Tuesday, January 31, 2012

White House expresses concerns on Egypt situation (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The White House says it's concerned and disappointed about the situation in Egypt, where a handful of U.S. citizens who are being prevented from leaving the country have taken shelter at the American embassy in Cairo.

White House press secretary Jay Carney says the administration has made its concerns clear in discussions with Egypt's military authorities. He said U.S. officials are working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

The unusual situation comes amid an Egyptian crackdown on U.S.-funded groups promoting democracy that has jeopardized more than $1 billion in U.S. aid to Egypt.

But Carney was careful Monday to praise Egypt for taking important steps toward transitioning to democracy since the fall of Hosni Mubarak a year ago.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_us/us_white_house_egypt

lori berenson lori berenson the incredibles jon bon jovi dead new jersey plane crash ohio state kobe bryant wife

Berlin festival combines Streep with global sweep (AP)

BERLIN ? A new movie from Billy Bob Thornton and a turn as Marie Antoinette by Diane Kruger will rub shoulders with offerings from Asia to Africa at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

Organizers on Tuesday presented the program for the event, the first of the year's major European film festivals, which runs Feb. 9-19.

Outside the main competition, highlights include Meryl Streep being honored for her lifetime achievement; Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, the Bosnian war movie "In the Land of Blood and Honey"; and documentaries and discussions on the Arab world in the wake of the past year's upheaval.

"There are a lot of films in this festival about changes happening in the world," festival director Dieter Kosslick said.

The competition for the festival's top Golden Bear award opens with French director Benoit Jacquot's "Farewell My Queen," a drama centering on the drama inside the queen's palace as the French Revolution broke out, and starring Kruger as Marie Antoinette.

Thornton both directs and stars in "Jayne Mansfield's Car," a 1960s drama that also features John Hurt, Robert Duvall and Kevin Bacon.

Other entries range from Indonesian director Edwin's "Postcards From The Zoo," the story of a girl raised by a giraffe keeper, to "Caesar Must Die," from Italian brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, following an effort to stage a Shakespeare play at a Rome prison.

Last year's Golden Bear went to Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's "A Separation," which also swept the festival's acting awards and has been nominated for an Oscar in the foreign-language category this year.

Farhadi is a member of the eight-member jury that will choose this year's winners. Led by British director Mike Leigh, it also includes actor Jake Gyllenhaal; photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn; French director Francois Ozon; and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_en_mo/eu_berlin_film_festival

jerry sandusky toyota recall order of operations carrie underwood eric church sara evans lionel richie

Monday, January 30, 2012

Syrian troops push back in fight on Damascus edges

This image from amateur video made available by the Ugarit News group and shot on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, purports to show a funeral in Damascus, Syria. The Syrian military launched an offensive to regain control of suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus on Sunday, storming neighborhoods and clashing with groups of army defectors in fierce fighting that sent residents fleeing and killed at several people, activists said. (AP Photo/Ugarit News Group via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

This image from amateur video made available by the Ugarit News group and shot on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, purports to show a funeral in Damascus, Syria. The Syrian military launched an offensive to regain control of suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus on Sunday, storming neighborhoods and clashing with groups of army defectors in fierce fighting that sent residents fleeing and killed at several people, activists said. (AP Photo/Ugarit News Group via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

Protesters shout slogans as they carry pictures of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Syrian flags during a demonstration in front of the Russian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, to express gratitude for the Russian position in support of Syria. Russia has said it will use its Security Council veto to block any resolution threatening Syria with sanctions or lacking a clear ban on any foreign military interference. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

(AP) ? Syrian forces heavily shelled the restive city of Homs on Monday and troops pushed back dissident troops from some suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus in an offensive trying to regain control of the capital's eastern doorstep, activists said.

President Bashar Assad's regime is intensifying its assault aimed at crushing army defectors and protesters, even as the West tries to overcome Russian opposition and win a new U.N. resolution demanding a halt to Syria's crackdown on the 10-month-old uprising. Activists reported at least 28 civilians killed on Monday.

With talks on the resolution due to begin Tuesday, a French official said at least 10 members of the Security Council backed the measure, which includes a U.N. demand that Assad carry out an Arab League peace plan. The plan requires Assad to hand his powers over to his vice president and allow the creation of a unity government within two months. Damascus has rejected the proposal.

A text needs support from nine nations on the 15-member U.N. Security Council to go to a vote. The French official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with departmental rules.

The British and French foreign ministers were heading to New York to push for backing of the measure in Tuesday's U.N. talks.

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron's office urged Moscow to reconsider its opposition to the measure.

"Russia can no longer explain blocking the U.N. and providing cover for the regime's brutal repression," a spokeswoman for Cameron said, on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Russia insists it won't support any resolution it believes could open the door to an eventual foreign military intervention in Syria, the way an Arab-backed U.N. resolution paved the way for NATO airstrikes in Libya. Instead, the Kremlin said Monday it was trying to put together negotiations in Moscow between Damascus and the opposition.

It said Assad's government has agreed to participate. The opposition has in the past rejected any negotiations unless violence stops, and there was no immediate word whether any of the multiple groups that make up the anti-Assad camp would attend.

The United Nations estimated several weeks ago that more than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria's crackdown since the uprising against Assad's rule began in March. The bloodshed has continued since ? with more than 190 killed in the past five days ? and the U.N. says it has been unable to update the figure.

Regime forces on Monday heavily shelled the central city of Homs, which has been one of the cities at the forefront of the uprising, activists said. Heavy machine gun fire hit the city's restive Baba Amr district.

The Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported that 14 were killed in the city on Monday. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, put the number at 15. Both also reported the discovery of a family of six ? a couple and their four children ? who had been killed by gunfire several days earlier in the city's Karm el-Zeitoun district.

The past three days, pro-Assad forces have been fighting to take back a string of suburbs on the eastern approach to Damascus where army defectors who joined the opposition had seized control.

Government troops managed on Sunday evening to take control of two of the districts closest to Damascus, Ein Tarma and Kfar Batna, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the London-based head of the Observatory.

On Monday, the regime forces were trying to take the next suburbs farther out, with heavy fighting in the districts of Saqba and Arbeen, he said.

At least five civilians were killed in the fighting near Damascus, the Observatory and LCC said. The Observatory also reported 10 army defectors and eight regime troops or security forces killed around the country.

The reports could not be independently confirmed. Syrian authorities keep tight control on the media and have banned many foreign journalists from entering the country.

The wide-scale offensive near the capital suggested the regime is worried that military defectors could close in on Damascus, which has remained relatively quiet while most other Syrian cities have slipped into chaos since the uprising began in March.

The violence has gradually approached the capital. In the past two weeks, army dissidents have become more visible, seizing several suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus and setting up checkpoints where masked men wearing military attire and wielding assault rifles stop motorists and protect anti-regime protests.

Their presence so close to the capital is astonishing in tightly controlled Syria and suggests the Assad regime may either be losing control or setting up a trap for the fighters before going on the offensive.

State media reported that an "armed terrorist group" blew up a gas pipeline at dawn Monday. The pipeline carries gas from the central province of Homs to an area near the border with Lebanon. SANA news agency reported that the blast happened in Tal Hosh, which is about five miles (eight kilometers) from Talkalakh, along the border with Lebanon.

Further details were not immediately available.

There have been several pipeline attacks since the Syrian uprising began, but it is not clear who is behind them.

