Do you need a helping hand? - The Nation

guru speak

Janejit Ladpli March 5, 2013 1:00 am

Or if you are just relaxing at home on a Sunday, suddenly you notice a water stain on the wall. Oh, no! An upstairs water pipe has sprung a leak. You call the plumber, but he's off work. Who else can you call?

What about suffering from altitude sickness while holidaying in Bhutan, or cracking your tooth during lunch at a remote resort? Who can you call?

In all of these emergencies it might be impossible to get immediate assistance.

In some cases, your insurance agency or your personal doctor might be able to help. But if you don't keep their contact details handy, or if they are out of touch, who else would be available for these urgent needs?

Naturally, you might think, a credit-card call centre wouldn't be on your list.

Surprise! That's no longer the case. The scope of services offered by some credit-card operators now goes beyond just financial transactions. Not only are they on call 24 hours a day to help you financially or to guide you toward desirable credit-card privileges, roadside assistance and emergency medical services have also become part of their extra deliverables.

And not just for these emergencies; sometimes the extending of special wishes or a "secret mission" for an executive requires the assistance of someone else who is not the secretary.

If a top manager wants to express his special admiration for someone he likes, he might want to surprise her with a bouquet of long-stemmed imported flowers without letting anyone know. This can be smoothly arranged and, of course, the mission is highly classified.

Other tasks that are simple but time-consuming, like searching for a contact and the working hours of embassies, getting a weather forecast, booking a round of golf or a hotel room, planning for a special show, or visa arrangements, are also part of the card call centre's concierge-like service.

But why would credit-card providers trouble themselves with all these hassles? This is not their core business, nor is there a fat margin. Besides, when the task is service-oriented, it is a promise that could easily jeopardise their brand image, especially when they are not really experts in the field.

Is this worth it?

Certainly, the bottom line should not be to diversify their businesses to the extreme, as the training of their logistics staff is not in this area of expertise.

Generally, these additional services are outsourced at their own cost and delivered to particular groups of customers in order to create brand loyalty.

Because pricing will no longer guarantee loyalty, to hold on to customers, they have to shift to sophisticated services and value-added benefits to differentiate themselves from other brands.

In the end, when you, a cardholder, appreciate their distinct services, their card will become your first choice.

Janejit Ladpli is vice president of travel & leisure marketing, Krungthai Card Public Company Limited.

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Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Do-you-need-a-helping-hand-30201225.html

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How to Find a Great Copywriter

If you'd like to make money online, you're going to have to have a site. If you want that site to help you bring in money, it needs to be very well written. Unless you're good at copywriting already it's wise to engage the services of someone qualified to compose the text on your site. A skilled copywriter will generate lots more profits than you would ever even be able to hope to see if you went and did all of the writing by yourself. Obviously, not all copywriters are created equal. Some are very talented. Some just wish they had talent and are trying to make a bit of money because someone told them writing online would be easy. Below are a couple of ways to help you tell the good from the bad.

Does the writer have a site of his or her own? Any copywriter who is itnerested to compose web copy must have a site that contains their bio, a resume, several samples and anything else they want to share. If the copywriter doesn't have his or her own site, how can they help you build yours? Pay attention to the copy on their site too. If there are many grammar errors and typos, this is a bad sign.

Do you react well while you are reading the web copy on the copywriter's site? This is more involved than merely finding grammatical errors and syntax errors. Does the copy cause you to experience any sort of emotional response? Does the copy move you to like him or her? Does the web copy make you want to follow up and learn more about the copywriter? Does the copy make you feel like you should hire the writer straightaway? Does the copy make you want to run for the hills? Does the copy cause you to be inflamed? These are all vital reactions and you must pay attention to them.

Look into the writer's's background a bit. Try to find reviews on online discussion boards and independent sites. It is probable that the only reviews on the copywriter's site are going to be positive ones. You want to do a search for the writer's name to determine if there are any testimonials or reviews on sites that aren't run by or able to be faked by the writer him or herself. Closely examine these reviews. It is a good idea to ask the writer to provide you references too. See to it that you follow up and really contact those references so that you can obtain an honest opinion from them.

