Technique unlocks design principles of quantum biology

Apr. 19, 2013 ? University of Chicago researchers have created a synthetic compound that mimics the complex quantum dynamics observed in photosynthesis and may enable fundamentally new routes to creating solar-energy technologies. Engineering quantum effects into synthetic light-harvesting devices is not only possible, but also easier than anyone expected, the researchers report in the April 19 edition of Science.

The researchers have engineered small molecules that support long-lived quantum coherences. Coherences are the macroscopically observable behavior of quantum superpositions. Superpositions are a fundamental quantum mechanical concept, exemplified by the classic Schrodinger's Cat thought experiment, in which a single quantum particle such as an electron occupies more than one state simultaneously.

Quantum effects are generally negligible in large, hot, disordered systems. Nevertheless, the recent ultrafast spectroscopy experiments in UChicago chemistry Prof. Greg Engel's laboratory have shown that quantum superpositions may play a role in the near perfect quantum efficiency of photosynthetic light harvesting, even at physiological temperatures.

Photosynthetic antennae -- the proteins that organize chlorophylls and other light-absorbing molecules in plants and bacteria -- support superpositions that survive for anomalously long times. Many researchers have proposed that organisms have evolved a means of protecting these superpositions. The result: improved efficiency in transferring energy from absorbed sunlight to the parts of the cell that convert solar energy to chemical energy. The newly reported results demonstrate that his particular manifestation of quantum mechanics can be engineered into human-made compounds.

The researchers modified fluorescein -- the same molecule once used to dye the Chicago River green for St. Patrick's Day -- and then linked different pairs of these dyes together using a rigid bridging structure. The resulting molecules were able to recreate the important properties of chlorophyll molecules in photosynthetic systems that cause coherences to persist for tens of femtoseconds at room temperature.

"That may not sound like a very long time -- a femtosecond is a millionth of a billionth of a second," said study co-author Dugan Hayes, a UChicago graduate student in chemistry. "But the movement of excitations through these systems also occurs on this ultrafast timescale, meaning that these quantum superpositions can play an important role in energy transfer."

To detect evidence of long-lived superpositions, the researchers created a movie of energy flow in the molecules using highly engineered laboratories and state-of-the-art femtosecond laser systems. Three precisely controlled laser pulses are directed into the sample, causing it to emit an optical signal that is captured and directed into a camera.

By scanning the time delays between the arriving laser pulses, the researchers create a movie of energy flow in the system, encoded as a series two-dimensional spectra. Each two-dimensional spectrum is a single frame of the movie, and contains information about where energy resides in the system and what pathways it has followed to get there.

These movies show relaxation from high energy states toward lower energy states as time proceeds, as well as oscillating signals in very specific regions of the signal, or quantum beats. "Quantum beats are the signature of quantum coherence, arising from the interference between the different energetic states in the superposition, similar to the beating heard when two instruments that are slightly out of tune with each other try to play the same note," Hayes explained.

Computer simulations have shown that quantum coherences work in photosynthetic antennae to prevent excitations from getting trapped on their way to the reaction center, where the conversion to chemical energy begins. In one interpretation, as the excitation moves through the antenna, it remains in a superposition of all possible paths at once, making it inevitable that it proceeds down the proper path. "Until these coherences were observed in synthetic systems, it remained dubious that such a complex phenomenon could be recreated outside of nature," Hayes said.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Chicago, via Newswise.

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Journal Reference:

1. D. Hayes, G. B. Griffin, G. S. Engel. Engineering Coherence Among Excited States in Synthetic Heterodimer Systems. Science, 2013; DOI: 10.1126/science.1233828

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/oxNpfiK3x8Y/130419120954.htm

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Firms 'own unburnable fossil fuels'

19 April 2013 Last updated at 00:00 ET By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst

Some 60% to 80% of fossil fuel reserves owned by listed firms could be classed as unburnable if politicians stick to CO2 emission limits, a report warns.

The research by the London School of Economics and NGO Carbon Tracker says firms spend billions of pounds of shareholders' money on exploration.

It says 200 listed firms spent ?440bn in 2012 chasing more coal, oil and gas.

It says if this continues for a decade - and if CO2 limits are achieved - they would waste over ?4tn.

The research says the listed companies analysed own 762 billion tonnes of CO2 in the form of coal, oil and gas.

Many of the firms are listed in the City of London - the world's fossil fuel investment capital.

To stick to the current agreed global limit on emissions - which is sure to be breached - the firms would probably be able to emit no more than about 125-275 billion tonnes of CO2 - about a quarter of their assets.

The authors say that, even if the rules are relaxed to allow emissions to a level associated with a 3C temperature rise, there will still have to be limits on fossil fuel burning.

The carbon capture and storage technology can strip carbon from fossil fuel exhaust gases and store it in rocks, but it is unproven at scale, trials are years behind schedule and it may not work in some areas of the world.

The authors say the current fossil fuel business model assumes that there are no emissions limits.

This attitude is perhaps hardly surprising, given the mismatch between politicians' rhetoric on the need to cut emissions and the continued rise in atmospheric CO2.

