Over a thousand candidates shortlisted for life on Mars (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcTLkI0ITeK6t2Uq8ZHvyOZsr9nq6TSISOw1wlZqTJOjVptofrjDZu2jSCMbqvrPY1EzSDLuLpLBJeFltoy7Rs30WreBuuhyphenhyphenpeqHmJvqugKev76ziuuSTKHEhOnsEJhixRaA-LScAr9Y/s1600/2014-01-02T172246Z_1_CBREA011CA300_RTROPTP_2_BRITAIN.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcTLkI0ITeK6t2Uq8ZHvyOZsr9nq6TSISOw1wlZqTJOjVptofrjDZu2jSCMbqvrPY1EzSDLuLpLBJeFltoy7Rs30WreBuuhyphenhyphenpeqHmJvqugKev76ziuuSTKHEhOnsEJhixRaA-LScAr9Y/s320/2014-01-02T172246Z_1_CBREA011CA300_RTROPTP_2_BRITAIN.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388759550002_5001" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A mission to put humans on Mars that drew 200,000 applicants has selected more than a thousand candidates who will now be tested to come up with a final list of 24 would-be Mars-dwellers.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388759550002_5089" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Mars One was set up in 2011 by two Dutch men with the goal of establishing permanent human life on Mars in 2025. They hope the project will be funded by investors and the rights from the documentary-cum-reality TV broadcasting of the tests, training and final selection.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388759550002_5095" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The 1,058 candidates who got through to the first round come from all over the world. By far the largest number - 297 - are American, followed by 75 Canadians and 62 Indians.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388759550002_5101" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">They must now undergo rigorous tests, including simulations of life on Mars and coping with isolation, co-founder Bas Lansdorp said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The challenge with 200,000 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously," Lansdorp said.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388759550002_5159" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reporting by Sara Webb; Editing by Larry King)</div></div>

Over a thousand candidates shortlisted for life on Mars (BLOG)

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A mission to put humans on Mars that drew 200,000 applicants has selected more than a thousand candidates who will now...

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Malcolm X killer freed after 44 years (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ7QvnJ3NJti5b79L-fZPrqt-vRokxi44cG3kWIhdDJuQP6qqOOPqPonPAsfo9w33Bz_tdoWo5Q4MyDhJ6RZi1JzY_lSELqZTYv0Tdy4vSJhEZ0pKZi_mNt2JN9jraGsYPIzIhx3xF_H4/s1600/t1larg.hagan.gi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ7QvnJ3NJti5b79L-fZPrqt-vRokxi44cG3kWIhdDJuQP6qqOOPqPonPAsfo9w33Bz_tdoWo5Q4MyDhJ6RZi1JzY_lSELqZTYv0Tdy4vSJhEZ0pKZi_mNt2JN9jraGsYPIzIhx3xF_H4/s320/t1larg.hagan.gi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(CNN)</b> -- Thomas Hagan, the only man who admitted his role in the 1965 assassination of iconic black leader Malcolm X, was paroled Tuesday.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hagan was freed a day earlier than planned because his paperwork was processed more quickly than anticipated, according to the New York State Department of Correctional Services.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hagan, 69, walked out of the minimum-security Lincoln Correctional Facility at 11 a.m. The facility is located at the intersection of West 110th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hagan had been in a full-time work-release program since March 1992 that allowed him to live at home with his family in Brooklyn five days a week while reporting to the prison just two days.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Last month, Hagan pleaded his case for freedom: To return to his family, to become a substance abuse counselor and to make his mark on what time he has left in this world.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">He was dressed in prison greens as he addressed the parole board. He had been before that body 14 other times since 1984. Each time, he was rejected.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hagan was no ordinary prisoner. He is the only man to have confessed in the killing of Malcolm X, who was gunned down while giving a speech in New York's Audubon Ballroom in 1965.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I have deep regrets about my participation in that," he told the parole board on March 3, according to a transcript. "I don't think it should ever have happened."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hagan had been sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment after being found guilty at trial with two others in 1966. The other two men were released in the 1980s and have long denied involvement in the killing.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">To win his release, Hagan was required to seek, obtain and maintain a job, support his children and abide by a curfew. He must continue to meet those conditions while free. He told the parole board he's worked the same job for the past seven years. He told the New York Post in 2008 he was working at a fast-food restaurant.</div><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylctcquote" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: arial; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 244px;"><div class="cnn_strylctcqcntr" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 27px 20px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/3.0/mosaic/60x50_quote_marks.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 10px 20px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I can't really describe my remiss and my remorse for my actions.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="border: 0px; color: #999999; display: block; font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">--Thomas Hagan, killer of Malcolm X</span></div></div></div></div><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylctcqrelt" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 166px;"><div class="cnn_divline" style="background-color: black; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 3px; margin: 0px 0px 17px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">A parole officer checked on him while outside prison, and he had to undergo random drug tests.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">CNN was unable to reach Hagan for a comment about his release. The Nation of Islam declined comment for this story.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/malcolm_x" style="border: 0px; color: #5c7996; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Malcolm X</a> is best known as the fiery leader of the Nation of Islam who denounced whites as "blue-eyed devils." But at the end of his life, Malcolm X changed his views toward whites and discarded the Nation of Islam's ideology in favor of orthodox Islam. In doing so, he feared for his own life from within the Nation.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Malcolm X remains a symbol of inspiration for black men, in particular, who are moved by his transformation from a street hustler to a man the late African-American actor Ossie Davis eulogized as "our own black shining prince."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The ballroom where he was killed has now been converted into The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. Board Chairman Zead Ramadan said the center doesn't have a position on Hagan's release.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I personally find it strange that for a couple decades any person convicted in the assassination of such an iconic figure would be allowed such leniency," Ramadan said.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">There's outrage among some African-Americans, he said, that he's being released. <i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Would he be set free if he had killed an iconic white leader?</i></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It's really a struggle for Muslims to contemplate this issue, because our faith and our religion is full of examples where we have to exert mercy," he added. "The Malcolm X story has not ended. His populuarity has grown in death. ... Only God knows why this was allowed to happen."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The center is preparing for a special service next month to celebrate what would have been Malcolm X's 85th birthday. Would the center welcome Hagan if he asked to attend?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We'd cross that bridge if he called us," Ramadan said, "Think about that: How far-fetched is it that he could meet one of the daughters of Malcolm X? And what's going to happen then? Mercy, fury, anger, emotions -- who knows?"</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Killed in front of his family</b></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X took to the stage of the Audubon Ballroom, a site often used for civic meetings. His wife, Betty Shabazz, and four children were in the crowd.</div><div class="cnnStoryElementBox" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt" style="border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylccimg300" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px 22px 20px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><div class="cnn_strylccimg300cntr" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 169px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><img alt="Malcolm X was 39 when he was gunned down in 1965." border="0" height="169" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/CRIME/04/26/malcolmx.killer/story.malcolmx.gi.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Malcolm X was 39 when he was gunned down in 1965.</div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I heard several shots in succession," his wife later told a Manhattan grand jury. "I got on the floor, and I pushed my children under the seat and protected them with my body."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gunshots continued to ring out, she said. Her husband's body was riddled with bullets. The native of Omaha, Nebraska, was 39.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Minister Malcolm was slaughtered like a dog in front of his family," A. Peter Bailey, one of Malcolm X's closest aides, told The New York Times on the 40th anniversary of the killing.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The assassination came after a public feud between Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam's founder, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X had accused Muhammad of infidelity and left the Nation in March 1964.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"For the next 11 months, there was a pattern of harassment, vilification and even on occasion literally pursuit in the streets of Malcolm by people associated with the Nation," said Claude Andrew Clegg III, author of a biography on Elijah Muhammad called An Original Man.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Malcolm felt that if Elijah Muhammad snapped his fingers, then he could stop the escalation of the violent tone around the split of the two men. And I think there's some truth to that."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Over the years, the killing of Malcolm X has been the subject of much debate, with conspiracy theories involving the Nation of Islam and others. The Nation of Islam has repeatedly denied any involvement in Malcolm X's assassination.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">On a deadly mission</b></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hagan, then known by the name Talmadge X Hayer, was in his early 20s and a radical member of the <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/nation_of_islam" style="border: 0px; color: #5c7996; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nation of Islam</a> the day he entered the ballroom armed and ready to kill. His allegiance was to the Nation's founder, and he was outraged Malcolm X had broken from its ranks.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">After the shooting, Hagan tried to flee the scene but he was shot in the leg. He was beaten by the crowd before being arrested outside.</div><div class="cnnStoryElementBox" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt" style="border: 0px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylccimg300" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px 22px 20px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><div class="cnn_strylccimg300cntr" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 169px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"><img alt="Thomas Hagan is pictured here in a mugshot from 2008." border="0" height="169" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/CRIME/04/26/malcolmx.killer/story.hagan.docny.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thomas Hagan is pictured here in a mugshot from 2008.</div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Last month, he told the parole board he felt the urge to kill Malcolm X because of his inflammatory comments about the Nation's founder.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It stemmed from a break off and confusion in the leadership," Hagan said. "Malcolm X broke with the Nation of Islam, separated from the Nation of Islam, and in doing so there was controversy as to some of the statements he was making about the leader."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">He added, "History has revealed a lot of what Malcolm X was saying was true."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two other men, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Kahlil Islam, were also found guilty of murder in 1966 and received 20 years to life. Both proclaimed their innocence. Hagan, who eventually admitted his part in the murder, testified at trial and subsequent parole hearings that both men were innocent. Aziz was paroled in 1985; Islam was freed in 1987.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">At last month's parole hearing, Hagan again maintained that Aziz and Islam were not the other assassins. He said it was two other men who helped plot, plan and participate in the killing.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Did they receive orders from the Nation to carry out the killing?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I can't say that anyone in the Nation of Islam gave us the idea or instructed us to do it. We did this ourselves for the most part, yes," Hagan told the parole board.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hagan said he received a master's degree in sociology while incarcerated and that helped him deal with his actions from 45 years ago.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I understand a lot better the dynamics of movements and what can happen inside movements and conflicts that can come up, but I have deep regrets about my participation in that."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">He added, "Unfortunately, I didn't have an in-depth understanding of what was really going on myself to let myself be involved in anything like that. ... I can't really describe my remiss and my remorse for my actions -- basically a very young man, a very uneducated man. "</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">He is still a Muslim but no longer a member of the Nation of Islam. He volunteers at a mosque to help young men. He told the parole board he hopes to become a qualified substance abuse counselor.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">His primary mission is to help his four children, ages 21, 17, 14 and 10. He has two other grown children.</div><div class="cnnInline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"My focus is to maintain my family and to try to make things a little better for them. It's upward mobility, and to encourage my children to complete their education because it's a must."</div></div>

