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PERTH, Australia ? Australia beat Germany 3-0 in the Hopman Cup mixed team competition Saturday after Andrea Petkovic had to retire from her singles match with a right knee injury.
Bernard Tomic had given Australia a 1-0 lead with by beating Tommy Haas 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-5, but Petkovic looked likely to force the series into a decisive mixed doubles when she won the first set 6-4 against 16-year old Ashleigh Barty. However, she called for treatment and was in tears as her right knee was bandaged.
Spain clinched a 2-1 victory over South Africa after winning the mixed doubles 6-4, 6-7 (3), 10-8.
Kevin Anderson had given South Africa the lead by beating Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (5), 6-4, before Annabel Medina Garrigues evened the contest with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Chanelle Scheepers. The Spanish duo then outlasted the South Africans in the Champions tiebreaker of the doubles match.
Earlier, Tomic hit 14 aces to overcome his more experienced opponent. Haas led the first set tiebreaker 6-1 before Tomic swept the next seven points. A forehand error at 4-3 gave Haas the only break of the second set, and the German broke again early in the third. But Tomic leveled at 5-5 and broke again before clinching the win on his third match point.
"It was a very tough first set and my first to play for a few months," Tomic said after claiming his first victory since September. "It was difficult to play Tommy. He played really well at the beginning of the tiebreak and I don't know how I got out of that."
South Africa's Anderson held two set points at 5-4 in his the first set of his singles match but made errors on both before winning the tiebreaker. The South African then broke at 4-4 in the second before serving out the match.
Scheepers maintained the pressure in the second set as Medina Garrigues faced eight break points. However, the Spaniard broke for 3-1, fought off five break points to hold for 5-2 and broke serve again when she converted her second match point.
"I was a little bit lucky," Medina Garrigues said. "The doubles was also tough, one and a half hours, but Fernando was playing good and now we have to recover (to face France) tomorrow."
MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia's foreign minister said Saturday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has no intention of stepping down and it would be impossible to try to persuade him otherwise.
After a meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.'s envoy for the Syrian crisis, Lavrov also said that the Syrian opposition risks sacrificing many more lives if it continues to insist on Assad leaving office as a precondition for holding talks on Syria's future.
Assad "has repeatedly said publicly and privately, including in his meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus not long ago, that he does not intend to leave for anywhere, that he will stay to the end in his post, that he will, as he expressed it, defend the Syrian people, Syrian sovereignty and so forth," Lavrov said. "There's no possibility to change this position."
Brahimi warned that the country's civil war could plunge the entire region into chaos by sending hundreds of thousands of refugees into neighboring nations, but his talks in Moscow produced no sign of progress toward settling the crisis.
Brahimi and Lavrov both said after their meeting that the 21-month-old Syrian conflict can only be settled through talks, while admitting that the parties in the conflict have shown no desire for compromise. Neither official hinted at a possible solution that would persuade the Syrian government and the opposition to agree to a ceasefire and sit down for talks about a political transition.
Brahimi, who arrived in Moscow on a one-day trip following his talks in Damascus with Assad this week, voiced concern about the escalation of the conflict, which he said is becoming "more and more sectarian."
The envoy warned that "if you have a panic in Damascus and if you have 1 million people leaving Damascus in a panic, they can go to only two places ? Lebanon and Jordan," and those countries may not be able to endure half a million refugees each.
Brahimi said that "if the only alternative is really hell or a political process, then we have got all of us to work ceaselessly for a political process."
Russia has been the main supporter of Assad's regime since the uprising began in March 2011, using its veto at the U.N. Security Council along with China to shield its last Mideast ally from international sanctions.
Lavrov said Russia would continue to oppose any U.N. resolution that would call for international sanctions against Assad and open the way for a foreign intervention in Syria. And while he again emphasized that Russia "isn't holding onto Bashar Assad," he added that Moscow continues to believe the opposition demand for his resignation as a precondition for peace talks is "counterproductive."
"The price for that precondition will be the loss of more Syrian lives," Lavrov said.
Both Brahimi and Lavrov insisted that efforts to end the civil war must be based on a peace plan that was approved at an international conference in Geneva in June.
The Geneva plan calls for an open-ended cease-fire, a transitional government to run the country until elections, and the drafting of a new constitution. But it was a non-starter with the opposition because of Russia's insistence that the plan leave the door open for Assad being part of the transition process and the fact that it didn't mention possible U.N. sanctions.
Brahimi said that while some "little adjustments" could be made to the original plan, "it's a valued basis for reasonable political process."
With the opposition offensive gaining momentum in Syria, there is little hope that the initiative would have any more chance of success than it had when it was approved.
Lavrov has said that Moscow is ready to talk to the main Syrian opposition group, even though it had earlier criticized the United States and other Western nations for recognizing the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
On Friday, coalition leader Mouaz al-Khatib rejected the Russian invitation for talks and urged Moscow to support the opposition's call for Assad's ouster. Lavrov said Saturday that al-Khatib's statement was surprising after his earlier contacts with Russian diplomats in Egypt during which the opposition tentatively agreed on a meeting in a third country.
Lavrov said the coalition leader should "realize it would be in his own interests to hear our analysis directly from us."
Lavrov rejected the opposition claim that Russia's continuing weapons supplies to Assad's regime make it responsible for mass killings in Syria, saying that Moscow bears no responsibility for the Soviet-era weapons in Syrian arsenals. He said that defensive weapons such as anti-aircraft missiles that Russia has continued to supply to Damascus couldn't be used in the civil war.
"We aren't providing the Syrian regime with any offensive weapons or weapons that could be used in a civil war," Lavrov said. "And we have no leverage over what the regime has got since the Soviet times."
Georgy Mirsky, a leading Mideast expert with the Institute for World Economy and International Relations, a top foreign policy think tank, said President Vladimir Putin's stand on Syria is rooted in fear that joining international calls for Assad's resignation would make him look weak at home.
