Appcelerator developers warm to Windows Phone, give BlackBerry the cold shoulder originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
SlashGear | 
Appcelerator | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/15/appcelerator-developers-warm-to-windows-phone-give-blackberry-t/
courtney stodden drake take care herman cain accuser herman cain accuser election day kawasaki disease joe frazier
Small, faraway conflicts could precipitate an attack against the U.S., so cyberdefense could drop the 'fortress' mentality for a focused set of solutions
?| November 14, 2011?|
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Most Americans who worry about cyberwarfare are concerned that it will be directed against the United States. But the truth is that cyber conflict is far more likely to involve smaller players ? and the dangers associated with that possibility are just as real.
That's because war is more common in small, unstable areas: it's where the most conflicts are. The U.S. and other big powers ? Russia and China, for instance ? have pretty well-established diplomatic channels. Such hotlines are less common, for example, in Central Asia, where many nations trace their modern independence to the early 1990s, or in the Middle East, where a tit-for-tat skirmish between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian hackers broke out just last weekend.
Jeffrey Hunker, a Pittsburgh-based cybersecurity consultant who worked for the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton as senior director for critical infrastructure, said the problem is compounded by the fact that the appropriate response to a cyberattack hasn't yet been worked out.
Fighting in the fog
"Nobody can quite figure out rules for use of engagement and response," Hunker said. "When is it an act of war? What is the mechanism for deterrence? What is the doctrine for deterrence?"
The ambiguities could create big problems if a small "patriotic" group ? such as the Russian-speaking hackers who attacked Estonian websites in 2007 ? were to mount a hacking attack that caused real damage, all without the explicit support of a nation-state. Thus far, such attacks haven't provoked a military response.
But they might provoke such a response in the future. Hunker noted that the Pentagon's recently unclassified cyberwar strategy treats cyberattacks, no matter who launches them, as acts of war, and other countries may see them in the same light.
[What Cyberwar Would Look Like]
Then there's the problem of governance. Pakistan, for example, has state institutions that are comparatively weak. That leaves room for rogue actors within the system to attack other countries ? perhaps India. The Pakistani government might deny involvement, but that doesn't mean India would believe it.
"The scope for someone to do something irrational is expanded," Hunker said.
Jeffrey Carr, chief executive officer of Taia Global, a security consulting firm based in McLean, Va., and an expert who blogs about cyberconflict, expects attacks by non-state actors in the near future.
"I think you'll see more of that in the next few years," Carr said. "You'll see an increase in religious or other fanatical groups that just want to destroy things."
Supplementing physical attacks
Carr said he sees cyberconflict as part of larger wars and struggles. He thinks there isn't any ultimate cyberweapon that would bring down an entire nation's infrastructure. But, he said, there are other kinds of attacks that can work in tandem with "real" military force and shade into espionage.
For example, the Israeli external intelligence agency Mossad reportedly used a Trojan to infect a computer belonging to Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, a Hamas military commander. Mossad agents allegedly read his email, figured out his travel schedule and assassinated him in a Dubai hotel room in January 2010.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=2a747bd909ed02297138c53d2bdc1867
steve jobs aapl stock aapl stock apple ii pixar growing pains growing pains
This undated handout photo provided by UPMC shows Dr. Samuel Tisherman, a critical care specialist at the University of Pittsburgh, who is leading a study that early next year will test whether plunging critically injured trauma victims into deep hypothermia could help save their lives. The idea: When patients are bleeding so much that the heart stops, the cold might allow them to survive without brain damage for the hour or so it takes surgeons to patch them and resuscitate them. (AP Photo/UPMC)
This undated handout photo provided by UPMC shows Dr. Samuel Tisherman, a critical care specialist at the University of Pittsburgh, who is leading a study that early next year will test whether plunging critically injured trauma victims into deep hypothermia could help save their lives. The idea: When patients are bleeding so much that the heart stops, the cold might allow them to survive without brain damage for the hour or so it takes surgeons to patch them and resuscitate them. (AP Photo/UPMC)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Suspended animation may not be just for sci-fi movies anymore: Trauma surgeons soon will try plunging some critically injured people into a deep chill ? cooling their body temperatures as low as 50 degrees ? in hopes of saving their lives.
Many trauma patients have injuries that should be fixable but they bleed to death before doctors can patch them up. The new theory: Putting them into extreme hypothermia just might allow them to survive without brain damage for about an hour so surgeons can do their work.
In a high-stakes experiment funded by the Defense Department, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is preparing to test that strategy on a handful of trauma victims who are bleeding so badly from gunshots, stab wounds or similar injuries that their hearts stop beating. Today when that happens, a mere 7 percent of patients survive.
Get cold enough and "you do OK with no blood for a while," says lead researcher Dr. Samuel Tisherman, a University of Pittsburgh critical care specialist. "We think we can buy time. We think it's better than anything else we have at the moment, and could have a significant impact in saving a bunch of patients."
Tisherman calls the rescue attempt "emergency preservation and resuscitation," EPR instead of CPR. His team plans to begin testing it early next year in Pittsburgh and then expanding the study to the University of Maryland in Baltimore.
If the dramatic approach works, it will spur some rethinking about that line between life and death, says Dr. Arthur Caplan, a University of Pennsylvania bioethicist who is watching the research.
But before the first candidates get chilled, the scientists face a hurdle: The law requires that patients consent to be part of medical experiments after they're told the pros and cons. That's impossible when the person is bleeding to death. There won't even be time to seek a relative's permission.
So starting Tuesday, the Pittsburgh team is beginning a campaign required by the Food and Drug Administration to educate area residents about the study instead ? with signs on city buses, video on YouTube, a web site and two town-hall meetings next month. Residents worried about possible risks, such as brain damage, could sign a list saying they'd opt out if they ever were severely injured.