Assad's regime has blamed "terrorists" for driving the country's uprising, not protesters seeking democratic change.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-30-ML-Syria/id-c8d504a680db4788837e9c4b8e8b8b7b

falcons norman borlaug giants game santorum atlanta falcons new hampshire debate brandon jacobs

Aperture 3.2


Since our review of Aperture 3.0 at its launch, Apple has been busy not only tightening the app by making it more stable and correcting minor glitches in specific cases, but also adding new capabilities like support for iCloud, iOS 5, and Lion multi-touch. Among an extremely capable field of pro photo-workflow software?especially Adobe Lightroom ($299, 4.5 stars), ACDSee Pro ($99.99, 4 stars), and the impressive newer arrival, CyberLink PhotoDirector ($99.99, 3.5 stars)?Aperture's smooth user interface, Faces and Places features, plentiful output options, and good camera raw support stand out. For Mac users who want a big step up in power from iPhoto, Aperture is a natural. But Lightroom goes further for the pro or very serious amateur, with not only the enforced workflow, but with specific lens-based corrections for geometry, vignetting, and chromatic aberration.

Aperture is available either from the Mac App Store for $79.99, or as a free trial downloadable from www.apple.com/aperture. It's a Mac-only application, so Windows and Linux users are out of luck, but are well served by Adobe's competing Lightroom, PCMag.com Editors' Choice photo workflow app, which is also available for the Mac. Another new Mac and Windows offering, Corel AfterShot ($99.99, 2.5 stars) has a ways to go before catching up with the two major players from Adobe and Apple.

Interface
Programs in Aperture's class are all about workflow. The progression is generally from importing and organizing to adjusting and editing to outputting your photos to print and web. Lightroom, ACDSee, AfterShot, and PhotoDirector take the approach of segmenting each of these phases of the workflow with different "modes" in tabs or buttons, usually along the lines of Organize, Edit, and Output. The progression often makes sense, but there are times when you may just want to jump around and perform an organizing action in the midst of photo editing.

Aperture is non-modal, meaning you can do just this, performing any action at any point in your process from its single Inspector panel. The tabs on this panel for Library, Metadata, and Adjustments, along with the interface's buttons and the app menu, give you access to everything in the program at any stage of the process. Your process will determine which is best for you: the more methodical types will prefer Lightroom's approach, while Aperture will better suit the more ADD types, who want to jump around between functions.

The modal approach will be comfortable for many photo pros, and it epitomizes an actual "workflow." But navigating Aperture's easy full-screen view, with optional "heads-up" display for the Inspector, becomes second nature pretty quickly. This new full-screen capability makes it easier to show nothing but your big glorious photo. Lightroom still has three levels of "full screen" and requires extra steps to hide all the panels and toolbars. However, neither Aperture nor Lightroom let me undock the panels the way ACDSee did.

Aperture lets you view your library as large thumbnails in full screen mode, and its thumbnail-size slider makes adjusting them easier than in Lightroom. Aperture also has a nice zoom with the mouse-wheel option. New support for OS X Lion gestures means you can pinch and unpinch on a trackpad to zoom in and out as well. Rotating and cropping also benefits from multitouch gestures. Another feature lacking in Lightroom but available in Aperture is the virtual Light Table; this lets you arrange photos in different sizes in a single view and save them as one PDF or JPG. I'm not sure how useful this is for most photographers, but it's been brought up on Adobe Lightroom forums by those who miss it.

Import and Organize
When you import photos from a memory card, Aperture saves files in its own area as "managed" photos, only accessible by Aperture, but you can save the images to a regular disk folder and have Aperture treat them as "referenced" files for editing. Any edits will be saved in Aperture's database, but the master images remain where you placed them on the drive. You can also export a managed file to a disk file visible in Finder. The raw import settings for my Canon EOS Rebel T1i turned out beautiful images. And the software can perform some image processing as it imports, such as applying adjustment presets, and even Apple ActionScripts that you can download from enthusiast sites.

Like most current photo-editing software, Aperture is "non-destructive," meaning it keeps a master of the original image you imported and saves your edits in a database. Any of your edited images is called a "version" (as opposed to the master?the original). I think Lightroom makes it a little easier to take snapshots and view before/after comparisons, though you can do this in Aperture through menus. Lightroom also makes it easier to see a split view of one side showing your original and the other your edited version. And while tethering my T1i worked flawlessly in Lightroom 3 beta, Aperture wouldn't play. I contacted Apple about this and assume it will support this most popular of DSLRs soon.

Aperture lets you organize your images in several hierarchies?at the top level, your Library contains Projects, which can be subdivided into folders, albums, and Smart albums. Stacks is a feature in both Aperture and Lightroom that lets you group related photos, and both can auto-group photos into stacks based on the shots' timestamps. Aperture makes a bigger deal out of stacks, giving the feature its own menu (Lightroom offers a choice under its Photo menu). And Aperture has a nice expanding animation when you reveal a stack's photos.

Aperture offers all the extensive metadata support you could want?camera and EXIF, ratings, captions, keywords, and much more?including support for the standard IPTC Core spec. One thing I'm used to is right-clicking to get properties, but that's not an option in Aperture. For my Canon T1i, Aperture could show me the focus points, but Lightroom couldn't. A very complete filter dialog lets you view just photos that meet the criteria you want, though in a minor quibble, Lightroom makes it easier to filter by EXIF info such as which lens you used.

Aperture also now displays video and lets you do basic trimming, something Ligthroom users will have to wait for in version 4. I do wish it were easier to filter the library view by just video, though. The video editing like what you get on the iPhone?very basic. But it can be useful for slideshow presentations, and it's more than you get it Lightroom 3, which only displays videos in the betas I've seen so far.

iCloud Photo Stream
New for version 3.2 in Aperture, a Photo Stream entry appears by default in your Library tab in the side panel. The first time you click on this, you'll see a message asking whether you want to turn the feature on or not. After responded in the affirmative, a confirmation dialog appeared, telling me I had to enable iCloud in System Preferences. The relevant control panel opened, where I could sign into my Apple ID. After returning to Aperture and hitting the Turn on Photo Stream button, two project thumbnail trays appeared at the bottom of the window. My guess is that this was because I had iCloud Photo Stream syncing set up on a Windows PC, too, but shooting a couple more photos with my iPhone quickly populated both sets with the new photos.

By default, any photos I added to my Aperture Library were automatically added to Photo Stream, which wasn't a good thing for my storage limit. A complicated series of rules apply if you upload from multiple computers. One smart feature of Photo Stream is that it can make raw camera files viewable on your iPhone or iPad.

A striking point about Photo Stream (and in some ways iCloud as a whole) is that it's almost more generous with Windows PC users than with Mac users. The service works with all recent versions, including XP, Vista, and Windows 7, whereas only the latest version of Mac OS X is compatible: Leopard and even Snow Leopard users are less favored than Windows users.

Also, on Windows, you get a standard folder under My Photos for your Photo Stream, where on the Mac the folder is hidden, with the photos only accessible through iPhoto or Aperture. This means Lightroom users on Windows can point to this as an auto-import folder, so Lightroom has no Photo Stream disadvantage compared with Aperture.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/LwwfKisvQFg/0,2817,2362337,00.asp

bears bears lions terrelle pryor aids walk redskins oyster festival

Sunday, January 29, 2012

RolePlayGateway?

Well, I suppose that if I want to get this idea started, the best place is here since I?m not quiet ready to actually post it as ready yet. I am looking for some help with this Roleplay, which is already pretty big, but could always be better. Overall, this will be a faction-play based roleplay with two major factions and several sub factions. As for what help I?m looking for, I could always use a few more playable races and even a few more planets to include in this RP. It will be a faction-play roleplay, with two of the major factions listed below, the third being more or less a wild card that I could also use some help on. Remember, I am looking for both help and players to join us.

xXx

General Recap of Events leading up to Operation: ?Titan?

Date?
The Second Era?
2380?

