Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers are going to meet with Roy Oswalt on Monday. There?s no offer on the table, but there is a meeting.
This, combined with the multiple denials from the Cardinals that they were, as previously reported, close to a deal with Oswalt, could suggest that Texas is making a move. ?But then again, the Rangers met with Prince Fielder too, and see how that turned out.
So, my guess: Oswalt signs a $200 million deal with Detroit. Because that?s how this works, right?
Occupy Oakland protesters inside Oakland City Hall during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, in Oakland, Calif.
By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services
Story updated 6:00 a.m. ET:
A U.S. flag was burned by a group of protestors inside City Hall, according to City Council President Larry Reid. City officials also said three police officers and one protester were injured during Saturday's events.
Story updated 3:15 a.m. ET:
Sgt. Christopher Bolton of the Oakland Police Department told msnbc.com that the number arrested was likely between 200 and 300. "We are still processing the arrests," he said. He was speaking after the release of a statement on the Oakland City website that put the number of arrests at 200. "That figure is probably on the low side and we don't have a confirmed total yet," said. Sgt Bolton. In the statement, released in a PDF file format, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said: "Once again, a violent splinter group of the Occupy Movement is engaging in violent actions against Oakland. The Bay Area Occupy Movement has got to stop using Oakland as their playground." The statement also said there were reports of damage to exhibits inside City Hall during the protest.
Story published 1:30 a.m.:
OAKLAND -- Police arrested about 300?people Saturday?as Occupy Oakland protesters were thwarted trying?to take over a vacant convention center and?a YMCA but?later broke into City Hall, where they burned a flag taken from?inside.
Police used tear gas and "flash" grenades in the afternoon against 2,000 protesters who tried to tear down fences around?the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center, where they hoped to establish?a new camp. Police said some demonstrators started throwing objects at officers. There were at least 19 arrests in the afternoon.
After 6 p.m. (9 p.m. ET), police?in riot gear declared a group of protesters gathered near the YMCA under mass arrest?for failing to disperse, according to local media reports and livestreams. Police said about 100 demonstrators were?arrested at the YMCA.
Several protesters at? the YMCA appeared to be put hard to the ground as police moved in and at least one protester had blood on his face.
Protesters chanted, "Let us disperse," but instead were taken one by one for police processing.
Some protesters claimed they were trying to flee police by running through the YMCA rather than take over the building.
Later in the evening, about 100 police officers surrounded City Hall while others?swept the inside of the building.
Police arrived after?protesters had broken into City Hall, stole an American flag from the council chamber and set it ablaze, the Oakland?Tribune reported. Officers stomped out the fire.
Earlier, protesters met at Frank Ogawa Plaza around noon and marched toward the convention center in hopes of making it their new meeting place and social center, NBCBayArea.com reported.
Read NBCBayArea.com coverage of the protest
Oakland officials said about 250 people were in the group when the protest started but the crowd grew to about 2,000.
Earlier during the rally one of the organizers, Shake Anderson, said, "We are here to protect each other and to be civil disobedient. ... We're doing it to change the world, not just today but every day."
Stephen Lam / Reuters
Police officers arrest an Occupy Oakland demonstrator during a clash Saturday in Oakland, Calif., where officers fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who tried to take over a shuttered convention center.
The protesters were walking through Laney College around 2:30 p.m. Some people were wearing bandanas over their mouths and others were holding signs saying, "We are the 99%." A marching band dressed in pink and black tutus and neon pick tights also was in the crowd.
Officer Jeff Thomason said police started making arrests when some in the crowd started throwing objects at them during the afternoon rally. Three officers were injured, police said, but did not elaborate.
@OaklandPoliceCA tweeted around 3 p.m., "Area of Oakland Museum and Kaiser Center severely impacted. Persons cutting and tearing fences for entry. Bottles and objects thrown at OPD."
Once they reached the center, organizers planned to kick off a two-day "Oakland Rise-up Festival" to celebrate the establishment of the movement's new space.
Occupy Oakland spokesman Leo Ritz-Bar said the action would signal "a new direction for the Occupy movement: putting vacant buildings at the service of the community."
He also warned that protesters could retaliate against any repressive police action by blocking the Oakland International Airport, occupying City Hall or shutting down the Port of Oakland.
City officials said that while they are "committed to facilitating peaceful forms of expression and free speech, police would be prepared to arrest those who break the law.
"The city of Oakland will not be bullied by threats of violence or illegal activity," city administrator Deanna Santana said in a statement issued Friday.
This article includes reporting from NBCBayArea.com, The Associated Press and msnbc.com's Miranda Leitsinger and Alastair Jamieson.
Related stories:
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
Stephen Lam / Reuters
Occupy Oakland demonstrators shield themselves from an explosion Saturday during a confrontation with the police near the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, Calif.
Rising wealth?lifts demand for exotic pets and delicacies in Asia. Meahwhile, enforcers are stretched thin.
On a traffic-snarled Jakarta roadside, a market trader thrusts out a forearm with a terrified looking primate clasping tightly to his skin.
