Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Inmates posting reviews of prisons on Yelp

Inmates move between cell blocks at San Quentin State Prison. (Yelp)?Not recommended.? When it comes to a firsthand prison review, do you really need to know anything other than that?

Believe it or not, that was the actual review from a Yelp user named ?Ticha B.,? who reviewed California?s San Quentin State Prison. And for the record, she gave it only one star.

And as it turns out, Ticha is far from alone. The Washington Post has written a story about the phenomenon of prison reviews showing up on Yelp, which lets users review any business, destination, or even prison, with a standard address.

?I think the reviews are actually helpful for bail bondsmen, attorneys, family members?a lot of people, actually,? attorney Robert Miller told the Post. In fact, Miller has written several reviews himself, though with the distinct advantage of being on the outside of a prison cell.

The Post notes that inmates have reviewed six prisons in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Across the country, not many of the nation?s ?worst prisons? have received formal reviews for the site. For example, you won?t have any luck finding a detailed description of the services offered at the nation?s only supermax facility, ADX Florence, in Colorado. ADX is home to some of the nation?s most dangerous convicted felons, including the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.

Interesting, there appears to be a scarcity of reviews for what are considered some of the nation?s luxury prisons.

However, San Quentin does not suffer from a lack of attention, with 35 reviews at the time of this blog entry's publishing.

The reviews come from a variety of individuals, some who have taken tours of the facility and some who claim to have spent time behind its bars. Overall, the site receives an average of 2.5 stars out of five.

"This is not a place you wanna end up,? writes Yelp user Scott D (2 stars), who says he spent four days in San Quentin when he was a teenager as part of California?s ?Scared Straight? program. ?Not all big bad & scary like the movies make it, but cold, damp and miserable with really sh***y food.?

Of course, there is no way to verify if these reviews come from actual inmates or just Yelp users with way too much time on their hands. For its part, Yelp refused to comment on the article.

Arlington County Sheriff Beth Arthur said she was suspicious of some of the Washington, D.C., area reviews. In particular, one reviewer praised the availability of juice boxes at one facility, which Arthur said is factually inaccurate.

?I thought, ?Wait a minute, I don?t understand what she?s talking about,? ? Arthur told the Post. ?I almost thought she meant the old facility, but this one has been here 20 years.?

However, there?s a potential upside to these reviews as well. For example, the Los Angeles County Sheriff?s Office says it regularly reviews allegations of abuse posted to the site.

?Every allegation we get, we investigate,? Stephen Whitmore, spokesman for Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, told the Post. ?But this Yelp phenomenon I find curious,? Whitmore said. ?Jail isn?t a restaurant. It isn?t seeing a movie. You?re doing time for committing a crime.?

?It helps elevate consciousness of the problems and brings transparency and oversight to a system that isn?t used to being transparent,? Miller added. ?That?s a very valuable tool.?

Though as Baca noted, it?s very strange to see the occasional positive review for a detention facility.

Dylan D. gave a 3-star review of San Quentin, writing, in part, ?I heard that the kitchen used local farms and put great thought in to their seasonally changing menu and the service was not exactly friendly but 'efficient.'?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/inmates-posting-reviews-prisons-yelp-212951533.html

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Obama hints at potential military action in Syria

President Barack Obama answers questions during his new conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. The president strongly suggested Tuesday he'd consider military action against Syria if it can be confirmed that President Bashar Assad's government used chemical weapons in the two-year-old civil war. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama answers questions during his new conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. The president strongly suggested Tuesday he'd consider military action against Syria if it can be confirmed that President Bashar Assad's government used chemical weapons in the two-year-old civil war. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama answers questions during his new conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. The president said the US doesn't know how or when chemical weapons were used in Syria or who used them. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's U.N. ambassador, gestures as he speaks during a news conference, Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at United Nations headquarters. Bashar Ja'afari says the use of chemical weapons is not only "a red line" but "a blood line" that cannot be tolerated and is again demanding a U.N. investigation of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Aleppo that it blames on rebels. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

President Barack Obama arrives for a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama walks to the podium to answers questions during his new conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama signaled Tuesday he would consider U.S. military action against Syria if "hard, effective evidence" is found to bolster intelligence that chemical weapons have been used in the 2-year-old civil war. But Obama made clear he would prefer to have the backing of the international community before escalating American involvement.

In a White House news conference, Obama appealed for patience, saying he needs more conclusive evidence about how and when chemical weapons detected by U.S. intelligence agencies were used and who deployed them. If those questions can be answered, Obama said he would consider potential actions the Pentagon and intelligence community have readied for him in the event Syria has crossed his chemical weapons "red line."

"There are options that are available to me that are on the shelf right now that we have not deployed," he told reporters packed into the White House briefing room. Those options include setting up a protective "no-fly zone" over Syria, creating a humanitarian corridor at the Turkish border or providing weapons directly to the rebels.

However, the president hinted the U.S. may not take any of those steps unilaterally. Part of the rationale for building a stronger chemical weapons case against Syrian President Bashar Assad, Obama said, is to avoid being in a position "where we can't mobilize the international community to support what we do."

Obama has resisted calls to expand U.S. assistance beyond the nonlethal aid the government is providing the rebels. That has frustrated some allies as well as some U.S. lawmakers, who say the deaths of 70,000 Syrians should warrant a more robust American response.

Tuesday's wide-ranging news conference coincided with the 100-day mark of Obama's second term. It's a stretch that has been defined by the defeat of gun control legislation he supported, as well as the continuation of old disputes that marked the president's first four years in office, including the Syria conflict and the launching of his controversial health care overhaul. Asked if he still had "the juice" to get legislation approved, he smiled and paraphrased Mark Twain's famous line, saying, "Rumors of my demise may be a little exaggerated at this point. "

Another issue that frustrated Obama in his first term resurfaced when he was pressed about the hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, the detention center he promised to close but hasn't been able to. Obama said he would make another run at it, though he was vague about how.

