Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Lochte vs. Phelps, Part 2 set for US swim trials

Brendan?Hansen smiles as he looks at the time after swimming in the men's 100-meter breaststroke preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Brendan?Hansen smiles as he looks at the time after swimming in the men's 100-meter breaststroke preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Michael Phelps swims in the men's 400-meter individual medley preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/David Phillip)

Ryan Lochte swims in the men's 400-meter individual medley preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/David Phillip)

(AP) ? Ryan Lochte won Round 1 of his showdown with Michael Phelps at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Phelps won't have to wait long for a second chance to take down his rival.

They'll compete in the 200-meter freestyle preliminaries on Tuesday morning, with the 16 fastest qualifiers advancing to the evening semifinals. Lochte owns the upper hand in that event, having beaten Phelps at last year's world championships in Shanghai.

Any butterflies two of the world's best swimmers may have felt going into the eight-day meet should be gone since both qualified for the London Games on the first night of the trials. Lochte became the first swimmer to make the U.S. team with his win over Phelps in the grueling 400 individual medley on Monday.

"I can sit down and take a deep breath and relax," Lochte said. "I can just do what I love to do and have fun and just race."

It was a three-man race between world champion Lochte, world record holder Phelps, and Tyler Clary, the fourth-fastest swimmer ever in the event. Each of them owned the lead at different points in the race ? Phelps in the butterfly, Clary in the backstroke and Lochte in the breaststroke.

"All three of us were side by side by side and we were neck and neck," Phelps said. "You could hear the excitement of the crowd and that's something that definitely played a pretty big role in giving me a little extra energy the last 150. I was very pleased with that."

Once Lochte took over, he kept on going, building a body-length lead over Phelps and Clary heading into the final 100 meters. He eased up in the closing 20 meters and touched first in 4 minutes, 7.06 seconds. Phelps took second at 4:07.89. Their times were the top two in the world this year.

"That time was not good at all. I know I'm capable of going way faster," Lochte said. "There's definitely a lot of places during that race where I knew I could go faster, I just didn't. I just had to do what I had to do to get my hand on the wall first."

Lochte beat Phelps for the first time ever in the event, snapping a string of nine consecutive losses to his rival in the event dating to 2002.

"It really doesn't say much," Lochte said. "It's a rivalry that we've had for almost eight years now. We've just been switching back and forth. It's hard to say who's the best swimmer because we're both great racers."

Clary came home in third at 4:09.92, a bitter finish for the silver medalist at worlds last year. Phelps didn't swim the event in Shanghai, and since winning it as one of his historic eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics he had sworn he wouldn't compete in it again.

Now he's back, and Clary finds himself the odd man out. Clary didn't speak with reporters after the race.

Lochte is entered in 11 events this week, but he was coy about exactly where he'll turn up.

"We're going to pick and choose what events day-by-day and see how I feel," he said.

Phelps didn't win, but he made a little history of his own, becoming the first American male swimmer to qualify for a fourth Olympics.

"We knew that (losing) was a distinct possibility in this event," his coach, Bob Bowman, said. "I don't think we had any illusions. He knows that he's in the range. He knows he can get better."

Peter Vanderkaay made his third Olympic team by winning the 400 freestyle in 3:47.47. He was joined by training partner Conor Dwyer, who finished second.

Elizabeth Beisel became the first woman to qualify for the U.S. team with an easy victory in the 400 IM. She won in 4:31.74 to earn a berth in her second consecutive games. Caitlin Leverenz grabbed the second spot.

Some big names will hit the pool for the first time in Tuesday's preliminary heats. Missy Franklin, the 17-year-old Colorado swimmer tabbed for stardom in London, competes in the 100 backstroke; Amanda Beard opens her quest to make a fifth Olympic team in the 100 breaststroke; and Janet Evans, making a comeback at 40, goes in the 400 freestyle, although her stronger event is the 800 free.

Beard faces a loaded field in the 100 breast that includes world champion Rebecca Soni, former world record holder Jessica Hardy, and 2000 Olympic champion Megan Jendrick, who gave birth to her first child eight months ago.

On Tuesday night, Brendan Hansen goes for a spot on his third Olympic team in the 100 breaststroke. He flirted with the American record in Monday's semifinals, coming up short with a time of 59.71 seconds ? fourth-fastest in the world this year. The 30-year-old former world champion quit after Beijing but returned to the pool looking to make up for disappointments in the last two Olympics.

"I went out there and hit the first five strokes and I was like, 'I'm gone, later,' and just took off," Hansen said. "You have no idea how hard it is to break a minute."

Eric Shanteau, who competed in Beijing after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, also advanced.

