Taking stock of research on sleepless soldiers

Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
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Contact: Alexander Brown
alexander.brown@springer.com
212-620-8063
Springer Science+Business Media

Review article looks at recent research about insomnia among military personnel and veterans

Various behavioral treatment options are helping to treat the sleeplessness experienced by one in every two American soldiers who have been deployed in recent military operations. So says Dr. Adam Bramoweth of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and Dr. Anne Germain of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the US. This review of research on deployment-related insomnia among military personnel and veterans, conducted since 2010, is published in Springer's journal Current Psychiatry Reports.

Insomnia is reported by up to 54 percent of the two million men and women who have served in various American combat efforts since 11 September 2001, compared to up to 22 percent of civilian adults. Although it is possible that a person's insomnia may develop prior to joining the military, it can also occur during the service period, or post-deployment when the soldier returns to civilian life. Studies have found that deployment-related stressors like combat exposure, mild traumatic brain injury, irregular sleep/wake schedules and the adjustment of returning home, all contribute to sleeplessness. Soldiers who suffer from insomnia while being deployed have a bigger chance of developing traumatic stress reactions such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorders, and even committing suicide. Also, it contributes to physical war-related injuries.

The research duo highlighted the need for additional research to better understand the underlying psychological, socio-environmental, physiological and neural reasons that cause chronic insomnia among military personnel. All of this is recommended in an effort to help further develop effective treatment options in the process.

If researchers are able to identify individual characteristics and biomarkers of people who are more vulnerable to chronic insomnia, this information could help inform strategies for prevention and early detection, as well as interventions to enhance sleep resilience within the military context. Early identification and timely interventions are important in order to reduce the impact of deployment on sleep, to improve recovery from insomnia and to ultimately help prevent the onset of related psychiatric conditions.

Behavioral interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and imagery rehearsal therapy often yield positive results in trying to reduce the effects of insomnia and nightmares, respectively. These treatments can be delivered during in-person sessions with clinicians, brief follow up sessions via telephone, or online and mobile resources. Training was recently rolled out to prepare providers in the Veterans Health Administration to use cognitive behavioral treatment of insomnia. The goal is to eventually educate 1,000 clinicians in an effort to bridge the gap between veterans who need treatment, and available providers. Training of clinicians in military settings and other non-VA clinics is equally important to meet the needs of our service members and veterans.

"Training providers to be knowledgeable about insomnia and behavioral treatment options is a vital component to the treatment of chronic insomnia and managing its impact on other disorders," say the authors, who believe more research is needed on methods to increase access to care. "In addition to research and clinical efforts specifically for service members and veterans, research and clinical efforts directed at military family members are also important components in providing the care needed and promoting health and recovery among service members and their families."

###

Reference:

Bramoweth, A.D & Germain, A. (2013). Deployment-Related Insomnia in Military Personnel and Veterans. Current Psychiatry Reports. DOI 10.1007/s11920-013-0401-4.

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Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
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Contact: Alexander Brown
alexander.brown@springer.com
212-620-8063
Springer Science+Business Media

Review article looks at recent research about insomnia among military personnel and veterans

Various behavioral treatment options are helping to treat the sleeplessness experienced by one in every two American soldiers who have been deployed in recent military operations. So says Dr. Adam Bramoweth of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and Dr. Anne Germain of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the US. This review of research on deployment-related insomnia among military personnel and veterans, conducted since 2010, is published in Springer's journal Current Psychiatry Reports.

Insomnia is reported by up to 54 percent of the two million men and women who have served in various American combat efforts since 11 September 2001, compared to up to 22 percent of civilian adults. Although it is possible that a person's insomnia may develop prior to joining the military, it can also occur during the service period, or post-deployment when the soldier returns to civilian life. Studies have found that deployment-related stressors like combat exposure, mild traumatic brain injury, irregular sleep/wake schedules and the adjustment of returning home, all contribute to sleeplessness. Soldiers who suffer from insomnia while being deployed have a bigger chance of developing traumatic stress reactions such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorders, and even committing suicide. Also, it contributes to physical war-related injuries.

The research duo highlighted the need for additional research to better understand the underlying psychological, socio-environmental, physiological and neural reasons that cause chronic insomnia among military personnel. All of this is recommended in an effort to help further develop effective treatment options in the process.

If researchers are able to identify individual characteristics and biomarkers of people who are more vulnerable to chronic insomnia, this information could help inform strategies for prevention and early detection, as well as interventions to enhance sleep resilience within the military context. Early identification and timely interventions are important in order to reduce the impact of deployment on sleep, to improve recovery from insomnia and to ultimately help prevent the onset of related psychiatric conditions.

Behavioral interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and imagery rehearsal therapy often yield positive results in trying to reduce the effects of insomnia and nightmares, respectively. These treatments can be delivered during in-person sessions with clinicians, brief follow up sessions via telephone, or online and mobile resources. Training was recently rolled out to prepare providers in the Veterans Health Administration to use cognitive behavioral treatment of insomnia. The goal is to eventually educate 1,000 clinicians in an effort to bridge the gap between veterans who need treatment, and available providers. Training of clinicians in military settings and other non-VA clinics is equally important to meet the needs of our service members and veterans.