Skip to next paragraph
"You can have it for 300,000 rupiah [$30]," he says of the slow loris, a protected species whose sluggish movement makes it easy prey for poachers. The destruction of its habitat and its low reproduction rate are why the loris is classified as facing extinction under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which bans their trade.
But here at the Jatinegara market, there is no attempt to conceal the sale of loris or many other endangered species. Orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and Javan eagles are just a few of the threatened species in Indonesia's animal markets.
It is a scenario that has been playing out across Southeast Asia for centuries, but with increased speed in the past decade, as a burgeoning class of wealthy Asians who cherish rare creatures as exotic pets, delicacies, or for supposed medicinal qualities fuel a booming and illegal trade.
The plunder ? a small piece of the greater challenge of environmental conservation in Indonesia ? is happening in conjunction with habitat depletion, and conservationists fear some species will soon disappear while new ones tumble onto the endangered list.
"Rare animals have become status symbols. They are trophies for people to demonstrate their wealth and the collateral damage of Asia's economic rise," says James Compton, senior director for Asia-Pacific at Traffic, a conservation group that monitors wildlife trade.
"We will see some local populations of endemic species disappear very quickly. Look at what happened to the tiger population over the past 100 years," he says.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network predicts that between 13 and 42 percent of the region's animal and plant species will be wiped out this century, mostly due to logging and loss of habitat.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organi?za?tion estimates that Indonesia loses 6.2 million acres of forest ? equivalent to the size of Vermont ? every year. By 2008, Indonesia had lost 72 percent of its ancient forests, and what remains is threatened by commercial logging, forest fires, and clearing for palm oil plantations, according to Green?peace.
Officials test the signals and lights at an intersection where an SUV and Light Rail train collided in Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. Authorities say a light-rail train has collided with a sport utility vehicle in Sacramento, killing a man, a woman and a baby and injuring seven other people. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)
Officials test the signals and lights at an intersection where an SUV and Light Rail train collided in Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. Authorities say a light-rail train has collided with a sport utility vehicle in Sacramento, killing a man, a woman and a baby and injuring seven other people. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)
An SUV lies upside down on the tracks after being struck by a light-rail train in Sacremento, Calif., Saturday Jan. 28, 2012. The driver of an SUV drove around a crossing arm and ignored flashing warning lights before the vehicle was struck by the light-rail train Saturday, killing an infant and two adults, authorities said. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Villegas, Sacremento Bee)
Sacramento Fire and Police wait near the light rail crossing on 26th Ave near Franklin and 24th Street where a three people died in a crash between a light-rail train and a sport utility vehicle, Saturday Jan. 28, 2012 authorities. The driver of an SUV drove around a crossing arm and ignored flashing warning lights before the vehicle was struck by a light-rail train in Sacramento on Saturday, killing an infant and two adults, authorities said. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Villegas, Sacramento Bee)
Officials test the signals and lights at an intersection where an SUV and Light Rail train collided in Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. Authorities say a light-rail train has collided with a sport utility vehicle in Sacramento, killing a man, a woman and a baby and injuring seven other people. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)
An SUV lies upside down on the tracks after being struck by a light-rail train in Sacremento, Calif., Saturday Jan. 28, 2012. The driver of an SUV drove around a crossing arm and ignored flashing warning lights before the vehicle was struck by the light-rail train Saturday, killing an infant and two adults, authorities said. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Villegas, Sacremento Bee)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? Two adults and an 18-month-old boy died when their SUV collided with a light-rail train in Sacramento, moments after the vehicle's driver ignored flashing warning lights and veered around a rail crossing arm, authorities say.
The only other person in the Nissan Pathfinder, a woman in her 30s, was hospitalized with serious injuries, said Niko King, assistant chief with the Sacramento Fire Department.
Six of the roughly 50 passengers on the light rail train suffered minor injuries in Saturday's crash and were taken to a hospital, he said.
King and a spokeswoman for the transit line said video from a camera at the crossing clearly shows the SUV driving around the crossing arm.
The collision, in a working class neighborhood south of downtown, occurred shortly after 4 p.m. and pushed the Pathfinder about 30 yards from the point of impact.
"All I heard was a big bang, and I saw a light-rail train heading south with a big truck smashed on it," said Ravin Pratab, 42, of Davis, whose car was among those waiting for the train at the rail crossing, on the opposite side of the tracks from the Pathfinder.
The train was going about 55 mph at the time, a typical speed for that location.
The light rail followed two Union Pacific freight trains, which use separate tracks, and the arms had remained down during the interval, said Alane Masui, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Regional Transit District.
"They were down after the UP trains and before the (light rail) train approached, so the crossing arms were properly working," she said.
She said the length of time between the freight trains clearing the intersection and the light rail train crossing it had not yet been determined and would be part of the investigation. Investigators also were reviewing video from a camera mounted on the light rail train.
Authorities did not release the identities of those in the Pathfinder or their relationship. A man and woman in the vehicle, both in their 40s, died at the scene while the baby boy was pronounced dead at a hospital. Firefighters said one had been ejected.