It is vital to actually go over any samples supplied to you by the writer. It is a good idea to inquire about samples beyond those that are displayed on the site. This is especially vital if the copywriter claims he or she is an expert in a particular field. If the writing is vague and reads like a regurgitated Wikipedia article, it is time to move on.

You have plenty of options available to you when you're trying to figure out whether or not to pay for a copywriter. You should do some homework and find out more about the writer in terms of his or her ethics, reputation and personal character.

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Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/how-to-find-a-great-copywriter-318623

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China "Fully Prepared for Currency War" Says China's Central Bank ...

Given the world's central bankers are already in a currency war, a policy statement made by a deputy-governor of China's central bank should not come as a surprise (except for the fact it was publicly and bluntly stated).

Please consider China well-prepared for currency war: official.

China is fully prepared for a looming currency war should it, though "avoidable," really happen, said China's central bank deputy governor Yi Gang late Friday.

A currency war could be avoided, Yi said, if policymakers in major countries observed the consensus, reached at the recent G20 meeting, that monetary policy should primarily serve as a tool for domestic economy.

"China is fully prepared," Yi said. "In terms of both monetary policies and other mechanism arrangement, China will take into full account the quantitative easing policies implemented by central banks of foreign countries."

Nonsense Over Domestic Tools

Yi's statements raise as many questions as they answer. Was the big finger-point at Japan the US, or both?

And what does "fully prepared" mean other than print like mad to infinity? It can hardly mean anything else, but given the US and Japan are already conducting QE like mad (with no exit policy), is the statement an immediate warning?

Look at the fuzziness of Yi's statement "monetary policy should primarily serve as a tool for domestic economy." Isn't that exactly what Japan and the US claim right now?

I ask "what difference does it make?" Indeed, isn't the domestic economy always the reason (albeit severely misguided) for currency debasement?

Debasement turns into "war" as soon as multiple countries are involved.

And that of course is where things are already. Thus, the statements by Yi are perhaps an indication the already ongoing war is about to escalate.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2013/03/03/china-fully-prepared-for-currency-war-says-chinas-central-bank-deputy-governor-n1524750

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Teacher standoff stokes debate over standardized tests

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A boycott by Seattle teachers a widely-used standardized test has attracted national attention and given new momentum to a growing protest movement that seeks to limit standardized testing in public schools.

The revolt by Seattle public school teachers and students elsewhere comes at a time of bitter political wrangling over how best to reinvigorate a $525 billion public school system that leaves American children lagging their counterparts in countries like Finland and South Korea.

Standardized tests have played an ever-more prominent role in public schools over the past decade.

Yearly testing in reading and math for elementary school students required by former President George W. Bush's 2002 landmark testing law, known as "No Child Left Behind," exposed stark achievement gaps in many schools, mainly along racial and economic lines, and spurred interventions to help struggling kids.

Sandy Kress, a former advisor to Bush on the law, and lobbyist for Pearson, said focusing too much on test scores alone will, in the end, cheat students out of the kind of quality education that sometimes can't be measured by standardized tests.

"If it's all back to just grades... a lot of people will have an easy time for about 10 years, (but later) our kids will suffer dramatically," Kress said.

The Obama Administration supports regular testing but has signaled some flexibility.

"Should you assess kids every year? Yes," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said recently. He added he was "more than sympathetic" to growing concerns about over-testing in school districts, some of which run standardized tests multiple times each year.

"There's a common-sense middle ground," Duncan said.

Increasingly, standardized tests carry high stakes. Teachers are often evaluated in part by their students' scores, and students may have to pass a standardized test to advance to the next grade in elementary school or earn a high-school diploma.

To prepare students for those high-stakes exams, and to monitor their academic progress more closely, many school districts - like Seattle - give additional standardized tests throughout the year.

"TEACHERS' SPRING"

That's what the teachers at Seattle's Garfield High School were protesting when they decided in January to boycott the multiple-choice Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test, saying the computerized exam is not aligned with the state's curriculum and produces "meaningless results" upon which they are indirectly evaluated.

