You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/31/the-weekly-roundup-for-03-25-2013/
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By James Macharia and Edmund Blair
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Supreme Court upheld Uhuru Kenyatta's presidential election victory on Saturday and his defeated rival accepted the ruling, helping douse tensions after tribal violence blighted the election five years ago.
The decision cleared the way for Kenya's richest man to take the top job in east Africa's biggest economy, but left Western powers with the headache of dealing with a leader charged with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
After the judgment, police fired shots in the air and tear gas at hundreds of stone-throwing youths in the western city of Kisumu, a stronghold of defeated candidate Raila Odinga, who had challenged Kenyatta's win. Protesters looted shops and burned tires in the city that was a flashpoint five years ago.
An official at Kenya's Red Cross said two people were killed from gunshots, and 11 others were wounded. But the violence was less severe than after the 2007 election.
And shortly after the court ruling, Odinga delivered a televised statement accepting the court's unanimous decision.
"The court has now spoken," Odinga said. "I wish the president-elect, honorable Uhuru Kenyatta, and his team well."
Western donors, worried about a nation seen as a vital ally in the regional battle against militant Islam, also congratulated Kenyatta. But they have said his indictment in the Hague will complicate their relations.
There was no immediate sign of major flare-ups in other areas of Kenya blighted by violence after the disputed ballot in 2007 that triggered bloodshed and killed more than 1,200 people.
During a 10-minute session to read the ruling, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said the six-member court had reached the unanimous decision that Kenyatta and his running mate for deputy president, William Ruto, had been "validly elected".
"It is now for the Kenyan people, their leaders, civil society, the private sector and the media to discharge (their duty), to ensure that the unity, peace, sovereignty and prosperity of the nation is preserved," he said.
After a week of hearings, he said the court ruled that the March 4 vote was conducted in a free, fair and credible manner.
Many Kenyans said they were determined to avoid a re-run of the violence five years ago and that, this time round, they had more trust in the newly reformed judiciary and the chief justice, Mutunga, a well-respected lawyer appointed in 2011.
Kenyatta, in a televised address, thanked the court for its work and also Odinga for wishing him well. The president-elect promised his government would "work with and serve all Kenyans without any discrimination whatsoever."
"MADE KENYA PROUD"
Peaceful voting in this year's vote, and the fact the dispute was played out by lawyers not machete-wielding gangs, has helped repair Kenya's image.
Paramilitary police, some on horseback, formed a security cordon around the court before the ruling, keeping back a few dozen Odinga supporters who had defied a ban on rallies.
After the ruling, Kenyatta's backers ignored the rain and took to Nairobi's streets cheering. Cars hooted their horns.
Twitter lit up after the decision, with many saying it was time for Kenya to move on. Judith Sidi Odhiambo? praised the chief justice: "You have made Kenya proud and restored our dignity. Well done. We can now move ahead as a nation."
Kenyatta comfortably beat Odinga in total votes won, but only just avoided a run-off by edging above the 50 percent mark.
Kenyatta is facing charges of crimes against humanity in the Hague-based court, accused of helping incite violence after the 2007 vote. Kenyatta denies the charges and has promised to cooperate with the court to clear his name.
In Washington, the White House issued a statement congratulating Kenyatta on his victory.
It said: "We also congratulate the people of Kenya on the peaceful conduct of the election and commend Raila Odinga for accepting the Supreme Court's decision. We urge all Kenyans to peacefully accept the results of the election."
British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote to Kenyatta to congratulate him. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso sent a congratulatory message that also welcomed the new government's commitment to abiding by international obligations.
That referred to Kenyatta's acceptance speech on March 9 in which he promised to cooperate with international bodies but - in an apparent swipe at the West - said the world should also respect the democratic will of Kenyans.
Western nations have a policy of only "essential contacts" with court indictees. They say that will not affect dealings with the government as a whole, but will worry the issue could drive a long-time ally closer to emerging powers such as China.
Ahead of the ruling the Kenyan shilling had been trading in a tight range to the U.S. dollar and traders said it could strengthen if the ruling upheld Kenyatta's victory.
(Additional reporting by Joseph Akwiri in Mombasa, Hezron Ochiel in Kisumu and Humphrey Malalo in Nairobi; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Stephen Powell)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kenyans-await-ruling-disputed-presidential-race-022046688.html
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Mar. 28, 2013 ? In some of the first results from a federally funded initiative to find new ways of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired power plants, Rice University scientists have found that CO2 can be removed more economically using "waste" heat -- low-grade steam that cannot be used to produce electricity. The find is significant because capturing CO2 with conventional technology is an energy-intensive process that can consume as much as one-quarter of the high-pressure steam that plants use to produce electricity.
"This is just the first step in our effort to better engineer a process for capturing CO2 from flue gas at power plants," said George Hirasaki, the lead researcher of Rice's CO2-capture research team. The researchers hope to reduce the costs of CO2 capture by creating an integrated reaction column that uses waste heat, engineered materials and optimized components. Hirasaki's team was one of 16 chosen by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2011 to develop innovative techniques for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
The team's first findings appear in two new studies that are available online this month in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control.
Power plants fired by coal and natural gas account for about half of the CO2 that humans add to the atmosphere each year; these power plants are prime candidates for new technology that captures CO2 before it goes up in smoke. Each of these plants makes electricity by boiling water to create steam to run electric turbines. But not all steam is equal. Some steam has insufficient energy to run a turbine. This is often referred to as "waste" heat, although the term is something of misnomer because low-grade steam is often put to various uses around a plant. Rice's new study found that in cases where waste is available, it may be used to capture CO2.
Hirasaki, Rice's A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, said employing waste heat is just one example of a number of ways that Rice's team is looking to improve upon a tried-and-true technology for CO2 capture. That technology -- a two-phase chemical process -- has been used for decades to remove naturally occurring CO2 from natural gas.
