Ask An Expert: All About Group Health Insurance Plans - Lifehacker

Say hello to Tony Lehrman, president and CEO of Lehrman Group. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, Lehrman Group offers health insurance plans to both large and small businesses, individuals, and families.

Tony was here in February discussing individual health insurance plans. Today (with help from his colleague Ken Whitley), he'll be offering his expertise on employer-group insurance plans, including how the Affordable Care Act ("ObamaCare") will affect your company's plan and possibly even your organization itself. Ken has been marketing group health insurance plans exclusively for over 30 years, and is one of the most knowledgable group health insurance brokers in the U.S. Have questions for them? They're here for the next hour?ask away!

The q&a is now closed. Thanks for the great questions!

Have an expert you'd like to see participate? Email us.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/ask-an-expert-all-about-group-health-insurance-plans-484540739

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I Am Stereoblind, But the 3DS Lets Me See the World as Others See It

I cried the first time I held a Nintendo 3DS. The experience was a revelation that I'll not soon forget, and even if everyone stopped making games for it tomorrow, my blue 3DS XL is not going anywhere. That little machine is a window into a part of human experience that most people take for granted, but which is otherwise inaccessible to me.

124 Millimeters of Depth

I am mostly stereoblind. Stereoblindness is a blanket term for any condition that prevents a person from perceiving depth using binocular vision.

Depending on whom you ask, it affects somewhere between 3 and 15 percent of the world's population, which creates an interesting demographic hurdle for the 3D television industry. Some people are stereoblind because their vision in one eye is severely impaired, others because their brains are unable to coalesce images from both eyes into a three-dimensional result.

I'm very slightly cross-eyed. Not enough for anyone else to notice, but enough that my lines of sight intersect about 10-12 inches in front of my face and continue in divergent directions.

Basically, I have double vision all the time.

Childhood eye therapy and surgery (not LASIK?I had sutures on my left eyeball) helped a bit, but most of the time I just use one eye and ignore the other. Being stereoblind isn't that much of a handicap; I can't see Magic Eye images, and 3D movies are just 2D movies with lousy contrast, but that's about it.

I say I'm "mostly" stereoblind because despite my eyes' poor grasp of trigonometry, the optical center of my brain seems to work just fine. I discovered this the first time I held a 3DS and played Pilotwings Resort. To be perfectly honest, I really didn't expect much from the console. But clever readers have already noticed that my sight lines meet at just the right distance for holding a 3DS.

After playing with the depth slider off for a few minutes, I slid it up out of sheer curiosity and saw something I had never seen in my life: a third dimension.

---

This is how other people see the world all the time.

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Not only was I "seeing into the screen" the way so many others feel when playing a 3DS for the first time, I was seeing in a direction that had previously been literally invisible to me.

It's difficult to come up with a metaphor. Maybe it's what Gomez saw the first time he spun the world in Fez. Maybe you can remember the first time you lay on the grass at night, looked up at the stars, and realized you weren't looking up at all, because there is no "up", and you were suddenly aware of being attached to the surface of a tiny sphere rolling through a vast emptiness. Or perhaps you once looked at an Escher woodcut long enough for the positive and negative space to switch places. I suppose any analogy would be imperfect; I was seeing a new piece of everyday reality.

As silly as it may seem to get an existential epiphany out of a $200 plastic gadget, the apparent solidity of the tiny simulacra on that screen made them seem almost more "real" than the world around me, which looked suddenly flat by comparison. It didn't matter that they had three-digit polygon counts and textures that must have topped out at 512x512. I had never before perceived things as having volume, only a sort of surface area in terms of how much of my vision they took up. It was intoxicating. It was a glimpse into something that I immediately realized was part of everyone else's normal experience. This is how other people see the world all the time. There's nothing magical about the perception of depth.

---

I had never known it was possible for reality to look this way?for things to look as solid as they feel.

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Yet there I was, holding this little chunk of plastic and silicon in my hands, tears streaming down my face because I had never known it was possible for reality to look this way?for things to look as solid as they feel. I couldn't look away. I got a 3DS of my own the next day, and later replaced it with an XL. I revisited Hyrule in Ocarina of Time 3D, stopping and staring at every piece of architecture. I still spend more time running aimlessly through Super Mario 3D Land's gorgeous environments than I do trying to beat the game.

Wouldn't anyone, if it were the only place where things had volume?

Sometimes I despair. Sometimes it's hard to face the possibility of never being able to perceive mountains or forests or ancient ruins or modern cities or my parents or my fianc?e with such depth as I can see Link opening a treasure chest inside an illuminated 4.88-inch rectangle. But ultimately, I'm incredibly lucky to have only this minor affliction to contend with. And in any case, it may even be possible to treat stereoblindness.

Until then, I'm keeping my 3DS.

George Kokoris is a senior designer at Rare Ltd. He's an ex-cinematographer, a graduate of Full Sail University, and a former member of Microsoft Studios' college hire program. He yells a lot and puts garlic on everything. You can follow him on Twitter @BurningNorth.

Republished with permission.

Source: http://kotaku.com/i-am-stereoblind-but-the-3ds-lets-me-see-the-world-as-484508038

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Russia caught bomb suspect on wiretap

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Russian authorities secretly recorded a telephone conversation in 2011 in which one of the Boston bombing suspects vaguely discussed jihad with his mother, officials said Saturday, days after the U.S. government finally received details about the call.

In another conversation, the mother of now-dead bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was recorded talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case, officials said.

The conversations are significant because, had they been revealed earlier, they might have been enough evidence for the FBI to initiate a more thorough investigation of the Tsarnaev family.

As it was, Russian authorities told the FBI only that they had concerns that Tamerlan and his mother were religious extremists. With no additional information, the FBI conducted a limited inquiry and closed the case in June 2011.

Two years later, authorities say Tamerlan and his brother, Dzhohkar, detonated two homemade bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 260. Tamerlan was killed in a police shootout and Dzhohkar is under arrest.

In the past week, Russian authorities turned over to the United States information it had on Tamerlan and his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva. The Tsarnaevs are ethnic Chechens who emigrated from southern Russia to the Boston area over the past 11 years.

Even had the FBI received the information from the Russian wiretaps earlier, it's not clear that the government could have prevented the attack.

In early 2011, the Russian FSB internal security service intercepted a conversation between Tamerlan and his mother vaguely discussing jihad, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with reporters.

The two discussed the possibility of Tamerlan going to Palestine, but he told his mother he didn't speak the language there, according to the officials, who reviewed the information Russia shared with the U.S.

In a second call, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva spoke with a man in the Caucasus region of Russia who was under FBI investigation. Jacqueline Maguire, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington Field Office, where that investigation was based, declined to comment.

There was no information in the conversation that suggested a plot inside the United States, officials said.