Malcolm X killer freed after 44 years (BLOG)

(CNN)  -- Thomas Hagan, the only man who admitted his role in the 1965 assassination of iconic black leader Malcolm X, was paroled Tuesday. ...

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Ship involved in Antarctic rescue faces trouble (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC1GhmTJn9wsRiXwBLZhBWx5hIVHjh0BNBMR7I4_dr9D6mSTWmeYPGzqBZzNCIJYxi6UA7_ibvBxQMoG7T1nOhGSGbEIlPJqzf8rIXlGWC4oQXIxR-wOmAj_lKqfJ5tgBoqno47zqDW4Q/s1600/2014-01-02T215112Z_405049975_GM1EA130G6O01_RTRMADP_3_ANTARCTICA-SHIP-RESCUE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC1GhmTJn9wsRiXwBLZhBWx5hIVHjh0BNBMR7I4_dr9D6mSTWmeYPGzqBZzNCIJYxi6UA7_ibvBxQMoG7T1nOhGSGbEIlPJqzf8rIXlGWC4oQXIxR-wOmAj_lKqfJ5tgBoqno47zqDW4Q/s320/2014-01-02T215112Z_405049975_GM1EA130G6O01_RTRMADP_3_ANTARCTICA-SHIP-RESCUE.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388759550002_2523" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian icebreaker carrying 52 passengers who were retrieved from an icebound ship in the Antarctic was told to halt its journey home on Friday after concerns that a Chinese vessel involved in the dramatic rescue may also become stuck in the heavy sea ice.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388759550002_2539" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But on Friday afternoon, the crew of a Chinese icebreaker that had provided the helicopter said they were worried about their own ship's ability to move through the ice. The Aurora — which was carrying the passengers to the Australian island state of Tasmania — was told to stay in the area in case the Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon needs help, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre, which oversaw the rescue.The icebreaker Aurora Australis had been slowly cracking through thick ice toward open water after a Chinese helicopter on Thursday plucked the passengers from their stranded Russian research ship and carried them to the Aurora.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Snow Dragon, which is at the edge of the ice pack surrounding the Russian vessel, will attempt to push through the ice to open water early Saturday, when tidal conditions are most favorable. The Aurora is waiting around 11 kilometers (7 miles) north of the Snow Dragon, said Lisa Martin, spokeswoman for the marine authority.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Authorities have not said what the next step would be if the Snow Dragon became stuck, but it is possible that the Aurora will utilize its icebreaking capabilities to assist the Chinese vessel.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The maritime authority said the decision to place the Aurora on standby was a precaution and noted there was no danger to anyone on board the Snow Dragon. But it was yet another wrinkle in the highly complex rescue operation of those on board the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which got stuck in the ice on Christmas Eve.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A spot of clear weather on Thursday finally allowed the multinational rescue operation after blinding snow, strong winds and thick sea ice forced rescuers to turn back time and again.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-video go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="479a5901-dcec-3d27-a7b6-cda5d9b66872" href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/passengers-rescued-icebound-antarctic-ship-180621922.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Passengers Rescued From Icebound Antarctic Ship"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 225px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;">Passengers Rescued From Icebound Antarctic Ship</span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">Play video</span><span class="icon-play icon-white-play-xsmall" style="background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Passengers Rescued From Icebound Antarctic Ship" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="225" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/fYG0DX9G5jXEC.oIBgzUUQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIyNTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/video/video.associatedpressfree.com/140c4cc6be92eac2394dcc4198bed0d1" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The twin-rotor helicopter, which is based on the Snow Dragon, took seven hours to carry the scientists and tourists in groups of 12 from the Russian ship to the Aurora. Earlier, the passengers had linked arms and stomped out a landing site in the snow next to the Russian ship for the helicopter.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Helicopter pilot Jia Shuliang told China's official Xinhua News Agency that he had no way of knowing whether the ice could withstand the helicopter's weight.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The rescue came in the never-ending daylight of summer after days of failed attempts to reach the vessel.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I think everyone is relieved and excited to be going on to the Australian icebreaker and then home," expedition leader Chris Turney told The Associated Press by satellite phone from the Antarctic.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Sydney resident Joanne Sim, a paying passenger, wept as she boarded the Australian icebreaker. She said the passengers had spent their time watching movies and playing games.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"It really has been an emotional rollercoaster," she told a reporter from The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper who is aboard the ship.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The 22 crew members of the Akademik Shokalskiy stayed with the icebound vessel, which is not in any danger and has enough supplies on board to last for weeks. They will wait until the ice surrounding the ship breaks up, which could take several weeks, ASMA Emergency Response Division manager John Young said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Only now am I sort of feeling a bit emotional about leaving the Shokalskiy," Alok Jha, a journalist from The Guardian who is traveling with the Akademik Shokalskiy, said in a video shot before he boarded the helicopter. "The poor old thing is stuck still."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The cost of the rescue would be carried by the owners of the ships and their insurers, in accordance with international conventions on sea rescues, Young said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Any official inquiry into how the ship got stuck would have to be conducted by Russia, he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Akademik Shokalskiy, which left New Zealand on Nov. 28, got stuck after a blizzard pushed the sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place about 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) south of Hobart, Tasmania. The scientific team on board the Russian vessel had been recreating Australian explorer Douglas Mawson's 1911 to 1913 voyage to Antarctica.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388759550002_2565" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Associated Press writers Kristen Gelineau in Sydney, Adam Schreck in Dubai, and Gillian Wong and researcher Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report.</div></div>

