Snow's melting: Time to find budget hiking boots

By Kara Reinhardt, Cheapism.com

The Merrell Moab Ventilator is a low-cut hiking shoe, an increasingly popular and affordable alternative to higher-cut boots.

April showers and spring snowmelt signal that it?s time to trade in ski boots and snowshoes for hiking boots. Of course, those harbingers of warm weather also turn hiking trails to muck. Opt for a cut-rate pair of boots, and you could easily wind up with wet, blistered feet and a muddy rump. You could also wind up with a high-quality hiking shoe or even a reliable mid-cut boot for under $100.

Cheapism.com has highlighted four top picks, all of which come in men?s and women?s versions.

• The Merrell Moab Ventilator (starting at $72) has been labeled an excellent value in side-by-side comparisons by outdoor gear experts. This is a supportive hiking shoe that grips the trail with deep 5-millimeter lugs, or treads, yet it?s lightweight and very comfortable, according to online reviews. While the Ventilator is not waterproof (pricier Moab models are), it has a highly breathable mesh upper that allows it to dry out quickly in warm weather. The namesake ventilation further helps prevent blisters by airing out hot, sweaty feet. (Where to buy)
• The Keen Alamosa WP (starting at $72) caters to hikers who prefer a waterproof shoe. In this price range the term is often used loosely, but reviewers verify that the waterproof membrane that lines this shoe prevents water from leaking through. They also note the sturdy yet extremely lightweight construction, including durable, suede-like nubuck leather and a rubber bumper on the toe. (Where to buy)
• The mid-cut L.L. Bean Waterproof Trail Model Hikers (starting at $90) are classic hiking boots that come up higher on the ankle to provide additional support and protection. The mid-cut design alone is often enough to price a shoe over $100 and this budget pair is waterproof to boot (no pun intended). Again, numerous reviewers vouch for the effectiveness of the waterproof lining. (Where to buy)
• The Salomon Synapse (starting at $60) is uniquely designed for trail running, or for covering a lot of ground quickly. The midsole is tilted downward, toward the toe, to propel the wearer forward. A record holder who completed the fastest end-to-end hike of the Appalachian Trail wore these inexpensive shoes to accomplish her feat. Novices, too, have found them durable and supremely comfortable. (Where to buy)

Light hiking shoes dominate the low end of the market and have become a popular alternative to heavy-duty backpacking boots. A multi-day trip with a heavy pack over rough, uneven terrain calls for a burly boot with a higher price tag. But for day hikes that don?t venture off the trail, many hikers prefer nimbler footwear. While that often means a low-cut shoe, a few mid-cut boots, such as L.L. Bean?s Trail Model Hikers, offer similarly light weight and low cost.

Another hallmark of this type of shoe is a sole that?s supportive without being too stiff. All four pairs listed above manage to walk that line, reviewers say. They feature foot beds made from cushy EVA, or ethylene vinyl acetate. However, nothing will make a boot comfortable if it doesn?t fit correctly. Outside magazine explains exactly how to find the right one for you.

Related from Cheapism:
Cheap hiking boots buying guide
Cheap tent recommendations
The best cheap binoculars
Sleeping bag reviews and recommendations

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Your instant coffee may be about to go gourmet, for the same price

Marcy Nicholson , Reuters ? ? ? 6 hrs.

Instant coffee drinkers may soon be getting a more gourmet brew than they realize at no extra cost as roasters consider adding higher-quality arabica beans into their blends.

Soaring demand for instant coffee in emerging markets has caused demand growth for caffeine-rich robusta coffee, widely used in soluble coffee, to outpace that for arabica beans, which dominate the gourmet ground-coffee market. That has pushed the typically cheaper and lower-quality beans to almost par with some arabicas.

With the price of some arabicas near that of robusta, some instant coffee makers have already taken the rare step of adding the typically more expensive arabica to their highly secretive blends, coffee buyers said.

The move marks a possible a precursor that other coffee makers who currently use robusta in their blends may be reverting their blends to include more higher quality arabica beans, a change that could soften the current surge in robusta demand. This is coming less than two years after several shifted in the other direction.