It was not immediately clear why Russian authorities didn't share more information at the time. It is not unusual for countries, including the U.S., to be cagey with foreign authorities about what intelligence is being collected.

The FSB said Sunday that it would not comment.

Jim Treacy, the FBI's legal attache in Moscow between 2007 and 2009, said the Russians long asked for U.S. assistance regarding Chechen activity in the United States that might be related to terrorism.

"On any given day, you can get some very good cooperation," Treacy said. "The next you might find yourself totally shut out."

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva has denied that she or her sons were involved in terrorism. She has said she believed her sons have been framed by U.S. authorities.

But Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers and Zubeidat's former brother-in-law, said Saturday he believes the mother had a "big-time influence" as her older son increasingly embraced his Muslim faith and decided to quit boxing and school.

After receiving the narrow tip from Russia in March 2011, the FBI opened a preliminary investigation into Tamerlan and his mother. But the scope was extremely limited under the FBI's internal procedures.

After a few months, they found no evidence Tamerlan or his mother were involved in terrorism.

The FBI asked Russia for more information. After hearing nothing, it closed the case in June 2011.

In the fall of 2011, the FSB contacted the CIA with the same information. Again the FBI asked Russia for more details and never heard back.

At that time, however, the CIA asked that Tamerlan's and his mother's name be entered into a massive U.S. terrorism database.

The CIA declined to comment Saturday.

Authorities have said they've seen no connection between the brothers and a foreign terrorist group. Dzhohkar told FBI interrogators that he and his brother were angry over wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the deaths of Muslim civilians there.

Family members have said Tamerlan was religiously apathetic until 2008 or 2009, when he met a conservative Muslim convert known only to the family as Misha. Misha, they said, steered Tamerlan toward a stricter version of Islam.

Two U.S. officials say investigators believe they have identified Misha. While it was not clear whether the FBI had spoken to him, the officials said they have not found a connection between Misha and the Boston attack or terrorism in general.

___

Associated Press writer Adam Goldman in Washington and Michael Kunzelman in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-caught-bomb-suspect-wiretap-105240857.html

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Up Close On The Trail Of Indias Tigers - ArticleSnatch.com

If you're a wildlife enthusiast looking for a rewarding destination, why not head to India in search of one of the planets most majestic big cats, the Tiger? Holiday companies with a focus on wildlife can organise some excellent trips to all of Indias famous and exciting nature reserves - many of which are home to increasing populations of the once endangered animal. India is one of the few places in the world today where you can still see a Tiger in its natural habitat, and, in an effort to keep it this way, authorities have made a concerted effort to establish protected areas and national parks in which its territory is kept safe. There are very few experiences that match the excitement of seeing a wild animal in its own, natural habitat, and you cannot fail to be awed by the incredible beauty and intense grace of the Tiger. Holiday destinations for wildlife lovers do not come better than India.

Indias Finest Reserves

The majority of Indias Tiger reserves are located in Madhya Pradesh in the rural part of northern India. From Bandhavgarh, Ranthambore, Pench and Kanha, every reserve has something unique to offer the discerning wildlife enthusiast. To make the most out of your Tiger holiday it is best to spend a few days at a time in the reserves in order to get the best chance of sightings. Every day you will be taken into the jungle in small jeeps on game drive safaris; the first one leaves early in the morning and the second leaves in the afternoon, giving you the opportunity to appreciate how the jungle inhabitants behave and adapt at different times throughout the day. All game drives are accompanied by a naturalist guide, so make the most of their knowledge and expertise to really get the best from your stay in the jungle.

Accommodation in the reserves is simple but authentic, with all modern conveniences on hand. Imagine going to bed at night listening to the howling of the Indian Wild Dogs and waking in the morning to the squawking of playful monkeys; staying in the reserves gives you a real sense of being a part of the continuing circle of life that thrives here.

Your tiger holiday can be extended to include trips to some of Indias other glamorous attractions. Why not add in a day in Agra at the Taj Mahal? (Visit early in the morning to get the best photographs.) Or perhaps spend a few days in Delhi exploring the old town with its vibrant markets, busy streets and fascinating food stalls. Wherever you go in India you will be bombarded with a feast for the senses. This eclectic country has so much to offer in every aspect, and a visit here will be one that remains with you always.

Marissa Ellis-Snow is a freelance nature writer. If youre looking for a Tiger holiday, Naturetrek specialises in expert-led natural history and wildlife tours worldwide. Naturetrek brings over 25 years of experience to to wildlife tours to some of the most spectacular regions on Earth.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Up-Close-On-The-Trail-Of-India---s-Tigers/4580702

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How Would You Like Your Assistant -- Human or Robotic?

Apr. 29, 2013 ? Roboticists are currently developing machines that have the potential to help patients with caregiving tasks, such as housework, feeding and walking. But before they reach the care recipients, assistive robots will first have to be accepted by healthcare providers such as nurses and nursing assistants. Based on a Georgia Institute of Technology study, it appears that they may be welcomed with open arms depending on the tasks at hand.

More than half of healthcare providers interviewed said that if they were offered an assistant, they preferred it to be a robotic helper rather than a human. However, they don't want robots to help with everything. They were very particular about what they wanted a robot to do, and not do. Instrumental activities of daily living (IDALs), such as helping with housework and reminding patients when to take medication, were acceptable. But activities daily living (ADL) tasks, especially those involving direct, physical interactions such as bathing, getting dressed and feeding people, were considered better for human assistants.

The findings will be presented April 27- May 2 at the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Paris, France.

"One open question was whether healthcare providers would reject the idea of robotic assistants out of fear that the robots would replace them in the workplace," said Tracy Mitzner, one of the study's leaders and the associate director of Georgia Tech's Human Factors and Aging Laboratory. "This doesn't appear to be a significant concern. In fact, the professional caregivers we interviewed viewed robots as a way to improve their jobs and the care they're able to give patients."

For instance, nurses preferred a robot assistant that could help them lift patients from a bed to a chair. They also indicated that robotic assistants could be helpful with some medical tasks such as checking vitals.

"Robots aren't being designed to eliminate people. Instead, they can help reduce physical demands and workloads," Mitzner said. "Hopefully, our study helps create guidelines for developers and facilitates deployment into the healthcare industry. It doesn't make sense to build robots that won't be accepted by the end user."

This study complements the lab's prior research that found older people are generally willing to accept help from robots. Much like the current research, their preferences depended on the task. Participants said they preferred robotic help over human help for chores such as cleaning the kitchen and doing laundry. Getting dressed and suggesting medication were tasks viewed as better suited for human assistants.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology.

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

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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/top_health/~3/aZ-QL8DdR1Q/130429125518.htm

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3 dead in Mich. school golf team van crash

EXCELSIOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) ? Michigan police say a minivan carrying a high school golf team broadsided another van, killing the coach, a player and a passenger in the other vehicle.

