight to come across these streams in wintertime, and you suddenly realize that there are thousands upon thousands of fish in this restricting area," said lead researcher Christian Skov, a fish ecologist at the Technical University of Denmark.

Cormorant birds (Phalacrocorax carbo) are known to prey on roach living in both lakes and streams. However, 92.5 percent of the tags retrieved from cormorant pellets came from roach that last swam in lakes specifically, the researchers found. Moreover, the longer the fish stayed out of the lakes, the more likely they were to escape becoming bird food, suggesting that the fish reduce their predation risk from the birds by migrating into streams. [The 10 Most Incredible Animal Journeys]

Jes Dolby

Researchers attached passive integrated transponder tags to more than 2,200 roach fish living in two lakes in Denmark. Then they set up antennas (shown here) to pick up signals from the tags.

Lakes vs. streams
The idea that some animals migrate to escape predation isn't new, but evidence for this behavior is hard to come by. In 2010, scientists discovered predation was partially involved in the breeding migrations of Arctic shorebirds: birds that traveled farther north were less likely to have their nests ravaged by foxes and other predators. But little other evidence for this kind of phenomena exists.

In the new study, Skov, along with colleagues from Sweden and Switzerland, attached passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags to more than 2,200 roach living in two lakes in Denmark. Every tag had a unique identifier code, allowing the team to distinguish each individual fish. At the inlets and outlets of each stream, the researchers set up antennas, which picked up signals from the PIT tags. "We knew the position of all of these tagged fish, allowing us to calculate how many days they spent in the stream and how much time they spent in the lake," Skov told LiveScience.

The researchers also knew cormorants roosted and bred near the lakes, while preying on roach, among other fish. With a device not so different from a minesweeper, they combed the cormorants' habitat, searching for tags that were pooped out. [The 10 Weirdest Animal Discoveries]

Analyzing the data from the tags, they saw a large variation in the amount of time the fish spent out of the lakes. Some fish spent five months in the streams, while others would visit the streams four or five times in a single winter. "But there was a consistent pattern," Skov said. "The longer (the fish) spent in the stream, the smaller their probability of predation."

For example, in 2008, small fish that stayed in Lake Loldrup the entire winter had about a 20 percent chance of getting eaten, but this probability dropped to about 10 percent if they stayed out of the lake for 100 days. Large roach (around 10 inches, or 25 centimeters, in length or more) showed the same trend, but overall were more likely to get eaten than small fish ??they had a 40 percent chance of being preyed upon if they stayed in Lake Loldrup for the full 2008 winter.

Interestingly, the choice to migrate wasn't risk free. During winter food becomes scarce in the lakes, but there's practically nothing to eat in the streams, Skov said.

Why some, but not all?
Given how much safer the streams appear to be during the chilly months, one can't help but wonder why some roach stay behind in the lakes. The researchers don't have the full picture yet, but their previous research has uncovered clues.

In one study they found that physically fit fish were more likely to migrate than those in poor physical condition. The researchers also found that the fish's personality matters, as bold fish?are more likely to migrate than shy fish. "So it's pretty complicated why some fish stay behind," Skov said.

Skov thinks the research will help scientists understand what drives migration and how different migrations evolve. "Here's support for one of the most underexplored ideas as to why animals migrate," he said, adding that he's interested in seeing how adaptive the roach's behavior is and if the fish would continue to migrate when there's no cormorant threat.

Future research may even show that other animals migrate to escape predators. "I could easily imagine that's the case," Skov said.

The research was detailed online Tuesday?in the journal Biology Letters.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter?@livescience. We're also on Facebook?and Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17118241-these-fish-migrate-to-try-to-stay-off-the-menu-of-predators?lite

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Rosa Parks honored with statue at Capitol

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama and congressional leaders unveiled a full-length statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks in the Capitol Wednesday, paying tribute to a figure whose name became synonymous with courage in the face of injustice.

Parks becomes the first black woman to be honored with a full-length statue in the Capitol's Statuary Hall. A bust of another black woman, abolitionist Sojourner Truth, sits in the Capitol Visitors Center.

Obama said that with the installation of the statue, Parks, who died in 2005, has taken her rightful place among those who have shaped the course of U.S. history. He said her presence in Capitol would serve to "remind us no matter how humble or lofty our positions, just what it is that leadership requires."

Obama and House Speaker John Boehner jointly led the unveiling, standing with the statue between them as they grasped and pulled in opposite directions on the braided cord that held the covering. Congressional leaders in the House and Senate joined Parks' niece in tugging on the cord.

"We do well by placing a statue of her here," Obama said, "but we can do no greater honor to her memory than to carry forward the power of her principle and a courage born of conviction."

U.S. President Barack Obama (C) applauds after the unveiling of the Rosa Parks statue in the U.S. Capitol in Washington February 27, 2013. (From L-R) are Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House ... more? U.S. President Barack Obama (C) applauds after the unveiling of the Rosa Parks statue in the U.S. Capitol in Washington February 27, 2013. (From L-R) are Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) less?

The statue portrays Parks seated, wearing a hat and clutching her trademark purse ? "a permanent reminder of the cause she embodied," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The several hundred lawmakers, family and congressional staff who gathered for the ceremony in the vaulted hall rose to their feet and whooped as Boehner opened the ceremony.

"Here in the hall, she casts an unlikely silhouette ? unassuming in a lineup of proud stares, challenging all of us once more to look up and to draw strength from stillness," said Boehner, R-Ohio.