The planet of Helios Prime and six other planets in what was once the Gravos Alliance have been at war for roughly 100 years, the exact date that war started is unknown due to covert military operations on all sides, which lead to the start of the official war. As of the year 2380 of the Second Era, The Helios government, a military dominated and controlled system, is holding steady, able to support itself. Its vast fleet of warships in addition to a number of powerful military developed technologies had allowed Helios to withstand numerous attacks with little to no casualties. Still, Helios?s resources did allow them to effectively take on all six of the opposing governments while defending themselves. A sneak attack by the Lenion Empire managed to catch the Helios off guard when a light attack bomber dropped out of a hyperspace window towing a massive meteor behind it. Although the meteor had been destroyed, several large chunks did manage to make it past the defenses of the Helios Fleet, but damage was limited to a single moon base. An unknown element was soon discovered inside the meteor when crews were dispatched to repair the moon base, and the stealthed science vessel ?Felstone? with a small crew was assigned to find out more about this element as soon as its system of origin was located.

2381?

The science vessel Felstone locates mass amounts of the unknown element on PCX-01K from the meteor attack of 2380 now referred to as ?Warp Stone? for its unusual properties in hyperspace environments. Military applications for the element prove less then hopeful according to reports, but the vessel remains to explore other possibilities, including those for a new style of FTL drives which although slower then current day FTL drives, may prove to be easier and faster to produce. A group of powerful traders quickly dive onto the market, funding a massive chunk of the Gravos Alliance?s military operations in exchange for rights to this mineral.

2382?

The science vessel Felstone reports possible find of an alternate element located PCX-10X, which may wield heavy military applications. A month after this report, a new message is sent with warning about the element found, but the transmission is cut off before any details can be given. A long range scouting and bombing vessel was sent out to check up on the Felstone. Neither ship was heard from again. Recent increased attacks from the Lenion and Tekion empires require the use of the entire Helios Fleet to defend the planet, no additional ships can be sent out to search for answers. Of the seven merchant controlled companies that had funded the Helios Government in exchange for rights to the Warp Stone found on PCX-01K, five of them go bankrupt and all assets are seized by Helios government. The remaining two quickly give up on their contracts and begin looking elsewhere to fund their companies.

2397?

Attacks against Helios are getting worse and the government begins looking for new weapons and defensive capabilities hidden away in the data banks, an old file containing minor data about the science vessel Felstone is discovered, and the warning in the last recorded report is ignored. A ship is finally dispatched to find the missing Felstone. The Felstone is found in a matter of weeks and all uncorrupted data is recovered, but the crew of both the Felstone and the original ship sent to find it are missing. Heavy amount of blood stains and internal damage suggest a quick and deadly battle. With no signs of the crew to work on, the Felstone is repaired and is brought back to Helios along with its cargo, a massive collection of two unknown elements for study. One of which was a unique variant of Warp Stone, the other an entirely unknown substance which was growing almost like mold, its pulsing energy proving to be a source of many questions. A new research center is started with the mission of exploiting this unknown substance.

2400?

The Titan Research Center located on GCX-19U is finished and now online. As a military run research outpost, the primary purpose of the outpost was to explore the possibility of super soldiers through the use of a highly mutagenic toxin now known as ?Baulder?, first discovered and recommended for study by one Alex R. Baulder, head scientist onboard the Felstone. The planet of Helios has managed to even the odds in the Gravos war and was now looking for a way to end the war. Early results of using Baulder to alter the human genetic code as well as a few other select species proved unstable, but some results were promising. Despite the high risk level, research is continued.

2403?

Tired of the war, a number of the civilians grow tired of the military rule of Helios. A rebellion that unites all of the various ?gangs? as the Helios government calls them is formed and in a joint operation with the nations at war with Helios, the Helios government is overthrown at last with minimal civilian casualties. The remainder of the Helios military groups knowing that Helios has fallen scatter and the empires that had once been at war with Helios now work with the people to rebuild.

2405?

The new Helios government is finally properly established as its own galactic power and is readily forming alliances with all bordering planets. As a new democracy based planet, the people are now in charge with all military factions tightly controlled to ensure a repeat of the old government does not take place.

2407?

A number of old Helios Military factions resurface intent on the destruction of the new Helios government. A faction of the new Helios military is tasked with the job of rounding up the factions of the old Helios military with help from the six planets that were at war with the old Helios government. A private military faction consisting of bounty hunters was formed under the new alliance with the sole mission of hunting down the remains of the old Helios military personal and as such, they were called Hunters.

2409?

A raid on the old Helios military outpost known as the Kalic station is a decisive blow. Several weapons, munitions, and other supplies were taken from the site as well as a number of documents and military communications logs. This information was forwarded to Hunter command. Days later, an attack was made against the Hunter Command. A small number of humanoids were shipped by bio-transit container to the cargo center of the Hunter Command. Upon being found, the containers were opened up immediately after checking the container with a bio-scan, which indicated serious health risks to the people inside. Upon the opening of the crate, the six humanoids inside went mad and attacked anyone they found. The six humanoids were quickly dealt with, total property damage was limited, but they had managed to kill nine hunters and twelve civilians before they were stopped. All six of the targets in question were mutants, each with slightly different mutations, but all of them were blood crazed. It was quickly found that these mutants were connected to the Titan Research Center. Deeming this a direct attack against the Hunter Command, a call for the specialists was sent out.

Planets / Groups / Key Locations / Dominant Race, Terms, and other important information?

Planets / Groups?

Helios Prime?
A mostly jungle planet filled with large rain forests and mountainous regions, Helios Prime is a planet mostly dominated by humans. The majority of cities are either built on top of the forest, using the larger trees that usually stand around 1,200 feet tall as supports to hold up the city. These treetop communities are mostly peaceful places and make wonderful vacations spots with the new government now in charge. Several cities are mostly self governed, with a city counsel in charge of keeping the city in working order. All treetop cities are still equipped with a smaller space port, capable of handling a good number of smaller personal ships, but most cities are still able to handle a single cargo ship at any one time. There are larger treetop cities known as capitals however. These capital cities are much larger and equipped with full sized spaceports as well as newly formed Hunter outposts. Each capital city is tasked with anywhere from seven to twenty of the smaller cities, providing them with resources and other needed assistance when necessary. In addition to treetop cities, there are a smaller number of bunkers. These bunkers are built into the planets various mountains and before the rise of the new government, served as military bases that ruled over the planet. Several of these bunkers have active mines in them as well as proper spaceports and factories used to construct warships. One of the first orders of the new government was the refitting of these bunkers for civilian purposes in addition to allowing the planet?s new allies to dock and repair their ships when needed. The planet is still undergoing several projects to make the planet a more friendly place, but there are still massive chunks of the planet that were designated ?military only? sites and have yet to be explored. In addition, Helios Prime has three moons, two of them habitable to a degree while the third one has no atmosphere, but still has a few moon bases on it. All three moons serve as a combination of defense outposts, trading hubs, and repair bays for the planet.

Helios Prime Governments?
Knights of Gravos (Old Military controlled Government)
The Knights of Gravos, formerly the true military presence in the Gravos Alliance before it fell apart and the Gravos War began. As a Military run government, The Knights of Gravos directly controlled many aspects of civilian life on Helios Prime as well as nearly all forms of trade and science. In the early years long since forgotten by the people, this was an okay way of life for them. The military was kind and made sure that peace was well known as well as fair trade and rights. It is unknown at what point the military shifted from this gentle peacekeeper to the tyrants that they became. When the war officially began, The Knights were quick to seize nearly all assets planet wide and quickly began rapid construction of new warships. In addition, it seized control over all science departments, spaceports, and other sites deemed needed by the government. Using force and fear as their weapons, they quickly separated most of the cities from each other as a way to keep them under control. They would scatter families as well making threats against other members of a person?s family to keep them in check. The planet remained under this kind of rule for over 100 years until a group of Lenion and Tekion spies finally managed to infiltrate the planet successfully. With their help, the people were finally able to start fighting back and years later, form a proper rebellion that lead to the governments downfall. As soon as the government knew that they has lost control and would lose the war, the majority of them packed up and made a rather successful retreat to a wormhole near the planet and vanished from early in the 2403 until late in the 2407.

