Obama launches push for immigration overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Seeking swift action on immigration, President Barack Obama on Tuesday will try to rally public support behind his proposals for giving millions of illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship, as well as making improvements to the legal immigration system and border security.

The president will launch his push in a campaign-style event in Las Vegas, a day after a bipartisan group of senators unveiled their own plan for addressing an issue that has languished in Washington for years.

Administration officials said Obama would largely endorse the senators' efforts, though immigration advocates said they expected the president's own proposals to be more progressive than the Senate group's plan, including a faster pathway to citizenship.

The simultaneous immigration campaigns were spurred by the November presidential election, in which Obama won an overwhelming majority of Hispanic voters. The results caused Republican lawmakers who had previously opposed immigration reform to reconsider in order to rebuild the party's reputation among Hispanics, an increasingly powerful political force.

Most of the recommendations Obama will make Tuesday are not new. He outlined an immigration blueprint in May 2011 but exerted little political capital to get it passed by Congress, to the disappointment of many Hispanics.

Obama "believes that we are at a moment now where there seems to be support coalescing at a bipartisan level behind the very principles that he has long put forward and behind principles that have in the past enjoyed bipartisan support," White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday. "And that is a very positive thing."

The president was to make his pitch in Nevada, a political battleground he carried in November, in large part because of support from Hispanics in the state.

Nationally, Obama won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote, giving him a key advantage over Republican rival Mitt Romney.

Administration officials said the president would bolster his 2011 immigration blueprint with some fresh details. His original plan centered on four key areas: a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., improved border security, an overhaul of the legal immigration system, and an easier process for businesses to verify the legal status of workers.

Administration officials said they were encouraged to see the Senate backing the same broad principles. In part because of the fast action on Capitol Hill, Obama does not currently plan to send lawmakers formal immigration legislation.

However, officials said the White House does have legislation drafted and could fall back on it should the Senate process stall. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal strategy.

Gay and lesbian advocates were also expecting Obama's proposals to include recognition of same-sex couples where one partner is American and another is not.

Sen. John McCain called the issue a "red flag" in an interview Tuesday on "CBS This Morning."

The Arizona Republican also said he didn't think the issue was of "paramount importance at this time."

"We'll have to look at it," McCain said. But he added that the highest priority is finding a "broad consensus" behind the immigration bill already being planned. He said the country must do something about 11 million people "living in the shadows."

Obama's previous proposals for creating a pathway to citizenship required those already in the U.S. illegally to register with the government and submit to security checks; pay registration fees, a series of fines and back taxes; and learn English. After eight years, individuals would be allowed to become legal permanent residents and could eventually become citizens five years later.

The Senate group's pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. would be contingent upon securing the border and improving tracking of people in the U.S. on visas. Linking citizenship to border security could become a sticking point between the White House and lawmakers.

The Senate framework would also require those here illegally to pass background checks and pay fines and taxes in order to qualify for a "probationary legal status" that would allow them to live and work here ? but not qualify for federal benefits ? before being able to apply for permanent residency, a critical step toward citizenship. Once they are allowed to apply they would do so behind everyone else already waiting for a green card within the current immigration system.

Passage of legislation by the full Democratic-controlled Senate is far from assured, but the tallest hurdle could come in the House, which is dominated by conservative Republicans who've shown little interest in immigration reform.

The senators involved in formulating the immigration proposals, in addition to McCain, are Democrats Charles Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado; and Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Several of these lawmakers have worked for years on the issue. McCain collaborated with the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on comprehensive immigration legislation pushed by then-President George W. Bush in 2007, only to see it collapse in the Senate when it couldn't get enough GOP support.

___

Associated Press writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.

___

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-launches-push-immigration-overhaul-080157239--politics.html

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Judge OKs record $4B BP oil spill criminal settlement | Wisconsin ...

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, 2010. U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance on Tuesday approved an agreement for BP to plead guilty to manslaughter and other charges and pay $4 billion in criminal penalties for the company's role in the 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP File Photo/Gerald Herbert)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? A federal judge on Tuesday approved an agreement for BP PLC to plead guilty to manslaughter and other charges and pay a record $4 billion in criminal penalties for the company?s role in the 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Before she ruled, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance heard testimony from relatives of 11 workers who died when BP?s blown-out Macondo well triggered an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and started the spill.

BP agreed in November to plead guilty to charges involving the workers? deaths and for lying to Congress about the size of the spill from its broken well, which spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil. Much of it ended up in the Gulf and soiled the shorelines of several states. The company could have withdrawn from the agreement if Vance had rejected it.

Neither the Justice Department nor BP presented arguments to the judge before her decision in New Orleans.

Vance said the plea deal was ?just punishment? considering the risks of litigation for BP and the alternatives to the settlement. She told victims? relatives who were in court that she read their ?truly gut-wrenching? written statements and factored their words into her decision.

?I?ve heard and I truly understand your feelings and the losses you suffered,? she said.

She said she also believes BP executives should have personally apologized to family members.

?I think BP should have done that out of basic humanity,? she said.

The deal doesn?t resolve the federal government?s civil claims against BP. The company could pay billions more in penalties for environmental damage.

BP separately agreed to a settlement with lawyers for Gulf Coast residents and businesses who claim the spill cost them money. BP estimates the deal with private attorneys will cost the company roughly $7.8 billion.

For the criminal settlement, BP agreed to pay nearly $1.3 billion in fines. The largest previous corporate criminal penalty assessed by the Justice Department was a $1.2 billion fine against drug maker Pfizer in 2009.

The criminal settlement also includes payments of nearly $2.4 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences.

In a court filing before the hearing, attorneys for BP and the Justice Department argued that the plea agreement imposes ?severe corporate punishment? and will deter BP and other deep-water drilling companies from allowing another disaster to occur.

The Justice Department has reached a separate settlement with rig owner Transocean Ltd. that resolves the government?s civil and criminal claims over the Swiss-based company?s role in the disaster.

Transocean agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Clean Water Act and pay $1.4 billion in civil and criminal penalties. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo has scheduled a Feb. 14 hearing to decide whether to accept that criminal settlement. A different judge will decide whether to accept Transocean?s civil settlement.

Many relatives of rig workers who died in the blast submitted written statements that were critical of BP?s deal. Twenty-eight-year-old Gordon Jones? family members said BP?s sentence should include a personal, face-to-face apology to his widow and children by BP executives. A brother of Jones also had urged Vance to consider stiffer penalties that prohibit or limit the company?s ability to operate in U.S. waters.

Vance, however, said she couldn?t get involved in plea negotiations and only could impose a sentence that adheres to the agreed-upon terms if she accepted it.