The Northwest Evaluation Association, maker of the MAP, said its test adapts to a student aptitude and quickly provides educators with a reliable, fair progress report, though the test version used may not adhere to a specific teacher's syllabus.

Seattle schools have given the MAP test three times a year since 2009, on top of two other state-mandated exams. It is used in hundreds of school systems throughout Washington state and elsewhere.

Teachers and students staged rallies, and about 270 parents opted out for their children, some noting that the test was not required for graduation. Hundreds of students protested, either by not taking the test or completing it so quickly or randomly that the results were invalid, Garfield High School testing coordinator Kris McBride said.

"TEACHERS' SPRING"

Educators who did not give the test by February 28, the last day winter MAP test scores are valid, could face disciplinary action, said Clover Codd, a top official with the Seattle School District.

"We hear their concerns, we want to work with them, but we need to do what's right for our children," Codd said. "There may be two rights here."

A district-appointed task force will recommend on May 2 whether to renew a contract to use MAP, which costs the district $436,114 for 36,718 licenses.

The Seattle dissent was mirrored by dozens of high school students in Portland, Oregon, who launched a boycott in February over state-required exams students must pass to graduate, though they can meet the new proficiency requirements using other tests.

In Providence, Rhode Island, high school students splattered themselves with fake blood and acted like zombies to protest over a similar move by state education officials.

Elsewhere, more than 500 school boards in Texas - and several large school districts in Florida - have passed resolutions demanding a reduced focus on standardized tests.

"We are just seeing the very beginning of this testing revolt," Jesse Hagopian, one of the dissenting teachers in Seattle, told Reuters.

"Maybe you can call it the 'Teachers' Spring,'" he added.

The Seattle move has drawn support from education leaders, such as historian Diane Ravitch, and the nation's largest teacher unions.

"As soon as they use an ill-designed test to make a high-stakes decision on someone's employment, I believe it's going to be in court," National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel told Reuters.

After protesters gathered outside Seattle Town Hall, the featured speaker, former chancellor of Washington, D.C., schools Michelle Rhee, expressed her continued support for high-stakes testing.

"For far too long in this country, there was no accountability," Rhee said, later adding that collecting regular testing data was crucial to measure student learning and should factor prominently in evaluations of teachers.

Outside Rhee's talk was Robert Murphy, a math teacher at a different Seattle high school that e said was rife with struggling students who need more instruction time.

"I know the glazed look in their eyes from the same test over and over," he said.

(Additional reporting by Stephanie Simon in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Barbara Goldberg)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teacher-standoff-stokes-debate-over-standardized-tests-133700368.html

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Expectant parents die in NY crash; infant survives

NEW YORK (AP) ? A pregnant young woman who was feeling ill was headed to the hospital with her husband early Sunday when the car they were riding in was hit, killing them both, but their baby boy was born prematurely and survived, authorities and a relative said.

The driver of a BMW slammed into the car carrying Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, at an intersection in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, said Isaac Abraham, a neighbor of Raizy Glauber's parents who lives two blocks from the scene of the crash.

Raizy Glauber was thrown from the car and her body landed under a parked tractor-trailer, said witnesses who came to the scene after the crash. Nachman Glauber was pinned in the car, and emergency workers had to cut off the roof to get him out, witnesses said.

Both of the Glaubers were pronounced dead at hospitals, police said, and both died of blunt-force trauma, the medical examiner said.

Their infant son was in serious condition, said Abraham. The hospital did not return calls about the child. The Glaubers' driver was in stable condition, police said. Both the driver of the BMW and a passenger fled and were being sought, police said.

On Saturday, Raizy Glauber "was not feeling well, so they decided to go" to the hospital, said Sara Glauber, Nachman Glauber's cousin. Abraham said the Glaubers called a car service because they didn't own a car, which is common for New Yorkers.

The Glaubers were married about a year ago and had begun a life together in Williamsburg, where Raizy Glauber grew up in a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbinical family, Sara Glauber said.

