frenchwomen octal: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

MIMR researchers find a protein link to STI susceptibility

Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
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Contact: Caroline Page
caroline.page@monash.edu
61-408-267-346
Monash Institute of Medical Research

Melbourne, AUSTRALIA - Monash Institute of Medical Research scientists have found a protein in the female reproductive tract that protects against sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) such as chlamydia and herpes simplex virus (HSV).
It is estimated that 450 million people worldwide are newly infected with STIs each year. Chlamydia has the highest infection rate of all the STIs reported in Australia.
The research, published today in the prestigious journal, Science, was led by Prof Paul Hertzog, Director of MIMR's Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, and his team including, Ka Yee Fung and Niamh Mangan.
The team discovered a protein, which they called Interferon epsilon (IFNe), and showed it plays an important role in protecting females against infections. It could have clinical potential to determine which women may be more or less susceptible to disease such as STIs or to boost protective immunity.
IFNe could also be used potentially to treat STIs or other inflammatory diseases.
"One way this protein is unusual is because of the way it's produced," Prof Hertzog said. "Most proteins protecting us against infection are produced only after we're exposed to a virus or bacteria.
"But this protein is produced normally and is instead regulated by hormones so its levels change during the oestrous cycle (an animal's menstrual cycle) and is switched off at implantation in pregnancy and at other times like menopause," Prof Hertzog said.
"Some of these times when normal IFNe is lowest, correlate with when women are most susceptible to STIs so this might be an important link to new therapeutic opportunities IFNe follows different rules to normal immuno-modulatory proteins, and therefore this might also be important to vaccines and the way they're formulated to boost our protective immunity.

"Since this protein boosts female reproductive tract immune responses, it's likely, although we haven't addressed it directly, that this finding will be important for other infectious diseases like HIV and HPV and other diseases."

Prof Hertzog said STIs are a critical global health and socioeconomic problem.

According to the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics, chlamydia has the highest infection rates of the notifiable STIs, and infection rates have more than tripled over the past decade. Men and women in the 15-19-year age group saw the largest increase in infection rates. According to these statistics, chlamydia affects more women than men, with 46,636 women aged over 15 diagnosed compared with 33,197 men aged 15 and over.

Prof Hertzog said the next step for this research would be to work towards clinical studies within the next five years. He is also keen to see whether this work can be applied across other diseases including cancer, female reproductive tract related disorders including endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease, as well as other non reproductive tract diseases.

###

This research was carried out in collaboration with partners at other departments of Monash University, the University of Newcastle, University of Adelaide, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Oklahoma.

For more information contact:
Caroline Page
MIMR Communications Manager
Mobile: +61 3 408 267 346
Email: caroline.page@monash.edu
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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.

MIMR researchers find a protein link to STI susceptibility Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Caroline Page
caroline.page@monash.edu
61-408-267-346
Monash Institute of Medical Research

Melbourne, AUSTRALIA - Monash Institute of Medical Research scientists have found a protein in the female reproductive tract that protects against sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) such as chlamydia and herpes simplex virus (HSV).
It is estimated that 450 million people worldwide are newly infected with STIs each year. Chlamydia has the highest infection rate of all the STIs reported in Australia.
The research, published today in the prestigious journal, Science, was led by Prof Paul Hertzog, Director of MIMR's Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, and his team including, Ka Yee Fung and Niamh Mangan.
The team discovered a protein, which they called Interferon epsilon (IFNe), and showed it plays an important role in protecting females against infections. It could have clinical potential to determine which women may be more or less susceptible to disease such as STIs or to boost protective immunity.
IFNe could also be used potentially to treat STIs or other inflammatory diseases.
"One way this protein is unusual is because of the way it's produced," Prof Hertzog said. "Most proteins protecting us against infection are produced only after we're exposed to a virus or bacteria.
"But this protein is produced normally and is instead regulated by hormones so its levels change during the oestrous cycle (an animal's menstrual cycle) and is switched off at implantation in pregnancy and at other times like menopause," Prof Hertzog said.
"Some of these times when normal IFNe is lowest, correlate with when women are most susceptible to STIs so this might be an important link to new therapeutic opportunities IFNe follows different rules to normal immuno-modulatory proteins, and therefore this might also be important to vaccines and the way they're formulated to boost our protective immunity.

"Since this protein boosts female reproductive tract immune responses, it's likely, although we haven't addressed it directly, that this finding will be important for other infectious diseases like HIV and HPV and other diseases."

Prof Hertzog said STIs are a critical global health and socioeconomic problem.

According to the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics, chlamydia has the highest infection rates of the notifiable STIs, and infection rates have more than tripled over the past decade. Men and women in the 15-19-year age group saw the largest increase in infection rates. According to these statistics, chlamydia affects more women than men, with 46,636 women aged over 15 diagnosed compared with 33,197 men aged 15 and over.

Prof Hertzog said the next step for this research would be to work towards clinical studies within the next five years. He is also keen to see whether this work can be applied across other diseases including cancer, female reproductive tract related disorders including endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease, as well as other non reproductive tract diseases.

###

This research was carried out in collaboration with partners at other departments of Monash University, the University of Newcastle, University of Adelaide, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Oklahoma.

For more information contact:
Caroline Page
MIMR Communications Manager
Mobile: +61 3 408 267 346
Email: caroline.page@monash.edu
[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/miom-mrf022213.php
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Real Racing 3 hits the Play Store with new freemium model

Real Racing 3

The much-awaited release of Real Racing 3 from EA has finally come, and it's sticking with the freemium model that has received much attention leading up to the release. The game certainly looks fantastic from a graphical standpoint, and the gameplay seems to be top notch like previous editions in the series as well. What's keeping people cautious is the new freemium model, which lets anyone play for free but will require in-app purchases to get in-game actions like car repairs finished faster. There's a store to buy in-game currency at different rates, or you can buy "Packs" at a discount that have different unlocks bundled together. It's certainly interesting, but probably won't appeal to those who would prefer to have a single purchase up-front to unlock everything.

The game is just a small download from the Play Store, but you should have some battery and a stable network connection available when you launch it to download all of the additional content. Even with no game saves, the entire package is weighing in at about 1.2GB.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/31c1yhB-Usw/story01.htm

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Bells, applause as Pope Benedict XVI flies out of Vatican

With "heart-felt thanks," Benedict XVI addresses the crowd outside Castel Gandolfo in his last speech as Pope, urging faithful to "keep going forward."

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

To a chorus of bells and a ripple of applause from his closest advisers, Pope Benedict XVI departed the Vatican for the last time as pontiff Thursday.

He emerged from the Apostolic Palace and was saluted by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, and other senior staff members in the St. Damaso Courtyard before being driven to his helicopter for the journey to his lavish temporary residence.