"I'm going to go back at this," he said. "I've asked my team to review everything that's currently being done in Guantanamo, everything that we can do administratively, and I'm going to re-engage with Congress to try to make the case that this is not something that's in the best interest of the American people."

The president also took questions for the first time about the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings that rattled the nation two weeks ago. He defended the FBI's 2011 investigation into Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspect who was killed, a probe that resulted in the bureau finding no evidence that he was a threat to the United States.

Russia has since provided more information about Tsarnaev and his mother ? both ethnic Chechens? that could have resulted in a more rigorous FBI investigation.

Obama pointedly said that Moscow has been cooperative "since the Boston bombings." He made no reference to information being held back ahead of the attack, but he did say, "Old habits die hard. There are still suspicions sometimes between our intelligence and law enforcement agencies that date back 10, 20, 30 years, back to the Cold War."

Russia has also stymied U.S. efforts at the United Nations to mount pressure against Assad's embattled government in Syria.

Assad has refused to let a U.N. team into the areas near Damascus and Aleppo where chemical weapons are believed to have been used. The White House says the team is standing by and could deploy to Syria within 48 hours if Assad allows it in. Given the unlikelihood of Assad giving the inspectors access, the U.S. says it is also seeking answers on its own and through international partners.

Polling suggests war-weary Americans are reluctant to see the U.S. get involved in another conflict in the Middle East. A CBS News/New York Times poll out Tuesday shows 62 percent of Americans say the country does not have a responsibility to intervene in the fighting in Syria, while 24 percent say the government does have that responsibility.

While Obama insists all options are on the table when it comes to dealing with Syria, the White House has little appetite for putting American soldiers into combat there. Even Arizona's Republican Sen. John McCain, who has pressed for aggressive U.S. involvement, has said putting U.S. troops on the ground in Syria would be a mistake.

Underscoring the danger that could await, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group said Tuesday that Syrian rebels will not be able to defeat Assad's forces by themselves, suggesting the government's friends, including his Iranian-backed group would intervene on the government side if necessary.

Hezbollah and Iran are close allies of Assad, both accused by rebels of sending fighters to assist Syrian troops.

In Washington, Obama also took questions Tuesday about the immigration debate on Capitol Hill. Obama said that while a bill crafted by eight senators ? four Democrats and four Republicans ? was not the legislation he would have written, "I do think that it meets the basic criteria that I laid out from the start."

Obama also defended the implementation of the health care overhaul he signed in his first term, though he said there will be "glitches and bumps" as the sweeping law is fully implemented. He cited the unveiling Tuesday of simplified forms for people applying for insurance as an example of the administration trying to make the rollout of the law's final stages smoother.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-30-US-Syria/id-8900d089a4bc4393a041effd5840d7c5

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Boston suspect's defense team gets major boost

FILE - In this April 26, 2013 file photo, Judy Clarke, a defense lawyer whose high-profile clients include "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph, and Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner, speaks at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Clarke was appointed Monday, April 29, 2013 to the team representing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

FILE - In this April 26, 2013 file photo, Judy Clarke, a defense lawyer whose high-profile clients include "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph, and Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner, speaks at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Clarke was appointed Monday, April 29, 2013 to the team representing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

This Friday, April 19, 2013 photo shows the home of Katherine Russell's parents in North Kingstown, R.I. Russell, widow of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has been staying there. FBI agents visited the home Monday, April 29, 2013, and carried away several bags. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin)

Katherine Russell, right, wife of Boston Marathon bomber suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, leaves the law office of DeLuca and Weizenbaum with Amato DeLuca, left, Monday, April 29, 2013, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)

FILE - This file photo provided Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Tsarnaev's legal defense is in the hands of Miriam Conrad, the chief federal public defender for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Conrad has asked a judge to appoint two additional lawyers with experience in death penalty cases. (AP Photo/Federal Bureau of Investigation, File)

(AP) ? The defense team representing the Boston Marathon bombing suspect got a major boost Monday with the addition of Judy Clarke, a San Diego lawyer who has managed to get life sentences instead of the death penalty for several high-profile clients, including the Unabomber and the gunman in the rampage that injured former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Clarke's appointment was approved Monday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler.

Bowler denied, at least for now, a request from Miriam Conrad, the public defender of 19-year-old suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, to appoint a second death penalty lawyer ? David Bruck, a professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Tsarnaev has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction during the April 15 marathon. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line.

The suspect's lawyers could renew their motion to appoint another death penalty expert if he is indicted, the judge said.

Clarke's clients have included the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski; Susan Smith, who drowned her two children; Atlanta Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph; and most recently Tucson, Ariz., shooter Jared Loughner. All received life sentences instead of the death penalty.

Clarke has rarely spoken publicly about her work and did not return a call seeking comment Monday. However, at a speech Friday at a legal conference in Los Angeles, she talked about how she had been "sucked into the black hole, the vortex" of death penalty cases 18 years ago when she represented Smith.

"I got a dose of understanding human behavior, and I learned what the death penalty does to us," she said. "I don't think it's a secret that I oppose the death penalty."

Bruck has directed Washington and Lee's death penalty defense clinic, the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse, since 2004.

In other developments in the Boston case:

? FBI agents visited the Rhode Island home of the in-laws of the suspect's brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and carried away several bags. The brother was killed in a gun battle with police.