Ship involved in Antarctic rescue faces trouble (BLOG)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian icebreaker carrying 52 passengers who were retrieved from an icebound ship in the Antarctic was tol...

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CDC: 25 states reporting widespread flu (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EhoI8FjNQV-o_qS057RpJ-P1y0Y9dQVCk_M4pPgABOjOAqRbfx7216jBB5i1XmW9eDEOXJECi_mY91diGEuEpq90-7Cyspkez0nWn7B48Us201lEas6L9W4uuIEUbYsAdfZJIdiNibY/s1600/FluView_t607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EhoI8FjNQV-o_qS057RpJ-P1y0Y9dQVCk_M4pPgABOjOAqRbfx7216jBB5i1XmW9eDEOXJECi_mY91diGEuEpq90-7Cyspkez0nWn7B48Us201lEas6L9W4uuIEUbYsAdfZJIdiNibY/s320/FluView_t607.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(CNN)</strong> -- The number of states reporting widespread seasonal flu activity jumped from 10 to 25 last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Widespread activity was reported in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington state and Wyoming, according to the CDC's weekly flu advisory report, covering the week ending December 28.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Widespread" means that more than 50% of geographic regions in a state -- counties, for example -- are reporting flu activity. It addresses the spread of the flu, not its severity.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">However, 20 states experienced a high proportion of outpatient visits to health care providers for flu-like illnesses. The most severe activity seems to be located in the Southeastern states.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">So far, "it's a typical influenza season, if I can use that word," Dr. Michael Jhung, a medical officer in the CDC's flu division, told CNN last week.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The season usually begins in the winter months and peaks in January or February.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The only atypical thing seen this year is that the most common strain has been H1N1, which became known as swine flu during a 2009 outbreak.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It's the same virus that we saw in 2009 that caused the pandemic," Jhung said. At the time, it was called swine flu since it was seen for the first time in humans.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">But since then, "it's established itself very nicely in the human population," Jhung said. "We've seen it every season since 2009 in people." The virus is no longer referred to as swine flu, but instead as a human seasonal virus.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The strain is so common that it was included in this year's vaccination, he said.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/15/health/flu-virus-home/index.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5 ways to combat flu in your home</a></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph12" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two new pediatric flu deaths were reported to the CDC last week, according to the report. One was associated with the H1N1 virus; another was associated with an influenza A strain. Six pediatric flu deaths have been reported since September 29, according to the CDC. The agency does not track adult deaths related to the flu, although some states do, and deaths have been reported.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph13" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The exact number of flu-related adult deaths is hard to track and varies from year to year. The CDC has estimated that from 1976 through 2007, between 3,000 and 49,000 people died of flu-related causes.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph14" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It depends on the season; it depends on the virus," Jhung said.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Last year, 381,000 people were hospitalized and 171 children died in what's being called a relatively severe season.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">However, the CDC estimates that flu vaccination prevented <a href="http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/12/flu-activity-increasing-cdc-urges-vaccinations/" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6.6 million illnesses</a> last year, 3.2 million doctor visits and at least 79,000 hospitalizations.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Flu vaccines are<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"> recommended</a> for everyone 6 months and older, especially pregnant women and those at high risk of complications, including the elderly, children younger than 5 years and those with underlying medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph18" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Antiviral medications are a good treatment if you do get sick, Jhung said, particularly those at high risk for complications. Ideally, antivirals should be started within two days of when symptoms appear.</div><div class="cnn_strycbftrtxt" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; padding: 4px 24px 37px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">CNN's Caleb Hellerman contributed to this report.</div></div>

CDC: 25 states reporting widespread flu (BLOG)

(CNN)  -- The number of states reporting widespread seasonal flu activity jumped from 10 to 25 last week, the Centers for Disease Control an...

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NSA developing computer to crack privacy codes: report (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIo2wOKQqvt1rIBLCztCtUqK91bVXI9AiaZvw1fELPus-aqa-DvA3oz3AFR05onWj-fT7bYTVy9ZmZm4eOZuJIFC9DS5vbM2RVniv6I3p9LCTDqxuzRBMXSljNZU2tSH6ivheHyLLNJpg/s1600/65548e9eeae00028450f6a70670078ea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIo2wOKQqvt1rIBLCztCtUqK91bVXI9AiaZvw1fELPus-aqa-DvA3oz3AFR05onWj-fT7bYTVy9ZmZm4eOZuJIFC9DS5vbM2RVniv6I3p9LCTDqxuzRBMXSljNZU2tSH6ivheHyLLNJpg/s320/65548e9eeae00028450f6a70670078ea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_14313" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency is trying to develop a computer that could ultimately break most encryption programs, whether they are used to protect other nations' spying programs or consumers' bank accounts, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"><section class="yom-mod " data-ylk="mid:mediacontentrelatedstory;mpos:1;elm:hdln;elmt:ct;cat:Related Stories;rspns:nav;t1:a3;itc:0;sec:lst-ct;" id="mediacontentrelatedstory" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></section></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The report, which the newspaper said was based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, comes amid continuing controversy over the spy agency's program to collect the phone records Internet communications of private citizens.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In its report on Thursday, The Washington Post said that the NSA is trying to develop a so-called "quantum computer" that could be used to break encryption codes used to cloak sensitive information.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_14308" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Such a computer, which would be able to perform several calculations at once instead of in a single stream, could take years to develop, the newspaper said. In addition to being able to break through the cloaks meant to protect private data, such a computer would have implications for such fields as medicine, the newspaper reported.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The research is part of a $79.7 million research program called "Penetrating Hard Targets," the newspaper said. Other, non-governmental researchers are also trying to develop quantum computers, and it is not clear whether the NSA program lags the private efforts or is ahead of them.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Snowden, living in Russia with temporary asylum, last year leaked documents he collected while working for the NSA. The United States has charged him with espionage, and more charges could follow.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_14304" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">His disclosures have sparked a debate over how much leeway to give the U.S. government in gathering information to protect Americans from terrorism, and have prompted numerous lawsuits.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_14299" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Last week, a federal judge ruled that the NSA's collection of phone call records is lawful, while another judge earlier in December questioned the program's constitutionality. The issue is now more likely to move before the U.S. Supreme Court.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_14281" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On Thursday, the editorial board of the New York Times said that the U.S. government should grant Snowden clemency or a plea bargain, given the public value of revelations over the National Security Agency's vast spying programs.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_14292" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Writing by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Dan Whitcomb, Bernard Orr)</div></div>

NSA developing computer to crack privacy codes: report (BLOG)

(Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency is trying to develop a computer that could ultimately break most encryption programs, whether ...

