Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/176055150?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Smaller turnout at 2nd round of Moscow protests
With Yabloko party flags in the background, Russian protesters listen to a speaker during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
With Yabloko party flags in the background, Russian protesters listen to a speaker during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian protesters with white ribbons, a symbol of protest, gather together during a rally against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
With Yabloko party flags in the background, and a balloon bearing the words "They cheated me", Russian protesters gesture during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
With Yabloko party flags in the background, Russian protesters shout slogans during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Leader of the liberal Yabloko party Grigory Yavlinsky gestures while speaking during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday on a square in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against the fraud-tainted vote, and demonstrations took place in at least two other cities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
MOSCOW (AP) ? About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities.
The turnout was far below the nationwide protests last Saturday in at least 60 cities, including a dramatic gathering of tens of thousands in Moscow, the largest show of public anger in post-Soviet Russia. Demonstrations took place in at least two other cities on Saturday.
The protests follow the Dec. 4 national parliamentary elections, in which the ruling United Russia party lost a significant share of its seats in the State Duma, though it retained a narrow majority. Opposition forces claim even that was unearned, supported by reports from local and international observers of widespread vote-count irregularities and outright fraud.
Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the Yabloko party that failed to make it into the parliament and staged Saturday's rally, said it had filed hundreds of appeals to protest the vote results. "We need a new election law and new, honest elections," he told the rally at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River a few hundred meters (yards) from the Kremlin.
The combination of fraud and United Russia's declining fortunes galvanized opposition groups that have been repressed under Putin's 12 years of rule. After several nights of unauthorized protests that police broke up harshly, Moscow authorities showed unprecedented largesse in granting permission to hold several large protests last weekend.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin this week effectively rejected calls to rerun the election, declaring that its result reflected the people's will. The new Duma is to have its opening session on Wednesday.
President Dmitry Medvedev, who is stepping aside to allow Putin to run for a new term in the Kremlin, warned Saturday against attempts to "delegitimize" the government, saying it will mean the collapse of the state. Like Putin earlier this week, he promised to modernize Russia's political system, adding that the "old model has exhausted itself."
Medvedev on Friday had a phone call with President Barack Obama, who raised questions about the disputed election and welcomed his promise to investigate whether fraud had occurred, the White House said.
Taking a defiant note at a meeting with United Russia activists Saturday, Medvedev said he had told Obama Russia doesn't care about the U.S. assessment of the vote and that the U.S. criticism was unacceptable.
"When we hear lectures in the worst traditions of the Cold War, it causes indignation," Medvedev said.
Unimpressed by the government's vague promises of liberalization, the opposition aims to keep up the pressure with a series of protests, and is placing much hope on a Moscow rally Dec. 24 that organizers believe will attract at least 50,000 people.
Protesters on Saturday repeated demands of last weekend's protest, calling for a repeat election, the punishment of those responsible for vote fraud and the release of political prisoners. Speakers angrily dismissed Putin's comment this week in which he claimed protest leaders were acting at the West's behest and sarcastically said he thought the white ribbons many protesters wear as an emblem were condoms.
"He was calling us condoms financed by the State Department, crooks that are trying to steal the country, and I think that this is the reaction that shows he was scared," said Ilya Ponomarev of the Left Front opposition movement
"We are speaking here against vote fraud, which is a political HIV," Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin said, citing an inscription Yabloko printed on white ribbons handed out to protesters.
Russian news media also reported about 500 people held a protest in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, several hundred gathered in Yekaterinburg in the Urals and about 100 tried for an unauthorized rally in Samara, where four demonstrators were arrested.
The wave of protest comes less than three months before Putin is to run for a new term as president, the post he held in 2000-2008, and indicates his return to the Kremlin may be less easy than initially assumed for the man who has dominated Russia over the past dozen years.
On Saturday, the Communist Party nominated its leader Gennady Zyuganov to run for president. Zyuganov forced Boris Yeltsin into a run-off in the 1996 presidential election and although the Communists' support has declined since then, he could attract a protest vote against Putin.
_____
Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.
(This version corrects attribution of "scared" quote to Ponomarev.)