Katherine Russell, Tsarnaev's widow, has been staying at the North Kingstown home and did not speak to reporters as she left her attorneys' office in Providence later in the day. Attorney Amato DeLuca says she's doing everything she can to assist with the investigation.

? President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed terrorism coordination Monday in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. Obama expressed his "appreciation" for Russia's close cooperation after the attack.

The suspected bombers are Russian natives who immigrated to the Boston area. Russian authorities told U.S. officials before the bombings they had concerns about the family, but only revealed details of wiretapped conversations since the attack.

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-29-Boston%20Marathon-Explosions/id-5bdebce447284d50903b4cf3796f612f

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Who knew a monstrous Saturnian hurricane could look so lovely?

NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI

The spinning vortex of Saturn's north polar storm resembles a deep red rose in this false-color image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Measurements have sized the eye at a staggering 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) across with cloud speeds as fast as 330 miles per hour (150 meters per second). This image was taken from a distance of 261,000 miles (419,000 kilometers) on Nov. 27, 2012, with filters sensitive to near-infrared light.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

The eye of a super-hurricane at Saturn's north pole looks like a peaceful red rose in a fresh bouquet of pictures from NASA's Cassini orbiter. But don't be fooled: That rosy appearance is merely due to the false colors ascribed to infrared wavelengths.

This storm's eye measures 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) in diameter, about 20 times wider than the average hurricane's eye on Earth. The outer clouds at the hurricane's edge are traveling at 330 mph (530 kilometers per hour), which would be off the scale on our planet. The vortex whirls inside Saturn's mysterious hexagonal cloud pattern, and it's not going anywhere.


"We did a double take when we saw this vortex, because it looks so much like a hurricane on Earth," Caltech's Andrew Ingersoll, a member of the Cassini imaging team, said in a NASA news release on Monday. "But there it is at Saturn, on a much larger scale, and it is somehow getting by on the small amounts of water vapor in Saturn's hydrogen atmosphere."

On Earth, hurricanes are fed by warm ocean water. But there are no oceans on Saturn ? so what source drives this super-hurricane? Cassini's scientists want to find out, and whatever they find might add to our understanding of storm dynamics on Earth as well.

The Cassini team suspects that this storm has been active for years, but Cassini has only recently been able to watch it in visible light. When the bus-sized spacecraft arrived in 2004 to begin its $3.5 billion mission to study Saturn and its moons, the north pole was shrouded in winter darkness. Now spring is coming to the north, and Cassini has shifted to an orbit that makes it easier to see the increasingly sunlit storm.

In an email, Cassini imaging team leader Carolyn Porco of the Colorado-based Space Science Institute said the hexagon-ringed vortex is "one of the most gorgeous sights we have been privileged to see at Saturn." But such sights won't last forever: Cassini's extended mission to Saturn is due to end in 2017 with a controlled plunge into Saturn's clouds.

To keep up with the mission in its final years, check in on NASA's Cassini website as well as the online home of the Cassini imaging team, and follow @CassiniSaturn on Twitter. ?

NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI

A false-color image from Cassini highlights the storms at Saturn's north pole. The angry eye of a hurricane-like storm appears dark red, while the fast-moving hexagonal jet stream framing it is a yellowish green. Low-lying clouds circling inside the hexagonal feature appear in a muted orange color. A second, smaller vortex pops out in teal at the lower right of the image. The rings of Saturn appear in vivid blue at the top right. The colors are coded to show different near-infrared wavelengths, which are associated with different altitudes.

Andy Ingersoll, a member of the Cassini orbiter's imaging team, narrates a NASA video about a hurricane-like storm seen at Saturn's north pole.

The Cassini spacecraft is sending back unprecedented imagery of Saturn, its rings and its moons. Click "Launch" to see some of the greatest hits from the Cassini mission.

More beauties from Saturn:


Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the?Cosmic Log?community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up NBCNews.com's stories about science and space,?sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

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Officials: Cyberattack suspect had bunker in Spain

MADRID (AP) ? A Dutch citizen arrested in northeast Spain on suspicion of launching what is described as the biggest cyberattack in Internet history operated from a bunker and had a van capable of hacking into networks anywhere in the country, officials said Sunday.

The suspect traveled in Spain using his van "as a mobile computing office, equipped with various antennas to scan frequencies," an Interior Ministry statement said.

Agents arrested him Thursday in the city of Granollers, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Barcelona, complying with a European arrest warrant issued by Dutch authorities.

He is accused of attacking the Swiss-British anti-spam watchdog group Spamhaus whose main task is to halt ads for counterfeit Viagra and bogus weight-loss pills reaching the world's inboxes.

The statement said officers uncovered the computer hacker's bunker, "from where he even did interviews with different international media."

The 35-year-old, whose birthplace was given as the western Dutch city of Alkmaar, was identified only by his initials: S.K.

The statement said the suspect called himself a diplomat belonging to the "Telecommunications and Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Cyberbunker."

Spanish police were alerted in March by Dutch authorities of large denial-of-service attacks being launched from Spain that were affecting Internet servers in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the U.S. These attacks culminated with a major onslaught on Spamhaus.

The Netherlands National Prosecution Office described them as "unprecedentedly serious attacks on the nonprofit organization Spamhaus."

The largest assault clocked in at 300 billion bits per second, according to San Francisco-based CloudFlare Inc., which Spamhaus enlisted to help it weather the onslaught.

Denial-of-service attacks overwhelm a server with traffic, jamming it with incoming messages. Security experts measure the attacks in bits of data per second. Recent cyberattacks ? such as the ones that caused persistent outages at U.S. banking sites late last year ? have tended to peak at 100 billion bits per second, one third the size of that experienced by Spamhaus.

Netherlands, German, British and U.S. police forces took part in the investigation leading to the arrest, Spain said.