State Police Sgt. Don Bailey says the coach and six players from the Grayling High School boys' golf team were headed to a match Monday morning when their silver minivan broadsided a white minivan in Excelsior Township, about 25 miles east of Traverse City.

Bailey says a 17-year-old player was killed and four others are in critical condition.

A 27-year-old woman in the white minivan also was killed. The female driver was injured, while a 3-year-old girl appeared unhurt.

No names have been released.

Bailey says the silver van may have run a stop sign and the white minivan may have been speeding.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mich-golf-team-van-collides-2nd-van-3-213301388.html

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FDA will investigate added caffeine in foods

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Food and Drug Administration says it will launch a new investigation into foods with added caffeine and their potential impact on the health of children and adolescents.

The FDA's new look at added caffeine is in response to a caffeinated gum introduced this week by Wrigley. Called Alert Energy Gum, it promises "The right energy, right now."

Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner of foods, said in a statement Monday that the proliferation of caffeine added to foods is "beyond anything FDA envisioned."

Taylor said the agency will look at the potential impact these "new and easy sources" of caffeine will have on children's health and will take action if necessary. The agency previously launched an investigation into the safety of energy drinks.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-29-FDA-Added%20Caffeine/id-871cfdd688c947bc9f8465b6d9b596be

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Rambler Takes Home The Disrupt NY 2013 Hackathon Grand Prize, Learn To Drive And Radical Are Runners Up

The past 24 hours have just flown by for the hundreds of hackers here at the Disrupt NY Hackathon, but the sun is finally up and it’s time to pass judgment on their caffeine-fueled projects. As it turns out, there’s a ton of them here — with 164 registered projects this is our biggest Hackathon yet, and each presenter only had 60 seconds to wow our judges (not to mention the rest of the audience). As you might guess there was no shortage of amazing projects that came together in a single day, but our judges could only choose one team to take home our $5,000 grand prize. Anyway, that’s enough out of me — meet our newest Hackathon winner! Winner: Rambler Rambler, created by William Hockey, Zach Perret and Michael Kelly, is a web app that lets users view their credit and debit card transactions on a map. During the dev process, the team tapped the Foursquare API for locations and the Plaid API to access user spending data. Runner-up #1: Learn To Drive Learn To Drive, created by Jared Zoneraich, Jemma Issroff, Kenny Song, and Nicholas Joseph, is an app for the GM vehicle platform that acts as a virtual driving instructor by speaking driving instructions aloud and display driving statistics like miles driven, hours driven, and hours driven at night. Runner-up #2: Radical Radical, created by Sam Saccone, Carl Sednaoui, and Jeff Escalante, allows users to create attractive calendars and embed on webpages with a single line of code. These three teams will also demo their projects on the main Disrupt stage on Wednesday afternoon, but that’s not to say everyone else is going home empty-handed. Hackathon sponsors Appery.io, AT&T, CrunchBase, General Motors, Microsoft Bizspark, Microsoft Skydrive, NewAer, Pearson, Samsung, Twilio, Visa, Wrigley and Yammer have also graciously doled out prizes of their own for the most innovative and interesting uses of their APIs and services. And just who decided the fate of these sleep-deprived hackers? Our panel of judges includes Mahaya CEO Tarikh Korula, Path101 co-founder Charlie O?Donnell, founder/CEO of The Muse Kathryn Minshew, bit.ly chief?scientist?Hilary Mason, FuturePerfect Ventures founding partner Jalak Jobanputra, and BoxGroup Managing Director David Tisch.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Ugb3ZVF49D4/

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Former Madagascar president Ratsiraka to contest July election

By Alain Iloniaina

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's former president Didier Ratsiraka will contest national elections in July in a bid to become the Indian Ocean island state's leader for the third time, his supporters said on Saturday.

Madagascar has been in crisis since Andry Rajoelina, now president, led an uprising that ousted former President Marc Ravalomanana from office in 2009, triggering turmoil that scared off investors and devastated the vital tourism sector.

Both Rajoelina, a former disc jockey, and Ravalomanana, a wealthy businessman now in exile in South Africa, have said they will not contest the July 24 presidential election.

Regional powers put pressure on Rajoelina to stand aside, fearing fresh turmoil after this year's vote, while Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia to life in prison after he was accused of ordering elite troops to kill Rajoelina's supporters.

Ratsiraka returned to Madagascar earlier this month after an 11-year exile in France. He left Madagascar in 2002 after refusing to concede the previous year's poll defeat to Ravalomanana.

Before he was ousted, Ratsiraka, known locally as "Deba", or the Big Man, had ruled Madagascar for 23 of the previous 26 years.

The 76-year-old first became president in 1975 when he seized power as a young naval officer, governing Madagascar until 1993. His second stint as president lasted from 1996 to 2002.

"It is a joy for us to know that we have filed (papers for) the candidacy for President of Didier Ratsiraka," said Monfort Razafimahefa, a member of the Ratsiraka campaign.

Ratsiraka is due to hold a news conference later in the day to explain his motives for contesting the election.

A Madagascan court had sentenced Ratsiraka to 10 years hard labour for embezzlement in 2003, but the current president, Rajoelina, often said the former admiral was free to come home.

Earlier this week Ravalomanana's wife put herself forward to run in July's presidential election, a move analysts say could be aimed at preparing a comeback by the fallen leader.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-madagascar-president-ratsiraka-contest-july-election-082511803.html

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Stephen Wolfram says he almost had a deal with Google, but it 'blew up'

As you may recall, Wolfram Research signed a deal with Microsoft a few years back that saw some Wolfram Alpha functionality integrated into Bing. As it turns out, it very nearly found its way into a certain other search engine as well. In an interview at The Next Web conference in Amsterdam today, Stephen Wolfram revealed that his company had tried to work with Google and "almost had a deal," but it "blew up." Unfortunately, he didn't provide any further details about when those talks took place or exactly what the potential deal entailed, and it doesn't sound like we can expect that deal to be revived anytime soon -- especially considering Google's own efforts that are increasingly overlapping with Wolfram Alpha. As Wolfram himself notes, though, the two companies do have something of a longstanding connection: Google co-founder Sergey Brin was actually an intern at Wolfram way back in 1993.

