Sony Z Series Walkman Player review

Since it was announced last August, we've anxiously been waiting for Sony's flagship Walkman Z (the first to feature Android) to hit US shores. (It made it here well after the holidays passed. Better late than never, right?) While Sony is billing the Z as a Walkman first and foremost, its spacious 4.3-inch display and 1GHz Tegra 2 SoC ensure it's powerful and well-sized for playing games and generally making the most of Gingerbread. The device will be available in a variety of flavors, with up to 32GB of storage ($330), though for the purposes of this review we've been rocking the entry-level 8GB model ($250). Although we haven't exactly been charmed by similar devices vying for a piece of the iPod Touch's market share, the Walkman Z has plenty of promise. The question is, does it deliver? And does it deserve your $250 when it goes on sale in March? Let's find out.

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Sony Z Series Walkman Player review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/14/sony-z-series-walkman-player-review/

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Weight loss can be contagious, study suggests

ScienceDaily (Feb. 14, 2012) ? Is weight loss "contagious"? According to a new study published online in the journal Obesity, teammates in a team-based weight loss competition significantly influenced each other's weight loss, suggesting that shedding pounds can have a ripple effect.

Researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University found that team members not only achieved similar weight loss outcomes, but participants who said their teammates played a large role in their weight loss actually lost the most weight.

"We know that obesity can be socially contagious, but now we know that social networks play a significant role in weight loss as well, particularly team-based weight loss competitions," said lead author Tricia Leahey, Ph.D., of The Miriam Hospital and Alpert Medical School. "In our study, weight loss clearly clustered within teams, which suggests that teammates influenced each other, perhaps by providing accountability, setting expectations of weight loss, and providing encouragement and support."

Obesity remains a common, serious and costly disease in the United States. About one-third of American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and no state has met the nation's Healthy People 2010 goal to lower obesity prevalence to 15 percent. Obesity and its associated health problems, including heart disease and diabetes, continue to have a significant economic impact on the U.S. health care system, costing the nation hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

To promote cost-effective weight loss initiatives, online team-based weight loss interventions are increasing in popularity as a way to encourage weight loss in large groups of people. The current study is the first to examine the effects of teammates and social influence on individual weight loss during one of these weight loss competitions.

The findings are based on the results of the 2009 Shape Up Rhode Island (SURI) campaign, a 12-week statewide online weight loss competition designed by study co-author Rajiv Kumar, M.D. Participants joined with a team and could compete against other teams in three divisions: weight loss, physical activity and pedometer steps. The weight loss competition included 3,330 overweight or obese individuals (BMI of 31.2 or greater), representing 987 teams averaging between 5 and 11 members each. The majority of these individuals enrolled in all three divisions.

Weight loss outcomes were clearly determined by which team an individual was on. Participants who lost clinically significant amounts of weight (at least 5 percent of their initial body weight) tended to be on the same teams, and being on a team with more teammates in the weight loss division was also associated with a greater weight loss. Individuals who reported higher levels of teammate social influence increased their odds of achieving a clinically significant weight loss by 20 percent. This effect was stronger than any other team characteristic, Leahey said.

"This is the first study to show that in these team-based campaigns, who's on your team really matters," she added. "Being surrounded by others with similar health goals all working to achieve the same thing may have really helped people with their weight loss efforts."

However, Leahey noted that individual characteristics were also associated with weight outcomes. Obese individuals had a greater percentage of weight loss than overweight participants. Team captains also lost more weight than team members, possibly due to their increased motivation and engagement in the campaign. Leahey says that future weight loss team competitions may consider requiring team members to share the leadership role.

"We're all influenced by the people around us, so if we can harness this positive peer pressure and these positive social influences, we can create a social environment to help encourage additional weight loss," she said.

