Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315151373?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Vietnam vets with PTSD more than twice as likely to have heart disease
June 25, 2013 ? Male twin Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more than twice as likely as those without PTSD to develop heart disease during a 13-year period, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
This is the first long-term study to measure the association between PTSD and heart disease using objective clinical diagnoses combined with cardiac imaging techniques.
"This study provides further evidence that PTSD may affect physical health," said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which partially funded the study. "Future research to clarify the mechanisms underlying the link between PTSD and heart disease in Vietnam veterans and other groups will help to guide the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies for people with these serious conditions."
The findings appear online today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and in the September 10 print issue.
Researchers from the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, along with colleagues from other institutions, assessed the presence of heart disease in 562 middle-aged twins (340 identical and 222 fraternal) from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. The incidence of heart disease was 22.6 percent in twins with PTSD (177 individuals) and 8.9 percent in those without PTSD (425 individuals). Heart disease was defined as having a heart attack, having an overnight hospitalization for heart-related symptoms, or having undergone a heart procedure. Nuclear scans, used to photograph blood flow to the heart, showed that individuals with PTSD had almost twice as many areas of reduced blood flow to the heart as individuals without PTSD.
The use of twins, identical and fraternal, allowed researchers to control for the influences of genes and environment on the development of heart disease and PTSD.
"This study suggests a link between PTSD and cardiovascular health," said lead researcher Viola Vaccarino, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the department of medicine at Emory University and chair of the department of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health. "For example, repeated emotional triggers during everyday life in persons with PTSD could affect the heart by causing frequent increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and heartbeat rhythm abnormalities that in susceptible individuals could lead to a heart attack."
When researchers compared the 234 twins where one brother had PTSD and the other did not, the incidence of heart disease was almost double in those with PTSD compared to those without PTSD (22.2 percent vs. 12.8 percent).
The effects of PTSD on heart disease remained strong even after researchers accounted for lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical activity level, and drinking; and major depression and other psychiatric diagnoses. Researchers found no link between PTSD and well-documented heart disease risk factors such as a history of hypertension, diabetes or obesity, suggesting that the disease may be due to physiologic changes, not lifestyle factors.
Affecting nearly 7.7 million U.S. adults, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that develops in a minority of people after exposure to a severe psychological trauma such as a life-threatening and terrifying event. People with PTSD may have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their trauma, may experience sleep problems, often feel detached or numb, and may be easily startled. According to a 2006 analysis of military records from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, between 15 and 19 percent of Vietnam veterans experienced PTSD at some point after the war.
The study used state-of-the-art imaging scans with positron emission tomography, which measures blood flow to the heart muscle and identifies areas of reduced blood flow, at rest and following stress.
The study was supported by grants from NHLBI (K24HL077506), (R01 HL68630), and (R21HL093665), the National Institute on Aging (R01 AG026255), the National Institute of Mental Health (K24 MH076955), and by the American Heart Association. Support also was provided by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR000454) and the National Center for Research Resources (MO1-RR00039).
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Rutger Hauer spills on 'True Blood's' new big bad
TV 
16 hours ago
John P. Johnson / HBO
Rutger Hauer plays fairy royalty Niall on "True Blood" this season.
The fairy tale is over for the fairies on "True Blood." More about Rutger Hauer's mysterious new character has been revealed -- he's Sookie and Jason's grandfather and fairy king Niall -- but he's not exactly delivering good news.
There might be another reason Bad Things happen whenever Niall's around. Ever since his casting, rumors have swirled that he is in fact M. Warlow, the powerful vampire who murdered Sookie's parents and is now tracking her and her fae friends. The reports seemed to be confirmed by IMDb, which credits him with the dual roles: Niall Brigant and Macklyn Warlow.
When TODAY.com questioned the legendary "Blade Runner" star about his double identity, he refused to confirm -- or deny -- the rumors.
"That's how it started, and at that point they said it was a misunderstanding. It was a misunderstanding that was created -- but OK, who am I to say? Because I didn't know what I was doing. I signed on blind."
One thing is indisputable: Niall is the King of the Fairies, declaring that his mission is to hunt down Warlow -- to whom Sookie, as the first fae-bearing Stackhouse, was promised in an ancient contract -- and save her and her kind.
"Niall is showing up because the last of the fairies are in the wrong corner," Hauer explained. "And Sookie needs to know something that I can tell her. I can show her something that she doesn't know, and it will help her in the end. It will save her if she loses her life. But then there's all kinds of spins happening after that, that kind of make that go away a little bit."