Go even a few minutes without oxygen and the brain in particular can suffer significant damage. Doctors have long sought to use hypothermia in medicine since discovering that cooling can slow the metabolism of the brain and other organs, meaning they can go without oxygen for longer periods. Donated organs are chilled to preserve them, for example. And people whose hearts are shocked back into beating after what's called cardiac arrest often are iced down to about 90 or 91 degrees, mild hypothermia that allows the brain to recover from damage that began in those moments between their collapse and revival.
But the CPR that buys time during more routine cardiac arrest doesn't help trauma patients who've already lost massive amounts of blood. Injuries are the nation's fifth-leading killer, and hemorrhage is one of the main reasons, says Dr. Hasan Alam of Massachusetts General Hospital, who is collaborating with the Pitt study.
Enter deep hypothermia, dropping body temperature to around 50 degrees. It has worked in dogs and pigs, animals considered a model for human trauma, in experiments over the past decade conducted by Tisherman, Alam and a few other research groups.
The animals were sedated and bled until their hearts stopped. Ice-cold fluids were flushed through the body's largest artery, deep-chilling first the brain and heart and then the rest of the body. After more than two hours in this limbo, they were sewn up, gradually warmed and put on a heart-lung machine to restart blood flow. Most survived what should have been a lethal injury and most appeared to be cognitively fine, Tisherman and Alam say.
Hypothermia is counterintuitive for trauma because the cold inhibits blood clotting, something to watch while rewarming people in the planned study. Still, humans can get that cold and fare well, says Tisherman, who is co-author of a pending patent for emergency-preservation methods. He points to rare cases of people who fall through ice and instead of drowning are rewarmed and wake up, as well as deep-chilling that happens during certain heart operations that require completely stopping blood flow for a short time.
"Nothing is magical. Everything has got its limitations," cautions Alam. He says the big question is whether deep hypothermia can help in the chaos of real-life trauma when "the blood has already been lost and you're trying to do catch-up."
Bioethicist Caplan says one concern is that some people might survive but with enough brain damage that they'd have preferred death. He says the "informed community" procedure designed for studies of emergency treatments cannot adequately cover that scenario.
"Most people are going to say, 'Yes I would like you to try and save my dad,'" says Caplan, who calls emergency preservation promising. But, he says, "we continue to ignore the 900-pound gorilla of who's going to manage the bad outcome."
___
EDITOR'S NOTE ? Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press.
Associated Pressohio news caracal beef wellington beef wellington ronnie brown man up man up
Medical equipment, automotive industry to make quality of gatekeeper ? equipment, automotive industr
Article by hi joiney
In recent years on the paint room fire, lift out lamp failure after another, these devices bring convenience to the maintenance of more than. Reasons and because the quality of their own, improper operation or maintenance of, or improper maintenance of equipment and body on the physical security threat. Check on the automotive equipment business is take preventive measures, to vehicle maintenance done to protect the safety of precision, while the industry standard boost.
Network HC Auto Repair & Maintenance As the saying goes: ?.? With more and more advanced automotive technology, automotive repair industry, which has detached from the maintenance man before relying solely on experience and physical maintenance of the times, Automotive Repair Equipment Detection equipment in recent years become Auto Repair Plants indispensable good helper.
Do automotive industry quality gatekeeper / HC vehicle repair and maintenance network with mapCurrently, vehicle safety, Travel Secure a range of topics were torn down before stepping down, the owner of the vehicle maintenance and inspection requirements of the rising, and even the community to ensure the safety of life and property, energy consumption and maintain the ecological balance of human social environment is also requested. With the rapid increase of automobiles, repair enterprise Developing Growth, on the maintenance of test equipment put forward higher requirements, and its development prospects are very broad. Auto repair equipment to become a vibrant force in the vehicle maintenance plays an important role. This also requires more advanced for Modern Vehicle maintenance technology, can provide accurate, safe, fast repair of equipment.
Owners and the increasing emphasis on the value of time dependent on the vehicle, thus requiring maintenance personnel to conduct maintenance on the vehicle should be fast, accurate and economic. All of these require the maintenance of existing methods, repair tools and diagnostic thinking, continuous change and innovation. Proved: maintenance of equipment maintenance techniques rely heavily on the application, should help to change and innovation and advanced automotive testing equipment.
Automotive plant to the vehicle inspection was originally a place, but to ensure the quality of automotive, auto repair works parts of the equipment began to undergo a medical examination. Zibo has launched a medical equipment store on the 4s, Zibo City, through the unremitting efforts of measurement tests, first established in Shandong in the areas related to testing laboratories, to carry out the test items include Four Locator The wheels move Balancing Machine, Exhaust gas analyzer 12 items. Ji Lin Jian also carry out the repair testing equipment safety inspection activities. Equipment used is summarized, on-site security inspection reports, and undertaking to report Yun Guansuo the record as a corporate reputation for quality assessment and quality of basic materials accidents investigated first-hand information for your records. Around the different features, different ways to the automotive plant equipment for checking.
In recent years on Paint room Fire, lift out lamp failure after another, these devices bring convenience to the maintenance of more than. Reasons and because the quality of their own, improper operation or maintenance of, or improper maintenance of equipment and body on the physical security threat. Check on the automotive equipment business is take preventive measures, to vehicle maintenance done to protect the safety of precision, while the industry standard boost.
muammar gaddafi muammar gaddafi lord monckton lord monckton andy kaufman october 21 2011 ohio
MMA fans of every background were excited to see Saturday night's fight on Fox, and that included many from the world of professional sports.
The NBA is locked out, so plenty of players had time to watch the fights on a Saturday when they would normally be playing games. That includes Luol Deng from the Chicago Bulls.
Both Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald and Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia picked Cain Velasquez to win, and were impressed by Junior dos Santos.