Helios Alliance (New Civilian controlled Government)
The Helios Alliance is the new and current government in charge of Helios Prime. Run in a standard democracy based system adopted from the Lenion Empire, Helios Prime is now rebuilding itself to its former glory, but under new rules and laws. People are free to move and set up homes as they see fit, start a business and even pick their own jobs for once. Crime rates are still thankfully very low and many of the police forces of Helios?s new allies still help patrol the cities helping the government set up their own police force. These visitors are also very eager to help get Helios back on its feet, offering suggestions in all forms. At this current time however, most police officers are doubling as community helpers, helping to set up shops and other such tasks as they are not needed to handle crime as much. Although in the very early stages of reform, the people are once again free and many are eager to help continue on this new path. The biggest change in this new government though is of course the military. All military branches are now tightly controlled. Higher ranking Generals from Helios?s allies are helping them rebuild and make several changes to the way the military is run. There is one branch however that is considered separate from the rest of the government.

Hunter Command (Separate unique military branch on Helios Prime)
Hunter Command is a rather large force of bounty hunters as it is commonly referred to. This group is charged with a single purpose, to hunt down and catch all remnants of The Knights of Gravos. A self governed group with individuals from all seven planets in this new alliance, but it is primarily run by humans from Helios Prime. This group gets it funding from the actual military presence under the control of Helios Alliance in the form of bounties, as well as however the hunters choose to work. A mostly free range gun for hire, all hunters abide by Helios law and work with the single goal of wiping out all remains of the old military government. This does not stop them from catching other bounties though for any of the planets they are allied with. They often work with the police force of any planet they are on, but for the most part are still free agents. Surprisingly, this group is often given several gifts, in the forms of discounts by the majority of traders in the area, as well as being sent large amounts of extra goods that many groups on Helios Prime feel they could use.

Helios Prime Key Locations?
Nexus Mountain Range?
Bunker?
Helios Prime?s largest mountain complex, originally the Knights of Gravos?s base of operations is now the planets leading city. The base itself spread through all seven of the mountains that make up the Nexus Mountain Range. Several times bigger than any other bunker or even capital city, it was the original space port and factory on all of Helios Prime. It has been refitted for many different uses over the past thousand years it has been active, the most recent of course is the change from military base of operations, to the civilian friendly capital that is still under work today. It is easy to see where several orbital weapon platforms are being deconstructed as well as several weapons storage centers that are still being dealt with. Half of the base itself makes up the primary space factory for the planet and it still being used. Parts of the factory are being used to refit old warships for civilian use by removing some of the weapon bays and adding new larger living quarters and other things to them. Additionally, the site is also being used to construct brand new ships, three of the six other planets in the alliance actually have bartered to construct ships of their own there as well. The rest of the base is being refitted with new city centers, which include proper living quarters, market places, and recreational facilities. At this current time however, it is still very easy to see how the bunker was used by the Knight of Gavos.

Hunter Command?
C3 Ship?
Hunter Command is in fact a refitted warship commonly referred to as C3 ship, a Communications and Command Cruiser. C3 ships were often used as command bases for ground based attacks, often after orbital defenses had been dealt with. Fully equipped to lead and command several platoons of infantry, armored vehicles, as well as fighter / orbital support, and even act as its own communications outpost for most of the planet alone, it was easy to see how this cruiser earned its nick name of the C3. Already equipped with everything hunter command would need, it was an obvious choice of ship for the job rather then commission a new ship to be built or take up one of the planet?s bunkers. Hunter Command has everything a would be bounty hunter needs, from training facility, to living quarters, to weapons and armor, including its own science lab and department. The bridge for the ship serves as the overall operations center for the ship, as well as mission briefing and information centers. The brig is the bounty collection center and temporarily holds all bounties until they can be transported to a more secure and isolated prison center to await their trials. This area of the ship has been expanded and refitted to a much larger degree then the rest of the ship, even being extended to an auxiliary launch bay where ships with live bounties can dock to make a prisoner transfer easy. This location also serves as the payment center where a bounty hunter can collect his fee for the job. This includes all jobs, even those commissioned by trade ships who want a bit of extra muscle that are concerned about space pirate attacks. Most bounty hunters also happen to live on the ship, and while very few have families, they are still welcome to live onboard the vessel as long as one member remains an active bounty hunter. The ship is currently located docked at smaller bunker city just a few hundred miles from the Nexus Mountain Complex. The ship is fully space worthy however and is ready to be deployed at any time, whether in defense of a planet, or to attack one should the location of the planet where the Knights of Gravos have taken refuge be revealed.

Mythica?
Capital Treetop City?
Mythica is Helios Prime?s largest civilian capital city, second largest city on the planet, just shy of being larger then the Nexus Mountain Complex. Equipped with two full sized space capable of handling twelve full sized cargo ships each and seven smaller space ports, it is the main city for incoming and outgoing trade ships. As a fully equipped civilian city, as soon as the Knights of Gravos were gone, the city quickly began to expand. Technically the planet?s actual capital, the place is brimming with all kinds of people, both native humans and alien visitors. Shops of all kind are set up here for almost any need and the people are more then happy to greet newcomers. A heavy police force still finds themselves a bit strained a time, but overall it is a nice place. As with all the treetop cities, the city is built both above the main support platforms often called the upper city, and below them, often referred to as under city. Both sides are very good and often share many things, but the under city is just a bit darker, more bars and exotic goods found there. Many of the cities factories and production plants are found in the under city as well.

Newyouth?
A planet dominated by water with very very few landmasses, Newyouth is dominated by an amphibious race. Most of the planet?s cities can be separated into one of two classes. Underwater domes are by far the most popular style of city on Newyouth. The domes vary in size, but are mostly the same in design. A single major spire acts as the central hub of the cities, with the top of the spire supported the very top of the dome. Several other small spires are spread out through the city, acting as other major points in the city as well as supporting the rest of the dome. The larger the dome, the more spires that are needed to help support it. Even with this dome keeping most of the water out though, the bottom levels of the dome are very much flooded intentionally. All ships coming in to dock at these cities must do so near the ocean floor, the only place were the dome can be accessed. For those ships not seaworthy, all of the port cities are equipped with various submersible transports that travel frequently between the various domes and port cities. In the last weeks of the war though, the Knights of Gravos still managed to get a few ships past the planet?s defense satellites, a few ships docking and attempting to take over a few port cities. These ships and their crews cared nothing for the planet and as such, didn?t bother trying to clean up after themselves, dumping large amounts of toxic materials in the ocean. This dumping has led to several problems that are persistent to this day and the Helios Alliance has a base on Newyouth leading the clean up efforts themselves.

Newyouth Government?
Coral Counsel
Newyouth is governed by a group of ruling families who together form a group known only as the Coral Counsel. Located in a bio-dome around the planet?s largest coral reef, the Coral Counsel consists of seven various families. It is not uncommon for the counsel to change on a yearly basis as it is the seven largest ruling families who make up this counsel. Each family has a total of 5 members on the counsel, starting with the Head of the Family. These seven individuals are the most powerful on the counsel, and may deny the others in their family a vote, but must be done with good reason. Additionally, these seven also pick the other four members that represent their families, which tend to change from meeting to meeting. If for some reason, a family is short a member at the meeting, the head of that family will get their vote. For the most part, these ruling families have control over the planet, but they are very much open minded and make a serious point to listen to their fellow people. Additionally, these seven families combine their resources to fund their planet, paying for any government based projects. These includes large scale things such as building new domes or port cities, all the way down to paying for food used in the palace. The ruling families, while powerful, are still at the mercy of their people though, any other family pack can start a petition of sorts to call for a vote, removing any of the head families. This has only happened twice in the entire recorded history of the Coral Counsel and in both cases, the families were forced to forfeit their entire estate and fortunes to the Coral Counsel.