Carbon Tracker has been campaigning for regulators to force firms to disclose the potential CO2 emissions embedded in their fossil fuel reserves, in order to inform potential investors.

It says there is a danger of a carbon "bubble."

Follow Roger on Twitter.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22211664#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Robert Pattinson Signs on for New Movie Role

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/robert-pattinson-signs-on-for-new-movie-role/

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Utah Man battles cancer, trains for Salt Lake City Marathon

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) ? Each year he Salt Lake City Marathon inspires people overcoming challenges to give the course a try. This year among the runners is a man who never gave up on training, even while battling cancer.

John Maack has always taken his running very seriously. ?I run 50 and 100 mile races,? he said. ?It is a big part of my life.?

It?s a part that even a cancer diagnosis couldn?t take away from him. Last March, John was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin?s Lymphoma.

?It was like I was running down the trail and somebody jumped out behind a bush and hit me in the forehead with a 2 x 4,? he said.

John immediately underwent four months of intense chemo and had a stem cell transplant, but through it all he never stopped running.

?I ran through all my treatments, the doctors were a little concerned, but they worked with me and instead of running 90 miles a week they let me run 50 miles a week,? he said.

John believes being active helped him be successful in treatments. His trainer at the Hunstman Cancer Institute agrees.

?John's an elite athlete, he brought into his treatment a level of fitness, healing, recovery and growth that really helped him get through cancer treatment,? said Patrick Troumbley, a exercise physiologist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. ?He is doing phenomenally. He's definitely what I would consider an outlier.?

Just eight months after getting the transplant, John will be among the thousands of runners in the Salt Lake City half marathon.

John said he's more than ready to cross the finish line in both the race and his recovery...

?Once you realize what you're dealing with as I do with my running you get up shake yourself off and move on,? he said.

John will be running with the Hunstman Hometown Heroes team. For more information on the team, click here.

Source: http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Utah-Man-battles-cancer-trains-for-Salt-Lake-City/WRf3UAzBHUqfFdGm7D_bYQ.cspx?rss=2256

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Boomers Push Doctor-Assisted Dying in End-of-Life Revolt | CARP ...

Claudia Burzichelli doesn?t want to die like her dad. Nine years ago, her father, already afflicted with Parkinson?s, killed himself with a gunshot to the head days after his release from a hospital where he had been treated for a heart attack.

Burzichelli, 54, now suffering from kidney and lung cancer, is haunted by her father?s violent death, even more so as she contemplates her own mortality. She hopes to find a more peaceful way to end her life, if it comes to that.

This article was published by Bloomberg News on April? 11th, 2013.? To see this article and other related articles on The Globe and Mail website, please click here

?On those days when I?ve struggled to breathe, when I think about the stresses on my family, I would hope that I might have more options than starving myself or taking my life in a violent way,? she told a panel of New Jersey lawmakers during a hearing in February on a bill to legalize assisted dying. ?It comforts me to think there could be a process, a way to offer options that would not hurt my family.?

Baby boomers, like Burzichelli, a former education manager at Rutgers University, are at the forefront of a new movement. They brought on the sexual revolution, demanded natural childbirth, fought for legalized abortion and turned the mid- life crisis into a force for self-improvement. Now they?re engaged in transforming how Americans experience death.

In states across the country, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, graying baby boomers have been lobbying lawmakers in recent months at hearings, in letters and by phone, pushing to make it legal for doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients. Advocates and opponents say there is more support this year than in past attempts with five states considering such legislation.

Painful Deaths

A subject of intense debate since the 1990s, state- sanctioned and regulated end-of-life drugs are gaining support amid demographic changes and shifting attitudes. Baby boomers are beginning to confront their own mortality even as they face the sometimes prolonged and painful deaths of their parents ? the first to die in an era of modern medical care that can keep death at bay for months, often at great expense, with feeding tubes, ventilators and defibrillators. About 10,000 baby boomers, those Americans born from 1946 to 1964, will turn 65 each day for the next 19 years, according to the Pew Research Center in Washington.

?The baby boomers are aging, and we all have witnessed or are about to witness the death of our parents or people very close to us,? said Barbara Coombs Lee, who runs the advocacy group Compassion & Choices, which lobbies for so-called aid-in- dying laws. ?There is an attitude difference about the boomer generation. There is an expectation that we can be empowered and we can impact our fate.?

Milky Drink

Bills under consideration in northeastern states as well as in Kansas are modeled after laws in Washington and Oregon, the only two states that currently permit doctors to prescribe life- ending drugs. One of those, in New Jersey, is sponsored by Burzichelli?s brother-in-law, state assemblyman John Burzichelli. Often referred to as physician-assisted suicide or doctor-aided dying, the movement has come a long way from the 1990s when Jack Kevorkian, a Michigan pathologist, was in the spotlight for hooking patients up to a homemade device that helped them administer lethal drugs.