Shane Victorino, who plays for the Phillies and is a longtime MMA fan, said that the fight turned out just as he expected.
But not everyone was as thrilled with the fight. Pro wrestler C.M. Punk and Philadelphia 76er Evan Turner were not pleased with the length of the fight.
Thanks to Dave Brown for help on this.
trinidad trinidad jeff bezos slither slither schweddy balls schweddy balls
WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration on Thursday lost a second key Mideast adviser in six months at a time when Israel and the Palestinians are making little to no progress in the peace process and the U.S. is struggling to deal with the fallout from a Palestinian drive for statehood recognition at the United Nations.
Dennis Ross, a veteran mediator, helped lead efforts in recent months to persuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government to drop its U.N. membership bid and prod Israelis and Palestinians back into negotiation. The U.S. entreaties failed, and the two sides haven't held direct talks in more than a year.
The White House said Ross will leave his National Security Council post at the end of the year.
Ross has played a "critical role" in American efforts to pressure Iran's government over its human rights record and disputed nuclear program, support the democratic transitions of the Arab world and "deepen our security relationship with Israel while pursuing Israeli-Palestinian peace," White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
Ross' tenure had already surpassed the two years of service he promised President Barack Obama in 2009.
Still, the announcement of his departure augurs poorly for Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts ahead of an attempt next week to revive the stalled talks. It comes a half-year after the resignation of the top American envoy to the region, former Sen. George Mitchell.
A series of setbacks has badly damaged prospects for negotiations, and senior diplomats from the United States, U.N., Russia and European Union will only be able to meet separately on Monday with Israel and Palestinian negotiations in Jerusalem.
According to a timeline drawn up in September by those mediators, the two sides should have restarted negotiations last month with the aim of producing detailed proposals on land swaps and security by late January. But the push for a U.N. Security Council vote on recognition of an independent Palestine and continued Israeli settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank have further soured the environment for new talks.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment on Ross' departure or what types of ideas the quartet mediators might propose.
"We're going to again make the very clear case that the parties need to get back to the negotiating table," he said. The mediators' plan could "move this process along incrementally," so that direct Israeli-Palestinian talks can eventually resume.
Ross said in a statement that he leaves with "mixed feelings" and he said it was an honor to work for the Obama administration during the unprecedented changes of the Arab Spring.
But, he noted tersely, "there is still work to do."
Ross' effectiveness was limited by the perception among Palestinians that he held pro-Israel positions. On some trips to the region, Ross and fellow U.S. Mideast envoy David Hale consulted with top Israeli officials, while only Hale met with the Palestinians.
The ultimate U.S. goal, shared by fellow mediators, is to produce a binding treaty by the end of next year establishing a Palestinian state and bringing to a close six decades of conflict between Arabs and Israelis. Yet Washington has joined the Jewish state in fighting against the Palestinian bid at the U.N., saying statehood can only be achieved through an agreement with the Israeli government.
On Friday, the U.N. Security Council was likely to endorse a draft report showing deep divisions over the Palestinian application for membership. The Palestinians need nine votes in the 15-member body and no veto from the U.S., Britain, China, France or Russia. It appears the Palestinians lack the votes, and Washington has pledged to veto any such resolution anyhow.
That has led the Palestinians to explore alternative routes, such as membership in U.N.-affiliated organizations or perhaps an upgraded observer status in the global body.
Last week, the Palestinians won membership in the U.N. cultural organization, UNESCO, prompting Israel to announce it would speed up settlement construction in disputed territory and withhold millions of dollars in tax money it collects for the Palestinians. The Obama administration responded by announcing it halt all U.S. payments to UNESCO because of congressional restrictions on funding of organizations recognizing Palestine ahead of a peace deal with Israel.
chuck liddell dancing with the stars brandi glanville kristin chenoweth beanie wells beanie wells dina manzo
Earlier this month, officials in the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu had to confront a pretty dire problem: they were running out of water. Due to a severe and lasting drought, water reserves in this country of 11,000 people had dwindled to just a few days' worth. Climate change plays a role here: as sea levels rose, Tuvalu's groundwater became increasingly saline and undrinkable, leaving the island dependent on rainwater. But now a La Ni?a?influenced drought has severely curtailed rainfall, leaving Tuvalu dry as a bone. "This situation is bad," Pusinelli Laafai, Tuvalu's permanent secretary of home affairs, told the Associated Press earlier this month. "It's really bad."
So far Tuvalu has been bailed out by its neighbors Australia and New Zealand, which have donated rehydration packets and desalination equipment. But the archipelago's water woes are just beginning ? and it's far from the only part of the world facing a big dry. Other island nations like the Maldives and Kiribati will see their groundwater spoil as sea levels rise. Texas, along with much of the American Southwest, is in the grip of a truly record-breaking drought ? even after days of storms in the past month, Houston's total 2011 rainfall is still short of its yearly average by a whopping 2 ft., or 60 cm. Australia has experienced severely dry weather for so long, it's not even clear whether the country is in a state of drought, or more worryingly, a new and permanent dry climate that could forever alter life Down Under. "Climate-change impacts on water resources continue to appear in the form of growing influence on the severity and intensity of extreme events," says Peter Gleick, one of the foremost water experts in the U.S. and head of the Pacific Institute, an NGO based in Oakland, Calif., that focuses on global water issues. "Australia's recent extraordinary extreme drought should be an eye-opener for the rest of us." (See photos of the world's water crisis.)
Volume 7 of the Pacific Institute's regular report on global water usage, The World's Water, comes out today, just in time to address the squeeze of droughts, the increasingly apparent impact of climate change and the threats facing our relatively scarce supplies of freshwater. The sweeping report is a reminder that clean water is vital to life ? as Gleick points out, more than 2 million people die each year from preventable water-related diseases ? and that on the whole, we're not doing a very good job of husbanding that resource. There's even a risk here that parts of the U.S., especially the arid West, may have passed "peak water" ? the point at which it becomes essentially impossible to increase supply.