Raised north of New York City in Monsey, N.Y., and part of a family that founded a line of clothing for Orthodox Jews, Nachman Glauber was studying at a rabbinical college nearby, said his cousin.

Brooklyn is home to the largest community of ultra-orthodox Jews outside Israel, more than 250,000. The community has strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world. Men wear dark clothing that includes a long coat and a fedora-type hat and often have long beards and ear locks.

Jewish law calls for burial of the dead as soon as possible, and hours after their deaths, the Glaubers were mourned at a funeral Sunday afternoon. Dozens gathered shoulder to shoulder on the street outside, men in hats and women in shawls or head coverings, nearly everyone in black. The sound of wailing filled the street as the two black-draped coffins were carried from a vehicle.

After the funeral began, a speaker sobbed uncontrollably, his voice choked with grief and echoing over loudspeakers set up outside.

Just before, Sara Glauber spoke admiringly of her cousin.

"You don't meet anyone better than him," she said. "He was always doing favors for everyone."

She said Nachman's mother herself just delivered a baby two weeks ago.

"I've never seen a mother-son relationship like this," said Sara Glauber. "He called her every day to make sure everything was OK. He was the sweetest, most charming human being, always with a smile on his face."

She added that, of him and his bride, "if one had to go, the other had to go too because they really were one soul."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/expectant-parents-die-ny-crash-infant-survives-144618750.html

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Obama on Prop 8: How sweeping is administration support for gay marriage?

Even if the Supreme Court agrees with President Obama's brief arguing?that California's Prop. 8 is unconstitutional,?that doesn't mean there will be a nationwide right for gays to marry.

By Peter Grier,?Staff Writer / March 1, 2013

President Obama speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room on Friday. The president took questions about the amicus brief the White House filed with the US Supreme Court, which argues that California?s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, is unconstitutional.

Charles Dharapak/AP

Enlarge

President Obama on Friday said that in recent years, the whole nation has moved toward the position that gay couples should marry ? a change in thinking that mirrors his own.

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That?s a ?positive thing,? he said at a short news conference, and it?s a big reason the administration on Thursday filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the US Supreme Court arguing that California?s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, is unconstitutional.

?When the Supreme Court essentially called the question by taking this case about California?s law, I didn?t feel like that was something that this administration could avoid,? Mr. Obama said. ?I felt it was important for us to articulate what I believe and what this administration stands for.?

But do Obama and his administration believe the court should establish a broad national right for gays to wed? That?s a question with a complex answer not entirely reflected in the president?s words.

Strictly speaking, the US did not have to get involved in Hollingsworth v. Perry (12-144), the Supreme Court case on Prop. 8. That?s because the case centers on the constitutionality of a state statute: in this case, a proposition passed by California voters, which amended the state constitution to limit ?marriage? to a union between a man and a woman.

The administration?s brief argues (unsurprisingly) that Prop. 8 is indeed unconstitutional. But it does not hold that all state prohibitions on gay marriage are thus also unconstitutional.

However, the brief?s reasoning still might ultimately lead the Supreme Court, if it agrees, to eventually establish gay marriage as a national right.

Got that? No? OK, we?ll back up and try a fuller explanation.

The reason Prop. 8 is unconstitutional is because California already allows gays full rights and benefits via civil unions, according to the administration brief. Thus there is no reason to deny them the final step of marriage, except simple prejudice, the brief argues. If California thought there was some substantive reason to prevent gay marriage ? say, that it would be bad for children ? then the state would block civil unions as well.

And if gays are being denied marriage due to prejudice, then Prop. 8 runs afoul of the Constitution?s promise that all Americans will be treated equally.

?The government seeks to vindicate the defining constitutional ideal of equal treatment under the law,? said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement issued after the brief was filed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/1yN-nVveGjU/Obama-on-Prop-8-How-sweeping-is-administration-support-for-gay-marriage

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Despite impact, US says Keystone is only option

TransCanada Corp. via Reuters file

The Keystone XL oil pipeline, pictured under construction Jan. 18, 2012, in North Dakota.