In Oregon and Washington today, patients wishing to end their life must go through a series of steps that can take over a month to complete. Two doctors must determine a patient has fewer than six months to live and is of sound mind to decide to take the drugs. If patients show signs of depression or dementia, they must be evaluated by a psychiatrist. Patients must be able to self-administer the drugs, which are mixed with water to become a milky drink. Minutes after the drugs are taken, the patient falls asleep and, within a few hours, dies.

College Educated

In Oregon, 77 were granted and took end-of-life drugs in 2012, less than 1 percent of all deaths, according to data from the Oregon Public Health Division. In Washington, which legalized the practice in 2008, the numbers are similar with 70 people dying in 2011 after ingesting the medicines, the state?s department of health said.

Though the numbers are small they offer a glimpse at the demographic and social forces that are combining to advance the end-of-life movement. In both states, those who chose to end their life with the aid of a doctor were predominately white, urban and college educated. The vast majority had cancer, 78 percent in Washington and 75 percent in Oregon, and in both states, more than 60 percent of people were 65 and older, according to state figures. The most common reasons cited for ending life in Washington were a loss of autonomy, dignity and the ability to participate in the things that make life enjoyable.

Unbearable Illness

?Most people we hear from are fairly well educated and they don?t like the choices available in the medical world,? said Judy Epstein, director of clinical services at Compassion & Choices, who oversees the Denver-based group?s volunteers and has been at several assisted deaths. ?They are people who want to be proactive and want to ensure they will have a peaceful death on their own terms, that they won?t be in a hospital on a ventilator, that they won?t be knocked out on drugs or be in pain.?

The experience in Oregon and Washington has turned bioethicist Art Caplan, director of the division of bioethics at New York University, from a strong opponent of assisted suicide to a supporter. Before the law in Oregon was enacted, he feared there would be a flood of patients making snap decisions to end their life. Instead, Caplan said he has been shocked by how small the numbers have been and that most people are interested in having a death option in case their illness becomes unbearable. In Oregon last year, about a third of the patients who received a prescription for the drugs never took them.

?Saving Lives?

?I opposed this because I thought people would kill themselves too quickly, that the poor would be shuffled over,? Caplan said. ?It just didn?t happen.?

While Caplan has changed his views, opposition from doctors, religious organizations, anti-abortion groups and disability advocates hasn?t been swayed. They are waging their own campaigns at the state level against legalizing any form of aided dying.

The Washington, D.C.-based anti-abortion advocacy group National Right to Life takes the position that all life has value and the priority should also be trying to improve the quality of life for patients with terminal illness, said Jennifer Popik, legislative counsel for the organization. The group helps its state affiliates lobby against the measures.

?You don?t fix the problem by killing the patients,? Popik said. ?We want the focus to be on saving as many lives as possible and having people?s quality of life be as high as it can be.?

Family Burdens

Patients with disabilities have also opposed the bills, showing up at state legislative hearings, including one last month in Connecticut. Diane Coleman, president of disability- rights group Not Dead Yet, based in Rochester, New York, said her group worries the laws could put pressure on disabled patients to end their lives when they feel they are becoming a burden on their families.

?I feel like there is a pressure being placed on folks against getting good health care when they have advanced conditions, as in we shouldn?t be wasting money on them,? Coleman said. ?It is very much a concern that some people will feel pressure to end their life.?

Those fears have merit given the high cost of end-of-life treatment, said Tia Powell, director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics in New York. Powell said she doesn?t have a stance on the laws.

Medical Bills

?One of the major reasons for bankruptcy is medical bills and one thing you don?t want to do is tell people facing the end of their life, ?could you hurry it up because the meter is running,?? Powell said. ?The financial element to this is huge and you have to make sure you aren?t substituting this for appropriate care.?

A much bigger concern for most people, according to the data from Oregon and Washington, is losing their autonomy and dignity and ability to engage in activities they enjoy. Coleman said that wanting to die for those reasons is offensive to the disabled, many of who live for years without being able to walk, bathe or go to the bathroom on their own.

Hospice Care

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, an Alexandria, Virginia-based group for hospices and their employees, said it opposes expanding the states where physicians-assisted dying is legal. The organization said many of the issues that cause people to want to end their lives, like concerns over pain or being a burden to their families, can be addressed by hospice care and counseling. They would like efforts to be focused on getting more terminally ill patients enrolled in hospice sooner and educating doctors about better pain management.

Burzichelli, who was the founder and executive director of the Center for Effective School Practices at Rutgers University before her illness required her to step down, worries hospice care may not always be enough, and she?s determined to prevent herself and others from facing a situation like her father?s. Her lung cancer, which is in the advanced stages, has been stable and she recently had one of her kidneys removed to try to stop the cancer?s spread. She says she?s trying to focus on life and the living. Still, Burzichelli would like the comfort of knowing she has options, including ending her life on her own terms.

?It is helpful to have a process where people are allowed to talk about that with their physicians, if what they are looking at is too bleak to deal with on their own,? she said in a telephone interview. ?It would make a lot of people?s lives more peaceful.?