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Cancer group aims to boost trust in guidelines (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? In a field plagued by frequent controversy, the American Cancer Society has taken "a major step forward" with a new system for developing trustworthy screening recommendations.
Instead of having cancer specialists develop its guidelines, the ACS now leaves that to generalist health care professionals accompanied by a patient advocate.
The approach has previously drawn criticism for another prominent guideline-writing organization. The ACS argues, however, that it gets rid of an obvious conflict of interest, because oncologists might benefit financially from recommending new screening tests, which lead to more diagnoses and treatment.
Still, pulling the cancer experts, or subspecialists, was the toughest part of revamping the guideline process, said Dr. Tim Byers of the ACS, who led the new efforts.
"The conflict is that they know the most about it, but they also have the most self-interest in it," he told Reuters Health.
The ACS is the largest voluntary health organization in the U.S., and its guidelines are used by patients, doctors, insurance companies and policymakers alike. An article in today's Journal of the American Medical Association outlines its new system.
Most other groups that develop medical guidelines still have leading specialists at the helm. One exception is the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which consists of generalists such as family doctors and public health experts.
A few months ago, the panel caused an uproar among urologists when it issued a draft recommendation that healthy men not get screened for prostate cancer with the so-called PSA test.
And in 2009, it triggered a media storm after it recommended that doctors scale back routine mammograms for women in their 40s and 50s. Both recommendations are at odds with the ACS's guidelines.
While the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force does consult with subject experts before making its recommendations, it hasn't been explicit about it, which has fueled criticism of its guidelines.
BE CLEAR ABOUT THE HARMS
Subspecialists will still have an advisory role in the guideline development at the ACS, but they will no longer be able to vote and will not be writing the guidelines.
Byers said making recommendations always involves some degree of value judgment, and that the new ACS guidelines will be more transparent about that.
"We need to more explicitly describe potential harms along with benefits, and when we make recommendations to be clear about the balance between benefits and harms," he said.
While some screening tests -- say, mammography or colonoscopy -- have been shown to save lives, all have downsides.
For instance, there is the cost of looking for disease in healthy people, the anxiety and the potential for procedure complications. The tests may also sound a false alarm that can lead to unnecessary biopsies, which carry their own risks. And in some cases, early detection means doctors diagnose and treat cancers that would never have caused any harm if left alone -- a phenomenon known as overdiagnosis.
"Overdiagnosis is an inherent issue in any screening, even screening that is proven to be beneficial like mammography," said Byers.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
The ACS will also conduct systematic reviews of the medical evidence before making recommendations, to make sure as much as possible of its guidance is based on data instead of opinion.
Recent studies have shown that many guidelines rely more on expert opinions that real experiments, making them vulnerable to personal biases.
In an email to Reuters Health, Dr. Sheldon Greenfield of the University of California, Irvine, called the ACS's new system "a major step forward."
He added that a major challenge would be to make sure the public grasps the complexity of the science in the guidelines.
Greenfield recently chaired an Institute of Medicine committee that released standards for how to make clinical guidelines better and more trustworthy.
Earlier this year, he told Reuters Health that good guidelines need to be based on extensive reviews of the medical literature done by researchers with no financial conflicts of interest.
Greenfield also said the guideline panels have to represent all stakeholders, including doctors from other specialties and patients. Fulfilling all three requirements, he said, was "about as common as peace in the Middle East."
Dr. Michael LeFevre of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force also applauded the ACS's efforts.
"This is the first time I have seen a major organization use the Institute of Medicine model," he told Reuters Health.
WILL CANCER SCREENING GUIDELINES EVER BE THE SAME?
LeFevre said he believes the new system might help align the advice from the two organizations.
"Many of the differences between Task Force recommendations and others have to do with the different processes by which those conclusions are reached," he said. "The process that was outlined certainly moves in the direction of the process that we use."
Byers was less convinced that the differences would disappear. Instead, his hope is "that we can be more explicit about what the reasons for those differences are."
The ACS is currently developing guidelines on lung cancer screening, a topic that sparked debate in the media earlier this year. According to Byers, the new system will be used "in spirit" to those guidelines, although it is too late to apply it full-out.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/t7yGNh Journal of the American Medical Association, December 14, 2011.