Filed under: Internet

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Source: The Next Web

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/FvbaFJF2-RU/

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Samsung Galaxy S 4 now available online at Sprint, in stores today at AT&T

Samsung's latest and greatest smartphone, the Galaxy S 4, is making a big move into the US today with an online arrival at Sprint and in-store availability at AT&T. If you're a Now Network subscriber and happened to miss out on the carrier's pre-order action, you might want to make some quick moves onto Sprint's website in order to secure your new handset, which goes up for sale at midnight Central Time. In a not-so-cool move, however, only those porting their number to Sprint are eligible for the carrier's $100 price break, which means all of you who've stuck through the dark days of EV-DO will need to pony up $249.99 for the Galaxy S 4. Meanwhile, if you're aching to lay your hands on Samsung's 1080p handset, you can finally get some gratification, as AT&T is now offering the smartphone for in-store purchase and play. Here, you'll pay $199.99 for the handset, and while it's potentially more expensive, at least AT&T's pricing scheme doesn't involve fine print shenanigans.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Sprint, AT&T

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Source: AT&T (Twitter), Sprint

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/27/samsung-galaxy-s-4-on-sale-sprint-att/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Roundworm quells obesity and related metabolic disorders

Friday, April 26, 2013

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, have shown in a mouse model that infection with nematodes (also known as roundworms) can not only combat obesity but ameliorate related metabolic disorders. Their research is published ahead of print online in the journal Infection and Immunity.

Gastrointestinal nematodes infect approximately 2 billion people worldwide, and some researchers believe up until the 20th century almost everyone had worms. In developed countries there is a decreasing incidence of nematode infection but a rising prevalence of certain types of autoimmunity, suggesting a relationship between the two. Nematode infection has been purported to have therapeutic effects and currently clinical trials are underway to examine worms as a treatment for diseases associated with the relevant cytokines, including inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and allergies.

In the study researchers tested the effect of nematode infection on mice fed a high-fat diet. Infected mice of normal girth gained 15 percent less weight than those that were not infected. Mice that were already obese when infected lost roughly 13 percent of their body weight within 10 days. Infection also drastically lowered fasting blood glucose, a risk factor for diabetes, and reduced fatty liver disease, decreasing liver fat by ~25 percent, and the weight of the liver by 30 percent.

The levels of insulin and leptin also dropped, "indicating that the mice restored their sensitivities to both hormones," says corresponding author Aiping Zhao of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore. Leptin moderates appetite. As with too much insulin, too high a level of leptin results in insensitivity, thus contributing to obesity and metabolic syndrome, Zhao explains.

The mechanism of the moderation of these hormones "was associated with a parasite-induced reduction in glucose absorption in the intestine, reduced liver triglycerides, and an increase in the population of cells called "alternatively activated macrophages," which regulate glucose metabolism and inflammation," says coauthor Joe Urban of the United States Department of Agriculture. Some of these changes involved "a protein called interleukin-13 and related intracellular signaling mechanisms," he says. "This suggests that there are immune related shifts in metabolism that can alter expression of obesity and related metabolic syndrome."

The incidence of obesity has been climbing dramatically, worldwide. It is a key risk factor for many metabolic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Recent studies indicate that it is accompanied by chronic low-grade inflammation in adipose tissues, causing the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines that contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.

Parasitic nematode infection induces a marked elevation in host immune Th2-cells and related type 2 cytokines which, besides combating the infection, also have potent anti-inflammatory activity, according to the report.

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Z. Yang, V. Grinchuk, A. Smith, B. qin, J.A. Bohl, R. Sun, L. Notari, Z. Zhang, H. Sesaki, J.F. Urban, Jr., T. Shea-Donohue, A. Zhao, 2013. Parasitic nematode-induced modulation of body weight and associated metabolic dysfunction in mouse models of obesity. Infect. Immun. Published ahead of print 18 March 2013, doi:10.1128/IAI.00053-13.

American Society for Microbiology: http://www.asm.org

Thanks to American Society for Microbiology for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127965/Roundworm_quells_obesity_and_related_metabolic_disorders

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More Google Glass Specs Revealed As Android Tinkerers Look For Ways To Root It

Google felt it appropriate to highlight some of Glass' specs earlier this week, but there's much more to the company's wearable display than just the 5 megapixel camera and its 16GB of internal storage. In case you were hankering for a taste of what else makes Google Glass tick, Android developer (and Glass Explorer) Jay Lee spent some time tinkering with his preview unit and managed to figure out what kind of hardware it has under the proverbial hood.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/doBbjvdRxtw/

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2 arrested as death toll in Bangladesh reaches 324

A Bangladeshi rescuer works to break through metal and concrete with a drill at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. More than two days after their factory collapsed on them, at least some garment workers were still alive in the corpse-littered debris Friday, pinned beneath tons of mangled metal and concrete. The death toll topped 300 on Friday and it remained unclear what the final grim number would be, as some victims are being pulled from the rubble alive. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)

A Bangladeshi rescuer works to break through metal and concrete with a drill at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. More than two days after their factory collapsed on them, at least some garment workers were still alive in the corpse-littered debris Friday, pinned beneath tons of mangled metal and concrete. The death toll topped 300 on Friday and it remained unclear what the final grim number would be, as some victims are being pulled from the rubble alive. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)

Bangladeshi rescue workers search the rubble at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. The death toll reached hundreds of people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bangladeshi soldier gestures as a rescue worker uses a flashlight to walk across the rubble at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. By Friday, the death toll reached at least 270 people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bangladeshi rescue worker, who was injured during a stampede caused by crowd panic over the rumor a section of the building might collapse, is carried at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. The death toll reached hundreds of people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

Bangladeshi relatives of missing workers react as they wait at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. By Friday, the death toll reached at least 270 people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? Two owners of garment factories in a Bangladesh building that collapsed into a pile of mangled metal and concrete have been arrested as public fury mounts over the accident that left at least 324 dead.

Junior Home Minister Shamsul Haque Tuku said Saturday that police had arrested Bazlus Samad, managing director of New Wave Apparels Ltd., and Mahmudur Rahman Tapash, the company chairman.

He told reporters that police had also detained the wife of Mohammed Sohel Rana, the owner of the collapsed building, for questioning. Authorities are still searching for Rana, who hasn't been seen publicly since the building collapsed. Police in Bangladesh often detain relatives of missing suspects as a way to pressure them to surrender.

Authorities said the death toll had climbed to 324, but that rescuers had pulled seven more survivors from the rubble early Saturday after they found more than 40 survivors inside the collapsed building late Friday.

The arrests came hours after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered police to arrest Sohel Rana and the owners of the garment factories based operating in the building.

Hasina made the order as protests spread over the latest accident to hit Bangladesh's massive, but poorly regulated, garment industry.

Wailing, angry relatives fought with police who held them back from the wrecked, eight-story Rana Plaza building, as search-and-rescue operations went on. Three of the floors had been illegally added.

Fire service inspector Shafiqul Islam, who searched the building, said more than 40 survivors were found late Friday. Through holes in the structure, he gave them water and juice packs to combat dehydration in the stifling heat and humidity.

"They are alive, they are trapped, but most of them are safe. We need to cut through debris and walls to bring them out," Islam said.

More dead were also discovered. Shamim Islam, a volunteer who entered the collapsed building along with rescue workers, said he saw "many bodies inside."