Although Warlow makes several terrifying appearances in the first three episodes, the Dutch actor warned that his story line will become even more intense.
"(Expect) big things in episode four," he promised.
Rob Kazinsy agreed that the fourth episode is pivotal. As Sookie's new man, fairy Ben, he shares screen time with the iconic actor -- and savored every moment.
"Rutger was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me," raved Kazinsky. "I'm a huge fan. The tears in rain scene (which Hauer famously improvised) in 'Blade Runner' is my favorite scene in pretty much any movie ever. He's an incredible actor. ... We had so much fun."
The feeling is mutual. "We were really rocking," Hauer said about their "True Blood" scenes.
So how evil is Hauer's on-screen persona? "I have no idea," he teased. "I play a character -- I think he's pretty nice, you know. He's grumpy, but he's nice. I think he's got a dangerous side that makes him who he is."
"They wrote it that way a little bit and they cast me," Hauer added, acknowledging his reputation for portraying some of the big screen's scariest villains. "It's pretty clear that I'm going to go there a little bit."
Where do you think Hauer's character is going? Is he the mysterious M. Warlow, or just (cough) Sookie's overprotective gramps? Click on "Talk about it" below and tell us what you think!
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/rutger-hauer-spills-true-bloods-new-big-bad-6C10336930
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Key vote on immigration set in Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate is preparing for a crucial test vote on a measure boosting border security along the U.S.-Mexico border and opening the door to citizenship for millions.
Ahead of the vote set for Monday evening, around a dozen Republican lawmakers had already indicated support, setting up a solid bipartisan margin of victory within reach of the 70 votes supporters are hoping for. All 54 Senate Democrats are likely to vote yes.
The measure includes changes to the original border security provisions in the bill that would double the size of the U.S. Border Patrol at a cost of around $30 billion and complete 700 miles of fencing. That compromise emerged last week after secret negotiations between Republicans and Democrats aimed at bringing more Republican senators on board.
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Monday, June 24, 2013
Appfuel Is A Simple Way For App Developers To Balance Monetization And Growth
Appfuel is aiming to make it easy for mobile app developers to manage the tradeoff between user growth and monetization. Cross-promotion between apps is a big part of the ecosystem, but CEO Andrew Boos said Appfuel is unique because of its simplicity. Developers add a "suggested apps" unit to their own apps, and they can either grow their user base by getting a reciprocal recommendation in another app, or they can earn money by running sponsored suggestions ? or rather, with Appfuel, they do a mix of both. To adjust the program, they just move a slider determining how much of their inventory goes towards recommendation swapping versus sponsored links, and Appfuel handles the rest of the optimization process.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pwAOn40OpEc/
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South Africa leader: Mandela 'asleep' during visit
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? South Africa's president on Monday said a critically ill Nelson Mandela was "asleep" when he visited the 94-year-old at the hospital, and he urged the country to pray for Mandela, describing him as the "father of democracy" who made extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of his people.
President Jacob Zuma told dozens of foreign and South African journalists that doctors are doing everything possible to help the former president feel comfortable on his 17th day in a Pretoria hospital, but refused to give details of Mandela's condition, saying: "I'm not a doctor." The briefing came a day after the government said Mandela's condition had deteriorated and was now critical.
Monday's press gathering highlighted the tension between the government's reluctance to share more information about Mandela on the basis of doctor-patient confidentiality, and media appeals for thorough updates on a figure of global interest. The government's belated acknowledgement that an ambulance carrying Mandela to the hospital on June 8 broke down has fueled the debate about transparency versus the right to privacy.
Zuma's briefing was also an indicator of the extent to which reports on Mandela's health sometimes overshadow the business of the state. Under questioning, Zuma said President Barack Obama would go ahead with a visit to South Africa, despite concerns about Mandela's health.
"President Obama is visiting South Africa," Zuma said. "I don't think you stop a visit because somebody's sick."
Obama, who arrives in Africa this week, is due to visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.
White House spokesman Jay Carney wouldn't speculate about how Mandela's health would impact Obama's upcoming visit to South Africa, saying only that the U.S. president "continues to look forward to his trip."
"The president obviously has long seen Nelson Mandela as one of his personal heroes, and I think he's not alone in that in this country and around the world," Carney said.