Parks is famous for her 1955 refusal to give up her seat on a city bus in Alabama to a white man, but there's plenty about the rest of her experiences that she deliberately withheld from her family.

While Parks and her husband, Raymond, were childless, her brother, the late Sylvester McCauley, had 13 children. They decided Parks' nieces and nephews didn't need to know the horrible details surrounding her civil rights activism, said Rhea McCauley, Parks' niece.

"They didn't talk about the lynchings and the Jim Crow laws," said McCauley, 61, of Orlando, Fla. "They didn't talk about that stuff to us kids. Everyone wanted to forget about it and sweep it under the rug."

He said more than 50 of Parks' relatives traveled to Washington for the ceremony.

In a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus in segregated Montgomery, Ala. She was arrested, touching off a bus boycott that stretched over a year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Parks had "moved the world when she refused to move her seat."

Jeanne Theoharis, author of the new biography "The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks," said Parks was very much a full-fledged civil rights activist, yet her contributions have not been treated like those of other movement leaders, such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"Rosa Parks is typically honored as a woman of courage, but that honor focuses on the one act she made on the bus on Dec. 5, 1955," said Theoharis, a political science professor at Brooklyn College-City University of New York.

"That courage, that night was the product of decades of political work before that and continued ... decades after" in Detroit, she said.

Parks died Oct. 24, 2005, at age 92. The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in her honor on Feb. 4, which would have been her 100th birthday.

Parks was raised by her mother and grandparents who taught her that part of being respected was to demand respect, said Theoharis, who spent six years researching and writing the Parks biography.

She was an educated woman who recalled seeing her grandfather sitting on the porch steps with a gun during the height of white violence against blacks in post-World War I Alabama.

After she married Raymond Parks, she joined him in his work in trying to help nine young black men, ages 12 to 19, who were accused of raping two white women in 1931. The nine were later convicted by an all-white jury in Scottsboro, Ala., part of a long legal odyssey for the so-called Scottsboro Boys.

In the 1940s, Parks joined the NAACP and was elected secretary of its Montgomery, Ala., branch, working with civil rights activist Edgar Nixon to fight barriers to voting for blacks and investigate sexual violence against women, Theoharis said.

Just five months before refusing to give up her seat, Parks attended Highlander Folk School, which trained community organizers on issues of poverty but had begun turning its attention to civil rights.

After the bus boycott, Parks and her husband lost their jobs and were threatened. They left for Detroit, where Parks was an activist against the war in Vietnam and worked on poverty, housing and racial justice issues, Theoharis said.

Theoharis said that while she considers the 9-foot-statue of Parks in the Capitol an "incredible honor" for Parks, "I worry about putting this history in the past when the actual Rosa Parks was working on and calling on us to continue to work on racial injustice."

Parks has been honored previously in Washington with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, both during the Clinton administration.

But McCauley said the Statuary Hall honor is different.

"The medal you could take it, put it on a mantel," McCauley said. "But her being in the hall itself is permanent and children will be able to tour the (Capitol) and look up and see my aunt's face."

___

Associated Press writer Mark S. Smith contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rosa-parks-statue-unveiled-capitol-165811836.html

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Factbox: Key political risks to watch in Bulgaria

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria is struggling to spur its small and open economy after a deep recession, but protests against tight fiscal policy and low living standards forced the rightist government to resign in February.

Sometimes violent protests, initially prompted by high electricity prices, continued for nearly three weeks and before it stepped down, the government also started the process to revoke Czech utility CEZ's license, raising questions over the investment climate in the European Union's poorest country.

Here are the main political risks for Bulgaria:

WHO WILL GOVERN?

Outgoing Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has kept a tight rein on fiscal policy to maintain a currency peg to the euro but did little to improve living standards, which are less than half the EU's average.

With an early election expected in May, Borisov's GERB party is neck and neck with the Socialists. Whoever wins will almost certainly have to strike a coalition deal with a smaller party.

Borisov was hospitalized with high blood pressure after his resignation, adding to a sense of political limbo.

What to watch:

- Who will President Rosen Plevneliev appoint in an interim government, due to be formed next week? Investors are looking for an experienced professional to maintain fiscal discipline at a time when protesters are demanding spending be increased.

- Who will win the early election? A hung parliament and horse-trading over a coalition look almost certain. Investors are wary of the Socialists, who lost power during an economic crash in 2009 and have pledged tax cuts and wage hikes. If GERB wins, there will still be pressure to roll back austerity.

SLUGGISH ECONOMY

The EU forecasts growth at 1.4 percent this year, compared with 6-7 percent before the economic downturn in 2009, but that is doing little to improve the lot of most Bulgarians. The average monthly pension is just 135 euros ($180) and the average salary 400 euros.

Bulgaria has managed to cut its deficit to one of the lowest levels in the bloc, at 0.5 percent of GDP last year, which is important to maintain confidence in the lev currency's peg to the euro.

What to watch:

- Will the interim government stay the fiscal course in the face of protesters' demands to cut electricity bills and raise wages and pensions? Will it be efficient enough to ensure budget revenues?

CORRUPTION AND CRIME

Corruption and organized crime still blight Bulgaria 20 years after the end of communist rule, deterring investors, hindering growth and delaying its entry into the EU's Schengen zone of borderless travel.

The Balkan country has failed to uncover details on over 100 contract killings in the past decade and has yet to jail a single senior official for corruption. The EU has its justice system, along with Romania's, under special monitoring.