The University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento would say only that the woman remained in serious condition late Saturday.
The light rail system carries an average of 50,000 passengers a day, with lines stretching from the state capital to its suburbs in the north, south and east.
Masui said there are four sets of tracks at the crossing ? two for freight and two for light rail so trains from both systems can run in either direction.
Head & neck cancer in transplant patients: For better or worse?Public release date: 27-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Krista Hopson khopson1@hfhs.org 313-874-7207 Henry Ford Health System
DETROIT Transplant patients who develop head and neck cancer are more likely to be non-smokers and non-drinkers, and less likely than their non-transplant counterparts to survive past one year of diagnosis, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
As part of a 20-year review, Henry Ford researchers found cancers of the throat, tonsils and mouth may be more aggressive in transplant recipients as the result of long-term immunosuppressive therapy required to prevent solid organ rejection.
Transplant patients in the study who developed skin cancer in the head and neck region were more likely to have multiple lesions, compared to the general public. In all, 2.6% of transplant patients in the study developed some form of head and neck cancer.
While the risk for developing head and neck cancer is small, the study serves as an important reminder to all transplant recipients to be vigilant about any changes to their skin, as well as persistent sore throat, ear pain or swallowing issues all signs of head and neck cancer.
"The benefits of organ transplantation and immunosuppressive therapy still outweigh the risk of transplant patients developing head and neck cancer," says study author Robert Deeb, M.D., with the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Henry Ford.
"Still, our study highlights that head and neck cancer arising in transplant patients warrants the need for regular screenings and aggressive treatment."
The study will be presented Jan. 28 in Miami Beach at the annual Triological Society's Combined Sections Meeting.
More effective immunosuppressive therapies for transplant patients have greatly improved graft and recipient survival rates. But with longer survival, there has been an increase in long-term complications from immunosuppression, including head and neck cancer.
In fact, head and neck cancers account for 4 percent to 6 percent of all post-transplant malignancies.
The challenge is that transplant patients who develop head and neck cancer may have to consider forgoing immunosuppressive therapy in order to treat the cancer. But halting immunosupression could lead to organ failure, leaving patients with a very difficult decision: treat the cancer or save the organ. Transplant patients with most forms of skin cancer typically do not need to stop immunosuppressive therapy.
To gain a better understanding of post-transplant head and neck cancer, Dr. Deeb and Vanessa G. Schweitzer, M.D., conducted a comprehensive review of the 3,639 transplants that took place at the Transplant Institute at Henry Ford Hospital from January 1990 through December 2011.
Using electronic medical records, the researchers were able to track the incidence of head and neck cancer following solid organ transplantation during a 20-year period.
During that period, 95 transplant patients developed head and neck cancer - 78 had cutaneous (skin) cancer and 17 had non-cutaneous cancer.
For the 78 patients who developed skin cancer, the most common sites were the cheek and scalp. More than half of the patients were diagnosed with multiple skin malignancies in the head and neck region. The average age at cancer diagnosis was 61, and the mean time between transplant and skin cancer diagnosis was 48 months.
Seventeen patients in the study developed cancer in the upper aerodigestive tract (mouth, tongue and throat) post transplant. For this group, the average age at diagnosis was 60 and the mean time from transplant to cancer diagnosis was 66 months.
Among these patients, significantly fewer were alive at one year compared to their non-transplant counterparts, regardless of cancer stage at diagnosis.
The upper aerodigestive tract cancer patients also were more likely to be non-drinkers and non-smokers. An interesting finding, notes Dr. Deeb, since the majority of head and neck cancers in non-transplant patients (75%) are the result of alcohol and tobacco use.
"That our study group had a much lower rate of smoking and/or alcohol use than non-transplant patients strongly suggests the role of immunosuppression in the development of head and neck cancer," says Dr. Deeb.
###
Funding: Henry Ford Hospital
Along with Dr. Deeb, Henry Ford study co-authors are Saurabh Sharma, M.D.; Meredith Mahan; Samer al-Khudari, M.D.; Frances Hall, M.D.; Atsushi Yoshida, M.D.; and Vanessa G. Schweitzer, M.D.
NOTE: Study abstract is available online at http://www.triological.org/pdf/2012SectionsProgramLong.pdf
[ | E-mail | 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.
Head & neck cancer in transplant patients: For better or worse?Public release date: 27-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Krista Hopson khopson1@hfhs.org 313-874-7207 Henry Ford Health System
DETROIT Transplant patients who develop head and neck cancer are more likely to be non-smokers and non-drinkers, and less likely than their non-transplant counterparts to survive past one year of diagnosis, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
As part of a 20-year review, Henry Ford researchers found cancers of the throat, tonsils and mouth may be more aggressive in transplant recipients as the result of long-term immunosuppressive therapy required to prevent solid organ rejection.
Transplant patients in the study who developed skin cancer in the head and neck region were more likely to have multiple lesions, compared to the general public. In all, 2.6% of transplant patients in the study developed some form of head and neck cancer.