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On Ando, Integrity, and The Clark

Last month <a href="http://www.clarkart.edu/">The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute</a> – The Clark – hosted a breakfast press conference at Craft in New York City to discuss its expansion plans and exhibitions set to open on July 4, 2014. <a href="http://www.clarkart.edu/about/content.cfm?ID=257">ClarkNEXT</a>, as it's being called, consists of a new visitor center designed by Tadao Ando Architects (architect of the 2008 <a href="http://www.clarkart.edu/about/content.cfm?ID=305">Stone Hill Center</a> at The Clark), an expansion of the Museum Building and a renovation of the Manton Research Center by Selldorf Architects, and a reworking of the grounds by Reed Hilderbrand. Tadao Ando, Annabelle Selldorf, Gary Hilderbrand, as well as Clark director Michael Conforti, were in attendance at the yummy yet crowded breakfast.<br /><br /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYngba7bFRDBqbhFOLAoVotSvN2iiEMYF6abmWhM0txvjJpG6RdUNsLENcfHJRLTXHSxGwNfY1_HkdzQk6DrzH1m2D84qo3Pfu5U6AOvxxyvzlbKme7x8aC0XQHO4WsplX0hVu6Jy3cqe/s1600/ando-clark.jpg" /><br />[Tadao Ando speaking via a translator at Craft]<br /><br />More information on ClarkNEXT can be found in the video at the bottom of the post, but here I wanted to discuss what Ando talked about during the breakfast. Rather than going into detail on the visitor center, Ando spent most of his time at the mic (not long, considering the time required for translating his comments) going into his background and influences. In particular I liked how he talked about Kazuo Shiraga and other Gutai artists, an artist and 1960s movement I was not familiar with. Per the <a href="http://web.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/gutai/data/manifesto.html">Gutai Manifesto</a>, art is about life, about imparting life to matter. Art of the past was "fraudulent," unless it was "ravaged by the passage of time or natural disasters."<br /><br /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHATNJerqo67Pk199-kvUHYnrWLR0bU_kW56jVF5q2DlUzzaj7kYh7UW9dvmZj-J9-skBEftw4VKwKo-9_7ian9wsm1jr1oixtYGkdeA1KLF8OHV1MSt_kNsTXG70MTblEKsGXre_gkkJG/s1600/shiraga1.jpg" /><br />[Kazuo Shiraga painting with his feet for Life magazine at the Nishinomiya factory of Jiro Yoshihara, 1956. Photo courtesy the former members of the Gutai Art Association, <a href="http://www.sfaqonline.com/2013/02/dr-hirai-shoichi-on-gutai/">via SFAQ</a>.]<br /><br />In a subtle way Ando related the way Shiraga created his artworks – hanging from the ceiling and painting with his feet – to his own work in terms of the artist's integrity and persistence, having painted that way until his death in his 80s. Ando's recognizable buildings – precise and smooth concrete highlighted by an astute use of natural light – could be seen as the architectural equivalent of Shiraga's paintings. Self-trained as an architect, Ando discovered a formula fairly early in his career (with the <a href="http://www.architravel.com/architravel/building/row-house-azuma-house/">Row House Sumiyoshi</a> in 1976, I'd argue) that he has been tweaking and expanding ever since. Like Shiraga, he is true to his own vision and will be until the end of his life. <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oBy-sKGscyM?rel=0" width="640"></iframe>

On Ando, Integrity, and The Clark

Last month The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute – The Clark – hosted a breakfast press conference at Craft in New York City to dis...

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How One Family Paid Off Almost $118,000 in Debt (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVPVC6MQHWiGPuBwRUmR1yu8WsWWR0uJIjLYA737OdJ_uAcJPqRo7OMXzrrAqd7vdpqem942L_HFgH8Il6CT3AeDrsqpjBRG2KcCf56PWdsFIQFR1vCju3ft7qWQm2MrHnZ63AuQoaUs/s1600/e56fa655-cb38-4d9d-9879-703ec16108a1_Us+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVPVC6MQHWiGPuBwRUmR1yu8WsWWR0uJIjLYA737OdJ_uAcJPqRo7OMXzrrAqd7vdpqem942L_HFgH8Il6CT3AeDrsqpjBRG2KcCf56PWdsFIQFR1vCju3ft7qWQm2MrHnZ63AuQoaUs/s320/e56fa655-cb38-4d9d-9879-703ec16108a1_Us+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388772872371_1713" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">When Amy Kroezen, 29, graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2008, she couldn't find a job that took advantage of her interior design degree. "I was turned down for job after job, and even advised to go wait tables by a design firm until the economy got better," she says.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388772872371_1718" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">So Kroezen and her husband, a native of Australia, decided to do something about it. In April 2009, they committed to paying off their debt within four years by dedicating one of their incomes entirely to paying off debt and then living off the other income. At the time, Kroezen and her husband were each earning between $32,000 and $35,000. Now a growing family with a 2 and a half-year-old daughter and another baby on the way, they are very close to achieving their goal - and they say their strategy could work well for other families, too.To make matters worse, she soon had to start payments on her student loan debt. She and her husband, a dance instructor, owed about $116,000 in student loans and $2,000 in car payments. "I had no idea how we were going to spend the next 10-plus years paying $990 a month in debt. How would we ever own a house, have a child and have any quality of life?" Kroezen recalls asking herself. She felt physically ill, just as she had as a child when she heard her parents talking about money.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">According to a December survey of more than 2,000 adults from Think Finance, an online financial products company, about three-quarters of Americans will carry debt into the new year, including credit card debt (36 percent) and car loans (28 percent). Here are six strategies that can help those Americans - and you - climb out of debt in 2014:</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>1. Downsize. </strong>Not only did Kroezen and her family start living off only one income, but they moved into a cheaper apartment that was minutes from each of their jobs, which meant they could also save money on gas. That also made it easier for them to live off just one income.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>2. Use the envelope system.</strong> Whenever Kroezen got her paycheck, she turned it into cash and then distributed those bills into envelopes dedicated to different costs, including food, rent and other essentials.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>3. Get ready to work and get support. </strong>"It's not easy," Kroezen acknowledges. "You need a good support system whether it's family, your spouse or a friend." She adds that aiming to get out of debt, not become rich, will help keep you from feeling overwhelmed.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>4. Be super frugal.</strong> Kroezen and her family cut out all spending that wasn't absolutely necessary. That meant repairing broken items instead of buying new ones, skipping restaurants and making her own coffee. "There will be times you feel depressed over it, but remember the end result is going to outshine all that," she says.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Her family still lives on about $19,000 a year, so they can save the rest. She even built her own furniture when her family moved into a new house, and asked family members for power tools as gifts for Christmas. She's since built a king-size bed, dining table and toy box. She also makes her own cleaning supplies and grows some of her family's food, too.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>5. Pay off the most expensive debt first. </strong>Not everyone abides by this approach, and instead prefers to pay off the smallest debts first to build momentum and a sense of accomplishment, but many financial advisors recommend paying off the most expensive debt first. That helps reduce interest and fee payments. Credit card debt is often the most expensive debt that people carry, followed by auto loans and student loans. Any debt with a variable rate can go up quickly when interest rates start to rise.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>6. Stay inspired.</strong> Certified financial planner Jude Boudreaux learned how to stop overspending with the help of a vision book - a collection of images of financial goals, which helped keep him and his wife focused and on budget. Boudreaux's vision book includes images of where they want to vacation and their condo, which they want to pay off. He flips through it when he needs to remind himself to avoid spending on unnecessary items.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Now, Kroezen and her family live in Nashville, where Kroezen is a stay-at-home mom and her husband works in the insurance industry. Kroezen has paid off $103,168 of her student loan, and she says she would have completely paid it off were it not for the birth of her daughter. She and her husband also bought a home and put down a $20,000 down payment on it. They pay off their credit card bills in full each month.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388772872371_1733" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We will attack the mortgage in the same way as the student loan, although we may take a month off and buy some clothing, which we haven't done in years," Kroezen says. Her family is also growing, with another baby on the way.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388772872371_1731" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">If going debt-free is one of your goals for 2014, these strategies might help you get there.</div><div><br /></div></div>

How One Family Paid Off Almost $118,000 in Debt (BLOG)

When Amy Kroezen, 29, graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2008, she couldn't find a job that took advantage of her interior d...