Also killed were Jason Anderson, 35, of Midfield, Texas; Aaron Dale ?Bubba? Burkeen, 37, of Philadelphia, Miss.; Donald Clark, 49, of Newellton, La.; Stephen Ray Curtis, 40, of Georgetown, La.; Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, La.; Karl Kleppinger Jr., 38, of Natchez, Miss.; Keith Blair Manuel, 56, of Gonzales, La.; Dewey A. Revette, 48, of State Line, Miss.; Shane M. Roshto, 22, of Liberty, Miss.; and Adam Weise, 24, Yorktown, Texas.

Four current or former BP employees have been indicted on separate criminal charges. BP rig supervisors Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine are charged with manslaughter, accused of repeatedly disregarding abnormal high-pressure readings that should have been glaring indications of trouble just before the blowout.

David Rainey, BP?s former vice president of exploration for the Gulf of Mexico, was charged with withholding information from Congress about the amount of oil that was gushing from the well.

Former BP engineer Kurt Mix was charged with deleting text messages about the company?s spill response.

A series of government investigations have blamed the April 20, 2010, blowout on time-saving, cost-cutting decisions by BP and its partners on the drilling project.

Source: http://wislawjournal.com/2013/01/29/judge-oks-4b-bp-oil-spill-criminal-settlement/

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Venezuela invokes old enemies during Chavez's absence

CARACAS (Reuters) - From would-be assassins to capitalist hoarders, Venezuela's government is jumping on any perceived threats from old enemies in what opponents see as a tactic to shore up support during socialist President Hugo Chavez's absence after cancer surgery.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, once widely viewed as an easy-going, more moderate figure, has been arguably as hard line and explosive as the boss while running the government since Chavez went to Cuba for surgery in December.

"Don't lower your guard against permanent conspirations by imperialism and the Venezuelan right wing!" the 50-year-old Maduro, who is Chavez's anointed dauphin, thundered to a crowd a few days ago in the latest of regular tirades against opponents.

With the usually garrulous and airwave-hogging Chavez out of public view since his December 11 operation, Maduro has done his best to fill the rhetorical void - never deviating from the old lines, although clearly lacking the president's charisma.

Just as Chavez did near-daily during his turbulent 14-year rule, Maduro and other government heavyweights have been firing salvoes at pro-opposition media, threatening businessmen with punishment for speculation and denouncing plots.

A Spanish newspaper's publication of a false photo of Chavez in hospital brought furious denunciations of the "necrophiliac right-wing" media's "evil-hearted" conspiring against Venezuela.

Blaming businessmen for causing price rises and shortages of some essential goods by hoarding, the government has sent inspectors into shops, warehouses and factories across Venezuela to root out evidence.

"It takes your breath away, the hate they have for the Venezuelan people," Maduro, who has met with business leaders to give them a face-to-face warning, said in one speech.

During the national sweep, authorities recently raided one warehouse to seize 9,000 metric tons (9,920 tons) of sugar intended to make Pepsi-Cola.

ASSASSINATION PLOT?

In the government's most dramatic accusation since Chavez's surgery, both Maduro and National Assembly head Diosdado Cabello alleged unidentified groups had entered Venezuela to kill them. No evidence has yet been given, prompting mockery from foes.

"It's a smokescreen so people talk of assassination plots rather than the crisis of governance in the country," opposition legislator Abelardo Diaz said.

Critics say Maduro's position as de facto leader is illegitimate, given that Chavez missed the swearing-in of his new government earlier this month. They want Chavez declared formally absent, which would lead to the naming of a caretaker president and new election within 30 days.

Maduro and other senior officials insist that Chavez, whose surgery was his fourth for a cancer first detected in his pelvic region in mid-2011, is on track to recover and will return soon.

They say political opponents who failed to topple Chavez earlier in his rule with street marches, a coup attempt and an oil strike are now delighting in his health woes and making illegal plans to grab power.

Maduro is a former bus driver and union activist who rose quickly through the ranks to become one of Chavez's most trusted allies and his foreign minister for six years.

He is bent on keeping unity in the ruling Socialist Party and on the surface at least he has achieved that - no mean feat given supposed rivalries among leaders of a movement that combines ideologues, ex-guerrillas, businessmen and career soldiers and that has been held together mainly by Chavez's personality.

Maduro and Cabello's attacks on foes keep party stalwarts focused on external threats and the need for unity. It is a tactic successfully used by Chavez, who has for years played on class prejudice and emphasized his own poor background to boost his support from the masses.

'OLIGARCHY'

"Look at the language they use, the pejorative words of an oligarchy that has never understood who we are," Maduro said in one speech, reminding red-clad "Chavista" supporters how opponents laugh at his humble roots.

"They say we must get rid of the 'little lieutenant' (Cabello) and the 'bus-driver,'" said the vice president, whom some middle-class opponents sneer at for his former job and lack of a university education.

One of Chavez's traditional whipping boys is the virulently anti-government Globovision TV network and it has again been hit with legal proceedings, this time for causing "anxiety" in its coverage of the president's health.

Although its news coverage is often breathless and strident - and private media have a blemished record in their partisan anti-Chavez coverage as well as suffering tough measures against them - Globovision insists the accusations are ridiculous.

"Every time the government is in trouble, or in a complicated situation, they try and censure us to distract public attention," said Globovision Vice President Carlos Zuloaga.

Certainly, Chavez's sickness has eclipsed public debate over crime, inflation and problems in public services, and there is anxiety on the streets at the secrecy over his precise state.

"No one's speaking clearly about this," said 27-year-old Caracas resident Lizbeth Sandoval. "They tell us about plans to kill Maduro and so on but they don't tell us how Chavez is. They don't even give us medical reports."

Maduro, balancing the continued militancy of the government he leads at least temporarily, did speak late last year with a senior U.S. official in a possible sign he would consider a rapprochement with the old enemy to the north.

Yet most see him as a chip off the old block.

"Replacing a leader who controlled power so tightly has two possible variations - negotiation or radicalization," said local political analyst Luis Vicente Leon. "If we assume Maduro is weaker than Chavez, there's a high risk his path is a radical one."

(Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Kieran Murray and Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-invokes-old-enemies-during-chavezs-absence-153436703.html

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Travel for business: The Mechanics of Business Travel - Part 3

What is a ?fixed? ticket price? Well actually there is no such thing as the cost of a particular ticket usually varies greatly throughout its life. You see a ticket is like any other commodity in that its value gets smaller as its likelihood of sale diminishes. In the case of an air ticket the value hits zero as soon as that aircraft takes off with an empty seat on it. An airline flight seat is more perishable than a bunch of ripe bananas.

It has taken a while but airlines have now recognised this having competed and mainly lost to no frills companies that work on the ?stack them high and sell them cheap? business model. Now you have the most conservative of the major airlines of the world discounting their prices to produce full flights. Everyone is working on the same concept which is to sell their seats at the maximum price they possibly can but shift them nonetheless.