While the risk for developing head and neck cancer is small, the study serves as an important reminder to all transplant recipients to be vigilant about any changes to their skin, as well as persistent sore throat, ear pain or swallowing issues all signs of head and neck cancer.
"The benefits of organ transplantation and immunosuppressive therapy still outweigh the risk of transplant patients developing head and neck cancer," says study author Robert Deeb, M.D., with the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Henry Ford.
"Still, our study highlights that head and neck cancer arising in transplant patients warrants the need for regular screenings and aggressive treatment."
The study will be presented Jan. 28 in Miami Beach at the annual Triological Society's Combined Sections Meeting.
More effective immunosuppressive therapies for transplant patients have greatly improved graft and recipient survival rates. But with longer survival, there has been an increase in long-term complications from immunosuppression, including head and neck cancer.
In fact, head and neck cancers account for 4 percent to 6 percent of all post-transplant malignancies.
The challenge is that transplant patients who develop head and neck cancer may have to consider forgoing immunosuppressive therapy in order to treat the cancer. But halting immunosupression could lead to organ failure, leaving patients with a very difficult decision: treat the cancer or save the organ. Transplant patients with most forms of skin cancer typically do not need to stop immunosuppressive therapy.
To gain a better understanding of post-transplant head and neck cancer, Dr. Deeb and Vanessa G. Schweitzer, M.D., conducted a comprehensive review of the 3,639 transplants that took place at the Transplant Institute at Henry Ford Hospital from January 1990 through December 2011.
Using electronic medical records, the researchers were able to track the incidence of head and neck cancer following solid organ transplantation during a 20-year period.
During that period, 95 transplant patients developed head and neck cancer - 78 had cutaneous (skin) cancer and 17 had non-cutaneous cancer.
For the 78 patients who developed skin cancer, the most common sites were the cheek and scalp. More than half of the patients were diagnosed with multiple skin malignancies in the head and neck region. The average age at cancer diagnosis was 61, and the mean time between transplant and skin cancer diagnosis was 48 months.
Seventeen patients in the study developed cancer in the upper aerodigestive tract (mouth, tongue and throat) post transplant. For this group, the average age at diagnosis was 60 and the mean time from transplant to cancer diagnosis was 66 months.
Among these patients, significantly fewer were alive at one year compared to their non-transplant counterparts, regardless of cancer stage at diagnosis.
The upper aerodigestive tract cancer patients also were more likely to be non-drinkers and non-smokers. An interesting finding, notes Dr. Deeb, since the majority of head and neck cancers in non-transplant patients (75%) are the result of alcohol and tobacco use.
"That our study group had a much lower rate of smoking and/or alcohol use than non-transplant patients strongly suggests the role of immunosuppression in the development of head and neck cancer," says Dr. Deeb.
###
Funding: Henry Ford Hospital
Along with Dr. Deeb, Henry Ford study co-authors are Saurabh Sharma, M.D.; Meredith Mahan; Samer al-Khudari, M.D.; Frances Hall, M.D.; Atsushi Yoshida, M.D.; and Vanessa G. Schweitzer, M.D.
NOTE: Study abstract is available online at http://www.triological.org/pdf/2012SectionsProgramLong.pdf
[ | E-mail | 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.
LOS ANGELES, Jan 27 (TheWrap.com) ? Alex Da Silva, a former choreographer for Fox reality competition "So You Think You Can Dance," was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday for raping a former dance student and assaulting another, TMZ reports.
Da Silva, 43, was arrested in 2009 and charged with multiple counts of raping and sexually assaulting four women, all of whom had been his students.
A jury found him guilty on one count of rape and one count of assault with intent to commit rape. It deadlocked on other charges, which were dismissed.
Da Silva had appeared on the first four seasons of the series.
This isn't the first scandal to be associated with "So You Think You Can Dance"; in August 2011, Shane Sparks, who had also appeared as a choreographer on the show, was charged with eight counts of felony child molestation in 2009. He pleaded no contest to one count of unlawful intercourse with a minor under the age of 16 in August 2011, and received 270 days in jail.
Paramount became the first studio to offer digital versions of UltraViolet-based movies this week, with the launch of Paramount Movies. With this new service, users can purchase a film in either digital or physical form, and automatically store a copy of it within Paramount's cloud-based digital locker. This effectively allows you to stream a film to any iOS device, though support for Android and Windows Phone remains unavailable (as does compatibility with most set-top boxes). It's all part of DECE's "buy once, play anywhere" ethos, though it should be noted that the studio's UV offerings are somewhat limited. At the moment, Paramount Movies boasts about 60 titles, all of which are available at comparatively steep prices: $20 for HD quality movies, and $13 for SD versions. Check it out for yourself at the source link below.
Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, speaks during a session in the House Chamber at the Statehouse Tuesday, Jan. 24 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, speaks during a session in the House Chamber at the Statehouse Tuesday, Jan. 24 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Indiana's Republican-controlled House of Representatives cleared the way Wednesday to become the first right-to-work state in a traditionally union-heavy Rust Belt increasingly targeted by non-union foes.