Leahey is a researcher with The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center and assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior (research) at Alpert Medical School. Additional co-authors of the study include Rena R. Wing, Ph.D., director of The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center and professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Alpert Medical School; and Brad M. Weinberg, M.D. and Rajiv Kumar, M.D. co-founders of ShapeUp, Inc.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Jessica Gokee LaRose, Tricia M. Leahey, Brad M. Weinberg, Rajiv Kumar, Rena R. Wing. Young adults? performance in a low intensity weight loss campaign. Obesity, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/oby.2012.30

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/~3/Xvgs_CdHT6M/120214122124.htm

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Russia, China gave Syria ?license to kill,? White House says (The Ticket)

Even as visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping got the red-carpet treatment from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, the White House on Tuesday accused China and Russia of effectively giving Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a "license to kill" the critics of his regime by vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at ending bloodshed in Syria.

Obama press secretary Jay Carney did not use the incendiary phrase, which Norah O'Donnell of CBS News put in the mouth of an anonymous administration official, in a TV report Monday and in a question to Carney at his daily briefing with reporters on Tuesday.

Carney signed on without hesitation: "I agree with that. I agree with that assessment."

"And it is a warning that we made to our fellow ambassadors and others up at the United Nations, prior to the United Nations Security Council vote, that failure to pass that resolution would be essentially a signal to Assad that he could act with further impunity in brutalizing his own people, killing innocent Syrian civilians," Carney said.

"It is highly regrettable that that veto occurred," he added.

Carney signaled that the Obama administration had not given up on winning over countries like China and Russia.

"We can continue to make the case internationally to those who have yet to agree with us--and they are in the distinct minority--that the Assad regime has lost its legitimacy and needs to go," he said.

"There is a political solution to be had here," he said. "And it is imperative that every nation that considers itself a friend to the Syrian people act on the Syrian people's behalf."

Olivier Knox is the White House correspondent for Yahoo News.

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? Feminist Mormon scholar on Mitt Romney, her former congregant: 'He says things that make me cringe. But he's not a bad man, he's a good man.'

Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr. Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20120214/el_yblog_theticket/russian-chinese-vetoes-gave-syria-license-to-kill-white-house-says

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Rioting, fires break out in Athens amid protests against Greek austerity

Rioting broke out in Athens, with fires engulfing multiple buildings, as Greek citizens protested against a government plan to slash wages and eliminate government jobs in exchange for an international bailout.

Rioting spread across central Athens and at least seven buildings went up in flames amid protests late Sunday as lawmakers debated cutting spending and eliminating government jobs to win an international bailout and remain in the eurozone.

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TV footage showed a three-story corner building completely engulfed in flames with riot officers looking on from the street, and firefighters trying to douse the blaze. The burning buildings included a bank, a mobile phone dealership, a glassware store and a cafeteria, the fire department said. Also engulfed in the flames was Athen's Attikon Cinema, an elegant theater dating back to 1914.

It was not immediately clear whether there was anyone inside the burning buildings.

Related: Breaking down the Greek debt problem

Clashes erupted across the city center after more than 100,000 protesters marched to parliament to rally against drastic austerity cuts that will force firings in the civil service and slash the minimum wage.

Riot police fired dozens of tear gas volleys to clear the streets around parliament of rioting youths, who attacked them with firebombs, fireworks and chunks of marble smashed off the fronts of luxury hotels, banks and department stores.

Authorities said several protesters and police were injured, while an unspecified number of suspected rioters were detained.

Wage cuts

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos' government ? an unlikely coalition of the majority Socialists and their main foes, the conservative New Democracy ? was expected to carry the vote, even by a narrow margin.

Combined, they control 236 of Parliament's 300 seats, although at least 20 lawmakers from both main parties said they would not back the new private sector wage cuts, pension reductions and civil service layoffs dictated by the draft austerity program.

"There are very few such moments in the history of a nation," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said. "Our country has an acute issue of survival."

"The question is not whether some salaries and pensions will be curtailed, but whether we will be able to pay even these reduced wages and pensions," he added. "When you have to choose between bad and worse, you will pick what is bad to avoid what is worse."