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Picture This: Polaroid Develops New Series of Budget Tablets (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSXZBYWxpcUj1KUSDRUW_JLHcBsMkeWyosMsSnssZJLHo-xfyIMOFKgOW4RBMR-2m8zx_XECWFXv6oggQLqVUr427KWDTFXU1vdF66uGgqR1qmsHv3Y_GlHDgasN0k-418JluUCBPmu8/s1600/6078deae16a888ff7e03f86349a7419a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSXZBYWxpcUj1KUSDRUW_JLHcBsMkeWyosMsSnssZJLHo-xfyIMOFKgOW4RBMR-2m8zx_XECWFXv6oggQLqVUr427KWDTFXU1vdF66uGgqR1qmsHv3Y_GlHDgasN0k-418JluUCBPmu8/s320/6078deae16a888ff7e03f86349a7419a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_12023" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">You won't need to shake these Polaroids for 30 seconds. Today, Polaroid, the photo pioneer which now sells consumer electronics, unveiled its low-cost Q Series of quad-core, Android 4.4-based tablets. The 7-inch Q7 ($129), 8-inch Q8 ($149) and 10.1-inch Q10 ($179) allow the company to hit aggressive price points in all the major tablet form factors.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_12031" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Polaroid offered few details in its announcement, but we know that all three versions will feature front and rear cameras, HDMI out, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and front-facing speakers. The company did not say what make or model of processors the tablets will ship with, but disclosed that they will pack 1GB of RAM and 8 or 16GB of internal storage.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_12036" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Despite these modest specs, the slates will run Google's latest mobile operating system Android 4.4 KitKat. While the Q series tablets look somewhat chunky from Polaroid's press images, their gray trim helps them stand out. Whether this lineup can compete with the latest budget offerings from ASUS and Hisense remains to be seen.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">We look forward to getting more information on the Q series tablets to see if they truly are a bargain, so stay tuned for our hands-on from CES next week.</div></div>

Picture This: Polaroid Develops New Series of Budget Tablets (BLOG)

You won't need to shake these Polaroids for 30 seconds. Today, Polaroid, the photo pioneer which now sells consumer electronics, unveile...

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No longer desperate: Eva Longoria enjoys comfortable

<br />Hollywood actress, best known for the television series "Desperate Housewives" <b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/search/label/Eva%20Longoria" target="_blank">Eva Longoria</a></b> gave herself all the charms stay in warmer climates. Christmas holidays celebrity spends about fun in the pool with friends.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* biner3 */ google_ad_slot = "7346003106"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHp8TVyjj87gRk7R1bebG3gLnj9NM_4Vds3oofReCMTu-GOiY_Da1uJ9gcBVicoXe8QXTYgxgBVJ7H-3BhgNAQcdLWumQCmf7NX90vS9YTfsHVFRLFR8VjRCet3j2EhbKjZSaoaDG/s1600/Eva+Longoria+enjoys+comfortable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHp8TVyjj87gRk7R1bebG3gLnj9NM_4Vds3oofReCMTu-GOiY_Da1uJ9gcBVicoXe8QXTYgxgBVJ7H-3BhgNAQcdLWumQCmf7NX90vS9YTfsHVFRLFR8VjRCet3j2EhbKjZSaoaDG/s1600/Eva+Longoria+enjoys+comfortable.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Photo report it immediately posted to the social network. The picture shows the actress flaunts her fit body in a bathing suit, pulling themselves vest son Manuelito.<br /><br />«Who needs a lifeguard?" - Signed picture Longoria.<br /><br />Sexy brunette denied, exactly where it rests, but it is known that celebrate New Year's Eve, she went with a few friends. "Goodbye, LA! Destination - New Year! We're on our way! "- Singer signed under photo on the eve of the exposed. The photo shows a group of people on a background of a private jet.<br /><br /><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><!-- biner3 --><ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:468px;height:60px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-8441125172513237" data-ad-slot="7346003106"></ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /><br />Recall that not so long ago Eva was mad at one edition of reporters who wrote lies about her future plans. They wrote that the star is going to play in three soap operas, one of which must play Longoria mother party "Dancing with the Stars' William Levy. The fact that she is already credited role older women is probably the most outraged Eve.<br /><br />She described his frustration on Twitter: "How can people write such things? Not one word of what was said was not true! They even invented a false quote! Latin Post IS will be responsible for incorrect information! Melissa Kastellyanos, you should verify the information before you print it! Now rewrite it, you idiots! "<br /><br /><br /><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><!-- boton --><ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-8441125172513237" data-ad-slot="4392536701"></ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script>

No longer desperate: Eva Longoria enjoys comfortable

Hollywood actress, best known for the television series "Desperate Housewives" Eva Longoria gave herself all the charms stay in ...