? Bloomberg News

Source: http://www.carp.ca/2013/04/19/boomers-push-doctor-assisted-dying-in-end-of-life-revolt/

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2 Good Places to Live, 1,200 Light-Years Away

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Astronomers said Thursday that they had found the most Earth-like worlds yet known in the outer cosmos, a pair of planets that appear capable of supporting life.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/science/space/2-new-planets-are-most-earth-like-yet-scientists-say.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Tukute Presents Jokes & Jazz ? Tukute's Birthday Bash ? In Concert ...

TuKute

Jokes & Jazz is at it again! Bringing you the best entertainment that Atlanta has to offer.

April is my Birthday month and what better way to celebrate than with Jokes & Jazz. Each month I am amazed at the wonderful artists that grace our stage and this will be no different.

For you other April babies we have a special offer. Bring at least two paying guests and you get in FREE! Yep I said it. FREE. So come let?s celebrate our Birthday together. Just show your ID at the door.

As always there will be 10% off of your food. See you there!

See Rita Graham from her movie project where she plays the wife of the legendary Blues performer B.B. King. Welcome Back Rita! Emile Worthy will also sooth our passions with his extraordinary vocals.
For your laughing pleasure is the return of Mz. Wallstreet. Always providing us with much laughter. A true professional.

There will also be a guest performance by TuKute. Can?t wait to see what she brings this month.

When:????????????????? Wednesday, April 17, 2013 7pm-11pm
Where:???????????????? Cafe 290 ? 290 Hilderbrand Drive ? Sandy Springs, GA
TIckets:?????????????? $10 General / $15 VIP

For additional information, visit http://www.cafe290atlanta.com/live/ or http://tukute.net/

Source: http://bestofatlantaconcerts.com/2013/04/17/tukute-presents-jokes-jazz-tukutes-birthday-bash-in-concert-at-cafe-290-wednesday-april-17-2013/

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Telecom Italia faces shareholder unease at meeting

By Danilo Masoni and Stefano Rebaudo

ROZZANO, Italy (Reuters) - A succession of retail investors criticized Telecom Italia at a meeting on Wednesday, but any bigger shareholders unhappy at its performance avoided the kind of open challenge that could rattle management.

The debt-laden company's share price has tumbled close to an all-time low as Chairman Franco Bernabe tries to resolve a deadlock over its future plans and tension caused by an ownership structure that gives core investors holding less than a quarter of the stock effective control.

Management is casting round for ways to cut debt of more than 28 billion euros ($37 billion) and hang on to Telecom Italia's credit rating as recession bites into profits at home in Italy and growth slows in its key market of Brazil.

Several retail investors with tiny stakes questioned the board's performance and strategy and a proposed tie-up with Hutchison Whampoa at the annual shareholder meeting. No large investors had stood to speak by early afternoon.

Foreign and Italian institutional investors hold more than half of Telecom Italia's share capital and the meeting was widely expected to back the board in the day's main resolutions.

Shareholders representing 44.4 percent of the company's capital were registered to vote in person or by proxy, leaving the core investors - Spain's Telefonica, a competitor of Telecom Italia in its second-biggest market Brazil, and a trio of Italian financial institutions - in the driving seat.

That group of companies, known as Telco, has a stake of about 22.4 percent. Telco's Italian investors are top investment bank Mediobanca, insurer Generali and Intesa Sanpaolo, the country's largest retail bank.

"A lot of people are missing" from the meeting, said Franco Lombardi, head of retail investors association ASATI, which represents about 0.5 percent of Telecom Italia's share capital.

The turnout at last year's meeting was 52.9 percent.

The speeches underscored worries over prospects for the former monopoly, which inherited its debt mountain from a highly leveraged takeover in 1999.

"There is a lot of uncertainty, anger and lack of confidence," said a small investor who was identified only by his surname, Savina.

After posting a 2012 net loss of 1.6 billion euros due to goodwill writedowns, Telecom Italia was forced to cut its dividend and turn to costly hybrid securities to fund upgrades of its network and cut its lumbering debts.

RUPTURE WITH TELCO?

In the run-up to the shareholder meeting, some market players warned that Telecom Italia's executive pay package may be rejected.

Several proxy advisory firms, including the influential ISS, have recommended a vote against the remuneration plan.

Lombardi renewed a request to change the group's bylaws in order to give larger board representation to minority investors and called on foreign shareholders to back him. The current board of Telecom Italia is due to be renewed in April 2014.

Last month, 5 percent investor Marco Fossati also called for governance changes and said the company needed new strategy and possibly new management to avert risks of a takeover or a capital hike at a deep discount.

He said the stock could benefit from opening up the capital to investors outside Europe, provided they did not take a controlling stake.

Chairman Bernabe told the shareholders he would look into the possible changes to the bylaws, indicating a possible rupture with Telco, but did not give any time frame.

"It is something the shareholders are asking for and, on my part, is considered worthy of attention," Bernabe said at the start of the meeting, referring to Fossati's requests.

Last week, Bernabe and four directors were tasked with looking into a tie-up with Hutchison Whampoa that would make the Hong Kong-based group Telecom Italia's biggest shareholder.

The deal envisages a merger with Hutchison's Italian mobile phone unit 3 Italia but faces various hurdles, principally political opposition to Telecom Italia's fixed-line network, an asset seen as of strategic national importance, falling into foreign hands.