"Training providers to be knowledgeable about insomnia and behavioral treatment options is a vital component to the treatment of chronic insomnia and managing its impact on other disorders," say the authors, who believe more research is needed on methods to increase access to care. "In addition to research and clinical efforts specifically for service members and veterans, research and clinical efforts directed at military family members are also important components in providing the care needed and promoting health and recovery among service members and their families."

###

Reference:

Bramoweth, A.D & Germain, A. (2013). Deployment-Related Insomnia in Military Personnel and Veterans. Current Psychiatry Reports. DOI 10.1007/s11920-013-0401-4.

---

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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/2013-10/ssm-tso101613.php
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U.S. House passes bill to reopen government, increase debt limit (reuters)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Harry Belafonte Sues Martin Luther King, Jr. Estate

Harry Belafonte sued the estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Tuesday over the fate of three documents he tried to sell at auction.

The lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan seeks unspecified damages and a court declaration Belafonte is the rightful owner.

The documents are an outline of a Vietnam War speech by King, notes to a speech King never got to deliver in Memphis, Tenn., and a condolence letter from President Lyndon B. Johnson to King's wife after the civil rights leader's 1968 assassination.

PHOTOS: Obama, Oprah, Foxx, Honor Martin Luther King Jr.

According to the lawsuit, Belafonte was preparing to auction the items in 2008 when the estate "astonishingly" blocked it.

The lawsuit cited the close relationship between Belafonte and King, saying the pair "worked on strategies and collaborated on issues that would transform American society" while they "forged a deep and enduring personal friendship." It said King and his widow, Coretta Scott King, gave Belafonte a number of items and it noted that Coretta Scott King, who died in 2006, mentioned Belafonte in her autobiography, saying "whenever we got into trouble or when tragedy struck, Harry has always come to our aid, his generous heart wide open."

Belafonte said he delivered the documents for auction to Sotheby's Inc. in early 2008 and the auction house has held them pending a resolution of the dispute between the estate and Belafonte.

The lawsuit said Belafonte had held the Vietnam War speech outline since 1967, when King left it behind after working on it in Belafonte's apartment. It said the Memphis speech notes were found in King's suit pocket after he was assassinated. According to the lawsuit, Coretta Scott King offered the notes to Belafonte but he suggested they instead be given to one of King's longest-serving confidants. When that man died in 1979, his widow delivered the notes to Belafonte, it said.

STORY: Oliver Stone, Jamie Foxx Circling Martin Luther King Jr. Biopic for DreamWorks, Warner Bros.

The letter from Johnson was given to Belafonte by Coretta Scott King about a decade ago after she admired the collection of historic documents on a wall of his home, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said King frequently gave drafts and copies of his speeches, correspondence and working papers to friends and fellow civil rights activists and that his estate has made a series of "disturbing and illegitimate challenges to Dr. King's gift-giving" in recent years.

Miles J. Alexander, a lawyer for the Atlanta-based King estate, said he had not yet seen the lawsuit.

"I have no comment I can make right now," he said.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/music/~3/7SOVPIYnPIA/story01.htm
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'Game of Thrones' Parody Turns King's Landing Into Renaissance Park (Video)

What if Eddard Stark was never the lord of Winterfell, but instead ran a Renaissance theme park?

That's the premise of a hilarious new video splicing together scenes and overdubbing lines from the first season of HBO's Game of Thrones. The plot doesn't make much sense, but who cares? Here's what's certain: Eddie Stark must turn a rag-tag gang of employees -- including Terry (Tyrion) and Denise (Daenerys)  -- into competent workers to save the fair.

PHOTOS: 'Game of Thrones'' Most Gruesome Death

Say what you will about the shady characters in Game of Thrones – the lords and ladies of Westeros have impeccable accents. That's not the case here -- and that's half the fun of the video.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/live_feed/~3/TrnIYH3DUOA/story01.htm
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'</em>s Comic Book Easter Eggs: Episode 4

Chloe Bennet as Skye. Photo: ABC/Ron Tom

The fourth episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t dive into the Marvel comics canon overtly — which is probably a good thing as far as the show is concerned. It’ll need to carve out its own universe and identity if it’s going to be a success. But the comic-booky vibe was still there, lurking, Gollum-like. You just have to know where to look. “Give me examples,” you say? Well, all right, then.

Skye saying “bang” when she pulls the trigger

Onomatopoeia comes banging and clanging into the show. This line isn’t a direct reference to any Marvel book I can think of, but it does cut to the heart of the comic book experience. One of the things non-comics readers often think of when — if — they think of comics at all is the use of words, written in bombastic type, as sound effects.