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Officials: Burglars steal TV sets from Anthony, New Mexico school
Burglars have stolen eight television sets after breaking into Anthony Elementary School twice in two months, said Do?a Ana County sheriff officials.
On the night of Nov. 13, burglars stole seven 42-inch flat-screen televisions after they cut a fence on the north side of the campus in Anthony, N.M. The burglars may have used a small white pickup.
At about 1:30 a.m. Dec. 9, burglars again broke into the school and stole another flat-screen television. The burglars were described as three people wearing hoodies.
Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that solves the burglaries. Tipsters may anonymously call 1-800-222-8477.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.
Source: http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_19548617?source=rss
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Insect warfare: A timely holiday gift for citrus growers
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_urkgC2d23VunZmJZhflsEq1bmcW8bwCwG2IoVPpJpanyLbs62aHxOdqM7LZUKmdXx2ygSRV8WKDGSNoV_piTEReb1k2uIUf7BRU8v9usQ=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 15-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
iqbal@ucr.edu
951-827-6050
University of California - Riverside
UC Riverside entomologists to release natural enemy of Asian citrus psyllid, Dec. 20
WHAT: UCR entomologists will release Tamarixia radiata, a tiny parasitic wasp that lays eggs in Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) nymphs. The larvae eat the ACP nymphs, killing them, and emerge as adults about 12 days later. Adult female Tamarixia also eat other ACP nymphs, thus killing them.
Reporters will have the opportunity to speak with the entomologists about the ACP, its economic impact, and how the release of Tamarixia the first time in California can help shrink the ACP population.
The adult ACP is 1/8th of an inch long; Tamarixia is about 1/16th of an inch long. Photographers and videographers are advised, therefore, to bring appropriate camera lenses.
UCR's Center for Invasive Species Research (CISR) has high resolution photographs of ACP and Tamarixia for print and web publication.
WHEN: 11 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 20. Media representatives may arrive as early as 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: In a 7.5-acre biocontrol grove of citrus trees near the UCR Botanic Gardens. Proceed toward the Botanic Gardens and follow signs to the biocontrol grove and the location of the Tamarixia release. Parking is available near the entrance to the grove.
WHO: UCR Executive Vice Chancellor Dallas Rabenstein and Mark Hoddle, the director of the CISR, will release the parasitic wasps (a total of 100-200 males and females). Representatives from the Citrus Research Board and the California Department of Food and Agriculture also will be present.
BACKGROUND: Hoddle, a biological control specialist in the Department of Entomology, collected colonies of Tamarixia during four recent trips to Pakistan. Twelve colonies of the biocontrol agent were quarantined at UCR. Safety testing showed that the parasites are disease-free and pose no environmental risk. The parasitic wasps do not bite or sting people or animals.
The ACP is found in parts of the Middle East, South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. In the United States, the ACP was first detected in Florida in 1998; it is now found in Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and Arizona. In California, the pest was first detected in San Diego and Imperial county backyard trees. ACP is now well established in urban areas of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
When the ACP feeds on citrus leaves and stems, it damages the tree by injecting a toxin that causes leaves to twist and die. The ACP spreads citrus greening, or Huanglongbing disease, a deadly citrus disease. Leaves on infected trees turn yellow, the fruit turns bitter and eventually the tree dies. To date there is no known cure.
So far, Huanglongbing has not been detected in California (it has been detected in Mexico and Florida).
OTHER: Tamarixia will not eradicate ACP, but provide control by reducing the ACP population. It will perform an important role in backyard gardens and organic citrus groves where pesticide use is either difficult or unwanted. It is anticipated that commercial citrus producers in California will still need to apply insecticides for ACP control; the frequencies of these applications, however, are likely to be reduced because Tamarixia will be killing ACP nymphs that would have otherwise grown into adults in the absence of this natural enemy.
###
The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 15-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
iqbal@ucr.edu
951-827-6050
University of California - Riverside
UC Riverside entomologists to release natural enemy of Asian citrus psyllid, Dec. 20
WHAT: UCR entomologists will release Tamarixia radiata, a tiny parasitic wasp that lays eggs in Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) nymphs. The larvae eat the ACP nymphs, killing them, and emerge as adults about 12 days later. Adult female Tamarixia also eat other ACP nymphs, thus killing them.