"Since early this year, we are seeing roasters replacing robusta for low grade arabica in the lower quality soluble coffees," said Freddie Schol, trading manager for Nedcoffee in Amsterdam.

Soluble, or instant coffee, is usually made from robusta beans, known for acidic flavors and higher caffeine content.

The taste for instant coffee in Asia has surged, with consumers in China buying more than 40,000 metric tons (44,092 tons) of it in 2012, up 9 percent from 2011 and up 43 percent from 2008, Euromonitor International data showed.

That equates to roughly 59 million cups a day of instant brew, more than double the instant coffee purchases in the United States, where demand is relatively flat.

Robusta usage has also risen after the 2011 arabica rally forced many roasters to adjust or create new blends with higher robusta content.

Nedcoffee, a large coffee trading company headquartered in Amsterdam, buys 150,000 metric tons (2.5 million 60-kilogram bags) of coffee annually, with 99 percent of this being robusta, an amount that equates to roughly 10 percent of Vietnam's entire crop. It has procurement and processing plants in Ivory Coast, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Arabica gets cheaper
On the physical market, prices of some low grade arabica beans have fallen to below high-quality robusta, importers said.

Uganda drugar beans, an unwashed and low-quality arabica, stored in U.S. warehouses, recently fetched roughly $1.15 per lb while Uganda standard robusta was valued at about $1.18 per lb, U.S. importers said.

Instant coffee processors do not appear to be the only ones adding arabica beans their blends.

"(Roasters) are thinking about it now and some of them are already doing it, but it's going to be gradual," said Ernesto Alvarez, chief executive of COEX Coffee Group in Miami.

There is no data available to show this trend, but Alvarez said that he has already started selling some discounted mild arabica beans to a company that had previously increased its usage of robusta in its blends due to the rally in arabicas.

"As the arbitrage narrows, it makes natural sense that they would begin to shift at these levels back into arabica in the future," said one U.S. coffee buyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, referring to the difference in price between arabica and robusta beans.

Coffee has been volatile since arabica prices on ICE Futures U.S. more than doubled over 11 months to above $3 per lb in May 2011 as speculators piled into the market.

The rally pushed the arabica premium on the futures market over robusta to nearly $1.90 per lb in 2011, well above the premium that ranged between 35 and 85 cents in 2009 and 2010. In March it dropped to around 35 cents, the lowest level in four years, and a level many dealers consider historically normal.

While several coffee dealers expect the premium will drop further to 20 cents, others anticipate it will rise. On Tuesday, the premium sat around 45 cents.

So far the switch in beans is limited in scale. A blend change is easier for instant coffee makers or small roasters than the large roasters, several coffee buyers said.

Analysts said arabica's premium would need to be around 35 cents for months before larger roasters would adjust their blends, a process that involves extensive research to ensure the taste profile isn't significantly altered.

"I don't think we're at the point where we can definitely say there's massive shifting happening, but incrementally we have to believe that it's happening behind the scenes," the U.S. buyer said.

Americans drink more robusta
While U.S. instant coffee consumption has flatlined, Americans are drinking more brewed coffee made from robusta beans, adding to mounting pressure on global supplies.

Total consumption of robusta in brewed coffee climbed by 7 percent in the United States in 2012, up from 3.9 percent growth in 2011 and 3.6 percent in 2010, according to StudyLogic, a U.S. market research firm.

This compares with a small 1.9 percent climb in demand for brewed arabica in 2012, versus a year-over-year increase of 4.1 percent in 2011 and 5.4 percent rise in 2010.

Global robusta exports jumped a whopping 24 percent to 46.6 million 60-kilogram bags in the 2012 calendar year, versus 2011, while arabica exports dropped by 0.8 percent to 66.5 million bags, International Coffee Organization data showed.

Several U.S. importers have said they are concerned about securing robusta supplies later this year, with one wondering if he will have problems as early as August if demand continues to climb at its current pace.