Key Locations?
Coral Palace (Coral building)
The Coral Palace is the place were the Coral Counsel is located. Built into the coral reef located in the capital city, the Coral Palace is a large place. The majority is the palace is located under the water, aside from the top few floors that are dry and open to visitors of the planet. Being flooded as it is, the passageways are larger and more circular in design, allowing the inhabitants to swim from point to point within the palace. Designed primarily to avoid hurting the reef, the palace has a bit of an odd layout, with the larger open areas acting as rooms. The Junos do however have ways to influence the growth and decay of the reefs, and as such, the palace layout does change from time to time.

The Ghost Ship (Knight of Gravos War Sub)
The Ghost Ship is supposedly a myth, but does have some considerable truth behind it. In short, the Knights of Gravos had managed to build a spaceship that would easily convert to a submersible warship when it made it landfall on Newyouth. This vessel has powerful stealth generators on it and quickly became a serious problem for Newyouth. It took a few months to finally track the vessel down and sink it. This was thought to be the end of the ship, but a year later, when the Coral Counsel finally had time to deal with removing the ship, it was gone and group of superstitious sailors quickly started to spread the myth around. From there, it slowly grew into a common myth. Recently however, there have been odd reports of some large ship occasionally being sighted by the squid hunters and other such fishers. More notably however, is the strange increase in unknown pollutants in Newyouth?s ocean. Two small research subs have been deployed already to try and find the source of these pollutants, but both have been destroyed. Both subs did manage to send partial reports back to their designated ports before they were destroyed, sending word that they had found some sort of ship, the second ship managing to send a very poor image of some unknown object in the depths. A third sub was recently sent out as well, but there has been no contact with the third sub ever since it hit the area where this ?ship? had been seen last. This has sparked worry among the Coral Counsel who have placed a call in to Hunter Command on Helios Prime.

Races of Newyouth?
Newyouth?s primary race is a race of half fish, half men people known as Junos, although other races simply refer to them as mermen, and this term is commonly accepted by most of the Junos population, with the exception of those in higher families. Averaging about five to six feet in height, similar to humans as well as having a mostly humanoid figure. Their hands and feet are webbed however, and tipped with small claws. Their palms are also rather rough, good from gripping things in the water, the same going for their feet. In order to swim effectively through their watery home, junos have various fins along their body. Their knees and elbows have large fins in a large variety of colors, but these fins are mostly used to turn and glide in the water. They also have a sort of tail, a rather large fan like tail that they use to propel themselves through the water. Since this is an aquatic race, they do have gills, but instead of just one set, they have two. The first set is on their neck, these are nice and small, able to close up nice and tight when on dry land. Their second set is along their back just above their tail fin. Overall, they have smooth bodies that allow them to swim very quickly and unrestrained, their scaled hides even acting as a sort of natural protection. While it is easy to mistake the female for males, there are a few differences between the two. Females are just a bit smaller then their male counterparts, often with smaller jaws. Their biggest difference compared to the males is that have something of a natural wrist spike on top of their hands. Since the females take it upon themselves to defend their young and eggs, they have a natural talent for martial arts, both underwater and on dry land, with these wrist spikes playing a major part in it. The males of the species do not possess these natural wrist spikes, but do possess powerful jaws with very vicious fangs. Surviving on dry land can be a challenge for the junos at times, but overall, it is just a matter of keeping themselves hydrated.

GCX-19U?
GCX-19U is an uncolonized, uncharted planet on the deep space reaches of Helios Prime, commonly referred to as ?Planet Hell? by most of the scientists on Helios Prime. While on most star maps, the planet?s unique conditions left it unexplored. The recent raid on a Knights of Gravos Kalic Station provided confirmed reports of a research station on the planet. Little is known about the planet or what to expect around it. What information there is on the planet simply details that it has a unique atmosphere, a dense fog covering out 90 percent of the planet at any one time. This fog is deadly to organ material however and full air tight suits must be worn in it to protect against its somewhat acidic properties. This is due to the planet?s volcanic nature, what few clear shots of the ground there are always showing a scorched, barren wasteland. It also lists that the planet would appear to generate its own electromagnetic field that is proving very difficult to penetrate with any kind of scan. Overall, the planet has mostly been plainly ignored, but with confirmed reports of the Titan Research station located on the planet, several satellites have been put into orbit. In addition, a number of probes have been sent to make land fall to get a better feel for the planet. What reports have come back are not promising. The entire planet is very unstable, constantly shifting and tearing itself apart according to what little data has been sent. It is currently unknown how this planet has survived so long, but there is definitely something holding it together. The best that scientists are able to come up with however is that the Knights of Gravos must have several gravity wells in place around the planet, which may explain the unusual electromagnetic fields that surround the planet.

Key locations?
Titan Research Facility?
The Titan Research Facility was constructed in the year 2400 of the Second Ear. Built by the Knights of Gravos when they were still in charge of Helios Prime, the primary purpose of this station was to research the mutational properties of ?Baulder? on a genetic level of various humanoid test subjects, as well as a few select feral beasts. A very corrupted set of blue prints have been collected from the Kalic Station have revealed some good information regarding the Titan Station, but only a partial set of the blue-prints have been recovered.

Constructed following a basic ?Spire City? designed. A central massive spire makes up the center frame of the station, with a large sphere topping the spire. This sphere topping the station is the stations primary anti-orbital defense, equipped with one hundred small quad cannons to defend against fighters, and a twenty heavy ion cannon turrets to take on larger targets. Build strictly for use on this planet, it suffers minimal interference from the planets electromagnetic fields. In combination with the dense fog and the planet?s electromagnetic field, the station already starts off with a heavy defensive position, as it can?t be tracked entirely. Additonally, the ship has several other turrets on nearly all sides to ensure that it does not have any blind spots. The Knights of Gravos were not keen on leaving high value targets open to sneak attacks and often took extra measures to ensure their safety, which was what allowed them to hold out so long in the Gravos War. As a final measure to defend attack however, the ship is equipped with series of shields when combined with the planets electromagnetic fields, holds up against nearly all weapons. This fact will actually play both for and against the Titan Research Station. Hunter commands intends to use a series of heavy weapons bombardment to attack the station, this weapons fire actually providing a distraction for several ?dummy? warheads to be launched at the station. Many of these dummy warheads are just that, dummies, however, a few will contain hidden sheath fighters which will allow the Hunter Command to send its team in. The plan is to make it appear that Hunter has every intention of destroying the station rather then boarding it, using the heavy weapons fire to provide enough cover to allow these stealth fighters to find a way to board the Titan Research Station.

Just below this sphere are a set of six ?piers?. These ?piers? are massive in size, extending outward from the central spire, each capped with its own bio-dome used mostly for testing the mutants created in the station?s science labs. While these areas are the least defended part of the ship, they could also be considered the worst part of the ship to be. Each of them are filled with various ?failed? mutants that were let free within domes, mostly to serve as training dummies for any mutant that has potential weapons use. With their lack of defenses centered and would prove easy access points into the station, all six of these domes can not vital to the stations operations and can be ejected from the ship at any time. This is a major concern for Hunter Command and deemed these six domes too dangerous try and plant a team onto the station.

Below the six bio-domes are a series of additional piers. Unlike the upper six piers, the next four sets of piers are supports, holding a group of four outer rings to the central spire, with each ring decreasing in size the further down the central spire they are. These rings, unlike the bio-domes are heavily defended as well, with turrets located on the top and bottom of each one. The upper two rings do have landing platforms on them, and while they are guarded, it is one possible way to breach the station, however, highly unrecommended, as with the bio-domes.

The third ring from the top is currently Hunter Command?s best hope of breaching the station. If the plans are correct, this ring of the station is a mix of housing, medical labs, storage, and weapons lockers. This odd mix of things all in this one ring lead Hunter Command to suspect that it may be incorrect and the data is too corrupted to provide a direct answer. However, Hunter Command has been able to confirm that there is a weak spot on this level. They are a number of turrets on this level that are currently off line for unknown reasons, and combined with confirmed reports of four smaller docking ports on this level, it presents the best possible chance of gaining entry into the station.