A crowd of well-wishers was waiting to greet him from the piazza when he arrived by helicopter at his temporary residence at Castel Gandolfo, which is about 20 miles south-east of Rome.

They chanted his name in Italian and cheered wildly as he appeared from the balcony of the building. Some were moved to tears.

"Thank you for your friendship," he said. "I am just a pilgrim."

To coincide with his 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m ET) departure, a final message was posted to the pontiff's official Twitter account.

"Thank you for your love and support," it said. "May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."

Although the pope has a helicopter pilot?s licence, the chopper was flown by an Italian air force pilot, as is customary.

Thousands of faithful pack the medieval square outside Castel Gandolfo in Lazio, Italy, to greet Pope Benedict XVI and thank him for his papacy as he settles into his new surroundings.

Due to join the pontiff on the 15-minute flight were his personal secretaries Archbishop Georg Ganswein and Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, along with Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the deputy prefect of the papal household, Professor Patrizio Polisca who is the pope's personal physician, and Sandro Mariotti, the pope's butler.

It was a quiet departure, characteristic of his shy demeanor, giving little hint of the historical significance of the event ? the first of its kind for almost six centuries.

Earlier, he said a muted goodbye to his cardinals and closest advisers.

"I will continue to be close to you," he told them in the Vatican's 16th century Sala Clementina, before exchanging individual, private greetings.

"The future pope is among you," the pontiff added, pledging his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his successor.

He also expressed a desire for the church to work like an orchestra where diverse elements came together in harmony ? yet another reference to his frustration over infighting at the top of the church.

As the final day of Pope Benedict XVI's papacy comes to a close, focus turns to the cardinals entrusted to elect the next leader of the church. NBC's Anne Thompson reports on the upcoming conclave and the centuries-old tradition of a secret vote.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was among 11 cardinals from the United States bidding him farewell on his final day as pontiff.

"It was kind of somber for me," Dolan told TODAY. "To see this gentle, learned, loving holy man, to see him very fragile, to see him having made what I consider to be a remarkably humble and courageous decision, it was very moving, it was a very tender moment."

"I was honored that he remembered my name ? it?s always good when the boss knows your name," he added.

When the doors of Castel Gandolfo closed shorlty after 8 p.m. local time Friday (2 p.m. ET)?it marked the end of his papacy ? a resignation instead of a death. The?distinctive Swiss Guards in attendance went off duty.

The pontiff, who will now be known as pope emeritus, will remain at the papal summer residence for two months until his permanent home in a monastery within the Vatican is refurbished.

'A caring pastor'
NBC News Vatican expert George Weigel said Benedict would be remembered as "the greatest papal preacher since Gregory the Great in the 6th century" and "a caring pastor."

Almost eight years after the death of John Paul II, it's clear Catholics still feel a special affection for the man often called "the people's pope," who was renowned for his compassion and support of human rights. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports.

Father John Bartunek, a priest and author who works in Rome, added: "One of the characteristics that has struck us is personal humility and sincerity. He has a certain sweetness and openness and he?s always present, always willing to listen and that will also be part of his legacy."

"A lot of the repercussions of his decisions won?t be seen right away," he said.

Thursday's goodbyes were in stark contrast to?Wednesday's public event, where a crowd of more than 100,000?cheered, applauded and waved banners of support as he delivered his final audience at a packed St. Peter's Square.

He assured pilgrims and well-wishers that he was not "coming down from the cross" despite renouncing his office, saying his decision was taken "in full awareness of its gravity and rarity but also with profound serenity of spirit."

An introverted theologian, Benedict is credited with pushing the "new evangelization" and repairing rifts with Jews, but faulted for not taking stronger action as a sex-abuse scandal tarnished the church's reputation and for letting the Vatican bureaucracy run amok.

Vatican watchers say there is no clear front-runner to replace him and Benedict's legacy will loom large as they look to the future.

A Vatican spokesman told the Catholic News Service that the college will probably not meet over the weekend but could gather the following Monday for informal talks to set a date for the conclave and begin talking about priorities for 266th pope.

Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

The pope delivers his final audience in St. Peter's Square as he prepares to stand down.

Under church law, the conclave couldn?t start until March 15, but an amendment this week will allow the cardinals to push up the date as along as all 115 electors are in place. There were supposed to be 117, but one is too sick to attend and another recused himself after being accused of inappropriate behavior with priests.

And the Vatican guesthouse, where the cardinals will stay during the conclave, must be swept for listening devices before they can move in.

The length of the conclave ? with its four secret ballots a day, cast in the Sistine Chapel ? is anyone's guess; it took two days to elect Benedict and three to choose his predecessor, John Paul II.

Dolan, who will be in the conclave, said: "There?s a mixed feeling. You hear cardinals say there is a sense of wanting a new pope as soon as possible, and for that to happen in the most prudent way you need some time for reflection and prayer to get to know each other. But the ?first item on the agenda at the general congregations next week will be 'When well we begin the conclave?'"

Meanwhile, the Vatican announced on Thursday that a 92-year-old French cardinal, Jean Honor?, died on Wednesday. Because of his age, he was not among the 117 cardinals eligible to take part in the conclave.

NBC News' Tracy Connor contributed to this report.

Related:

Inside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict's spectacular temporary retirement home

'Amateur hour': Vatican conclave drama is one for the history books, experts say

Inside the Vatican: The $8 billion global institution where nuns answer the phones

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:57 AM EST

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17129365-thank-you-for-your-friendship-pope-benedict-xvi-flies-from-vatican?lite

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The Four Kinds of McDonald's Chicken Nuggets

For all the crap that chicken nuggets get, they're the delicious golden stars of McDonald's. The chewy meat is a perfect conduit for sauce and the crunchy exterior will almost always make you smile. And though you probably know it already (or came up with your own personal theory), all of McDonald's chicken nuggets really do look the same. In fact, there are only four kinds of McDonald's Chicken Nuggets. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hdVYAdecHkY/the-four-kinds-of-mcdonalds-chicken-nuggets

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LG Cinema Beam short-throw laser projector and 100-inch screen released in Korea

One of LG's more surprising product introductions at CES 2013 was its "HECTO" laser projector, which -- when combined with its accompanying 100-inch screen -- is capable of tossing a 1080p image from just 22-inches away. While we'd heard it's coming to the US in March, the projector is out in Korea today branded Cinema Beam TV, available for those ready to drop 9 million won ($8,322) on the package. It has a claimed 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and can accept video via WiDi or Miracast for wireless streaming from a PC or mobile device, while LG also says its laser light source is eco-friendly thanks to a mercury free design and extra long lifetime. The price tag is said to be around $10K when it ships here, apparently the company feels its unique capabilities make it a perfect fit for commercial installations like sports bars, or just high-end home theater customers that value its small footprint.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, LG

Comments

Source: LG Korea

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NircP14JJB0/

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

US futures edge up; Bernanke back before Congress

In this Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, photo, Trader William Lawrence works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Futures are rising as Chairman Ben Bernanke heads to Capitol Hill to explain what the Federal Reserve will do to accelerate the economic recovery. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is seen on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The Federal Reserve's low interest-rate policies are giving key support to an economy still burdened by high unemployment, Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday. Bernanke signaled that the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing costs low will continue. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. futures rose Wednesday on reassurances from the U.S. central bank that the low-interest rate policies will continue.