"There's too much demand for coffee. At the rate we're going, I don't know how that's going to be met," said COEX's Alvarez.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

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Senate to cast first gun-control votes on Thursday (reuters)

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Family Tree Trailer: HBO is Forcing You to Buy HBO | Slog

HBO has been killing it lately?with of course Game of Thrones, Veep, the upcoming Liberace biopic [WATCH THAT TRAILER!!!] and now a new comedy series from Christopher Guest called Family Tree, starring Chris Dowd and every single person from every Christopher Guest movie ever. It debuts Sun May 12 at 10:30 pm and it looks very funny. WATCH THAT TRAILER!!!

Source: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/09/family-tree-trailer-hbo-is-forcing-you-to-buy-hbo

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Top admiral: US can intercept a North Korean missile

While testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Samuel Locklear, Commander of the US military's Pacific Command, says he's confident missile defenses are capable of intercepting a ballistic missile launched by North Korea towards the U.S. — or any of its allies.

By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, NBC News

If North Korea decides to launch a missile, the United States is ready to respond and is capable of intercepting it, a top U.S. military commander told Congress on Tuesday.

The Commander of U.S. Pacific Command also said that he cannot recollect a more tense time between the U.S., South Korea, and North Korea since the end of the Korean War.

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Responding to Sen. John McCain's statement that he doesn't know a time of greater tension in the decades since the war, Admiral Sam Locklear said that "I would agree that in my recollection I don't know a greater time."

Locklear told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. is ready to respond to a North Korean missile launch or other threat.

"I am satisfied that we are ready today, yes," Locklear said.

South Korean official have said since Sunday that a missile launch by the North could come as early as Wednesday but U.S. military and intelligence officials have seen no movement or preparations that would indicate that a launch of the Musudan missiles from the launch site on North Korea's east coast is imminent.

Locklear acknowledged that the U.S. believes North Korea has placed a Musadan missile on that coast, adding the missile has a range of roughly 1,800 to 2,100 miles, with a minimum range of about 400 miles.

He said it does not threaten the mainland United States or Hawaii, but it could put Guam at risk. He added that the U.S. has "capability in place" to protect Guam.

Asked specifically whether U.S. forces can intercept a missile from North Korea, Locklear said, "I believe we have a credible ability to defend the homeland, to defend Hawaii, defend Guam, to defend our forward-deployed forces and defend our allies."

He went on to say that the U.S. could intercept a missile even if it happens in the next several days.

Locklear said he would not recommend intercepting a missile, however, until the U.S. is certain what the target is.

"If the missile was in defense of the homeland, I would certainly recommend that action. And if it was defense of our allies, I would recommend that action," he said.

He added that they will know "pretty quickly" where the missile is going and "what we need to do about it."

Locklear also acknowledged that China, the North's only diplomatic and financial ally, could play a key role in stopping the rhetoric from North Korea.

Asked whether the Chinese government has done enough to restrain North Korea, Locklear said, "I think they could do more."

The admiral's comments come as world leaders have shown alarm at the prospects of a conflict involving a reclusive state that claims to be developing a nuclear weapon.

South Koreans expect Pyongyang to launch a medium-range missile near the border as North Korea warned foreigners in South Korea to be prepared to evacuate. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

Addressing North Korea's latest saber-rattling that warned foreigners to leave South Korea, the White House on Tuesday called the rhetoric "unhelpful" and "provocative."

President Barack Obama called North Korea's nuclear test in February "highly provocative." Russian President Vladimir Putin has said?hostilities?could create a cataclysm worse than the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.?

Yet in South Korea, where most of the harsh rhetoric is aimed, people?numbed by years of threats?are calmly going about their business. Restaurants and hotels are full in Seoul - a mere 30 miles from 700,000 North Korean soldiers -- and no emergency supplies such as gas mask or drugs are being distributed.

Admiral Locklear meanwhile referred to North Korean leader Kim Jung Un as the "impetuous young leader" who "continues to focus on provocation rather than on his own people.?

Locklear said that Kim Jung Un is more unpredictable that his father or grandfather who "always figured into their provocation cycle an off ramp of how to get out of it."