Reporters will have the opportunity to speak with the entomologists about the ACP, its economic impact, and how the release of Tamarixia the first time in California can help shrink the ACP population.
The adult ACP is 1/8th of an inch long; Tamarixia is about 1/16th of an inch long. Photographers and videographers are advised, therefore, to bring appropriate camera lenses.
UCR's Center for Invasive Species Research (CISR) has high resolution photographs of ACP and Tamarixia for print and web publication.
WHEN: 11 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 20. Media representatives may arrive as early as 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: In a 7.5-acre biocontrol grove of citrus trees near the UCR Botanic Gardens. Proceed toward the Botanic Gardens and follow signs to the biocontrol grove and the location of the Tamarixia release. Parking is available near the entrance to the grove.
WHO: UCR Executive Vice Chancellor Dallas Rabenstein and Mark Hoddle, the director of the CISR, will release the parasitic wasps (a total of 100-200 males and females). Representatives from the Citrus Research Board and the California Department of Food and Agriculture also will be present.
BACKGROUND: Hoddle, a biological control specialist in the Department of Entomology, collected colonies of Tamarixia during four recent trips to Pakistan. Twelve colonies of the biocontrol agent were quarantined at UCR. Safety testing showed that the parasites are disease-free and pose no environmental risk. The parasitic wasps do not bite or sting people or animals.
The ACP is found in parts of the Middle East, South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. In the United States, the ACP was first detected in Florida in 1998; it is now found in Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and Arizona. In California, the pest was first detected in San Diego and Imperial county backyard trees. ACP is now well established in urban areas of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
When the ACP feeds on citrus leaves and stems, it damages the tree by injecting a toxin that causes leaves to twist and die. The ACP spreads citrus greening, or Huanglongbing disease, a deadly citrus disease. Leaves on infected trees turn yellow, the fruit turns bitter and eventually the tree dies. To date there is no known cure.
So far, Huanglongbing has not been detected in California (it has been detected in Mexico and Florida).
OTHER: Tamarixia will not eradicate ACP, but provide control by reducing the ACP population. It will perform an important role in backyard gardens and organic citrus groves where pesticide use is either difficult or unwanted. It is anticipated that commercial citrus producers in California will still need to apply insecticides for ACP control; the frequencies of these applications, however, are likely to be reduced because Tamarixia will be killing ACP nymphs that would have otherwise grown into adults in the absence of this natural enemy.
###
The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/uoc--iwa121511.php
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Alec Baldwin kicked off LA flight for playing game (omg!)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Alec Baldwin says he was kicked off a plane Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport after having words with a flight attendant over an "addicting" word game he was playing on his cellphone.
The "30 Rock" actor was asked to get off a New York City-bound flight for playing "Words with Friends" while the plane idled at a gate Tuesday, said Baldwin's spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik.
"He loves 'Words with Friends' so much that he was willing to leave a plane for it," said Hiltzik, who added that Baldwin boarded another American Airlines flight to New York.
Baldwin, a prolific Twitter user, took to the social media site to vent, saying a "flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing Words With Friends while we sat at the gate, not moving."
It wasn't clear if passengers had been asked to turn off their cellphones, which is typical before a flight backs away from the terminal.
American Airlines spokesman Ed Martelle declined comment, citing customer privacy concerns.
Airport police Sgt. Belinda Nettles said officers did not respond to the incident.
Baldwin tweeted that it would be his last flight with American, despite the fact that they show "30 Rock" for in-flight entertainment. He mocked American Airlines flight attendants on Twitter, saying the airline is "where Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950's find jobs as flight attendants."
Baldwin called "Words With Friends" an "addicting" game. Players compete online to score the most points by building words with tiles on a Scrabble-like game board.
Baldwin plays the role of executive Jack Donaghy on "30 Rock" and played an amorous ex-husband to Meryl Streep in the 2009 romantic comedy "It's Complicated."
___
Shaya Tayefe Mohajer can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/APShaya . AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report and can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/DerrikJLang .
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