What to watch:

- Will the country's courts succeed in convicting a top official? This might not move markets in the short term but would signal that Bulgaria was becoming an easier place to do business.

($1 = 0.7649 euros)

(Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-key-political-risks-watch-bulgaria-115935851--business.html

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Sean Penn calls progress in Haiti 'extraordinary'

Actor-director Sean Penn gestures as he speaks, while the former prime minister of Haiti, Michele Pierre-Louis, listens while they participate in a discussion at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 regarding Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake three years ago. Penn is the co-founder of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Actor-director Sean Penn gestures as he speaks, while the former prime minister of Haiti, Michele Pierre-Louis, listens while they participate in a discussion at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 regarding Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake three years ago. Penn is the co-founder of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Actor-director Sean Penn listens as he participates in a discussion at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 regarding Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake three years ago. Penn is the co-founder of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Actor-director Sean Penn gestures as he participates in a discussion at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 regarding Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake three years ago. Penn is the co-founder of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Actor-director Sean Penn gestures as he participates in a discussion at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 regarding Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake three years ago. Penn is the co-founder of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Actor-director Sean Penn gestures as he participates in a discussion at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 regarding Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake three years ago. Penn is the co-founder of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) ? Sean Penn remembers smelling dead bodies when he arrived in Haiti after the earthquake.

But now there's music in those same streets even as the country faces many years of rebuilding, the Academy Award-winning actor said Tuesday.

Penn said "extraordinary" changes have happened since the Jan. 12, 2010, natural disaster killed more than 300,000 people and left about 1.5 million homeless.

He also called the Haitian people resilient in his remarks in a forum at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

The actor is an ambassador-at-large for Haiti's president and CEO of aid group J/P Haitian Relief Organization, which started with a goal of bringing painkillers to earthquake victims. It became an agency that manages a camp for displaced people and works to resettle them. It also does other aid work such as clearing rubble, repairing damaged homes and running a community center and clinics.

Former Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis and Ken Keen, the Army lieutenant general who commanded the U.S. military relief effort in Haiti, joined Penn as panelists to discuss the progress in Haiti since the earthquake.

Pierre-Louis spoke of the strength of the Haitian people but also of promises, including from the government, that haven't been kept.

"Today there is reason for hope, but at the same time, there is a lot to be done," she said.

The former prime minister also spoke about the need for the international intervention when it comes to helping middle-class Haitians who lost homes get loans so they can rebuild.

Keen said stabilizing security will be a major factor in the country's recovery, with everything else becoming more difficult without effective policing.

Penn said investment in manufacturing and jobs in Haiti would help solve the challenges because displaced people need work. He also said relief organizations can make a difference by helping with education initiatives because the first thing parents ask before resettlement is where their children will be going to school.

The actor dressed casually in cowboy boots and jeans, his dark straight hair combed back and falling below his collar. He also wore a scowl for some of the evening and criticized some media coverage he said misrepresented what was happening in Haiti.

In particular, Penn took issue with some reporting on his organization's work to demolish the National Palace, the presidential home in Port-au-Prince that became a symbol of the scale of devastation and government inertia following the natural disaster.

He said that it wasn't him and a bunch of "white guys" with "jackhammers" who did the demo and that nearly all his agency's workers are Haitians.

But the actor grinned after answering an audience question about how to bring visibility to Haiti's reconstruction effort. He said the country wouldn't triumph over its problems next year, but it would happen.

"It's coming in 15 years," Penn said, "and I hope I see you there."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-26-Haiti-Harvard/id-a55c0b6871aa49db902be3048c952f3a

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XO Communications Announces Webinar on Making the Move to ...

HERNDON, VA ? February 25, 2013 ? XO Communications ? XO Communications today announced that it will host a free webinar on Wednesday, February 27, to discuss how corporate IT and network managers can transform their communications with cloud-based solutions. An XO VoIP communications expert will highlight the key steps to implementing cloud-based communications and explain how to prepare an enterprise network for the move to XO Hosted PBX and other cloud-based solutions for optimum cost-savings, simplicity and efficiency.

WHAT:? ?Making the Move to Cloud Communications: Key Steps to Prepare Your Business and Network?
WHEN:? Wednesday, February 27, 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT
WHERE:? To register for and attend the webinar, click on the following link: http://bit.ly/Vbrz8a
WHO:? Steve Lingo, senior manager for VoIP Services, XO Communications
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:? CIOs, IT Directors, Network Managers and IT Staff

BACKGROUND
Cost savings, simplicity, and efficiency make hosted communication services the smart choice for many enterprises. Whether a company is making the move today or planning for the future, it?s critical to ensure that the network is primed and ready to support the technology and enhanced communication features of cloud-based solutions.

In this webinar, XO Communications will outline 10 essentials for ensuring a hosted voice solution will work seamlessly within the enterprise network, among them:

• Firewall traffic rules
• QoS support
• Physical infrastructure compatibility
• Handset requirements
• Avoiding common pitfalls

About XO Communications

XO Communications is a leading nationwide provider of advanced IP communications, managed network and hosted IT services for business, large enterprise and wholesale customers. These customers include more than half of the Fortune 500, in addition to leading cable, mobile wireless and domestic and international telecommunications companies. XO offers a superior customer experience through its innovative solutions, its employees? focus on customers and the proven performance of its advanced network. To learn more about XO Communications, visit www.xo.com or blog.xo.com.? XO Communications is also on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.