I challenge anyone to run a straw poll on price paid on any airline flight and I can almost guarantee that they would all be different. Much depends on the popularity of the service as the ?rush hour? peak aircraft will always be able to charge a premium for the exclusivity of what they have. If you are flying to Paris on business on a Monday morning there is no point in arriving early afternoon so you, like everyone else in that situation, pays extra to go early and do a full day?s work.

So how do airlines work out their fares? Firstly they look at the trends. They see how that flight did previously going back a considerable distance. They calculated who paid what and when. They identify when they booked and how often people then cancelled. Then they look at how full the aircraft was and what prices people paid who occupied those seats. They learn from this information and build a pricing plan.
The vast majority of airlines invest in ?yield management? as a way of optimising seat usage and making money.

I would say the price of a seat in a particular cabin on an airline can change over 50 times from first being put on the market up to departure time. Get it right and you have a full aircraft and no wastage. Get it wrong too often and you go out of business or need a government bail out!

Everyone knows that only individual private travelers and tourist book and pay early so the prices initially start low. Closer to departure date you get the more thrifty business traveler and those that need to go more suddenly so the price goes up. Three to four days out you have the business traveler. They need flexibility and they have to go so they get hit with the highest fares. The day before, if there are any seats left, they are discounted for the last minute traveler who is looking for cheap deals and can risk being turned away.

This is the sort of basic model that is used today. Within that there are prices for groups booked together, ships crews, tour operators and numerous others. Success or otherwise is measured by filling that last seat however they can, and at the best price for the airline. Most planes are overbooked by airlines as they even gamble on how many folk will turn up on the day. This is especially true when an airline operates different classes as they feel safer overbooking economy seats if they can upgrade any surplus into business class. This happens a lot.

Another method of selling large volumes of seats is through consolidators and wholesalers. These people have a lot of customers and they buy seats at low net prices from airlines for resale to their own market. Airlines get less but they have outsourced the responsibility of selling them to a third party.

How do you get the best ticket price? The only way is to book when others do not. Either early or risk a last minute attempt. It is like a game of chess really, except your competitors employ ?grand masters? to play their pieces!

Source: http://wwwbusinesstravel.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-mechanics-of-business-travel-part-3.html

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Celebrities' Strange Hobbies: From Unicycling And Model Railroads To Juggling And Ping Pong

Celebrities, they're just like us. Only weirder, sometimes.

Though $20 million paychecks may bring to mind the kind of fun us laymen can't afford -- skydiving from a private jet onto a privately owned mountain covered in artificial snow, for instance -- many of Hollywood's elite engage in vastly different hobbies. We're talking serious mainstream heavyweights: Kristen Stewart, the Biebs, Rod Stewart, Johnny Depp. Who woulda thought!

What are they into, you ask?

Angelina Jolie, for instance, told W magazine in 2008 that collecting daggers is a pastime passed on to her by her mother. "My mom took me to buy my first daggers when I was 11 or 12," she said. "And I?ve already bought Maddox some things. We take him to a special shop."

Scientology front man Tom Cruise is into fencing. So much so, in fact, that he introduced his pals Will Smith and David Beckham to his hobby. "We don't get enough time to hang out, just us three guys, so this is his way of getting together and bonding," Smith said in 2008. "David and I go to his home and just do fencing. It's a lot of fun."

"Saturday Night Live" head writer and overall funny man Seth Meyers wrote a comic book with cast mate Bill Hader, titled "Spider-Man: The Short Halloween" in 2009. The idea, Meyers described in a New York Times interview at the time, came to them when they attended a Marvel party in 2007. He and Hader were as excited about the Marvel team as the latter were about the TV stars.

Click on through to find out who can solve a Rubik's Cube in under two minutes, who's a ping pong champ, which sexy lady is into WoW, and which Hollywood hunk loves playing with Barbies:

• Angelina Jolie

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2008/11/brad_pitt_angelina_jolie">Collecting daggers</a>

• Justin Bieber

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://youtu.be/uPVTHbJc-_o">Rubik's Cube</a>

• Kristen Stewart

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/188493/kristen-stewart-shows-off-her-hidden-talent">Juggling</a> (... men?)

• Tom Cruise

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/tom-cruise-introduces-david-beckham-314223">Fencing</a>

• Leslie Mann

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Leslie-Mann-Interview-Leslie-Mann-ParaNorman">Unicycling</a>

• Rod Stewart

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/10/rod-stewart-on-his-hairthat-nasty-rumor-and-his-model-trains/">Model trains and model railroads</a>

• Susan Sarandon

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://laist.com/2012/12/12/susan_sarandon_bringing_her_passion.php">Ping pong</a>

• Seth Meyers

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://youtu.be/NymJHSWZaRo">Comic books</a>

• Mila Kunis

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://www.dorkly.com/video/9306/mila-kunis-talks-about-wow">World of Warcraft</a>

• David Arquette

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/01/famous-knitters/">Knitting</a>

• Taylor Swift

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://instagram.com/p/WP2Pv/">Making snowglobes</a>

• Johnny Depp

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/415429/johnny-depp-collects-barbie-dolls/">Playing with Barbies</a>

• Jay Leno

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/style/stick-shift/2012/08/jay-leno-cars-garage-fiat-vega">Collecting cars</a>

• Bob Barker

  <b>The hobby</b>: <a href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1995-08-25/entertainment/9508230421_1_bob-barker-karate-jovi">Karate</a>

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/26/celebrities-strange-hobbies_n_2537297.html

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Numark NS7 II Serato DJ controller hands-on (video)

Like buttons? Numark at NAMM evidently thinks they are this season's DJ must have. The latest bit of kit to get the manual-input makeover? Its NS7 II Serato DJ controller. The second iteration of its motorized-platter DJ tool lands augmented with 16 "MPC-style" pads. Of course, when you are part of the same corporation that also makes the MPC, swinging these sort of add-ons must be a little easier. Those pads will be assignable to a host of features (cues, loop, roll, sampler, and slicer) in the Serato DJ software (sadly not ready for a demo with the hardware at this time). Of course, the NS7 II is all MIDI compatible, so if your software of choice is something else, then you are free to map and a buse as you wish. That's not all, you might notice in the picture above that the pads have some jazzy colors going on. They are have RGB illumination which can be set and customized to your choice by MIDI data. It's not all about the pads though. Numark has also added touch functionality to a lot of the rotaries. So, if you have one set to control a filter, you can just tap the tip of the control to trigger it on / off. The last of the big news is that with the NS7 II, you can also control four virtual decks. A nice addition for the fast-fingered DJs out there. We ran into the device on the show floor and spent some time with it. Head past the break for more.