There was also some positive data from the manufacturing sector.

Dow Jones industrial futures rose 17 points to 13,876. The broader S&P futures added 1.5 points to 1,493.90. Nasdaq futures gained 4.25 points to 2,712.

Markets were rattled one week ago when the minutes from the Federal Reserve policy meeting in January left the impression that some bank officials had grown leery of ongoing stimulus programs.

But in subsequent days, Fed officials appeared to walk back from the perception that the minutes had left. On Tuesday, Bernanke said that the bond-buying program that has pumped billions into the economy has been a success and gave no indication that the Fed would release those levers any time soon.

Bernanke is testifying Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee.

Also on Wednesday, a report from the Commerce Department revealed a spike in orders for factory goods in January, suggesting that businesses are growing increasingly optimistic.

Orders for so-called core capital goods, which include machinery, equipment and software, rose 6.3 percent in January from December, the largest increase in more than a year.

Target beat Wall Street profit expectations for the fourth quarter, but shares dipped before the opening bell because its gross margins ? the percent of each dollar of revenue that a company keeps ? are slipping.

Retailers are being watched closely to gauge how a hike in the U.S. payroll tax is affecting consumers.

Dollar Tree also beat expectations for the final quarter of the year and shares jumped 4 percent in premarket trading.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-27-Wall%20Street-Premarket/id-577262d30c6c453aa94abd8d176e1770

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A Detailed Look Inside TurboTax's Online Tax Preparation Platform ...

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the "About" or "First-Time Visitor" pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can?subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Tax season is in full flight here in the US. As I mentioned several days ago, if your taxes are very simple, please don't pay someone $60 to help you fill out a 1040EZ federal tax return - fill it out yourself.

In my mind, an even better option for individuals without a business (if you own your own business, I honestly believe that you should have the help of CPA to make sure you don't miss anything and to bounce ideas off of) over filling out the tax forms directly are to employ one of the many low-cost online tax preparation platforms available on the market. These platforms ask questions in normal language (read non-IRS talk), and then populate the numbers in to the tax forms for you. A pretty sweet deal in my book!

It's pretty amazing to see how the online tax preparation business has grown over the past few years. In searching around the Internet, I found around 12 legitimate options currently available. Some of the newer/lesser known options are listed below:

However, without a doubt, the most widely-used online tax prep platforms are TurboTax, H&R Block, and Tax Act.?

Because of the wide spread use of these three platforms, I think it's important for people to have a good working?knowledge?about what they offer. However, in my experience helping people with their taxes, the primary thing that my friends get confused about is what these programs offer for free, and what is it you have to pay for. More specifically, I find that they often end up paying for one of the service upgrades being offered, when in fact, their taxes were actually simple enough that they could have just used the free versions.

So, the purpose of this post series is to dissect each of these 3 most popular programs one-by-one to determine what they offer, what is free, and what you need to pay for. Let's get started, shall we?

TurboTax

TurboTax is perhaps the most well known, oldest, and most respected tax preparation software and online platform. In fact, I can remember walking in to office supply/computer stores when I was 8 years old and seeing TurboTax being sold in the CD-ROM version (maybe even floppy disk, too? haha). As such, it's the platform we will analyze first:

Shown below is the overall pricing for the various options on offer by TurboTax. In my opinion, this table is a nice overview of the options and is pretty self explanatory/clear for normal folks like us. There are four things that I want to make sure to point out though:

You don't actually pay for anything until you officially click "file taxes." This means you can go through the system and fill in your tax information without worrying about accidentally paying for anything until the very end of the process.?
The prices in red shown in the below screenshot are only the pricing for filing your federal tax return. What this means is that you will have to pay an extra fee on top of the ones shown in the chart below because you are required by law to file state taxes. Don't be surprised by this!

According to TurboTax's State Tax filing pricing, it costs $28-$37 (price depends on current promos going on) per state to file your state taxes.?
What this means is that the state tax filing is perhaps where TurboTax makes most of its money.....?

One of the nice little perks about the paid versions of TurboTax is that they will automatically save and import your previous year's tax information to the current year. They will also auto-populate your employer details based on solely their EIN. Nice things to have, but maybe not necessarily worth paying for if you are pressed for money..
Finally, it's a little confusing in reading the chart below, but if you have a self-employment business/income (including farm business) to report, the only option available through TurboTax is the Home & Business (please note, this is not necessarily the same thing as merely having a 1099-MISC from some random side income you did - more on this will be discussed below in the Income section).?

So, as I mentioned above, this chart is pretty straight-forward and easy to understand. However, the place where it gets confusing and people with simple taxes end up paying for un-needed service add-ons is DURING the process of filing out your tax information as you are going through the various steps in the system.?

Because of this, I feel we need to spend some time discussing places where potential mistakes could occur causing, someone that started their tax filing using the Free Edition (far left above) to end up unnecessarily using the Deluxe (middle, "most popular") version.?This happens quite often, in my opinion, because at almost every step of the way, the questions prompt you to upgrade to one of the paid options.

First, right off the bat, after you create a new TurboTax account, you are taken to this screen:

Now, I'm not sure what your reaction to this screen above is, but to my girlfriend (who I recently helped with her taxes, which are very simple by the way), she read this screen as meaning that if she doesn't use at least the basic version, she won't get ANY DEDUCTIONS ON HER TAXES. Because of this, she has been?unnecessarily?paying for the Basic or Deluxe versions of the program for the past 4 or more years. I can definitely understand where she is coming from on this, as to someone that doesn't spend a lot of time with critically evaluating personal finance programs, the Federal Free Edition seems like it offers nothing.

However, this simply is not the case. You can still get many deductions owed to you by using the free edition. So, my suggestion would be that people simply ignore this first table and click the continue button.

Five seconds later, after you enter your personal information (address, email, SSN, etc), you get hit with ANOTHER up sell screen, shown below. PLEASE, IGNORE THIS ONE AS WELL! ?The Federal Free Edition is still just fine!

OK, Whew! You made it past those first two wallet-zapping landmines.

What is Free and What Must You Pay for Regarding Income?

The next place that people with random side income (such as my girlfriend) can get caught up is when it comes time to enter the amounts of income received on Form 1099-MISC.?