# # #

Media Contact:
Heather Roberts / XO Communications
T: (404) 816-4145
E: heather.roberts@xo.com

PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date

Source: http://newswire.telecomramblings.com/2013/02/xo-communications-announces-webinar-on-making-the-move-to-cloud-communications-and-the-key-steps-to-prepare-your-business-and-network/

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MAC TechnaKohl Purple Dash Review & Swatches - Indian Makeup ...

Google+??

?

I have a long list of lust lists. It?s like the movie Inception. My lists have a list. One of the lust list in my list for lists has a list?.. never minds its confusing.

As per Wikipedia ? Purple?is a range of hues of?color?occurring between?red?and?blue.

?

?

In the ancient world, purple was the color worn by?Roman Emperors?and magistrates, and later by Roman Catholic?bishops. Since that time, purple has been commonly associated with royalty and piety.

Here is my Lust list of Purples.

Flowers

As I was growing up, for some unknown reason I wanted a Christian wedding and wanted to carry this bunch of flowers in my hand. I guess I watched too many of those chic flicks. Father of the Bride, My best friend?s wedding, Bride wars.

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Clothes

Aren?t they adorable and must haves in the wardrobe.

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Accessories

These stones are such lovely accessories. If any of you are off to Srilanka don?t forget to buy these lovely amethysts. You will get it for a super deal. They have a whole lot of shops selling these.? Beware of fraudsters!!!

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Lifestyle

A royal bedroom with purple wall paper, besides a private lavender spa. And, Oh Yes, I am watching it all through my purple Judith Leiber Eyewear.? Somebody wake me up, I think I am dreaming.

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Footwear

A pair of winged ballerina and the killer stilettos will do no harm if it?s in your wardrobe .

If it?s not, you will be craving, yearning, jealous and lusting.

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Hair

You think only Selena Gomez can sport this huh??

I had tried streaking my hair purple in college. Sadly it blended so well with my natural hair color, I had to literally ask people to notice that I streaked my hair L .

Purple hair accessories , yeah I love them. I have something that I will show you at the end of the post.

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Makeup

Where will I get this purple??? Boohhh Boooh Boooohhh?.. Somebody pls help. I need this exact color.

These Zoya nail colors are to die for. BTW have you checked the FACES range of matte colors for nails? They are good too. I love the black.

Here is a little dash of purple in my wardrobe.

Lakme Quartet ? inspired by Tanjore Painting. It?s a lovely palette to have.

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My cute little Hairband

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My MAC Techna Kohl ? Purple Dash

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I have been using MAC TechnaKohl ? GraphBlack forever. From the time I started wearing a kohl or kajal. Infact this was among the first MAC product I ever bought. Its amazingly good product. To add a few colors to my eye I picked this MAC TechKohl in ? Purple Dash.

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It?s a self sharpening plastic bodied pencil. The color is dark purple (lots of red and less of blue). It has slight sheen to the color so it dazzles in light. (Sorry for the dry skin on my hands and messily rubbing the color on it. Eww?)

MAC TechnaKohl Purple Dash Swatches:-

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What I like about MAC Technakohl Purple Dash:-

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• Color.
• Texture,extremely smooth and glides on the eye.
• Pigmentation. Packaging, no sharpening.
• Longitivity

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What I don?t like about MAC Technakohl Purple Dash:-

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Price INR 1100/- (Its MAC it?s expensive)

Overall rating: 4.5/5

What are your favourite purples?? Have you tried MAC Technakohl Purple Dash?

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You might like reading these also:-

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Source: http://www.wiseshe.com/2013/02/mac-technakohl-purple-dash-review-swatches.html

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Seven Ways Writers Can Build Online Authority with Google+ ...

Google was founded on a simple principle ? some web pages are more important than others.

How is that importance quantified? Ideally, it?s based on the fact that people think that page satisfies their questions about the topic better than other pages.

Google changed the face of search technology by evaluating a web page?s importance by the links that pointed at it, both in sheer number and by how much Google trusted the sites those links came from.

But the web has changed radically since 1998. While plenty of people can start a website or blog and link to things they like, the majority of people vote for things they like via social media sharing.

That makes social sharing a great signal for a search engine to use ? but Twitter and Facebook are not exactly cooperating with Google. And until recently, the web page itself ? and not the writer ? was still the central part of the story.

The beginnings of Author Rank

Google has always acknowledged that great writers create great content ? and better content would result in better search results for end users (an important business objective for Google). One of the natural ways to encourage the creation of more great content is to reward the writer.

With that in mind, they filed a patent called Agent Rank back in 2005.

Agent Rank is supposed to create digital signatures for ?agents? (think writers and other content creators), which would then accumulate reputation scores based upon public reaction to their content (comments, social shares, links).

The important distinction here is that this score was ?portable.? It wasn?t tied to a specific site (which doesn?t move across the web), but a person (who does). That?s impossible to do, however, unless you establish a platform to identify ?agents.?

In other words, the cart was still before the horse.

Why web writers should care about Google+

Google+ is less social media platform and more backplane social layer that transformed all Google products into features of Google+.

As head of Google+ Vic Gundotra said:

We already have users. We are just upgrading them to Google 2.0.

Furthermore, Google+ is the identity platform they so needed to pull off Agent Rank ? which is another signal that we were another step closer to an actual Author Rank algorithm.