Gallery: Numark NS7 II hands-on

If you ever got your hands on the original NS7, you'll know that it is quite the machine. Big, heavy, covered in controls, and most famously, sporting fully motorized 7-inch platters. It's this curious mix of new and old methodology that pretty much sums up the Serato DJ software it is designed to work with. With the NS7 II, it's basically more of the same. The hardware is built like a tank, the platters feel authentic enough to bring back nostalgia (even if it's in smaller, 7-inch form). The MPC buttons look and feel great too. Intense mashing and finger / thumb abuse? These look more than capable at taking it by the bucket load. The color effect is pleasing to the eye. We're not sure how important it will be in real world application, but if you like to mark out your triggers and samples, this will let you do that. And what the heck, it just looks pretty sweet -- never a bad thing. As for the touch-enabled rotaries? Well, sadly we'll just have to imagine how they work, as there was no connected software for us to test them out. We're imagining it to be a handy feature, none the less. The same applies to the four deck functionality. We were unable to test it, but it's utilitarian enough that we welcome the addition. Each of the two hardware platters has a pair of buttons beneath it letting you switch between decks easily. These buttons are again, solid and firm, letting you get carried away without damaging your new pride and joy.

Prospective buyers will be pleased to know that as Numark has done before, the unit also contains a full independent mixer. This means you can plug in CDJs, turntables and more and bring them into your set without problem. That mixer is also somewhat larger this time around, thanks to the extra two channels it sports for the four decks. This also serves to enhance its chunky, no messin' look and feel. We'd love to have spent some time actually using it, but alas it wasn't to be. We did manage to grab some video of the hardware though, so head south to take a look of that, while we patiently wait for price and availability information.

Billy Steele contributed to this report.

Filed under: Misc

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/26/numark-ns7-ii-serato-dj-controller-hands-on/

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Instapundit on Our "Ham Sandwich" Legal System - Hit & Run ...

You know the old line about prosecutors and grand juries, right? A vaguely competent prosecutor can get an indictment on a ham sandwich.

Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit and Univ. of Tennessee law prof, has a new paper called "Ham Sandwich Nation" Due Process When Everything is a Crime."

Here's the abstract:

Though extensive due process protections apply to the investigation of crimes, and to criminal trials, perhaps the most important part of the criminal process - the decision whether to charge a defendant, and with what - is almost entirely discretionary. Given the plethora of criminal laws and regulations in today's society, this due process gap allows prosecutors to charge almost anyone they take a deep interest in. This Essay discusses the problem in the context of recent prosecutorial controversies involving the cases of Aaron Swartz and David Gregory, and offers some suggested remedies, along with a call for further discussion.

Read more and download it here.

The Altantic's Conor Friedersdorf discusses the paper and related topics here?and libertarian legal eagle Randy Barnett comments on it at the Volokh Conspiracy here.

The short version of it all? When everything is a crime, nobody is safe from the sorts of legal actions (or threats thereof) that choke off freedom of thought and action.

Related: Harvey Silverglate, author the must-read Three Felonies a Day, on "the peril of vague criminal statutes."

Source: http://reason.com/blog/2013/01/24/instapundit-on-our-ham-sandwich-legal-sy

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Factory activity gains speed, jobless claims drop

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Factory activity grew the most in nearly two years in January and the number of new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a five-year low last week, giving surprisingly strong signals on the economy's pulse.

Financial information firm Markit on Thursday said its preliminary Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing rose to 56.1 this month, its best showing since March 2011. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to 330,000, the lowest since January 2008 when the 2007-2009 recession had just begun.

Together, the data suggest the economy entered the new year with some underlying momentum despite an ongoing political battle in Washington over fiscal policy.

"The economy is structurally doing a little bit better," said Michael Strauss, an economist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected Markit's "flash" factory gauge to slip and looked for claims to rise to 355,000.

The unexpectedly strong U.S. data helped U.S. stocks to rise, reversing early declines caused by disappointing revenues reported by Apple Inc. Better-than-expected economic news from the euro zone and China also supported stocks.

Economists have cautioned about reading too deeply into this month's figures on jobless claims, which tend to be volatile around this time of the year because of large swings in the model the government uses to iron out seasonal fluctuations.

Still, claims have fallen for two straight weeks, suggesting employers do not yet see tax hikes enacted this month as a big threat to consumer demand.

A four-week moving average for new claims, meant to provide a better sense of underlying trends, fell 8,250 to 351,750, the lowest since March 2008.

The data helped the dollar extend gains versus the yen, while U.S. Treasury debt prices fell.

PRE-RECESSION LEVEL

Claims are now at roughly the same level they were in much of 2006 and 2007. They started trending higher around December 2007, the month the recession began.

However, while employers have pulled back on layoffs, they have only added jobs at a lackluster pace.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the government's employment report due on February 1 will show 165,000 jobs were added to payrolls this month, up from 155,000 new positions in December. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 7.8 percent.

Like the claims data, Markit's factory report also offered support for the idea that the labor market recovery was gaining traction with new jobs in the sector being created at the fastest pace in nine months.

A Markit subindex showed factory output grew at its fastest pace since March 2012, while new orders also rose. The new orders gauge hit 57.7, its highest level since May 2010.

Improved economic conditions in China and some parts of Europe helped boost orders from abroad, but firms largely tied the growth surge to higher demand from U.S. customers.

"It is the domestic market that is clearly providing the main impetus to the upturn," said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.

Aggressive monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and a last-minute deal by Congress to reduce the size of the tax hike gave a boost to business confidence, Williamson said.

A third gauge of economic health released on Thursday also beat analysts' forecasts. The private Conference Board's Leading Economic Index gained 0.5 percent to 93.9 last month, pointing to an improvement in growth.

(Additional reporting by Steven C. Johnson and Richard Leong in New York; Writing by Jason Lange and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jobless-claims-drop-five-low-labor-market-healing-133257002--business.html

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Beyonc&eacute; Wasn?t Lip-Syncing

Beyonce performs the National Anthem during the inauguration ceremony on Monday

Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

I'm hoping for a flurry of retractions. A Marine spokesperson said yesterday that she couldn't confirm or deny that Beyonc? wasn't lip-syncing, and pretty much every media outlet assumed that was an admission. On NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams said that Beyonc? wasn?t lip-syncing, but,??in effect, lip-syncing?; Jon Stewart's jokes took it as a given that she faked it; NPR is wringing its hands NPR-ily.

It's bunk. That lady was singing live. She sang to a prerecorded track?a canned band?and perhaps there was a guide vocal in her earpiece, audible only to her, but that was absolutely a genuine performance.

Kelly Clarkson performed to a prerecorded track, too. So did the choir.