When you go to enter the amount displayed on your 1099-MISC, you will see the following screen below. The goal of this screen is to determine if the income was random/side income or if it can be considered more of the result of steady self-employed business operations. If it is from self-employed business operations, you are required to pay/upgrade to the $75 Home and Business version of TurboTax to continue. There is now way around it.?

On the other hand, if it was not regular, recurring, and/or self-employed business income, merely having a random 1099-MISC does not disqualify you from being able to use the Federal Free Edition of TurboTax.

If you answer YES to any of the questions shown on the below screenshot, you will however, be required to upgrade to the paid Home and Business version because the income is considered self-employment income.

Regarding income from investments, such as stock/mutual fund sale proceeds, interest, rental property, and dividends, listed below is a summary of what you must pay for and what is included in the Federal Free Edition:

1099-INT and 1099-DIV are free/included in the Federal Free Edition.?
If you have a 1099-B (sale of taxable securities), it does actually require you to upgrade to the Premier version to continue with that section.
If you have a income from rental property, it does actually require you to upgrade to the Premier version to continue with that section.

What is Free and What Must You Pay for Regarding Deductions?

In the deductions section of TurboTax, they also make it fairly confusing to discern what is included in the Federal Free Edition and what you must pay for.

To even further complicate matters, you have to be able to determine when a screen like the one below pops up, whether or not the upgrade to a paid version is a "recommendation" or if the upgrade is absolutely required in order to proceed with that section.

Can you imagine how confusing this screen above would be to someone who is uncomfortable dealing with their finances/taxes and is already stressed out about the situation? Which box do you think they would click? That's right, UPGRADE CITY!?

However, I am here to tell you that for all of the deductions I inspected (shown on screenshots below), they are all actually included in the Federal Free Edition.?

Many of them, however, do have suggestion screens like the one above that pop up. But, all you have to do is click NO THANKS and then it will let you continue entering your deduction details. Kind of sneaky, eh? But, it is good business and unfortunately, just the way it is.

Just to drive this point home, all of the deductions listed below are in fact included in TurboTax's Federal Free edition, but just might have little decoy upgrade recommendation screens that you must click, "No Thanks," to.?

Home loan interest paid.?
Kids.
Car / property tax.
Student loan interest paid.
Medical/HSA contributions.
Estimates taxes paid (as long as they are not for self employment income).
Charity donations.?

Conclusions

In my opinion, TurboTax offers a super-reliable, very easy-to-use online tax preparation platform that is hard to go wrong with. Even if your tax situation dictates that you have to use one of their paid options, I would consider it money well spent, and likely, a significant tax savings over the use of live tax professional.

I sincerely hope this post helps you to understand not only a little more about what features TurboTax offers, but to also help you determine what level of services/pricing you actually need to use in their platform to accommodate your personal tax situation.

In Part 2 of this series, we'll take a look at H&R Block's online tax preparation platform - on the way soon!

How about you all? Have you ever used TurboTax to do your taxes? If so, did you ever find yourself paying for a upgrade to the online service when you really didn't need it?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

Source: http://www.mypersonalfinancejourney.com/2013/02/turbotax-online-tax-preparation.html

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Antioxidant improves donated liver survival rate to more than 90%

Feb. 25, 2013 ? Researchers from Italy have found that the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when injected prior to harvesting of the liver, significantly improves graft survival following transplantation. Results published in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), suggest that the NAC effect on early graft function and survival is higher when suboptimal organs are used.

A 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) report estimates that 22,000 liver transplants were performed worldwide, with nearly 18,500 from deceased donors. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) close to 16,000 U.S. patients are currently on the waiting list for a liver. Nearly 18,500 deceased donor transplants were performed between January and October 2012 in the U.S. OPTN reports that roughly 7,000 livers were recovered from deceased donors during the same time period.

"Liver transplantation is the standard treatment for end-stage liver disease," explains lead author Dr. Francesco D'Amico from Padova University in Italy. "Antioxidants such as NAC could potentially reduce damage to deceased donor livers, improving graft function." Studies have shown that ischemia-reperfusion injury (IFI)-damage to the liver tissue when blood supply returns to the liver after lack of oxygen (ischemia)-often occurs during storage and preservation of donated livers, and impacts early graft function post-transplantation.

For the present study researchers assigned 140 organs to adult candidates with liver disease undergoing their first transplant. An NAC infusion of 30 mg/kg was administered to one hour prior to liver procurement and another infusion of 300 mg (150mg/kg liver weight) through the portal vein before cross-clamping. There were 69 transplant candidates who received an NAC infused organ and 71 patients who had a standard transplant without NAC.

Results indicate that graft survival rates at 3 and 12 months were 93% and 90%, respectively, for patients receiving NAC infused livers; rates were 82% and 70% in the control group. Post-transplant complication rates were 23% for the NAC group and 51% in the control group. Analysis of the 61 patients receiving suboptimal livers the incidence of organ dysfunction was lower in the NAC group compared to controls at 15% and 32%, respectively.

Dr. D'Amico concludes, "Our study was the first randomized trial to investigate the use of NAC antioxidant infusion during the liver procurement procedure. We propose that NAC be used during organ harvesting to improve liver transplantation outcomes, particularly with the increased use of suboptimal organs. NAC has a good safety profile and the very low cost per patient, make this protocol highly cost-effective in consideration of grafts survival, length of hospital stays and post operative complications. Moreover we are performing further analyses to determine beneficial effects on the other organ procured with NAC protocol."

In a related editorial published this month in Liver Transplantation the authors from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and OneLegacy (Organ Procurement Organization, Los Angeles) highlight the importance and rarity of deceased organ donor research, such as the study by D'Amico et al., despite the fact that randomized clinical trials are essential to evidence-based medicine. Dr. Claus Niemann from the Department of Anesthesia and the Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation at UCSF said, "Well-controlled deceased donor research is crucial to uncovering superior clinical practices that improve organ utilization and transplant outcomes. However, researchers are currently operating in a regulatory and legal vacuum since no review and oversight policies are established."

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Journal References:

Francesco D'Amico, Alessandro Vitale, Donatella Piovan, Alessandra Bertacco, Rafael Ramirez Morales, Anna Chiara Frigo, Domenico Bassi, Pasquale Bonsignore, Enrico Gringeri, Michele Valmasoni, Greta Garbo, Enrico Lodo, Francesco Enrico D'Amico, Michele Scopelliti, Amedeo Carraro, Martina Gambato, Alberto Brolese, Giacomo Zanus, Daniele Neri, Umberto Cillo. Use ofN-acetylcysteine during liver procurement: A prospective randomized controlled study. Liver Transplantation, 2013; 19 (2): 135 DOI: 10.1002/lt.23527
Thomas Mone, John Heldens, Claus U. Niemann. Deceased Organ Donor Research: The Last Research Frontier? Liver Transplantation, 2013; 19 (2): 118 DOI: 10.1002/lt.23579

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/~3/cW3DDVvCvl8/130225102531.htm

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MacFarlane proves he's an Oscar guy in hosting gig

NEW YORK (AP) -- He ruffled feathers. He maybe even turned some viewers off.