Dana Vollmer, a 2004 Olympian who failed to qualify for the team four years ago, set an American record in the semifinals of the 100 butterfly. The defending world champion put up the world's fastest time this year of 56.42. Natalie Coughlin, an 11-time Olympic medalist, also made the eight-woman final.

Associated Press

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Monday, June 25, 2012

NATO to meet over Syria's downing of Turkish jet

NATO said it would meet to discuss member state Turkey's accusation that Syria shot down one of its warplanes in international airspace and not inside its own territory, as Damascus claims.

NATO said it would hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday following a request from Turkey that invoked Article Four of the alliance's founding treaty, which covers threats to member states' security.

Turkey has already acknowledged that its fighter jet might at some point have entered Syrian airspace. But after an initially cautious response, Ankara toughened its rhetoric on Sunday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkey's TRT television that at the time it was shot down, their plane was in international airspace, 13 nautical miles from Syria.

Syria had given no warning before opening fire, he added.

The fighter had been on an unarmed training mission to carry out a radar system test, and both pilots are still missing.

"The Syrians knew full well that it was a Turkish military plane and the nature of its mission," said Davutoglu.

"Nobody should dare put Turkey's (military) capabilities to the test," he warned.

"We will bring this affair before public opinion and international law in the name of Turkey's honour."

Syria has acknowledged shooting down the F-4 phantom jet after it violated its airspace, but insists it only identified it as a Turkish fighter after the fact.

"What happened was an accident and not an assault as some like to say," Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told the Al-Watan pro-government daily on Sunday.

But UN Security Council member Britain warned that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime "should not make the mistake of believing that it can act with impunity."

"It will be held to account for its behaviour," Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned a "brazen and unacceptable act" and promised US assistance in investigating the incident.

"It is yet another reflection of the Syrian authorities' callous disregard for international norms, human life, and peace and security," Clinton said in a statement.

Italy, another NATO member, also condemned Syria over the incident and Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said they would "actively participate" in the NATO meeting.

In his comments to Al-Watan Sunday, foreign ministry spokesman Makdissi tried to pour oil on the troubled waters.

"Syria was merely exercising its right and sovereign duty and defence," he said.

"There is no enmity between Syria and Turkey, but political tension (exists) between the two countries."

Turkish-Syrian relations have been strained by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's outspoken condemnation of the Assad's regime's bloody crackdown, which activists say has killed more than 15,000 people since March 2011.

Already Saturday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon had expressed his "deep concern" about the incident, particularly about the "potential serious implications" for the region, spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

The fighting inside Syria claimed scores more lives on Sunday.

The official SANA news agency reported that regime troops had killed "dozens of terrorists" after engaging them as they attacked people in the Jabaliye neighbourhood of Deir Ezzor.

The Syrian government uses the term "terrorists" to describe the rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 91 people had been killed on Sunday in Syria, including 59 civilians.

The Observatory also reported that following an attack on an artillery battalion in Aleppo, a number of soldiers had defected, taking with them a large quantity of weapons.

And it said that rebels had shot down a Syrian regime helicopter near the Jordanian border.

"This is one of the bloodiest weeks in the conflict," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory, said.

"It's like we are in a war. Sometimes when two countries are at war, not even 20 people are killed a day. But now in Syria it has become normal to have 100 killed each day."

Australia on Monday announced fresh sanctions against Syria, restricting or prohibiting trade across entire sectors.

"The Assad regime continues to show its unwillingness to negotiate a ceasefire and bring an end to Syria's bloodshed," Foreign Minister Bob Carr said in a statement.

In an opinion piece for The Australian newspaper, Carr called for Moscow to take a lead role in forcing Assad out.

But there were reports that Russia was to try again to send a Russian ship to make a controversial delivery of attack helicopters to Syria.

A first journey ended after exposure by the US authorities led the ship's British insurer to withdraw cover.

But an unnamed Russian diplomat said the ship, the Alaed, would soon try again to deliver the aircraft.

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Gay Marriage Opponent Recants Opposition for Fairness' Sake

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Revealed: The Animal Steve Jobs Would Have Designed

Click to launch the Top 10

? USFWS/Flickr

Start with No.10 This article is sponsored in part by Reebok.?Tracy Jordan said it best on 30 Rock, "Live every week like it's Shark Week." That's right. The only time of year when regular dudes can actually name programming on the Discovery Channel is when huge carnivorous fish take over the network. That's because sharks are straight-up awesome. Just watching video of these beasts killing and eating gets people so amped they start strutting around with Jay-Z-like swagger.?
Everything about these killing machines is fascinating -- they're unlike any other animal on the planet. They seem to be here for the sole purpose of terrifying anyone near an ocean and massacring anything in the water with a weakness. They're the vampires of the deep blue sea: perfectly designed for hunting, tough to kill and fuel nightmares. To fully appreciate sharks, we've listed 10 reasons why sharks continue to amaze us.