Zuma, who in the past has given an overly sunny view of Mandela's health, briefly spoke of his visit Sunday night to Mandela in the hospital in the capital. That visit was mentioned in a presidential statement on the same night that said Mandela, previously described as being in serious but stable condition, had lapsed into critical condition within the previous 24 hours.
"It was late, he was already asleep," Zuma said. "And we then had a bit of a discussion with the doctors as well as his wife, Graca Machel, and we left."
The president said South Africans should accept that Mandela is old, and he urged people to pray for their former leader.
"Madiba is critical in the hospital, and this is the father of democracy. This is the man who fought and sacrificed his life to stay in prison, the longest-serving prisoner in South Africa," Zuma said, using Mandela's clan name.
Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president after the end of apartheid in 1994, was hospitalized for what the government said was a recurring lung infection. This is his fourth hospitalization since December.
Mandela was jailed for 27 years under white racist rule and was released 23 years ago, in 1990. He then played a leading role in steering the divided country from the apartheid era to an all-race democracy. As a result of his sacrifice and peacemaking efforts, he is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation.
"Nelson Mandela, for me, is like my father," Alex Siake, a South African, said in Pretoria. "Every day, I just pray that he can recover quickly and be among us again."
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main opposition party, said in a statement that the news that Mandela was in critical condition came "as a blow to all South Africans."
Zuma referred to the transfer of Mandela from an ambulance with engine trouble to another ambulance on the night he was taken to the hospital in Pretoria.
"Nobody can predict whether the car is going to break down or not," he said. But he said he was pleased because seven doctors, including specialists, in the convoy "made all the contingencies before leaving" and Mandela's health was therefore not affected.
Asked why none of Mandela's doctors had been made available for a news briefing, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said an arrangement had been made in consultation with Mandela's family whereby information would be provided through a "single source in an authoritative way."
"We've come to that arrangement on the basis that we need to respect the privacy of the family, we need to adhere to doctor-patient confidentiality," he said.
"You can be assured that what we are saying is based on agreement with the doctors," Maharaj said. Doctors approve the text of announcements on Mandela's health, and believe some media reporting has transgressed professional ethics, he said.
Monday also marked the 18th anniversary of Mandela's appearance at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, a day still enshrined as a hugely significant moment for South Africa.
In a move crucial in unifying sections of a previously fractured society, Mandela wore a green and gold Springboks rugby jersey at the June 24 final in Johannesburg and brought all South Africans together in support of their national team ? once an all-white bastion of the apartheid regime and hated by blacks.
Mandela shook hands with and patted the shoulder of the Springboks' captain, Francois Pienaar, after South Africa won a tense final against New Zealand, underlining the new president's dedication to reconciliation.
___
Associated Press writer Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-leader-mandela-asleep-during-visit-164903201.html
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Sunday, June 23, 2013
Why Immigration Reform Is The Panama Canal Treaty Redux (Powerlineblog)
in a land contract - Zillow Real Estate Advice
I'm sorry to hear of your difficulty.
You've encountered one of the glaring issues related to land contracts as well as rent to own. ? They are a great way to lose a lot of money. ?
The owner has no obligation to renegotiate but if you see that $1000/month is a temporary situation perhaps they'll consider accepting $1000/month for three or four months while your husband finds steady employment.? If you aren't employed, you may also wish to find employment.?? If neither of those works, perhaps it is time to move and lose your down payment.? So sorry.
Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/in-a-land-contract/498524/
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Mandela remains in 'serious but stable' condition: government
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela remains in a "serious but stable" condition in hospital, the government said on Saturday.
Consistent with previous updates from the presidency, the statement shows that the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero's health is little changed since his admission to a Pretoria hospital two weeks ago.
Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, was rushed to a Pretoria hospital early on June 8 with a recurring respiratory infection.
The presidency also confirmed that the intensive care ambulance carrying former South African president Nelson Mandela to hospital two weeks ago broke down. Media reports said he was stranded for 40 minutes.
Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said the former president was transferred to another military ambulance for the remainder of the almost 50 minute journey between Johannesburg and the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria.
"All care was taken to ensure that former president Mandela's medical condition was not compromised by the unforeseen incident," Maharaj said. He would not say how long Mandela's journey to hospital had been delayed by the breakdown.
Doctors attending to Madiba, the clan name by which Mandela is popularly known, were satisfied that he suffered no harm during this period, he said.
Failure to deliver basic services under the African National Congress-led government has sparked violent protests across the country this year and are campaign points for political parties jostling for position ahead of next year's election.