"It would look like an inadmissible concession to America, a virtual surrender. The Kremlin would lose its face, look like a loser," said Mirsky.
He wrote in his blog that Putin is resigned to Assad's eventual collapse and the loss of any Russian influence in a future Syria, but firmly opposes international sanctions. That stand allows Putin to tell his domestic audience that Russia has defended its ally until the end against overwhelming odds, said Mirsky.
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In a blow to civil rights, and seemingly the Fourth Amendment, the Senate this morning voted to approve a bill that reauthorizes a foreign surveillance program that keeps tabs on peoples' emails and phone conversations, all without a warrant. While the whole country waits on pins and needles for the Fiscal Cliff to fall out from under us, this could be even more important, as our freedom of liberty is truly threatened, all in the name of national security.?
It's called FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and it's set up to allow the monitoring of U.S. citizens who speak with foreigners.?The vote extends the life of the bill for the next five years.?Since the House already gave the bill the thumbs up, it now goes to the President to get his seal of approval, which he is expected to sign.?
The problem is this basically gives the U.S. government carte blanche in spy-mode when it comes to eavesdropping on the communications of suspected terrorists. They don't need court approval now. They can just listen on the pretense that it makes our country safer from a possible terrorist attack. Of course, determining just who is a foreigner and figuring out their real or perceived "threat" to America is another problem in and of itself. On top of that, it's a lot of leeway and freedom for law enforcement and the government to listen in on the often mundane conversations between its citizens.?
Road Blocks And Detours
There's been some very real criticism of FISA, and it's even crossed normally staunch party lines.
The biggest detractors to the bill were Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rand Paul (R-KY), all of whom wanted to protect the rights of people being unfairly monitored.
During the discussion session, Wyden point-blank asked if any U.S.-based email or phone communications were picked up by the government during surveillance of foreign targets to which?Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) replied that those incidences were "few" and "inadvertent." In other words, yes, it has happened.
They proposed amendments to?extend the bill for three years instead of five, declassify FISA court opinions, and clarify that the Fourth Amendment protects U.S. citizens from intelligence-related searches done overseas. All three amendments were shot down.
Here's a full video of Wyden's impassioned yet failed attempt to sway the Senate:
Now What
Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, (EPIC), calls this a missed opportunity by the Senate to establish safeguards to Fourth Amendment rights and create much needed government accountability. Earlier this year, Rotenberg testified before a House judiciary Committee on this very issue. Yet the House didn't heed his words and voted the same way the Senate did today.
With the heavy risk of misuse and abuse, Rotenberg?calls FISA one of the biggest failures of Internet security, right there with?the Patriot Act.
"It's a very broad authority," he said. "Our view has been when you create broad authority for the government, you need to create counter oversight."?
Jim Fenton, the chief security officer at the digital identity company?OneID, has worked with intelligence agencies before. He says his experience included professionalism and good intentions, but warned that a lack of transparency with FISA, and rules that legislatures are confused with does not bode well for public perception of those groups.
"The government's lack of transparency about surveillance doesn't inspire trust," he said. "We should be working to differentiate ourselves from countries who aren't as free in terms of surveillance of its citizens."
That sentiment is shared online. In a post today by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Trevor Timm?called Congress disgraceful.
"This vote was nothing less than abdication by Congress as its role as watchdog over Executive power, and a failure of its indepedent obligation to protect the Bill of Rights," Timm wrote. "The FISA Amendments Act and the ongoing warrantless spying on Americans has been, and will continue to be, a blight on our nation and our Constitution.?
So, where does this leave us now??
With the battle in Congress over, and the President expected to sign, the spotlight turns to the Supreme Court. In the next few months, the highest court in the land will pen an opinion on a case that highlights the problems with FISA:?Clapper Vs. Amnesty International, the ACLU's challenge to FISA, which will determine whether citizens will have the ability to sue the government in cases of unlawful surveillance under FISA. The opinion is expected by summer 2013 and will set a precedent if people can go to court to bring these challenges.
"We've got out fingers crossed," Rotenberg said. "There has to be more public accountability."
Next year will be the year of the mobile security threat, according to Internet security software giant McAfee, based on the predictions report it released today of the leading security threats expected in 2013. With online technology rapidly moving from computers to the palms of our hands, cybercriminals and hackers are evolving their methods to fit the times. Whether it?s the new Windows 8 OS or the trendy HTML5 browser language, cybercriminals will be stepping up their game in 2013 to capitalize on the newest technology.
So what can consumer expect to see in the way of cyber threats in 2013? We read through the report and focused on some of the biggest threats you should look out for in 2013, and what you can do to protect yourself.
Mobile threats will increase. ?Mobile threats are starting to increase as we get closer to 2013,? McAfee Threat Researcher Ryan Sherstobitoff pointed out. McAfee predicts that both OS X and Android will be big targets in the mobile world in 2013.
There are a number of different attacks that mobile users need to be weary of in the coming year. This includes mobile worms on your phone that buy malicious apps so that the creators of the malware will profit, as well as ransomware kits that allow criminals without programming skills to extort payments from you. To help protect yourself, it is important to make sure that your phone?s operating system is always up-to-date, as well as installing mobile-specific Internet security software on your phone. One of the more worrisome mobile threats that will be increasing in 2013 is malware that blocks security updates to your phone, leaving it vulnerable to known malware that it should be blocking. This malware is more common in smartphones that have been ?rooted? or ?unlocked? since those phones generally don?t receive software updates from providers, so try to avoid using a phone that?s been rooted or unlocked.
Windows 8 is the next big target. Windows 8 is a cash cow for cyber criminals, so even though the new Windows 8 is more secure, they will figure out a way around the increased security so they can reap the rewards, according to McAfee. They predict that the most popular ways criminals will attack is by phishing and other techniques that will either trick users into revealing information or install malicious programs on the user?s computer. This means that if you do upgrade to Windows 8, do not solely rely on the operating system to keep you safe. Always make sure that your Internet security software is up-to-date as well as all of your programs.