In the first phase of the process, gas is piped upward through a vertical column while an ammonia-like liquid called amine flows down through the column. The liquid amine captures CO2 and drains away while the purified natural gas bubbles out the top of the column. In the second phase of the process, the CO2-laden amine is recycled with heat, which drives off the CO2.
"The CO2 that comes out of the ground with natural gas is under high pressure, while the CO2 at power plants is not," Hirasaki said. "There's also a greater volume of CO2 per unit mass at a power plant than at a natural gas well. For these reasons and others, the amine process must be re-engineered if it is to be cost-effective for CO2 capture at power plants."
A major challenge in adapting two-phase amine processing for power plants is the amount of heat required to recycle the amine in the second phase of the process. Using existing amine processing technology at power plants is impractical, because amine recycling would require as much as one-quarter of the high-pressure steam that could otherwise be used to drive turbines and make electricity, Hirasaki said. This phenomenon is known as "parasitic" power loss, and it will drive up the cost of electricity by lowering the amount of electricity a plant can produce for sale.
"It has been estimated that the use of current technology for CO2 capture would drive up the cost of electricity by 70 to 100 percent," said Rice graduate student Sumedh Warudkar, a co-investigator on the Rice University team. "In our study, we examined whether it would be possible to improve on that by using lower-value steam to run the amine recyclers."
To test this idea, Warudkar used a software package that's commonly used to model industrial chemical processes. One variable he tested was tailoring the chemical formulation of the liquid amine solution. Other variables included the type of steam used, and the size and pressure of the reactor -- the chamber where the flue gas flows past the amine solution.
"There's a great deal of optimization that needs to take place," Warudkar said. "The question is, What is the optimal amine formula and the optimal reactor design and pressure for removing CO2 with low-value steam? There isn't one correct answer. For example, we have developed a process in which the gas absorption and solvent heating occurs in a single vessel instead of two separate ones, as is currently practiced. We think combining the processes might bring us some savings. But there are always trade-offs. The Department of Energy wants us to investigate how our process compares with what's already on the market, and these first two studies are the first step because they will help us identify an optimal set of operating conditions for our process."
The results are encouraging. The research suggests that two elements of Rice's design -- optimized amine formulation and the use of waste heat -- can reduce parasitic power loss from about 35 percent to around 25 percent.
Additional research is under way to develop and test novel materials and a single integrated column that the team hopes can further economize CO2 capture by increasing efficiency and reducing parasitic power loss.
Study co-authors include Michael Wong, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of chemistry, and Ken Cox, professor in the practice of chemical and biomolecular engineering. The research is supported by the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/6tZEhtWnOxQ/130329090631.htm
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"East Coast liberal elites" have lost another outlet for their opinions now that?National Public Radio is putting an end to one of its signature shows.?After 21 years on the air, the afternoon call-in show "Talk of that Nation" is being sent out to pasture, taking away the best opportunity the public radio listeners had for interacting with the show and getting their views on the airwaves.
RELATED: Maureen Corrigan: What I Read
The plan, according to Brian Stelter of The New York Times, is to replace "Talk" with the straight news program "Here and Now," which will expand to two hours and fill up the weekday afternoon schedule. "Here and Now" is produced by Boston University's WBUR.
RELATED: Katie Couric's CBS Salary Exceeds Two NPR Show Budgets Combined
It sounds more like a retirement?than a cancellation, since NPR says they offered other jobs to host Neal Conan and every staffer on "Talk." (Conan has decided to leave the network he's been working at since 1977, in order to "step away from the rigors of daily journalism.") Also, the topical once-a-week version of "Talk," which is known as "Science Friday," will continue to air in its regular slot.
RELATED: It's OK, Rush: Don't Fear the Twitter
NPR said the decision was made in part because member stations had requested another news magazine-style show to match "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered," and that there is already a glut of call-in shows on talk radio. The final episode will air at the end of July.
RELATED: NPR's New CEO Wants to Fix Its Liberal Problem
Image via?cliff1066??on Flickr
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nprs-talk-nation-signing-off-143309856.html
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Easter is either a time to celebrate the resurrection, or a time for a pure, unadulterated candy binge. Maybe we lean a little heavier on the latter option, but when else can you get so many animals modeled in sugar? Whether you?re planning a big Easter get-together, or rounding up your the-bunny-isn?t-real snark, it?s not too late to start the holiday preparations. We?ve found some of the best guides on the Internet in doing either one.
Martha Stewart?s Perfect House Is Perfect:
Peeps + Wine = Best Hangover?
Frohe Ostern from Das Wolfgang Puck:
Nigella Lawson, Makes Us Re-Think That Candy Binge:
Come And Bounce With Us, Francis:
Andrew Zimmern Reminds Us That Jews Have Some Sort Of Holiday Thing, Too:
See, don?t you feel totally prepared now? Happy Easter, internet!
Source: http://www.thebraiser.com/chef-easter-tweets/
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Mar. 29, 2013 ? Estrogen plus progestin use is linked with increased breast cancer incidence. In addition, prognosis is similar for both users and nonusers of combined hormone therapy, suggesting that mortality from breast cancer may be higher for hormone therapy users as well, according to a study published March 29 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
In the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) randomized trial, estrogen plus progestin was associated with an increase in both breast cancer incidence and mortality. However, most observational studies have linked estrogen plus progestin with more positive outcomes.
In order to determine the differences between the WHI trial and other observational studies, Rowan T. Chlebowski, M.D., Ph.D., Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) lead researcher and colleagues, looked at postmenopausal women with no prior hysterectomy with negative mammograms within two years who were either users or non-users of estrogen and progestin combined therapy.
The researchers found that breast cancer incidence was higher in estrogen plus progestin users than incidence in nonusers. Women who started hormone therapy closer to menopause had a higher breast cancer risk with a weakening influence as the time from menopause increased.