Search crews were cautiously using hammers, shovels and their bare hands. Many of the trapped workers were so badly hurt and weakened that they needed to be removed within a few hours, rescuers said.

There were fears that even if unhurt, the survivors could be badly dehydrated, with daytime temperatures soaring to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and about 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.

Nearly 90 people have been rescued in the last day, as hundreds of rescuer workers crawl through the rubble amid the cries of the trapped and the wails of workers' relatives gathered outside the building.

A garment manufacturers' group said the factories in the building employed 3,122 workers, but it was not clear how many were inside it when it collapsed Wednesday in Savar, a suburb of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka. Rescue officials say more than 2,400 have been rescued or escaped.

Police cordoned off the site, pushing back thousands of bystanders and relatives after rescue workers complained the crowds were hampering their work.

Clashes broke out between the relatives and police, who used batons to disperse them. Police said 50 people were injured in the skirmishes.

"We want to go inside the building and find our people now. They will die if we don't find them soon," said Shahinur Rahman, whose mother was missing.

Thousands of workers from the hundreds of garment factories across the Savar industrial zone and other nearby areas marched to protest the poor safety standards in Bangladesh. Local news reports said demonstrators smashed dozens of cars Friday, although most of the protests were largely peaceful.

Police say they ordered an evacuation of the building on Tuesday after cracks in Rana Plaza were found, but the factories ignored the order and were operating when it collapsed the next day. Video before the collapse shows cracks in walls, with apparent attempts at repair. It also shows columns missing chunks of concrete and police talking to building operators.

Officials said soon after the collapse that numerous construction regulations had been violated.

Rana, the building's owner, had been given a permit to erect a five-story building but had added another three stories illegally, said Abdul Halim, an official with Savar's engineering department. Police chief Mohammed Asaduzzaman said police and the government's Capital Development Authority have filed negligence cases against Rana.

Habibur Rahman, police superintendent of Dhaka district, said Rana was a local leader of ruling Awami League's youth front.

Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, called on Rana and the factory owners to surrender during a meeting with the prime minister late Friday.

The disaster is the worst ever for the country's booming and powerful garment industry, surpassing a fire five months ago that killed 112 people and brought widespread pledges to improve worker-safety standards. Since then, very little has changed in Bangladesh, where low wages have made it a magnet for numerous global brands.

Bangladesh's garment industry was the third-largest in the world in 2011, after China and Italy, having grown rapidly in the past decade. The country's minimum wage is now the equivalent of about $38 a month.

Among the garment makers in the building were Phantom Apparels, Phantom Tac, Ether Tex, New Wave Style and New Wave Bottoms. Altogether, they produced several million shirts, pants and other garments a year.

The New Wave companies, according to their website, make clothing for several major North American and European retailers.

Britain's Primark acknowledged it was using a factory in Rana Plaza, but many other retailers distanced themselves from the disaster, saying they were not involved with the factories at the time of the collapse or had not recently ordered garments from them.

Wal-Mart said none of its clothing had been authorized to be made in the facility, but it is investigating whether there was any unauthorized production.

___

AP writers Muneeza Naqvi and Tim Sullivan in New Delhi, Stephen Wright in Bangkok, Kay Johnson in Mumbai, Matthew Pennington in Washington and AP Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-26-Bangladesh-Building%20Collapse/id-d85d210530e0425bbe72df1387bb180f

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Valeant in talks to buy Actavis for over $13 billion: WSJ

(Reuters) - Canada's biggest listed drug maker, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc , is in talks to buy generic drugmaker Actavis Inc for more than $13 billion, Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The companies had been working towards an all-stock deal, when some of Actavis' directors came out against it around the middle of this week. But executives on the two sides are still working to resurrect the deal, the journal said.

Valeant said in February it was in talks to make more acquisitions, and it remains open to discuss a potential "merger of equals."

Shares of Actavis, which has a market capitalization of $12.9 billion, have risen about 12 percent in the past three months.

Actavis, the third-largest global generic drugmaker, changed its name in January from Watson after buying Actavis as part of its strategy to expand in international markets and offer more specialty drugs.

Valeant and Actavis could not be immediately reached for comments outside of business hours.

(Reporting by Neha Alawadhi in Bangalore; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/valeant-talks-buy-actavis-over-13-billion-wsj-234723131.html

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Toll in Bangladesh building collapse passes 300

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? More than two days after their factory collapsed on them, at least some garment workers were still alive in the corpse-littered debris Friday, pinned beneath tons of mangled metal and concrete. Rescue crews struggled to save them, knowing they probably had just a few hours left to live, as desperate relatives clashed with police in their anger and grief.

Amid the chaos, the cries for help and the smell of decaying bodies at the eight-story building where more than 300 died, what happened to 18-year-old Mussamat Anna passes as luck. Rescue workers cut off the garment worker's mangled right hand to pull her free from the debris Thursday night.

"First a machine fell over my hand and I was crushed under the debris. ... Then the roof collapsed over me," she told an Associated Press cameraman from a hospital bed Friday.

The death toll topped 300 on Friday and it remained unclear what the final grim number would be. Military spokesman Shahin Islam told reporters that 304 bodies had been recovered.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder, who is overseeing rescue operations, said 2,200 people have been rescued. The garment manufacturers' group said the factories in the building employed 3,122 workers, but it was not clear how many were inside it when it collapsed Wednesday in Savar, a suburb of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

An army rescue worker, Maj. Abdul Latif, said Friday that he found one survivor still trapped under concrete slabs, surrounded by several bodies. At another place in the building, four survivors were found pinned under the debris, a fire official said. An Associated Press cameraman who accompanied a rescue crew heard two men's anguished cries for help; it was unknown Friday whether they were still alive.

Rescue workers said they were proceeding very cautiously inside the crumbling building, using their hands, hammers and shovels, to avoid more injuries and collapses. But they said the trapped workers were so badly hurt and weakened that they would need to be extricated within a few hours if they are to survive. Facing high humidity and temperatures as high as 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), and dropping to about 24 C (75 F) at night, many survivors could also be badly dehydrated.

A military official, Maj. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, told reporters that search and rescue operations would continue until at least Saturday.

"We know a human being can survive for up to 72 hours in this situation. So our efforts will continue nonstop," he said.

Hundreds of rescuers, some crawling through the maze of rubble, spent a third day working amid the cries of the trapped and the wails of workers' relatives gathered outside the building, which housed numerous garment factories and a handful of other companies.

Police cordoned off the building site, pushing back thousands of bystanders and relatives, after rescue workers said the crowds were hampering their work.

Clashes later erupted between relatives of those still trapped and police officers, who used batons to disperse the mobs. Police said 50 people were injured in the clashes.