Shares in Telecom Italia rose on Wednesday after a report that 3 Italia was less profitable than previously thought.

At 1059 EDT (1459 GMT), Telecom Italia shares were down 3.4 percent at 0.59 euro while a European telecoms sector index was down 1 percent.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/telecom-italia-faces-shareholder-unease-meeting-152042801--finance.html

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Science Best Sellers: Science Bookshelf: Top-Selling Nonfiction Titles

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Top-selling nonfiction titles based on the sciences.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/science/science-bookshelf-top-selling-nonfiction-titles.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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New Central African Republic gov't faces criticism

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) ? Central African Republic's prime minister vowed to press ahead Tuesday with his new government after members of nine opposition parties said they were withdrawing from the coalition now dominated by former rebels.

Nicolas Tiangaye, who has remained prime minister since thousands of armed fighters toppled longtime President Francois Bozize more than a week ago, says he and other opposition figures will still take part.

"Those who don't want to work in the government will not be forced to do so," he told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Tiangaye will represent Central African Republic at talks scheduled for Wednesday in neighboring Chad, where regional mediators are due to discuss the country's ongoing political crisis.

However, rebel leader and newly self-appointed President Michel Djotodia will not be attending the meeting. The African Union suspended Central African Republic's membership following the seizure of power, and Djotodia and other rebel leaders are also subject to AU travel restrictions.

Djotodia, who says he intends to serve as president until the next elections were due in 2016, had announced a new list of government ministers late Sunday.

Not only will Djotodia hold the defense ministry, but his allies also will control the ministries of mines, commerce, communication, and security and public order, according to a decree issued on letterhead that reads "presidency of the republic."

In a letter of protest, the opposition parties said they would be suspending their participation in the new government.

The parties "were informed like all other Central Africans ? by radio broadcast ? of the composition of the new national unity government," they said.

Djotodia has moved swiftly toward re-establishing the government following Bozize's March 24 ouster. The longtime president has sought refuge in neighboring Cameroon, and is seeking exile in the West African state of Benin.

Bozize, Djotodia and his rebels, and opposition leader Tiangaye all had signed a peace accord in January that was to allow Bozize to fulfill his term in office. The deal unraveled amid allegations about broken promises by Bozize's government.

Thousands of rebels invaded the capital on March 23, seizing control of the presidential palace and ultimately the city. The United States, African Union and others have sharply criticized the rebels' overthrow of the government.

Djotodia has justified his rebellion by saying that Bozize had veered into dictatorship during his 10 years in power.

___

Associated Press writer Jose Richard Pouambi contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/central-african-republic-govt-faces-criticism-152829807.html

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Teen Mom?s Jenelle Evans Back With Courtland Rogers & Rushed To Hospital

Teen Mom’s Jenelle Evans Back With Courtland Rogers & Rushed To Hospital

Jenelle Evans, the troubled reality star of MTV’s “Teen Mom”, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance yesterday after severe pain and bleeding. The 21-year-old was bleeding due to ruptured cysts on her ovaries, with her off/on husband Courtland Rogers talking about being worried about her as he tweeted about how sexy he finds ...

Teen Mom’s Jenelle Evans Back With Courtland Rogers & Rushed To Hospital Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/04/teen-moms-jenelle-evans-back-with-courtland-rogers-rushed-to-hospital/

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Must See HDTV (April 2nd - 7th)

Mad Men
AMC's main showpiece is ready to return. Now in its sixth season, you should be familiar with Don, Betty and the rest of the crew, but if not you can check out the trailer embedded after the break.
(April 7th, 9PM, AMC)

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled
Now set in a new case (shown above) the boxed set of the first round of Marvel / Disney films is finally ready for release. If you're a collector / fan that just has to have it, the price on Amazon has dipped even lower, and it packs an exclusive look at the next set of flicks.
($149 on Amazon)

Defiance
The game end of Syfy's ambitious MMO shooter / TV show combo launches this week on consoles and PCs. Taking place on Earth as aliens and humans both try to recover after years of war, it's certainly something new, but we can't tell yet how well the two halves will come together before the show starts airing in a couple of weeks.
($59 on Amazon)

Filed under: HD

Comments

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

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AP Interview: UN nuke chief concerned about Iran

VIENNA (AP) ? The U.N's top nuclear official expressed concern Tuesday that Iran may be secretly continuing work on nuclear weapons while his agency is tied up in protracted negotiations with the country on restarting an investigation into past suspected research and development of such arms.

The comments by International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano are bound to resonate with Israel and Western nations, which assert Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capacity even though it insists its atomic activities are transparent and peaceful.

At the same time, critics question the objectivity of the intelligence such assessments are based on, noting most comes from the United States and Israel, Iran's greatest detractors. They say that if the information cannot be vetted publicly it should at least be shared with Tehran so that the Islamic Republic can see the evidence used to cast suspicion upon it.

Iran denies any secret weapons work ? it says its nuclear program is primarily for medical and energy purposes ? and skeptics note that even the United States said in 2007 that Tehran had suspended all meaningful weapons development by 2003.