"Because survival after breast cancer diagnosis did not differ between estrogen plus progestin users and nonusers, the higher breast cancer incidence of those using estrogen plus progestin may lead to increased breast cancer mortality on a population basis," the authors write.
In an accompanying editorial, Catherine Schairer, Ph.D., and Louise A. Brinton, Ph.D., both of the National Cancer Institute, write that questions remain about whether the data analyzed from the WHI observational study resolves the differences in tumor prognosis and tumor characteristics when compared to the WHI randomized trial. They write that, "In general, tumors in estrogen plus progestin users in the WHI Observational Study were not significantly different from those in non-hormone users with regard to number of positive lymph nodes or tumor size, but were more likely to be well differentiated and positive for hormone receptors, findings which are similar to other observational studies." This, however, did not translate into a survival benefit. They recommend further analyses in this and other datasets of currency and duration of hormone use in relationship to tumor development to fully resolve the issue of tumor characteristics associated with estrogen plus progestin therapy.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/NklAj6Nqpp0/130329161238.htm
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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) ? The dance instructor who used her Zumba fitness studio as a front for prostitution could face up to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty Friday in a case that captivated a quiet seaside town known for its beaches and picturesque homes.
The agreement that followed two days of plea negotiations spares Alexis Wright from the prospect of a high-profile trial featuring sex videos, exhibitionism and pornography. She's scheduled to be sentenced May 31.
Wright quietly answered "guilty" 20 times when the judge read the counts, which include engaging in prostitution, promotion of prostitution, conspiracy, tax evasion and theft by deception.
"We're very satisfied with it. It's an appropriate outcome, given the gravity of her actions," Assistant Attorney General Darcy Mitchell said after the brief court hearing.
The 30-year-old Wright was accused of conspiring with insurance agent Mark Strong Sr. to run a prostitution business in which she kept detailed records indicating she made $150,000 over an 18-month period. She was also accused of using a hidden camera to record sex acts without her clients' knowledge.
She was originally charged with 106 counts. All the counts in the agreement were misdemeanors, including three counts relating to welfare and tax fraud that were reduced from felonies.
Strong, 57, of Thomaston, was convicted this month of 13 counts related to promotion of prostitution and sentenced to 20 days in jail. He was originally charged with 59 counts.
The scandal became a sensation following reports that Wright had at least 150 clients, leading to a guessing game of who might be named publicly in the coastal town of Kennebunk. Attorneys who have seen the client list say it included some prominent names. Those who have been charged so far include a former mayor, a high school hockey coach, a minister, a lawyer and a firefighter.
Working together, Strong and Wright represented an unusual pairing.
Wright had attended college classes and ran dance classes for the local parks and recreation program before opening her studio in Kennebunk. But she was also engaging in paid-sex acts in the studio, in her apartment and in her office, law enforcement officials said.
Overseeing the operation and watching the sex acts live on his office computer 100 miles up the coast was Strong, a married father of two who ran a successful insurance agency in Thomaston.
It came as no surprise that Wright would seek a plea agreement because evidence presented in Strong's trial was so overwhelming. A video played for jurors showed Wright engaging in sex acts with a man who then inquired about her rate before leaving $250 cash on her massage table.
After the man left, the video showed Wright pocketing the money.
There was plenty of electronic evidence because the two kept in touch via text and email and because Wright videotaped the clients and Strong watched live via Skype. Videos showed them speaking openly of ledgers, payments and scheduling.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will seek restitution of $57,250 from Wright after she's released from jail.
Defense lawyer Sarah Churchill said Wright is married and employable, and she expects Wright will be able to enter into a payment plan. Churchill left the courtroom without talking to reporters.
Residents of Kennebunk were frustrated by the media coverage of the scandal.
Names of purported clients trickled out as they were charged, leading to speculation about who else might be on the list. But residents soon grew weary of the media's attention, especially after it became clear that only a few of clients were locals.
So far, 66 people have been charged as clients, York County Deputy District Attorney Justin McGettigan said. The state will continue to pursue charges against additional people identified on Wright's ledger if the evidence is strong enough to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, she said.
Things have largely returned to normal in Kennebunk. And on Friday night, a free dance was being held at Wright's old Pura Vida Studio, where Zumba continues under new management and a new name, Danceworks.
Jeremiah Ouellette, manager of New Morning Natural Foods Market, across the street from the fitness studio, said residents have put the prostitution episode behind them.
"I think people have really lost interest," Ouellette said Friday evening. "People really don't care anymore."
___
Follow David Sharp at http://twitter.com/David_Sharp_AP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zumba-teacher-could-jail-prostitution-case-071102032.html
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Rory McIlroy hits a shot out of a third-hole bunker during the first round of the Houston Open golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Humble, Texas. (AP Photo/Conroe Courier, Jason Fochtman)
Rory McIlroy hits a shot out of a third-hole bunker during the first round of the Houston Open golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Humble, Texas. (AP Photo/Conroe Courier, Jason Fochtman)
Steve Wheatcroft prepares to putt on the 15th hole during the first round of the Houston Open golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Humble, Texas.(AP Photo/Bob Levey)
Rory Mcllroy, of Northern Ireland, hits out of a bunker on the 13th hole during the second round of the Houston Open golf tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013 in Humble, Texas. (AP Photo/Jon Eilts)
HUMBLE, Texas (AP) ? A late birdie might just be enough to give Rory McIlroy two more rounds before the Masters.
Steve Wheatcroft, a Monday qualifier for the Houston Open, had another 67 to take the lead among early starters Friday at Redstone Golf Club.
Far down the leaderboard was McIlroy, struggling to make the cut for the first time this year against a full field. He two-putted from 85 feet away on the fringe on the par-5 eighth hole and made par on his final hole for a 2-under 70. That put him at 1-under 143, which appeared to be safe for playing on the weekend.
Wheatcroft was at 10-under 134 and had a three-shot lead. The PGA Tour hasn't had a Monday qualifier win a tournament since Arjun Atwal in August 2010.