Maybe it’ll be obvious to you once I say it, but comic books don’t have sound; they have visual conventions designed to convey sound, just as a whole other set of visual conventions convey movement. In the latter case, lines emanating in the direction from which motion originates signify that motion. The more aggressive the line—heavier rule, longer length—the faster or more aggressive the movement.

Sound is different. Words spoken by a character get printed inside an oval, usually white, with a little point aimed at the person speaking. (By convention, thoughts appear in a little cloud, connected to the thinker by circles of decreasing size.) Sounds made by other stuff — objects, explosions, cars peeling out, rockets taking off, etc. –appear as onomatopoetic words or phrases near the action in the frame.

You know the obvious ones, especially if you watched the old Adam West Batman show from the 1960s: bam, pow, crash, and so on. In fact, those are familiar enough that when mainstream publications run articles about comic books, they tend to put them in the headlines as signifiers. As in, “Bang! Pow! Comic Books Grow Up!” I think I actually reported one of those in the 1990s. Sorry.

I bring this up because novice comic book readers often express trouble figuring out how to process all this visual information. What do they read first? The dialog? The narration squares? The sound effects? Or do they look at the pictures? The troubling answer is that unlike any other medium, all those things happen in parallel on only one sensory channel. The writer and artist Scott McCloud thinks way more deeply about all this in his books on comics; they’re worth a read.

Anyway, more creative writers use more creative sound effects. I enjoy stuff like “Kra-ka-foom!” (That’s a monster hitting a volcano.) Or “Vassszhh!” (That’s an alien ray gun.) Or one of my favorites, a classic: “phut!” (A silenced pistol firing.)

In comics, sound effects fell out of favor for a while — avant-garde writers and artists abandoned them in droves by the 1980s. Watchmen forgoes them completely, and The Dark Knight Returns uses them sparingly (the sound of a kryptonite bomb-tipped arrow being fired by the archer Green Arrow: “ktanngggg”). More recently, some comics have tried to deploy them more creatively; Grant Morrison’s recent run on Batman built them into the scene, as smoke from an explosion, let’s say. And a badguy created by Kevin Smith actually spoke the sounds as the effects appeared.

So maybe I’m reading too deep — heaven forefend — but I like the idea that Skye says “bang” when she pulls the trigger of a gun because deep down she knows she’s living a comic book life.

No telepathy

When Melinda May says that no credible evidence exists for telepathy or precognition, she’s shutting a door. That little riff is notable not for what it refers to in comics but what it pointedly does not: the X-Men. From Professor X and Phoenix on down, the mutant community of Marvel Comics is heavily populated with people whose brains do nifty stuff. You have your telepaths, of course. Before Jean Grey assumes the cosmic power of the Phoenix (and eventually destroys a solar system) she goes by Marvel Girl, a telepath who also has the power of telekinesis, moving stuff with your mind.

(I always thought it’d be cool if telekinesis took just as much energy as if you had to get up and move a thing with your body. Like, if you were too lazy to get up and find the remote control with your body, you’d be too lazy to do it with your mind, too.)

The X-Men and most if not all of the Marvel mutants are off limits for S.H.I.E.L.D., since they’re owned not by Marvel Studios or its parent company, Disney, but by Fox. Fans (and the head of Marvel’s film division) often pine for a future when all the contracts will resolve with every Marvel character under one cinematic roof. May’s remark doesn’t preclude that, but since Fox’s X-Men have been reading minds since the 1960s in movie time, bringing them in line with the Avengers-verse would seem to require a reboot and modernization, or a retcon. (That’s a retroactive continuity change, when you change backstory.)

Alien text

Longtime Marvel obsessives, the kind of people who write articles about comic book references in TV shows and bought and studied the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, will remember the back pages of those comics that listed alien races. Number of appendages, average skin color and height, names of representatives. I remember being shocked to learn that the official representatives of humanity were Reed Richards and Ben Grim, Mr. Fantastic and the Thing of the Fantastic Four. Maybe I was hoping the job would be mine.

The Marvel Universe is full of aliens, of course. In Avengers, the aliens with which Loki allied himself, the Chitauri, were a version of longtime bad guys the Skrulls, shapeshifters locked in an eternal war with another race, the Kree. So let’s cross the Chitauri off the list of who the TV show’s aliens might be — S.H.I.E.L.D. would have recognized that text, right? Could be the Kree, or some version of them. But if I got to express a preference, I’d put in a request for the Dire Wraiths, another bunch of shapeshifters with barbed, brain-sucking tongues. Why? Because their main antagonist, the hero who fought them, was a cybernetic spaceknight named Rom, based on a poor-selling toy that was actually pretty charming.

Previous Comic Book Easter Egg recaps:

Episode 3

Episode 2

Source: http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661370/s/328c41e2/sc/17/l/0L0Swired0N0Cunderwire0C20A130C10A0Cagents0Eof0Eshield0Eepisode0E40C/story01.htm
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Kris & Bruce Jenner Are Keeping Up With Their Separation…Until They Can Divorce!!