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

What Siri Says About Improving Your Relationship | World of ...

What Siri Says About Improving Your RelationshipWhen I upgraded to an iPhone 4s I had no idea what to expect from Siri, or how she would actually help manage my busy life.

Over the past couple of months I?ve grown to appreciate Siri?s suggestions, assistance, and dry sense of humor. While she occasionally misunderstanding my requests, I can?t fault her entirely. I have to take responsibility for my part in our communication breakdowns. So, I?m working on clear diction and stating my requests more concisely (which my husband is thrilled about).

Even after two months of daily communication, Siri still has her guard up. She always deflects questions about her gender (she sure sounds like a woman), her marital status, her family life, and her dreams for the future.

I can?t help but wondered if she has has an avoidant attachment style due to childhood trauma or something. Maybe she just has very strong boundaries when it comes to work relationships ? she doesn?t mix personal and business.

In spite of her reluctance to open up emotionally, she often catches me off guard offering profound nuggets of relationship advice which cause me to reflect on my life and relationships.

Here are just a few of Siri?s gems of wisdom.

1. Don?t be afraid to ask for clarification.
2. Focus on what really matters to you.
3. Find joy in other?s successes.
4. Be open to new possibilities in your relationships.
5. Be ready and willing to offer help.
6. Don?t react. When you?re caught off guard, take time to respond.
7. Keep your word and do what you?ve promised to do.
8. Remember that you don?t have to have all of the answers.
9. Validate other?s feelings and point of view (and call them by name frequently during conversations).
10. Show caring and concern without trying to control their behavior.
11. Readily accept compliments with enthusiasm.
12. Focus on the positives in your life.
13. Listen more than you talk.
14. Think before you speak.
15. Appreciate what you have.
Now, I?m going to add my own final relationship tip?wait, I learned this from Siri, too!

?

?

Do you have any other words of wisdom about happy relationships? Please share!
Dynamic self & relationship expert Julie de Azevedo Hanks, LCSW loves to make a difference. Whether it's performing her songs, helping therapy clients, or giving advice in media interviews, Julie's down-to-earth professionalism and helpful advice inspires everyone to take good care of themselves and their relationships. Watch Julie on KSL TV's Studio 5, get counseling from her clinic Wasatch Family Therapy & read her national advice columns on Psych Central's Ask the Therapist, and Private Practice Toolbox. Connect on Facebook & Twitter... and watch for her new book releasing in 2013.

Like this author?
Catch up on other posts by Julie de Azevedo Hanks, LCSW (or subscribe to their feed).


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????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 19 Jun 2012
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
de Azevedo Hanks, J. (2012). What Siri Says About Improving Your Relationship. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 20, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/06/20/what-siri-says-about-improving-your-relationship/

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Thank you, USC Dornsife Scientific Diving crew!

This morning, we published the last installment of this year?s USC Dornsife Scientific Diving series of posts at the Expeditions blog.

They did a great job last year and even better this year. Let?s hope they come back next year as well.

If you need a single URL for all of the posts so you can save it or share it with your friends, you can use this post, or the USC Dornsife tag.

Over the course of the past couple of months, we have heard from the band of intrepid explorers ? Jim Haw, David Ginsburg and a number of their students. We learned about Guam and Palau geography, history and politics, about local people, biodiversity, charismatic megafauna, and conservation issues. We learned about some nifty research methods, saw glimpses of cool equipment, and some great photos: both underwater and on the ground. And we learned a lot about the history and current state of knowledge of the physiology of diving. And on the last day they made an important discovery of a brittle star species, not found at Palau for 76 years, although this location is where the ?type specimen? was originally caught and described.

It was fascinating to me each time I received a new post from Jim Haw, and I hope it was fascinating for you, too. Thank you, guys!