But it's likely no one turned off Seth MacFarlane.

Best-known until recently as the bad-boy creator and character voice behind "Family Guy" and last summer's hit film "Ted," MacFarlane seized the camera Sunday as host of ABC's Oscarcast and proved to its vast audience that he's a ridiculously versatile entertainer, a guy who can be as charming as he is famously irreverent, even polarizing.

Here's a guy who could toss off a joke Bob Hope might have delivered decades ago ("It's Sunday. Everybody's dressed up. This is like church ? only with more people praying"), then carry off a deliberate groaner like his wisecrack that, while, an actor like Daniel Day-Lewis really captured Abraham Lincoln in his Oscar-winning performance, "I would argue that the actor who really got inside Abraham Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth."

Viewers could have gotten fair warning of what to expect from MacFarlane last fall when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" with skill.

But this Oscars hosting gig was the Main Event, and he earned a large measure of credit for keeping the show in satisfying equilibrium.

This was an elegant affair, including a surprise appearance by first lady Michelle Obama, live from the White House, who announced the best picture.

The lovely stage setting glowed and shimmered. And it was put to good use in a show-stopping production number saluting movie musicals including "Chicago," ''Dreamgirls" and "Les Miserables," performed by stars from those films.

On a program that honored the 50th anniversary of the James Bond films, Adele wailed the theme song from the newest, "Skyfall." Far juicier, Shirley Bassey belted out the theme from "Goldfinger" about as forcefully as she did in 1964.

And accompanying the In Memoriam tribute, in a year that saw the passing of composer-songwriter Marvin Hamlisch, Barbra Streisand made a rare television appearance to sing "The Way We Were" in his honor.

(If any of the studio-perfect performances raised suspicions of lip-syncing, the academy declared all the singing was done live.)

Speaking of music, the orchestra got surprisingly aggressive forcing off winners in mid-acceptance, often with the sinister theme from "Jaws," of all things.

But silver-tressed Claudio Miranda, accepting the best cinematography Oscar for "Life of Pi," didn't need the hook. Beginning with "Aw, gee, wow," he seemed to be channeling Diane Keaton in "Annie Hall" as he gratefully stumbled through his thank-yous with a series of gasps, sentence fragments, and finally his own self-imposed wrap-up, "Oh, my God, I can't even speak." In his brief appearance, he became the patron saint of any viewer who was ever forced to speak in public from the heart ? and crumbled.

Few presenters knocked it out of the park in their fleeting turns, but none had viewers' teeth grinding.

Perhaps inevitably, Mark Wahlberg was reunited with his "Ted" co-star, a digitally rendered Teddy bear voiced by MacFarlane. Ted, at his politically incorrect best, wondered aloud where the post-Oscars orgy would be ("Jack Nicholson's house," Wahlberg finally replied) and professed that he was Jewish to ensure he would "work in this town."

Yes, MacFarlane had his moments of dubious taste. What did anybody expect who'd ever spent a moment with "Family Guy"?

But did he really cross the line when he described "Django Unchained" as "the story of a man fighting to get back his woman who's been subjected to unthinkable violence ? or, as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie"?

Especially on a night where everyone else seemed to be on their best behavior, MacFarlane's strategic misbehavior furnished welcome relief.

In interviews beforehand, he had spoken of his hope to strike a balance between respect for Hollywood and some necessary sass. Mission accomplished.

Leading-man handsome with a gleaming smile, he began the broadcast without a net and looking totally relaxed: Alone on the stage, he delivered a series of one-liners, most of which scored. (The Oscarcast was being watched by "close to a billion people worldwide," he intoned, "which is why Jodie Foster will be up here in a bit to ask for her privacy.")

Then he opened the door to his reputation for raunch with the appearance on a video screen of William Shatner as "Star Trek's" Captain Kirk, who had arrived from the future to scold MacFarland in advance for the hosting performance he was just starting.

"The show's a disaster," declared Shatner.

As evidence, he pointed to an "incredibly offensive song that upsets a lot of actresses in the audience."

With that, a pre-taped production number featured MacFarlane singing "We Saw Your Boobs," saluting a roster of actresses who have bared themselves in their films.

But then, in an effort to atone, MacFarlane sang a classy rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight" accompanied by Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum in dance.

Not good enough, said Shatner, who then revealed a video clip where MacFarlane, costumed in a Flying Nun habit, hit on Oscar nominee Sally Field in the green room.

Back and forth went the routine: Bad Seth and Good Seth. Both were very funny, stewarding a broadcast that never went askew.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

___

Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore(at)ap.org and at http://www.twitter.com/tvfrazier

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/macfarlane-proves-hes-oscar-guy-133250677.html

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70,000 deaths later, Syria says it's ready to talk

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syria is ready for talks with its armed opponents, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday, in the clearest offer yet of negotiations with rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

But Moualem said at the same time Syria would pursue its fight "against terrorism", alluding to the conflict with rebels in which the United Nations says 70,000 people have been killed.

Assad and his foes are locked in a bloody stalemate after nearly two years of combat, destruction and civilian suffering.

"We are ready for dialogue with everyone who wants it...Even with those who have weapons in their hands. Because we believe that reforms will not come through bloodshed but only through dialogue," Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted Moualem as saying.

He was speaking in Moscow at a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia is a staunch ally of Assad.

Moaz Alkhatib, head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, said in Cairo he had not had held any contacts about talks with Damascus, but had postponed trips to Russia and the United States "until we see how things develop".

Syria's government and the political opposition have both suggested in recent weeks they are prepared for some contacts - softening their previous outright rejection of talks to resolve a conflict which has driven nearly a million Syrians out of the country and left millions more homeless and hungry.

But the opposition has said any political solution must be based on the removal of Assad, whose family has ruled Syria since 1970. Rebel fighters, who do not answer to Alkhatib, are even more insistent that Assad must go before any talks start.

Brigadier Selim Idris, head of a rebel military command, demanded a complete ceasefire, the president's departure and the trial of his security and military chiefs as preconditions for negotiations. "We will not go (into talks) unless these demands are realized," he told Al Arabiya Television.

Damascus has rejected any preconditions for talks aimed at ending the violence, which started as a peaceful pro-democracy uprising in March 2011 inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere.