"It's not clear to me that he has thought through how to get out of it. And so, this is what makes this scenario, I think, particularly challenging," Locklear said.

As to any potential missile launch, U.S. officials say that they firmly believe that missiles would be aimed out to open sea, not at South Korea, Japan or Guam.

And despite the taunts from North Korea, which?include a call for foreigners to leave the South, the U.S. State Department hasn?t issued any new security warnings to Americans in South Korea or planning to travel there.

At the State dept. briefing today, Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell said that no new security warnings are being issued to Americans in South Korea or planning to travel to South Korea based on recent taunts from North Korea.

"There's no specific information to suggest imminent threat to U.S. citizens or facilities in the Republic of Korea,? State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said on Tuesday. ?So the U.S. embassy has not changed its security posture. We have not recommended that U.S. citizens who reside in or plan to visit the Republic of Korea take special security precautions at this time."

NBC News' Jim Maceda and Jeff Black contributed to this report.

Related:

Google+ Hangout: Richard Engel answers questions on North Korea

North Korea warns foreigners to leave South

Who is North Korea's secretive leader? Here is what we know

'Positive thinking' after years of threats keeps South Koreans going

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Beyonce and Jay-Z's trip to Cuba was sanctioned

By Anna Chan and Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBCNews.com

Ramon Espinosa / AP

Beyonce and Jay-Z spent their fifth anniversary in Cuba.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Thursday confirmed that Beyonce and Jay-Z's controversial trip to Cuba last week was indeed sanctioned.

"It is our understanding that the travelers in question traveled to Cuba pursuant to an educational exchange trip organized by a group authorized by (the Office of Foreign Assets Control) to sponsor and organize programs to promote people-to-people contact in Cuba," Alastair M. Fitzpayne, the Treasury's assistant secretary for legislative affairs, wrote in a letter to Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart.

The letter also notes that "OFAC's regulations and guidelines require that such trips involve a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities that result in meaningful interaction between the U.S. travelers and individuals of Cuba." Visitors are allowed to "engage in non-educational activities off-hours."

The Florida representatives had contacted the Treasury with concerns about the singers' trip, writing that the U.S. travel restrictions are in place to prevent American tourism dollars being spent to support a "murderous regime."

Americans can travel?to Cuba if they first obtain a license for an academic, religious, journalistic or cultural exchange trip, but may not travel there simply for tourism.

The celebrity couple was pictured visiting the island on their fifth wedding anniversary. They toured historic Old Havana and dined at an elegant Havana restaurant, and Jay-Z was photographed smoking one of Cuba's famed cigars. The stars' presence created such a stir that police were called in.

-- With additional reporting by Kelly O'Donnell

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Memories of My Grandmother's Cooking - Cuzco Eats

A Traditional Cuzco Grandmother

By Arnold Fernandez Coraza with the help of Walter Coraza Morveli (translated by David Knowlton)

From ancient times when the sun would come out and its rays shine on Cuzco, its light would show a beautiful scene of radiant trees and Andean fields all around the city. Back then agriculture and food was one of its privileges.

My grandparent?s land was huge. They would always plant and grow necessary foods such as potatoes, broad beans, and corn. These were basic and necessary for the daily, midday meal.

Potatoes Growing by a Home

Along with breakfast, lunch was the essential mean to stay active during the day, until the last rays of the sun around five pm. When the sun would set they knew they had a brief moment to go have a quick lonche (small evening meal of a hot drink and bread or reheated food, from the English ?lunch?). Before it was completely dark they would go into their rooms and rest. There were no distractions to keep them up because in those days there was no light. They relied on rustic, kerosene lamps (mecheros) to have a little light at night.

Their land was very fertile. That enabled their crops to produce well and read full maturity. They would get a good harvest.

My grandparents always had hominy (mote) and boiled potatoes ready and waiting on the table. These would be in large receptacles. My uncles would eat them as appetizers before their main course at lunch, or whenever they had the urge during the day. Sometimes they would eat them with some cheese.