Here are all the posts, listed in chronological order, so you can have them all in one place:

Catching Up with Scientific Diving at USC Dornsife: Surfgrass Monitoring at Catalina
Catching up with Scientific Diving at USC Dornsife: The Robot Submarine
Catching up with Scientific Diving at USC Dornsife: Diving into the Aquarium of the Pacific
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Moving Forward to Guam and Palau 2012
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Finding My Career Through This Course
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Devaluation of Ecosystem Services
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Why USC Dornsife was the Right Decision For Me
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Why Experiential Learning is Vital to Academic Life
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: My Walden South of Los Angeles
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Crown-of-Thorns Outbreaks and Anthropogenic Pollution
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The International Policy Rationale for the Military Buildup on Guam and Some Environmental Drivers
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Marine Ecology from Antarctica to Micronesia
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Palau Water Supply
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Contributions of J. S. Haldane to Dive Safety
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Human Impacts on Mangrove Forests
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Global Sea Cucumber Fisheries
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Palauan Mermaids
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The California Spiny Lobster
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Invasion of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Coconut Crab in Guam
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Ordot Dump and Layon Landfill
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Marine Ecosystem Based Management
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Navy Dive Tables
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Entangled in the Excitement of Every New Day
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Economic Effects of the Revised Military Buildup in Guam
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Guam and Calayan Rails
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Chamorro Women and the Spanish
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Diving into Apra Harbor?s Western Shoals and CB Junkyard
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Remaking What We?ve Lost ? A Look At Artificial Reefs
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Ecosystem Monitoring in the Ngederrak Marine Conservation Area
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Micronesia Regional Shark Sanctuary
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Palau, Above the Waterline
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Jellyfish Lake
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Preserving Palau?s Resources through Protected Area Networks
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: A Note on the Rock Islands of Palau
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Beginning My Journey as a USC Environmental Studies Major
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: New Methods to Avoid Decompression Sickness
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: An Interview with Karl Huggins
Scientific Diving at USC Dornsife: Monitoring Contaminants of Emerging Concern using new passive sampling techniques
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: ?Think Like a Brittle Star?
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: 2012 Wrap Up ? Notes From a Field Course

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Egypt's Hosni Mubarak reportedly clinging to life in military hospital ...

Amid reports that Hosni Mubarak is clinically dead, the Muslim Brotherhood thinks it won the Egypt elections and now wants full power. But the campaign of Ahmed Shafiq, ousted President Mubarak's old prime minister, said he really won the elections. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

By NBC News and news services

Egypt?s state news agency said former President Hosni Mubarak is "clinically dead" after multiple strokes, but a lawyer for Mubarak told NBC News early Wednesday that the ousted leader was clinging to life.

Mubarak, 84, had reportedly suffered multiple strokes and heart failure and had been moved late Tuesday to a military hospital from the prison hospital where he was being treated. He was reported to be on life support.

His health has been deteriorating since 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET), his lawyers told NBC. He suffered two or three strokes and his heart had to be restarted with a defibrillator, they said.


Video on Hayat TV showed an ambulance taking Mubarak to Maadi military hospital, the same one where his predecessor Anwar Sadat was declared dead more than 30 years ago after being gunned down by Islamic militants.

"He is in really bad shape," a U.S. official told NBC News.

The confusion over the state of health of the former leader came as his longtime opponents in the Muslim Brotherhood claimed victory of their candidate, Mohammed Morsi,?over Ahmed Shafiq, a candidate drawn from the military elite in a presidential election held over the weekend.

An 18-day uprising ended Mubarak?s 30-year rule on Feb. 11, 2011, sparking months of social unrest and political turmoil.

Speculation about Mubarak's health had swirled since he was jailed effectively for life on June 2 for failing to halt the killings of hundreds of the protesters who toppled him.

Philippe Bouchon / AFP - Getty Images

The President of Egypt for nearly 30 years, Mubarak was an advocate for peace in the Middle East and a major U.S. ally, but Egyptians eventually grew tired of his corrupt regime and he was ousted in a popular revolt in February 2011.

He had been moved to Tora prison hospital from a plush military hospital where he was held during the 10-month trial.

Critics had said his illness was being exaggerated to win public sympathy.?Egypt's official news agency earlier this month denied reports that Mubarak had slipped into a coma.

Slideshow: Life of Hosni Mubarak

Egypt's prison authority on June 11 approved a request to let Mubarak's eldest son, Alaa, who is being held at the jail pending trial, stay close to him in the prison hospital because of his deteriorating health, security sources said.

His youngest son, Gamal, once viewed as heir-apparent to the presidency and who is also detained pending trial, was moved closer to him earlier.

Mubarak?s wife, Suzanne, and the wives of his two sons visited him earlier this month and demanded he be moved to a hospital outside prison.

This report from Charlene Gubash, NBC News Cairo producer, includes information from Reuters and The Associated Press.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

PFT: Welker, friends 'tackled' by security in Aspen

Jonathan Vilma Portrait ShootGetty Images

The evidence against Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma includes considerably more than a page of handwritten notes.