"SYRIAN COLLAPSE"

The two sides also differ on the location for any talks, with the opposition saying they should be abroad or in rebel-held parts of Syria. Assad's government says any serious dialogue must be held on Syrian territory under its control.

Adding to the difficulty of any negotiated settlement is the lack of influence that Syria's political opposition - mostly operating outside the country - has over rebels inside.

"We are following the development of events ... with alarm," Lavrov said. "In our evaluation the situation is at a kind of crossroads. There are those who have set a course for further bloodshed and an escalation of conflict. This is fraught with the risk of the collapse of the Syrian state and society.

"But there are also reasonable forces that increasingly acutely understand the need for the swiftest possible start of talks ... In these conditions the need for the Syrian leadership to continue to consistently advocate the start of dialogue, and not allow provocations to prevail, is strongly increasing."

Lavrov's warning that the Syrian state could founder appeared aimed to show that Russia is pressing Assad's government to seek a negotiated solution while continuing to lay much of the blame for the persistent violence on his opponents.

Russia has distanced itself from Assad and has stepped up its calls for dialogue as his prospects of retaining power have decreased, but insists that his exit must not be a precondition.

Itar-Tass did not report any other comments by Syria's Moualem on the chances for talks or on any conditions attached.

"What's happening in Syria is a war against terrorism," the agency quoted him as saying. "We will strongly adhere to a peaceful course and continue to fight against terrorism."

The Syrian National Coalition said on Friday it was willing to negotiate a peace deal, but insisted Assad could not be party to it - a demand that the president looks sure to reject.

U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Assad had told him he intended to remain president until his term ends in 2014 and would then run for re-election.

The political chasm between the government and rebels and a lack of opposition influence over rebel fighters has allowed fighting to rage on for 23 months in Syria, while international diplomatic deadlock has prevented effective intervention.

Moualem's comments echoed remarks last week by Minister for National Reconciliation Ali Haidar, who said he was ready to meet the armed opposition. But Haidar drew a distinction between what said might be "preparatory talks" and formal negotiations.

Assad, announcing plans last month for a national dialogue to address the crisis, said that there would be no dialogue with people he called traitors or "puppets made by the West".

Moualem made his remarks a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began a nine-nation tour of European and Arab nations in which the Syria conflict will be a main focus.

Kerry plans to meet Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday and Syrian opposition leaders at a conference in Rome on Thursday, although it is unclear whether all will attend amid internal rows over the value of such international meetings while violence goes on.

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh in Cairo; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-government-says-ready-talk-armed-opposition-agency-091612112.html

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Monday, February 25, 2013

BBC says radio broadcasts being jammed in China

LONDON (Reuters) - Radio broadcasts in English from the BBC World Service are being jammed in China, the British broadcaster said on Monday, suggesting the Chinese authorities were behind the disruption.

"The BBC strongly condemns this action which is designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information," the BBC said in a statement.

China, which enforces strict restrictions on its domestic media, has been accused by several prominent foreign media of seeking to stop their news reports reaching Chinese audiences.

"The BBC has received reports that World Service English shortwave frequencies are being jammed in China," said the London-based public service broadcaster.

"Though it is not possible at this stage to attribute the source of the jamming definitively, the extensive and coordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China."

A duty officer at China's foreign ministry had no immediate comment.

It was not the first time the BBC had complained of disruption to its services in China, where its website has been consistently blocked.

Last year, it accused the Chinese authorities of jamming its BBC World News TV channel when it broadcast stories regarded as sensitive, such as reports on dissident Chen Guangcheng, who escaped from house arrest and sought refuge in the U.S. embassy.

Other foreign broadcasters including U.S. state-funded radio stations Voice of America and Radio Free Asia have also complained of Beijing blocking access to their programs.

The New York Times reported on January 30 that Chinese hackers had been attacking its computer systems while it was working on an investigative report in October last year on the fortune accumulated by relatives of outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao.

The BBC said in its statement on Monday that it had experienced jamming of satellite broadcasts over the past two years, and that while shortwave jamming was generally less frequent, it did also affect Persian-language transmissions in Iran.

"The jamming of shortwave transmissions is being timed to cause maximum disruption to BBC World Service English broadcasts in China," said Peter Horrocks, director of BBC Global News.

"The deliberate and coordinated efforts by authorities in countries such as China and Iran illustrate the significance and importance of the role the BBC undertakes to provide impartial and accurate information to audiences around the world."

China is listed at number 173 out of 179 countries on the World Press Freedom Index compiled by campaign group Reporters Without Borders.

(Reporting By Estelle Shirbon; Additional reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bbc-says-radio-broadcasts-being-jammed-china-150903596.html

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Mysterious Muscle Disorder Rooted in Brain, Study Reveals

A mysterious illness in which people experience painful muscle cramps or paralysis with no apparent physical explanation may be rooted in the brain. New research suggests the brains of such people do in fact function differently from normal brains.

Psychogenic diseases ? once referred to as "hysterical" illnesses ? have severe symptoms that strongly resemble nervous system illnesses caused by nerve or muscle damage or genetics, but show none of these characteristics. As a result, such diseases are very difficult to diagnose and treat. But sufferers of these diseases show unique patterns of brain activity, researchers report today (Feb. 25) in the journal Brain.

Many of the traditional brain-scanning tests show normal results in psychogenic diseases. "It has been extremely difficult to show these patients are abnormal," study author and neuroscientist James Rowe of the University of Cambridge told LiveScience. Understanding the brain mechanism behind these diseases will enable them to be diagnosed and treated sooner, Rowe said.

Rowe and his colleagues studied people with two different forms of dystonia, a movement disorder that causes muscles to contract painfully and involuntarily. One group had normal dystonia resulting from a gene mutation, whereas the other group had psychogenic dystonia with no obvious cause. [Top 10 Mysterious Diseases]

The two groups, plus a third healthy group, were given PET brain scans, which use a radioactive chemical to measure brain activity based on changes in blood flow. The participants underwent the scans with their feet in a resting position, moving or in a muscle contraction related to the dystonia (healthy participants just contracted their foot muscles voluntarily). The scientists also measured the electrical activity of the leg muscles so they could tell when each muscle was active.

The psychogenic group had markedly different brain activity compared with those with normal dystonia or no dystonia, the results showed. Patients with the psychogenic form of the illness showed activity in regions of the brain called the cerebellum and basal ganglia (areas important for movement control) and had decreased activity in the motor cortex (the region that generates muscle commands). Patients with the genetic form of the illness, by contrast, had an opposite pattern of brain activity in those areas. Both groups of dystonia patients had different brain activity from the normal group. Together, the findings help uncover the origins of psychogenic diseases in the brain.