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Have a heart save a canine in need. We feature several dogs who need to get foster homes or adopted soon.
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Ranger is an adult Staffordshire Terrier. He is a friendly guy. This big guy needs to get a home soon as he is on LMAS urgent list. He has beautiful markings. He is eligible for free obedience training at Slugger City Bully Buddies. If you are interested in fostering or adopting Ranger to keep him from the euthanasia room contact Louisville Metro Animal Services immediately and have his Pet ID # A486427 handy.
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Clint is a one year old male Pit Bull. He is sweet, playful, friendly dog running out of time as he is on the very urgent list at Metro Animal Services. Look at the great big smile on his face, that says it all about him.?He is eligible for free obedience training at Slugger City Bully Buddies. If you are interested in giving Clint a reprieve from the euthanasia room by adopting or fostering him please contact Metro Animal Services immediately about him and have his Pet ID # A485315 ready.
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Layla is a sweet two year old female Pit Bull who recently had puppies. They have been weaned and she has been spayed so she will not be contributing to the unwanted pet population any longer. She is a sweet, friendly girl that gets along with other dogs. She is eligible for free dog obedience training at Slugger City Bully Buddies. This girl deserves to be re-homed in her very own responsible loving home. She was found as a stray. She is also on the urgent list so if you are interested in adopting or fostering her she could sure use some help to get out of the shelter alive. Have her Pet ID # A486584 available when contacting Metro Animal Services.
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Patches is a pretty female older Beagle/Cocker Spaniel mix. She is nine years old but still has plenty of love to give someone. She is such a pretty girl. She is an older dog so will be a little harder to place. If you like a quiet older dog and want to give her a place she can live out the remainder of life in a loving home then have her Pet ID # A354969 ready when contacting Metro Animal Services about her.
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Wooster is a super cute 3 month old Boston Terrier/Pit Bull mix puppy. He loves to give kisses and get attention from his human friends. He is neutered and up to date on his shots. Wooster is eligible for free obedience training at Slugger City Bully Buddies. Are you interested in giving this little guy a new leash on life? Have his Pet ID # A487298 when contacting Metro Animal Services about him.
To see all the adoptable pets at Louisville Metro Animal Services go to their section on the Petfinder website here.
For more information on this week?s featured pets contact Louisville Metro Animal Services at: 502-473-PETS (7387), or by email: Petfinder@louisvilleky.gov
For more information on adopting a pet go to the Metro Animal Services website here.
Metro Animal Service?s Animal House Adoption Center is located at 3516 Newburg Rd., Louisville, KY 40218.
Photos: Courtesy of Metro Animal Services, Louisville
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TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's jobless rate edged higher and industrial production fell slightly in February as consumer prices also fell, underscoring the fragility of the recovery of the world's third-largest economy.
The government data released Friday showed the main consumer price index fell 0.3 percent from a year earlier as deflation continued to defy the combined efforts of the government and central bank to move toward a 2 percent inflation target. However the CPI was up 0.1 percent from January's figure.
Unemployment rose to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent the month before, while industrial production slipped by 0.1 percent in the first decline in three months. The unemployment rate for those below the age of 35 is significantly higher, at over 6 percent.
Japan's central bank governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, said Thursday that he believed the economy was improving after years of stagnation and would enter a moderate recovery by midyear. But he acknowledged high uncertainty because of the global economy.
Kuroda has pledged to work with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government in achieving the 2 percent inflation target set in January, preferably within two years, and ending years of growth-inhibiting deflation.
After taking power late last year, Abe's administration embarked on an aggressive stimulus program of government spending, monetary easing and planned reforms aimed at improving Japan's competitiveness. Revised figures show Japan's economy likely emerged from a recession late last year, but other data has been mixed.
The government's strategy will depend on getting consumers, whose spending accounts for the lion's share of economic activity, to spend more, and that in turn will hinge on encouraging companies to raise wages and increasing higher. Many companies huge cash reserves after having shed debt from the collapse of the economic bubble over 20 years ago but are wary of increasing investment given the existing weak demand and the aging and shrinking of the Japanese population.
Friday's data, coupled with signs of weakening retail sales, show the scale of the challenge in restoring consumer confidence.
By boosting inflation, Japan's planners hope to persuade consumers to spend more now in anticipation of price increases in the future. That could prove a daunting challenge given a drop in real wages over the past two decades and the weak job market, said Susumu Takahashi, head of the Japan Research Institute and a member of a government economic advisory council.
To achieve the inflation target the government must change expectations, he said.
"The only way is for the deflationary way of thinking to change. Without that it will be very hard," he said.
Speaking to lawmakers about the central bank's semiannual report, Kuroda said prices are unlikely to rise for the next few months but after that Japan would see some progress toward its inflation target as the economy moved toward a "moderate recovery path."
The central bank asset purchases and other strategies adopted so far have not been sufficient to reach the inflation target, he said, reiterating his intention to manage market expectations and "make clear that we have adopted the uncompromising stance that we will do whatever is necessary to overcome deflation."
Kuroda was appointed to succeed former BOJ governor Masaaki Shirakawa when he stepped down on March 19, three weeks before his term expired. The parliament is expected to approve his appointment to the five-year term, which is due to begin April 8.
The central bank is due to hold its first regular policy meeting under Kuroda April 3-4, though it may wait until later in the month to embark on any significant moves, such as a boosting its purchases of government bonds to help increase the amount of money available in the economy and encourage more investment by the private sector.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-jobless-rate-prices-manufacturing-fall-005246909--finance.html
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ROME (AP) ? Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of a dozen inmates, including two young women, at a juvenile detention center in a surprising departure from church rules that restrict the Holy Thursday ritual to men.
The Mass was held in the Casal del Marmo facility in Rome, where 46 young men and women currently are detained. Many of them are Gypsies or North African migrants, and the 12 selected for the foot-washing rite reportedly included Orthodox and Muslim detainees.