During Monday afternoon?s appeal hearing in the bounty case, NFL outside counsel Mary Jo White explained to the players and lawyers present (including at least one lawyer from the office of linebacker Jonathan Vilma?s counsel, Peter Ginsberg) that three persons corroborated the claim that Vilma offered $10,000 to any member of the Saints defense who knocked Vikings quarterback Brett Favre out of the 2009 NFC title game.

?Mr. [Gregg] Williams and Mr. [Mike] Ornstein and another member of the Saints defensive coaching staff, all of whom were present at the meeting, all stated to NFL investigators that Mr. Vilma pledged $10,000 to any player who knocked Brett Favre out of the next week?s NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings,? White said according to the official transcript, a copy of which PFT has obtained.? ?All three witnesses stated that the amount of this bounty was $10,000.?

Vilma?s offer allegedly sparked a tidal wave of similar gestures.

?According to one of the witnesses present at the meeting, the bounty offered by Mr. Vilma prior to the NFC championship game inspired additional players to pledge money for injury-producing hits or potentially injury-producing hits against opposing players or for other types of plays during the game,? White said.? ?Mr. Vitt told NFL investigators that this meeting, quote, got out of hand, unquote. NFL investigators were informed that a member of the defensive coaching staff kept track of the various pledges made by players at this meeting.?

White also said that an unnamed witness provided the following quote regarding Vilma?s behavior before the prior week?s game:? ??In the NFC divisional playoffs, the Saints faced the Arizona Cardinals. During a meeting of the defense the night before the game in January 2010, Jonathan Vilma, a Saints defensive captain, asked for permission to address the team, which was granted,. Mr. Vilma, in the course of giving a motivational speech to the team, stated, while raising his hands, each of which held stacks of bills, that he had two five stacks, which I understood to mean $10,000, for anyone who knocked Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner out of the game.??? White said that the quote was independently confirmed by Mike Ornstein.

The problem continues to be that the NFL chose not to make Williams or Ornstein or the unnamed witness available to testify on Monday, and none of the three persons ever have addressed those claims, in any setting.? And so we?re all left to take the NFL?s word for it.

The NFL?s word may be the truth.? But when the three persons are all still, you know, alive, it would be nice to hear it from their mouths before completely believing it.

And that perhaps is and will continue to be the biggest question, which may never be answered.? What will an assistant coach who may have been (and likely still is) motivated by saving his career, a twice-convicted felon who still hopes to have access to NFL events (and inexplicably still does), and an unnamed person who may be a disgruntled former Saints employee say, if ever asked about these matters, especially if asked about them under oath?

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Facebook Did Not Confirm Hyper-Local Mobile Ad Product, But Here?s How It Would Target You

Facebook Local AdsFacebook may one day let advertisers target mobile users based on their exact current location, but VP Carloyn Everson did not confirm that such a product is in the works to Bloomberg, Facebook tells me. The New York media company misinterpreted statements from Everson, who merely said you could imagine the product evolution afforded by a mobile phone's location awareness. So we won't say Facebook is "readying" such a product, but let's imagine how it could look. Real-time hyper-local Facebook advertising could allow local businesses to advertise to people in sight of their brick-and-mortar store, or let travel companies target people when they're away from their home city. And competition to reach those out-and-about users coud drive up ad prices and earn Facebook more money.

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Scenes From Militarized America (Theagitator)

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Monday, June 18, 2012

"The Mind in the Build-up to Greatness" | MOTIVATIONAL ...

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Teenagers talking back? It could help them avoid peer pressure

Teenagers talking back may frustrate parents, but a new study says that teaching young teens to argue effectively (controlling emotions and using reason) will help them stand up to negative peer pressure.

By Samantha Koon,?Associated Press / June 18, 2012

Teenagers who argue with their parents, if taught to do so effectively, may be learning how to avoid peer pressure. A recent study shows that teens learn how to be "taken seriously" through interactions with their parents. Here, student union leaders Leo Bureau Blouin, left, and Martine Desjardins, respond to the negotiations over tuition hikes on April 26, 2012 in Quebec City, Canada.

Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press/AP

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Though parents have been teaching their children not to argue with adults for generations, new research from the University of Virginia shows that young teenagers who are taught to argue effectively are more likely to resist peer pressure to use drugs or alcohol later in adolescence.

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"It turns out that what goes on in the family is actually a training ground for teens in terms of how to negotiate with other people," said Joseph Allen, a UVa psychology professor and the lead author of the study, results of which were published in a recent edition of the journal Child Development.

Allen said that parents are often "scared to death about peer pressure," but also frustrated by argumentative children.

"What we're finding is there's a surprising connection between the two," he said. Allen noted that teens "learn they can be taken seriously" through interactions with their parents.