Despite many differences, patients with the psychiatric and genetic forms of the disease had similar brain activity in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, a region responsible for paying attention to the body's movements. Some previous studies have suggested that abnormal function in this region was a marker of psychogenic disease, but the new findings show this pattern of activity is not a unique indicator.

Psychogenic diseases are common. About one in five patients that see a neurologist have them, Row said. Psychogenic dystonias are a good study model, because scientists can compare them with forms of the illness with a clear-cut genetic cause. Understanding how psychogenic dystonias differ could enable earlier diagnosis and treatment, Rowe said.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mysterious-muscle-disorder-rooted-brain-study-reveals-183516988.html

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Congo neighbors agree not to support armed groups

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) ? Eleven African countries signed a United Nations-drafted peace deal on Sunday to stabilize the troubled Central African country of Congo, where rebels allegedly backed by neighboring countries last year threatened to oust the government.

Opening the agreement-signing meeting at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said peace, security and cooperation framework for Congo would bring stability to the region.

"The signing ceremony is a significant even in itself. But it is only the beginning of a comprehensive approach that will require sustained engagement. The framework before you outlines commitments and oversight mechanisms which aim at addressing key national and regional issues," Ban said in his speech.

Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Angola, Uganda, South Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, and the Republic of Congo signed the accord.

Congo's neighbors collectively promised to not interfere in the internal affairs of the Congo. They also agreed to not tolerate or support armed groups. A U.N. report last year said that Rwanda and Uganda helped aid M23 rebels inside Congo. The two countries denied the allegations.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame was present at the signing and said the agreement is a new opportunity for Congo.

"The framework recognizes that a holistic approach that addresses the multifaceted root causes is the only way to end instability. Any meaningful contribution toward lasting peace in the DRC and the Great Lake's region has to abandon the self-defeating practice of selectivity in both memory and responsibility regarding the known, long standing causes of recurring conflict," said Kagame.

The U.N. says Congo suffers from persistent violence by both local and foreign armed groups that use rape as a weapon. The conflict has displaced nearly 2 million people. The U.N. said it will undertake a review of the its peacekeeping force in Congo, known as MONUSCO, to better help the country's government address security challenges. Ban said he would issue a special report on Congo and the Great Lakes region in coming days.

"It will outline my proposal for a new comprehensive approach to addressing the underlying causes of the conflict in the DRC and the region, which encompasses the various components of the framework but also a strengthened political and security role for MONUSCO, including the deployment of an intervention brigade with a peace enforcement mandate. Countries of the region have committed to putting in motion to this brigade," Ban said.

South African President Jacob Zuma welcomed the proposal to send more troops to Congo. But he said Congo's government needs to undertake "far-reaching reforms" for a lasting solution.

"A heavy burden of responsibility falls on the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbors. Theirs is the historic task of freeing the people of the DRC and the region from tortuous history of conflict and instability, and to introduce a new future offering democracy, peace, stability progress and prosperity," said Zuma.

Under the new agreement the Congolese government agreed to fast-track security sector reform, particularly within its army and police, and to consolidate state authority in eastern parts of the country. It pledged to prevent armed groups from destabilizing neighboring countries.

Congo President Joseph Kabila also vowed to advance decentralization and expand social services across the nation. The deal calls for Kabila to soon put in place a national oversight mechanism in order to oversee the implementations of the commitments. The U.N., AU, African Development Bank and other international groups have agreed to support the effort.

An agreement signing was cancelled last month at the margins of the African Union summit at the last minute, and Ban at the time blamed "procedural issues" for the delay. Ban on Sunday proposed that the leaders should meet twice a year, at the margins of the AU and U.N. summits, to review the deal's progress.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congo-neighbors-agree-not-support-armed-groups-132430233.html

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SKorea's new leader faces NKorea nuke crisis

FILE - In this Feb. 12 2013 file photo, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, right, talks with President-elect Park Geun-hye during their meeting about North Korea's nuclear test at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea. Even before she takes office Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, as South Korea's first female president, Park's campaign vow to soften Seoul's current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang's recent underground nuclear detonation. Pyongyang, Washington, Beijing and Tokyo are all watching to see if Park, the daughter of a staunchly anti-communist dictator, pursues an ambitious engagement policy meant to ease five years of animosity on the divided peninsula or if she sticks with the tough stance of her fellow conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Do Kwang-hwan) KOREA OUT

In this Feb. 22, 2013 photo, South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye, left, listens to Deputy commander, Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command Gen. Kwon Oh-sung during her visit at the Combined Forces Command in Seoul, South Korea. Even before she takes office Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, as South Korea's first female president, Park's campaign vow to soften Seoul's current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang's recent underground nuclear detonation. Pyongyang, Washington, Beijing and Tokyo are all watching to see if Park, the daughter of a staunchly anti-communist dictator, pursues an ambitious engagement policy meant to ease five years of animosity on the divided peninsula or if she sticks with the tough stance of her fellow conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. (AP Photo/Yonhap) KOREA OUT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Even before she takes office Monday as South Korea's first female president, Park Geun-hye's campaign vow to soften Seoul's current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang's recent underground nuclear detonation.

Pyongyang, Washington, Beijing and Tokyo are all watching to see if Park, the daughter of a staunchly anti-communist dictator, pursues an ambitious engagement policy meant to ease five years of animosity on the divided peninsula or if she sticks with the tough stance of her fellow conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.

Park's decision is important because it will likely set the tone of the larger diplomatic approach that Washington and others take in stalled efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions.

It will also be complicated by North Korea's warning of unspecified "second and third measures of greater intensity," a threat that comes as Washington and others push for tightened U.N. sanctions as punishment for the Feb. 12 atomic test, the North's third since 2006.

That test is seen as another step toward North Korea's goal of building a bomb small enough to be mounted on a missile that can hit the United States. The explosion, which Pyongyang called a response to U.S. hostility, triggered global outrage.

Park has said she won't yet change her policy, which was built with the high probability of provocations from Pyongyang in mind. But some aren't sure if engagement can work, given North Korea's choice of "bombs over electricity," as American scientist Siegfried Hecker puts it.

"Normalization of relations, a peace treaty, access to energy and economic opportunities ? those things that come from choosing electricity over bombs and have the potential of lifting the North Korean people out of poverty and hardship ? will be made much more difficult, if not impossible, for at least the next five years," Hecker, a regular visitor to North Korea, said in a posting on the website of Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.

As she takes office, however, Park will be mindful that many South Koreans are frustrated at the state of inter-Korean relations after the Lee government's five-year rule, which saw two nuclear tests, three long-range rocket launches and attacks blamed on North Korea that killed 50 South Koreans in 2010.

Park's policy calls for strong defense but also for efforts to build trust through aid shipments, reconciliation talks and the resumption of some large-scale economic initiatives as progress occurs on the nuclear issue. Park has also held out the possibility of a summit with new North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Much is riding on Park's conclusion.