Mandela's history of lung problems dates back to his time at Robben Island prison near Cape Town. He was released in 1990 after 27 years and went on to serve as president from 1994 to 1999.
His hospitalization is the fourth since December.
(Reporting by Sherilee Lakmidas; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nelson-mandela-remains-serious-stable-condition-government-092747495.html
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Tale of the snail tells us about Ireland's ancient origins
New research suggests that snails in Ireland and the Pyrenees share almost identical genetic material not found in British snails, suggesting the snails arrived in Ireland with southern European migrants.
Listen close to the tale of the snail ? it may tell us about the mysterious history of ancient Ireland.
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New research published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE found that the snails in Ireland and the Pyrenees share genes not found in British snails. Since it?s improbable that the Irish snails made a slow, slimy crawl thousands of miles long from France and Spain, scientists suggest that the simplest explanation is that snails arrived with snail-eating migrants from southern Europe some 8,000 years ago.
That Ireland is genetically different from Britain and has genetic similarities to Iberia ? with numerous species that are unique to it and Iberia, including the strawberry tree, the Kerry slug, and the Pyrenean glass snail ? has long puzzled scientists. In tracing the snail?s genetic origins, this latest research joins a growing body of evidence that the first people of Ireland arrived from Iberia.
?The results tie in with what we know from human genetics about the human colonisation of Ireland ? the people may have come from somewhere in southern Europe,? said Angus Davison, of the University of Nottingham and the co-author of the study, in a statement.??What we?re actually seeing might be the long lasting legacy of snails that hitched a ride, accidentally or perhaps as food, as humans travelled from the South of France to Ireland 8,000 years ago.?
Davison and Adele Grindon, also of the?University of Nottingham,?analyzed mitochondrial DNA found in muscle samples sliced from the feet of some 880 snails, from the species Cepaea nemoralis. Researchers and volunteers had spent two years collecting the little animals across Europe.
The researchers found that snails in Ireland share a mitochondrial lineage with the Central and Eastern Pyrenean snail populations, but not with snails collected elsewhere in Europe.
Researchers are unsure whether or not the snails travelled as stowaways or as snacks for the long-journeying migrants. Mesolithic or Stone Age humans in the Pyrenees are recorded to have eaten snails, or perhaps farmed them.?
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Egypt commission to look into election complaints
CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's official news agency says an election commission will look into complaints by presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq alleging irregularities and forgery in last year's vote, which he narrowly lost.
The Presidential Election Commission made its decision Saturday to reopen investigation into Egypt's first freely contested presidential election, held last summer, in which Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood scraped in ahead of Shafiq. Shafiq, a Mubarak-era prime minister, is in self-exile in United Arab Emirates. In Egypt he is being tried in absentia on corruption-related charges, which he says are politicized.
Earlier, Shafiq had complained that some ballots were forged, invisible ink was used during voting, and some Christians were prevented from casting ballots. He said the incidents favored Morsi.
The commission had earlier dismissed the same complaints from Shafiq.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-commission-look-election-complaints-130314903.html
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Saturday, June 22, 2013
2 Bangladesh garment factories show effort, lapses
SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? The walls of the cavernous AKH clothing factory are covered in red arrows. They point to three wide emergency staircases with evacuation plans posted on every floor. They point to fire extinguishers attached to the walls and pillars throughout the factory. They point to medical kits located near designated workers with "First Aid" stitched onto their shirts.
It is the type of factory garment manufacturers hope will persuade Western brands to keep making clothes in Bangladesh despite a recent factory fire and a building collapse that killed more than 1,200 people.
But just down the road, the seamier side of the industry lives on in a tiny, stiflingly hot factory. Very young looking seamstresses sew snowsuits for export at cramped work stations. The aisles are blocked by piles of clothing. Power cords hang haphazardly along the walls.
This is the type of factory the government and the major garment manufacturers have decided must reform or die if the nation's $20 billion-a-year garment export industry is to continue to thrive.
"We have A grade (factories) and we also have D grade," said Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. "Now is the time for survival of the fittest."
The Dhaka industrial suburb of Savar shows both sides of an industry that began just three decades ago with some sewing machines in entrepreneurs' homes and has since exploded into a global clothing manufacturing hub.
Some buildings appear ultra-modern, with outdoor fire staircases and mirrored windows. Others have bars on all the windows and gray, raw concrete exteriors that no one has bothered to paint. Many have steel reinforcing bars jutting from the rooftops, awaiting new floors yet to be added.