The new cuts, which follow two years of record unemployment and tax hikes have been demanded by the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and other international groups in return for a new batch of rescue loans.

Related: Breaking down the Greek debt problem

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/LvAsOfAFf6U/Rioting-fires-break-out-in-Athens-amid-protests-against-Greek-austerity

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HowStuffWorks "How Teleconferencing Works"

In the past few years, corporations have gotten bigger and more spread out. Many American employees -- more than 44 million in 2004 -- also do at least some of their work from home [ref]. Since offices and employees can be thousands of miles apart, getting everyone into the same room for meetings and training has become decidedly impractical for a lot of companies.

That's why teleconferencing -- the real-time exchange of information between people who are not in the same physical space -- has become such a big industry. The American audio conferencing industry alone reported $2.25 billion in revenue in 2004 [ref]. Through teleconferencing, companies can conduct meetings, customer briefs, training, demonstrations and workshops by phone or online instead of in person.

In this article, we'll look at different types of teleconferencing, from conference calls to online meetings.

The simplest phone teleconference is a three-way call, available in many homes as a service from the telephone company. Another very simple (but not necessarily effective) method is to have two groups of people talk to one another via speakerphone. The limits of three-way calling and the sound quality of speakerphones make both of these options impractical for most businesses.

Conference calls let groups of people -- from a few to hundreds -- communicate by phone. Banks and brokerages often use conference calls to give status reports to large numbers of listeners. Other businesses use conference calls to help coworkers communicate, plan and brainstorm. To connect to the call, attendees call a designated number (MeetMe conferencing), or an operator or moderator calls each participant (ad hoc conferencing).

Conference calls connect people through a conference bridge, which is essentially a server that acts like a telephone and can answer multiple calls simultaneously. Software plays a large role in the bridge's capabilities beyond simply connecting multiple callers.

A company can have its own bridge or can contract with a service provider for conference call hosting. Providers frequently offer add-on features for conference calls, such as:

  • Attendee polling
  • Call recording ?
  • In-call operators or attendants

Companies using Voice over IP (VoIP) telephones can also host conference calls themselves if the VoIP software supports them.

Many phone conferencing systems require a login and personal identification number (PIN) to access the system. This helps protect confidential and proprietary information during the call.

Video phones can add a visual element to conference calls, but businesses often need to share other visual information.

Source: http://money.howstuffworks.com/business-communications/teleconferencing.htm

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Russian Scientist's Claim of Life on Venus Proven False (SPACE.com)

A respected Russian scientist claims to have found signs of life on Venus in photographs taken by a Soviet probe 30 years ago. However, outside analysis suggests he is breathing life into an assortment of camera lens covers and image blurs.

According to the Russian news service Ria Novosti, Leonid Ksanfomaliti, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences who worked on unmanned Soviet missions to Venus during the 1970s and '80s, has written a new article in the journal Solar System Research. In the article, he calls attention to several objects photographed by the Venera-13 landing probe, a spacecraft that landed on Venus in 1982. The objects ? including features described as a disc and a scorpion ? appear to change locations from one photo to the next. "Let's boldly suggest that the objects' morphological features would allow us to say that they are living," Ksanfomaliti stated, according to Ria Novosti.

Whether the scientist really has suggested that the old photographs contain living creatures that were somehow overlooked previously, or whether his words have been mistranslated, misconstrued or should have been quietly ignored, the claim has made headlines around the globe.

In one image,the Venera-13 landing probe is seen parked on the rocky Venusian foreground, and an object shaped somewhat like a crab stands inches from the probe. In another image, also taken by Venera-13, this crab-like object appears to be in a different location. [NASA Debunks Mysterious UFO Near Venus]

According to Jonathon Hill, a research technician and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, who processes many of the images taken during NASA's Mars missions, higher-resolution versions of the Venera-13 images show that the crab-like object is actually a mechanical component, not a living creature. The same object shows up in a photograph taken by an identical landing probe, Venera-14, which landed nearby on Venus.