?Big-Scale? attacks on businesses will be a focus. ?Hacktivism? from groups such as Anonymous have been popular in 2012, but McAfee predicts that such attacks will only grow in 2013. Even those hackers not interested in hacktivism have started attacking companies for the soul purpose of causing as much havoc as possible. And it doesn?t help that the technical aspect of hacking a company is so easy for hackers.
?If attackers can install destructive malware on a large number of machines, then the result can be devastating,? the report explains.
Most of these hackers are experts at what they do, so while making sure you have the right security measures in place is a smart move, in these instances, the best way to help protect yourself and your users is to make sure all of your data is backed up off-site. It would be a good idea for users and businesses to look into an online backup service that incrementally backs up their system, so if an attack were to occur, all important data will still be safe.
HTML5 will become a new challenge for hackers. HTML5 has become the new darling of the standard language of Internet browsers. McAfee reports that 75 percent of users in North America and 83 percent in Europe use a browser that supports HTML5. With this new technology comes new challenges for cybercriminals. Original HTML relied on plug-ins that hackers used to exploit browsers. HTML5 doesn?t rely on plug-ins, making those types of malware obsolete. The hackers? new focus will be on the added functionality of HTML5, which creates a larger attack surface for hackers.
?Powerful JavaScript APIs that allow device access will expose the browser as websites gain direct access to hardware,? the report explains.
Other threats to watch out for. Other threats that will increase in 2013 include the Citadel Trojan, which is based off the Trojan horse Zeus that steals banking information, and can now better target specific victims or groups of victims. Another threat on the rise will be ?Snowshoe Spam.? Though these annoying marketing campaigns that send hundreds of spam messages aren?t malicious like the other threats discussed in the report, they have been increasing over the past two years and are ?currently one of the biggest problems in the spam world,? write McAfee researchers.
While this list includes some of the top security threats expected in 2013, it obviously can?t predict every piece of new malware to watch out for, so it?s always a good idea to make sure your computer has the most up-to-date operating system, you computer is backed up and you have an updated version of Internet security software on your computer to help protect against any security threats that might pop up.
Saber-toothed cats apparently did not go extinct for lack of prey, contradicting a popular explanation for why they died off, fossil evidence now suggests.
Even near their extinction, saber-toothed cats likely had enough to eat, researchers noted.
Saber-toothed cats, American lions, woolly mammoths and other giant creatures once roamed across the American landscape. However, at the end of the late Pleistocene about 12,000 years ago, these "megafauna" went extinct, a die-off called the Quaternary extinction.
"The popular theory for the megafaunal extinction is that either the changing climate at the end of the last ice age or human activity, or some combination of the two, killed off most of the large mammals," said researcher Larisa DeSantis, a vertebrate paleontologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
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"In the case of the great cats, we expect that it would have been increasingly difficult for them to find prey, especially if had to compete with humans. We know that when food becomes scarce, carnivores like the great cats tend to consume more of the carcasses they kill. If they spent more time chomping on bones, it should cause detectable changes in the wear patterns on their teeth."
Tale of the teeth
To learn more about saber-toothed diets, the researchers analyzed the fossil teeth of 15 saber-toothed cats (Smilodon fatalis) and 15 American lions (Panthera atrox) recovered from the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles. These specimens ranged from about 11,500 to 35,000 years in age.
To study the fossils, the scientists used dental microwear texture analysis, developed by anthropologist Peter Ungar at the University of Arkansas. This involves using generating three-dimensional images of a tooth's surface. The image is then analyzed for microscopic grooves ? devouring red meat produces small parallel scratches, while biting on bones lead to larger, deeper pits.
The investigation found the pattern of wear on the teeth of the saber-toothed cat most closely resembled those of present-day African lions, which sometimes crush bone when they eat. The wear pattern on American lion teeth, on the other hand, echoed that of the present-day cheetah, which deliberately avoids bones when it feeds. [ Photos: A Lion's Life ]
Analysis of both older fossils and more recent ones did not reveal any evidence that patterns of wear changed over time, and none had extreme microwear like living hyenas, which consume entire carcasses, bones included. This suggests that prey for these carnivores was not scarce ? the animals were not gnawing their victims to the bone.
"Tooth wear patterns suggest that these cats were not desperately consuming entire carcasses, as was expected, and instead seemed to be living the 'good life' during the late Pleistocene, at least up until the very end," DeSantis said.
Big predator extinction
Past research of teeth from American lions, saber-tooth cats, dire wolves and coyotes from La Brea revealed they experienced three times the number of broken teeth of contemporary predators, hinting that these species were having trouble finding prey and were thus urgently devouring or "processing" whole carcasses. This led scientists to suspect that climate change and human competition were making life tough for the big predators.
Instead, DeSantis and her colleagues argue this high rate of damage seen in teeth more likely resulted during capture of prey instead of feeding on carcasses.
"We expected extinct carnivores to show evidence for extreme bone processing, based on the high number of broken teeth determined from prior research. Finding the complete opposite pattern was shocking!" DeSantis said.
The researchers noted that saber-toothed cats were about the size of today's African lion, while the American lion was about 25 percent larger. They fed on giants such as mammoths and four-ton giant ground sloths. The fact these ancient carnivores and their prey were bigger than contemporary predators and their victims could help explain why the extinct cats had more broken teeth than their living brethren, the investigators said. . [ Gallery: Today's Threatened Mammals ]
Specifically, larger teeth break more easily than smaller teeth, so larger carnivores may be likely to break more teeth when attempting to take down larger prey. The researchers noted past studies that found the canines of a predator the size of fox can support more than seven times the fox's weight before breaking, while a carnivore the size of lion can only support about four times its weight and the curved teeth of saber-toothed cats could only support about twice the animal's weight.