A government investigation blamed the April collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building, which killed 1,129 people, on its poor construction, floors that were illegally added to the building and the use of heavy equipment it was never designed to hold. Investigators said the November fire at the Tazreen factory, which killed 112, was so deadly in part because clothing was stored in the stairwell, which turned the emergency exit into a chimney billowing smoke, fire and toxic fumes from the burning fibers.
Many Western brands said they were not aware their clothes were being made at the factories because of the tangle of subcontracting deals that are routine in the garment business here. Following the twin tragedies, some brands pledged to help raise safety standards. Others, most prominently Disney, announced they were pulling out completely.
The government and the manufacturers association are taking a carrot-and-stick approach toward reforms aimed at preventing another disaster that could cause more companies to follow Disney's lead.
One target is the estimated 600 factories that perform subcontracting work for export, but don't belong to the BGMEA ? freeing them from even minimal industry oversight. The organization issued a set of guidelines this month aimed at either bringing those factories into the fold, or crushing them.
The new rules mandate that factories being given subcontracts be members of the BGMEA or a related organization for knitting factories. They need to have insurance coverage for their workers. And the company that placed the initial order has to agree in advance to have it subcontracted, eliminating confusion over where its clothing is made.Those who fail to abide by the new rules can be suspended from the organization, effectively barring them from importing fabric and exporting clothes, said the BGMEA's Azim.
The organization has also inspected 200 factories it believed were at risk and shut 20 of them, he said.
The government announced plans for a special economic zone on 532 acres near the capital, where factories located in unsafe buildings will be relocated into modern facilities with the help of cheap loans, Textiles Minister Abdul Latif Siddique said. The government has also proposed hiring hundreds of new fire safety inspectors to beef up Dhaka's current force ? just 15 people tasked with inspecting the city's 10,000 factories and warehouses.
Not far from the Rana Plaza site stands the spotless AKH factory.
Inside, rows of women and men worked at sewing machines separated by wide aisles in the giant airy factory, making dark blue men's shirts for H&M on one line, khaki shirts for Marks & Spencer on another and purple shirts for Perry Ellis on a third. Boxes of finished shirts were stacked neatly nearby.
A man using an industrial saw to cut stacks of fabric into shirt panels wore a chain mail glove on one hand for protection. Shears were tied to tables and irons strapped to overhead pipes to ensure they wouldn't fall and pierce or burn workers' feet.
In addition to the ubiquitous fire extinguishers, the 5,500-person factory had firefighting masks, helmets, shovels and buckets of sand on each floor.
Faridul Alam, a top official at the factory, said it had four fire hoses and a 40,000-liter tank to feed them. The building was constructed to withstand an 8.5 magnitude earthquake, and the generators were housed in a separate facility to ensure that their vibrations don't damage the structure, he said.
The measures, Alam said, pay off because they attract safety-conscious Western brands. But even AKH subcontracts to other factories when production lines are backed up, he said. He refused to give details about those deals.
A few kilometers away, a small factory above some shops in a market revealed the hidden, bottom layer of the industry.
Women and children who appeared to be in their early teens at best hunched over sewing machines making puffy green camouflage snowsuits with the Kidz Grow System label and dark blue snowsuits labeled Piazza Italia Man. They appeared somewhat frightened of the young men who rapidly passed the clothing they had finished sewing to the next machine in the assembly line.
There were fire extinguishers on the walls but vast bundles everywhere ? in the aisles, near the exits ? of raw materials, half-finished clothing, discarded fabric scraps and finished garments. Tangles of electric wiring hung haphazardly throughout the facility. Several boxes of clothing and a huge sack of insulation used in the snowsuits sat in a stairwell.
It is unclear whether the factory got its orders directly from brands, from a buying house that places orders on behalf of Western companies, or from an overburdened factory that needed a subcontractor. Factory officials declined to speak to The Associated Press.
Cleburne, Texas-based Walls, which owns the Kidz Grow System clothing line, said it was checking into how its clothing ended up at that factory.
"If it's going through an agent, then typically we might not know about that factory," said Walls Chief Financial Officer Bill Aisenberg.
Milan-based Piazza Italia did not respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.
The government plans to crack down on smaller subcontracting factories, but it will take time, said Siddique, the textiles minister. First, it is focused on fixing larger factories.
"We are taking this very seriously," he said.
But it can be difficult to shut down factories, even those with obvious safety issues, said Sheikh Mizanur Rahman, a deputy director of Dhaka's fire service.