Finally, the last ring on this station is possibly the most guarded ring of them all. This station is still space worthy, and even has several orbit to surface cannons along the underside of this ring. In addition, this ring also appears to have the station?s secondary and auxiliary engines.

The stations primary engine is located at the bottom of this spire.

There is no other confirmed data on this station at this time.

xXx

And that concludes what I have written so far for this roleplay. The first of the major factions is Hunter Command with its army of bounty hunters. I expect this group along with its allies will make up a major part of the group who wish to join. Secondly, we have the Knights of Gravos, the former group in charge of Helios Prime who have just resurfaced to cause trouble for everyone. Finally, there is the group of ?mutants? which I can use some help with, who will mostly be wild cards in this RP, but I image there will be a few being played none the less. As stated before hand, I am looking for some help. Hopefully after reading this, people will have a general idea of what is going on and should be able to provide some good ideas for the universe I already have started. Mostly, I am looking for a few planets, some more playable races to choose from, and possibly even bios for any of big bads, so to speak. If your interested in playing, let me know, I can start forming some ideas based around how many people would like to join. Additionally, if you just want to help, I?m pretty open to most ideas and think that there is enough information that people have a good idea on what kind of things to add. I?m pretty open at this point to what all can be added, so if you have a nice idea, let me know by posting it if you think it would work with I have written already.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RolePlayGateway

aaron rodgers 2012 golden globe nominations houston texans houston texans texans lana del rey snl enemy of the state

Iran official says oil will reach $150 per barrel (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? Iran's official news agency reports that the head of the state oil company is claiming that the price of crude will go up to $150 per barrel.

Head of the National Iranian Oil Company Ahmad Qalehban did not give a time frame for the prediction, nor any other details in the Sunday report by IRNA.

The price of benchmark U.S. crude on Friday was around $99.56 per barrel.

Qalehban's statement comes as Iranian officials prepare to debate a ban on crude sales to European Union countries, in response to a planned EU embargo on Iran's oil by summer because of that country's nuclear program.

The United States and its allies argue that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons technology, while Tehran says the program is for purely peaceful purposes.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_oil

calvin johnson calvin johnson patsy cline portlandia detroit lions kelly clarkson playoffs

Saturday, January 28, 2012

SPI to construct 400kW PV solar energy facility in US

Rose Summers
Published 24 January 2012

SPI Solar, a vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) solar developer, has secured a contract from BLT Enterprises to design and build a 400kW DC distributed generation photovoltaic (PV) solar energy facility (SEF) in the US.

The SEF will help power operations at Volkswagen's US Test Center California which encompasses a Technical Center and an Emissions Laboratory located in Oxnard, California.

BLT Enterprises affiliate is currently developing the 63,500 square-foot emissions testing and power train development facility.

The SEF being designed by SPI will utilize a mix of rooftop and carport structures to host the onsite solar array.

The center will be used by various brands within the Volkswagen Group which includes Volkswagen, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti.

In January 2011, SPI completed a 398kW system at BLT's Fremont, California waste-recovery operation facility.

BLT chief development and legal officer Rob Solomon said the solar energy facility helps to fulfill a major part of that mission.

SPI expects to commence construction of the SEF in the first quarter of this year.

Source: http://airandenvironmentmanagement.cleantechnology-business-review.com/news/spi-to-construct-400kw-pv-solar-energy-facility-in-us-240112

rick perry travis barker get back on board rob lowe peyton manning what is sopa marianne gingrich ibooks author

Dow slips to first losing week of 2012


Essential News from The Associated Press

? ?Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-27-Wall%20Street/id-6dec54fbe6d24d29841904ee3c08c911

unforgettable metta world peace hpq raising hope fullerton police beating fullerton police beating ron artest name change

Friday, January 27, 2012

Transformers: Dark of the Moon clip breaks down shooting movies, special effects in 3D (video)

The Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray doesn't hit the streets officially until next week, but you can get a look at one of the special features early right here. In this video clip director Michael Bay and other members of the production team explain some of the special challenges that came with shooting the special-effects heavy movie in 3D. It required changes to his usual frenetic cutting style with fewer pans and longer shots, as well as extra work by the editors on each element of animation overlaid on each frame. For a longer discussion about the background of shooting the flick you can check out an interview featuring Bay and 3D-master James Cameron here, otherwise just press play, or check out the press release after the break for a full list of special features included when he disc debuts January 31st.

Continue reading Transformers: Dark of the Moon clip breaks down shooting movies, special effects in 3D (video)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon clip breaks down shooting movies, special effects in 3D (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-clip-breaks-down-shooting-movies/

unemployment extension the thin man republic wireless space ball drops on namibia prometheus colts colts

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Thunderstorms pound Texas; tornado hits Austin (Reuters)

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) ? A tornado hit Austin, Texas, and thunderstorms pounded San Antonio, Dallas and Houston on Wednesday, bringing the parched Lone Star State drenching rains and destructive winds that knocked out power, flooded streets and kept emergency workers busy rescuing drivers stranded in high water.

The tornado touched down early Wednesday in northeast Austin, tearing across U.S. 290 and into a subdivision, damaging homes along a road called Happy Trail, according to the National Weather Service.

Springlike moisture from the Gulf of Mexico dropped the heaviest rainfall - 6-8 inches - on an area east of Austin and San Antonio and extending south into Houston, it added.

"That's very unusual for this time of year," NWS meteorologist Mark Wiley said. "It was just so much rain in such a short period of time. In so many areas, the ground is still fairly dry, but it was just so fast that it didn't have anywhere to go, especially in the urban areas."

There were no reports of injuries.

By Wednesday afternoon, the storms were pushing into Louisiana and were expected to head into Mississippi and Alabama on Thursday, the NWS said.

In Bastrop, an area east of Austin heavily damaged by Labor Day weekend wildfires, schools canceled classes on Wednesday. In Pflugerville, north of Austin, school buses were delayed Wednesday morning because the school district's bus barn was damaged overnight, the district website said. And the Houston Independent School District canceled after-school activities.

Wind toppled an 18-wheeler in on IH-45 in Madison County, between Dallas and Houston, officials said. More than 30 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday morning.

In San Antonio, lightning hit an apartment complex on the city's north side as storms blew through, sparking a fire that forced people into the driving rain and destroyed four apartments, officials said.

Between Austin and Houston, in Brenham, high winds twisted trees and tore the roofs off a couple of buildings in the downtown area, said Ricky Boeker, fire chief and emergency management coordinator.

"It sounded like the world was coming apart -- I'm not going to lie," Boeker told Reuters.

The severe weather in Texas follows damaging storms and tornadoes that swept through Arkansas and Alabama earlier in the week.

In Texas, "while most of the region is still in the grips of a severe drought and very much needs the rain, too much rain too quickly can do more harm than good," AccuWeather.com meteorologist Mark Miller said in a Wednesday report. "Still, the rain will go a long way in helping to reduce the severity of the drought in exceptionally dry locations."

Last year was the driest year on record in Texas and the second-hottest, according to the NWS.

CPS Energy, the South Texas electric utility, reported more than 30,000 customers without power as wind snapped electric power lines and knocked out traffic signals during the morning rush hour in San Antonio. In Austin, some 5,000 customers of Austin Energy lost power, the company said. As many as 5,000 homes and businesses in the Dallas area also lost power, according to Oncor Delivery.

As San Antonio resident Johnny Grant surveyed damage to homes in his northwest San Antonio neighborhood on Wednesday, he said of the storm: "It sounded like a freight train to me. It was something terrible."