By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News

Construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline would create "numerous" and "substantial" impacts on the environment, the State Department said Friday in a draft environmental impact statement. But the project is a better bet than any of the alternatives, it said in essentially clearing the project to go ahead.

The report concluded that the Canadian synthetic crude oil the pipeline is slated to transport into the U.S. produces 17 percent more greenhouse gases than natural crude oil already refined here. In addition, it said the construction phase of the project would result in carbon dioxide emissions equiavalent to about 626,000 passenger vehicles operating for a full year.

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Without directly saying so, the report signaled the State Department's belief that the pipeline should go ahead, concluding that other modes of transportation would have the same impacts and that proposed alternatives ? including an above-ground route and a smaller-diameter pipe ? "were not reasonable."

And on a central issue of discussion, it concluded that blocking the pipeline wouldn't make any difference in the U.S.'s high consumption of oil.

Reaction from environmental groups was swift.

"The Sierra Club is outraged by the State Department's deeply flawed analysis today on Keystone XL," the Sierra Club tweeted.

Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters, said the report failed to appreciate the pipeline's potential effect on climate change.

"People who think our climate wouldn't be negatively impacted by Keystone XL have their heads in the (tar) sands," he said in a statement. "... LCV will work to ensure that the millions of Americans opposed to this dangerous pipeline have their voices heard during the comment period and that Keystone XL is rejected once and for all."

But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, welcomed the report, which he said "makes clear there is no reason for this critical pipeline to be blocked one more day."

"After four years of needless delays, it is time for President Obama to stand up for middle-class jobs and energy security and approve the Keystone pipeline," Boehner said.

The environmental statement is only a draft, not a final decision whether to greenlight the project. A public comment period of 45 days is next.

A final decision on the $5.3 billion pipeline, a project of TransCanada Corp., has been pending for more than four years as environmental activists battle to kill it, contending that it contributes to the U.S.'s dependence on "dirty fuel" that generates higher emissions than crude oil refined in the U.S.

The pipeline would transport synthetic crude oil from oil sands in northeastern Alberta to refineries running along the spine of the U.S. all the way down to Texas. Along the way, the 2,000-page report said, it could also:

• Disturb highly erodible soil along nearly half of the 875-mile U.S. segment ? including 4,715 acres of "prime farmland soil."
• Degrade streams and other surface water.
• Encroach on the habitats of 13 federally protected species or species being considered for that designation, including the whooping crane and the greater sage grouse.
• Be susceptible to potentially disastrous leaks and spill.

On the other side of the balance, the report noted the potential for economic development and growth in impoverished communities along the pipeline's pathway, saying it could produce as many as 42,000 new construction jobs.

President Barack Obama will have the final say on the project, which is being reviewed by the State Department, not the Environmental Protection Agency, because the pipeline would cross national borders. Obama signaled his support for the southern section of the line last year, but he gave environmentalists a measure of hope in January, when he promised to do more to fight climate change in his inaugural address.?

Tens of thousands of protesters jammed the National Mall in Washington on Feb. 17 to urge Obama to reject pipeline. They adopted the slogan "Forward" ? cribbing Obama's own campaign slogan.

The final decision will be a crucial one for Canada, which may need to look elsewhere for new energy markets if the pipeline is rejected.

Tom Capra, Catherine Chomiak and Frank Thorp of NBC News contributed to this report. Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.

Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

This story was originally published on Fri Mar 1, 2013 5:50 PM EST

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/01/17149564-state-department-admits-keystone-environmental-impact-but-says-theres-no-better-way?lite

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Pope Benedict Gay? Georg Gaenswein Relationship Sparks Rumors in Vatican

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/pope-benedict-gay-georg-gaenswein-relationship-raises-speculatio/

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Syrian rebel chief says they need weapons to stop slaughter

BEIRUT (AP) ? The chief of Syrian rebel forces said Friday that his fighters are in "desperate" need of weapons and ammunition rather than the food supplies and bandages that the U.S. now plans to provide.