Before shutting a dangerous factory, the fire department must first issue a letter demanding improvements. It can refuse to renew the annual fire safety certificates of factories that fail to comply. But factories can continue operating as they file appeals, first to the government and then to the courts.
"This is a long process," Rahman said.
Since the Tazreen fire, there have been more than 40 fires in Bangladesh garment factories, killing 16 people and injuring hundreds more, according to the Solidarity Center, an international labor rights group.
Despite the new efforts at reform, government and industry officials and activists agree that another building collapse or major fire remains a real threat.
"There is every possibility that it can happen again," said Wajed-ul Islam Khan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Trade Union Center.
___
Associated Press reporter Julhas Alam contributed to this report.
___
Follow Ravi Nessman on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ravinessman
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-bangladesh-garment-factories-show-effort-lapses-092556501.html
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Gerard Depardieu banned from driving in France
Celebs 
9 hours ago
? Eric Gaillard / Reuters
Gerard Depardieu.
PARIS - French actor Gerard Depardieu was banned from driving for six months on Friday, after he was found to be three times over the alcohol limit when he fell from his scooter last year.
The 64-year-old star of films such as "Green Card" and "Cyrano de Bergerac" was not in the Paris court to hear its decision to suspend his driving license and fine him 4,000 euros ($5,300). Drunk-driving can be punishable by up to two years' jail.
The flamboyant actor, who owns a vineyard in the Loire valley, injured his elbow but nobody else when he fell from the scooter in the capital in mid-afternoon last November.
With top roles in more than 100 movies, one of the country's best-known actors has made the headlines on many occasions for reasons other than his film career.
The scooter fall came a few months after a car driver filed a suit against Depardieu for assault and battery following an altercation in Paris.
The year before, Depardieu outraged passengers by urinating in the aisle of an Air France flight as it prepared to take off.
Depardieu criticized the left-wing government last year over high taxes and took President Vladimir Putin up on an offer of a Russian passport.
He has appeared in ketchup advertisements in Russia, which has a flat tax rate of 13 percent on income, compared with more than 40 percent in France where the government plans a supertax of 75 percent on incomes above 1 million euros.
Depardieu said his decision to take Russian nationality and plan to open a restaurant in the city of Saransk were not motivated by tax concerns. He is considering shooting a film in Chechnya, where he was seen this year embracing strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Commenting on Friday's court ruling, Depardieu's lawyer, Eric de Caumont, said: "Naturally we are disappointed to the extent that we had sought an acquittal."
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/gerard-depardieu-banned-driving-france-6C10409282
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Friday, June 21, 2013
Fla. unemployment rate drops again to 7.1 percent
MIAMI (AP) -- Florida's unemployment rate ticked down another notch last month ? handing Gov. Rick Scott another piece of good news to boast about as he edges closer to the 2014 election.
The state's May unemployment rate was 7.1 percent ? a drop of 0.1 percent from the previous month.
But the drop is tempered by the fact that the actual numbers of jobs in the state declined last month by 6,200. Labor officials use two different surveys to calculate the two economic measures.
Additionally, state economists this week released their own analysis that shows a key reason for the unemployment rate decline in Florida has been people leaving the labor force or delaying looking for a job.
If the same number of people were in the workforce now as were at the end of 2011, then the unemployment rate would be 8 percent.
Scott, who has made job creation his primary focus since winning office, was scheduled to arrive Friday back from a week-long trade mission to Paris. He took time during his visit abroad to shoot a video where he stressed that the state's unemployment rate remains below the national average.
"Each month we continue to distance ourselves from the national unemployment rate and it is clear we are succeeding in growing opportunities for Florida families to pursue the American Dream," he said in a statement.
The May rate is the lowest it has been in Florida since September 2008. There are now an estimated 671,000 Floridians out of work.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Florida has gained the third highest number of jobs in the nation since last year behind the states of Texas and California. The major areas of job growth have been in trade, transportation and utilities, while the state has shed jobs in government and manufacturing.
During his trip the Scott administration announced that several companies were relocating or expanding operations in the state. The governor's office announced on Thursday that a medical information technology company will expand its national headquarters in Ormond Beach while another company is relocating its headquarters from New Jersey to Amelia Island.
Scott in recent appearances has made sure to mention that the state is overall adding jobs ? in contrast to the four years under former Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist, who unsuccessfully sought the U.S. Senate three years ago, is considering mounting a bid against Scott in 2014.