The suspect is expected to be extradited from Spain to face justice in the Netherlands.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-cyberattack-suspect-had-bunker-spain-043117174.html

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Monday, April 29, 2013

Israel leader: Iran has not yet crossed 'red line'

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel's prime minister says Iran is edging closer to nuclear-weapons capability but has not yet reached the "red line" he laid out in a speech to the United Nations last fall.

Benjamin Netanyahu told his Likud Party on Monday that Iran is "systematically" getting closer to developing a weapon. He says Israel cannot let Iran cross this point.

Israel says a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a threat to the existence of the Jewish state, citing Iran's repeated calls for the destruction of Israel. Netanyahu has repeatedly hinted that Israel would be prepared to attack Iran unilaterally if international pressure fails to curb the Iranian nuclear program.

In his U.N. speech last September, Netanyahu said the international community has until the summer of 2013 to stop Iran from getting a bomb.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-leader-iran-not-yet-crossed-red-line-160224093.html

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Divorce Whisperer? Mediating With Parents Isn't Easy

Divorce Whisperer? Mediating With Parents Isn't Easy

www.nytimes.com:

For some couples, deciding where to seat narcoleptic Uncle Reginald is the least of their wedding planning worries. Those with divorced parents are assured of having quite a few more hours of anxiety as they engage in additional negotiations with them.

Read the whole story at www.nytimes.com

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    LG unveils Optimus GK in Korea, brings G Pro features in a 5-inch package

    LG unveils Optimus GK in Korea, brings G Pro features in a 5inch package

    Not tired of seeing different versions of the Optimus G? LG has just revealed another variant for Korean customers: the Optimus GK. Similar to the one-off Optimus G Pro it delivered in Japan on NTT DoCoMo, this handset has features pinched from the 5.5-inch Pro (1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 CPU, 2GB RAM) squeezed into a more-pocketable 5-inch frame. The 1080p screen here (440PPI) is Full HD IPS like the one we're expecting to see in AT&T's Optimus G Pro in a few days, matched a 3,100mAh battery, 16GB of storage, microSD slot and 13MP/2MP rear/front camera setup. This particular variant had been rumored to launch at MWC but is only now being announced for Korean carrier KT, we'll see how many more twists LG can wring out of the Optimus G platform before delivering a true sequel later this year.

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    Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/28/lg-optimus-gk-5-inch-kt/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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    Lawmakers: Syria chemical weapons could menace US

    WASHINGTON (AP) ? Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons could be a greater threat after that nation's president leaves power and could end up targeting Americans at home, lawmakers warned Sunday as they considered a U.S. response that stops short of sending military forces there.

    U.S. officials last week declared that the Syrian government probably had used chemical weapons twice in March, newly provocative acts in the 2-year civil war that has killed more than 70,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. The U.S. assessment followed similar conclusions from Britain, France, Israel and Qatar ? key allies eager for a more aggressive response to the Syrian conflict.

    President Barack Obama has said Syria's likely action ? or the transfer of President Bashar Assad's stockpiles to terrorists ? would cross a "red line" that would compel the United States to act.

    Lawmakers sought to remind viewers on Sunday news programs of Obama's declaration while discouraging a U.S. foothold on the ground there.

    "The president has laid down the line, and it can't be a dotted line. It can't be anything other than a red line," said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. "And more than just Syria, Iran is paying attention to this. North Korea is paying attention to this."

    Added Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.: "For America to sit on the sidelines and do nothing is a huge mistake."

    Obama has insisted that any use of chemical weapons would change his thinking about the United States' role in Syria but said he didn't have enough information to order aggressive action.

    "For the Syrian government to utilize chemical weapons on its people crosses a line that will change my calculus and how the United States approaches these issues," Obama said Friday.

    But Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, said Sunday the United States needs to consider those weapons. She said that when Assad leaves power, his opponents could have access to those weapons or they could fall into the hands of U.S. enemies.

    "The day after Assad is the day that these chemical weapons could be at risk ... (and) we could be in bigger, even bigger trouble," she said.

    Both sides of the civil war already accuse each other of using the chemical weapons.

    The deadliest such alleged attack was in the Khan al-Assal village in the Aleppo province in March. The Syrian government called for the United Nations to investigate alleged chemical weapons use by rebels in the attack that killed 31 people.

    Syria, however, has not allowed a team of experts into the country because it wants the investigation limited to the single Khan al-Assal incident, while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged "immediate and unfettered access" for an expanded investigation.

    One of Obama's chief antagonists on Syria, Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., said the United States should go to Syria as part of an international force to safeguard the chemical weapons. But McCain added that he is not advocating sending ground troops to the nation.

    "The worst thing the United States could do right now is put boots on the ground on Syria. That would turn the people against us," McCain said.

    His friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also said the United States could safeguard the weapons without a ground force. But he cautioned the weapons must be protected for fear that Americans could be targeted. Raising the specter of the lethal bomb at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Graham said the next attack on U.S. soil could employ weapons that were once part of Assad's arsenal.

    "Chemical weapons ? enough to kill millions of people ? are going to be compromised and fall into the wrong hands, and the next bomb that goes off in America may not have nails and glass in it," he said.

    Rogers and Schakowsky spoke to ABC's "This Week." Chambliss and Graham were interviewed on CBS's "Face the Nation." McCain appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press."

    ___

    Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Philip_Elliott

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-syria-chemical-weapons-could-menace-us-154735931.html

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    Sunday, April 28, 2013

    Iceland seeks end to austerity with new center-right government

    By Balazs Koranyi and Robert Robertson

    REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's center-right parties began talks on Sunday to form a new government, promising to end years of austerity and provide debt relief to households, and only arguing about which one of them should lead the government.