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10 Things Your Feet Say About Your Health (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUOQeZrvUEDxwRtbGYPKsn106uLH9disahmRpWsxf5660FDXa7j20NpF3JqEAbZgcx3qgEF9TFZqbBJuEKpy1ymbYtTlVzwkifS8Y7_Yas9qUtjW3LHBlGCHAbofyzMNhqu1LPLd8BAo/s1600/470_2737545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUOQeZrvUEDxwRtbGYPKsn106uLH9disahmRpWsxf5660FDXa7j20NpF3JqEAbZgcx3qgEF9TFZqbBJuEKpy1ymbYtTlVzwkifS8Y7_Yas9qUtjW3LHBlGCHAbofyzMNhqu1LPLd8BAo/s1600/470_2737545.jpg" /></a></div><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><b>By Nina Elias, Prevention</b></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"></span><br /><div class="first" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>What can your toes tell you?</b> The nurse just took your temperature, checked your blood pressure, and even made you step on the scale (with that heavy sweater on, no less). And as she hands you the paper gown, she gives her final directive: <i>"You can leave your socks on."</i></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;">When it comes to your health, that could be a big mistake. A change in your feet--whether on the skin, nails, or even how they feel--can be the first sign of a potentially serious problem that, if caught early, could save your life. "Our feet are the first parts to be affected by nerve issues because they're the farthest from our hearts and spine," explains Carolyn McAloon, DPM, a Bay Area podiatrist and president of the California Podiatric Medication Association. Even more reason to never ignore feet: They're easily compromised when our bodies feel threatened, since we send blood to the internal organs and the brain before the extremities.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;">Here, we reveal what could be lurking behind your most common foot concerns. If you see something familiar on the list, it's best to get it checked by your doc or podiatrist before attempting any treatment.<br /><b><br /></b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>Hairless feet and toes<br />What it might mean: Serious circulation problems</b><br />Sure, it's a pain during sandal season, but hair on your toes is a good thing. Sudden baldness can be a sign that your feet aren't getting enough blood flow to sustain hair growth. Expect your doctor to check for a pulse in your feet, which is another indication that your heart may not be able to pump enough blood to your feet, says Dr. McAloon.<br /><b><br />Frequent foot cramping<br />What it might mean: Dehydration and nutritional deficiencies</b><br />Randomly occurring cramps are about as generic as foot problems get. They can be as serious as circulation and nerve issues, or as harmless as a nutritional deficiency. If you're exercising, be sure to drink plenty of water, since dehydration often leads to muscle cramping. You might also try upping your intake of potassium, magnesium, and calcium (with your doctor's go-ahead, of course), since their deficiencies make cramps more common. "For relief, soak feet in a warm foot bath and stretch your toes toward your nose, not pointing down," says Dr. McAloon. If the cramps don't let up, see your doctor for testing to rule out circulation issues or nerve damage.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>PLUS:</b> Overwhelmed by the supplement aisle? Check out our <a data-rapid_p="4" href="http://www.prevention.com/mind-body/natural-remedies/100-best-supplements-women?s=1&cm_mmc=Yahoo_Blog-_-PVN_Shine-_-10%20Things%20Your%20Feet%20Say%20About%20Your%20Health-_-100%20Best%20Supplements%20For%20Women" rel="nofollow" style="color: #990033; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">guide to the best supplements you actually need--and what you don't</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>A sore that won't heal<br />What it might mean: Diabetes or skin cancer</b><br />Stubborn sores are red flags for diabetes. Uncontrolled glucose levels in the blood can lead to nerve damage all the way down in your feet, which means any cut, sore, or scrape can come and go without you ever feeling it. And if it gets infected, the most serious cases may call for amputation.<br />A non-healing wound can also be a sign of skin cancer, says Dr. McAloon. Melanoma can pop up anywhere on your body--even in between your toes--so be sure to include your feet in your regular skin checks. (<a data-rapid_p="5" href="http://www.prevention.com/beauty/beauty/decoding-suspicious-moles-skin-cancer-and-beauty-marks?cm_mmc=Yahoo_Blog-_-PVN_Shine-_-10%20Things%20Your%20Feet%20Say%20About%20Your%20Health-_-Is%20It%20A%20Beauty%20Mark%20Or%20Skin%20Cancer" rel="nofollow" style="color: #990033; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Brush up on your mole-detecting skills here</a>.)</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>Perpetually cold feet<br />What it might mean: Hypothyroidism</b><br />Hypothyroidism is the most common cause of feet that just can't get warm. And if you're over 40, you could be living with a sluggish thyroid without even knowing it. Unfortunately, cold feet are the least of your problems--hypothyroidism can also cause hair loss, fatigue, unexplained weight gain, and depression. Get your feet feeling toasty again by heading to your doc for a simple blood test, and you'll start warming up shortly after starting the daily medication.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>Suddenly enlarged big toe<br />What it might mean: Gout or other inflammatory issue</b><br />"The sudden onset of a red, hot, swollen, and painful joint requires immediate medical attention," says Dr. McAloon. Typical causes include gout, inflammatory arthritis, infection, or trauma.<br /><b><br />Numbness<br />What it might mean: Peripheral neuropathy or a pinched nerve</b><br />Numbness in both feet is known as peripheral neuropathy, caused most commonly by diabetes, chronic alcoholism, or a side effect of chemotherapy. If you're experiencing neuroma, or numbness in only one foot, it could be due to a pinched nerve in the foot, ankle or back. That's most likely caused by years of wearing tight shoes (we mean you, stiletto devotees.)</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>BEWARE: <a data-rapid_p="6" href="http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/7-common-health-mistakes-and-solutions?cm_mmc=Yahoo_Blog-_-PVN_Shine-_-10%20Things%20Your%20Feet%20Say%20About%20Your%20Health-_-7%20Healthy%20Habits%20That%20Arent" rel="nofollow" style="color: #990033; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">7 "Healthy" Habits That Aren't</a></b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>Bunions<br />What it might mean: Inherited faulty foot structure</b><br />If you thought your bunions were caused exclusively by a closet full of gorgeous (yet restrictive and often painful) shoes, you can stop blaming the boutique. Bunions are actually a sign of a flawed foot structure that's often inherited and merely aggravated by inappropriate shoes. "The first foot bone drives toward the middle of the body, and you see the bump," explains Dr. McAloon. It can be painful and unsightly, but the only way to really correct it is with surgery.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>Heel pain<br />What it might mean: Plantar fasciitis</b><br />You can't mistake it--that sharp pain in the bottom of the heel when you get out of bed or stand up from a chair. It's a strain of the ligament that supports you arch. And whether you did it by wearing too-tight shoes, walking in flip-flops, or wearing worn-out workout sneakers, the longer you let it go, the longer it takes to heal. Your podiatrist will probably tell you to ease up on your workout at first, rethink your footwear, and adopt a good stretching routine.<br /><b><br /></b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><b>Flaky, itchy, or peeling skin<br />What it might mean: Fungal infection</b><br />Even if you're never donned an athletic jersey in your life, you could still be walking around with athlete's foot--the euphemistic term for a fungal infection. The most common cause of itchiness and peeling, it can be treated by applying anti-fungal cream and keeping your feet as cool and dry as possible during the day. If you're fungus-free, you might be dealing with eczema or psoriasis--both to be determined by your podiatrist through a skin sample.<br /><b><br />Yellow toenails<br />What it might mean: Fungus or pedicure overload</b><br />Seeing yellow when you look down? Don't freak out--especially if you've been wearing nail polish for months on end without a break. "Yellowness can also happen naturally with age," says Dr. McAloon. If it's accompanied by brittleness or flaking, it's most likely you have a fungal infection like athlete's foot. </div></div>

10 Things Your Feet Say About Your Health (BLOG)

By Nina Elias, Prevention What can your toes tell you?  The nurse just took your temperature, checked your blood pressure, and even made you...

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Britney Spears fans disappointed