I've done a bunch of lip-syncing, in music videos, and it's very easy to spot. Anyone who performs in, shoots, or edits music videos can see the tiny, observable latency endemic to lip-syncing. Beyonc? either sang live, or she's the most gifted?lip-syncer in the history of humanity.

Below is the video for my cover of "Take Me Home, Country Roads." My lips lag pitifully behind the words. It's because?and this is extremely common?the way I sing a song changes very slightly every time, and, six months later, the phrasing can be significantly different. Video directors have asked me to spend three hours listening to my own song, lip-syncing all the while, but I've never done it. The result is an eminently mediocre lip-sync. Ignore the mountaineer in Cazals, and watch my mouth:

Now here's Beyonc? at the inauguration. Again, don't look at anything but her mouth:

For comparison, here's Beyonc?'s video for "Work It Out," in which she's lip-syncing. It's difficult to ignore her thighs, but, please, focus solely on the lips:

If she was indeed lip-syncing at the inauguration, give her the Nobel Prize in mime.

A soldier can differentiate one type of gun from another by the sound of it; a bird-watcher can hear the difference between warblers. If your job is predicated on microphones?as an engineer or a singer?it?s not that hard to tell the difference between a live vocal and a prerecorded one. The easiest way to say it would be that a recorded vocal sounds perfect, in the way that a live vocal can't, and, to those who spend time meticulously mixing imperfect vocals to bring them closer to perfection, it's as plain as day.

In a recording studio, troublesome variables can be smoothed out. The reverb on the vocal can be exactingly calibrated. You can use a much more expensive, sophisticated, delicate microphone; a hand-held, onstage mic needs to be rugged. You can put a "pop screen" in front of the mic?in a live vocal you'll hear Bs and Ps go pmpp!; you'll hear a little more breath; Fs and Ss will make a slight whssh! sound.

The national anthem is a bitch to sing?it?s the K2 of national anthems. The low notes are really low; the high notes are super high. The tune was an 18^th-century drinking song, and I'm sure that half the fun of it was that it turned a room of drunks into blissful Biz Markies.

Even Beyonc? seemingly had to decide which notes were worth the risk of flubbing, when choosing a key to sing it in. She chose the lows, at the beginning of the tune. "Oh say can you see" is barely audible; that's probably because if the sound engineer mixed the vocal expressly to make her shakier, lower range louder, the big dramatic notes at the end would shriek. A prerecorded vocal would be mixed such that those low notes would be just as audible as the high notes.

A singer with a big voice learns to pull the mic slightly further from her mouth on big notes, because it gets louder, and she doesn't want to kill people. Rewind that video, and note the words "twilight" and "ramparts." They vary slightly in volume?the low notes are louder than the high notes.

Most dramatically, sound waves actually blow around in the wind. Sometimes, when I do a big outdoor festival, I sound-check in calm weather, but the wind picks up when the actual show begins, taking my voice and throwing it someplace other than where I?m expecting it. It's easy to get confused. A politician might choke, like, "I'm not speaking right! Or the sound's not right! I better be super loud! Or use the mic differently!" That would be a Howard Dean moment. If you're the sound engineer at the inauguration, a big part of your gig is preventing Howard Dean moments.

Beyonc?, being a samurai, clearly came expecting that possibility. So she compensates: She sings the word "bursting" a little too close to the mic, causing a little bit of discernible distortion?it's like a subtler version of when you're talking into the mic on your phone, and you suddenly get loud, or too close, and for a moment the voice gets kind of larger and fuzzier.

When she pulls out her left earpiece?more on that in a moment?she's adjusting how she sounds to herself, and she subsequently pulls the mic further from her face. Notice how the echo suddenly gets more obvious?for a split second, the vocal sounds like it's going through a tin can.

Right after that, you can tell that the sound person is scrambling to adjust the sound, because she's adjusted her mic position. It sounds noticeably different until "Oh say does that star-spangled banner still wave," when the sound is dialed in again.

So: about the in-ear monitors. The sight of her earpiece begat the conspiracy theories, but an earpiece is not, by any means, a sign of lip-syncing. In-ears are worn by almost all singers who can afford them. Everybody who sings in arenas does. It may sound surprising, but, even for fantastic singers, it can be difficult to sing in tune if you're only hearing yourself on an enormous sound system?overhead, flanking you, and facing not you but the audience. Anybody who would sing outdoors, in the wind, in front of hundreds of thousands of people (and millions on TV), without in-ears would be gambling absurdly. The choir was probably too large for everybody to have in-ears, but I bet the soloist did; if Kelly Clarkson didn't use them, I'd be stunned.

Probably she popped it out because the sound was weird?see above. Possibly, she usually performs with just one in, and used both at the inauguration to be extremely cautious?upon beginning to sing, she might've thought, Oh, wait, I don't need this. (When I use in-ears on longer tours, when I can afford to bring along a sound engineer, I always keep one popped out so I don't feel insulated.)

Look, lip-syncing irritates me. It's everywhere. I was stunned that, after the Ashlee Simpson debacle, SNL continued to have musical guests who lip-sync.

And even more grating to me is the use of canned backing tracks when you could just put a real band there. Every single performance at the inauguration was done to prerecorded tracks?as was every performance in 2009, including Yo-Yo Ma?s. (He actually did fake playing his cello, because cold weather makes the wood and the strings of delicate instruments freak out.) I wasn't an enthused viewer of the Bush inaugurations, and I was high during Clinton's, but I'd bet you any sum that performances on those occasions were largely to canned music.

That sucks! America, the richest country in the world, can?t afford to hire an orchestra and put microphones on them? Is it, like, hard, or something? What is this, pregame at the Gator Bowl? But that?s not the scandal?supposed lip-syncing is. It?s weird that nobody in a TV news department, where remote reporters are always wearing an earpiece to hear the anchor back in New York, would explain why singers would use them.

For me, the most compelling evidence that Beyonc? was doing it for real is the HELL YES smile on Joe Biden's face. Now, that is, clearly, a dude standing two feet from an electrifying lady singing like a motherfucker.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=5c09d1a7bd26090de8b1e1ef4b7711c8

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EVSC Students Advance to State Business Competition | City ...

Sixty-four high school students in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation advanced to the Indiana State Business Professionals of America (BPA) contest scheduled for March in Indianapolis after qualifying at the district contest this past weekend. If the students place at the state level, they will compete at the national level in Orlando, Fla., in May.

The students earned the opportunity to advance by competing in the district competition held Saturday, January 12, at Ivy Tech Community College. Students participated in numerous areas, including payroll and fundamental accounting, desktop publishing, spreadsheet analysis, PC serving and troubleshooting and many more. More than 400 students competed at the district event from multiple counties in Southwest Indiana, including Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Gibson, Pike, Dubois, Knox, Davies and Martin.