Because the inmates were mostly minors ? the facility houses inmates aged 14-to-21 ? the Vatican and Italian Justice Ministry limited media access inside. But Vatican Radio carried the Mass live, and in his homily Francis told the detainees that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion in a gesture of love and service.
"This is a symbol, it is a sign ? washing your feet means I am at your service," Francis told the youngsters. "Help one another. This is what Jesus teaches us. This is what I do. And I do it with my heart. I do this with my heart because it is my duty, as a priest and bishop I must be at your service."
Later, the Vatican released a limited video of the ritual, showing Francis washing black feet, white feet, male feet, female feet and even a foot with tattoos. Kneeling on the stone floor as the 12 youngsters sat above him, the 76-year-old Francis poured water from a silver chalice over each foot, dried it with a simple cotton towel and then bent over to kiss each one.
Previous popes carried out the foot-washing ritual on Holy Thursday in Rome's grand St. John Lateran basilica. The 12 people chosen for the ritual were always priests to represent the 12 apostles whose feet Christ washed during the Last Supper before his crucifixion.
As archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio would celebrate the ritual foot-washing in jails, hospitals or hospices ? part of his ministry to the poorest and most marginalized of society. He would often involve women: photographs from his days in Buenos Aires show him washing the feet of a woman holding her newborn child in her arms.
That Francis would include women in his inaugural Holy Thursday Mass as pope, however, was remarkable given current liturgical rules restrict the ritual to men.
Canon lawyer Edward Peters, who is an adviser to the Holy See's top court, noted in a blog that the Congregation for Divine Worship in 1988 sent a letter to bishops making clear that "The washing of the feet of chosen men ... represents the service and charity of Christ who came 'not to be served, but to serve.'"
Peters noted that bishops over the years have successfully petitioned Rome for an exemption to allow women to participate, but that the law on the issue is clear.
"By disregarding his own law in this matter, Francis violates, of course, no divine directive," Peters wrote Thursday. "What he does do, I fear, is set a questionable example," particularly as it regards adherence to liturgical rules.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said he didn't want to enter into a canonical dispute over the matter. He said in a "grand solemn celebration" of the rite, it would make sense to only involve men because during the Last Supper, Christ washed the feet of the 12 apostles, all of whom were male.
"Here, the rite was for a small, unique community made up also of women," Lombardi said in an email to The Associated Press. "It was a specific situation in which excluding the girls would have been inopportune in light of the simple aim of communicating a message of love to all in a group that certainly didn't include refined experts in liturgical rules."
Others on the more liberal side of the liturgical spectrum welcomed the novel example Francis set.
"The pope's washing the feet of women is hugely significant because including women in this part of the Holy Thursday Mass has been frowned on ? and even banned ? in some dioceses," said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of "The Jesuit Guide."
"It shows the all-embracing love of Christ, who ministered to all he met: man or woman, slave or free, Jew or Gentile," he said.
After the Mass, Francis greeted each of the inmates and gave each one an Easter egg. In exchange, he was given a wooden cross and kneeler that the inmates made in their workshop.
"Don't lose hope," Francis said. "Understand? With hope you can always go on."
One of the inmates then asked him why he had come to visit them. Francis said it was to "help me to be humble, as a bishop should be." He said he wanted to come "from my heart. Things from the heart don't have an explanation."
Italian Justice Minister Paola Severino, who has made easing Italy's woefully overcrowded prisons a priority, also attended the Mass.
___
Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-washes-feet-young-detainees-ritual-173757747.html
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When Google soft launched its new Gmail composer last October, it did so in a preview release that gave users the option to test it out and turn it off. Not so anymore, because starting today that resizable, pop-up window is now the default interface for its web Gmail client. The widespread change was apparently spurred by abundant positive feedback from users that found the new layout bolstered multitasking -- a claim we're not entirely sold on. Regardless of your feelings towards this permanent switch, it's headed your way soon and should finish rolling out "over the next few days." So, turn and face the change, people -- it's not like you have a choice.
Source: Official Gmail Blog
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/pop-up-gmail-compose-now-default/
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MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia on Thursday harshly criticized the Arab League's recognition of the Syrian opposition as the only representative of the country, saying it effectively kills efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to the civil war there.
At a summit in Qatar on Tuesday, the Arab League let the main Syrian opposition coalition take over the country's seat for the first time.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his government "deeply regrets" the move, which he said amounts to "the Arab League's rejection of a peaceful settlement." He told reporters that the decision amounts to discarding of an international peace plan approved in Geneva in June, which was supported by the Arab League at the time. It called for an open-ended cease-fire and peace talks to form a transitional government that would run the country until elections.
However, the plan was a non-starter for the opposition because of Moscow's insistence it did not explicitly ban Syrian President Bashar Assad and other members of his regime from taking part in the transitional leadership.
Lavrov said the summit's decision Tuesday "strokes out all the efforts that have been made, including the Geneva agreements, and throws the status of Lakhdar Brahimi, U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria, into limbo.
"If one of the founders of his mission, the Arab League, declares that the opposition coalition is the only legitimate representative of the country, there will be no talks and those who want to oust the regime will be provided with weapons. I simply can't see how Mr. Brahimi could remain the envoy.... That effectively puts an end to international mediation from the point of view of the Arab League."
Lavrov said the Doha summit's decision signaling an intention to supply the Syrian opposition with weapons is aimed at "inciting confrontation and encouraging irreconcilable forces."
Russia has been Assad's main supporter throughout the two-year conflict, joining forces with China at the U.N. Security Council to shield his regime from international sanctions over his crackdown on an uprising that turned into a civil war that has killed an estimated 70,000 people.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-criticizes-arab-league-move-syria-163129068.html
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Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/03/28/movie-awards-outtakes-rebel-channing/
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Weotta is an application that offers users suggestions for places to eat and things to do im??mediately or up to 30 days in the future, says TechCrunch writer Anthony Ha. It learns about your preferences as you save suggestions you like and pass on ones that don?t interest you.