    Fed up with years of belt tightening and soaring debt, Icelanders ousted the Social Democrats on Saturday, handing the biggest defeat to any ruling party since independence from Denmark in 1944 and offering a new chance to the very parties that presided over its economic rise and collapse.

    "The best solution would be a two-party coalition; that would be the strongest type of government capable to handling the tough decisions ahead," Independence Party leader Bjarni Benediktsson, 43, said on Sunday, calling a coalition of the two center-right parties a "natural first choice".

    With all the ballots counted, the Independence Party, which took part in every government between 1980 and 2009, won 26.7 percent of the vote and 19 seats in the Althing, the world's oldest parliamentary institution.

    The Progressive Party, its main rival and partner in many previous coalitions, scored 24.4 percent, also worth 19 seats, while the Social Democrats were a distant third with 12.9 percent.

    "Independence Party and Progressive Party teaming up in a coalition is by far the most likely outcome. Other outcomes are of course possible but very unlikely," Olafur Hardarson, a political science professor at the University of Iceland said on Sunday, when the final votes came in.

    In a country where Nordic civility prevails, the prime minister walks without security and members of parliament are listed in the phone book. Coalitions are usually formed in just days and experts said it would be a quick deal once again.

    President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said he would decide by Monday evening who he would ask to form the government.

    Progressive Party leader Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, 38, argued that he should lead the government because his party made the biggest gains, more than doubling its seat in parliament.

    "I would think we are in a position to be offered to lead the government. We have gained most support," he said.

    COLLAPSE

    Once a European financial center, the windswept north Atlantic island of glaciers, geysers and volcanoes has struggled along for years after a crash that brought it to its knees.

    "A lot of people are struggling and they are expecting a lot from this next government, maybe even magic," Reykjavik voter Haraldur Johannsson, 57, said. "All the parties make promises but they often don't keep them so perhaps we should be careful in what we wish for."

    The two parties campaigned on offering households debt relief as falling property prices and inflation-indexed mortgages keep pushing debt higher, despite several rounds of write-offs.

    They also argued that foreign investors, primarily hedge funds, who hold claims to the collapsed banks, must take a huge write-off, possibly as much as 75 percent, before capital controls can be lifted. And both argued that Iceland should end talks to join the European Union, preserving independence.

    "People seem to have a very short memory," Halldor Gudmundsson, 44, said after casting his ballot on Reykjavik's outskirts. "These are the parties that got us into the mess in the first place."

    The two parties presided over Iceland for years, setting in motion its unchecked economic liberalization, which led to a phenomenal rise and crash.

    Iceland's privatized banks borrowed on cheap overseas markets and lured British and Dutch savers with high returns.

    But after amassing assets worth more than 10 times Iceland's GDP, Landsbanki, Kaupthing and Glitnir collapsed in quick succession, dragging the entire country into a financial abyss in October 2008.

    Property prices tumbled, unemployment soared and the currency was only saved by capital controls that locked in foreign investors indefinitely.

    The Social Democrats stabilized the economy with a bailout package hailed as exemplary by the IMF. But a series of policy blunders, tax hikes, leniency toward foreign creditors and their inability to deal with household debt cost them popularity.

    (Editing by Angus MacSwan and Stephen Powell)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/icelanders-oust-government-over-austerity-program-040554830.html

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    Column: Te'o, Smith, Barkley go pro a year late

    The next time some college football fan gripes about his favorite player going to the NFL before his senior season, we'll have a ready reply.

    Three of them, actually.

    Manti Te'o. Geno Smith. Matt Barkley.

    The trio returned for a fourth year of college football and look what it got them.

    Heartache. Embarrassment. And, certainly in the case of Barkley, a much lighter wallet than he would've had a year ago.

    The first round of the NFL draft came and went.

    All three were left waiting by the phone. It never rang.

    That's a harsh lesson every rising junior with pro aspirations should heed. Think only of yourself.

    If there's a chance to dramatically improve your draft position, then stay in school. If you're already projected as a first-rounder, it's time to get started on your real job. Rest assured, the school will get along just fine without you. Sure, a college degree is great to have, but you can always finish up those last few classes in the offseason.

    After getting passed over Thursday night, Te'o must've been having second thoughts.

    We'll never know for sure if the Notre Dame linebacker would've been a first-round pick in 2012, as many projected, going on the assumption that he wouldn't done any better in the 40-yard dash than the painfully slow time he turned in at this year's combine. But at least he wouldn't have been lugging around all that off-the-field baggage ? a ruse of a relationship with a girlfriend that wasn't ? plus a stinker of a performance against Alabama in the national championship game.

    Even if the whole sordid affair with the fake girlfriend had still occurred, chances are it wouldn't have been discovered until Te'o had already signed a pro contract. The money would've already been in the bank.

    Instead, he's left to wonder how much money he left on the table by returning to the Fighting Irish for what seemed a dream season until it took an oh-so-wrong turn at the end.

    Ditto for Smith, who blossomed as a junior in West Virginia's wide-open offense, throwing for more than 4,300 yards with 31 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. If he had decided to go pro at that point, the last bit of tape NFL scouts would've had on him was a 70-33 rout of Clemson in the Orange Bowl, when he threw for a record six touchdowns and 401 yards to earn the MVP award.

    Smith kept it going through his first give games as a senior, when he was the hands-down favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and looked every bit like a guy who would be the top pick in the draft. He and the Mountaineers were unstoppable, averaging more than 50 points a game.

    Unfortunately, the season still had eight games to go.

    There was another side to the mountain, and it was all downhill.