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUfODXhau9ol1RicEJeaoTdCfChyphenhyphenmAf1rV1j64aEGbT1uIvtelepyg23eui6KHwoifjTZwwMEGogH7pAJ85wWKIW83bK00Y9NQX-iWvBggSwl2Aq8LkAoIttNJgnX2gUOWuY5FIAk/s1600/Britney+Spears+fans+disappointed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUfODXhau9ol1RicEJeaoTdCfChyphenhyphenmAf1rV1j64aEGbT1uIvtelepyg23eui6KHwoifjTZwwMEGogH7pAJ85wWKIW83bK00Y9NQX-iWvBggSwl2Aq8LkAoIttNJgnX2gUOWuY5FIAk/s1600/Britney+Spears+fans+disappointed.jpg" /></a></div><br />Ardent fans of <b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/search/label/Britney%20Spears" target="_blank">Britney Spears</a></b>, each of whom paid the $ 2,500 for the chance to meet the singer, left disappointed long-awaited reunion. According to fans, the star spent with them literally "three seconds", and then hastened to greet. <br /> <br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* biner3 */ google_ad_slot = "7346003106"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><br /> Meeting behind the scenes, for which fans have posted a round sum, took place in the framework of <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/12/britney-spears-performed-in-las-vegas.html" target="_blank">Britney performances in Las Vegas</a> (we recently already seen some of the rooms of her new show.) As told by insiders portal RadarOnline, the appearance of Spears fans prepared a special way: <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> They were told that they should not hug Britney or touch her without her permission, and they were not allowed to bring any gifts. </blockquote><br /> According to the same source, collect stars paid quite a bit of time: <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> When they finally saw Britney, she just smiled, photographed and goodbye. Each had just three seconds to communicate with her. </blockquote><br /> Price "VIP package" and meeting with the star entered a ticket in the first row, as well as souvenirs with the image of the singer, but, as told to the press, the fans still were dissatisfied: <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> They expect vivid impressions of communication, but the meeting was strange and awkward. She almost did not talk, just nodded, smiled and thanked everyone. </blockquote><br /> Turns out that every second communication with Britney worth more than 800 dollars? Average!<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* care */ google_ad_slot = "9913512302"; google_ad_width = 125; google_ad_height = 125; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8LSIw4EEtl0sN6-nfZnf914ItgMQ5vjAjj5VhibdOb-HXrNFM43lIo3Hgha1tV1J7HiiE8Dw1caBzwizE2NYDqQ97a5hymfsVrOyAEG2TG_kGmVF__XThUMwN8NMox1CgZEemCtZ/s1600/Britney+too+quickly+said+goodbye+to+fans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8LSIw4EEtl0sN6-nfZnf914ItgMQ5vjAjj5VhibdOb-HXrNFM43lIo3Hgha1tV1J7HiiE8Dw1caBzwizE2NYDqQ97a5hymfsVrOyAEG2TG_kGmVF__XThUMwN8NMox1CgZEemCtZ/s1600/Britney+too+quickly+said+goodbye+to+fans.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Britney too quickly said goodbye to fans</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowaeONRADsM09kwSoDrur4j_v0Yq9VYDNcJVpi1QGIO-rf2J3eH7h0ghldVMD8dUwfzJvheysKG8tuvGQmLD6v5WgW8GIYISFcdYAwD_-xItOeteQsJLd-jUIAmVd7AJ4nrWkYsv9/s1600/Britney+Spears+at+her+concert+in+Las+Vegas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowaeONRADsM09kwSoDrur4j_v0Yq9VYDNcJVpi1QGIO-rf2J3eH7h0ghldVMD8dUwfzJvheysKG8tuvGQmLD6v5WgW8GIYISFcdYAwD_-xItOeteQsJLd-jUIAmVd7AJ4nrWkYsv9/s1600/Britney+Spears+at+her+concert+in+Las+Vegas.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Britney Spears at her concert in Las Vegas </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />

Britney Spears fans disappointed

Ardent fans of Britney Spears , each of whom paid the $ 2,500 for the chance to meet the singer, left disappointed long-awaited reunion. A...

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Senate sets Monday vote on Janet Yellen to head Fed

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDmgYjbch8IbkuaG-iG7JKhR7sP-E4XSLfxNym4AtUALNf0jg4TJ7B2lcsI9ItcP6VkaxMdwSDik2vX8JK0OJlQJ0vSBcUloO2eWB87lGFshhSBpU1ipwRRmF0U9oQkK5TZCFu_nDrj4/s1600/2014-01-02T213600Z_1_CBREA011MV700_RTROPTP_2_USA-FED-YELLEN.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDmgYjbch8IbkuaG-iG7JKhR7sP-E4XSLfxNym4AtUALNf0jg4TJ7B2lcsI9ItcP6VkaxMdwSDik2vX8JK0OJlQJ0vSBcUloO2eWB87lGFshhSBpU1ipwRRmF0U9oQkK5TZCFu_nDrj4/s320/2014-01-02T213600Z_1_CBREA011MV700_RTROPTP_2_USA-FED-YELLEN.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_8206" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Janet Yellen came a step closer to final approval as the Federal Reserve's next chair after the U.S. Senate set a Monday vote on President Barack Obama's choice to succeed Ben Bernanke.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_8912" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Senate is expected to vote at around 5:30 p.m. EST Monday on Yellen, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_8918" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yellen, who would become the first woman to chair the U.S. central bank, would take the reins on February 1, one day after Bernanke ends a two-term stint during which he reached deep into the Fed's monetary toolbox to try to revive an economy hit by a massive financial crisis that sent it into the worst downturn in decades.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_8924" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yellen has been deeply involved in the decisions to press the Fed into uncharted monetary policy waters, as the Fed's vice chair since 2010 and before that as chief of the San Francisco Fed.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">As she steps into her new role, her biggest challenge will likely be to begin to pare back the Fed's crisis-era stimulus. The bank took a first step in that direction last month when policymakers voted to pare its massive bond-buying stimulus program to $75 billion a month from $85 billion.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Senate on December 20 voted 59-34 to move forward with Yellen's nomination, indicating she had enough support to win confirmation.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Bernanke's second four-year term expires on January 31.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_8932" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Ann Saphir in San Francisco; Editing by James Dalgleish)</div></div>

Senate sets Monday vote on Janet Yellen to head Fed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Janet Yellen came a step closer to final approval as the Federal Reserve's next chair after the U.S. Senate set a...

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Rencontre créateurs d'entreprise

</BR><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx47tTwoBXAYVPSp9w3X35OykIZuA4hMWCfxB5jxDGPHvYoTtYtidHpEy3iqMv7RAgdlTmmj-FAByk6rin_cJF0I9fs1YJxr7y4kyMIIL7wJPE-P0lhSXutweCrjK8Y66BnbC0sOJ0Myf6/s1600/planetadam.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx47tTwoBXAYVPSp9w3X35OykIZuA4hMWCfxB5jxDGPHvYoTtYtidHpEy3iqMv7RAgdlTmmj-FAByk6rin_cJF0I9fs1YJxr7y4kyMIIL7wJPE-P0lhSXutweCrjK8Y66BnbC0sOJ0Myf6/s400/planetadam.png" width="350" /></a></div><b><a href="http://www.planetadam-orleans.org/">Planet Adam</a></b> organise une rencontre "Créateurs d'entreprise" autour d'un petit déjeuner <ul><li>le <b>vendredi 11 janvier 2014</b> entre <b>8h et 12h</b> </BR><li>à la <b><a href="http://www.bm-orleans.fr/medias/medias.aspx?INSTANCE=EXPLOITATION&PORTAL_ID=ermp_lasource.xml">Médiathèque Maurice Genevois</a></b> à la Source.</ul>Depuis le dernier trimestre 2014, l'association Planet Adam installée au Clos Boudard, dans le Quartier de l'Argonne à Orléans, est aussi présente sur le quartier de la Source via des permanences qui ont lieu à la Maison de la Réussite La Source - 1, rue Bossuet. </BR></BR>

Rencontre créateurs d'entreprise

Planet Adam organise une rencontre "Créateurs d'entreprise" autour d'un petit déjeuner le vendredi 11 janvier 2014 entre...