The Obama administration on Thursday announced it was giving an additional $60 million in assistance to the country's political opposition and said that it would, for the first time, provide non-lethal aid directly to rebels battling to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The move was announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at an international conference on Syria in Rome, and several European nations are expected in the coming days to take similar steps in working with the military wing of the opposition in order to ramp up pressure on Assad to step down and pave the way for a democratic transition.

A number of Syrian opposition figures and fighters on the ground, however, expressed disappointment with the limited assistance.

Gen. Salim Idris, chief of staff of the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military Council, said the modest package of aid to rebels ? consisting of an undetermined amount of food rations and medical supplies ? will not help them win against Assad's forces who have superior air power.

"We don't want food and drink and we don't want bandages. When we're wounded, we want to die. The only thing we want is weapons," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"We need anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to stop Bashar Assad's criminal, murderous regime from annihilating the Syrian people," he said. "The whole world knows what we need and yet they watch as the Syrian people are slaughtered."

Syria's main rebel units, known together as the Free Syrian Army, regrouped in December under a unified Western-backed rebel command called the Supreme Military Council, following promises of more military assistance once a central council was in place.

But the international community remains reluctant to send lethal weapons, fearing they may fall into the hands of extremists who have made inroads in some places in Syria.

Idris, who defected from the Syrian army and is seen as a secular-minded moderate, denied media reports that the rebels have recently received arms shipments.

Croation officials have also denied reports by local media and The New York Times that arms, including machine guns, rifles and anti-tank grenades used in the Balkan wars in the 1990s have recently been sent to the Syrian rebels.

"These reports are all untrue. Our fighters are suffering from a severe shortage in weapons and ammunition," Idris said.

"The only weapons we have are the ones we are getting from inside Syria and the weapons we are capturing from the Syrian military," he said.

Idris spoke from northern Syria where fierce clashes continued between government forces and rebels attacking a police academy near Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial hub.

Rebels backed by captured tanks have been trying to storm the police academy outside the city since launching a new offensive there last week. Activists say the academy, which has become a key front in the wider fight for Aleppo, has been turned into a military base used to shell rebel-held neighborhoods in the city and the surrounding countryside.

The Syrian state news agency said Friday that government troops defending the school had killed dozens of opposition fighters and destroyed five rebel vehicles.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group also reported heavy fighting Friday around the school, and said there were several rebel casualties without providing an exact figure.

The Observatory said clashes were still raging around Aleppo's landmark 12th century Umayyad Mosque in the walled Old City, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mosque was heavily damaged in October 2012 just weeks after a fire gutted the old city's famed medieval market.

There were conflicting reports about whether the rebels had managed to sweep regime troops out of the mosque and take full control of the holy site.

Mohammed al-Khatib of the Aleppo Media Center activist group said the mosque was in rebel hands, although clashes were still raging in the area.

"The regime forces left lots of ammunition in it (the mosque) with guns and rocket-propelled grenades," he said via Skype.

Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said rebels have been in control of at least half of the mosque for days, but he could not confirm that they now had captured the entire grounds.

Near the capital, Damascus, activists said the bodies of 10 men ? most of them shot in the head ? were found dumped on the side of a road between the suburbs of Adra and Dumair.

Such incidents have become a frequent occurrence in Syria's conflict, which the U.N. says has killed nearly 70,000 people since March 2011.

Also on Friday, a spokesman for a Kurdish group in northern Syria said it had reached a deal with the leaders of the Syrian National Coalition to end infighting between rebels units in al-Hasaka province along Syria's border with Turkey.

The rebels seized control of large swathes of land in the area after they ousted government troops from military bases, border crossings and ethnically mixed villages and towns in the northeast.

The opposition's gains, however, have been marred by weeks of deadly infighting between Kurdish and other Syrian rebel groups over liberated territory.

Xebat Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish Popular Protection Units, or YPG, said a deal was reached late Thursday to end the infighting and unite behind a common goal, which is to oust Assad from power.

"From now on, the Syrian rebels will fight together with the YPG against the regime," Ibrahim told The Associated Press on Friday.