"The net result of our study is to raise questions about the reigning hypothesis that 'tough times' during the late Pleistocene contributed to the gradual extinction of large carnivores," DeSantis said. "While we can not determine the exact cause of their demise, it is unlikely that the extinction of these cats was a result of gradually declining prey."
Currently, the scientists are examining other carnivores at the La Brea tar pits, "including the extinct giant short-faced bear and the extant mountain lion that is found both during the Pleistocene at La Brea and in southern California and elsewhere today," DeSantis told LiveScience.
"Essentially, we are trying to clarify the biology and diets of these carnivores during the past to further evaluate why the short-faced bear went extinct and, potentially, why the mountain lion did not."
DeSantis and Ungar, with their colleagues Blaine Schubert and Jessica Scott, detailed their findings online Dec. 26 in the journal PLOS ONE.
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Dec. 26, 2012 ? The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced significant progress for tigers in three key landscapes across the big cat's range due to better law enforcement, protection of additional habitat, and strong government partnerships.
The successes are much-needed good news as tiger numbers worldwide continue to hover at all-time lows due to the combined threat of poaching, loss of prey, and habitat destruction. WCS estimates that only 3,200 tigers exist in the wild.
The news begins in southwestern India where WCS research and conservation efforts that began 25 years ago now show a major rebound of tigers in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka State. Over 600 individuals have been identified to date from camera trap photos during the last decade in this mountainous landscape. In Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks, tigers have actually reached saturation levels, with surplus young tigers spilling out into forest-reserves and dispersing using secured forest corridors through a landscape that holds over a million human beings. The combination of strict government-led anti-poaching patrols, voluntary relocation of villages away from tiger habitats, and the vigilant local presence of WCS conservation partners watching over tigers has led to the rebound of big-cat populations and their prey. In newer tiger reserves including Bhadra and Kudremukh, numbers have increased by as much as 50 percent after years of neglect and chronic poaching were tackled.
In Thailand, WCS conservationists report a tiger comeback in Huai Kha Khaeng (HKK) Wildlife Sanctuary -- a 2,700 square kilometer (1,042 square mile) protected area in the vast Western Forest Complex. WCS has worked closely with Thai authorities to beef up enforcement and anti-poaching patrols in the region. Last year, a notorious poaching ring was busted, and this year the gang leaders were given prison sentences of up to five years -- the most severe punishments for wildlife poaching in Thailand's history. Since their capture, there have been no known tiger or elephant poaching incidents in the park. Tiger numbers have been rising steadily in the park since 2007, with a record 50-plus tigers counted last year.
Meanwhile in Russia, government officials are drafting a new law that will make transport, sales, and possession of endangered animals a criminal offense rather than just a civil crime. This will close a loophole that currently allows poachers to claim they found endangered species like tigers already dead and thus avoid stiffer criminal penalties for poaching.
Russia is making progress in creating additional protected areas for tigers, too, declaring a new corridor called Central Ussuri Wildlife Refuge on October 18. The new refuge acts as a linkage between the Sikhote-Alin tiger population in Russia, which is the main population of Amur tigers, and some of the best tiger habitat in China's Heilongjiang Province in the Wandashan Mountains. The creation of the new refuge ensures that tigers have the capacity to move across the international border between Russian and China in this region. WCS first identified this key corridor in 1999 after conducting joint wildlife surveys with Chinese and Russian scientists there. WCS President and CEO Cristi?n Samper said: "Tigers are clearly fighting for their very existence, but it's important to know that there is hope. Victories like these give us the resolve to continue to battle for these magnificent big cats. While the news about tigers has been bleak, these recent developments clearly show how smart strategies and strong partnerships are ensuring tigers are saved for centuries to come."
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for more, go to billyelusiv.com If you are considering what domain names to use for your presence on the internet, do not think past your brand name. The reasons why you should use your brand name on the internet and for all your domain names would seem to be clear. Reasons include * Your brand awareness and brand value can translate onto the internet. * Customers and visitors will more likely trust and value your website. Do not think about making your website have a keyword domain name, or 'exact match domain' name. In my example in the video I talk about Thrifty car rentals. Thrifty were using the domain name www.carrental-tauranga.co.nz for their Tauranga branch. However this is not ideal for two reasons. The first is that Google is cracking down on exact match domains. In the past, having a domain name that was the same as the keywords being typed into the search engine would help with rankings. But today there are many other factors that go into search rankings. Google can tell how popular your website is, and how well known your brand is becoming on the internet. The other reason is that as a business you will be spending money developing your brand awareness and brand value in your market, so why would you not leverage off that investment when online? This makes sense to do. You are trying to create trust and relationships online, so you want people to be able to recognise your business and brand instantly. So use your brand name! for more, go to billyelusiv.com Source: Using Your Brand Name On The Internet | billyelusiv.com (Youtube).
[unable to retrieve full-text content]The Food and Drug Administration concluded that a genetically engineered salmon would have ?no significant impact? on the environment.
A power plant and other industries in southern Iran have been targeted by the Stuxnet computer worm, an Iranian civil defence official says.
But the cyber attack has been successfully rebuffed and prevented from spreading, Iranian media report.
Iran's nuclear enrichment efforts were hit hard in 2010 by the Stuxnet worm, which was also blamed for problems at industrial plants and factories.
Tehran accused Israel and the US of planting the malware.
Provincial civil defence chief Ali Akbar Akhavan said Iranian industry was constantly being targeted by "enemy cyber attacks" and companies in Hormozgan province had recently been infiltrated, the semi-official Isna news agency reported.
"The Bandar Abbas electricity supply company has come under cyber attack," he told a news conference. "But we were able to prevent its expansion owing to our timely measures and the co-operation of skilled hackers."