Potential water shortages are one more reason to try to reduce carbon emissions and blunt the worst impacts of climate change ? a warmer world is likely to further dry out already arid regions, even as extreme rainfall intensifies in already wet areas. But however severe the effects of climate change become, we're going to need to use water much more efficiently than we do now: the world's population is expected to pass the 7 billion mark by the end of this month, and more people will need more water. "New thinking about solutions and sustainable water planning and management, better data, case studies and efforts to raise awareness, are all needed," Gleick writes in The World's Water.(Read about radioactive water in Japan.)
Smarter water policy might mean rethinking other fields of resource use. Take, for example, natural gas drilling. Hydraulic fracturing has vastly increased American supplies of natural gas, which is good for gas companies and, because natural gas generally has a greener footprint, potentially good for the environment as well. But fracking requires a significant amount of water ? up to 5 million gal. (19 million L) per well. That might not be a major problem in a relatively wet state like Pennsylvania, but in bone-dry states like Texas, water-intensive fracking has sparked a backlash. There's also the uncertain risk of water contamination from fracking and drilling, and the problem of water waste. "The rapid expansion of the use of hydraulic fracturing to increase natural gas production has serious potential consequences for local water resources," says Gleick. It's important that "more effort be put into both understanding the real risks and protecting water resources before pushing for accelerated programs of natural gas production."
What we need most of all is a rethink of how we deal with water and a recognition of just how valuable it is ? especially in a warming world. That means focusing on modulating demand as much as increasing supply. Through most of the 20th century, governments dealt with water problems through massive construction projects designed to expand and regulate supply ? think the Hoover Dam near Las Vegas or the Three Gorges Dam in China.
But the era of those big projects may be ending, largely because we've begun to recognize the environmental problems that come with major dams, including the loss of aquatic wildlife and the displacement of local populations. Last month Burma's military government ? not ordinarily responsive to public opinion ? canceled a planned $3.6 billion Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam that would have displaced thousands of villagers. Just as we've recognized that energy efficiency is often the fastest and cheapest way to address carbon emissions, there's much that can be done to curb water waste. We need to "adopt 21st century strategies of new forms of sustainable water supply, rethink water demand and efficiency of use, and [embrace] smart use of pricing and economics," says Gleick. The alternative could mean ending up like poor Tuvalu ? high and dry.
Read about how people in Tucson, Ariz., are saving water.
See photos of the politics of water in Central Asia.
View this article on Time.com
Most Popular on Time.com:
cujo hpv vaccine hurricane tracking hurricane tracking flat tax flat tax divine
Republican presidential candidate Herman?Cain is escorted by security as he leaves the back door of the Russian Tea Room after a fundraiser, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Republican presidential candidate Herman?Cain is escorted by security as he leaves the back door of the Russian Tea Room after a fundraiser, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Herman Cain has decried the media firestorm surrounding claims he sexually harassed former employees. But the Republican presidential hopeful is also eagerly seeking the limelight, even as he casts himself the victim of a journalistic smear.
The allegations that Cain sexually harassed subordinates while heading the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s are catnip for reporters. The story blends power, sex, race and money and pits Cain's word against that of his accusers.
It's led news broadcasts, made major headlines and kept hordes of reporters tracking the candidate. Cain himself has sought coverage, appearing on Fox News, visiting late-night talk shows and calling in to radio hosts.
Along with unrivaled exposure, the attention allows the businessman to malign what he calls the liberal mainstream media and curry conservatives' favor.
Associated Press
Your news feed can now show the most recent status updates just like before
When the Facebook news feed revamp was first announced, it caused a lot of confusion. At one point, you might have wondered what happened to a status update a friend just posted, only to find it buried under a pile of other ones Facebook thinks is most important to you. If you went from confused to downright annoyed at this change, you'll be glad to know that Facebook has recently added an option that lets you have your old, chronologically-ordered news feed back.
Facebook Engineering Manager Mark Tonkelowit announced that you can now reorder the status updates in your news feed based on the time they were posted. Below your status update text box is the Sort pull-down menu where you can find the Recent Stories First option ? click it to bid your current news feed arrangement farewell.
Don't worry if you can't see this option yet ? it'll be available to you as it rolls out to more accounts in the coming weeks.?If the revamped news feed is merely one of your Facebook woes, however, you can try third-party fixes to address your other grievances such as the Chrome extension that nullifies the equally-disliked Ticker and even the Timeline.
A simple click takes your news feed back in time
[via Allfacebook]
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
More from Tecca:
brian williams coriolis effect coriolis effect giants patriots yolo steelers vs ravens keystone xl pipeline
SUNDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Pumpkin spice candles and pine-scented air fresheners may evoke the holiday season for some. For others, those airborne fragrances trigger allergy symptoms -- from runny, itchy noses and sneezing to asthma attacks.
Allergists say as the popularity of scented products has risen, so have complaints from their patients about reactions to them.
"We're seeing more patients with the problem," said Dr. Stanley Fineman, president-elect of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). "I've seen patients who say, 'I go into somebody's house who has one of these air fresheners and I just can't stay there. I have increasing nasal symptoms, sneezing and coughing.' There is no allergy skin test for air fresheners, but people can definitely have a physiologic response to it."
Dr. J. Allen Meadows, an allergist in Montgomery, Ala., said some of his patients have to contend with scented oil diffusers and plug-in room deodorizers in the workplace. Co-workers will plug one in, causing others in nearby cubicles to start sneezing and coughing.
Often, workers who like the fragrance think those who complain are just being "difficult."