(Additional reporting by Jim Forsyth, Lauren Keiper, Deborah Quinn Hensel and Marice Richter. Editing by Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/us_nm/us_weather

ruth madoff ruth madoff in living color enews enews mona simpson mona simpson

British-based all-star concert to debut in NYC (AP)

NEW YORK ? The Secret Policeman's Ball is letting America in on the party: The British-based music and comedy festival is coming to New York in March.

Coldplay, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Mumford & Sons and Russell Brand are among the acts who have signed on for the event at Radio City Music Hall on March 4. The concert will benefit Amnesty International, as it has since it started back in 1976 with celebrities like John Cleese. Over the years, Bono, Sting and others have participated. This will mark the first time it's being held in New York City.

"For us, it's iconic and a very special thing, and has provided the opportunity to really celebrate the presence of freedom of expression and free speech, and how we can move people and how we can bring people together, and just how powerful that is," said Amnesty International spokesman Andy Hackman in an interview Tuesday.

The last Secret Policeman's Ball was in 2008 in London. Hackman said the organization wanted to do something different and on a grander scale this year since it's the 50th anniversary of the human rights group.

"That phrase `human rights' has lost meaning in some ways," he said. "That's why we want to demonstrate the power and the joy that free speech can bring to us all. ... It's really just using these amazing talented people to demonstrate the power, what a force of good free speech is."

David "DJ" Javerbaum, the former head writer and executive producer for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," said the show will feature sketches, music and more. He said the legacy of the Secret Policeman's Ball, which has lived on in videos, has helped it attract top talent, some of which are still to be announced.

"These are very seminal movies for anybody young in that age who wanted to get into comedy," he said.

Tickets go on sale on Monday.

___

Online:

http://www.facebook.com/secretpoliceman

___

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_en_ce/us_secret_policeman_s_ball

when does daylight savings start earthquake in texas earthquake in texas official time news 9 tuscaloosa tuscaloosa

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Aiding cancer therapy by mathematically modeling tumor-immune interactions

Aiding cancer therapy by mathematically modeling tumor-immune interactions [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Karthika Muthukumaraswamy
karthika@siam.org
267-350-6383
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Math models can be used to assess the impact of therapies before clinical application

Cancer is one of the five leading causes of death. And yet, despite decades of research, there is no standardized first-line treatment for most cancers. In addition, disappointing results from predominant second-line treatments like chemotherapy have established the need for alternative methods.

Mathematical modeling of cancer usually involves describing the evolution of tumors in terms of differential equations and stochastic or agent-based models, and testing the effectiveness of various treatments within the chosen mathematical framework. Tumor progression (or regression) is evaluated by studying the dynamics of tumor cells under different treatments, such as immune therapy, chemotherapy and drug therapeutics while optimizing dosage, duration and frequencies.

In a paper published last month in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 'Controlled Drug Delivery in Cancer Immunotherapy: Stability, Optimization, and Monte Carlo Analysis,' authors Andrea Minelli, Francesco Topputo, and Franco Bernelli-Zazzera propose a differential equation model to describe tumorimmune interactions. "We study the dynamics of the competition between the tumor and the immune system," Topputo explains.

The relationship between cancers and the immune system has been studied for many years, and immune therapy has been known to influence tumor regression. Clinically called immunotherapy, it involves using external factors to induce, enhance, or suppress a patient's immune response for treatment of disease. In this study, the therapy consists of injecting a type of immune cells called dendritic cells, which generate tumor-specific immunity by presenting tumor-associated antigens.

"In particular, cancer immunotherapy has the purpose of identifying and killing tumor cells," says Topputo. "Our research considers a model that describes the interaction between the neoplasia [or tumor], the immune system, and drug administration." Such modeling and simulation can be used to assess the impact of drugs and therapies before clinical application.

Using ordinary differential equations, the authors model the progress of different cell populations in the tumor environment as a continuous process. Within the dynamical system presented by the tumor environment, they apply the theory of optimal controla mathematical optimization methodto design ad-hoc therapies and find an optimal treatment.

The end goal of the control policy is to minimize tumor cells while maximizing effectors, such as immune cells or immune-response chemicals. "The aim is to minimize the tumor concentration while keeping the amount of administered drug below certain thresholds, to avoid toxicity," says Topputo. "In common practice, one searches for effective therapies; in our approach, we look for efficiency and effectiveness."

Elaborating on a prior study where indirect methods used to solve the optimal control problem are not effective, the authors use direct methods that apply algorithms from aerospace engineering to solve the associated optimal control problem in this paper. Optimal protocols are analyzed, and the duration of optimal therapy is determined.

The robustness of the optimal therapies is then assessed. In addition, their applicability toward personalized medicine is discussed, where treatment is customized to each individual based on various factors such as genetic information, family history, social circumstances, environment and lifestyle.

"We have shown that personalized therapy is robust even with uncertain patient conditions. This is relevant as the model coefficients are characterized by uncertainties," Topputo explains. "Further studies would include designing optimal protocols by considering personalized constraints based on individual patient conditions, such as maximum amount of drug, therapy duration, and so on."

Other future directions would be the use of more diverse models and studying the effectiveness of treatment combinations. "More detailed approaches like agent-based models that describe tumor-immune interactions and hybrid therapies that consist of combined chemotherapy-immunotherapy treatments should also be considered," says Topputo.

###

About the authors: Andrea Minelli is a researcher in the Applied Aerodynamics Department at ONERA, The French Aerospace Lab in Meudon, France. Francesco Topputo is a post-doctoral research fellow and Franco Bernelli-Zazzera a full professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at Politecnico di Milano in Milano, Italy.

Source article: Controlled Drug Delivery in Cancer Immunotherapy: Stability, Optimization, and Monte Carlo Analysis
Andrea Minelli, Francesco Topputo, and Franco Bernelli-Zazzera, SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 71, pp 2229-2245 (Online publish date: December 20, 2011)

This paper is part of a Special Section in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics that examines various other mathematical models used in the design and development of controlled drug delivery systems, which are significant in helping us understand physical, chemical and biological processes that influence such systems.


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

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Aiding cancer therapy by mathematically modeling tumor-immune interactions [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Karthika Muthukumaraswamy
karthika@siam.org
267-350-6383
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Math models can be used to assess the impact of therapies before clinical application

Cancer is one of the five leading causes of death. And yet, despite decades of research, there is no standardized first-line treatment for most cancers. In addition, disappointing results from predominant second-line treatments like chemotherapy have established the need for alternative methods.

Mathematical modeling of cancer usually involves describing the evolution of tumors in terms of differential equations and stochastic or agent-based models, and testing the effectiveness of various treatments within the chosen mathematical framework. Tumor progression (or regression) is evaluated by studying the dynamics of tumor cells under different treatments, such as immune therapy, chemotherapy and drug therapeutics while optimizing dosage, duration and frequencies.

In a paper published last month in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 'Controlled Drug Delivery in Cancer Immunotherapy: Stability, Optimization, and Monte Carlo Analysis,' authors Andrea Minelli, Francesco Topputo, and Franco Bernelli-Zazzera propose a differential equation model to describe tumorimmune interactions. "We study the dynamics of the competition between the tumor and the immune system," Topputo explains.

The relationship between cancers and the immune system has been studied for many years, and immune therapy has been known to influence tumor regression. Clinically called immunotherapy, it involves using external factors to induce, enhance, or suppress a patient's immune response for treatment of disease. In this study, the therapy consists of injecting a type of immune cells called dendritic cells, which generate tumor-specific immunity by presenting tumor-associated antigens.

"In particular, cancer immunotherapy has the purpose of identifying and killing tumor cells," says Topputo. "Our research considers a model that describes the interaction between the neoplasia [or tumor], the immune system, and drug administration." Such modeling and simulation can be used to assess the impact of drugs and therapies before clinical application.

Using ordinary differential equations, the authors model the progress of different cell populations in the tumor environment as a continuous process. Within the dynamical system presented by the tumor environment, they apply the theory of optimal controla mathematical optimization methodto design ad-hoc therapies and find an optimal treatment.