The Bandar Abbas plant, on Iran's southern coast in the Strait of Hormuz, is said to supply power to neighbouring provinces as well as Hormozgan.
Spyware
Iran has regularly claimed success in defeating computer viruses, such as Stuxnet and Flame, which have affected its industries.
In April, a malware attack on Iran's oil ministry and national oil company forced the government to disconnect key oil facilities, including the Kharg Island oil terminal that handles most of Tehran's exports.
Late last year, Iran said some of its computer systems were infected by the Duqu spyware which was believed to have been designed to steal data to help launch further cyber attacks.
The attacks have affected its energy exports as well as its controversial uranium enrichment programme, which Western countries suspect is aimed at constructing nuclear weapons. Tehran insists it is solely for peaceful purposes.
Continue reading the main story
Cyber attacks and Iran
Stuxnet worm hits Iranian centrifuges - from mid-2009 to late 2010
Iran complains facilities hit by Stars malware - April 2011
Duqu trojan hits Iran's computer systems - November 2011
Flame virus targets computers in PCs across the Middle East, including Iran and Israel - June 2012
Iran says Stuxnet worm returns - December 2012
The biggest cyber attack so far was from the Stuxnet worm, believed to be the first known virus specifically targeted at infrastructure such as power stations.
In 2010, Iran accused the West of trying to disrupt its nuclear facilities with the Stuxnet worm.
Researchers estimated that five industrial processing organisations in Iran were hit repeatedly between June 2009 and April 2010 by the worm which they believed had been created by a "nation state" in the West.
Iran said centrifuges used in uranium enrichment had been sabotaged and the UN nuclear watchdog said the enrichment programme had been temporarily brought to a halt.
Reports suggested that the worm had infected the personal computers of staff at Iran's first nuclear power station at Bushehr.
In September this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly that time was running out to stop Tehran having enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb.
US President Barack Obama has said the US will do "what we must" to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
(BPT) ? Healthy feet are essential for overall good health, no matter your age, fitness level or physical challenges. For people with diabetes, however, taking care of their feet is especially vital. More than 60 percent of all non-traumatic lower-limb amputations worldwide are related to complications from the disease, according to the American Diabetes Association.
A recent study by the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) indicates Hispanics with diabetes are particularly in danger since more than 90 percent of those with the disease or at risk for it have never seen a podiatrist as part of their health care.
?Regardless of ethnicity, foot ulcers and infections are the leading cause of hospitalization among people with diabetes, but most of those problems are largely preventable,? says Dr. Joseph Caporusso, a podiatrist and president of the APMA. It?s important for those with the disease to ?knock their socks off? and receive regular foot exams by today?s podiatrists.?
While ulcers ? open sores on the foot ? are the most common diabetes-related foot problem, several others are also serious and prevalent, including neuropathy, skin changes, calluses, poor circulation and infection. The nerve damage that diabetes causes may mean a person with an ulcer or injury may be unaware of it until it becomes infected. Infection can lead to partial or full amputation of the foot or lower leg.
The good news is, regular care from a podiatrist can help reduce amputation rates between 45 and 85 percent, the APMA says.
People with diabetes need to inspect their feet daily and be vigilant for warning signs of ulcers, including irritation, redness, cracked or dry skin (especially around the heels) or drainage on their socks.
Although ulcers can occur anywhere on the foot or ankle, they are typically found on pressure points on the foot, like the ball of the foot or bottom of the big toe. If you discover an ulcer or have any symptoms, see a podiatrist immediately. In many cases, the foot can be saved with early treatment.
In addition to examining your feet every day, and keeping your blood glucose in your target range, make sure to follow these foot health tips:
* Discuss your diabetes and the risks with your family. Diabetes can be hereditary, so talk to your family members about monitoring blood sugar and foot health.
* Never go barefoot. Always protect your feet with the proper footwear and make sure both socks and shoes are comfortable and fit well.
* Trim toenails straight across, and never cut the cuticles. Seek immediate treatment for ingrown toenails, as they can lead to serious infection.
* Keep your feet elevated while sitting.
* Wiggle toes and move your feet and ankles up and down for five minute sessions throughout the day.
?Successfully managing diabetes is a team effort, and today?s podiatrist is an integral player on that team,? Caporusso says.
To find a podiatrist, or to learn more about foot health and care, visit www.apma.org.
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Those who can better detect bitter flavors may also be better equipped to fight off upper respiratory tract bacterial infections. Mary Harris reports
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'Tis the season when bacterial sinus infections run rampant. But some people are better able to ward off that malady. And they can be identified by their taste buds. Because those of us who can better detect bitter flavors may also be better equipped to fight off upper respiratory tract infections. The finding is in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. [Robert J. Lee et al., T2R38 taste receptor polymorphisms underlie susceptibility to upper respiratory infection]
It turns out that those bitter taste receptors aren?t just in our mouths. They?re also in our noses. Being better able to sense bitterness may be a first line of defense against bacteria. That?s because those bacteria actually taste bitter to us. So when taste receptors in our airways sense a bitter flavor they roll out the defenses. Cilia lining our sinuses beat faster, to sweep away germs. And bacteria-killing nitric oxide gets released into our nasal cavities. Better bitter sensing means a bigger response.
It?s one reason researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center are trying to come up with a universal taste test?a standardized measurement of how well we sense flavors. Because one key to living healthier could be on the tip of your tongue.
At one time, the novelist, critic, feminist, and troublemaker Rebecca West, whose birthday incidentally is on Friday, was considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. In 1947, her picture was on the cover of Time and her dazzling, ferocious prose was admired across the world; but now she is largely overlooked, underread, and out of print. Here, then, are 10 reasons to drop everything and read Rebecca West (and rather than her best known book, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, I would suggest her stylish, innovative essays).