"It smells good to them, so they don't believe someone could be bothered by it," Meadows said. "I have some of the same sensations myself. If the odor of the fume smells like a food, like cinnamon apple, I don't have a problem with it. But if it smells like a flower, I have to escape."
Meadows' staff warns him about heavily perfumed patients so he can use a nasal antihistamine to control his symptoms before he goes into the exam room.
Fineman, an allergist at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic in Georgia, was scheduled to make a presentation Sunday about the risks of air fresheners and scented candles to his fellow allergists at the ACAAI meeting in Boston.
Fineman planned to cite a 2009 study published in the Journal of Environmental Health that found significant numbers of Americans affected by pollutants in everyday products.
About 11 percent of more than 2,000 adults surveyed reported hypersensitivity to common laundry products. About 31 percent reported having an "adverse reaction" to scented products on other people, and about 19 percent reported having breathing difficulties, headaches or other health problems when exposed to air fresheners. Rates were higher among people with asthma.
Scented candles and air fresheners emit VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, which are chemicals that form a gas or vapor at room temperature, Fineman said. The VOCs present in air fresheners often include formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, limonene, alcohol and esters.
High concentrations of VOCs can trigger eye and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness, and even memory impairment. A 2008 study in Environmental Impact Assessment Review by a University of Washington researcher found that many laundry detergents and room deodorizers emitted potentially dangerous VOCs. One plug-in air freshener released more than 20 different VOCs, of which seven were classified as toxic or hazardous under federal laws.
But Gretchen Schaefer, vice president of communications for the Consumer Specialty Products Association, an industry group, said that VOCs aren't necessarily harmful.
"Anything that emits a scent -- flowers or the scent of pine if you walk through a forest or your Christmas tree -- is emitting a VOC," she said.
In the United States, air fresheners are subject to the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, which requires that manufacturers inform consumers of risks and ingredients that could contribute to that risk. But some experts say the requirements aren't stringent enough.
"The Federal Hazardous Substance Act requires that the manufacturer put the proper-use information on the label," Schaefer said. "These products are safe if you use them according to the label instructions."
More information
The U.S. Department of Labor has more on multiple chemical sensitivities.
generators lesean mccoy while you were sleeping while you were sleeping happy halloween happy halloween history of halloween
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. ? A South Florida man who gunned down four relatives during a 2009 Thanksgiving massacre was depressed and controlled by obsessive compulsive rituals, taking five-hour showers and sometimes wearing two pairs of underpants because he was afraid he would somehow impregnate a woman otherwise, medical records show.
The records were released by prosecutors after Paul Merhige, now 37, pleaded guilty last month in a deal that spared him the death penalty in exchange for serving seven consecutive life sentences. The records show disturbing details from Merhige's years of doctor and hospital visits as his family sought treatment across the country for his mental illnesses, the Palm Beach Post reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/sB3Af5).
He still sucked his thumb at age 24, but it had to be wrapped in cellophane before he would put it in his mouth. He tried to kill himself at least twice and told numerous psychiatrists that he couldn't get death off his mind, the records reveal.
Court documents show Merhige considered killing himself after the shootings. He never followed through, and was arrested about a month after the Nov. 26, 2009, killings in the Florida Keys.
Long before that night in 2009, his medical records show Merhige told one psychiatrist after another that he couldn't get death off his mind. His mental illnesses were so severe that he had to give up plans for law school and couldn't function on his own, according to a report from 1996 when Merhige was in his early 20s.
"The amount of water, soap bars, paper towels used is very sad," he wrote of his own condition before he later added: "Been under `house arrest' for 2 1/2 years."
He told a therapist in 1998 that he should move back home with his family because he felt they should "suffer with him." He described his sisters as being jealous because he "was the center of attention." One sister had won a restraining order against him after he lunged at her and threatened to slit her throat. It was just one of many violent incidents between Merhige and relatives.
The plea agreement came after Merhige's attorneys filed a notice signaling they may use an insanity defense. As part of the deal, the defense withdrew that notice.
florida state osu football osu football ted kennedy warren zevon caroline kennedy caroline kennedy
BEIRUT?? Syrians in the restive region of Homs performed special prayers for a major Muslim holiday to the sound of explosions and gunfire as government troops pushed forward their assault on the area, killing at least 11 people Sunday, residents and activists said.
Only on msnbc.com
The violence on the first day of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, added to fears that a peace plan brokered by the Arab League last week was unraveling and prompted Qatar's prime minister to call for an emergency meeting Saturday to discuss the Syrian government's failure to abide by its commitments.
Egypt's official news agency MENA reported that Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabr Al Thani called for the meeting "in light of the continuing acts of violence and the Syrian government's noncompliance" with the terms of the Arab plan.
Violence has continued unabated, though Damascus agreed to halt its crackdown on the 7-month-old uprising that the U.N. says has left some 3,000 people dead.
Under the Arab League plan, Syria's government agreed to pull tanks and armored vehicles out of cities, release political prisoners and allow journalists and rights groups into the country.
"It is a very painful situation here in Homs," said a city resident reached by telephone and speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals. "The holiday will come for us only when we are free from this regime."
Activists said government forces on Sunday killed at least nine people in Homs, which has turned into one of the main centers of protest and reprisal during the revolt against President Bashar Assad.
Bloodshed linked to the military crackdown on dissent and what appear to be sectarian revenge killings have engulfed Homs in recent weeks, killing scores of people in the country's third-largest city.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops killed one person in the city of Hama during raids there and another in the northern Idlib province.
Majd Amer, a local Homs activist, said people performed morning prayers to the sound of explosions that sometimes shook the mosques. "Nobody can tell what the explosions are, it's been like this for days now," he said of the military assault on the city.