So, what?s the moral of the story for you ? the writer? Why should you care? Well, if you are a content creator who cares about:

• Your reputation
• Your work
• Establishing online authority
• Building an audience (which tends to happen faster on G+ than other social sites)
• Driving more traffic to your website or blog
• Growing your email newsletter subscriber list
• And boosting sales and opportunities

Then you need a Google+ account.

But nabbing that account is not enough. You need to build a credible and authoritative profile on Google+ to enhance the sharing signals for you content in a way that Google can definitely see (unlike Twitter and Facebook).

Here are seven ways to do that:

1. Beef up your Google+ audience (faster than Twitter)

In the scheme of Author Rank, your Google+ profile is going to be your verifiable identity, and there are several factors that influence your reputation:

• The number of followers you have.
• The number of re-shares your content gets.
• The number of +1?s you get. (By the way, when someone +1?s your content, it?s not just your content getting a vote ? it?s you. Your reputation grows in the process.)
• Activity. Are you posting regularly? Commenting? Resharing and plus one-ing?

The cool thing about a Google+ profile is that it seems to grow faster than what you can do on Twitter or Facebook (another reason to get over yourself and jump on Google+ if you haven?t).

So, how do you beef up your Google+ audience? For starters, remember that in the end it?s a social media platform ? and so you need to treat it that way.

• Create a solid bio ? Great G+ bios start with a summary of who you are, what you do, why you are on G+, and the kind of content you?ll share. Be sure to weave keywords into the Introduction, Employment, Education, and Places section of your bio.
• Build relationships ? Start by following people you know, and then branch off into following people you want to know. Interact liberally.
• Share content ? Create original posts (whether text, photo, or video), share links, and re-share content by other G+ users. When you share a link to an article, create a headline, add a brief description of your thoughts, and end with a question to promote discussion in the comments.
• Join Communities ? I?ll talk more about Communities in a moment, but let me just say these are potent places to network.
• Leave comments ? Leave comment on posts, photos, and photos people are tagged in. Ask thought-provoking questions. Refer to other Google+ users (type ?+? and the person?s name and Google+ will display options to choose from).

You can accomplish a steady diet of Google+ without sacrificing your life and still get great results. Besides, if you weren?t mingling on the Internet you?d have to do it in person at a Chamber of Commerce event or something ? which can be time consuming, expensive, and boring.

Your choice.

2. Target traffic to your blog with Circles

Let?s not forget a cardinal rule of social media: social media is a channel, not a campaign. In fact, you can view social media audiences as one step towards boosting your blog readership.

Unlike Twitter and Facebook, however, where everything you share is visible to your entire audience, the benefit that Google+ provides is that it can help you segment your audiences and deliver appropriate content.

Google+ Circles will allow you to do that.

Circles allow you to segment your audience into topic-specific groups. For example, you could create a Circle for copywriters, fiction writers, politics, dark humor, and family. Then you share content relevant to each one of those Circles.

The beauty of this strategy is that you will see higher rates of interaction with your content. Just ask Martin Shervington who builds some highly-interactive circles (and then interacts liberally through Hangouts).

Let?s say you absolutely must rant on a political situation ? sharing that with your general audience might not be helpful. In fact, that?s typically how you lose followers in Twitter or Facebook.

But if you have a circle dedicated to political rants, you will probably get a higher rate of activity relative to the audience size. The same goes for every other topic-specific Circle.

By the way, avoid creating too many Circles (if you don?t you?ll eventually suffer from Circle fatigue). And devote one Circle to your core group of readers, since it?s difficult to grow a large audience in more than one Circle.

3. Hustle Hangouts

One of the standout features in Google+ is their video chat feature ? Hangouts.

On the initial rollout you could host a hangout with up to ten people where everyone sees everyone else during the conversation.

This worked out great for casual wine chats, a loose brainstorming session with peers around the world, or small company meetings.

Then Google released Hangouts On Air, a feature that allows you to broadcast a live video session to the public. Tommy Walker has created a handful of compelling On Air shows, most recently one on Storytelling, Marketing and Modern Media featuring Brian Clark, Doug Pray, and John Jacobsen ?

Can?t see the video? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

You could also use Hangouts to build a following by hosting a weekly or monthly interview series. Then promote the event regularly and you?ll start to build a solid audience.

4. Maximize the life of your content

I?ve written a few articles on Google+ and then expanded on them on my blog.

This has worked out well because I capture the traffic on Google+, and then capture the traffic through my subscribers and search traffic. Or, you could post it on your blog first, then Google+ second.

Either way, this lengthens the life of your content.

After I post on my blog, I then edit the original Google+ post with the link to the blog post ? and I also include a link on the blog post pointing back to the original Google+ post:

By the way, don?t be worried about duplicate content issues. According to John Mueller (Google?s Manager of Webmaster Tools), Google is pretty good about recognizing that your content originates from your own site.

5. Attack a narrow topic

In many ways, Google+ is just another blogging platform like WordPress, since you don?t have a character limit, you can edit every post, publish images and videos, and even use simple markup to format your posts:

• Bold ? Add an asterick (*) around the word or words you want to bold like this: *These words will be bold* in your post. This is also how you create a headline.
• Italics ? Put underscores (_) around text you want to italicize like this: I _love_ Google+.
• Strikeout ? Put hypens (-) around the word or words you want to strikeout. Like this: I ?dislike- hate Facebook.

Once you publish the formatting will appear.

Being such a near-perfect blogging platform (but please read more on why it?s actually not in no. 7) can allow you to treat it as such. In fact, you could use your Google+ account to drill down into a particular topic your main blog may not support.