The House voted 54-44 to make Indiana the nation's 23rd right-to-work state after Democrats ended a periodic boycott which had stalled the measure for weeks. The measure is expected to face little opposition in Indiana's Republican-controlled Senate and could reach Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels' desk shortly before the Feb. 5 Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
"This announces especially in the Rust Belt, that we are open for business here," Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said of the right-to-work proposal that would ban unions from collecting mandatory representation fees from workers.
But Republicans have struggled with similar anti-union measures in other Rust-Belt states like Wisconsin and Ohio where they have faced a massive backlash. Ohio voters overturned Gov. John Kasich's labor measures last November and union activists delivered roughly 1 million petitions last week in an effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Indiana would mark the first win in 10 years for national right-to-work advocates who have pushed unsuccessfully for the measure in other states following a Republican sweep of statehouses in 2010.
Hundreds of union protesters packed the halls of the Statehouse again Wednesday, chanting "Kill the Bill!" and cheering Democrats who had stalled the measure since the start of the year.
"We did better than anybody ever expected," House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer told The Associated Press before debate began on the issue, adding that outnumbered Democrats fought the best they could in the divisive labor battle.
Republicans foreshadowed their strong showing Monday when they shot down a series of Democratic amendments to the measure in strict party-line votes. Democrats boycotted again for an eighth day
Republicans handily outnumber Democrats in the House 60-40, but Democrats have just enough members to deny the Republicans the 67 votes needed to achieve a quorum and conduct any business. Bosma began fining boycotting Democrats $1,000 a day last week, but a Marion County judge has blocked the collection of those fines.
The measure now moves to the Indiana Senate which approved its own right-to-work measure earlier in the week. Gov. Mitch Daniels has campaign extensively for the bill and said he would sign it into law.
Eugenie Scott has struggled to keep creationism out of the classroom ? now her organisation is taking on climate change deniers too
You have battled for decades against the teaching of creationism in science lessons in the US. Why are you now also tackling climate change denial? We have been receiving more and more reports of teachers being pressured against teaching climate change, much as they are pressured against teaching evolution. Right now the evidence is anecdotal but we have heard enough to suggest that it is a problem.
What form does this pressure against teaching climate change take? We have heard that students will get up and walk out of the class when teachers start talking about climate change, or that parents will complain. Teachers don't want to fight with parents, and it is easy for them to think that it's just too much trouble to teach about climate change. That short-changes the education of the kids.
Have there been legislative attempts to influence teaching about climate change? We have seen attempts to pass legislation directing teachers to teach both sides of the issue as if the science were in question. Five or six years ago we began to notice that evolution and the origin of life, global warming, and stem cells and human cloning were being bundled together in proposed state legislation calling for teachers to teach all sides of the controversy. The good news is that people in these states have managed to get these bills bottled up and not passed, except for one state: Louisiana.
How will you help teachers combat pressure over the teaching of climate science? Often teachers and administrators don't appreciate the very strong scientific consensus that exists. We will give teachers ammunition to help make the case to administrators that this is sound science that should not be compromised. We can provide teachers with support from local scientists who can back them up. Good science education does not call for the teaching of denialist arguments.
You already do this for the teaching of evolution. Does climate science pose any new challenges? In the US we have constitutional provisions requiring you not to advocate religion in public schools. So if people try to "balance" the teaching of evolution with creationism we can say: "If you do bring that in, you will be sued and you will lose." We cannot make this argument with climate change; there is no constitutional protection against bad science. It's going to be tougher.
Are there any links between creationists and climate change deniers? The tactics are very similar but the personnel, by and large, are different. There are many more organisations opposing climate science, it's much better funded and has better access to the popular media. The motivation against evolution is religious. The motivation against climate change is economic and political.
Profile
Eugenie Scott is executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) based in Oakland, California, which defends the teaching of evolution in schools. This week the NCSE launched an initiative to defend climate change education
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LONDON (AP) ? The Northern Lights have lit up the skies above Scotland, northern England and northern parts of Ireland after the biggest solar storm in more than six years bombarded Earth with radiation.
The Canadian Space Agency posted a geomagnetic storm warning on Tuesday after residents were also treated to a spectacular show in the night sky.
Ken Kennedy, director of the Aurora section of the British Astronomical Association, said that the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible for a few more days.
The Northern Lights are sometimes seen from northern parts of Scotland but the unusual solar activity this week means the lights have also been visible from northeast England and Ireland, a rarity.
Geomagnetic storms cause awesome sights, but they can also bring trouble.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, problems can include current surges in power lines, and interference in the broadcast of radio, TV and telephone signals.
TOKYO (Reuters) ? Japan probably produced its first trade deficit last year in more than three decades as energy imports surged to cover for the loss of nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster, a major blow to an economy built on its exports prowess.
For decades Japan used an exports-orientated economic policy to build up global brand names such as Toyota, Sony and Canon and a manufacturing might that was the envy of the world.
Official trade figures due for release on Wednesday are expected to show that Japan swung to a deficit for the first time since 1980, as utilities purchased fossil fuels for power stations to make up for the loss of nuclear power.