Following is a complete list of EVSC students who advanced to state

Dilyne Barton 2nd ? Parliamentary Procedure 5th ? Medical Office Procedures Bosse High School

Dakota Berry 9th ? Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications 10th ? Financial Math and Analysis Bosse High School

David Greenwood 1st ? Small Business Management Team Bosse High School

Hannah Kenoyer 8th ? Information Technology Concepts 10th ? Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications Bosse High School

Nature Marshall 8th ? Insurance Concepts Bosse High School

Madison Osbourne 6th ? Medical Office Procedures Bosse High Schoool

Hannah Riffle 1st ? Small Business Management Team 2nd ? Interview Skills Bosse High School

Krissy Terry 1st ? Small Business Management Team 3rd ? Project Management Concepts 6th ? Financial Math and Analysis
Bosse High School

Taylor Waddel 7th ? Fundamental Accounting Central High School

Alanna Payne 8th ? Fundamental Accounting Central High School

Hillary Smith 1st ? Advanced Accounting 2nd ? Advanced Interview Skills Central High School

Cory Simmons 2nd ? Payroll Accounting 5th ? Advanced Office Systems & Procedures Central High School

AJ Crowell 4th ? Fundamental Spreadsheet 11th ? Database Applications Central High School

Elizabeth Ryder 2nd ? Fundamental Word Processing Central High School

Jacob Albin 10th ? Fundamental Word Processing Central High School

Jennifer Blythe 10th ? Database Applications Central High School

Jacob Anderson
Josh Bertram
Connor Clements 1st ? Broadcast News Team Central High School

Allie Wigginton 3rd ? Graphic Design Promotion Central High School

Lakota Ironrope
Cody Kennedy
Andre McVey
Austin VanBritson 1st ? Presentation Management Team Central High School

Josh Degenhart
Reed Leonhardt
Sam Murillo
Owen Newman Top 12 ? Website Design Team Central High School

Cameron Gilreath 3rd ? Job Interview 3rd ? Presentation Management ? Individual Harrison High School

Dylan Blankenship 1st ? Advanced Desktop Publishing North High School

Chase Clayton 2nd ? Advanced Desktop Publishing North High School

Caleb Chambers 3rd ? Advanced Desktop Publishing North High School

Brett Millikan 1st ? Entrepreneurship North High School

Derek Tapley 1st ? Systems Administration ? Cisco North High School

Cody Adler, Tyler Melton and Ryan Koestring 3rd ? Video Production ? Team North High School

Klara Williamson 4th ? Advanced Spreadsheet Applications 5th ? Fundamental Word Processing Skill North High School

Jackson Treadway 4th ? Fundamental Word Processing Skills 6th ? Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications North High School

Garrett Young 7th ? Fundamentals of Desktop Publishing North High School

Tyler Melton 8th ? Fundamentals of Desktop Publishing North High School

Howard Yeh 1st ? Interview Skills 8th ? Financial Math & Analysis Reitz High School

Sammy Tadros 1st ? Financial Math & Analysis 2nd ? Economic Research Team 7th ? Medical Office Procedures Reitz High School

Mitchell Schnarr 2nd ? Economic Research Team Reitz High School

Garrett Goebel 2nd ? Economic Research Team Reitz High School

Noah Weisling 2nd ? Global Marketing Research Team 6th ? Parlimentary Procedures Reitz High School

Matt Parker 2nd ? Global Marketing Research Team 2nd ? Information Technology Concepts Reitz High School

Marek Rathousky 3rd ? Fundamental Accounting 3rd ? Payroll Accounting Reitz High School

Jacob Rusk 5th ? Fundamental Spreadsheets Reitz High School

Clayton Carlton 5th ? Integrated Office Applications Reitz High School

Bailey Jones 6th ? Advanced Office Procedures Reitz High School

Kate Lutz 3rd ? Advanced Office Procedures 3rd ? Medical Office Procedures Reitz High School

Liberty Wiley 8th ? Legal Office Procedures Reitz High School

Rebecca Cobb 6th ? Legal Office Procedures Reitz High School

Blake Huggins 5th ? Legal Office Procedures Reitz High School

Evan Logue 4th ? Legal Office Procedures Reitz High School

Caitlyn DeMoss 1st ? Human Resource Management 2nd ? Small Business Management Team Reitz High School

Ben Campbell 2nd ? Small Business Management Team Reitz High School

Ty Martin 2nd ? Small Business Management Team Reitz High School

Madaline Bogan 1st ? Presentation Management ? Individual Reitz High School

Allie Winstead 2nd ? Presentation Management Team Reitz High School

Kate Carnahan 2nd ? Presentation Management Team Reitz High School

Brie Phillips 2nd ? Presentation Management Team Reitz High School

Kaitlyn Bryan 2nd ? Presentation Management Team Reitz High School

Business Professionals of America is the national career/technical student organization for students preparing for careers in the business world.

This entry was posted on January 23, 2013 at 3:17 pm and is filed under Alert, Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Source: http://city-countyobserver.com/2013/01/23/evsc-students-advance-to-state-business-competition/

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House passes Republican plan to extend debt limit to May 19

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed an extension of borrowing authority under the federal debt limit to May 19, putting the Republican plan on a fast track to enactment after top Senate Democrats endorsed it.

The 285-144 vote in the House fell largely along party lines, with many Democrats objecting to the short-term nature of the extension.

(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/debt-limit-extension-bill-moves-vote-house-165507643--business.html

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Jordan votes in poll boycotted by main Islamist party

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanians voted on Wednesday in their first parliamentary elections since the Arab Spring revolts, but a boycott by the main Islamist party will ensure no repeat of an Egypt-style revolution via the ballot box.

The popular Muslim Brotherhood shunned the poll saying the electoral system had been rigged against large, populated urban areas where it is strongest in favor of rural tribal areas where conservative, pro-government forces are entrenched.

Dozens of people lined up outside polling stations in several Jordanian towns before polls opened across the kingdom at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT), witnesses said.

Jordan, a U.S.-backed monarchy bordering Israel, has seen large protests against corruption and criticizing King Abdullah, although they have not been on the same scale as those that toppled rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and led to civil wars in Libya and Syria.

The government has promised free and fair polls and predicted a good turnout, despite the boycott.

"There are not two people in Jordan who are whispering that the government will interfere in the elections," Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told Reuters this week.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the single most popular party in Jordan - with strong support in cities, especially among poorer Palestinians who live there.

Its boycott has reduced the election to a contest between tribal leaders, establishment figures and businessmen, with just a few of the 1,500 candidates running for recognized parties. Allegations of vote-buying are rife.