"The overall policy direction on North Korea among the U.S., Japan and South Korea will be hers to decide," said Victor Cha, a former senior Asia adviser to President George W. Bush. "If Park Geun-hye wants to contain, the U.S. will support that. But if Park Geun-hye, months down the road, wants to engage, then the U.S. will go along with that too. "

Engagement by Park would provide a sharp contrast with the rule of her father, Park Chung-hee, whose antipathy toward Pyongyang during his 18-year rule in the 1960s and '70s prompted a failed attack on the Blue House by 31 North Korean commandos in 1968. In 1974, Park's wife was shot and killed by a Japan-born Korean claiming he was acting on assassination orders by North Korea founder and then leader Kim Il Sung.

Critics say Park Geun-hye's North Korea policy lacks specifics. They also question how far she can go given her conservative base's strong anti-Pyongyang sentiments.

But Park has previously confounded ideological expectations. She travelled to Pyongyang in 2002 and held private talks with the late Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un, and her gifts to Kim Jong Il are showcased in a museum of gifts to the North Korean leaders. During the often contentious presidential campaign, she responded to liberal criticism by reaching out to the families of victims of her father's dictatorship.

She said in her 2007 autobiography that she visited Pyongyang because she thought her painful experiences with the North made her "the one who could resolve South-North relations better than anyone else." She also wrote that Kim Jong Il apologized for the 1968 attack.

"I don't think this latest spike in the cycle of provocation and response undermines her whole platform of seeking to somehow re-engage the North," said John Delury, an analyst at Seoul's Yonsei University. North Korea wants a return of large-scale aid and investment from South Korea.

Before the election, Pyongyang's state media repeatedly questioned the sincerity of Park's engagement overture. Since the election, however, although regular criticism of Lee as "human scum" continues, the North's official Korean Central News Agency hasn't mentioned Park by name, though her political party is still condemned.

Pyongyang sees the nuclear crisis as a U.S.-North Korea issue, Delury said. "From a North Korean mindset, ramping up the tension and hostility with the U.S. does not equal jettisoning relations with the South."

Park may take a wait-and-see stance in coming months.

A possible positive turning point could come if North Korea resists tests or launches during April, when it celebrates two state anniversaries ? Kim Il Sung's birthday and the army's founding anniversary ? according to analyst Hong Hyun-ik at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. Pyongyang conducted a failed long-range rocket launch during last year's celebrations.

Hong predicts that the United States will seek nuclear talks with North Korea in a few months, something that could help Park's efforts to engage North Korea.

"The nuclear test sets back and complicates but does not necessarily doom her engagement efforts over the long term," said Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, a Hawaii-based think tank.

Park warned after the test that North Korea faces international isolation, economic difficulties and, eventually, a collapse if it continues to build its atomic program. She also pressed Pyongyang to respond to her overtures.

"We can't achieve trust with only one side's efforts. Isn't there a saying that 'We need both hands to make a clapping sound?'" she said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-24-SKorea-New%20President/id-bc500400bd0e49c389a9683cfb5c032c

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

New York Mayor Bloomberg finances anti-gun ads in Chicago race

WASHINGTON ? One of the key players in a special Democratic congressional primary Tuesday in Chicago comes from New York.

That city's mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, is using his vast wealth to challenge a candidate running on a gun rights platform in the first election since the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. ? a move that underscores his crusade to serve as a political counterweight to the National Rifle Assn.

The NRA has chosen not to counter Bloomberg's ads attacking its preferred candidate, former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, and liberal Chicago districts are an imperfect test case. But Bloomberg's lavish participation in the race may be enough to cause political ripples, as other lawmakers are put on notice that next time, the mayor's millions could be spent in their districts.

"Folks running for office are going to have to stand behind their record," said Stefan Friedman, spokesman for Bloomberg's "super PAC," Independence USA.

Gun rights supporters have clearly gotten the message. Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Assn., said his group was caught off-guard by the mayor's surprise attack, and he warned sympathizers in other states: "Bloomberg is coming to your state. Be ready."

The race is for the seat that was held by Jesse Jackson Jr. until his resignation last fall. His congressional tenure was cut short by mental health troubles and allegations of ethical lapses. More than a dozen Democrats have launched bids to replace him; in the solidly liberal district, the primary winner is almost certain to win in April's general election.

Halvorson has tried to distinguish herself from the large Democratic field, and to appeal to voters in a rural portion of the district, by supporting the right to carry concealed weapons and opposing an assault weapons ban. Bloomberg's advertising barrage has relentlessly attacked Halvorson, who has an "A" rating from the NRA, and has championed Cook County administrator Robin Kelly, who has made support for new gun laws a centerpiece of her campaign.

The district includes predominantly African American communities in urban southern Chicago and its nearby suburbs, and neighboring rural areas that are largely white.

Even before December's shooting in Newtown, gun violence was destined to be a central election issue. Chicago recorded more than 500 homicides in 2012, and the vast majority of those deaths were linked to firearms.

By spending $2.2 million on anti-gun ads, Bloomberg has propelled the race into the national spotlight, prompting other advocacy groups to jump into the fray.

"This is our first chance to beat the NRA this year," exhorted Democracy for America, a Vermont-based organization that is an offshoot of former Gov. Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, in an email to supporters.

"We absolutely should see this as a bellwether," said Arshad Hasan, the group's executive director. "It is a referendum on the power that the NRA has."

Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg cautioned against viewing this special election as an indicator of larger trends.

"This is not a district somehow reflective of the nation as a whole," Rothenberg said. "The gun issue is going to play differently there than it will in rural Ohio or the South or a number of places."

The Halvorson campaign says the economy, not guns, is the top concern of voters in the district.

"We're just not going to let a guy from N.Y. dictate what's going to happen in this election," said Sean Howard, spokesman for the Halvorson campaign.

The NRA has kept a low profile in this race, opting not to weigh in with its own television ads or direct mail. The only advocacy for gun rights has come from the Illinois State Rifle Assn., which sent mailers on Halvorson's behalf to its several thousand members in the district.

This is not Bloomberg's first foray outside of his home state.

In 2012, Bloomberg spent $8.2 million on five House races, targeting candidates with top marks from the NRA. Three of his preferred candidates won; in one notable coup, his super PAC helped defeat Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) by spending more than Baca and his opponent combined. The television ads in that race did not focus on guns, as the Illinois ones have.

Democratic strategist Bill Carrick said Bloomberg's spending in Chicago demonstrates that his political activism will be sustained.

"I don't think he's going away," Carrick said. "I don't think, win or lose, they'll overreact to results of one election. They're just going to keep on coming."

melanie.mason@latimes.com

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bloomberg-chicago-20130224,0,2511089.story?track=rss

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