WHOOOOAAAA!!!

It seems that this whole "we're just separated" façade may ACTUALLY be as false as the drama on Keeping Up With The Kardashians!!

Reports are coming in that Kris Jenner and hubby Bruce have absolutely NO PLANS to get back together!

In fact, as soon as the show stops filming in 2014, the pair will definitely be filing divorce papers!!!

Sources said:

“Bruce and Kris will file for divorce but not until the current contract for the shows comes to an end. No one would watch if there wasn’t drama, separation leaves it up in the air and will make viewers want to tune in. But once it’s over, it will be over for the marriage too — once and for all.”

WHAAAAATTTTT!!!

They're staying together for the RATINGS!?!?

Well… what else did we expect from the momager!?!

Amidst the back and forth drama, there have also been accusations flying left and right!

Kris is cheating, Bruce is going back to his ex Linda Thompson, Kris regrets divorcing Robert Kardashian… We can barely Keep Up with this whole situation!

One minute they're friendly, the next they hate each other!

It's making our heads hurt!!

Well, at least Kris isn't alone in her divorce, she can share in her pain with Khloe!

Which makes us wonder, how much of this whole debacle is true and how much of this is just drama for the show!?!

P.S. CLICK HERE to see an entire gallery of Kris & Bruce's pre-separation love!!!

[Image via WENN.]

Tags: contract, divorce, drama, dysfunctional families, ex, false, family, filming, gallery, gifs, hate, hurt, image, kardashian, keeping up with the kardashians, kris jenner, legal matters, marriage, ratings, reality tv, reports, separated, separation, show, together, viewers

Source: http://perezhilton.com/2013-10-16-kris-jenner-bruce-jenner-divorcing-after-keeping-up-with-the-kardashians-stops-filming
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Obama says will push immigration after fiscal crisis over

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that stalled immigration reform would be a top priority once the fiscal crisis has been resolved.

"Once that's done, you know, the day after, I'm going to be pushing to say, call a vote on immigration reform," he told the Los Angeles affiliate of Spanish-language television network Univision.

The president's domestic agenda has been sidetracked in his second term by one problem after another. As he coped with the revelation of domestic surveillance programs, chemical weapons in Syria, and a fiscal battle that has shut down the U.S. government and threatens a debt default, immigration has been relegated to the back burner.

But Obama, who won re-election with overwhelming Hispanic backing, had hoped to make reforms easing the plight of the 11 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally.

In June, the Senate passed an immigration overhaul, but House of Representatives Republicans are divided over the granting of legal status to those in the country illegally, a step many see as rewarding lawbreakers.

Although the president had sought comprehensive reform, he said last month he would be open to the House taking a piece-by-piece approach if that would get the job done.

Obama on Tuesday blamed House Speaker John Boehner for preventing immigration from coming up for a vote.

"We had a very strong Democratic and Republican vote in the Senate," he said. "The only thing right now that's holding it back is, again, Speaker Boehner not willing to call the bill on the floor of the House of Representatives."

Boehner said the sweeping Senate bill would not pass the House and has said the lower chamber would tackle the issue in smaller sections that would include stricter provisions on border protection.

(Reporting By Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-says-push-immigration-fiscal-crisis-over-013802515.html
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Russia: Court decides not to imprison Navalny

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny grimaces as he listens in a court room in Kirov, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. A Russian courthouse in Kirov set Navalny free in July, the day after he was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to five years in prison. Navalny has appealed both the conviction and the sentence. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny grimaces as he listens in a court room in Kirov, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. A Russian courthouse in Kirov set Navalny free in July, the day after he was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to five years in prison. Navalny has appealed both the conviction and the sentence. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, second right, his wife Yulia, and his former colleague Pyotr Ofitserov, back to camera, and Offitserov's wife react at the end of a hearing in a court room at a Kirov court in Kirov, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. The judge of a Russian court has overturned a sentence for opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, handing him a suspended sentence instead of five years in prison. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia react at the end of a hearing in a court room at a Kirov court in Kirov, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. The judge of a Russian court has overturned a sentence for opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, handing him a suspended sentence instead of five years in prison. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to his wife Yulia in a court room in a Kirov court in Kirov, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. The judge of a Russian court has overturned a sentence for opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, handing him a suspended sentence instead of five years in prison. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia leave a court room in a Kirov court in Kirov, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. A Russian courthouse in the town of Kirov set Navalny free in July, the day after he was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to five years in prison. Navalny has appealed both the conviction and the sentence. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

KIROV, Russia (AP) — A Russian court on Wednesday suspended a five-year prison sentence for a top opposition leader but upheld his conviction for theft that will prevent him from running in future elections.

Alexei Navalny was convicted on embezzlement charges and sentenced to five years in prison on July 18, but was released the next day in what some considered a ploy to make the Moscow mayoral race, where he was registered as a candidate, look as competitive as possible.