"Sometimes, it can be counterintuitive to tell parents to let their teens argue with them," said Joanna Chango, a clinical psychology graduate student at UVa who worked on the study. In fact, learning effective argumentation skills can help teenagers learn to "assert themselves and establish a sense of autonomy," she said.

The study, part of a larger longitudinal study, observed 150 13-year-olds engaging in arguments, and then polled the same participants three years later about their experiences with drugs and alcohol.

At 13, the teenagers were tape-recorded summarizing disagreements between themselves and their mothers. The recordings were then replayed for the mothers to hear.

"Usually, it's sort of an ongoing disagreement they have that they haven't been able to resolve," Chango said, adding that topics ranged from household rules to grades to monthly allowances.

Once the discussion was reopened, Chango said researchers filmed the teens and their mothers for eight minutes. Teenagers who displayed "confidence" and used reason to back up their statements were more likely to have refused drugs or alcohol when polled by researchers three years later, Chango said.

"Basically, our main finding is that the more that these teens are able to openly express their own viewpoints and be assertive ... they are more likely to resist peer influence to use drugs and alcohol a few years later," Chango said.

Chango recommended parents teach their children how to effectively convey their thoughts and emotions during conflicts, which in turn teaches children to stand up to negative influences outside of the home.

"We sort of see this as a transition of skills," Chango explained. "Even if their viewpoints don't line up . the teen is going to be able to take those skills into other environments," Chango added.

She also noted that it is important for parents to listen to their children's concerns during a conflict.

Parents of teenagers should teach by example and model good discussion practices for their children, Allen said.

He added that parents should be firm and prove to teenagers that providing "good reasons presented in a moderate way" is more effective than whining or hostile behavior such as slamming doors.

"If they're able to learn how to be confident and persuasive with their parents, then they'll be able to hopefully do the same with their peers," Chango said.

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WND: America's Marxist Picnic (Little green footballs)

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Obama calls on lawmakers to end gridlock

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White House congratulates Greece on elections

(AP) ? The White House is congratulating the Greek people for holding that country's election in difficult times.

The statement from the press secretary called on Greece to quickly form a new government that can make "timely progress" on the economic challenges facing the Greek people. The White House called on Greece to remain in "the euro area while respecting a commitment to reform."

The White House promised to engage Greece in the spirit of partnership" that has long guided the alliance between U.S. and Greece.

The New Democracy party came in first in Greece's election Sunday and immediately proposed forming a pro-euro coalition government ? a development that eased, at least briefly, deep fears that the vote would unleash new economic woes.

Associated Press

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UN observers in Syria suspend patrols

UN observers welcome their comrades upon their return from al-Haffa, in northern Syria, to Damascus, Syria on Saturday, June 16, 2012. U.N. Observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

UN observers welcome their comrades upon their return from al-Haffa, in northern Syria, to Damascus, Syria on Saturday, June 16, 2012. U.N. Observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

UN observers inspect damaged UN cars upon their return from al-Haffa, in northern Syria, to Damascus, Syria on Saturday, June 16, 2012. U.N. observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

This image made from amateur video released by Ugarit News and accessed Saturday, June 16, 2012, purports to show a Syrian military tank in, Damascus, Syria. The Syrian government, intent on wresting back control of rebel-held areas, launched a fierce offensive in recent days to recover territories in several locations, shelling heavily populated districts and using attack helicopters over towns and cities. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

This image made from amateur video released by the Shaam News Network and accessed Saturday, June 16, 2012, purports to show black smoke leaping the air from a building in Joret el-Shayah, Homs, Syria. The Syrian government, intent on wresting back control of rebel-held areas, launched a fierce offensive in recent days to recover territories in several locations, shelling heavily populated districts and using attack helicopters over towns and cities. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

A damaged U.N. vehicle is seen on Saturday, June 16, 2012, in Damascus, Syria. U.N. observers in Syria suspended their activities and patrols Saturday because of escalating violence in the country, the head of the mission said, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan for Syria is disintegrating. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi).

(AP) ? U.N. observers suspended their patrols in Syria on Saturday due to a recent spike in violence, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan was unraveling despite months of diplomatic efforts to prevent the country from plunging into civil war.

The U.N. observers have been the only working part of a peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan, which the international community sees as its only hope to stop the bloodshed.

The plan called for the foreign monitors to check compliance with a cease-fire that was supposed to go into effect on April 12, but they have become the most independent witnesses to the carnage on both sides as government and rebel forces have largely ignored the truce.

Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the U.N. mission chief, said intensifying clashes over the past 10 days were "posing significant risks" to the 300 unarmed observers spread out across the country, and impeding their ability to carry out their mandate.