All of that learning comes in handy when you need to plan something in a specific place, at a specific time. You just enter in your needs, and the app makes suggestions. It can also give you new ideas to expand your list of options, and its suggestions come with reviews pulled from the Internet as well as those contributed by its own users.
? Adapted from ?Weotta Improves Its Activity-Planning App With Time And Place Filters, Plus Facebook Integration,? Anthony Ha, TechCrunch.
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The Boa Courier is available in 10-, 13-, or 15-inch sizes. Our review unit was the 13-inch model, and its exterior accordingly measures 10.8 by 17.1 by 4.7 inches (HWD) and weighs two pounds like the Ju-Ju-Be Be Hip (Messenger Bag)'s timber model. The Boa Courier's nylon exterior rocks a graphite finish that's decidedly more understated than the Magic Eye-like prints that we saw on the Ju-Ju-Be Micra Be Laptop Bag . In addition to its waterproof coating, the Boa Courier's nylon exterior also features a reflective piping along the flap's outer edges to help increase visibility when making moves during the night.
Since it's a messenger bag, the Boa Courier is designed to be slung over your shoulder. Accordingly, its seatbelt nylon shoulder strap runs across your chest in a manner that allows the bag to hang over your back in a 45-degree angle. A removable shoulder pad can be fastened to this strap to increase its overall comfort. There's also a removable "crossbody strap" that supposedly improves stability by running under your armpit to connect the shoulder strap to an extra buckle on the bag's bottom portion. I found this feature unnecessary, though, and ditched it early on. Although the thought of my bag dangling from a weird angle initially freaked me out, two sturdy plastic buckles kept it securely closed. While I'd choose buckles over Velcro any day, it may not be your cup of tea if you like buttons or zippers.
Despite its compact size, the Boa Courier boasts ample interior storage space by virtue of its many compartments. The main compartment houses a dedicated laptop sleeve that closes over your system with a thick Velcro strap. Between its dense plush padding and snug fit, your laptop feels secure. The rest of the main compartment, meanwhile, is made from a soft herringbone nylon material that protects your gadgets from getting scratched. Here, you'll also find a pen holder and a smartphone compartment. An external zippered pocket beneath the bag's flap serves as a storage pouch for miscellany. On the opposite end of the Boa Courier, a rear external sleeve can hold thin materials like magazines and loose papers. This section also sports a key ring that can conveniently be removed via a sliding buckle mechanism. Nearby, you'll also find a single briefcase handle for carrying the Boa Courier by your side. While two handles would have made more sense, the handle nevertheless feels durable enough to transport a heavy load.
The interior of the Boa Courier also houses a metal-framed Terralinq serial tag, which allows Boa Courier owners to register the unique serial number on the Booq website. In the event of losing the bag, the finder can enter said number on the site, and Booq will in turn contact the original owner and assist in its eventual return. It's a nice idea, in theory at least.
I put the Boa Courier to the test by using it as my primary bag for two full weeks, a period that entailed frenetically zipping between crowded trains and some bicycle riding. In both instances, I stashed my usual necessities inside, like my 13-inch MacBook Pro, a bottle of water, an umbrella, a book, and (in one instance), a six-pack. Throughout, the Boa Courier comfortably rested on my back, and its shoulder strap allowed it hew close enough to my body so it didn't jut out and bump into others on crowded trains. Thanks to its compact size, I was able to deftly swing the Boa Courier in front of me and sit in those rare instances that I got a seat. Moreover, the Boa Courier never lost its shape or sagged, an attribute that became apparent when, at one point, the train's doors closed onto the bag and I had yank it out. Much to my surprise, the Boa Courier took this unscripted stress test in stride.
Even while riding a bike, the Boa Courier never felt burdensome. Thanks to the semi-vertical angle that it rested on my back, it never bumped into my body with my every movement?one of my biggest pet peeves with messenger bags. Moreover, all of my wares consistently remained accessible, making interior navigation and organization feel like second nature. I especially liked the key ring since I was able to grab my keys without having to fiddle with any compartments or zipper every time I needed to enter or leave my apartment.
So the question remains: After two weeks of using the Booq Boa Courier, am I a messenger bag convert? The answer is a resounding "yes." The Boa Courier proved itself to be a highly functional and comfortable way to carry my gear around without compromising my style. For students, commuters, and wavering backpackers looking for a cool way to tote their gear around, it's definitely worth checking out.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/8yHvrL5XrDE/0,2817,2417194,00.asp
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Loso tells MTV News duo also prepping 'entertaining' stage show because 'people [already] know what we do as far as rappin' and good lyrics.'
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Lauren Child and Dan Solomon
Fabolous and Pusha T's "Life Is So Exciting" tour
Photo: MTV
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704029/fabolous-pusha-t-so-exciting-tour.jhtml
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Mar. 27, 2013 ? A new study finds that mothers tell better, more emotional stories about past experiences which help children develop their emotional skills.
The act of talking is not an area where ability is usually considered along gender lines. However, a new study published in Springer's journal Sex Roles has found subtle differences between the sexes in their story-relating ability and specifically the act of reminiscing. The research by Widaad Zaman from the University of Central Florida and her colleague Robyn Fivush from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, discusses how these gender differences in parents can affect children's emotional development.
Previous research in this area has concluded that the act of parents reminiscing with their children enables children to interpret experiences and weave together the past, present and future. There is also evidence that parents elaborate less when talking to sons than daughters.
The primary objective of Zaman's study was to compare the reminiscing styles of mothers and fathers with their pre-school daughters and sons. This included how they elaborated on the story and the extent to which their children engaged with the story while it was being told.
The researchers studied 42 families where the participating children were between four and five years old. Parents were asked to reminisce about four past emotional experiences of the child (happy, sad, a conflict with a peer and a conflict with a parent) and two past play interactions they experienced together. The parents took turns talking to the child on separate visits.