    Smith still put up some dazzling numbers ? 4,205 yards passing, 42 touchdowns, just six interceptions ? but West Virginia dropped six of its last eight, including a blowout loss to Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl. Suddenly, everyone was finding flaws in Smith's game. His confidence was shaky. He setup and delivery were faulty. He was too emotional, too loose with the ball.

    Heck, some pointed out that he didn't play well in poor weather ? which comes off as the ultimate bit of nitpicking.

    Even so, Smith still expected to go somewhere in the first round, maybe even among the top 10 picks. That's why he turned up at Radio City Music Hall in New York with all the other projected first-rounders. For most of them, their dreams came true. All Smith could do was look on glumly as one player after another went ahead of him ? even a teammate he helped look so good, receiver Tavon Austin, selected at No. 8 by the St. Louis Rams.

    Te'o stayed away from New York, allowing him to sort out whatever anger or humiliation he was feeling in private. That was the right call, showing he does have the ability to make good decisions beyond the online dating world.

    On Friday ? finally! ? both Te'o and Smith heard their names. Back to back, no less. The Notre Dame star went to San Diego in the second round with the 38th overall pick; Smith was selected next by the New York Jets.

    Barkley was still waiting. Amazingly, he wasn't picked in the first three rounds ? passed over through a total of 97 selections. The last four rounds will be held Saturday.

    The guess here is that Te'o will turn out to be a good, solid pro, while Smith has a shot at greatness. Certainly, no other rookies will have a bigger chip on their shoulders.

    When asked to analyze Te'o, former NFL coach-turned-TV analyst Jon Gruden said, "He's got a real good football aptitude. He plays faster, I think, than people give him credit. I think he's a very good, instinctive, high-effort, well-coached inside linebacker that's got to prove he can play on every down. There is no question about that. But I'm really confident that he can do it."

    As for Smith: "It's very underestimated what this kid can do from a football standpoint. He does a lot above the neck as well as making plays with his arm and his mobility."

    Then there's Barkley, who was being mentioned in the same breath with Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III before last year's draft.

    Not anymore.

    Barkley, for some reason, returned to Southern Cal for one more year. Maybe he was counting on less competition at the quarterback position in the 2013 draft (and, indeed, only one QB was taken Thursday). Maybe he truly wanted to take another shot at a national championship with a team that was pegged as the preseason No. 1.

    Whatever the case, Barkley couldn't have been more wrong in his decision, at least from a financial point of view. The Trojans didn't come close to living up to the hype, barely finishing with more wins than losses (7-6). He threw twice as many interceptions and wound up spraining his shoulder in a late-season game, which raised more doubts in the eyes of the scouts.

    Barkley's stock dropped so severely that, frankly, it would've been a surprise if he had been picked in the first round.

    "I think Barkley's going to be a starter in the league at some point," Gruden said, not sounding nearly as upbeat as he did about the other two. "He's going to be a guy that relies on his system, complete execution around him. I think his supporting cast is going to be important to him."

    Now, Barkley will tell you that he has no regrets about his decision to return to USC. He'll tell you that getting the chance to be a leader during tough times will help him down the road.

    Hogwash.

    Barkley blew it.

    So did Te'o and Smith.

    All those juniors-to-be out there better not to make the same mistake.

    ___

    Paul Newberry in a national writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry(at)ap.org or www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/column-teo-smith-barkley-pro-221132848.html

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    Egypt arrests 12 'Black Bloc' members at presidency | Morocco ...

    CAIRO, April 27, 2013 (AFP)

    Egyptian police arrested 12 members of the ?Black Bloc? ? a violent group opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood ? after clashes outside Cairo?s presidential palace, the official MENA news agency said Saturday.

    Protesters hurled rocks and fire bombs at the walls of the presidential palace in Heliopolis, and torched a police vehicle, a security source told MENA.

    ?Security forces arrested 12 youths who were among rioters involved in the events around the presidential palace on Friday,? the source said, adding the judiciary would take action against those involved.

    Police fired tear gas to disperse the masked activists of the Black Bloc movement, a security source told AFP.

    Footage broadcast on private television station ONTV showed a police vehicle ablaze on the edges of the presidential palace compound.

    State television reported early Saturday that ?clashes between the police and the Black Bloc at the presidential palace wounded 20 people.?

    A security official told AFP that three security personnel, including two officers, were among those hurt.

    Demonstrators, hooded and masked and dressed in black from head to toe, appeared in January in Cairo and other provinces, calling themselves the Black Bloc.

    They present themselves as the defenders of protesters opposed to Islamist President Mohamed Mursi?s rule.

    On their Facebook page, the activists say they are a ?generation born of the blood of the martyrs? from the 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

    Prosecutor general Talaat Abdallah accused the group of ?terrorism? three months ago.

    For the past five months, Egypt has been suffering a grave political crisis, marked by deadly clashes between supporters and opponents of Mursi.

    The palace in Heliopolis has already been the scene of similar violence, notably in December, when tens of pro- and anti-Mursi demonstrators died in clashes.

    Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/04/88696/egypt-arrests-12-black-bloc-members-at-presidency/

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    Ergotech VersaStand

    By Eugene Kim

    There's an endless array of stands and cases made for protecting and propping up the Apple iPad. The ErgoTech VersaStand ($99 list) happens to be a combination of both, with a snap-on case and a sturdy aluminum stand. The slick collapsible stand looks great and offers a nearly infinite variety of angles, and it's a cinch to get the iPad on and off the stand. You're paying a premium for design here, as there are plenty of more affordable, generic stands available, but if you use your iPad primarily as a desktop display, the VersaStand is a more-than-capable option.