Since then, however, IAEA reports have listed suspicions of tests and experiments past that date. Britain, France, Germany and Israel have also said that such work continued beyond 2003. While the United States has not publicly revised its 2007 intelligence assessment, its information remains a mainstay of IAEA assessments such as the one made by Amano on Tuesday.

"We do not know for sure, but we have information indicating that Iran was engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear explosive devices in the past and now," he told The Associated Press in what appeared to be his most specific assertion that such activities are continuing into the present.

While not going into detail , Amano said the IAEA's information was "cross checked ... so we have concerns."

Iran has dismissed the intelligence seen by the agency as faked and has demanded access to it. On Tuesday, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's chief IAEA delegate, cut short a telephone call from the AP seeking reaction.

Asked to comment on Amano's remarks, nuclear scientist Yousaf Butt of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, who frequently questions how seriously the IAEA's information should be taken without outside scrutiny, said Tehran "should be presented with any such evidence so it can respond to it."

Amano spoke three days ahead of a renewed round of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers in Kazakhstan that are meant to reconcile the two sides' widely differing demands.

Iran wants an end to punishing international sanctions imposed for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, while the international community is calling on Tehran to curb parts of its enrichment program most suited to providing material for nuclear warheads.

Both sides were cautiously hopeful that differences were slightly narrowed as they emerged from the previous negotiating session in February. Still, any progress at the talks this week will likely be no more than incremental, and as the negotiations drag on the IAEA's attempts to restart a probe into the suspected secret weapons work is on hold.

Like others previously, the last meeting between Iran and the IAEA on re-launching the investigation ended inconclusively after more than a year of occasional talks on the issue, with agency officials saying a pause was needed. Amano on Tuesday said his agency was now "ready to continue ... the dialogue" with Iran, even without expectations of progress.

Iran's alleged secret weapons work and its expanding uranium enrichment program are the two greatest issues of concern about Tehran's nuclear activities.

On Tuesday, Amano said there was "some possibility" that Iran may already be constructing additional sites to enrich uranium at locations unknown to the agency, based on an announcement by Tehran that they plan to build around 10 such additional facilities.

But he said the agency does not have specifics about whether work on such installations has actually started, with Iran not answering requests for "further information in this regard."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-un-nuke-chief-concerned-iran-201750031.html

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Dissident Cuban blogger gets warm reception from Miami exiles

By David Adams

MIAMI (Reuters) - Cuba's best-known dissident, independent journalist and blogger Yoani Sanchez, received a hero's welcome on Monday from the Cuban-American exile community in Miami, her latest stop in an 80-day tour of more than a dozen countries.

In was the largest and most politically unified reception in at least a decade for a dissident from the island by Miami's Cuban-American exile community, which has often clashed with opposition figures in Cuba over political tactics and goals.

With many leaders of Miami's Cuban-exile community in attendance, Sanchez was introduced as "an authentic defender and heroine" of human rights in Cuba by Eduardo Padron, the president of Miami Dade College, which hosted the event.

She was greeted by about 1,000 invitees with a standing ovation accompanied by shouts of "Freedom! Freedom!" as she took the stage at Miami's iconic Freedom Tower, a one-time processing center in the 1960s for Cuban refugees.

Seemingly surprised by the warmth and size of the reception, she smiled and flashed the V for victory sign in response, before receiving the keys to the city of Miami.

Sanchez, a slender 37-year-old Havana resident with striking waist-length hair, has incurred the wrath of Cuba's government for constantly criticizing its communist system in her "Generation Y" blog and using Twitter to denounce repression.

The blog has won several top international journalism prizes and is translated into 20 languages, while her Twitter account has nearly 500,000 followers. Few of these though are in Cuba, where the government severely restricts the Internet.

In a prepared speech, Sanchez described in often poignant terms her empathy with the pain felt by many Cuban exiles who have left the island over the last half century following the 1959 revolution that swept Fidel Castro to power.

Sanchez blamed the Castro government for dividing the country and called for unity between exiles and Cubans still living on the island.

"That's why I am here today with you so that nobody again can divide us," she said to roars of approval. "Without you (exiles) our country would be incomplete, like someone missing an amputated limb," she added.

CUBA'S BERLIN WALL

Sanchez compared Cuba to Germany before the Berlin Wall was brought down in 1990. Unlike the Berlin wall, Cuba's was "not made of concrete but of lies," she said, to another standing ovation.

Sanchez defended her highly publicized criticism of the longstanding U.S. economic embargo against Cuba, saying it provided the Cuban government with a convenient excuse for tough living conditions on the island under communist rule.

"There are much more important things (than the embargo)," she said. "The (Cuban) government has exaggerated its importance," she added, saying different opinions about the embargo among opponents of the Cuban government were not a reason for division.

Unlike other dissidents, who have been received with suspicion in Miami, Sanchez appears to have won the exile community over with her charm and wit, as well as her straight-talking blog.

"No one has been more effective in denouncing what's going on in Cuba and the myths of the Cuban regime," said Carlos Alberto Montaner, a prominent Cuban exile politician and journalist.