The researchers found that mothers elaborated more when reminiscing with their children than fathers. Contrary to previous research, however, Zaman's study found no differences in the extent to which either parent elaborated on a story depending on the sex of the child. Mothers tended to include more emotional terms in the story than fathers, which they then discussed and explained to the child. This increased maternal engagement has the effect of communicating to the child the importance of their own version, perspective and feelings about the experience.
The authors contend that through their increased interaction with the child, mothers are helping their children work through and talk about their experiences more than fathers, regardless of the type of experience. This may reflect the mother's efforts to try and help her child deal with difficult emotions, especially about negative experiences, all of which is related to better emotional well-being.
The authors conclude that "these results are intriguing, and a necessary first step to better understanding how parents socialize gender roles to girls and boys through narratives about the past, and how girls and boys may then incorporate these roles into their own narratives and their own lives."
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Wa7GWEuPVQc/130327103054.htm
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Solar cells are just like leaves, capturing the sunlight and turning it into energy. It's fitting that they can now be made partially from trees.
Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University researchers have developed efficient solar cells using natural substrates derived from plants such as trees. Just as importantly, by fabricating them on cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates, the solar cells can be quickly recycled in water at the end of their lifecycle.
The technology is published in the journal Scientific Reports, the latest open-access journal from the Nature Publishing Group.
The researchers report that the organic solar cells reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7 percent, an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials. The CNC substrates on which the solar cells are fabricated are optically transparent, enabling light to pass through them before being absorbed by a very thin layer of an organic semiconductor. During the recycling process, the solar cells are simply immersed in water at room temperature. Within only minutes, the CNC substrate dissolves and the solar cell can be separated easily into its major components.
Georgia Tech College of Engineering Professor Bernard Kippelen led the study and says his team's project opens the door for a truly recyclable, sustainable and renewable solar cell technology.
"The development and performance of organic substrates in solar technology continues to improve, providing engineers with a good indication of future applications," said Kippelen, who is also the director of Georgia Tech's Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE). "But organic solar cells must be recyclable. Otherwise we are simply solving one problem, less dependence on fossil fuels, while creating another, a technology that produces energy from renewable sources but is not disposable at the end of its lifecycle."
To date, organic solar cells have been typically fabricated on glass or plastic. Neither is easily recyclable, and petroleum-based substrates are not very eco-friendly. For instance, if cells fabricated on glass were to break during manufacturing or installation, the useless materials would be difficult to dispose of. Paper substrates are better for the environment, but have shown limited performance because of high surface roughness or porosity. However, cellulose nanomaterials made from wood are green, renewable and sustainable. The substrates have a low surface roughness of only about two nanometers.
"Our next steps will be to work toward improving the power conversion efficiency over 10 percent, levels similar to solar cells fabricated on glass or petroleum-based substrates," said Kippelen. The group plans to achieve this by optimizing the optical properties of the solar cell's electrode.
Purdue School of Materials Engineering associate professor Jeffrey Youngblood collaborated with Kippelen on the research.
A provisional patent on the technology has been filed with the U.S. Patent Office.
There's also another positive impact of using natural products to create cellulose nanomaterials. The nation's forest product industry projects that tens of millions of tons of them could be produced once large-scale production begins, potentially in the next five years.
The research is the latest project by COPE, which studies the use and development of printed electronics. Last year the center created the first-ever completely plastic solar cell.
###
Georgia Institute of Technology: http://www.gatech.edu
Thanks to Georgia Institute of Technology for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127472/Trees_used_to_create_recyclable__efficient_solar_cell
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Former CIA director and retired four-star general General David Petraeus makes his first public speech since resigning as CIA director at University of Southern California dinner for students Veterans and ROTC students on March 26.
By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News
David Petraeus apologized Tuesday for the extramarital affair that led to his resignation?as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency last November in his first public speech since then.
Petraeus was invited a year ago -- before the scandal broke -- to be the keynote speaker before 600 guests at the University of Southern California annual ROTC dinner.
The retired four-star general has remained out of the public eye since the revelations of the affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, but decided to keep this appointment.
??It truly is a privilege to be here with you this evening -- all the more so given my personal journey over the past five months,? he said. ?I join you keenly aware that I am regarded in a different light now than I was a year ago ? I'm also keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey was my own doing,? he said Tuesday night.
?So please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply I regret and apologize for the circumstances that led to my resignation from the CIA and caused such pain for my family, friends and supporters,? he added.
Petraeus then stressed that the evening was ?not about me,? but the cadets, active duty military and veterans from USC and efforts to support them.
ISAF via Reuters file
Meet the people who have been pulled into the scandal that caused Gen. David Petraeus to resign.
He said that the post 9/11 generation of veterans deserved to be known as America?s greatest generation. More could and should be done to help veterans, particularly those with physical injuries and mental health problems, he argued.
'Instructive' to others who stumble
The general said that hanging up the uniform and leaving comrades behind was difficult, and returned to the reasons for his departure at the end of his speech.
?As I close, I want to take this opportunity to say thank you as well to those who provided words of encouragement to my family and me in recent months. That support meant a great deal as we sought to look forward rather than backward,? Petraeus said.
?This has obviously been a very difficult episode for us. But perhaps my experience can be instructive to others who stumble or indeed fall as far as I did. One learns, after all, that life doesn't stop with such a mistake. It can, and must, go on,? he said.
?And the effort to move forward over the rocky path of one's making is vital, inescapable, and ultimately worth it,? he added. ?I know that I can never fully assuage the pain that I inflicted on those closest to me and a number of others. I can, however, try to move forward in a manner that is consistent with the values to which I subscribed before slipping my moorings, and as best possible to make amends to those I have hurt and let down, and that is what I will strive to do.?