The end goal of the control policy is to minimize tumor cells while maximizing effectors, such as immune cells or immune-response chemicals. "The aim is to minimize the tumor concentration while keeping the amount of administered drug below certain thresholds, to avoid toxicity," says Topputo. "In common practice, one searches for effective therapies; in our approach, we look for efficiency and effectiveness."

Elaborating on a prior study where indirect methods used to solve the optimal control problem are not effective, the authors use direct methods that apply algorithms from aerospace engineering to solve the associated optimal control problem in this paper. Optimal protocols are analyzed, and the duration of optimal therapy is determined.

The robustness of the optimal therapies is then assessed. In addition, their applicability toward personalized medicine is discussed, where treatment is customized to each individual based on various factors such as genetic information, family history, social circumstances, environment and lifestyle.

"We have shown that personalized therapy is robust even with uncertain patient conditions. This is relevant as the model coefficients are characterized by uncertainties," Topputo explains. "Further studies would include designing optimal protocols by considering personalized constraints based on individual patient conditions, such as maximum amount of drug, therapy duration, and so on."

Other future directions would be the use of more diverse models and studying the effectiveness of treatment combinations. "More detailed approaches like agent-based models that describe tumor-immune interactions and hybrid therapies that consist of combined chemotherapy-immunotherapy treatments should also be considered," says Topputo.

###

About the authors: Andrea Minelli is a researcher in the Applied Aerodynamics Department at ONERA, The French Aerospace Lab in Meudon, France. Francesco Topputo is a post-doctoral research fellow and Franco Bernelli-Zazzera a full professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at Politecnico di Milano in Milano, Italy.

Source article: Controlled Drug Delivery in Cancer Immunotherapy: Stability, Optimization, and Monte Carlo Analysis
Andrea Minelli, Francesco Topputo, and Franco Bernelli-Zazzera, SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 71, pp 2229-2245 (Online publish date: December 20, 2011)

This paper is part of a Special Section in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics that examines various other mathematical models used in the design and development of controlled drug delivery systems, which are significant in helping us understand physical, chemical and biological processes that influence such systems.


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

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/sfia-act012512.php

philadelphia eagles vince young vince young john carter trans siberian orchestra trans siberian orchestra little big town

Working moms: Looking for more than a paycheck

Working moms: Looking for more than a paycheck [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Karen Christopher
k.christopher@louisville.edu
Sociologists for Women in Society

A recent study of employed moms finds that most would work even if they didn't have to

Louisville, AZWorking mothers may be busy, but they like it that way. A recent study of employed moms finds that most would work even if they didn't have to, but they're also looking for new ways to negotiate the demands of mothering and the pressures to be an "ideal" employee.

Unlike earlier research, the study published today in the February issue of Gender & Society finds that many employed mothers emphasize the benefits they, and their children, receive from their paid work. Both married and single mothers said they found more fulfillment (and gained self confidence) in paid work than in parenting and this is an essential reason why they do not stay at home with their children. Most women regardless of their class, race/ethnicity, or marital status, said they would work (at least part time) even if they didn't have to. The study was conducted by Karen Christopher, an associate professor of Women's/Gender Studies and Sociology at the University of Louisville.

Over the past several decades, mothers' employment rates have risen sharply. By 2010, approximately two-thirds of North American mothers with young children worked outside of the home. Unlike many previous studies on working mothers, the new research looks at a more diverse, young group of mothers, including women from both Canada and the U.S., as well as women with different racial/ethnic backgrounds, class and marital status. Most women in the study were born between 1970 and 1985. Prof. Christopher interviewed 40 working mothers, each with at least one child under the age of 5; over half the women had two children.

Although the women enjoy their careers, they also place limits on how much they work so that they can remain connected to their children. Many women sought out jobs (even high-powered professionals, such as lawyers) with employers who would not demand that they work overtime or nights on a regular basis. Several women stressed that they only work "reasonable" hours. For example, Jana, an African American nurse with one child, said that she was unwilling to trade in her 8-hour shifts for 10-hour shifts and receive overtime pay. At the same time, whether they were married or single, African-American or white, lower, middle income, or higher income almost all of the mothers interviewed by Prof. Christopher said they wanted to work. Prof. Christopher argues that while these moms are not spending intensive amounts of time with their kids, they see themselves as involved parents who are "in charge" of their children's lives.

For these women, a new emphasis on their own needs as people helped supersede any feelings of guilt or ambivalence over working for pay. "About one-third of the 40 employed mothers expressed some ambivalence or guilt over their employment, but most employed mothers justified their paid work by saying it made them more fulfilled people, in addition to better mothers," Prof. Christopher says. "So, these mothers are not only reframing what good mothering entails, they also frame employment in ways different than do earlier studies of mothers."

Some Things Haven't Changed

The paper cites research showing that mothers with male partners still perform about twice as much child care and housework as their partners. In addition, Prof. Christopher suggests that inflexible workplaces and inadequate public policies are constraining North American mothers' (and fathers') ability to combine employment with involved parenting.

###


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

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Working moms: Looking for more than a paycheck [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Karen Christopher
k.christopher@louisville.edu
Sociologists for Women in Society

A recent study of employed moms finds that most would work even if they didn't have to

Louisville, AZWorking mothers may be busy, but they like it that way. A recent study of employed moms finds that most would work even if they didn't have to, but they're also looking for new ways to negotiate the demands of mothering and the pressures to be an "ideal" employee.

Unlike earlier research, the study published today in the February issue of Gender & Society finds that many employed mothers emphasize the benefits they, and their children, receive from their paid work. Both married and single mothers said they found more fulfillment (and gained self confidence) in paid work than in parenting and this is an essential reason why they do not stay at home with their children. Most women regardless of their class, race/ethnicity, or marital status, said they would work (at least part time) even if they didn't have to. The study was conducted by Karen Christopher, an associate professor of Women's/Gender Studies and Sociology at the University of Louisville.

Over the past several decades, mothers' employment rates have risen sharply. By 2010, approximately two-thirds of North American mothers with young children worked outside of the home. Unlike many previous studies on working mothers, the new research looks at a more diverse, young group of mothers, including women from both Canada and the U.S., as well as women with different racial/ethnic backgrounds, class and marital status. Most women in the study were born between 1970 and 1985. Prof. Christopher interviewed 40 working mothers, each with at least one child under the age of 5; over half the women had two children.

Although the women enjoy their careers, they also place limits on how much they work so that they can remain connected to their children. Many women sought out jobs (even high-powered professionals, such as lawyers) with employers who would not demand that they work overtime or nights on a regular basis. Several women stressed that they only work "reasonable" hours. For example, Jana, an African American nurse with one child, said that she was unwilling to trade in her 8-hour shifts for 10-hour shifts and receive overtime pay. At the same time, whether they were married or single, African-American or white, lower, middle income, or higher income almost all of the mothers interviewed by Prof. Christopher said they wanted to work. Prof. Christopher argues that while these moms are not spending intensive amounts of time with their kids, they see themselves as involved parents who are "in charge" of their children's lives.

For these women, a new emphasis on their own needs as people helped supersede any feelings of guilt or ambivalence over working for pay. "About one-third of the 40 employed mothers expressed some ambivalence or guilt over their employment, but most employed mothers justified their paid work by saying it made them more fulfilled people, in addition to better mothers," Prof. Christopher says. "So, these mothers are not only reframing what good mothering entails, they also frame employment in ways different than do earlier studies of mothers."

Some Things Haven't Changed

The paper cites research showing that mothers with male partners still perform about twice as much child care and housework as their partners. In addition, Prof. Christopher suggests that inflexible workplaces and inadequate public policies are constraining North American mothers' (and fathers') ability to combine employment with involved parenting.

###


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

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/sfwi-wml012312.php

nadal xmen first class warrior novak djokovic sarah mclachlan shakespeare bipolar symptoms