1) She was an ardent feminist (as she put it, ?I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute?) but also a spirited and independent thinker. She was not afraid to attack or mock the suffragist movement when necessary, but she was also one of its most vivid voices. (She once made fun of one of the feminists from the the New Freewoman ?who was always jumping up and asking us to be kind to illegitimate children, as if we all made a habit of seeking out illegitimate children and insulting them!?)
2) Her fierce feminist inquiries were original and inflammatory; she was not content with slogans and bromides, and went deeper than other politically progressive women of her time, and in fact, our time. She wrote, for instance, a provocative attack on women, herself included, for devoting too much of their energy to love and relationships in the New Republic, denouncing them for ?keeping themselves apart from the high purposes of life for an emotion that, schemed and planned for, was no better than the made excitement of drunkenness.? And later in a novel, The Judge, she elaborated the thought: ?Since men don?t love us nearly as much as we love them that leaves them much more spare vitality to be wonderful with.?
3) She used her famously fierce wit to deflate male pompousness. In a lively attack on the formidable Great Male Novelist of the day, H.G. Wells, with whom she would later embark on a long affair, the 19-year-old West wrote, ?Of course he is the old maid among novelists; even the sex obsession that lay clotted on Ann Veronica and The New Machiavelli like cold white sauce was merely an old maid?s mania.?
4) Though people like to think of the first ?nonfiction novel? as Truman Capote?s In Cold Blood, West was doing that kind of innovative nonfiction writing long before. The idea of taking a cultural event, and investigating it with the storytelling eye of the novelist informs both her crime writing and her longer work. (See her brilliant meditation on the public trial of an Englishman who became a radio personality for Nazi propaganda, Lord Haw-Haw, The Meaning of Treason, which first appeared as a series of articles in The New Yorker.
5) We associate a certain kind of cultural analysis, where the writer takes apart a social event and analyzes it in graceful prose, with the stylish deconstruction of new journalism, with writers like Joan Didion in the ?60s, but Rebecca West?s pieces doing just that were appearing in The New Yorker when the young Joan Didion might have been reading it. Take this passage about the wife of an accused murderer:
The suspicion that many men and some women felt about Mrs. Hume derived not from dissatisfaction at her explanation of her conduct, but from their reactions to her intense femininity. Her face, her body, her bearing, and above all, her soft preoccupied voice made an allusion to something outside the context and they assumed that something to be the truth about the murder. One might as well suspect a tree that blossomed in spring of making signals to another tree. What her being was alluding to, definitely, though with dignity, was sex.
6) Her life was not boring. She had H.G. Wells? love child in her very early 20s, and built her impressive career in the midst of a colorful and dramatic series of romantic entanglements.
7) Her letters. When H.G. Wells died, she wrote to a friend: ?Dear H.G., he was devil, he ruined my life, he starved me, he was an inexhaustible source of love and friendship to me for 34 years, we should never have met, I was the one person he cared to see at the end, I feel desolate because he has gone.?
8) What H. G. Wells called ?her splendid, disturbed brain.?
9) Several impressive and established women writers found her so threatening that they were extremely catty about her. Take Virginia?s Woolf?s description of the very young journalist: ?Rebecca is a cross between a charwoman and gypsy, but as tenacious as a terrier, with flashing eyes, very shabby, rather dirty nails, immense vitality, bad taste, suspicion of intellectuals and great intelligence.?
10) Her sentences. H.G. Wells said once that she wrote like God.
The INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project in Australia has finalized arrangements for US$20 billion in project finance loans including those with eight export credit agencies (ECAs) and 24 commercial banks.
According to the press release issued by INPEX, the Ichthys project financing is the biggest project financing ever arranged in the international financial market.The project finance credit facilities are comprised of direct loans from ECAs, ECA insured or guaranteed commercial loans, commercial loans from 24 commercial banks and senior sponsor loans from the Ichthys LNG Project participants.
Direct loans from ECAs include US$5 billion direct loans from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and US$2.75 billion loans insured by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).
The Ichthys LNG Project is the first case where the Japanese company is leading such a world-scale LNG project as an operator. The finalization of the project financing arrangements is a major milestone in ensuring the successful development of the promising Ichthys LNG Project that will contribute not only to a long-term stable supply of cleaner energy to Japan but also to a diversification of Japan?s energy sources.
?The participants in the Ichthys LNG Project appreciate the continued support from financial institutions, the local communities, the governments of Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory, as well as support from other stakeholders for timely delivery of the Ichthys LNG Project,? says INPEX in a press release.
Crooner Seal has made an offer on a 5,500-square-foot home in Brentwood, Calif., which had been recently listed for $6M. The place looks mighty swank, with a much more modern, bachelor-pad-esque feel than the the charming Beverly Hills chateau he shared with his supermodel ex, Heidi Klum. [TMZ; previously]
We thought it'd take years to see Surround Haptics make its way affordably into future living rooms. After all, it was only at last year's SIGGRAPH that Disney Research demoed the tech in a $5,000 prototype chair. But with the impending release of The Avengers-branded Vybe gaming pad, it's clear the family-friendly conglomerate found a way to fast-track its patent-pending sensory solution as an all-purpose peripheral. Set to hit Walmart and select Meijer stores in time for the holidays, the $99 speaker-laden pad utilizes an Arm Cortex M3 microprocessor and features an array of actuating motors to translate audio from most any source (e.g.,TV, videogame console, smartphone or tablet) into dynamic localized or general vibratory feedback. Whether or not it's actually pleasing to use remains to be seen -- our time with a preview model seemed to indicate otherwise. That said, if you're in the market for a full body tactile experience, we'd wager comfort's the last thing on your mind. Check out the official PR after the break.
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Notre Dame's Reilly Center highlights emerging ethical dilemmas in science and technologyPublic release date: 17-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jessica Baron baron.17@nd.edu 574-631-1880 University of Notre Dame
As a new year approaches, the University of Notre Dame's John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values has announced its first annual list of emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in Science and Technology for 2013.