Navalny garnered an unexpected 27 percent of the vote against the Kremlin-backed incumbent. His growing public profile has made it increasingly risky for the Kremlin to put him behind bars.

Regardless of his own inability to hold office, Navalny, a charismatic speaker with a popular blog, could still prove a vital political force in Russia.

He has vowed to wage an active campaign, even if not a candidate himself, in elections for the Moscow city government in September 2014. His run for Moscow mayor attracted thousands of young volunteers in an unprecedented grassroots campaign effort, and that network could prove a key organizing force in the 2014 race.

On Wednesday, a judge in the court in Kirov, 760 kilometers (460 miles) east of Moscow, read out the decision. According to current Russian law, even a suspended sentence would eliminate Navalny from political office for life.

Navalny lambasted the trial, saying the original sentence had been handed down "on instructions from Moscow" and that the "political motivation of this case is absolutely clear."

The charges against Navalny date back a few years to when he worked as an unpaid adviser to the provincial governor in Kirov. Prosecutors said he was part of a group that in 2009 embezzled 16 million rubles ($500,000) worth of timber from the state-owned company Kirovles. He has denied the charges.

The defense said that a company run by Pyotr Ofitserov — Navalny's co-defendant who was also given a suspended sentence of five years as well in the appeal — bought the timber for 14 million rubles and sold it for 16 million rubles in a regular commercial deal.

Navalny, who spent much of the court session tweeting, was characteristically sarcastic and upbeat.

After the judge read out the sentence, Navalny told journalists he had no doubts the decision had been made "personally by Vladimir Putin," and said that "the authorities are doing their utmost to pull me out of the political fight."

The sentence eliminates Navalny for running in any elections in the future, according to a 2012 law that bans anyone with a criminal conviction for serious crimes, even if the sentence is suspended, from political office for life.

That law has been controversial in a country where, according to a 2011 survey by the Moscow-based Center for Legal and Economic Studies, one in six business people have faced criminal charges. About 120,000 people are serving prison sentences in Russia for economic crimes.

Last week Russia's highest court ruled that parts of the law were unconstitutional, and asked the legislature to amend it so that only those convicted to life sentences would be banned from political office for life.

Those changes, however, would still keep Navalny out of office for the five years of his suspended sentence. He also currently has several other criminal investigations opened against him, laying the groundwork for the Kremlin to put him behind bars in the future if the political necessity arises.

Navalny's lawyers told journalists after the trial that they would continue to fight to have the verdict overturned.

Navalny's rise to prominence started with his blog, where he posted investigations into corrupt state-owned companies accompanied by incisive, witty invectives on prominent Russian officials.

When evidence of massive fraud in the 2011 parliamentary elections triggered protests, Navalny— a speaker with a knack for catchy slogans — became the driving force behind the movement, leading hundreds of thousands through Moscow with chants of "We are the power!"

___

Mills reported from Moscow.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-16-Russia-Opposition%20Leader/id-ad3908820f7348f9b6af62d8c8df9986
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Gay candidate blazes new trail in Israel mayoral race

By Allyn Fisher-Ilan

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - As a candidate to become the Middle East's first openly gay mayor, Nitzan Horowitz is hoping his bid to run Israel's famously liberal city of Tel Aviv will help homosexuals across a region where they are widely frowned upon.

The left-wing legislator is not predicted to defeat the incumbent, the well-established ex-fighter pilot Ron Huldai, in an October 22 municipal vote.

But the 48-year-old remains upbeat, pointing to an opinion poll his dovish Meretz party commissioned last month that gave Huldai only a five-point lead.

A survey in the Maariv newspaper last week predicted a Huldai victory, but found 46 percent of voters were still undecided.

"I'm going to be not only the first gay mayor here in Israel, but the first gay mayor of the entire Middle East. This is very exciting," Horowitz told Reuters.

Horowitz's prominence in Tel Aviv is not altogether surprising. In a region better known for its religious and social conservatism, it is dubbed the "city that never sleeps".

With a population of 410,000, it was also ranked in a poll by Gaycities.com last year as a top gay destination.

By contrast, more than 800,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews wearing black coats and hats poured on to the streets of Jerusalem last week for the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a divisive figure whom critics called "Israel's ayatollah."

Huldai, Tel Aviv's mayor since 1998, already apportions city budgets for its annual beachfront gay pride parade, and there is a gay film festival and municipal center for the gay community offering cultural and athletic programs for teenagers and young adults.

"You can't take away the fact that gay life has blossomed in the city under Huldai," said Itai Pinkas Pinkas, 39, a onetime city councilor who worked with the mayor.

DISCRIMINATION

As a measure of how far Tel Aviv has come, rabbis who held sway in the Mediterranean city in 1955 blocked a bid by a woman to win election as mayor. Golda Meir later went on to become Israel's first woman prime minister.

"That's why his (Horowitz's) candidacy is not raising a firestorm, because many already see Tel Aviv as the gay capital of the Middle East," Israeli political blogger Tal Schneider said.