The result may hand even more power to a tribal establishment that maintains a tight grip on power and is keen on maintaining costly state patronage but is resented by large parts of the urban poor who feel left out, politically and economically.

"There are no agendas in candidates' campaigns. Their campaigns are emotionally driven, and are based more on personal relationships than they are on constructive programs," said Sheikh Talal al-Madi, a former senator from a tribal area.

Sparsely populated rural and tribal constituencies, where pro-government tribes are strong, get a bigger weighting in parliament than the Palestinian-dominated poor urban constituencies where the Islamists find their support. Wealthier Palestinians with economic power tend not to vote.

"This is a sham election whose results will only erode the credibility of the future parliament," said Zaki Bani Rusheid, deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood.

More than two thirds of Jordan's 7 million people live in cities but are allocated less than a third of assembly seats.

Jordanians are voting amid economic gloom, with austerity policies guided by the International Monetary Fund that the government was forced to adopt last year to avoid a fiscal crisis after years of spending on a bloated public sector.

PROTESTS

Last November, steep fuel price rises provoked sometimes violent protests, as resentment about the cost of living and perceived government corruption bubbled up onto the streets.

Islamists and some tribal opposition figures have called on the king to relinquish his power to appoint governments. They say constitutional changes last year that shifted some powers from the monarch to parliament fell short of their demands.

But in tribal strongholds like the northern village of Umm Jimal, there is stiff resistance to the Muslim Brotherhood's demands to change the voting system and introduce wider reforms that would undermine their political privileges.

"Our people would not accept in any way that anyone touches the institutions responsible for the protection of the country and its stability or security. These issues, they are not even worthy of discussion," tribal chief Saed Hael Srour said as supporters packed into his election tent.

Srour, a prominent lawmaker and former interior minister, said his constituents opposed the Islamists' demands to reduce the monarchy's powers or touch the state funds allocated to the security forces which mainly employs native Jordanians.

Many still see the king as the ultimate guarantee of stability in a country torn between a minority tribal population long used to preferential treatment by the state and a majority of Palestinian descent.

In the nearby village of Dafyanah, where most residents are either state employees or depend on state pensions, there are concerns about a lack of state jobs.

"I have a son who has not been working for the last two years and he has become a burden. I knock at government agencies who say we cannot employ you," said Abu Ahmad, a Bedouin who lives on a 250 dinar ($350) monthly army pension.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/polls-open-jordan-election-boycotted-islamists-070618925.html

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Study finds linchpin of skin response to UVA light

Public release date: 21-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Last year, a team of researchers at Brown University discovered that certain skin cells use a light-sensitive receptor found outside of the eye to sense ultraviolet light and quickly begin pumping out melanin to protect against DNA damage. In a new study, lab members identify a key player in that biomolecular chain of events that could someday become a pharmacological target for improving this protective response.

The new discovery, published the week of Jan. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is that human melaoncyte skin cells rely on an ion channel called TRPA1 to allow a flood of calcium ions into the cells when they are exposed to UVA light. The resulting abundance of calcium ions signals the cell to begin making melanin, the pigment responsible for the tanning response in people.

Several experiments described in the paper show that TRPA1, which is known from a number of other appearances elsewhere in the body, is an essential step in the skin's response to UVA light, said senior author Elena Oancea, assistant professor of medical science in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology at Brown.

As a matter of basic science, the finding strengthens the evidence of a striking parallel between the skin's response to UVA light and the way the eye detects light.

"Its exciting because it confirms this phototransduction pathway is similar to those found in the eye. It consists of a light-sensitive receptor, molecular signaling cascade, and an ion channel," Oancea said. "The involvement of an ion channel makes this pathway a lot more like other phototransduction pathways."

In other parts of the body, TRPA1 has been shown to help detect pungent but benign chemicals, such as those in intensely flavorful foods. Oancea and lead author Nicholas Bellono said the chemical sensitivity of TRPA1 offers the intriguing possibility that it could become a target for experiments to boost melanin production.

"TRPA1 ion channels are involved in the detection of pungent chemicals such as cinnamaldehyde, wasabi, and mustard oil, and we've now found it's important for this melanin response," Bellono said. "There is a possibility that we can pharmacologically alter pigmentation through regulation of this ion channel."

Oancea and Bellono emphasized, however, that people who go out in the sun should always take widely recommended precautions to protect their skin, such as using high-SPF commercial sunscreens or wearing protective hats and clothing.

Finding the channel

From the prior research in Oancea's lab, Bellono knew he was looking for some kind of molecular pathway that would start with a light sensitive receptor and trigger an elevated level of calcium ions in the melanocytes.

It seemed possible that a TRP ion channel would be involved because TRPs are involved in phototransduction elsewhere in the body that lead to an increase in intracellular calcium. There are, however, many types of TRP channels, and the molecular identity of the UVA-activated channel in melanocytes was not apparent. Oancea confessed that she even suspected another as the culprit. But many experiments later, the team hit on TRPA1 and amassed considerable evidence to confirm its vital role.

In one experiment, for example, they treated melanocytes with "antagonist" chemicals known to block TRPA1 activity. They then exposed the cells to UVA light and measured the resulting electrical response. The cells blocked with the antagonists had 80 to 90 percent reduction in current compared to the unhindered cells.

They used a similar technique of specifically blocking TRPA1 activity to show that the ion channel contributes greatly to the presence of calcium ions after UVA exposure compared to unhindered melanocyte cells. They also found melanocytes produce little or no melanin following exposure to UVA when TRPA1 is blocked.

They did not, however, do experiments to see whether adding TRPA1 stimulating substances could increase melanin production.

###

In addition to Bellono and Oancea, other authors on the paper are Laura Kammel and Anita Zimmerman.

The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (grant T32-GM077995), and Brown University funded the research.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 21-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Last year, a team of researchers at Brown University discovered that certain skin cells use a light-sensitive receptor found outside of the eye to sense ultraviolet light and quickly begin pumping out melanin to protect against DNA damage. In a new study, lab members identify a key player in that biomolecular chain of events that could someday become a pharmacological target for improving this protective response.

The new discovery, published the week of Jan. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is that human melaoncyte skin cells rely on an ion channel called TRPA1 to allow a flood of calcium ions into the cells when they are exposed to UVA light. The resulting abundance of calcium ions signals the cell to begin making melanin, the pigment responsible for the tanning response in people.

Several experiments described in the paper show that TRPA1, which is known from a number of other appearances elsewhere in the body, is an essential step in the skin's response to UVA light, said senior author Elena Oancea, assistant professor of medical science in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology at Brown.

As a matter of basic science, the finding strengthens the evidence of a striking parallel between the skin's response to UVA light and the way the eye detects light.