The Reilly Center explores conceptual, ethical and policy issues where science and technology intersect with society from different disciplinary perspectives. Its goal is to promote the advancement of science and technology for the common good.
The center generated its first annual list of emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in science and technology with the help of Reilly fellows, other Notre Dame experts and friends of the center.
The center aimed to present a list of items for scientists and laypeople alike to consider in the coming months and years as new technologies develop. It will feature one of these issues on its website each month in 2013, giving readers more information, questions to ask and resources to consult.
The ethical dilemmas and policy issues are:
Personalized genetic tests/personalized medicine
Within the last ten years, the creation of fast, low-cost genetic sequencing has given the public direct access to genome sequencing and analysis, with little or no guidance from physicians or genetic counselors on how to process the information. What are the potential privacy issues and how do we protect this very personal and private information? Are we headed towards a new era of therapeutic intervention to increase quality of life, or a new era of eugenics?
Hacking into medical devices
Implanted medical devices, such as pacemakers, are susceptible to hackers. Barnaby Jack recently demonstrated the vulnerability of a pacemaker by breaching the security of the wireless device from his laptop and reprogramming it to deliver an 830-volt shock. How do we make sure these devices are secure?
Driverless zipcars
In three states Nevada, Florida, and California it is now legal for Google to operate its driverless cars. Google's goal is to create a fully automated vehicle that is safer and more effective than a human-operated vehicle and they plan to marry this idea with the concept of the Zipcar. The ethics of automation and equality of access for people of different income levels are just a taste of the difficult ethical, legal, and policy questions we will need to address.
3-D Printing
Scientists are attempting to use 3-D printing to create everything from architectural models to human organs, but we could be looking at a future when we can print personalized pharmaceuticals or home-printed guns and explosives. For now, 3-D printing is largely the realm of artists and designers, but we can easily envision a future where 3-D printers are affordable and patterns abound for products both benign and malicious, and that cut out the manufacturing sector completely.
Adaptation to climate change
The differential susceptibility of peoples around the world to climate change warrants an ethical discussion. We need to identify effective and safe ways to help people deal with the effects of climate change, as well as learn to manage and manipulate wild species and nature in order to preserve biodiversity. Some of these adaptation strategies might be highly technical (e.g. building sea walls to stem off sea level rise), but others are social and cultural (e.g., changing agricultural practices.
Low-quality and counterfeit pharmaceuticals
Until recently, detecting low-quality and counterfeit pharmaceuticals required access to complex testing equipment, often unavailable in developing countries where these problems abound. The enormous amount of trade in pharmaceutical intermediaries and active ingredients raise a number of issues, from the technical (improvement in manufacturing practices and analytical capabilities) to the ethical and legal (for example, India ruled in favor of manufacturing life-saving drugs, even If it violates US patent law).
Autonomous systems
Machines (both for peaceful purposes and for war fighting) are increasingly evolving from human-controlled, to automated, to autonomous, with the ability to act on their own without human input. As these systems operate without human control and are designed to function and make decisions on their own, the ethical, legal, social, and policy implications have grown exponentially. Who is responsible for the actions undertaken by autonomous systems? If robotic technology can potentially reduce the number of human fatalities, is it the responsibility of scientists to design these systems?
Human-animal hybrids (chimeras)
So far scientists have kept human-animal hybrids on the cellular level. According to some, even more modest experiments involving animal embryos and human stem cells violate human dignity and blur the line between species. Is interspecies research the next frontier in understanding humanity and curing disease, or a slippery slope, rife with ethical dilemmas, toward creating new species?
Ensuring access to wireless and spectrum
Mobile wireless connectivity is having a profound effect on society in both developed and developing countries. These technologies are completely transforming how we communicate, conduct business, learn, form relationships, navigate, and entertain ourselves. At the same time, government agencies increasingly rely on radio spectrum for their critical missions. This confluence of wireless technology developments and societal needs present numerous challenges and opportunities for making the most effective use of the radio spectrum. We now need to have a policy conversation about how to make the most effective use of the precious radio spectrum, and to close the digital access divide for underserved (rural, low-income, developing areas) populations.
Data collection and privacy
How often do we consider the massive amounts of data we give to commercial entities when we use social media, store discount cards, or order goods via the Internet? Now that microprocessors and permanent memory are inexpensive technology, we need think about the kinds of information that should be collected and retained. Should we create a diabetic insulin implant that could notify your doctor or insurance company when you make poor diet choices, and should that decision make you ineligible for certain types of medical treatment? Should cars be equipped to monitor speed and other measures of good driving, and should this data be subpoenaed by the authorities following a crash? These issues require appropriate policy discussions in order to bridge the gap between data collection and meaningful outcomes.
Human Enhancements
Pharmaceutical, surgical, mechanical, and neurological enhancements are already available for therapeutic purposes. But these same enhancements can be used to magnify human biological function beyond the societal norm. Where do we draw the line between therapy and enhancement? How do we justify enhancing human bodies when so many individuals still lack access to basic therapeutic medicine?
###
For a more expanded discussion of each topic, as well as resources to consult, visit: http://reilly.nd.edu/outreach/emerging-ethical-dilemmas-and-policy-issues-in-science-and-technology/
In an era where online voting has become a way of life, the Reilly Center also is offering visitors to its site the opportunity to vote for their top emerging ethical dilemma or policy issue by clicking on http://reilly.nd.edu/outreach/emerging-ethical-dilemmas-and-policy-issues-in-science-and-technology/vote-on-our-list-2013/
[ | 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.
Notre Dame's Reilly Center highlights emerging ethical dilemmas in science and technologyPublic release date: 17-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jessica Baron baron.17@nd.edu 574-631-1880 University of Notre Dame
As a new year approaches, the University of Notre Dame's John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values has announced its first annual list of emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in Science and Technology for 2013.