"We want to go inside the building and find our people now. They will die if we don't find them soon," said Shahinur Rahman, whose mother was missing.

Elsewhere, many thousands of workers from the hundreds of garment factories across the Savar industrial zone and other nearby industrial areas took to the streets to protest the collapse and poor safety standards.

Local news reports said protesters smashed dozens of vehicles at one strike Friday. Most of the other protests were largely peaceful.

Dozens of people have been rescued from the wreckage well after Wednesday morning's collapse.

Forty people had been trapped on the fourth floor of the Rana Plaza building until rescuers reached them Thursday evening. Twelve were soon freed, and crews worked to get the others out safely, said Brig. Gen. Shikder. Crowds at the scene burst into applause as survivors were brought out.

Police say cracks in the building had led them to order an evacuation Tuesday, but the factories ignored the order and were operating when it collapsed Wednesday. Video shot before the collapse shows cracks in the walls, with apparent attempts at repair. It also shows columns missing chunks of concrete and police talking to building operators.

Officials said soon after the collapse that numerous construction regulations had been violated.

Abdul Halim, an official with Savar's engineering department, said the owner of Rana Plaza was originally allowed to construct a five-story building but added another three stories illegally.

Mahbubul Haque Shakil, a spokesman for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said she had ordered police to arrest the owner of the building as well as the owners of the garment factories in "the shortest possible time."

Local police chief Mohammed Asaduzzaman said police and the government's Capital Development Authority have filed separate cases of negligence against the building owner.

Habibur Rahman, police superintendent of Dhaka district, identified the owner of the building as Mohammed Sohel Rana, a local leader of ruling Awami League's youth front. Rahman said police were also looking for the owners of the garment factories.

Police on Friday detained two of Rana's relatives for questioning, police officer Mohammad Kawser said.

The disaster is the worst ever for Bangladesh's booming and powerful garment industry, surpassing a fire five months ago that killed 112 people and brought widespread pledges to improve the country's worker-safety standards.

Instead, very little has changed in Bangladesh, where wages, among the lowest in the world, have made it a magnet for numerous global brands.

Bangladesh's garment industry was the third-largest in the world in 2011, after China and Italy. It has grown rapidly in the past decade, a boom fueled by Bangladesh's exceptionally low labor costs. The country's minimum wage is now the equivalent of about $38 a month.

Among the garment makers in the building were Phantom Apparels, Phantom Tac, Ether Tex, New Wave Style and New Wave Bottoms. Altogether, they produced several million shirts, pants and other garments a year.

The New Wave companies, according to their website, make clothing for several major North American and European retailers.

Britain's Primark acknowledged it was using a factory in Rana Plaza, but many other retailers distanced themselves from the disaster, saying they were not involved with the factories at the time of the collapse or had not recently ordered garments from them.

Wal-Mart said none of its clothing had been authorized to be made in the facility, but it is investigating whether there was any unauthorized production.

U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the collapse underscored the "urgent need" for Bangladesh's government, as well as the factory owners, buyers and labor groups, to improve working conditions in the country.

Human Rights Watch says Bangladesh's Ministry of Labor has only 18 inspectors to monitor thousands of garment factories in the sprawling Dhaka district, where much of the nation's garment industry is located.

John Sifton, the group's Asia advocacy director, also noted that none of the factories in the Rana Plaza were unionized, and that had they been, workers would have been in a better position to refuse to enter the building on Wednesday.

___

AP writers Muneeza Naqvi and Tim Sullivan in New Delhi, Stephen Wright in Bangkok, Kay Johnson in Mumbai, Matthew Pennington in Washington and AP Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/toll-bangladesh-building-collapse-passes-300-105550277.html

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Space junk needs to be removed from Earth's orbit: ESA

By Maria Sheahan

FRANKFURT | Thu Apr 25, 2013 11:04am EDT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Space junk such as debris from rockets must be removed from the Earth's orbit to avoid crashes that could cost satellite operators millions of euros and knock out mobile and GPS networks, the European Space Agency said.

At the current density of debris, there will be an in-orbit collision about every five years, however research presented at a conference hosted by ESA in Germany showed that an increase in such junk made more collisions likely in the future.

Five to 10 large objects need to be collected from space a year to help cut down on smashes and stem the risk of fragments being sprayed into space that could cause more damage, it said.

Scientists estimate there are about 29,000 objects larger than 10 cm (4 inches) orbiting Earth at average speeds of 25,000 kph (15,500 mph) - about 40 times faster than airplanes travel.

At that speed, even small pieces of fast-travelling debris can damage or destroy spacecraft and satellites - which could cost billions of dollars to replace and disrupt mobile phone communication or satellite navigation.

"Within a few decades, there are going to be collisions among large objects that will create fragments that can do further damage," Heiner Klinkrad, the head of ESA's Space Debris Office, told Reuters.

"The only way to keep this from happening is to go up there and remove them," he said. "The longer you wait, the more difficult and far more expensive it is going to be."

Space debris includes any man-made litter left in space - parts of rocket launchers, inactive satellites and broken parts from past collisions.

Space agencies around the world are cooperating on space debris research, and ESA's Clean Space initiative, launched in 2012, aims to develop the technology to safely capture and remove space debris.

Researchers are looking at several different methods for removing space debris from orbit, Klinkrad said, ranging from the use of propulsion packages, conductive tethers or lasers, to nets and harpoons.

But any decision to go ahead with a mission, as well as funds to pay for it, would need to come ESA's 20 member states, which include France, Germany, Italy and Britain.

Demand for the removal of objects from orbit could eventually offer opportunities for private companies, Klinkrad said, though many issues, including legal ones, surrounding space debris would need to be settled first.

($1 = 0.7695 euros)

(Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/PE5lGfbMmsA/story01.htm

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Kate Middleton Blue Dress: Could She Be Any Cuter?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/kate-middleton-blue-dress-could-she-be-any-cuter/

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Boxee Cloud DVR reaches the San Francisco Bay Area in beta

Boxee Cloud DVR has been active in only eight markets since its inception as Boxee TV, but it's at last time for the platform to spread its wings. As of now, Boxee's live TV recording service is up and running in the San Francisco Bay Area in beta form; owners just need to update their firmware to start uploading shows. While the company hasn't outlined its plans for other markets just yet, its target of 26 cities by the end of 2013 means that other areas shouldn't be far behind.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Via: GigaOM

Source: Boxee (Twitter)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/sCAchJhph-c/

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Melatonin delays ALS symptom onset and death in mice

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Melatonin injections delayed symptom onset and reduced mortality in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In a report published online ahead of print in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, the team revealed that receptors for melatonin are found in the nerve cells, a finding that could launch novel therapeutic approaches.