"Its exciting because it confirms this phototransduction pathway is similar to those found in the eye. It consists of a light-sensitive receptor, molecular signaling cascade, and an ion channel," Oancea said. "The involvement of an ion channel makes this pathway a lot more like other phototransduction pathways."

In other parts of the body, TRPA1 has been shown to help detect pungent but benign chemicals, such as those in intensely flavorful foods. Oancea and lead author Nicholas Bellono said the chemical sensitivity of TRPA1 offers the intriguing possibility that it could become a target for experiments to boost melanin production.

"TRPA1 ion channels are involved in the detection of pungent chemicals such as cinnamaldehyde, wasabi, and mustard oil, and we've now found it's important for this melanin response," Bellono said. "There is a possibility that we can pharmacologically alter pigmentation through regulation of this ion channel."

Oancea and Bellono emphasized, however, that people who go out in the sun should always take widely recommended precautions to protect their skin, such as using high-SPF commercial sunscreens or wearing protective hats and clothing.

Finding the channel

From the prior research in Oancea's lab, Bellono knew he was looking for some kind of molecular pathway that would start with a light sensitive receptor and trigger an elevated level of calcium ions in the melanocytes.

It seemed possible that a TRP ion channel would be involved because TRPs are involved in phototransduction elsewhere in the body that lead to an increase in intracellular calcium. There are, however, many types of TRP channels, and the molecular identity of the UVA-activated channel in melanocytes was not apparent. Oancea confessed that she even suspected another as the culprit. But many experiments later, the team hit on TRPA1 and amassed considerable evidence to confirm its vital role.

In one experiment, for example, they treated melanocytes with "antagonist" chemicals known to block TRPA1 activity. They then exposed the cells to UVA light and measured the resulting electrical response. The cells blocked with the antagonists had 80 to 90 percent reduction in current compared to the unhindered cells.

They used a similar technique of specifically blocking TRPA1 activity to show that the ion channel contributes greatly to the presence of calcium ions after UVA exposure compared to unhindered melanocyte cells. They also found melanocytes produce little or no melanin following exposure to UVA when TRPA1 is blocked.

They did not, however, do experiments to see whether adding TRPA1 stimulating substances could increase melanin production.

###

In addition to Bellono and Oancea, other authors on the paper are Laura Kammel and Anita Zimmerman.

The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (grant T32-GM077995), and Brown University funded the research.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/bu-sfl011813.php

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Video game review: &#39;DmC&#39; ? Dante mashes Combatants ...

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Baseball reflects on HOF pair Weaver, Musial

One was born in St. Louis, the other became a star there.

Aside from that, Earl Weaver and Stan Musial were about as different as two Hall of Famers could be.

"Talk about your odd couple," said George Vecsey, the longtime sports columnist for The New York Times who wrote a recent biography of Musial.

Weaver was a 5-foot-6 rabble rouser whose penchant for quarreling with umpires belied a cerebral approach to managing that has stood the test of time. Musial was a humble slugger with a funky batting stance who was beloved by Cardinals fans and respected by pretty much everyone else.

Saturday began with news of Weaver's death at age 82, and by the end of the night Musial had died, too, leaving baseball to reflect on two distinguished careers rich in contrasts.

"Earl was well known for being one of the game's most colorful characters with a memorable wit, but he was also amongst its most loyal," Commissioner Bud Selig said.

Selig later released a statement after Musial's death at age 92.

"Stan's life embodies baseball's unparalleled history and why this game is the national pastime. As remarkable as 'Stan the Man' was on the field, he was a true gentleman in life," Selig said.

A three-time MVP and seven-time National League batting champion, Musial helped the Cardinals win three World Series championships in the 1940s. His popularity in St. Louis can be measured by the not one, but two statues that stand in his honor outside Busch Stadium. After his death Saturday, Cardinals of more recent vintage began offering condolences almost immediately.

"Sad to hear about Stan the Man, it's an honor to wear the same uniform," said a message posted on the Twitter account of Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday.

Albert Pujols, who led St. Louis to World Series titles in 2006 and 2011 before leaving as a free agent before last season, offered prayers for Musial's family via Twitter.

"I will cherish my friendship with Stan for as long as I live," said a message posted on Pujols' site. "Rest in Peace."

Weaver was born in St. Louis, but his greatest success came as a manager in Baltimore. He took the Orioles to the World Series four times, winning one title in 1970.

Never a fan of small-ball strategies like bunting and stealing bases, Weaver preferred to wait for a three-run homer, always hoping for a big inning that could break the game open.

"No one managed a ballclub or pitching staff better than Earl," said Davey Johnson, who played under Weaver with the Orioles.

Johnson now manages the Washington Nationals and ran the Orioles from 1996-97.

"He was decades ahead of his time," Johnson said. "Not a game goes by that I don't draw on something Earl did or said. I will miss him every day."

While Musial could let his bat do the talking, Weaver was more than willing to shout to be heard. His salty-tongued arguing with umpires will live on through YouTube, and Orioles programs sold at the old Memorial Stadium frequently featured photos of Weaver squabbling.

Former umpire Don Denkinger remembered a game in which the manager disputed a call with Larry McCoy at the plate.

"Earl tells us, 'Now I'm gonna show you how stupid you all are.' Earl goes down to first base and ejects the first base umpire. Then he goes to second base and ejects the second base umpire. I'm working third base and now he comes down and ejects me," Denkinger said.

Musial was a quieter type who spent his career far removed from the bright lights of places like New York and Boston. But his hitting exploits were certainly on par with contemporaries Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.

"I knew Stan very well. He used to take care of me at All-Star games, 24 of them," Hall of Famer Willie Mays said. "He was a true gentleman who understood the race thing and did all he could. Again, a true gentleman on and off the field ? I never heard anybody say a bad word about him, ever."

Dave Anderson of The New York Times recalled growing up in Brooklyn, rooting for Musial. Those Dodgers crowds helped give Musial his nickname, Stan the Man.

"I thought he was going to knock the fence down in Brooklyn, he'd hit it so often," Anderson said.

Musial did it despite an odd left-handed stance ? with his legs and knees close together, he would cock the bat near his ear and twist his body away from the pitcher before uncoiling when the ball came.

If that was a lasting snapshot of Musial, the images of Weaver will stay just as fresh ? the feisty manager, perhaps with his hat turned backward, looking up at an umpire and screaming at him before kicking dirt somewhere and finally leaving the field.

None of those histrionics should obscure the fact that in the end, Weaver often had the last laugh ? to the tune of a .583 career winning percentage.

"When you discuss our game's motivational masters, Earl is a part of that conversation," Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson said. "He was a proven leader in the dugout and loved being a Hall of Famer. Though small in stature, he was a giant as a manager."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/baseball-reflects-hof-pair-weaver-musial-034712290--mlb.html

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