For instance, my personal blog?s main focus is on web writing, but there was a time (before Google+) where I shared a lot of content on working as a freelancer.

This didn?t always jibe with my audience, so with the launch of Google+ I?ve focused more of my work and inspirational posts there.

This is important on both the human and machine level.

• Your readers subscribed to your blog because of your cornerstone content. Deviate from that mission too much and you may alienate them.
• Search bots are crawling your site and evaluating the words to determine the topic of your blog. Introduce widely unrelated topics and you tend to dilute the focus of your blog, thus confusing the bots.

In the end, Google+ is a great outlet for content not suited for your blog.

6. Create a community

Recently Google+ released their Communities platform. This is basically a group of people centered around a common interest. Popular Communities include:

When you join a Community, you?ll start to get the posts shared in that community (as if it were a Circle) showing up in your Google+ stream. It?s a great way to network with like-minded people and get in front of an extended audience, especially if you post, share, and comment within that community.

If you are gutsy enough, you can even become a Community founder and moderator. If your Community grows in popularity you?ll naturally attract the attention and influence that involves.

7. Park all your content on Google+ (don?t do this one)

This is tempting, but it?s a mistake that sensible people will not make.

Building your content solely on Google+ would be nothing but digital sharecropping. And as we?ve said many times, you don?t truly own your content if you park it on a social network or ?free? platform.

If you don?t think this matters, let me just remind you that when Posterous closes on April 30, it will take 15 million blogs and 63 million pages of content down with it.

So why mention this idea at all? Because it?s tempting. Here?s why.

For one, at the roll out of Google+ many notable people bailed on their external web properties ? Kevin Rose being the most infamous.

Next in line was technology writer Mike Elgan. Here?s his Google+ profile:

After 10 years of blogging with conventional blogging sites and services, I abandoned that approach a year ago and started blogging on Google+. Why? Because Google+ is by far the best blogging platform.

With more than 2 million followers and as a consistently rated top-ten Google+ user, Mike is successful on Google+. It helps that he?s been in the tech writing game for years.

Of course it?s debatable if it?s the ?best blogging platform? out there, but even if it was, it?s still a risky bet.

For one, Google+ doesn?t allow you to harvest email addresses from Google+ (a crime for anyone wanting to run a business online). And while you can download your content, that?s an insane hassle. Also, having an external blog may actually help your search rankings on ? Google.

Maintaining an external blog/website is actually what Google wants you to do.

In other words, it?s part of their over-arching scheme to implement Author Rank. Your work, on your site, and wherever else you choose to publish, with Google+ as a channel to reach it rather than the primary home for your content.

And the most convincing argument, as we see it? Your content and reputation should belong to you. Not Facebook. Not Google. Not Tumblr. You.

Here?s the deal ?

When it comes to improved search rankings, building an audience on Google+ might just be the smartest thing you can do as a content creator.

Why? Google is fine-tuning their search algorithm to accommodate an accurate Author Rank score ? which is a radically different way to identify great content out of the clutter.

Think of Author Rank as a penalty against anonymous authors, as well as a reward to people who care about their reputation and their content (which I have a hunch is you).

Stay tuned because in the next installment we?ll explore Google?s Search Plus Your World ? and why it makes Google+ the content creator?s most important social network.

By the way, how have you been building authority on Google+? Share your thoughts in the comments below ?

About the Author: Demian Farnworth is Chief Copywriter for Copyblogger Media. Follow him on Twitter or Google+.

Source: http://www.copyblogger.com/google-plus-authority/

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Fujitsu Arrows X F-02E hands-on: a powerhouse flagship with a 1080p display

We'll get this out of the way upfront: you will probably never be able to buy this phone. And by "you" we mean the American consumer. The Arrows X F-02E will, at least for the immediate future, be a NTT DoCoMo only device. But, now that you know not to get your hopes up, lets get a feel for just what you'll be missing. Fujitsu's waterproof flagship is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3 and 2GB of RAM. And that horsepower is put to good use pushing pixels to a brilliant five-inch 1080p display. We'd stop short of saying its the best phone screen we've seen, but it's definitely in the running. Colors are bright, text is crisp and viewing angles need to be seen to be believed. Thankfully, all that lovely screen real estate isn't being eaten up by some insanely outdated version of Android. On board you'll find Android 4.1.2 -- not the latest and greatest, but at least it's Jelly Bean.

Gallery: Fujitsu Arrows X F-02E hands-on: a powerhouse flagship with a 1080p display

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

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

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Tunisia: 4 in custody for politician's slaying

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) ? Four suspects belonging to a radical Islamic group have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of a leftist politician that plunged Tunisia into crisis, but the killer himself remains at large, the interior minister said Tuesday.

Ali Larayedh, who has been tapped to be the next prime minister, said the Tunisian suspects, some of whom had been arrested in the last 48 hours, were accomplices to the murder and that the identity of the assassin is known.

The assassination of Chokri Belaid, an opposition politician from the Popular Front coalition, occurred outside his home on Feb. 6. It shocked the country, and many blamed the Islamist-led governing coalition, unleashing days of protests. On Sunday, thousands demonstrated in downtown Tunis over the lack of results in the investigation.

Many have accused the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, which dominates the government, of complicity in the attack, citing its alleged use of gangs to intimidate political opponents. But Ennahda has denied ever resorting to any violence and has vehemently condemned the assassination.