Elsewhere, troops fired live ammunition to disperse protesters near Damascus and in the country's north as worshippers emerged from prayers to stage protests calling for Assad's ouster. There were no immediate reports of deaths but activists said several people were wounded in the northern province of Idlib.
Assad, who is trying to fend off the greatest challenge his family's 40-year-old regime, attended Eid prayers at the al-Nour Mosque in the northern town of Raqqa, according to the official SANA news agency.
The location marked a divergence from the past few years when Assad held prayers in the capital Damascus. The choice of Raqqa, which has seen some anti-government protests, appeared to be an attempt by the regime to show it remains in control there.
The Observatory said security forces conducted raids in Raqqa after Eid prayers.
The country's top Sunni clergyman and Assad loyalist, Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, insisted Assad is "not a president for life," but would rather return to his profession as an eye doctor.
"I am convinced that he plans to introduce reforms, step by step, that will lead to fair and free elections with independent parties ? and then after a peaceful transition, he could be ready to resign," Hassoun told Germany's Spiegel magazine in its Monday edition. He gave no time frame.
The comments by Hassoun, a state-appointed cleric whose son was killed by unknown gunmen last month, may be part of the Syrian regime's attempts to portray Assad as willing to eventually step aside.
The head of the opposition Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, addressed the Syrian people directly for the first time on Saturday evening, rejecting dialogue with Assad.
"We will not negotiate on the blood of the victims and martyrs ... we will not be deceived. The National Council will not allow the regime to bide for time," he said in a speech broadcast on the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite TV channel.
___
AP writer Melissa Eddy contributed from Berlin, Germany.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45180425/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
greg giraldo greg giraldo bob hope mariano rivera mariano rivera anderson cooper dadt repeal
SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota (Reuters) ? Former four-term South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow said on Friday he was dying from a "very far advanced" brain cancer and doctors have told him he does not have long to live.
Janklow, 72, who also served a brief stint in the House of Representatives before resigning in 2003 after a manslaughter conviction following a fatal car crash, said he first learned of the cancer a few weeks ago and planned to submit to experimental treatments.
"It's a condition that is not treatable. It is throughout my brain," Janklow told a news conference at his Sioux Falls, South Dakota, law office.
Janklow described himself as "as outspoken, opinionated and as strong-willed as anybody" during a 15-minute meeting with reporters. He was trying cases less than a month ago, and said he has seen doctors in Sioux Falls and at the Mayo Clinic.
Elected as state attorney general in 1975 and to his first term as governor four years later, Janklow lured the credit card business of Citibank to South Dakota 30 years ago, driving a financial services boom for what was then a mainly farming state.
Janklow said he would return to the Mayo Clinic on Monday, but there was a less than 50 percent chance treatments would lead to any improvement.
"I know it is over, I know I am at the end of the trail, but I don't hurt," Janklow said.
Janklow said he wasn't feeling well, but initial tests had not revealed a problem. Additional tests were conducted and a brain scan in Sioux Falls turned up an "expansive" cancer, he said.
Janklow expressed regret about the accident that killed Minnesota motorcyclist Randy Scott eight years ago. He ran a stop sign and collided with Scott's motorcycle. Convicted of manslaughter, Janklow served 100 days in prison.
"I gave a damn about what I did," he said. "If I had it to do over I would do everything I did except I would stop at a stop sign."
(Additional reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
joe namath austin weather sacramento kings lisa vanderpump pef pef the perfect storm
COMMENTARY | Rumors that Israel is poised to attack Iran's nuclear installations, exacerbated by the recent test of a Jericho long range missile capable of hitting that country, have gotten Obama administration officials worried.
They are not worried Iran will develop a nuclear weapon or if the administration is it is not saying. A military official recently stated the Obama administration is worried Israel will strike Iran without consulting it first.
There is a good reason for Israel to attack Iran without asking permission of President Barack Obama. He would try to stop it.
Mind, defense and foreign policy officials suggest there are good reasons for Israel not to attack Iran alone. A strike force would have to hit multiple targets, some hardened inside mountains, and would likely incur heavy losses. Israel would then be faced with a two-front war, with Hezbollah and perhaps Syria in the north and Hamas in the south.
There is, however, an excellent reason why Israel should attack Iran. If Iran gets a nuclear weapon and places it on a missile or even smuggles it close to Israel on a ship, it will use that weapon to commit genocide against the Jewish people.
Obama has placed himself in an unfortunate position by acting hostile and even petty toward Israel while practicing appeasement with Iran. A more sensible American government, say that of President George W. Bush, could talk to Israel, dissuade it from doing something desperate, but also reassure the tiny Jewish state that should an attack be necessary, American forces would participate. Obama has thrown away that capability. Israel has no assurance that if it came down to it, American military forces would attack Iran on the behalf of Israel and the Islamist country's other neighbors. So, as it has many times before, Israel finds itself alone.
But Iran should take warning. Israel is at its most dangerous when pushed to the wall and finding itself without credible friends. The shade of Gamal Abdul Nasser might tell them what happened when he thought he had Israel in a vise of steel, only to have his armed forces all but obliterated inside a week.
Unfortunately this means that a match is going to be set to the Middle East, likely just in time for the 2012 elections. So much for smart diplomacy.
courtney stodden john mccarthy john mccarthy lumpectomy robin williams blaine gabbert netflix stock
WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama's campaign-style drive for another batch of economic stimulus spending is facing defeat yet again at the hands of Republicans in the Senate.
This time it's Obama's $60 billion plan for infrastructure jobs that is expected to fall victim to a GOP filibuster Thursday. In votes last month, Republicans blocked Obama's entire $447 billion jobs package and a subsequent attempt to pass a $35 billion piece of it aimed at preventing layoffs of teachers and firefighters.
In turn, the president's Democratic allies are likely to kill a competing GOP plan that would extend existing highway and transit spending programs, accompanied by a $40 billion cut in unspent funding for other domestic programs.