The Reilly Center explores conceptual, ethical and policy issues where science and technology intersect with society from different disciplinary perspectives. Its goal is to promote the advancement of science and technology for the common good.
The center generated its first annual list of emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in science and technology with the help of Reilly fellows, other Notre Dame experts and friends of the center.
The center aimed to present a list of items for scientists and laypeople alike to consider in the coming months and years as new technologies develop. It will feature one of these issues on its website each month in 2013, giving readers more information, questions to ask and resources to consult.
The ethical dilemmas and policy issues are:
Personalized genetic tests/personalized medicine
Within the last ten years, the creation of fast, low-cost genetic sequencing has given the public direct access to genome sequencing and analysis, with little or no guidance from physicians or genetic counselors on how to process the information. What are the potential privacy issues and how do we protect this very personal and private information? Are we headed towards a new era of therapeutic intervention to increase quality of life, or a new era of eugenics?
Hacking into medical devices
Implanted medical devices, such as pacemakers, are susceptible to hackers. Barnaby Jack recently demonstrated the vulnerability of a pacemaker by breaching the security of the wireless device from his laptop and reprogramming it to deliver an 830-volt shock. How do we make sure these devices are secure?
Driverless zipcars
In three states Nevada, Florida, and California it is now legal for Google to operate its driverless cars. Google's goal is to create a fully automated vehicle that is safer and more effective than a human-operated vehicle and they plan to marry this idea with the concept of the Zipcar. The ethics of automation and equality of access for people of different income levels are just a taste of the difficult ethical, legal, and policy questions we will need to address.
3-D Printing
Scientists are attempting to use 3-D printing to create everything from architectural models to human organs, but we could be looking at a future when we can print personalized pharmaceuticals or home-printed guns and explosives. For now, 3-D printing is largely the realm of artists and designers, but we can easily envision a future where 3-D printers are affordable and patterns abound for products both benign and malicious, and that cut out the manufacturing sector completely.
Adaptation to climate change
The differential susceptibility of peoples around the world to climate change warrants an ethical discussion. We need to identify effective and safe ways to help people deal with the effects of climate change, as well as learn to manage and manipulate wild species and nature in order to preserve biodiversity. Some of these adaptation strategies might be highly technical (e.g. building sea walls to stem off sea level rise), but others are social and cultural (e.g., changing agricultural practices.
Low-quality and counterfeit pharmaceuticals
Until recently, detecting low-quality and counterfeit pharmaceuticals required access to complex testing equipment, often unavailable in developing countries where these problems abound. The enormous amount of trade in pharmaceutical intermediaries and active ingredients raise a number of issues, from the technical (improvement in manufacturing practices and analytical capabilities) to the ethical and legal (for example, India ruled in favor of manufacturing life-saving drugs, even If it violates US patent law).
Autonomous systems
Machines (both for peaceful purposes and for war fighting) are increasingly evolving from human-controlled, to automated, to autonomous, with the ability to act on their own without human input. As these systems operate without human control and are designed to function and make decisions on their own, the ethical, legal, social, and policy implications have grown exponentially. Who is responsible for the actions undertaken by autonomous systems? If robotic technology can potentially reduce the number of human fatalities, is it the responsibility of scientists to design these systems?
Human-animal hybrids (chimeras)
So far scientists have kept human-animal hybrids on the cellular level. According to some, even more modest experiments involving animal embryos and human stem cells violate human dignity and blur the line between species. Is interspecies research the next frontier in understanding humanity and curing disease, or a slippery slope, rife with ethical dilemmas, toward creating new species?
Ensuring access to wireless and spectrum
Mobile wireless connectivity is having a profound effect on society in both developed and developing countries. These technologies are completely transforming how we communicate, conduct business, learn, form relationships, navigate, and entertain ourselves. At the same time, government agencies increasingly rely on radio spectrum for their critical missions. This confluence of wireless technology developments and societal needs present numerous challenges and opportunities for making the most effective use of the radio spectrum. We now need to have a policy conversation about how to make the most effective use of the precious radio spectrum, and to close the digital access divide for underserved (rural, low-income, developing areas) populations.
Data collection and privacy
How often do we consider the massive amounts of data we give to commercial entities when we use social media, store discount cards, or order goods via the Internet? Now that microprocessors and permanent memory are inexpensive technology, we need think about the kinds of information that should be collected and retained. Should we create a diabetic insulin implant that could notify your doctor or insurance company when you make poor diet choices, and should that decision make you ineligible for certain types of medical treatment? Should cars be equipped to monitor speed and other measures of good driving, and should this data be subpoenaed by the authorities following a crash? These issues require appropriate policy discussions in order to bridge the gap between data collection and meaningful outcomes.
Human Enhancements
Pharmaceutical, surgical, mechanical, and neurological enhancements are already available for therapeutic purposes. But these same enhancements can be used to magnify human biological function beyond the societal norm. Where do we draw the line between therapy and enhancement? How do we justify enhancing human bodies when so many individuals still lack access to basic therapeutic medicine?
###
For a more expanded discussion of each topic, as well as resources to consult, visit: http://reilly.nd.edu/outreach/emerging-ethical-dilemmas-and-policy-issues-in-science-and-technology/
In an era where online voting has become a way of life, the Reilly Center also is offering visitors to its site the opportunity to vote for their top emerging ethical dilemma or policy issue by clicking on http://reilly.nd.edu/outreach/emerging-ethical-dilemmas-and-policy-issues-in-science-and-technology/vote-on-our-list-2013/
[ | 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.
Rebecca West 
Crooner Seal has made an offer on a 5,500-square-foot home in Brentwood, Calif., which had been recently listed for $6M. The place looks mighty swank, with a much more modern, bachelor-pad-esque feel than the the charming Beverly Hills chateau he shared with his supermodel ex, Heidi Klum. [TMZ; previously]
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