"If those objects were already on the surface of Venus, what are the chances that Venera 13 and 14, which landed nearly 1,000 kilometers apart, would both land inches away from the only ones in sight and they would be in the same positions relative to the spacecraft? It makes much more sense that it's a piece of the lander designed to break off during the deployment of one of the scientific instruments," Hill told Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com.

According to NASA, the half-circle components are camera lens covers that popped off the Venera probes after they landed. As for why they appear to be in different places in the two Venera-13 photos, "Venera-13 had two cameras, one in front and one in back.?The one image shows the front camera lens cap and the other shows the rear camera lens cap, not one lens cap that moved," said Ted Stryk, a photo editor who reprocesses and enhances many NASA and Soviet space program images.

In fact, the half-circle objects are famous for being lens caps, because the one that popped off Venera-14's camera landed exactly where a spring-loaded arm was meant to touch the Venusian surface in order to measure its compressibility. The lander ended up measuring properties of the cap.

The other photograph highlighted by Ksanfomaliti, which supposedly shows a scorpion-like creature, contains a blur. "The features that Ksanfomaliti shows are nothing more than processed noise, at best, in some particularly bad versions of the images.?They are not in the original data," Stryk said.

Or, as Hill put it, the image is an example of "letting your mind see patterns in low-resolution data that simply aren't real."

This story was provided by Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site of SPACE.com. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries or on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120123/sc_space/russianscientistsclaimoflifeonvenusprovenfalse

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Obama Used the Deficit as Excuse to End NASA Space Exploration Program (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | An article in the New Yorker purports to show why the Obama administration canceled the Constellation space exploration program, a controversial decision that haunts it to this day. The excuse was the budget deficit Obama caused.

The crucial passage of the article, which uses leaked memos to show how the Obama presidency unraveled, quotes a memo from November 2009 that was written by "advisers," states, in part, "Especially in light of our new fiscal context, it is not possible to achieve the inspiring space program goals discussed during the campaign."

The "new fiscal context" in question was a $6 trillion hole the Obama administration had blown into the deficit as a result of its spending policies. A $900 billion stimulus package had already been passed. At the time the administration was locked in a struggle to pass a health care reform proposal that has turned out to have a multitrillion-dollar price tag. The persistent economic downturn, thanks to Obama policies, has decreased tax revenues.

Obama advisers were invoking the deficit as an excuse to cancel a space exploration program initiated by the previous administration. The deficit was not invoked when selling the stimulus package, the health care reform law, or any other Obama spending that the administration actually favored. The deficit was not the reason the Obama administration tried to gut NASA's centerpiece program. It was a threadbare excuse.

The Augustine Committee, which Obama had convened the previous spring, had already come back with a number of proposals for space exploration going forward. It had proposed changing the launch vehicle architecture used by Constellation to one it thought was cheaper and simpler. Nevertheless an increase of $3 billion a year for NASA would be necessary to execute a meaningful program, whether it focused on an Earth approaching asteroid or going back to the moon.

Instead the Obama administration chose to scrap the space exploration program indefinitely. Congress rebelled and ordered the funding of the Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle and the heavy lift space launch system in advance of a space exploration program to take place starting in the 2020s.

The making and rapid unmaking of Obama space policy is a study in mendacity, lack of vision and duplicity. If President John F. Kennedy proudly announced, "We chose to go to the moon!" Obama said, in effect, we chose to stay right here.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker . He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times, and The Weekly Standard.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120124/sc_ac/10877141_obama_used_the_deficit_as_excuse_to_end_nasa_space_exploration_program

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High-tech models help guide restoration efforts to save threatened plants

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Sherri Eng
sleng@fs.fed.us
510-559-6327
USDA Forest Service - Pacific Southwest Research Station

HILO, HawaiiA team of scientists from the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) and two universities will begin research using sophisticated topographic models to identify areas within dry forests that have the most potential for ecological restoration.