Economists say Japan's trade will be in deficit for the next few years as it copes with the Fukushima catastrophe that released radiation into the atmosphere and forced most nuclear power stations to shut in the face of a public outcry over safety.
Trade will then return to a surplus, but long-term trends suggest the surplus will weaken anyhow. A rise in the yen to a record last year of fewer than 77 per dollar from more than 250 in 1980 is making Japanese exports increasingly uncompetitive and so encouraging manufacturers to move overseas.
"Japan can continue to export goods, but if you focus exclusively on the trade balance, then the days as an exporter are ending," said Seiji Adachi, senior economist at Deutsche Securities.
The argument that Japan can rely on surpluses from its international trade to offset a large public debt could also look less convincing and lead some investors to bet that a funding crisis will come sooner than originally expected.
"Last year I thought we could continue to finance our debt for 10 years. Now I think it's seven years," Adachi said.
Trade data for December and 2001 as a whole is due on Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. Adachi forecasts a 2001 deficit of 2.4 trillion yen ($31.2 billion).
That would be the first shortfall since a 2.6 trillion yen deficit in 1980, one ironically also caused by a jump in oil import costs when world prices rose.
Since then Japan has been able to rely on exports of goods, including its iconic autos, MP3 players, computer chips and in recent years games consoles, to produce one trade surplus after another.
ENERGY NEEDS
Liquefied natural gas imports jumped to a record last year as utilities turned to gas-fired power generation to plug the gap left by the shutdown of most nuclear reactors after the March 11 earthquake caused the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.
Japan, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, has also seen import values rise due to high crude prices. Assuming that oil prices remain high, this could also keep Japan in a trade deficit for the next few years, economists say.
The trade deficit could narrow to 1.9 trillion yen in 2012 and then widen to 2.2 trillion yen in 2013, Adachi said.
In addition to energy imports, a surge in outward-bound mergers and acquisitions by Japanese firms will also lower export volumes as manufacturers go abroad, Adachi said. They are also expanding production to overseas locations rather than in Japan.
Years of trade surpluses and a high savings rate among Japanese fuelled confidence that the country could comfortably service its mounting debt, which has reached twice the size of its $5 trillion economy, the biggest burden among industrialized nations.
Japan has avoided the sell-off in its sovereign debt that has become common in debt-stricken Europe.
One reason, analysts have often cited, is that running a trade surplus makes Japan a creditor to other nations. Hefty holding of overseas assets by Japanese investors also helped give Japan a high credit status.
Economists have predicted that as the Japanese population ages and the savings rate falls that these surpluses could swing to deficits.
A shift from nuclear power generation could prove expensive enough to hasten the oncoming of Japan as a deficit nation and increase the need for tax hikes and spending cuts to lower outstanding debt.
The change in Japan's energy balance is also proving painful for Japanese companies as it is happening largely without a well-defined energy policy from the government to assure firms that energy supplies and costs will remain stable in the future.
Nippon Keidanren, the country's largest business lobby, cited uncertainty about energy, a strong yen and the manufacturing shift overseas on Tuesday as reasons why pay raises are out of the question for annual labor union negotiations in the spring.
"The wild card is energy costs," said Hiroaki Muto, senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co.
"What we really need is some type of revolution to make ourselves more energy efficient. In that sense, you could say the government's energy policy is contributing to all of this."
The trade deficit could peak out at 5 trillion yen in 2015 due to expensive energy imports, Muto predicted
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? Ron Paul says he has no intention of running for president as a third-party candidate, though he's continuing to keep the door open a crack.
The Texas congressman is stopping short of saying no -- because he says he's not an absolutist. Paul notes that he once left Congress vowing not to return, only to run again.
But Paul says he doesn't have any plans to run outside the GOP and that he might even be able to endorse rival Newt Gingrich if he's the nominee. Paul says he is happy that Gingrich keeps hinting at attacking the Federal Reserve and jokes that if he could get Gingrich to listen to him on foreign policy, as Paul puts it, "we might just be able to talk business."
Images of weapons technology from a century ago, two years before World War I broke out in Europe.
By Daniel C. Schlenoff
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January 21, 2012
Image: Scientific American
These implements of warfare were developed to fill a perceived need or follow a specific doctrine. Some, such as the development of artillery, became a central facet during the Great War, the first ?total war? that involved all of its citizens, industries and scientific ingenuity.
Newt Gingrich has suggested a flat tax rate of 15 percent, which he now proposes to call the ?Romney Tax.? But Newt Gingrich's proposal won't happen because a complex tax code provides cover in which to hide special favors and privileges for the rich.
Dow up 96 yesterday. Gold up $4. Oil above $100. Nothing special to report, in other words.
Skip to next paragraph Bill Bonner
Bill has written two New York Times best-selling books, Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt. With political journalist Lila Rajiva, he wrote his third New York Times best-selling book, Mobs, Messiahs and Markets, which offers concrete advice on how to avoid the public spectacle of modern finance. Since 1999, Bill has been a daily contributor and the driving force behind The Daily Reckoning (dailyreckoning.com).