According to the agreement, the Syrian rebels will retreat from Kurdish areas in northern Syria. In return, Kurdish fighters are to battle alongside rebels units fighting the regime's troops anywhere in the Kurdish-dominated region of Syria, Ibrahim said.

___

Associated Press writers Ryan Lucas and Ben Hubbard in Beirut and Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebel-chief-pleads-weapons-143853633.html

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New model could lead to improved treatment for early stage Alzheimer's

Feb. 28, 2013 ? Researchers at the University of Florida and The Johns Hopkins University have developed a line of genetically altered mice that model the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease. This model may help scientists identify new therapies to provide relief to patients who are beginning to experience symptoms.

The researchers report their findings in the current issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

"The development of this model could help scientists identify new ways to enhance brain function in patients in the early stages of the disease," said David Borchelt, UF professor of neuroscience in the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute and director of the SantaFe HealthCare Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. "Such therapies could preserve brain function longer and delay the appearance of more severe symptoms that leave patients unable to care for themselves."

In the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, people struggle with and fail to learn new games, rules or technologies because their cognitive flexibility decreases. The degenerative disease continues with memory loss and the decline of other brain functions.

The researchers worked with mice that had specially designed gene fragments derived from bacteria and from humans that allowed the investigators to control the production of a small peptide. The peptide, called amyloid beta peptide, is a short chain of amino acids. Accumulations of this particular peptide in the brain as lesions called plaques occur early in the progression of Alzheimer's disease and seem to trigger the early memory problems.

The team regulated the expression of the peptide using antibiotics -- when the animals stopped taking the antibiotic, the peptide-producing gene turned on and caused the mice to develop the plaques found in Alzheimer's patients. After the mice had developed the Alzheimer pathology, the researchers turned the gene back off and observed that the mice showed persistent memory problems that resemble the early stages of the disease.

"This model may be useful to researchers to test drugs that could help with symptoms of early stage Alzheimer's disease," Borchelt said.This research is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health, and the SantaFe HealthCare Alzheimer's Disease Research Center of the University of Florida.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Florida. The original article was written by Melissa Blouin.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. T. Melnikova, S. Fromholt, H. Kim, D. Lee, G. Xu, A. Price, B. D. Moore, T. E. Golde, K. M. Felsenstein, A. Savonenko, D. R. Borchelt. Reversible Pathologic and Cognitive Phenotypes in an Inducible Model of Alzheimer-Amyloidosis. Journal of Neuroscience, 2013; 33 (9): 3765 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4251-12.2013

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/tCFBv-uQMQw/130228171502.htm

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Brandi Glanville Book to Become Tell-All MOVIE?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/brandi-glanville-book-to-become-tell-all-movie/

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Benedict promises obedience to successor

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI promised his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his successor on Thursday in a poignant and powerful fares well speech to cardinals delivered hours before he becomes the first pontiff in 600 years to resign.

In an unexpected address inside the Vatican's frescoed Clementine Hall, the pope appeared to be trying to defuse concerns about his future role and the possible conflicts arising from the peculiar situation of having both a reigning pope and a retired one.

Benedict also gave a final set of instructions to the "princes" of the church who will elect his successor, urging them to be united as they huddle to choose the 266th leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

"May the College of Cardinals work like an orchestra, where diversity ? an expression of the universal church ? always works toward a higher and harmonious agreement," he said.

It was seen as a clear reference to the deep internal divisions that have come to the fore in recent months following the leaks of sensitive Vatican documents that exposed power struggles and allegations of corruption inside the Vatican.

The moment inside the Apostolic Palace was as unique as Benedict's decision to quit, with the 85-year-old pope, wearing his crimson velvet cape and using a cane, bidding farewell to his closest advisers and the cardinals themselves bowing to kiss his fisherman's ring for the last time.

Some seemed to choke up at that moment, and a few lingered on to chat with the pope for as long as they could. But the scene seemed otherwise almost normal, with cardinals chatting on the sidelines waiting their turn to say goodbye.