But Horowitz, a former television journalist who as a lawmaker has largely championed social issues and advocated for African migrants who have flocked to Tel Aviv, says discrimination against gays in the city lingers on.

Just last month, Horowitz said, a landlord cited a party colleague's gay lifestyle in refusing to rent him an apartment.

The task of improving policy toward gays in the Jewish state is "very challenging, because this is a country, a region with a lot of problems concerning the gay community, discrimination, even violence," the candidate said.

Israel's military made inroads decades ago by conscripting gay men and women alongside other 18-year-olds for mandatory service.

And even the holy city of Jerusalem, with a large ultra-Orthodox Jewish population, holds an annual gay pride parade.

But the gay community hits a roadblock when it comes to the issue of marriage.

Gay marriage - and civil ceremonies in general - that take place in Israel are not recognized by the authorities. Horowitz, who has lived with his partner for more than a decade, wants that to change.

"I hope once I'm elected this will contribute to tolerance and understanding, not just in Israel, but in the entire region," Horowitz said.

(Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-candidate-blazes-trail-israel-mayoral-race-180641264.html
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UFC 166 Start Times and Fight Card

The UFC returns to pay-per-view action this Saturday for UFC 166 in Houston, Texas. The weekend action kicks off with a Q&A session with UFC on FOX 9′s Josh Thomson at 3PM ET on Friday with the weigh-ins taking place at 5PM ET at the Toyota Center.

UFC 166′s fighters will then kick off the action on Saturday at 6PM ET with a four-fight Facebook card topped by a welterweight battle between T.J. Waldburger and dynamic striker Adlan Amagov. The action then heads over to FOX Sports 1 at 8PM ET with the final four preliminary fights topped off by Tim Boetsch and CB Dollaway.

UFC 166 then heads over to PPV at 10PM and is headlined by the third fight between UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. A bout between Daniel Cormier and Roy Nelson will co-headline the billing, with former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez meeting Diego Sanchez in another high profile fight for the card.

UFC 166 Start Times and Fight Card:

Main Card (Pay-per-view 10PM ET)

• UFC Heavyweight Title Fight: Cain Velasquez (c) vs. Junior Dos Santos


• Daniel Cormier vs. Roy Nelson


• Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez


• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shawn Jordan


• John Dodson vs. Darrell Montague

Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1 8PM ET)

• Tim Boetsch vs. CB Dollaway


• Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt


• Jessica Eye vs. Sarah Kaufman


• K.J. Noons vs. George Sotiropoulos

Preliminary Card (Facebook 6PM ET)

• Adlan Amagov vs. T.J. Waldburger


• Tony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio


• Andre Fili vs. Jeremy Larsen


• Kyogi Horiguchi vs. Dustin Pague

For the latest UFC 166 updates and UFC News, stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/94931/ufc-166-start-times-and-fight-card/
Related Topics: castle   tina fey   Mayweather   alexander skarsgard   Behati Prinsloo  

One of the first mass-produced computers getting new life in UK museum

While Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob Smith were regaling America's youth with Western-themed puppet antics and the Cold War was starting to get serious, British businessmen were employing one of the world's first out-of-the-laboratory computers: the ICT 1301. The massive computer, which resembles a ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/lie45lm1i4k/
Category: Marquez vs Bradley   Yosemite Fire  

Size matters in the giant magnetoresistance effect in semiconductors

Public release date: 15-Oct-2013
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Contact: LaTina Emerson
lemerson1@gsu.edu
404-413-1353
Georgia State University

In a paper appearing in Nature's Scientific Reports, Dr. Ramesh Mani, professor of physics and astronomy at Georgia State University, reports that a giant magnetoresistance effect depends on the physical size of the device in the GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor system.

Giant magnetoresistance indicates a large change in the electrical resistance with the application of a small magnetic field. This effect can be used to detect the presence of small magnetic fields. Magnetic sensors based on this concept are used to read out information stored in magnetic particles on rotating platters in computer hard disks. Other types of magnetic sensors are also used in brushless electric motors within cooling fans in computers, and as wheel speed sensors in some automobiles. Semiconductors are materials with electrical characteristics that fall between those of insulators and metals. Such materials are widely used, especially in electronics.

In research that is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Army Research Office, Mani studied the magnetoresistance in flat, very thin sheets of electrons in the ultra high quality GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor with his colleagues Annika Kriisa from Emory University and Werner Wegscheider from the ETH-Zurich in Switzerland.

The researchers found that the change in the resistance or resistivity with the magnetic field depends on the size of the device. They demonstrated that, under the application of a magnetic field, wide devices develop a smaller and quicker change, while small devices develop a bigger but slower change in the resistivity. The resistance or resistivity of a material to the flow of electricity is a technologically important property, especially in semiconductors.

In a typical semiconductor, the disorder is so strong that electrons undergo many collisions over a short distance - distance much less than millimeters. Then, the edges or walls of the device have no influence on measured properties because the electrons lose memory of one edge or wall by the time they get to another.