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Mitt Romney has revealed his effective tax rate. ?About 15%,? he says.
That seems like more than enough to us. But it?s not enough to satisfy the zombies. Romney has made a lot of money. They want more of it.
It turns out that 15% is lower than average. The AP reports:
At 15 percent, Romney?s federal income tax rate would still be higher than the rate paid by many Americans.
On average, households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay a federal income tax rate of 5.7 percent this year, according to projections by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.
However, when Social Security and other taxes are included, that same household would pay an average federal tax rate of 16.6 percent.
Overall, the average American household will pay 9.3 percent in federal income taxes ? and 19.7 percent in all federal taxes.
Romney?s wealth ? he is worth between $190 million and $250 million ? puts him among the richest Americans. But if most of his income is from investments, it could help him to significantly lower his federal tax bill compared to people who make money in other ways.
While the top federal tax rate for investment income ? qualified dividends and long-term capital gains ? is 15 percent, the top tax rate for wages is 35 percent on taxable income above $388,350. Wages are also subject to Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, while investment earnings are not.
Newt?Gingrich has suggested a flat tax rate of 15%, which he now proposes to call the ?Romney Tax.?
But the zombies not only want a higher rate (so they can squeeze the producers a bit harder) they also don?t want a flat tax. They prefer a confusing, complex, and ever-changing tax code, with 10,000 rules and 20,000 exceptions. Why? Three reasons:
First, complexity provides rich cover in which to hide special favors and privileges.
Second, the more special favors available, the more campaign contributions, donations, job offers and speaking fees Congress can count on.
Third, and don?t forget the lawyers and accountants ? the corrupt insiders ? who make money by helping lay the mines?and then helping taxpayers get through the minefields without blowing up. Sure, you could replace the government?s revenue with a much simpler tax system?but you?d inconvenience the zombies.
In short, the tax system is completely corrupt. It is a drag on the whole economy?but it serves the zombies well.
Regards,
Bill Bonner, ?for The Daily Reckoning
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on dailyreckoning.com.
Serena Williams of the United States, left, shakes hands with Hungary's Greta Arn after winning their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)
Serena Williams of the United States, left, shakes hands with Hungary's Greta Arn after winning their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)
Serena Williams of the United States celebrates after winning over Hungary's Greta Arn during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates following his win over France's Nicholas Mahut in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic waves to the crowd following his win over France's Nicholas Mahut in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic serves to France's Nicholas Mahut during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Just before she walked on court, Greta Arn said she was looking forward to the "privilege" of playing her first match against Serena Williams. Some privilege.
The 13-time Grand Slam champion overpowered Arn 6-1, 6-1 in 59 minutes on Saturday for her 17th straight win at the Australian Open.
The mismatch was so great that the crowd was muted, rousing themselves only when Arn won her two games and when Williams completed her third-round victory.
Arn double-faulted twice to end the match. As the players shook hands at the net, Williams looked briefly taken aback and smiled.
"I told her it was an honor to play against you," the 32-year-old Arn said. "And she told me, 'Oh, you are so sweet.' I'm a big fan of hers. She's the real No. 1."
Williams, who racked up her 501st career match win, is hoping to become the second woman over age 30 to win the Australian title in the Open era.
"It makes me feel really good," she said of her Hungarian opponent's remarks. "I'm really proud of the work that I've been doing for so many years, all the hard work."
Vania King's loss to Ana Ivanovic left Williams as the only American player left in either singles draw. John Isner lost Friday, the last American man to exit.
Coming off an injury-ravaged 18 months, Williams is seeded 12th in Melbourne. She hasn't held the top ranking since 2010, the year she won the last of her Grand Slam titles.
On Saturday, she spoke expansively about her off-court activities: She's taking courses in kinesiology and management and preparing for an appearance in a "pretty big" TV show.
Arn says "everybody knows" if Williams hits top form she will win the Australian Open, where she hasn't lost since 2008. She won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010 and was unable to defend her title last year while she recovered from two foot surgeries.
Because of her ranking, Williams can't take the No. 1 spot with a win at Melbourne. However, No. 2 Petra Kvitova, No. 3 Victoria Azarenka and No. 4 Maria Sharapova could walk away with the top ranking if they win the tournament.
Next up for Williams is unseeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova. After that, things are likely to get a lot tougher. Sharapova is a potential quarterfinal opponent, and Wimbledon champion Kvitova may await in the semifinals.
"I'm nowhere near where I want to be," said Williams, who came into the tournament nursing a sprained left ankle. "I'm just trying to play through it. A little rusty, just trying to play through my rust."
Sharapova and Kvitova joined Williams in advancing to the fourth round on Saturday. Between the three of them, they lost six games.
Kvitova was leading 6-0, 1-0 when Russian opponent Maria Kirilenko retired. Sharapova, who won her first two matches 6-0, 6-1, was tested for the first time and still came out with a 6-1, 6-2 win over U.S. Open semifinalist Angelique Kerber.