It was Benedict's last formal audience inside the Vatican and came hours before he was due to depart Vatican City and fly by helicopter to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo where at 8 p.m. his resignation becomes official.

Benedict said he would pray for the cardinals in coming days as they discuss the issues facing the church, the qualities needed in a new pope, and prepare to enter into the secret conclave to elect him.

"Among you is also the future pope, whom I today promise my unconditional reverence and obedience," Benedict told the cardinals.

Benedict's decision to live at the Vatican in retirement, be called "emeritus pope" and "Your Holiness" and wear the white cassock associated with the papacy has deepened concerns about the shadow he might cast over the next papacy.

But Benedict has tried to address those worries over the past two weeks, saying that once retired he would be "hidden from the world" and living a life of prayer.

In his final speech in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, he said he wasn't returning to private life exactly, but rather to a new form of service to the church through prayer.

And on Thursday he went even further with his own public pledge of obedience to the new pontiff.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the pope's pledge was in keeping with this effort to "explain how he intends to live this unprecedented situation of an emeritus pope."

"He has no intention of interfering in the position or the decisions or the activity of his successor," Lombardi said. "But as every member of the church, he says fully that he recognizes the authority of the supreme pastor of the church who will be elected to succeed him."

The issue of papal obedience is important for Benedict. In his last legal document, he made new provisions for cardinals to make a formal, public pledge of obedience to the new pope at his installation Mass, in addition to the private one they traditionally make inside the Sistine Chapel immediately after he is elected.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday, Benedict will leave the palace for the last time as pontiff, head to the helipad at the top of the hill in the Vatican gardens and fly to the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome.

There, at 8 p.m. sharp, Benedict will become the first pontiff in 600 years to resign. The Swiss Guards standing at attention will go into the palazzo and shut the doors behind them and go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church over ? for now.

Lombardi said the guards would change into civilian clothes and return to the Vatican barracks Thursday night. They will continue to guard the entrances of Vatican City and the pope's palace, "even if he's not there," said Cpl. Urs Breitenmoser, a Swiss Guard spokesman.

And on Monday, the cardinals are expected to begin meeting to set the date for the conclave.

Benedict's decision has been met for the most part with praise and understanding. Cardinals, Vatican officials and ordinary Catholics have rallied around him in acknowledgment of his frail state and the church's need for a strong leader.

But Sydney Cardinal George Pell has caused a stir by openly saying the resignation has been "slightly destabilizing" for the church.

In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp., Pell noted that Benedict himself had acknowledged the shift in tradition; Benedict said Wednesday that he appreciated his decision was not only serious but "a novelty" for the church.

Pell also said the church was in sore need of a strong manager ? comments echoed by several cardinals who have noted the 30-year reign of two popes who paid scant attention to the internal governance of the church.

The Vatican tried to downplay Pell's comments, saying it wouldn't respond to individual cardinals and urging the media not to take advantage of churchmen who, he said, aren't necessarily media savvy.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/benedict-promises-obedience-successor-103211313.html

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Have your say on guns, Wednesday at noon ET (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Coroner to examine UK bid to keep Litvinenko details secret

LONDON (Reuters) - A British coroner said on Wednesday he would consider in secret sensitive information which the British government does not want made public about the death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who was murdered in London in 2006.

Litvinenko, who had been granted British citizenship and had become a vocal critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, died after someone slipped polonium-210, a rare radioactive isotope, into his cup of tea at a plush London hotel.

At a pre-inquest hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for the British government argued information it held should be subject to a public interest immunity certificate, preventing disclosure which they said would seriously harm national security.

The lawyer for Litvinenko's family argued Britain was trying to hide details of his work for its MI6 intelligence service, and material which showed Russia was behind his death, because London wanted to protect lucrative Russian trade deals.

The coroner, High Court judge Robert Owen, ruled he would go ahead with considering the government's request in private, but said he would only allow material to be kept secret where that served the public interest better than disclosure.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/coroner-examine-uk-bid-keep-litvinenko-details-secret-105743381.html

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