    With a black soft-touch plastic body, the snap-on case is pretty standard, but around back there's an aluminum ring that protrudes about a quarter inch. There are cutouts for the iPad's ports and buttons, with a cutout along the left edge so you can use Apple's Smart Cover with the case. The VersaStand is compatible with the iPad 2, the third-gen iPad, and the most recent fourth-gen iPad. I tested the VersaStand with both the iPad 2 and fourth-gen iPad and each fit perfectly.

    The stand is made almost entirely from hinged, brushed aluminum segments, with a small disk at the end of the articulating arm that attaches to the ring on the case. There are two buttons on either side of the disc, which you press down to attach and remove the iPad. The case and stand are similar to the Wallee case system, which has an optional aluminum Pivot stand.?

    You can turn the tablet Pad a full 360 degrees once snapped in, but the stand itself does not swivel left or right. The articulating arm allows for any viewing angle imaginable, and the stand feels sturdy when placed on a flat surface. While it's not difficult to adjust the stand, you will have to hold the base down with your free hand. The stand unit also neatly collapses down for transport.

    You have a lot of options when it comes to iPad stands, and while the VersaStand is an attractive combination of form and function, it's not cheap. It's also clearly suited for desk use, whereas something like the Speck HandyShell?would make a better choice if you want to move the stand around frequently. The VersaStand is also on the tall side for stands, which makes it a good option for those who want to use their iPads next to, say, a desktop monitor.?And if function trumps form, there are plenty of inexpensive generic plastic stands that will do the same things as the VersaStand.

    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ZAP6cC942t8/0,2817,2418153,00.asp

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    Saturday, April 27, 2013

    Hitting 'reset' in protein synthesis restores myelination: Suggests new treatment for misfolded protein diseases such as Alzheimer's

    Apr. 26, 2013 ? A potential new treatment strategy for patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is on the horizon, thanks to research by neuroscientists now at the University at Buffalo's Hunter James Kelly Research Institute and their colleagues in Italy and England.

    The institute is the research arm of the Hunter's Hope Foundation, established in 1997 by Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback, and his wife, Jill, after their infant son Hunter was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy, an inherited fatal disorder of the nervous system. Hunter died in 2005 at the age of eight. The institute conducts research on myelin and its related diseases with the goal of developing new ways of understanding and treating conditions such as Krabbe disease and other leukodystrophies.

    Charcot-Marie-Tooth or CMT disease, which affects the peripheral nerves, is among the most common of hereditary neurological disorders; it is a disease of myelin and it results from misfolded proteins in cells that produce myelin.

    The new findings sere published online earlier this month in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

    They may have relevance for other diseases that result from misfolded proteins, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, cancer and mad cow disease.

    The paper shows that missteps in translational homeostasis, the process of regulating new protein production so that cells maintain a precise balance between lipids and proteins, may be how some genetic mutations in CMT cause neuropathy.

    CMT neuropathies are common, hereditary and progressive; in severe cases, patients end up in wheelchairs. These diseases significantly affect quality of life but not longevity, taking a major toll on patients, families and society, the researchers note.

    "It's possible that our finding could lead to the development of an effective treatment not just for CMT neuropathies but also for other diseases related to misfolded proteins," says Lawrence Wrabetz, MD, director of the institute and professor of neurology and biochemistry in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and senior author on the paper. Maurizio D'Antonio, of the Division of Genetics and Cell Biology of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan is first author; Wrabetz did most of this research while he was at San Raffaele, prior to coming to UB.

    The research finding centers around the synthesis of misfolded proteins in Schwann cells, which make myelin in nerves. Myelin is the crucial fatty material that wraps the axons of neurons and allows them to signal effectively. Many CMT neuropathies are associated with mutations in a gene known as P0, which glues the wraps of myelin together. Wrabetz has previously shown in experiments with transgenic mice that those mutations cause the myelin to break down, which in turn, causes degeneration of peripheral nerves and wasting of muscles.

    When cells recognize that the misfolded proteins are being synthesized, cells respond by severely reducing protein production in an effort to correct the problem, Wrabetz explains. The cells commence protein synthesis again when a protein called Gadd34 gets involved.

    "After cells have reacted to, and corrected, misfolding of proteins, the job of Gadd34 is to turn protein synthesis back on," says Wrabetz. "What we have shown is that once Gadd34 is turned back on, it activates synthesis of proteins at a level that's too high -- that's what causes more problems in myelination.

    "We have provided proof of principle that Gadd34 causes a problem with translational homeostasis and that's what causes some neuropathies," says Wrabetz. "We've shown that if we just reduce Gadd34, we actually get better myelination. So, leaving protein synthesis turned partially off is better than turning it back on, completely."

    In both cultures and a transgenic mouse model of CMT neuropathies, the researchers improved myelin by reducing Gadd34 with salubrinal, a small molecule research drug. While salubrinal is not appropriate for human use, Wrabetz and colleagues at UB and elsewhere are working to develop derivatives that are appropriate.

    "If we can demonstrate that a new version of this molecule is safe and effective, then it could be part of a new therapeutic strategy for CMT and possibly other misfolded protein diseases as well," says Wrabetz.

    And while CMT is the focus of this particular research, the work is helping scientists at the Hunter James Kelly Research Institute enrich their understanding of myelin disorders in general.

    "What we learn in one disease, such as CMT, may inform how we think about toxins for others, such as Krabbe's," Wrabetz says. "We'd like to build a foundation and answer basic questions about where and when toxicity in diseases begin."

    The misfolded protein diseases are an interesting and challenging group of diseases to study, he continues. "CMT, for example, is caused by mutations in more than 40 different genes," he says. "When there are so many different genes involved and so many different mechanisms, you have to find a unifying mechanism: this problem of Gadd34 turning protein synthesis on at too high a level could be one unifying mechanism. The hope is that this proof of principle applies to more than just CMT and may lead to improved treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Type 1 diabetes and the other diseases caused by misfolded proteins."