But Scott so far has refrained from mentioning Crist directly by name when talking about the state's economy. That hasn't stopped the Republican Party of Florida. Shortly after the new numbers were released, the party sent out a graph comparing what it called the "Crist Crash" to the "Scott Surge."
The ongoing back-and-forth over the jobless numbers will likely become a major theme in the 2014 election and will likely spark a debate over who deserves the credit.
A poll released earlier this week by Quinnipiac University said that 65 percent of Floridians who think the economy is improving give at least a little credit to President Barack Obama. But that same poll ? which had a plus or minus error margin of 2.9 percent ? found that 82 percent credit Scott.
"The governor needs to make voters believe he is responsible for a better economy. That's the key to his electoral future," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fla-unemployment-rate-drops-again-170652166.html
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The Martini: This American Cocktail May Have An International Twist ...
The martini: international drink of mystery? Photo: iStockphoto.com
Post by April Fulton, The Salt at NPR Food (6/19/13)
There?s no cocktail more distinctly American than the martini. It?s strong, sophisticated and sexy. It?s everything we hope to project while ordering one.
Baltimore-born satirist H.L. Mencken is said to have called the martini ?the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet.? But is the martini perfectly American? Maybe not entirely.
So in honor of National Martini Day on Wednesday, we decided to dig into the drink?s muddled past.
The history of the martini is a murky one. As is the case with many alcoholic concoctions through time, things weren?t always written down, and memories got fuzzy from drinking a few of them.
Many historians follow the martini back to a miner who struck gold in California during the Gold Rush. The story goes that a miner walked into a bar and asked for a special drink to celebrate his new fortune. The bartender threw together what he had on hand ? fortified wine (vermouth) and gin, and a few other goodies ? and called it a Martinez, after the town in which the bar was located.
The Martinez was a hit, according to the city of Martinez?s official website, and word soon spread about the new drink. It was published in the Bartender?s Manual in the 1880s.
And yet, author Barnaby Conrad III, who wrote a book on the drink?s history, asserts that San Francisco is the martini?s true birthplace. Then there?s the claim that a New York bartender created it in 1911.
And wait, there?s more: An Italian vermouth maker started marketing its product under the brand name Martini in 1863.
?Personally ? I think the martini may have gotten its name because of Martini & Rossi vermouth,? says Robert Hess, secretary of the Museum of the American Cocktail in New York. ?A customer asks for a ?Martini? cocktail because it utilized that product, much as they might ask for a ?sherry? cocktail in those days if they wanted a cocktail which used sherry. During the 1800s, many drinks were named very simply (gin cocktail, fancy gin cocktail, gin cobbler, gin daisy, etc.),? Hess tells us via email.
Over the years, the drink?s fame has grown, as its ingredients (Butterscotch? Seriously?), the ratio of spirits to vermouth, and even its name changed (try saying Martinez three times fast). And there are people who prefer drier versions of a martini, vodka instead of gin, and shaken instead of stirred.
But where does that all-important olive garnish come in?
Nobody knows for sure, but our far-flung correspondent Deborah Amos may have a lead.
Last year, she tells The Salt, she was interviewing a Dr. Ammar Martini, a member of the Syrian Red Crescent, at a Syrian rehab hospital on the Turkish border.
?As we were chatting, I said, ?Hmmm, Martini, that?s an unusual Arab name, no?? And he said, ?There are a lot of Martinis in northern Syria. In fact, my grandfather gave the name to a famous drink in the West,? ? Amos recalls.
And how did that happen? she asked. Martini said that after the French left Syria (they occupied it from 1920-1946), his grandfather went to Paris and ran a bar and a caf?.
?His contribution to the famous drink, according to his grandson, was to put an olive in the glass ? and he did so because Idlib province in Syria [where he was from] is famous for olives ? and so the drink was called Martini after its Syrian inventor,? she tells us.
While it?s a great story, ?unfortunately, this particular one doesn?t hold up when you realize that the martini cocktail existed pre-1900,? Hess says.
It seems that everyone wants to take credit for this famous cocktail.
Extra Credit: In 1935, Mencken wrote an essay called How to Drink Like a Gentleman: The Things to Do and the Things Not To, as Learned in 30 Years? Extensive Research, which contains some surprisingly modern advice about how best to enjoy alcohol and some sharp passages on the state of American education.