The research team, which includes Dr. Susan Cordell, PSW research ecologist; Dr. Erin Questad, assistant professor, Biological Sciences Department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; and Dr. James R. Kellner, assistant professor, Department of Geography at the University of Maryland, recently received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense's Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) to conduct their work on the 105,000-acre Pohakuloa Training Area on the island of Hawaii.

The research team developed topographic models using elevation measurements from high-resolution airborne light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) that accurately predicted habitat suitability for existing threatened, endangered and at-risk plant species, which occur in dry environments. In dry ecosystems, high-quality areas are often topographic depressions where soil and water accumulate and where plants are protected from strong winds. The scientists will expand this technology by using data collected from high-resolution stereographic satellite observations to create digital elevation models which will further gauge habitat suitability. Because satellite imagery is readily available for locations across the globe, the methodology the team develops can be used to generate habitat suitability models for threatened and endangered species recovery for dry sites anywhere in the world. These models will help determine which areas are most suitable for plant growth and survival, and guide effective restoration efforts.

The four-year project will begin in June. The team will first develop a habitat suitability model, and then will set up a demonstration plot where they will test plant survival across a range of predicted suitability.

"Overcoming barriers to plant restoration in dry environments is especially critical for threatened and endangered species management. In Hawaii alone, the DoD spends nearly $10 million annually on environmental programs to protect these species and their associated critical habitat," says Cordell. "Outside of Hawaii, the top 10 DoD installations in the U.S. with the greatest number of federally listed species occur in dry ecosystems. This work could potentially re?define the way conservation-related land management agencies in dry ecosystems manage their restoration programs by providing a set of quantitatively based and spatially explicit tools to ensure effective and compliant land use management for species recovery."

###

The goal of the ESTCP, DoD's environmental technology demonstration and validation program, is to identify and demonstrate cost-effective technologies that address DoD's highest priority environmental requirements. Both the ESTCP and DoD's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) are designed to harness the latest science and technology to improve DoD's environmental performance, reduce costs, and enhance and sustain mission capabilities. www.serdp.org/

Located in Hilo, Hawaii, the Pacific Southwest Research Station's Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry is a leading research institution addressing many critical natural resource-related issues in the Pacific. http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/locations/hilo/

Headquartered in Albany, Calif., the Pacific Southwest Research develops and communicates science needed to sustain forest ecosystems and other benefits to society. It has laboratories and research centers in California, Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us/psw/.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

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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.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Sherri Eng
sleng@fs.fed.us
510-559-6327
USDA Forest Service - Pacific Southwest Research Station

HILO, HawaiiA team of scientists from the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) and two universities will begin research using sophisticated topographic models to identify areas within dry forests that have the most potential for ecological restoration.

The research team, which includes Dr. Susan Cordell, PSW research ecologist; Dr. Erin Questad, assistant professor, Biological Sciences Department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; and Dr. James R. Kellner, assistant professor, Department of Geography at the University of Maryland, recently received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense's Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) to conduct their work on the 105,000-acre Pohakuloa Training Area on the island of Hawaii.

The research team developed topographic models using elevation measurements from high-resolution airborne light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) that accurately predicted habitat suitability for existing threatened, endangered and at-risk plant species, which occur in dry environments. In dry ecosystems, high-quality areas are often topographic depressions where soil and water accumulate and where plants are protected from strong winds. The scientists will expand this technology by using data collected from high-resolution stereographic satellite observations to create digital elevation models which will further gauge habitat suitability. Because satellite imagery is readily available for locations across the globe, the methodology the team develops can be used to generate habitat suitability models for threatened and endangered species recovery for dry sites anywhere in the world. These models will help determine which areas are most suitable for plant growth and survival, and guide effective restoration efforts.

The four-year project will begin in June. The team will first develop a habitat suitability model, and then will set up a demonstration plot where they will test plant survival across a range of predicted suitability.