Despite repeated losses, Democrats seem to think they've found a winning issue in pressing popular ideas from Obama's poll-tested jobs package. Republicans say the president is more interested in picking political fights with them than seeking compromise, but they also are sensitive to criticism that they're blocking jobs legislation.
Obama made the case for the infrastructure measure Wednesday, standing at a Potomac River bridge, in a speech aimed at pressuring Republicans to back him.
"Members of Congress who do, who vote no, are going to have to explain why to their constituencies," Obama said. "The American people are with me with this. And it's time for folks running around spending all their time talking about what's wrong with America to spend some time rolling up their sleeves to help us make it right."
He also tried to shame the Republican-controlled House by accusing its leaders of wasting time during a jobs crisis with debates over commemorative baseball coins and reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the country's motto. The House has refused to consider Obama's jobs bill.
"That's not putting people back to work," Obama said. "I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work. There's work to be done. There are workers ready to do it. The American people are behind this."
But Republicans are expected to unanimously oppose Obama because his legislation is financed by a tax surcharge on income exceeding $1 million.
The legislation would provide an immediate $50 billion investment in roads, bridges, airports and transit systems. It also would establish a $10 billion bank to leverage private and public capital for longer-term infrastructure projects.
The measure would be financed by a 0.7 percent surcharge on income over $1 million.
After Obama's full $447 billion jobs bill was filibustered to death last month, the White House immediately announced it would seek votes on component pieces. That's a way to exert political pressure on Republicans sensitive about their own jobs agenda, which so far has centered on relaxing regulations. Those moves are proving equally futile.
"The truth is, Democrats are more interested in building a campaign message than in rebuilding roads and bridges," said Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "And frankly, the American people deserve a lot better than that."
That drew a hot retort from Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
"Their goal is to do everything they can to drag down this economy, to do anything they can to focus attention negatively on the President of the United States in hopes that he can get my job, perhaps, and that President Obama will be defeated," Reid said. "So let's not talk about campaign speeches here on the Senate floor. Let's talk about reality."
Democratic aides say the next jobs measure would be a measure to provide a $4,800 tax credit for hiring an unemployed veteran and increasing the tax credit for hiring a veteran with a service-related disability to up to $9,600.
Obama last week uncorked a "We Can't Wait" initiative that relies on executive authority rather than legislation from a bitterly divided Congress to help homeowners refinance "underwater" homes and give borrowers relief from their student loans.
Meanwhile, House GOP leaders are casting blame on the Senate for failing to act on 16 "forgotten" jobs bills, including a measure to repeal a law requiring federal, state and many local governments to withhold 3 percent of their payments to contractors until their taxes are paid.
On Thursday, the House is poised to approve bipartisan legislation to remove a Securities and Exchange Commission ban that prevents small, privately held companies from using advertisements to solicit investors. The SEC ban, says bill sponsor Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., unfairly limits the ability of small companies to raise capital.
"While the president is out doing campaign events all over the country, what he could do is to actually come to Washington and be focused on trying to help pass bills that would create a better environment for job creation and help put the American people back to work," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said.
washington monument demarcus ware terra nova miles austin ellen degeneres patti stanger washington redskins
Specialist James Ahrens, left, and traders Jonathan Corpina and William Sachs work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. Stocks rose in early trading Thursday as hopes grow that a plan to tackle the European debt crisis will survive. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist James Ahrens, left, and traders Jonathan Corpina and William Sachs work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. Stocks rose in early trading Thursday as hopes grow that a plan to tackle the European debt crisis will survive. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
BANGKOK (AP) ? World stock markets rose Friday amid relief Greece's prime minister had abandoned a referendum on the country's bailout but gains in Europe were muted ahead of monthly U.S. employment figures.
Oil prices rose above $94 a barrel amid signs the U.S. economy may be improving. The dollar was higher against the euro but lower against the yen.
European stocks were mostly higher in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent to 5,560.45. Germany's DAX fell 0.3 percent to 6,114.04 while France's CAC-40 was 0.2 percent higher at 3,201.16.
Wall Street appeared headed toward a lower opening ahead of a closely-watched monthly employment report, with Dow Jones industrial futures down 0.1 percent at 11,959 and S&P 500 futures losing 0.2 percent at 1,252.70.
Trading ended higher in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.9 percent to close at 8,801.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 3.1 percent to 19,842.79. South Korea's Kospi gained 3.1 percent to 1,928.41.
Mainland Chinese shares tracked advances in the region, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index adding 0.8 percent to 2,528.29 while the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.6 percent to 1,071.34. Benchmarks in Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and Thailand also rose.
The gains reversed four straight days of losses starting Monday. That's when Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou shocked financial markets by unexpectedly announcing he would call a referendum on a European austerity plan aimed at restoring the country's solvency.
Markets remain jittery about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis. The risks to the region's economy were also a clear factor in the ECB's surprise decision Thursday to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25 percent.
Analysts expect economic growth in Europe to slow in the final three months of the year or even go into reverse.
Still, Greece's decision to call off the referendum allayed concerns that it would reject the bailout plan ? which could lead Greece into a massive debt default that could slam banks and other investors that were heavy purchasers of its bonds.
"The equity markets are reacting quite positively to what's happening in Europe," said Lee Kok Joo, head of research at Phillip Securities in Singapore. "There is still a lot of uncertainty, and the market is just reacting day by day to what is happening."
Investors will be closely watching the latest U.S. unemployment figures for October due to be released later Friday, Lee said.
Economists predict employers added a net total of 100,000 jobs last month, according to a survey by FactSet. That's just enough to keep up with population growth and stop the already high unemployment rate from rising.