?Drinking with skill and taste is no more a natural art than love; either it must be learned by the onerous process of trial and error, or it must be taught,? he writes. The essay was recently republished here by Gawker.
Copyright 2013 NPR.
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Category: cocktails and spirits, holidays and traditions, NPR food
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Cities are a new kind of complex system: Part social reactor, part network
June 20, 2013 ? Cities have long been likened to organisms, ant colonies, and river networks. But these and other analogies fail to capture the essence of how cities really function.
New research by Santa Fe Institute Professor Luis Bettencourt suggests a city is something new in nature -- a sort of social reactor that is part star and part network, he says.
"It's an entirely new kind of complex system that we humans have created," he says. "We have intuitively invented the best way to create vast social networks embedded in space and time, and keep them growing and evolving without having to stop. When that is possible, a social species can sustain ways of being incredibly inventive and productive."
In a paper published this week in Science, Bettencourt derives a series of mathematical formulas that describe how cities' properties vary in relation to their population size, and then posits a novel unified, quantitative framework for understanding how cities function and grow.
His resulting theoretical framework predicts very closely dozens of statistical relationships observed in thousands of real cities around the world for which reliable data are available.
"As more people lead urban lives and the number and size of cities expand everywhere, understanding more quantitatively how cities function is increasingly important," Bettencourt says. "Only with a much better understanding of what cities are will we be able to seize the opportunities that cities create and try to avoid some of the immense problems they present. This framework is a step toward a better grasp of the functioning of cities everywhere."
What has made this new view of cities possible is the growing opportunities in recent years to collect and share data on many aspects of urban life. With so much new data, says Bettencourt, it's easier than ever to study the basic properties of cities in terms of general statistical patterns of such variables as land use, urban infrastructure, and rates of socioeconomic activity.
For more than a decade, Bettencourt and members of SFI's Cities & Urbanization research team have used this data to painstakingly lay the foundation for a quantitative theory of cities. Its bricks and mortar are the statistical "scaling" relationships that seem to predict, based on a city's size, the average numerical characteristics of a city, from the number of patents it produces to the total length of its roads or the number of social interactions its inhabitants enjoy.
Those relationships and the related equations, models, network analyses, and methods provide the basis for Bettencourt's theoretical framework.
So what is a city? Bettencourt thinks the only metaphor that comes close to capturing a city's function is from stellar physics: "A city is first and foremost a social reactor," Bettencourt explains. "It works like a star, attracting people and accelerating social interaction and social outputs in a way that is analogous to how stars compress matter and burn brighter and faster the bigger they are."
This, too, is an analogy though, because the math of cities is very different from that of stars, he says.
Cities are also massive social networks, made not so much of people but more precisely of their contacts and interactions. These social interactions happen, in turn, inside other networks -- social, spatial, and infrastructural -- which together allow people, things, and information to meet across urban space.
Ultimately, cities achieve something very special as they grow. They balance the creation of larger and denser social webs that encourage people to learn, specialize, and depend on each other in new and deeper ways, with an increase in the extent and quality of infrastructure. Remarkably they do this in such a way that the level of effort each person must make to interact within these growing networks does not need to grow.
How these networks fit together, and the tensions and tradeoffs among them, often determines how productive or prosperous a city is, or whether it fissions into smaller 'burbs, or if people want to live in them or don't, Bettencourt says.
His framework has practical implications for planners and policy makers, he says. To keep these social reactors working optimally, planners need to think in terms of urban policies that create positive social interactions at low costs in terms of mobility and energy use, for example. The paper shows how obstacles to socialization, such as crime or segregation, and enablers that promote the ability of people to connect, such as transportation and electricity, all become part of the same equation.
It even names a couple of U.S. cities that appear to suboptimal in terms of their social interactivity. Brownsville, Texas, and Riverside, Calif., for example, might benefit from policies to improve citywide connectivity. Bridgeport, Conn., which includes Connecticut's "Gold Coast," could be a victim of its own socioeconomic success, as high mobility costs suggest more compact urban living or more efficient transportation might be in order.
The framework is a first theoretical step, Bettencourt says, and much more needs to be done. In the coming years, more and better data from cities in developing nations will become available, which will provide new opportunities to test the theory in places where understanding urbanization is most critical.
"Rapid urbanization is the fastest, most intense social phenomenon that ever happened to humankind, perhaps to biology on Earth," says Bettencourt. "I think we can now start to understand in new and better ways why this is happening everywhere and ultimately what it means for our species and for our planet."
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