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The Marijuana Industry in America Grows

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Colorado Cannabis Industry </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-uLwUNMe7oLEtbk-_Ra9yuy8OOFzqzvaTRIMP3cFTh5s9oIQGhp6s9DV4Zp8S4C5Hsh0AHHR9zJHX_bDW8NA9tvYGjT5DGE6iKXVxTUvPP1k9zEI24xma3FVCL8Y0pXz1MJORxnVOUc/s1600/CannabisPIC.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-uLwUNMe7oLEtbk-_Ra9yuy8OOFzqzvaTRIMP3cFTh5s9oIQGhp6s9DV4Zp8S4C5Hsh0AHHR9zJHX_bDW8NA9tvYGjT5DGE6iKXVxTUvPP1k9zEI24xma3FVCL8Y0pXz1MJORxnVOUc/s1600/CannabisPIC.jpeg" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The POT Rush is on</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Marijuana stocks smoking hot </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The State of Colorado is booming now  </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">How the state of Colorado recently legalizing marijuana is now turning into and explosive industry is turning the heads of Americans as the headlines are filling with more reports on this entire matter.<br /><br />The amount of money flowing into MARIJUANA STOCKS is almost creating a new stock market sector now as investors seek profitable returns.   Also business is booming with stores that offer many products, tours, cooking classes, and various other helpful goods to the consumers with remarkable financial outlooks and job growth already in progress.<br /><br />Some say if nationwide legislation was passed to legalize the use of cannabis or marijuana this would solve many of our jobless concerns and would improve the economy in short order: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/01/medical-marijuana-stocks-begin-rising.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/01/medical-marijuana-stocks-begin-rising.html</a><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QVbTwH2sQMw?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SuccImBuQjs?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>...developing...</b></div>

The Marijuana Industry in America Grows

The Colorado Cannabis Industry The POT Rush is on Marijuana stocks smoking hot The State of Colorado is booming now  How the state of Colora...

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Garment worker protests turn violent in Cambodia (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_sQlFlD5-oRhM9uVmPTqJZU7Iwviqew5jVaS8eQs6FoaCXjZ_oHr2t_scytcvx7r3a6JBpw9h5fN2ruj89BOJz7WMbXWCf_sqzQ6E_I1P5P2Tg22OiyCYUV68Sp_xHomR9uc4XrGByM/s1600/src.adapt.480.low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_sQlFlD5-oRhM9uVmPTqJZU7Iwviqew5jVaS8eQs6FoaCXjZ_oHr2t_scytcvx7r3a6JBpw9h5fN2ruj89BOJz7WMbXWCf_sqzQ6E_I1P5P2Tg22OiyCYUV68Sp_xHomR9uc4XrGByM/s320/src.adapt.480.low.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a data-rapid_p="7" href="http://news.yahoo.com/cambodian-police-open-fire-protesters-several-wounded-041011196.html" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_5706" style="background-color: white; color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Cambodian police opened fire on protesting garment workers Friday</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">, killing at least three people, as the kingdom's strongman premier faced growing public anger on the streets of the capital. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">Human rights campaigners condemned the crackdown as the country's worst state violence against civilians in more than a decade. (AFP)</span></div>

Garment worker protests turn violent in Cambodia (BLOG)

Cambodian police opened fire on protesting garment workers Friday , killing at least three people, as the kingdom's strongman premier fa...

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How the Army’s recent successful laser test could change the future of warfare (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAg-0p08RsAYJ1h2qunqOiszskuHqK-NmgvEbpe2Ualy1AL8YF-WDU5IjSZe6jeHwRZLS9BGgTGIrv9zbQHPuBTdj0mZyCP-Qk9_QwNBSsfDkhq5DKJsg0N_WdPo3z3ovtbRvVtJ6Q0k/s1600/e380632f-f5d3-4b15-9dd7-b4fa66b6e391_size0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAg-0p08RsAYJ1h2qunqOiszskuHqK-NmgvEbpe2Ualy1AL8YF-WDU5IjSZe6jeHwRZLS9BGgTGIrv9zbQHPuBTdj0mZyCP-Qk9_QwNBSsfDkhq5DKJsg0N_WdPo3z3ovtbRvVtJ6Q0k/s320/e380632f-f5d3-4b15-9dd7-b4fa66b6e391_size0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_3762" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In December, the U.S. <a data-mce-href="http://www.army.mil/article/116740/Army_vehicle_mounted_laser_successfully_demonstrated_against_multiple_targets/" data-rapid_p="9" href="http://www.army.mil/article/116740/Army_vehicle_mounted_laser_successfully_demonstrated_against_multiple_targets/" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Army successfully tested a vehicle-mounted laser</a>, destroying more than 90 mortar rounds and several unmanned aerial drones.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_3753" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">And an Army official tells Yahoo News that the test could have broad implications for the future, giving the U.S. an edge in low-cost and high-functioning defense technology.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_3746" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">“Although the laser can only engage one target at a time, we can lock-in multiple strikes,” Terry Bauer, Program manager, Army High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD), told Yahoo News during a phone interview.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">“The number of available shots is extremely high compared to a conventional system,” Bauer said. “Whatever we aim at is what we hit.”</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_3776" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Back in 2011, the Army first conducted tests using low power, 300 watt lasers. But the most recent test used a significantly more powerful 10-kilowatt laser powered by batteries and diesel fuel. Although the "High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator" may not sound that intimidating, it was essentially perfect during its test, knocking out dozens of airborne targets.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_3783" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The test was conducted at the <a data-mce-href="http://www.wsmr.army.mil/testcenter/testing/landf/Pages/HighEnergyLaserSystemsTestFacility.aspx" data-rapid_p="10" href="http://www.wsmr.army.mil/testcenter/testing/landf/Pages/HighEnergyLaserSystemsTestFacility.aspx" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_3782" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico</a>. Going forward, the Army says it plans to increase the power of lasers used up to 100 kilowatts, although alternative power sources will be needed to boost the increasingly potent solid state lasers.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">“This 10 kilowatt is just a stepping stone toward more militarily significant lasers,” Bauer said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Army Space and Missile Defense Command released a video of the demonstration. In the first two minutes of the clip, you can see the laser system targeting a drone. At first, it appears to simply be following the aircraft’s flight pattern. However, since the laser itself is invisible to the naked eye, what appears to be plain video on the left hand of the screen, is actual a live engagement taking place. Moments later, the drone crashes into the desert sands of New Mexico.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Later in the video, the mortar engagements provide the kind of fireworks more commonly expected by the untrained eye, as the mortars explode in midair after being targeted by the laser system.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Bauer said the mortar and UAV drones replicate battlefield conditions faced by U.S. forces on the battlefield and could prove increasingly useful as the use of military-styled drones become more prevalent in the near future. The lasers have another distinct advantage, moving at the speed of light, allowing the Army to stay focused on a quickly moving target.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The U.S. Navy has also experimented with lasers mounted aboard cruise vessels. Back in April 2013, the <a data-mce-href="http://news.yahoo.com/navys-laser-weapon-blasts-bad-215808231.html" data-rapid_p="11" href="http://news.yahoo.com/navys-laser-weapon-blasts-bad-215808231.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Navy announced plans to deploy a laser-mounted cruiser to the Persian Gulf in 2014</a>. However, there are still some current technological limitations for their use, including unfriendly weather conditions.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Several components of the program also remain shrouded in mystery. The Army has not revealed how far its lasers can travel or how long they are able to sustain a defensive posture before needing to recharge. And while a focus on the technology is clearly growing, it remains to be determined just how many laser-mounted vehicles the Army plans to deploy in coming years.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The vehicle-mounted system was developed over four years. And while Bauer says it has been expensive for the military develop, it’s portability and lack of heavy, expensive munitions could make it cost-effective over time.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">“It could be utilized and cost effective over time,” he said. “In the end it could save considerable money.”</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388758467621_3825" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">And who knows, it might not be long before lasers are squaring off against <a data-mce-href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/boeing-turns-aging-planes-into-drones-for-air-force-target-practice-010653391.html" data-rapid_p="12" href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/boeing-turns-aging-planes-into-drones-for-air-force-target-practice-010653391.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">unmanned F-16s</a> in the field of battle.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><br /></div></div>

How the Army’s recent successful laser test could change the future of warfare (BLOG)

In December, the U.S.  Army successfully tested a vehicle-mounted laser , destroying more than 90 mortar rounds and several unmanned aerial ...

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