"I don't know of any dissident from the island who has been this warmly received," said Felice Gorordo, co-founder of Roots of Hope, a group of young, Cuban American professionals and university students. "She has the ability to speak to the pain of the exiles and to the daily struggles of life in Cuba."

REFORM IN CUBA

Sanchez's case is viewed as a test of the Cuban government's commitment to free travel under reforms announced late last year that require only a passport, renewed every two years, to leave the country.

It is the first time Cuban authorities have allowed Sanchez to leave the island since 2004, when she returned from a two-year stay in Switzerland and began launching a string of digital publications.

Cuba's leaders consider dissidents traitorous mercenaries in the employ of the United States and other enemies. Official bloggers regularly charge that Sanchez's international renown has been stage-managed by Western intelligence services.

Asked on Monday how she has been able to finance her trip crisscrossing the Atlantic several times between the United States, Europe and Latin America, Sanchez praised the generosity of friends and universities that have invited her to speak.

"The Cuban government says I am a millionaire. It's true. I have millions of friends," she said.

Sanchez is in Miami this week for a string of public appearances at local universities and a family reunion with her sister, a pharmacist, and brother-in-law, as well as her niece, whom she has not seen since they left Cuba two years ago.

She arrived in Miami after stops in Washington and New York that followed visits to Brazil and Mexico. She leaves for Peru on Thursday before returning to Europe, including stops in Germany.

(Reporting by David Admas; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dissident-cuban-blogger-gets-warm-reception-miami-exiles-234227716.html

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Travel group wants to know what travelers think | Airline Biz Blog

The Travel Leaders Group is conducting a survey of travelers to see what they like and don?t like. It?s not scientific ? you choose to take the survey or you don?t ? but it would be interesting to see what people are thinking.

If you?re interested, go to this link before it shuts down later this month.

Here are some of the sample questions the survey is asking.

?? What is your #1 dream international destination? (What is tops on your ?bucket list??)

?? If you get a tax refund, how much of that money would you use for travel?

?? If you fly Coach Class, what is the #1 thing that makes it most uncomfortable for you?

?? If the person in the airline seat in front of you reclined their seat so much that you were unable to lower your tray table or unable to open up a laptop, what would you do?

?? If you are seated in the middle seat on an airplane and the passengers on either side of you stake out the armrests, what would you do?

?? What would you do if it appeared parents of a screaming child aboard an airplane were not making any attempt to comfort/control their child?

?? If you were on a flight next to a person who insisted on trying to talk to you the entire flight, what would you do?

?? The TSA announced they will now allow certain items onboard airplanes as part of your carry-on baggage such as pocket knives. Are you in favor of this change or against it?

?? Are you in favor of allowing cell phone use while in flight?

?? How far will you travel for your leisure trip(s) this year and do you anticipate spending more, the same or less than last year?

?Twice a year, we ask our travel agent experts to reveal what they are booking for their clients.? This survey is different in that we are asking the public about their travel dreams, what they like and dislike about their travel experiences, and to weigh-in on hot-button issues that impact the everyday traveler,? Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben said in the press release.

Travel Leaders is made up of a bunch of travel companies and agencies.

Source: http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/travel-group-wants-to-know-what-travelers-think.html/

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Harper, Strasburg lead Nationals over Marlins 2-0

Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (34) hits a solo home run in the first inning of the opening day baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Washington, on Monday, April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (34) hits a solo home run in the first inning of the opening day baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Washington, on Monday, April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (34) is congratulated by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (11) after a first inning solo homer during the opening day baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Washington, on Monday, April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (37) throws in the first inning of the opening day baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Washington, on Monday, April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (34) watches his second homer of the game sail over right field in the fourth inning of the opening day baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Washington, on Monday, April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Rafael Soriano warms up before an opening day baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Washington, on Monday, April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? All it took was two at-bats on his first opening day in the majors for Bryce Harper to hit two homers ? and hear some "M-V-P!" chants.

The Washington Nationals' other recent No. 1 overall draft pick, Stephen Strasburg, did his part, too, getting 19 consecutive outs at one stretch of his seven scoreless innings.

Yes, for the NL East champion Nationals ? and their fans who lived through some tough times not that long ago ? the present and future could hardly have looked brighter in a 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday, Game 1 of a season lame-duck manager Davey Johnson declared months ago should be defined as "World Series or bust."

"You couldn't draw it up any better," Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche said. "And to have the two youngsters go out, do what they did? ... Let Harper and Stras go to work. They didn't need us."

Harper, the 20-year-old left fielder coming off NL Rookie of the Year honors, hit solo shots over the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center field off Ricky Nolasco in the first and fourth innings. He sprinted around the bases both times, and after his second trip, he climbed back out of the dugout for a curtain call, pumping his right fist.

"You just shake your head in amazement. You don't see that too often from anybody, period. But to see him as a 20-year-old? He's just writing a book right now," new Nationals center fielder Denard Span said. "And he does it so calm, too."

It was Harper's first taste of a season's start in the big leagues; he began last year in the minors before getting called up later in April.