"Overcoming barriers to plant restoration in dry environments is especially critical for threatened and endangered species management. In Hawaii alone, the DoD spends nearly $10 million annually on environmental programs to protect these species and their associated critical habitat," says Cordell. "Outside of Hawaii, the top 10 DoD installations in the U.S. with the greatest number of federally listed species occur in dry ecosystems. This work could potentially re?define the way conservation-related land management agencies in dry ecosystems manage their restoration programs by providing a set of quantitatively based and spatially explicit tools to ensure effective and compliant land use management for species recovery."

###

The goal of the ESTCP, DoD's environmental technology demonstration and validation program, is to identify and demonstrate cost-effective technologies that address DoD's highest priority environmental requirements. Both the ESTCP and DoD's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) are designed to harness the latest science and technology to improve DoD's environmental performance, reduce costs, and enhance and sustain mission capabilities. www.serdp.org/

Located in Hilo, Hawaii, the Pacific Southwest Research Station's Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry is a leading research institution addressing many critical natural resource-related issues in the Pacific. http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/locations/hilo/

Headquartered in Albany, Calif., the Pacific Southwest Research develops and communicates science needed to sustain forest ecosystems and other benefits to society. It has laboratories and research centers in California, Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us/psw/.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/2012-01/ufs--hmh012312.php

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These Photos Were Amazingly Taken from Street Puddles [Photography]

I'm either on drugs or these photos were somehow taken from the reflection of puddles in the street. It may be both. But! It's certainly the latter. Ira Fox, the photographer, created the photo series Reflections by cruising the streets of New York and snapping pics of people who can be seen in reflections off the puddles. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/jCZDYT8Zwt8/these-photos-were-amazingly-taken-from-street-puddles

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Romney rivals seek SC theme, champion to stop him

(AP) ? With a week left to halt Mitt Romney from sweeping to a third straight victory, his GOP rivals are struggling in South Carolina for a theme, momentum and most crucially, one strong challenger to consolidate conservatives' misgivings about the front-runner.

The dynamics that lifted Romney to wins in Iowa and New Hampshire seem to be working for him here, even though South Carolina is often described as too evangelical and culturally southern for his background.

In some ways, the former Massachusetts governor is lucky, benefitting from a fractured opposition that has divided the anti-Romney vote for months. In other ways he is benefiting from shrewd and well-organized supporters. He uses TV ads to shore up his weaknesses and to batter the rivals he sees as most threatening.

In Iowa, the target was former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who plummeted under the barrage. In South Carolina, it's former Sen. Rick Santorum, a longtime champion of home-schooling, anti-abortion efforts and other social conservative causes.

Santorum nearly won the Iowa caucus, and some consider him the best bet for unifying the anti-Romney vote.

But a private group that supports Romney is pounding Santorum in South Carolina with TV ads and mailings. So is Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning candidate who helped attack Gingrich in Iowa.

Paul's ads are especially harsh. They vilify Santorum for pushing pork-barrel projects as a Pennsylvania senator, and they portray him as an insincere conservative.

A group of social conservative leaders meeting in Texas voted Saturday to recommend Santorum as the Romney alternative. But a portion of them preferred Gingrich, who denied Santorum a two-thirds majority on their first head-to-head ballot, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

Perkins said the group's actions did not constitute an endorsement, adding that some participants will remain Gingrich supporters. He declined to say how he voted.

"Santorum was the preferred candidate by a significant majority," former presidential candidate Gary Bauer told The Associated Press by telephone from Texas. "They were all looking for the best Reagan conservative," he said. "It came down to things like, who do you most trust."

The Texas vote is obviously good news for Santorum. But it's unclear how much impact it will have in South Carolina's primary on Saturday.

The state is known for campaign surprises, and there's still time for twists and turns. Undercurrents of anti-Romney sentiment, perhaps fueled by his Mormonism, could be stronger than they seem.

But on the surface, at least, Romney is well-positioned with a week to go. If he wins South Carolina, only a seismic change in the campaign will keep him from becoming the nominee.

The next primary, on Jan. 31, is in Florida, a sprawling and expensive state where Romney's superior money and organization could essentially put the matter to rest, kicking off the general election against President Barack Obama.