Annually about 5,000 people are diagnosed with ALS, which is characterized by progressive muscle weakness and eventual death due to the failure of respiratory muscles, said senior investigator Robert Friedlander, M.D., UPMC Endowed Professor of neurosurgery and neurobiology and chair, Department of Neurological Surgery, Pitt School of Medicine. But the causes of the condition are not well understood, thwarting development of a cure or even effective treatments.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that is best known for its role in sleep regulation. After screening more than a thousand FDA-approved drugs several years ago, the research team determined that melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that blocks the release of enzymes that activate apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

"Our experiments show for the first time that a lack of melatonin and melatonin receptor 1, or MT1, is associated with the progression of ALS," Dr. Friedlander said. "We saw similar results in a Huntington's disease model in an earlier project, suggesting similar biochemical pathways are disrupted in these challenging neurologic diseases."

Hoping to stop neuron death in ALS just as they did in Huntington's, the research team treated mice bred to have an ALS-like disease with injections of melatonin or with a placebo. Compared to untreated animals, the melatonin group developed symptoms later, survived longer, and had less degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord.

"Much more work has to be done to unravel these mechanisms before human trials of melatonin or a drug akin to it can be conducted to determine its usefulness as an ALS treatment," Dr. Friedlander said. "I suspect that a combination of agents that act on these pathways will be needed to make headway with this devastating disease."

###

University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences: http://www.upmc.com/Pages/default.aspx

Thanks to University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127927/Melatonin_delays_ALS_symptom_onset_and_death_in_mice

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Obama and Bush, partisans who share common ground

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Despite vast differences with President George W. Bush on ideology, style and temperament, President Barack Obama has stuck with Bush policies or aspirations on a number of fronts, from counterterrorism to immigration, from war strategy to the global fight against AIDS.

Even on tax policy, where Bush advocated lower tax rates for all and Obama pushed for higher rates on the rich, Bush's tax cuts for the middle class not only have survived under Obama, they have become permanent.

Obama inherited from his predecessor two military conflicts, a war on terror and a financial crisis. He also inherited, and in time embraced, the means with which to confront them.

On Thursday, Obama will attend the dedication of Bush's presidential library in Texas, a tableau that will draw attention to two distinct men ? a Republican and a Democrat from different ends of the political spectrum, political foils with polarized constituencies.

Indeed, Obama ran for president in 2008 as the anti-Bush, critical of the war against Iraq and of the economic policies of the preceding eight years.

But in his more than four years of governing, Obama has also adopted or let stand a series of Bush initiatives, illustrating how the policies of one administration can take hold and how the realities of governing often limit solutions.

Bush's signature education plan, No Child Left Behind, remains the law of the land, though the Obama administration has granted states waivers to give them flexibility in meeting performance targets. A Bush Medicare prescription drug plan, criticized for its cost, is now popular with beneficiaries, and Obama has sought to improve it by providing relief for seniors with high bills. Obama continued the unpopular bank bailouts and expanded the auto industry rescue that Bush initiated in 2008.

Bush authorized a military surge in Iraq in an effort to tame the conflict there. Obama completed the withdrawal of troops from Iraq but also authorized a military surge in Afghanistan before beginning a drawdown of troops that is expected to be completed at the end of 2014.

"The responsibilities of office drive presidents toward pragmatism," said Joshua Bolten, a former Bush chief of staff. Where those policies are effective, he added, "the successor has good reason to adopt them."

Obama, like Bush during his presidency, is seeking an overhaul of immigration laws that give 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally a chance to get on a path toward citizenship. Bush came up short in 2007, but Bolten believes that six years later the nation and its politicians are in a different place.

"President Bush was just ahead of his time and his party in recognizing both the importance of reaching some sort of bipartisan accommodation and on what the elements of that might reasonably be," he said.

Bruce Buchanan, a government professor at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes on the presidency, says it's not uncommon for presidents to hand off their agendas to another. Even measures or issues that were unpopular under one president can appear different with the passage of time and under the direction of a new occupant in the White House.

"While the names of the problems are the same, the stage of development is usually very different and the public stance of the president dealing with them is often very different," he said. "You have to be sensitive to those things lest you create the false impression that they are mirror images of one another, which I don't think would be accurate."

Even without the similarities, presidents are members of an elite club, one that gives them a unique appreciation for the travails they each face.

"Regardless of the times when they served and their political and policy differences, there is a commonality of experience that the president believes binds them together," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "The responsibilities of the office are the same."

On no front are the similarities between the two presidents more striking than on counterterrorism. Obama did vow to end the harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding that had been employed during the Bush administration, and he issued an executive order upon becoming president declaring that the United States would not engage in torture.

But other practices continued and, in some case, expanded under Obama.

"The basic similarity is these are the only two presidents that have governed in a post-9/11 era, where the principal threat to the United States comes from terrorism," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. "President Obama believes that we're at war with al-Qaida and its affiliated groups, has continued to take direct action against al-Qaida networks overseas and has continued to pursue very aggressive intelligence, law enforcement and homeland security measures that have been developed since 9/11."

Jack Goldsmith, who was an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel during Bush's first term, says Obama's use of warrantless surveillance, military detentions without trial and increased drone strikes has received less pushback than it would under a Republican president.

Goldsmith, now a law professor at Harvard Law School, argued in a blog post after Obama's election that the public "generally trust the former constitutional law professor and civil liberties champion more than a Republican president to carry out these policies."

He added that "many on the left (in Congress and the NGO community, and perhaps the press) who might otherwise be uncomfortable with these policies will give President Obama a freer hand than they would a Republican president."

Still, Rhodes sees significant differences in Obama's national security approach.

Bush, Rhodes said, had defined the broad conflict as a war on terrorism and included Iraq as part of that war.

"We redefined the war as something more narrow, which was a war against al-Qaida and its affiliates, not against other states, not against nonaffiliated terrorist groups," Rhodes said.

Republican Sen. John McCain has a unique perch to assess both presidents. He ran against both ? in 2000 against Bush for the Republican nomination and in 2008 against Obama. He allied himself with both men on immigration and called on them to increase troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan. An early opponent of waterboarding, he has applauded Obama's continued use of other counterterrorism measures.

"I think they both had an appreciation for the threat that we face," he said of the two presidents.

But he faults Obama for not leaving a residual force in Iraq and for creating uncertainty about what the U.S. presence will be in Afghanistan after 2014.

And he distinguishes between the presidents. Under Bush, he said the United States became a nation "that was ready to pursue our enemies."

"Obviously, President Obama viewed this as a time to withdraw and not to make military commitments overseas."

Rhodes makes a similar point, though differently.

"The trajectory under the previous administration was an increased military presence overseas," he said. "President Obama would like his legacy to be the reduction of military presence overseas and having, ideally, zero troops in harm's way."

___

Follow Jim Kuhnhenn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkuhnhenn

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-bush-partisans-share-common-ground-211231891--politics.html

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Business Financial Services, Inc. Announces New $82 Million Credit ...