Bargain hunting and buying fervor led to broad gains, including shares in airlines and heavy equipment. Hong Kong-listed Air China Ltd. jumped 6.8 percent, while Korean Air Lines Co. rose 2.9 percent. Japan's Komatsu Ltd., a world leader in equipment making, soared 6.9 percent.
Rising commodities prices, including industrial and precious metals, boosted mining shares. Zining Mining Group Co., China's largest gold miner, added 6.3 percent. Australia's BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, gained 3.9 percent while rival Rio Tinto Ltd. surged 5.3 percent. Fortescue Metals Group soared 7.9 percent.
Kirin Holdings Co., Japan's No. 2 brewer, rose 1.5 percent after announcing it has taken full control of Brazilian beverage maker Schincariol by acquiring its holding company, Kyodo News Agency reported.
The acquisition is part of Kirin's effort to expand into emerging markets, where rapid economic growth and rising demand are expected at a time when Japan's domestic beer market is shrinking.
Sony Corp., the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate, tumbled 7.9 percent, after earlier this week reporting a 27 billion yen ($346 million) loss for the latest quarter and downgrading its annual earnings forecast, battered by the strong yen and poor sales of flat panel TVs.
Mainland Chinese shares in shipbuilding, development zones and nonferrous metals led the gains while shares in media and cement companies weakened after earlier gains.
"The advance was mainly due to what happened overseas. While there is some pressure of profit-taking in the short term, the gaining trend will continue," said Cai Dagui, an analyst at Ping'an Securities, based in Shenzhen.
Suzhou New District Hi-Tech Ind. Co. gained 5 percent while CSSC Jiangnan Heavy Industry Co. added 4.4 percent. Shanghai Xinhua Media Co. lost 1.9 percent.
The developments in Europe on Thursday helped send Wall Street to a second day of big gains. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.8 percent to 12,044.47. The S&P 500 rose 1.9 percent to 1,261.15 and the Nasdaq composite added 2.2 percent to 2,697.97.
Reports on the U.S. economy also lifted stocks by lowering fears of a new recession. The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week dipped to the lowest level in five weeks. The number of applications fell below 400,000 for only the third time since April.
Companies also ordered more factory goods in September for a third straight month.
Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 17 cents to $94.24 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.56 to settle at $94.07 a barrel on Thursday, helped by the better U.S. and European news.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3794 from $1.3834 late Thursday in New York. The dollar slipped to 78.05 yen from 78.09 yen.
___
AP researcher Fu Ting contributed from Shanghai.
Associated Pressdaphne guinness daphne guinness mortgage rates mortgage rates kirstie alley r.e.m. kindle library lending
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks rose at the open on Wednesday, following two days of sharp losses, with developments in Greece and a U.S. monetary policy meeting on investors' minds.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 153.41 points, or 1.32 percent, at 11,811.37. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 17.99 points, or 1.48 percent, at 1,236.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 33.01 points, or 1.27 percent, at 2,639.97.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
chris cooley chris cooley stevan ridley breast cancer awareness month breast cancer awareness month barbara walters new ipod touch
HTC Rezound for Verizon unveiled: Beats Audio, Ice Cream Sandwich-ready, 4.3-inch 720p display available November 14th for $299 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/8YPR4tzCDrs/
sand dollar sand dollar just dance 3 just dance 3 cliff lee cliff lee the raven
New York ? Consumer groups boycott Johnson & Johnson after finding trace levels of potentially dangerous chemicals in the iconic Johnson's Baby Shampoo
A coalition of consumer advocates and health watchdogs is urging Americans to boycott Johnson & Johnson. The company's alleged crime: Continuing to sell Johnson's Baby Shampoo containing cancer-causing chemicals, even though the product has been pulled from the shelves in other countries. What parents need to know:
What are these toxic chemicals?
The first, dioxane, is "a likely carcinogen" that is "a byproduct of a process for making chemicals more soluble and gentler on the skin," reports the Associated Press. The second is a preservative called quaternium-15, which releases formaldehyde to kill bacteria. Formaldehyde "was declared a known human carcinogen" this year.?The shampoo complies with government standards, but babies are more vulnerable to exposure than adults, says Tracey J. Woodruff, director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at University of California-San Francisco. "Even though the chemicals may be low-level, why risk it?"
So consumer groups are pushing a boycott?
In a new report called "Baby's Tub is Still Toxic," the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says that bottles of Johnson's Baby Shampoo still contain trace amounts of the carcinogenic chemicals, even though the company offers versions without them in other countries and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has been urging Johnson & Johnson to remove these chemicals from its baby products for more than two years. "It's clearly a double standard," Lisa Archer, the group's director, tells the Associated Press, "something they can easily fix."
What does the company say?
Johnson & Johnson says it is changing the formulas of its baby products to reduce dioxane content below detectable levels. It also says that formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are safe and have been approved by regulators in the U.S. and elsewhere, but it's still phasing them out. "We know that some consumers are concerned about formaldehyde," the company said in a statement, "which is why we offer many products without formaldehyde-releasing preservatives." Johnson & Johnson already makes a new, more expensive alternative to its traditional baby shampoo called Johnson's Naturals that doesn't contain the chemicals.
If it's phasing out the carcinogens, why boycott?
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' wants to know exactly when the company will eliminate the chemicals completely. And Johnson & Johnson might be unusually sensitive to such pressure. Less than a month ago, the company ranked as the most trusted brand in America in a Forbes survey, so its executives might be worried this controversy "could give consumers pause," says Amy Westervelt at Forbes.?
Sources: Associated Press,?Forbes,?Reuters
View this article on TheWeek.com
Get 4 Free Issues of The Week
Other stories from this topic:
Like on Facebook?-?Follow on Twitter?-?Sign-up for Daily Newsletterearthquake today walter isaacson walter isaacson urban meyer zodiac killer battlefield 3 review battlefield 3 review