"Romney is in good shape now, but the race is tightening," said LaDonna Ryggs, Spartanburg County GOP chairwoman.

There is little evidence that a barrage of ads depicting Romney as a heartless corporate raider is having much effect. He is airing a counter-ad defending his record at Bain Capital, which sometimes created jobs, and sometimes reduced them, when it restructured dozens of companies in the 1980s and '90s.

"That's what his job was, and he did it well," said Carleen Coffey, 51, who defended Romney even as she attended an event for Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Charleston.

The anti-Romney ad, aired by a group supporting Gingrich, has generated much comment in political and media circles. Many conservative leaders have condemned it, and Gingrich later back-pedaled, questioning the accuracy of the anti-Romney documentary film behind it.

For ordinary South Carolina Republicans, however, the ad risks being lost in an avalanche of TV commercials, which many voters say they ignore.

Romney's campaign events run like clockwork, while his opponents often suffer glitches and modest crowds. Gingrich, in particular, has left people scratching their heads.

He spoke at a home-ownership rally Thursday in Columbia that appeared to be dominated by Democratic speakers and attendees. Gingrich got a big introduction at a GOP barbecue Friday in Duncan, but he inexplicably didn't show up for many minutes. Santorum jumped into the void, working the room and getting valuable one-on-one time with voters.

Then on Saturday, Gingrich's scheduled telephone conference with voters never took place. The dial-in number was invalid.

Perry has faded. Once seen having a good chance to beat Romney in South Carolina, the drawling Texan is drawing small crowds at cafes and restaurants. Saturday morning in Mount Pleasant, about half the people at Page's Okra Grill didn't bother to stop eating or talking while Perry spoke in a corner.

The TV attack ads in South Carolina skip Perry. It's a sign of his perceived insignificance, although he could benefit if the others slice each other up.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is getting even less attention.

Some people think Santorum is rising, but the attack ads might slow him. Santorum's boyish looks have always boosted his image as a principled crusader for unborn children and other causes. But the ads being aired by Paul's campaign and the pro-Romney group depict him as a conniving, old-fashioned politician who grabbed federal money for his state whenever possible.

"Some people are going to be swayed," said Alexia Newman, a South Carolina GOP activist and Santorum supporter. "If you know about his records, you know the ads are false," she said. But that requires Santorum to break through the noise and clutter of political commercials flooding the airwaves.

The pro-Romney PAC, Restore Our Future, is running $1 million in ads in the state this week, and more than $800,000 next week. Not all of them target Santorum, however. Santorum's campaign and a PAC that backs him are running pro-Santorum ads.

No single issue is dominating the primary. That makes it harder for any one Romney opponent to catch fire.

Religion and the military play bigger roles here than in Iowa, and especially New Hampshire. Romney has worked hard to address both.

He has built several events around military service, starting with his Veterans' Day trip to South Carolina last November. He has been campaigning lately with Sen. John McCain, the 2008 presidential nominee and Vietnam War hero.

As for religion, Romney has tried to portray himself as a moral and faithful man, without going into details of Mormonism. On Friday, a woman in Hilton Head asked him, "Do you believe in the divine saving grace of Jesus Christ?"

"Yes, I do," Romney replied, adding: "Our nation was founded on the principle...of religious tolerance and liberty in this land, and so we welcome people of other faiths."

Romney's campaign has produced a Web ad in which an anti-abortion activist endorses him. Romney supported abortion rights as Massachusetts governor.

Romney's main worries might involve currents he can't see. South Carolina has a reputation for dirty campaign tricks, although many Republicans here say it's mostly a thing of the past.

Whatever the case, an anonymous group has sent a text message purporting to be a Romney campaign item. But callers hear Romney being criticized on abortion.

___

Associated Press writers Julie Pace, Jim Davenport, Kasie Hunt and Philip Elliott contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-14-US-GOP-Campaign/id-a79d71775f8b4cfbb92d46f5e0e2c393

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