Specialty Finance Leader Provides Working Capital to Underserved Small Businesses

CORAL SPRINGS, FL ? Business Financial Services, Inc. (BFS), a leading specialty finance company since 2002, announced a new $82 million credit facility provided by Wells Fargo Capital Finance, part of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC). The new credit line, which replaces a smaller facility with another lender, bolsters the Company?s ability to serve the owners of small and medium-size businesses throughout the United States, and through affiliates in Canada and the United Kingdom.

?Business Financial Services has grown rapidly over the last 11 years by effectively serving business owners whose working capital needs are not met by traditional funding sources,? said Marc Glazer, CEO and co-founder of the Company. ?This new credit line will enable us to help even more businesses address their ongoing needs and take advantage of real opportunities. With quick funding of loans as small as $4,000 and as large as $2,000,000 that are structured to meet the needs of the borrower, we help fill a critical credit gap in the economy.?

View a video of Marc Glazer discussing small business financing solutions from Business Financial Services.

About Business Financial Services

Business Financial Services, Inc. is a leading specialty finance company providing short term loans and cash advances to owners of small and medium-size businesses. Founded in 2002 with headquarters in South Florida and supported by private equity and institutional partners, BFS serves businesses in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and through affiliates, in Canada and the United Kingdom. BFS is proud to be an accredited BBB company with an A+ rating. Visit the BFS website at www.businessfinancialservices.com.

About Wells Fargo Capital Finance

Wells Fargo Capital Finance is the trade name for certain asset-based lending, accounts receivable and purchase order finance services of Wells Fargo & Company and its subsidiaries, and provides traditional asset-based lending, specialized senior secured financing, accounts receivable financing and purchase order financing to companies across the United States and Canada. Dedicated teams within Wells Fargo Capital Finance provide financing solutions for companies in specific industries such as retail, software publishing and high-technology, commercial finance, staffing, government contracting, timeshare development and others. For more information, visit wellsfargocapitalfinance.com

Contacts:

For Business Financial Services, Inc.
Fahlgren Mortine
Patrick Gallagher
(216) 298-4617
pat.gallagher@fahlgren.com

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Source: http://www.franchising.com/news/20130424_business_financial_services_inc_announces_new_82_m.html

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Suspect in Canada terror plot rambles in court appearance

TORONTO (AP) ? One of two men accused of plotting with al-Qaida members in Iran to derail a train in Canada became radicalized to the point that his father reached out to a Muslim support group for help and advice, a local religious leader said Wednesday.

Muhammad Robert Heft, president of the Paradise Forever Support Group Inc., a non-profit organization that provides support to Muslims in Canada, said Mohammad Jaser came to him several times citing concerns about the radicalization of his son.

"He came to me about his son saying he how concerned he was getting about the rigidness of his son and his interpretation of Islam. He was becoming self-righteous, becoming pushy, pushing his views on how much they (his family) should be practicing as a Muslim," said Heft.

Jaser's son Raed, 35 has been charged along with Chiheb Esseghaier, 30 with conspiring to carry out an attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group in their plot to derail a train that runs between New York City and Montreal.

Canadian investigators say the men received guidance from members of al-Qaida in Iran. Iranian government officials have said the government had nothing to do with the plot.

"His son was becoming overzealous and intolerant in his understanding of the religion," Heft. "Those are the telltale signs that can lead into the radicalization process."

The discussions took place between 2010 and 2011, while the father was renting a basement apartment in Heft's home in Markham, Ontario.

On Wednesday, the other suspect appeared briefly in court where he made a statement suggesting he did not recognize the court's jurisdiction.

Chiheb Esseghaier, one of two men accused of plotting a terror attack on rail target, is led off a plane by an Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer at Buttonville Airport just north of Toronto... more? Chiheb Esseghaier, one of two men accused of plotting a terror attack on rail target, is led off a plane by an Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer at Buttonville Airport just north of Toronto on Tuesday April 23, 2013. Canadian investigators say Raed Jaser, 35, and his suspected accomplice Esseghaier, 30, received "directions and guidance" from members of al-Qaida in Iran. In a brief court appearance in Montreal Tuesday, Esseghaier declined to be represented by a court-appointed lawyer. He made a brief statement in French in which he called the allegations against him unfair. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young) less? "This criminal code is not a holy book," Esseghaier said at the hearing. "We cannot rely on the conclusions taken out from these judgments."

At the hearing Esseghaier rejected the allegations against him and declined to be represented by a court-appointed lawyer.

Jaser had appeared in court Tuesday and did not enter a plea. The court granted a request by his lawyer, John Norris, for a publication ban on future evidence and testimony.

Both men were ordered to return to court on May 23.

"We are waiting for the disclosure and we will be defending against the charges," Norris said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Norris declined to comment when asked if he wanted his client's case separated from Esseghaier, who has spoken out twice in court despite being advised not to.

Police ? tipped off by an imam worried by the behavior of one of the suspects ? said it was the first known attack planned by al-Qaida in Canada. The two could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

The case has raised questions about the extent of Shiite-led Iran's relationship with al-Qaida, a predominantly Sunni Arab terrorist network. It also renewed attention on Iran's complicated history with the terror group, which ranges from outright hostility to alliances of convenience and even overtures by Tehran to assist Washington after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Canadian police said this week they didn't think it was a case of state sponsored terrorism.

Law officials in New York with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press the attack was to take place on the Canadian side of the border. They are not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Norris has questioned the timing of the arrests, pointing to ongoing debates in the Canadian Parliament over a new anti-terrorism law that would expand the powers of police and intelligence agencies.

Norris has noted Jaser was a permanent resident of Canada who has lived there for 20 years. Norris refused to say where Jaser was from, saying that revealing his nationality in the current climate amounted to demonizing him.

Canadian police have declined to release the men's nationalities, saying only they had been in Canada a "significant amount of time." But a London-based newspaper Al Arab reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources in the Gulf, that Jaser is a Jordanian passport holder with full name Raed Jaser Ibrahim Amouri, who had visited the UAE several times and most recently in September 2011. The newspaper reported that the suspect also visited other Gulf countries including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It was not possible to independently confirm the report.

Esseghaier, in a profile on a university department website ? which has since been removed ? says he was born in Tunis, Tunisia.

The investigation surrounding the planned attack was part of a cross-border operation involving Canadian law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Canadian police said the men never got close to carrying out the attack.

The warning first came from an imam in Toronto, who in turn was tipped off by suspicious behavior on the part of one of the suspect.

___

Associated Press writers Benjamin Shingler in Montreal, Tom Hays in New York, Kimberly Dozier in Washington and Brian Murphy in the United Arab Emirates contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suspect-canada-terror-plot-denies-charges-220238197.html

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