The discovery of Petraeus? affair came after another woman, Florida socialite Jill Kelley, complained to the FBI that she was receiving harassing emails from Broadwell.
The ensuing bureau investigation revealed a string of emails indicating an affair between Petraeus and Broadwell.
In a letter to the CIA workforce announcing his decision to step down last fall, Petraeus acknowledged "extremely poor judgment" and said, "such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours."
Days after the high-profile resignation, President Barack Obama announced there was no reason to believe the ex-CIA director compromised national security or divulged classified information to Broadwell, who had unprecedented access to the general while writing his biography.
And supporters like Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., maintained that the personal transgression should not have led to Petraeus' departure.
With the former high-profile military leader's resignation came the end of a nearly four-decade career in the military and intelligence.
As a commander in the U.S. Army, Petraeus was largely credited with salvaging the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and helping develop U.S. counterinsurgency strategy.
He was one of the most popular military commanders in modern history, and was talk about as a future presidential candidate.
Tuesday's speech may mark the beginning of attempts by the 60-year-old Petraeus to rebuild his image. His appearance in front of former and future members of the armed services made for a friendly audience.
USC president C. L. Max Nikias praised Petraeus ahead of his appearance at the university.?
?In our post 9/11 world, Gen. Petraeus? influence on our military is unmatched, and his contributions to the CIA are far-reaching,? Nikias said.
?Gen. Petraeus is arguably the most effective military commander since Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower,? he added.
NBC News' Denise Ono and Ian Johnston contributed to this report.
Related:
David Petraeus: Battlefield 'hero' and savvy Washington insider
'I screwed up royally,' Petraeus writes to old Army chum
Jill Kelley speaks out: 'I knew I was being stalked'
This story was originally published on Wed Mar 27, 2013 1:25 AM EDT
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One solution, a tax on bank accounts, prompted a major backlash among Cypriots. Another solution, a Russian bailout, hasn't emerged yet.
Customers of Bank of Cyprus use the ATM as the bank remains closed for the second day in central Athens on Wednesday.
Thanassis Stavrakis/AP
EnlargeCyprus is today looking at a ?Plan B? to save itself from a catastrophic banking default, though it appears that hopes for an immediate loan from Moscow, explored by Cypriot officials today, will not be forthcoming.
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Lawmakers in Nicosia on Tuesday decided against a highly controversial proposed levy on private bank depositor holdings that would impose a nearly 10 percent ?levy? or ?tax? on private bank deposits in order to secure an EU? bailout.
The possibility of private bank accounts being targeted by a government brought enormous world attention in recent days.
The Los Angeles Times today called the tax an ?expropriation? of funds in a piece that warns the Cypriot situation could trigger a larger crisis for the euro.
Now Cyprus still needs to find some $8 billion or find itself in default. It would be the first eurozone member to do so. Cypriot banks are already closed and may remain so this week until a solution is found, causing at the minimum, anger among citizens.
The tiny island represents all of 0.2 percent of the mighty eurozone economy. But its need for a bailout and its personae as a huge offshore shelter for Russian oligarchs ? brings speculation that a default will act as a wrench tossed in the mechanism of the EU economy, just as talk of the ?eurocrisis? was quieting down.
Today a visit to Moscow by the Cypriot finance minister for a possible bailout of $2 billion to $8 billion, yielded no offers according to Reuters.?
Cypriot political and financial leaders are huddling in Nicosia the capital, even as banks in Cyprus may continue to stay closed in coming days, if no solution is found.
In Europe, the Austrian finance minister claimed that the European Central Bank, which has provided a steady supply of loans in recent years to continental banks to avoid their default, will not do so for Cyprus indefinitely.
The Federal Reserve in Washington said it was committed to continue providing further liquidity and stimulus rather than adopt the kind of financial austerity the EU has shown a preference for.?
As Reuters put its, "If anything, developments in Cyprus, where the announcement of a tax on bank deposits to help fund the country's bailout sent jitters through the global financial system, are likely to reinforce the resolve of?Fed officials?to bolster the US economy."
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman today?cites an exhaustive report by the Financial Times showing the dimensions of Cyprus as an offshore haven for Russians, and speculates the oligarchs will soon realize they don?t need Cyprus and can find shelters elsewhere.
At that point Cypriot officials will give up on the Russian business and, Krugman writes, ?a resolution will become much easier. But they?re not there yet.?
The Russian business link is known as ?round tripping?:
This link occurs through CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] commodity-based shell companies that deposit transactional balances of their CIS-based legal subsidiaries engaged in oil, mineral, and metals exports, often involving transfer pricing and other tax minimization strategies. The Central Bank of Russia classifies Cyprus as the largest single source of FDI in the Russian Federation, with a total of $41.7 billion in cumulative inbound FDI into Russia?s non-financial sector between 2007 and 2010 (over 2.7x German levels)? Cyprus is also counted among the top FDI investing nations in several Central Asian countries (likely Russian capital reinvested via Cyprus, a process known informally as ?round-tripping?).
Sony Kapoor of the Brussels based reform-minded think tank ReDefine writes that an alarmist response to the Cyprus crisis as causing the fall of the euro is over the top. Spain and Italy are not in the same grooves or orbits as Cyprus and apocalyptic runs on banks in those nations are unlikely.
Mr. Kapoor also suggests that a levy or tax on the deposits of those banking in Cyprus may in fact be a better answer than the effect of a default.
?the alternative of sovereign default?would have been much worse; it is impossible to imagine a safe banking system in a sovereign undergoing restructuring of debt. Remember how much capital Greek banks needed after it defaulted? In fact, Cyprus would probably not have needed a bailout if its banks had not incurred huge losses on holdings of Greek debt. Add to this the complication that half of Cyprus?s sovereign bonds are under foreign (English) law that makes a successful restructuring of sovereign debt much harder. Moreover, Cypriot banks hold large swathes of its sovereign bonds, so it would be further bankrupted by any sovereign restructuring.
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