The observers will not leave the country but will remain in place and cease patrols, Mood said in a taped statement, adding the suspension would be reviewed on a daily basis. Teams have been stationed in some of Syria's most dangerous cities, including Homs and Hama.

"The lack of willingness by the parties to seek a peaceful transition, and the push towards advancing military positions is increasing the losses on both sides," Mood said.

The decision came after weeks of escalating attacks, including reports of several mass killings that have left dozens dead.

The U.S. reiterated its call for the Assad regime to comply with the plan, "including the full implementation of a cease-fire."

Underscoring the dangers, activists reported at least 50 people killed in clashes and shelling in several Syrian cities.

The peace plan's near-collapse has increased pressure on the international community, including President Bashar Assad's staunch allies Russia and China, to find another solution. But there has been little appetite for the type of military intervention that helped oust Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, and several rounds of sanctions have failed to stop the bloodshed.

Najib Ghadbian of the main Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Council, said the concerns expressed by the U.N. mission could pressure Russia to allow more censure of Assad's regime.

"They are really under pressure to say 'OK, what's next?'" he said. Are they going to continue to sabotage other ideas to protect civilians in Syria?"

Despite fears that violence could significantly worsen without U.N. monitors on the ground, activist Rami Abdul-Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said their numbers were too small, and the conflict too large, for them to have any use.

"A lot of crimes happened in Syria, and they couldn't do anything," he said. "The situation can't get worse than this: are we afraid that it's a civil war? Well it is a civil war."

The Syrian government, meanwhile, said it had informed Mood it understood the U.N. observers' decision and blamed rebels for the escalation in fighting.

"Armed terrorist groups have conducted, since the signing of the Annan plan, an increase in criminal operations that have targeted, many times, the observers, and threatened their lives," the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement. Damascus frequently refers to rebels as "terrorists" instead of Syrians seeking reforms.

The opposition, for its part, has blamed the regime for the attacks near the observers.

Last week, a U.N. convoy was blocked and attacked with stones, metal rods and gunfire by an angry crowd as it was trying to head to the town of Haffa in the coastal Latakia region, where troops had been battling rebels for a week.

The observers only managed to enter once government troops had seized the area back from the rebels.

On May 15, a roadside bomb damaged the observers' vehicles shortly after they met with Syrian rebels in the northern town of Khan Sheikoun. A week earlier, a roadside bomb struck a Syrian military truck in the south of the country just seconds after Mood drove by in a convoy.

National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said the Obama administration was now consulting with allies about "next steps toward a Syrian-led political transition" in compliance with the U.N. resolutions setting up the peace plan. He didn't give further details.

Opposition groups say more than 14,000 civilians and rebels have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011. The initially peaceful protests seeking Assad's ouster have morphed into an armed insurgency as his opponents take up weapons.

Abdul-Rahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has said more than 3,400 Syrian soldiers and pro-government militiamen have been killed.

The Syrian government has been waging a fierce offensive through towns and villages nationwide for the past week, trying to pound out rebels by shelling urban areas with tanks and attack helicopters. Rebels also have attacked Syrian forces, mostly trying to burn out their tanks.

The Observatory said more than 50 people were killed in clashes and shelling in towns close to Damascus, in the central provinces of Homs and Hama, in the seaside province of Latakia, the northern provinces of Idlib and Deir al-Zour and the southern province of Daraa.

Those included 12 people, including a man, his wife and child, who died during overnight government shelling in the Damascus suburb of Douma and seven killed by a mortar shell that ripped apart a bakery in Homs, according to Abdul-Rahman.

The Observatory said that the bodies of 11 people including one woman had been discovered in the capital's suburb of Saqba. It said some of them were "butchered." A video posted online showed a group of lifeless men crammed into a room with stab wounds, blood still spilling from one of them. The LCC reported 13 victims and provided the names of nine, saying some were "slaughtered with knives."

Rebels appeared to kill an accused regime collaborator in an amateur video that was uploaded Saturday, repeatedly shooting his lifeless body.

There was no way of verifying government or activist claims because Syria does not allow reporters work independently. With U.N. observers now grounded, not even partial, independent confirmation of the deaths was available.

Syria's state news agency also said their forces killed a top al-Qaeda fighter on Saturday. They accused Walid Ahmed al-Ayish of organizing suicide car bombings in Damascus over the past few months.

___

Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

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Suu Kyi accepts Nobel Peace Prize 21 years late

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Video: Gov. Rick Scott once mistaken for dead

Woods shares US Open lead with Furyk, Toms

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - There were no fist pumps for Tiger Woods, just a deep breath and a slow exhale. Jim Furyk walked most of the 7,170 yards at Olympic Club with his head down. David Toms couldn't think of a single shot he hit without his full attention Friday.