The strong sensitivity of the magnetoresistance to the size of the device observed in this research indicates that scattering with the walls of the device might be making a substantial contribution to electron scattering. This result testifies to the high quality of the semiconductor used in this research, produced by Prof. Werner Wegscheider at ETH-Zurich in Switzerland.

This research team developed a model to understand the observations and deduced that when the semiconductor system becomes of even better quality, the change in the resistance under the application of a magnetic field will become even bigger. Indeed, the change might become so big that the resistance vanishes entirely in the small magnetic field.

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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-Oct-2013
[


| E-mail



| Share

]

Contact: LaTina Emerson
lemerson1@gsu.edu
404-413-1353
Georgia State University

In a paper appearing in Nature's Scientific Reports, Dr. Ramesh Mani, professor of physics and astronomy at Georgia State University, reports that a giant magnetoresistance effect depends on the physical size of the device in the GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor system.

Giant magnetoresistance indicates a large change in the electrical resistance with the application of a small magnetic field. This effect can be used to detect the presence of small magnetic fields. Magnetic sensors based on this concept are used to read out information stored in magnetic particles on rotating platters in computer hard disks. Other types of magnetic sensors are also used in brushless electric motors within cooling fans in computers, and as wheel speed sensors in some automobiles. Semiconductors are materials with electrical characteristics that fall between those of insulators and metals. Such materials are widely used, especially in electronics.

In research that is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Army Research Office, Mani studied the magnetoresistance in flat, very thin sheets of electrons in the ultra high quality GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor with his colleagues Annika Kriisa from Emory University and Werner Wegscheider from the ETH-Zurich in Switzerland.

The researchers found that the change in the resistance or resistivity with the magnetic field depends on the size of the device. They demonstrated that, under the application of a magnetic field, wide devices develop a smaller and quicker change, while small devices develop a bigger but slower change in the resistivity. The resistance or resistivity of a material to the flow of electricity is a technologically important property, especially in semiconductors.

In a typical semiconductor, the disorder is so strong that electrons undergo many collisions over a short distance - distance much less than millimeters. Then, the edges or walls of the device have no influence on measured properties because the electrons lose memory of one edge or wall by the time they get to another.

The strong sensitivity of the magnetoresistance to the size of the device observed in this research indicates that scattering with the walls of the device might be making a substantial contribution to electron scattering. This result testifies to the high quality of the semiconductor used in this research, produced by Prof. Werner Wegscheider at ETH-Zurich in Switzerland.

This research team developed a model to understand the observations and deduced that when the semiconductor system becomes of even better quality, the change in the resistance under the application of a magnetic field will become even bigger. Indeed, the change might become so big that the resistance vanishes entirely in the small magnetic field.

###

---

[


| 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/2013-10/gsu-smi101513.php
Category: steve bartman   Manny Diaz   Miley Cyrus Vma 2013   new iphone   Best Song Ever  

Quicksilver Presents: Take It Easy, Full Movie

Posted by: Evan Litsios / added: 10.14.2013 / Back to What Up

Quicksilver has brought together an impressive group of riders for their team, as shown in this full movie release "Take It Easy". With full parts from Danimals, Johnny Brady, Ian Hart, Teo Konttinen and Zebbe Landmark, and cameos from Travis Rice, Bryan Fox, Will Lavigne, Ulrik Badertscher, Kim Rune Hansen and Jake OE, you know this one's worth a watch. 

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Source: http://www.frqncy.com/news/2013/10/14/quicksilver-presents-take-it-easy-full-movie?utm_campaign=blog_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feed_reader
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HTC One Max packs fingerprint scanner, 5.9-inch screen

HTC's newest phone, the 5.9-inch HTC One Max, includes a fingerprint scanner -- although unlike the one in Apple's latest iPhone, it's located on the back of the device.

The HTC One Max will go on sale globally later this month and is the company's latest attempt to revive its smartphone business. The Android handset is essentially a larger version of HTC's critically acclaimed One flagship phone, with otherwise similar specs.

[ Understand how to both manage and benefit from the consumerization of IT with InfoWorld's "Consumerization Digital Spotlight" PDF special report. | For a quick, smart take on the news you'll be talking about, check out InfoWorld TechBrief -- subscribe today. ]

Unlike the HTC One, the One Max can be locked or unlocked with a touch on its fingerprint scanner. The scanner can also be used to launch up to three favorite apps, each triggered by a different finger, HTC said Monday.

The phone has a 5.9-inch 1080p HD screen, a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor from Qualcomm, and 2GB of RAM. The front-facing camera has a resolution of 2.1 megapixels, while the 4 megapixel rear-facing camera uses HTC's UltraPixel design, which the company says uses a larger image sensor to offer better low-light performance.

Talk time on the WCDMA version of the phone can reach 25 hours on its 3300 mAh battery. The One Max also has a microSD card slot for expandable memory, a feature not found in the U.S. version of the HTC One. It will be on sale in 16GB and 32 GB versions.