Larayedh, who is a member of Ennahda, did not identify the group he was holding responsible for the assassination, but denied there were any foreign links to the killing.

Since the overthrow of Tunisia's secular dictatorship in January 2011, there has been a rise in ultraconservative Muslims known as Salafis, some of whom have resorted to violence. On Sept. 14, a band attacked the U.S. Embassy and damaged the surroundings. Tunisia's government has blamed the radical Islamic group Ansar al-Shariah for that attack and said it is trying to track down its leader.

Larayedh said that he was holding Tuesday's news conference in response to pressure for results of the investigation and media leaks the night before that had erroneously claimed the murderer himself had been arrested.

"The investigation is ongoing, and I will give you the latest conclusions," he said. "We cannot give any details that would affect the inquiry."

The four suspects range in age from 26 to 34 and are part of a "radical religious group," the minister said, adding that one had confessed to accompanying the actual assassin. At least some of the others detained had been involved in checking out the site a few days before the attack, the minister said.

Belaid was shot four times as he got in his car outside his house. The suspect involved in the actual attack took part in a reenactment of the crime scene outside Belaid's home on Tuesday wearing a mask and under heavy police guard.

"It was an ignoble crime with repercussions on the country's security and social peace, and has threatened to take us into chaos and the unknown," Larayedh said at the press conference.

The assassination resulted in the resignation of the country's prime minister, and Larayedh has been appointed his successor to form a new coalition government.

Authorities also have discovered many weapons caches and clashed with militants crossing into the country from neighboring Algeria and Libya. Larayedh said he believes some of the weapons were to carry out terrorist attacks inside Tunisia, while others were en route from Libya to Islamist militants fighting in northern Mali.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tunisia-4-custody-politicians-slaying-151457552.html

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Carrie Fisher: Hospitalized After Bipolar-Related Cruise Ship Performance

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/carrie-fisher-hospitalized-after-bipolar-related-cruise-ship-per/

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New clot removal devices show promise for treating stroke patients

Feb. 25, 2013 ? Specialists at Stony Brook Medicine's Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center (CVC) are treating patients with a new generation of blood clot removal devices that show promise in successfully revascularizing stroke patients, including those with large vessel blockages. The Solitaire Flow Restoration Device and the Trevo device, approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012 to treat stroke caused by the sudden obstruction of a brain blood vessel (acute ischemic stroke) showed improved results over a previous standard and first generation clot-removal device in clinical trials.

"We have had excellent outcomes using these new devices," said David Fiorella, M.D., Ph.D., a Professor of Clinical Neurological Surgery and Radiology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine and Co-Director of the CVC. "In acute ischemic stroke, 'time is brain,' and in some cases just minutes matter. Therefore, restoring blood flow in an effective and timely manner is critical to the survival and recovery of stroke patients. These new devices enable us to quickly restore blood flow and retrieve the clot in most patients," said Dr. Fiorella, who has performed some 30 procedures on stroke patients using the new devices.

"These blot clot removal devices are an important new component of our armamentarium against stroke" said Henry Woo, MD, Professor of Neurological Surgery and Radiology and Co-Director of the CVC, who has also used both devices in patient procedures. "Our center provides endovascular treatment for acute stroke 24/7, and by having the latest technologies to remove brain blood clots, and the expertise to perform endovascular procedures, our Center remains on the cutting-edge against this life-threatening condition."

According to the American Stroke Association, stroke remains the fourth leading cause of death and leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average a stroke occurs every 40 seconds in the country, and someone dies from a stroke every four minutes. These statistics speak to the need to develop more effective drugs, devices, and procedures to treat stroke.

Recent results of clinical trials reported in The New England Journal of Medicine (February 2013) about the use of first generation of blood clot removal devices in the endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke revealed that endovascular treatment does not result in better patient outcomes compared to standard drug treatments. Dr. Fiorella contends that while these trial results are important in the search for the best treatment protocols for acute ischemic stroke, the new devices and techniques are markedly better than those used to treat the majority of patients in these trials and may yet prove to be the most effective approach in select patients. Further research trials are being conducted at Stony Brook to investigate the efficacy of these newer, better devices in acute ischemic stroke.

The new devices that Stony Brook cerebrovascular specialists use to perform revascularization are expandable wire-mesh systems that collapse and are delivered into the brain blood vessels through small flexible tubes (microcatheters) which are guided from the groin to the brain. The devices open at the site of the clot, displacing the occlusion and immediately restoring blood flow to the brain. When the devices are withdrawn from the blood vessel, they take the clot with them, allowing the clot to be removed from the blood vessel.

Dr. Fiorella said that while intravenous clot-busting drugs remain a standard part of stroke therapy, endovascular therapies using the new devices are particularly beneficial when treating certain stroke patients.

"In many of the more severe stroke cases where the main arteries of the brain are blocked, intravenous medications are predictably ineffective, failing to open the occluded artery in 70 to 90 percent of the cases. Also, many patients are not eligible for intravenous clot busting medication because of their time of presentation, existing medical conditions, recent surgery, or the medications they take, such as blood thinners," he explained. "In these cases where intravenous medications are ineffective or contraindicated, endovascular treatments using these new devices offer patients the most promise."

"I feel extremely good and am able to do the things I did before my stroke, and that includes taking care of my grandchildren and running road races," said Michael Jezewski, 66, a retiree from Centereach, N.Y., who ran a five kilometer race just two months after his May 2012 stroke. "I believe that Dr. Fiorella's procedure did save my life and contributed greatly to my quick recovery."