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Friday, June 15, 2012

India refugee boat racket

Refugees in custody in Kollam in southern India.

Refugees in custody in Kollam in southern India. Photo: C. Suresh Kumar

A PEOPLE-SMUGGLING network is targeting Tamil refugees in southern India, promising them safe passage across the Indian Ocean and Australian citizenship when they arrive.

But boats have already been lost. Refugee advocates say at least two boats, carrying up to 50 people, disappeared off India's south coast late last year.

The past six months have seen a spike in the number of boats leaving Sri Lanka and southern India bound for Australian territorial waters, with boats intercepted in the past three days at Ashmore Islands, Christmas and Cocos islands.

Advertisement: Story continues below

Newly arrived asylum seekers playing cricket on Cocos Island.

Newly arrived asylum seekers playing cricket on Cocos Island. Photo: Karen Willshaw

Already this year, 708 people claiming to be from Sri Lanka, many arriving in boats from India, have arrived in Australian waters. For the full year last year, the figure was 211.

While the jump is dramatic, it represents a tiny fraction - half of 1 per cent - of the Tamil refugee population. The UN estimates more than 140,000 Sri Lankan Tamils are displaced across 65 countries. More than 70,000 live in 112 refugee camps in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

An MP from the south-west Indian state of Kerala, K. N. Balagopal, told The Age that international syndicates were preying on refugees who are afraid to return to Sri Lanka for fear of persecution but also know they cannot become Indian citizens.

''It is not one side, this is international trafficking. These elements are cheating these refugees by promising to send them to Australia and taking their money. But agents from the Indian side can't plan everything, they must have contacts or agents on the Australian side.''

In Chennai, S.C. Chandrahasan, himself a refugee and treasurer of the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation, said most Tamil refugees in south India were wary of the people smugglers.

''But there are some refugees who are being misled by a group of people who benefit from this human trafficking. They inform the people, who are gullible, that you will be able to make 100,000 rupees a month [$A1800], compared to 1000 rupees here. One lady said she was told she would get citizenship on arrival.''

Typically, asylum seekers pay between 50,000 and 200,000 rupees for a spot on a boat. Some sell all that they own, or borrow heavily, to pay a deposit.

Mr Chandrahasan said some of the recently caught refugees were on their second or third attempts to reach Australia. Some refugees had attempted suicide over the debts they carry.

Gladston Xavier, a professor of Social Work at Loyola College in Chennai, said the traffickers had convinced Tamils they will be quickly granted asylum.

''There is a false sense of belief that Australia will roll out the red carpet for them,'' he said. ''These communities know of people that have been in immigration detention for four years, but they are ? convinced into believing they will be accepted straight away.''

Both Dr Xavier and Mr Chandrahasan told The Age boats carrying asylum seekers from southern India to Australia were lost at sea last year.

''Their relatives have heard nothing, we have to presume they were drowned,'' Mr Chandrahasan said.

Between 40 and 50 people were on board the boats, Dr Xavier said.

The latest group stopped at the Indian coastline consisted of 135 asylum seekers, including an 18-month-old infant, picked up on board a fishing trawler off the Kerala coast near Kollam last

week. Another 16 people were caught waiting onshore.

The seized boat was overloaded and hopelessly unprepared for the journey. There was some food on board, but insufficient drinking water.

Women and children on the boat were kept below deck in massive iceboxes usually used to hold fish. When police discovered them, many were gasping for breath.

''These refugees were being held in completely inhumane conditions,'' Kollam assistant superintendent of police Thomson Jose told The Age.

Police said some of the asylum seekers have relatives who have reached Australia. Selvi, 21, said she fled for a better life: ''We were ousted from our country because we are Tamils. In India, we are not treated as citizens. Is there anything wrong in leaving this country for a better future?''

Kerala, on India's south-west coast, has become the favoured departure point for Tamils seeking asylum in Australia.

They come from Sri Lanka to India, brought by people smugglers, or they have escaped from camps in Tamil Nadu.

They choose the distant side of the Indian subcontinent because its waters are less keenly patrolled than the eastern coast.

''The Kerala coast provides favourable condition for these refugees due to availability of cheap boats and local Tamil support,'' Mr Jose said.

Boats are also still leaving directly from Sri Lanka. A boatload of 28 men was picked up off the east coast of Sri Lanka on Tuesday, while another 26 men, Pakistanis and Afghans, were waiting onshore.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australian government agencies were working with Indian authorities to discourage regional people-smuggling ventures.

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