"Pretty special moment," Harper said. "If I was 0 for 4, or 4 for 4, it wouldn't have mattered to me. Just going out there having some fun on opening day for the first time."

He's nothing if not exuberant, and Johnson joked afterward that Harper's dugout high-fives after homer No. 1 really hurt some palms.

"I'm glad he cut it down on the second one," Johnson said, smiling. "I was still stinging from the first one. I think a lot of people were."

For the 24-year-old Strasburg (1-0), this marked the start of what should be his first full season in the majors, with zero pitch or inning limits. Shut down before the stretch run in September in 2012, he was dominant against a trade-depleted Marlins lineup that features Giancarlo Stanton and little else.

The right-hander went seven innings, matching his career high, allowing three hits.

Asked if he could have pitched longer, Strasburg said: "If it wasn't opening day and the first start of the year, it would have been a different story."

Pitching to contact more than in the past, Strasburg had three strikeouts, zero walks ? and needed only 80 pitches.

"I looked up in the sixth inning and he had, like, 65 pitches. I was like, 'Wow.' He has come a long way. Early on in his career, you look up in the sixth inning, and he's close to 100 pitches," teammate Ian Desmond said. "If he wants to be the workhorse that he is, he's going to have to pitch more games like this."

Harper and Strasburg are only the second pair of top picks in baseball's June amateur draft to start an opening-day game for the team that chose them, and the 100-loss seasons in 2008 and 2009 that gave Washington the right to those selections seem quite distant nowadays.

"It's amazing how far this club's gone since I was playing against 'em years ago and we'd come into Washington and it was awful," LaRoche said. "It was a bad ballpark. It was a bad club."

Before the game, the Nationals celebrated their 98-win 2012 by unveiling a sign atop the outfield scoreboard that proclaims them "NL East Division Champions." A regular-season Nationals Park-record crowd of 45,274 was rowdy all afternoon.

"They really were loud and crazy," Harper said. "Hopefully they're going to be like that all year."

They gave Harper a standing ovation in the sixth inning before his third at-bat against Nolasco (0-1). Ever unpredictable, Harper squared up to bunt, taking a ball, and wound up with a flyout to left.

He hit a curveball for his first homer, a slider for his second.

"Didn't make the best pitches to him, and he didn't miss 'em. That's what hitters do," said Nolasco, who gave up three hits in six innings.

Juan Pierre led off the game by singling to center off Strasburg, and that was all the Marlins could muster until the seventh. That's when Stanton ? who else, on a team with a payroll under $45 million? ? doubled to left, ending the streak of 19 plate appearances, 19 outs for Miami.

Placido Polanco followed with an infield single, putting runners on the corners. The next batter, Rob Brantly, hit a fly to Harper in left. Harper threw home, but Stanton didn't go. Instead, Polanco strayed off first base, and wound up getting caught in a rundown. Eventually, Stanton did try to score, but he was thrown out for an odd-as-can-be double play officially scored 7-2-3-4-2.

"He just got caught in no man's land there. That happens," Marlins rookie manager Mike Redmond said. "We gave them an extra out there."

With some sprinkles falling, Johnson turned to his bullpen, considered a strength of the team last year until blowing a two-run lead in the ninth inning against the Cardinals in Game 5. Tyler Clippard threw the eighth Monday, and closer Rafael Soriano, a free agent from the Yankees, provided a perfect ninth, striking out Stanton to end it.

Soriano celebrated by untucking his jersey, drawing roars from the spectators eager to see that over and over again in 2013.

"The way that it's changed in a quick five or six years, the outlook for this team," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said, "it's exciting for all of us."

NOTES: The biggest crowd in Nationals Park history was the 45,966 for the final playoff game against St. Louis in October. ... In Harper's fourth at-bat, Marlins 1B Casey Kotchman leaned over a dugout railing to make a nice catch of a foul pop.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-01-BBN-Marlins-Nationals/id-b4e92131b0024dfa904dd052e37dcb56

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It's World Backup Day: no time like the present to protect the past

There are two kinds of computer owners: those that backup their data, and those who will backup after they lose something irreplaceable. It's that last group for whom World Backup Day exists, and the special occasion has returned for a third year to make sure we all wind up in that first, very responsible camp. Thankfully, it's easier than ever to have at least some kind of safety net. Along with ridiculously high-capacity external hard drives, both Mac and Windows users have simple built-in software to make backup a set-it-and-forget-it affair. No money or room for an extra drive on the desk? No problem: cloud storage is ubiquitous, and even includes unlimited options. Mobile users have it a little easier with a myriad of Apple, Google and Microsoft cloud services, although there's third-party options in that space, too. In short, you've got few excuses to skimp out when it comes to safeguards, and enough choices to seriously consider using two or more -- which might be wise in this dangerous era of meteorite showers and brick-tossing robots.

Filed under: Storage, Internet

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Source: World Backup Day

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

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Great Gun Gobbledygook: The Paradox of Second Amendment Hardliners (Atlantic Politics Channel)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295981050?client_source=feed&format=rss

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