Jezewski did not have a history of stroke and collapsed while at doctor's appointment. He was rushed to Stony Brook where Dr. Fiorella performed endovascular treatment with one of the new devices within two hours of Jezewski's sudden collapse. Jezewski's symptoms started with fatigue and no feeling on the right side of his body, and then quickly progressed to paralysis and the inability to speak. Upon awaking from the clot removal procedure, the majority of his symptoms had completely resolved.

When Shelley Broven, 66, of Setauket, N.Y., began to feel dizzy and had a hard time speaking during her husband's 70th birthday party in November 2012, friends called an ambulance from the restaurant. She was rushed to Stony Brook where Dr. Fiorella performed endovascular treatment with a new generation device.

"I don't recall much of what happened after that incident, but within a week I was out of the hospital, beginning rehabilitation, and feeling pretty good," said Broven. "Each week I have more energy and can express myself more clearly," added Broven, whose stroke resulted from a nearly completely blocked carotid artery which sent a blood clot into her brain blood vessels.

About the New Devices

In two separate multicenter clinical trials reported in The Lancet the new devices were compared to a standard first generation clot removal device called the Merci Retriever.

In one published report, the Solitaire device opened blocked arteries in approximately 70 percent of the patients, compared to only 30 percent treated with the previous device. When other therapies were used with Solitaire, the success rate improved to 80 percent. After three months, 58 percent of the patients with the Solitaire device had a good neurological outcome in comparison to 33 percent of those treated with the standard device. In addition, the mortality rates were less than half in those treated with the newer generation device.

Another published report compared the Trevo device with the Merci Retriever. In this trial, the new Trevo device was superior to the older device, with an 86 percent success rate in opening the blocked brain blood vessel. When other therapies were added, the Trevo device success rate was more than 90 percent.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stony Brook Medicine.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jeffrey L Saver, Reza Jahan, Elad I Levy, Tudor G Jovin, Blaise Baxter, Raul G Nogueira, Wayne Clark, Ronald Budzik, Osama O Zaidat. Solitaire flow restoration device versus the Merci Retriever in patients with acute ischaemic stroke (SWIFT): a randomised, parallel-group, non-inferiority trial. The Lancet, 2012; 380 (9849): 1241 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61384-1

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/PgBIsRaoaLc/130225201809.htm

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Obama warns spending cuts could idle shipbuilder

President Barack Obama addresses the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama addresses the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, accompanied by fellow members of the House GOP leadership, responds to President Barack Obama's remarks to the nation's governors earlier today about how to fend off the impending automatic budget cuts, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is arguing that looming government-wide spending cuts could idle military resources like naval aircraft carriers, while Republicans are criticizing the president for taking his arguments outside Washington instead of staying to work out a plan before Friday's deadline.

The president planned to appear Tuesday at Virginia's largest industrial employer, Newport News Shipbuilding, which would be affected by cuts to naval spending. Obama warned Monday that if the so-called sequester goes into effect later this week, the company's "workers will sit idle when they should be repairing ships, and a carrier sits idle when it should be deploying to the Persian Gulf."

Obama urged Congress to compromise to avoid the cuts, but there has been no indication the White House and congressional Republicans are actively negotiating a deal. The last known conversation between Obama and GOP leaders was last week, and there have been no in-person meetings between the parties this year.

Obama wants to replace the sequester with a package of targeted cuts and tax increases, while Republican leaders insist the savings should come from reduced spending alone.

Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Republican Conference, criticized Obama for traveling to southern Virginia rather than up the street to Capitol Hill to come up with a solution.

"We need the president to stop campaigning for higher taxes, come back here to Washington, D.C., and lead," McMorris Rodgers said during a news conference Monday with GOP leaders.

"We're very concerned about the impact of the sequester. This was President Obama's idea," she said Tuesday in an appearance on "CBS This Morning."

"The Republicans, almost 300 days ago, put forward our plan," she said. "There's a smarter, better way to do it," Rodgers said.

The sequester was designed as an unpalatable fallback, meant to take effect only if a congressional super-committee failed to come up with at least $1 trillion in savings from benefit programs.

The White House has warned the $85 billion in cuts could affect everything from commercial flights to classrooms to meat inspections. The cuts would slash domestic and defense spending, leading to furloughs for hundreds of thousands of workers.

In Virginia alone, the White House says, about 90,000 civilians working for the Defense Department would be furloughed for a cut of nearly $650 million in gross pay. The White House also says the sequester would cancel maintenance of 11 ships in Norfolk, as well as delaying other projects around the area.

The Navy has already delayed a long-planned overhaul of the USS Abraham Lincoln at Newport News Shipbuilding as a result of the budget uncertainty, and other plans call for delaying the construction of other ships.

Obama planned to travel Tuesday with two Virginia congressmen, Democrat Bobby Scott and Republican Scott Rigell.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., offered a potential way out of the stalemate Monday by indicating he was open to raising tax revenue if Obama offered to overhaul big-ticket entitlement programs. Many Republicans say they are done raising revenue after letting taxes on top earners increase in December.

"I'll raise revenue. Will you reform entitlements?" Graham said in a challenge to the president on CNN. "And both together, we'll set aside sequestration in a way that won't disrupt the economy and hurt the Defense Department."

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Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Brock Vergakis in Norfolk, Va., contributed to this report.

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Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-26-Budget%20Battle/id-044face7864b4c62a544228e56cf0ad3

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