Like Williams, Sharapova came into the tournament short of matches. The three-time Grand Slam champion hurt her left ankle late last season and didn't play a tuneup event before the Australian Open.
"Whether it's a Grand Slam or anywhere else in the world, if you're committed to playing that tournament you have to be ready from the first match," Sharapova said.
It was a day of lopsided scorelines on Rod Laver Arena.
No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic routed Nicolas Mahut 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour, 14 minutes to give the Frenchman a miserable 30th birthday present.
Mahut, who lost the longest Grand Slam match in history over 11 hours, 5 minutes at Wimbledon in 2010, was hampered by a left leg injury, but said he played because the previous matches on Rod Laver Arena were over so quickly.
"I wish him happy birthday and hopefully tonight he can enjoy it," Djokovic said.
The defending champion has won 24 straight sets at the Australian Open, and has lost 10 games in his first three matches this time.
"I always played well in Australia. This is the only Grand Slam I won twice," he said. "The conditions are great. They're very suitable to my style of the game, day and night. I'm really looking forward to next week."
Djokovic likely gets an evening slot for his fourth-round match against Lleyton Hewitt. The 30-year-old Australian downed promising Canadian Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in Saturday's final match of the day before a raucous home crowd.
Playing in his 16th straight Australian Open, Hewitt needed three match points in the final game to close out the win and become the first wild card entry to reach the fourth round in Melbourne since Mats Wilander in 1994.
"It's just a game," Hewitt said. "But it's a bloody big game."
No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Roger Federer are back on court in a Sunday schedule that features a repeat of the 2011 women's final between Kim Clijsters and Li Na. Federer is up against Australian teenager Bernard Tomic. Nadal faces fellow Spaniard Felicano Lopez.
No. 4-ranked Andy Murray, beaten in the last two Australian finals, brushed aside Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 Saturday to leave France with two players in the draw, having started the day with six.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the other Frenchman to advance, the 2008 finalist beating Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
He will play Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach the fourth round in Melbourne in the Open era. Mikhail Kukushkin, who beat an ailing Gael Monfils in five sets, will be the first man from Kazakhstan to play a Round of 16 match at a Grand Slam when he faces Murray.
Williams is frequently the only American left in a tournament, and it doesn't bother her.
"I really don't think when I go out there that I'm the last American," she said. "I just think I'm trying to come in here and win this match, play this girl. That's all I really think about."
NEW YORK ? ABC News plans to air an interview with the second wife of Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich on "Nightline" just two days before the GOP's South Carolina primary.
Excerpts from the interview with Marianne Gingrich will be released during the day Thursday, ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said, ahead of both a Republican candidate debate Thursday evening in Charleston, S.C., and ABC's late-night news program.
ABC News has not indicated what Marianne Gingrich said in the interview. Her ex-husband has said that they don't have a relationship.
The interview comes as Gingrich, the former House speaker, is trying to topple GOP front-runner Mitt Romney by casting himself as the more conservative option in the GOP presidential race. It would shine a spotlight on a part of Gingrich's past that could turn off Republican voters in a state filled with religious and cultural conservatives who may cringe at Gingrich's two divorces and acknowledged infidelities.
Marianne Gingrich has said Gingrich proposed to her before the divorce from his first wife was final in 1981; they were married six months later. Her marriage to Gingrich ended in divorce in 2000, and Gingrich has admitted he'd already taken up with Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide who would become his third wife. The speaker who pilloried President Bill Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky was himself having an affair at the time.
As plans to air the interview were disclosed, Gingrich's campaign released a statement from his two daughters from his first marriage ? Kathy Lubbers and Jackie Cushman ? suggesting that Marianne Gingrich's comments may be suspect given emotional toll divorce takes on everyone involved.
"Anyone who has had that experience understands it is a personal tragedy filled with regrets, and sometimes differing memories of events. We will not say anything negative about our father's ex-wife," they said. "He has said before, privately and publicly, that he regrets any pain he may have caused in the past to people he loves."
A message seeking comment from Marianne Gingrich was not immediately returned.
___
Associated Press writers Shannon McCaffrey in South Carolina and Ray Henry in Georgia contributed to this report.
DES MOINES, Iowa ? Two men who pleaded guilty to breaking into U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell's southern Iowa farmhouse armed with a BB gun last summer have been sentenced to prison.
The judge in Decatur County sentenced David Dewberry, of Fremont, Neb., to 25 years in prison for first-degree robbery. Cody Rollins, of Lamoni, was sentenced to 10 years for aiding and abetting an attempted burglary.
Dewberry entered Boswell's farmhouse near Leon July 19 armed with a BB gun. As the 78-year-old Boswell scuffled with him, his adult grandson pointed a shotgun at Dewberry, chasing him off. Prosecutors say Rollins helped plan the burglary and drove Dewberry to Boswell's house.
In a statement read in court, Boswell called the attack "sinister ... and ... appalling" and said Dewberry was lucky he wasn't killed.
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Public release date: 27-Jan-2012
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