The HTC One Max arrives just a month after Samsung unveiled its own large-screen phone, the Galaxy Note 3. The Note 3 has a slightly smaller screen than the One Max, at 5.7 inches, with a 13-megapixel camera rear-facing camera, 3GB of RAM, and a 3,200 mAh battery.

HTC and its Korean rival have been sparring on product strategy, and both have previously launched smaller versions of their flagship phones. In HTC's case, it was called the HTC One mini and unveiled in July.

Despite positive reviews for its phones, HTC has been struggling to lift its earnings. Earlier this month, it posted a loss of about $101 million in its third quarter.

Source: http://akamai.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/htc-one-max-packs-fingerprint-scanner-59-inch-screen-228728?source=rss_mobile_technology
Tags: miguel cotto   Presidents Cup   ricin   zach mettenberger   Sunny Ozell  

'Master Chef' contestant commits suicide

TV

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
TODAY

4 hours ago

Greg Gayne / Fox file

Joshua Marks, a former contestant on "MasterChef," committed suicide on Friday.

Joshua Marks, the 7-foot-2-inch runner-up on the Fox cooking show "MasterChef," committed suicide on Friday in Chicago, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed to TODAY.

The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

Marks has been battling mental-health issues recently, and in late summer was taken to a Chicago-area medical facility after being arrested and charged with aggravated battery against a police officer. His lawyer told CNN that during that altercation, Marks "suffered serious facial wounds from a self-inflicted gunshot."

According to the Chicago Tribune's July report, the troubled chef felt that he had been "possessed by 'MasterChef' judge Gordon Ramsay who turned him into God."

Marks, who had bipolar disorder, had worked with the Make A Sound Project, a non-profit group that seeks to use music to raise awareness of issues related to suicide. 

On Saturday, Gordon Ramsay tweeted condolences. "Just heard the devastating news about Josh Marks," Ramsay wrote. "My thoughts are with his family & friends at this tragic time."

The "MasterChef" official website and Facebook page also remembered the contestant friends dubbed the "gentle giant," posting, "All of us at MasterChef, Shine America, One Potato, Two Potato and FOX are incredibly saddened by the news of Josh Marks' passing. He was a wonderful person and an incredible talent. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Marks came in second on the third season of "MasterChef" in 2012, losing to Christina Ha, the first-ever blind contestant.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/masterchef-runner-joshua-marks-commits-suicide-26-8C11391273
Category: julio jones   Susan Bennett   Cal Worthington   Placenta   EverQuest Next  

Hawaii Relaunching Obamacare Exchange After Not Selling Any ...

A pamphlet for the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare. (credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s health insurance marketplace is hoping to turn around a stalled start by providing plans and pricing to consumers by Oct. 15 — but there are no guarantees, its executive director said Wednesday.

Coral Andrews, executive director of Hawaii Health Connector, told state lawmakers Wednesday that getting the marketplace running properly has been a fluid situation, with circumstances changing every day.

“We want to make sure that we’re doing it the right way,” Andrews said after testifying for more than an hour before a panel of lawmakers representing three House and three Senate committees.

The insurance exchange — a key component of President Barack Obama’s federal health care overhaul — hasn’t been able to sell any insurance in Hawaii because of problems with the software at the heart of the marketplace. Consumers can’t see plans, even though a variety of options from two insurers have been approved to be sold by the state’s insurance division.

I Don’t Know If Obama Has Used Health Care Website

The problems have meant consumers can only submit basic information using a web form, with the promise they’ll be contacted in a few weeks. As a workaround, some people are going directly to insurance companies to find out about plans, even though buying plans from insurance companies directly means consumers won’t be able to get tax subsidies or other help they might qualify for.

Andrews said the exchange is required by statute to have its insurance providers validate how rates and plans are presented to consumers before they’re rolled out publicly. She said testing on individual plans is complete, while testing on small business plans is ongoing.

Andrews said she knows the site didn’t launch the way officials wanted it to on Oct. 1, the start of open enrollment. But Andrews says she hopes the site will be more functional in the next couple weeks.

“We’re looking at where we’ll be by the 15th of October. I’m not saying that is the date, but we are working within that date,” she said. “We don’t want to go longer than that date.”

Andrews’ comments came at the start of an informational hearing to discuss implementation of the federal overhaul, a law Hawaii has embraced. Hawaii was the first state to announce its intention to run its own insurance exchange, and the Hawaii Health Connector was established in August 2011.

The connector is funded through federal grants, with plans to become self-sufficient by 2015 by charging customers a 2 percent fee on plans sold through the exchange, Andrews said.

The exchange awarded a $53 million, four-year contract to CGI Group, Inc., earlier this year to build the marketplace.

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(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/10/10/hawaii-relaunching-obamacare-exchange-after-not-selling-any-health-insurance-due-to-software-problems/
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