    Co-authors with D'Antonio and Wrabetz are M. Laura Feltri, MD, professor of neurology and biochemistry at UB and a researcher with UB's Hunter James Kelly Research Institute at the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences; Nicolo Musner, Cristina Scapin Daniela Ungaro and Ubaldo Del Carro from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute and David Ron of Cambridge and the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

    Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the European Community and an award to D'Antonio from the Italian Ministry of Health.

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    Story Source:

    The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University at Buffalo. The original article was written by Ellen Goldbaum.

    Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


    Journal Reference:

    1. M. D'Antonio, N. Musner, C. Scapin, D. Ungaro, U. Del Carro, D. Ron, M. L. Feltri, L. Wrabetz. Resetting translational homeostasis restores myelination in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1B mice. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2013; 210 (4): 821 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20122005

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

    Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

    Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/_o1zELs2WuM/130426135037.htm

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    Chiefs pick Central Michigan's Eric Fisher at No 1

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? The Kansas City Chiefs have a new anchor for their offensive line.

    The Chiefs selected Central Michigan offensive tackle Eric Fisher first overall in the NFL draft Thursday night, grabbing a potential replacement for Branden Albert and someone to protect the blindside of new quarterback Alex Smith. The Chiefs picked Fisher over Texas A&M tackle Luke Joeckel to lead off a draft heavy on offensive and defensive linemen.

    "I can't even process what's happening right now," Fisher said. "This is a dream come true, the fact that I was the No. 1 pick. I can't even understand what's going on right now, but what an honor. What an honor. A great opportunity."

    Fisher is the third offensive lineman picked No. 1 since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

    The Chiefs had the top pick in the modern NFL draft for the first time in franchise history. But rather than announce their intentions early, like the Indianapolis Colts did in picking Andrew Luck last season, new general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid decided to wait until they were on the clock before making their choice public.

    Kansas City was still considering a handful of players early this week, including Joeckel, who many believed was the best available player. Dorsey also indicated that he would listen to offers from teams trying to trade up until the last possible minute.

    When nothing materialized, Dorsey phoned in his selection to Radio City Music Hall, and Fisher became the first player from Central Michigan to be picked first overall.

    He's only the third player in the past 20 years to be drafted first from a non-BCS school, and the first non-quarterback. The only other player out of Central Michigan to go in the first round was Joe Staley, the San Francisco 49ers' Pro Bowl left tackle.

    With surprising athleticism in a 6-foot-7, 306-pound frame, Fisher rocketed up draft boards during the annual scouting combine. His ability to make blocks in the open field ? not to mention a bit of a mean streak ? made him a natural fit for Reid's offense.

    The Chiefs were in a need of a quarterback after going 2-14 a year ago, but without a top-end talent available, they acquired Smith in a trade with San Francisco. That allowed them to spend the most coveted pick in the draft on who they believed to be the best player.

    While Fisher doesn't play a marquee position such as quarterback or wide receiver, and may not push the needle for many Chiefs fans, he does fill a significant need.

    Albert, who the Chiefs picked in the first round in 2008, was given the franchise tag in March when the two sides failed to reach agreement on a long-term deal. He ultimately signed the tender, which guarantees him about $9.3 million next season, but has repeatedly expressed his unhappiness with the lack of long-term stability. The Chiefs granted permission to the Dolphins to speak with Albert's agent, and it's possible a trade could happen during the draft. Kansas City was seeking a second-round pick.

    That would allow Fisher to slide into the starting lineup at left tackle. Even if Albert plays for the Chiefs next season, one of them could shift to the right side.

    Fisher's only scholarship offers out of high school came from Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan, and he said at the combine in February that he heard from Michigan State and Purdue but that "neither of them really wanted anything to do with me."

    The Chiefs certainly have made him feel wanted.

    While Fisher is a solid pass blocker, his real strength comes in the running game, where he helped the Chippewas' Zurlon Tipton run for 1,492 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.

    Now, he'll be blocking for Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles.

    Fisher is the 13th offensive lineman that the Chiefs have drafted in the first round, the most of any position. He also continues a trend: Dorsey helped to pick offensive linemen two of the past four years when he was working for the Packers, and Reid selected offensive guard Danny Watkins with the Eagles' first-round pick in 2011.

    The only other offensive linemen picked first overall had been Orlando Pace, who the Rams selected in 1997, and Jake Long, the choice of the Dolphins in 2008.

    Pace started 165 games over 13 seasons, and was voted an All-Pro three times while making seven Pro Bowls. Long started 68 of the 80 games he's played over the past five seasons, going to the Pro Bowl every year from 2008-11, but appeared to decline this past year.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chiefs-pick-central-michigans-eric-fisher-no-1-002757222--nfl.html

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    Japan clears 787s for takeoff pending FAA-approved battery fix

    DNP

    Japan's transport minster, Akihiro Ohta, announced today that the country's airliners can resume flying grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners once a newly approved battery system is installed. "We have reached a conclusion that there is no problem with the judgment by the FAA," Ohta told the Associated Press. Back in January two separate fires caused by the 787's lithium ion batteries led to the FAA temporarily grounding all Dreamliners. Japan's decision comes shortly after Boeing's CEO, Jim McNerney, stated during the company's recent fiscal conference call that he expected all 50 aircraft to be fixed by the middle of May. Japanese airline officials are forecasting a slightly longer timeline, with the country's 787s returning to the skies around June and test flights scheduled to begin on April 28th.

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    Via: The Verge

    Source: Associated Press

    Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/japan-clears-boeing-787/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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