Lunch was always served at twelve noon, on the dot, not one minute early or one minute late. Their typical lunches would include soups like almuerzo de chu?o, made from freeze-dried potatoes, chairo, lawa de maiz (corn chowder), or wheat soup. These were served in large bowls so that my aunts and uncles could fill themselves and be well nourished.

The main dishes were called uchus, the same word as used to describe hot peppers. There would often be an aj? de lisas (ollucos), a main dish of tarwi, quinoa, a kapchi de habas, or others made from Andean products. They did not eat either rice or pasta.

All of their meals were cooked on wood fired fogones (stoves) and, as a result, they obtained particular flavors that are traditional in Cuzco and not available on modern stoves.

Most importantly, my grandmother would make sure their was more than enough food for everyone. It was the custom to have seconds and even thirds. And, in the evening, people would eat the left-overs from lunch.

Chicha was their main drink. It was never missing from the table for them to drink after having consumed their meals.

Cutting a Slice of the Traditional Lech?n

My grandmother would also raise animals around the home, such as guinea pigs, chickens, pigs, and ducks. These animals were kept because of their important for special dates, birthdays, and family gatherings. Every Sunday, when all the family would sit together, she would make something special. She would sacrifice one of her animals, maybe a delicious chicken that was well fed because it was cared for by her at home, or maybe some guinea pigs with which she would make a delicious pipian of cuy. She could also use other animals and make other dishes, depending on the event and the number of people.

She would serve the food in plates that were larger than those we use today. For my grandmother the plates had to be the largest ones she could find. Sometimes they looked like a medium sized wash basin.

As my uncles and aunts say, the food today can not compare with that of my grandmother?s times. Our food was unique and for that reason we have long lives. We were strong and healthy. When she was old, my grandmother would say ?look at my teeth. They are the same today as they have always been. I do not have any cavities.?

The family tells of all these moments as if they were reliving them. They remember their happy moments and their family gatherings when everyone would be there to enjoy my grandmother?s traditional dishes that are typical of our beautiful city.

Source: http://www.cuzcoeats.com/2013/04/memories-of-my-grandmothers-cooking/

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Lockup recommended for man who sneaked into jails

NEW YORK (AP) ? A man who repeatedly used phony credentials to gain entry into New York City's jails may get his wish to do more time.

Prosecutors told a judge on Thursday that they want Matthew Matagrano to be locked up for 10 years. Matagrano, a former inmate, pleaded not guilty to felony burglary in Manhattan Supreme Court.

The judge doubled his bail to $100,000 and ordered him to get medical attention.

The New York Post (http://bit.ly/ZbNv0w ) reports that according to police statements released in court, Matagrano said he repeatedly sneaked into jails because the people inside were "nice" and made him "feel important."

Authorities say Matagrano tried to get inside multiple city lockups, including Rikers Island and the Manhattan Detention Center, where he mingled with inmates for hours.

___

Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com

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Global burden of dengue is triple current estimates

Monday, April 8, 2013

The global burden of dengue infection is more than triple current estimates from the World Health Organization, according to a multinational study published today in the journal 'Nature'.

The research has created the first detailed and up-to-date map of dengue distribution worldwide, enabling researchers to estimate the total numbers of people affected by the virus globally, regionally and nationally. The findings will help to guide efforts in vaccine, drug and vector control strategies.

The study was led by Professor Simon Hay, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, as part of the International Research Consortium on Dengue Risk Assessment, Management and Surveillance.

Dengue, also known as 'breakbone fever', is a viral infection that is transmitted between humans by mosquitoes. In some people, it causes life-threatening illness.

There are currently no licensed vaccines or specific treatments for dengue, and substantial efforts to control the mosquitoes that transmit the disease have not stopped its rapid emergence and global spread. Until now, little was known about the current distribution of the risk of dengue virus infection and its public health burden around the world.

Dr Samir Bhatt, who led the modelling for the study, says: "Our aim was to take all of the evidence that is currently available on the distribution of dengue worldwide and combine it with the latest in mapping and mathematical modelling to produce the most refined risk maps and burden estimates. We then hope to use this knowledge to help predict the future burden of the disease."

The findings reveal that dengue is ubiquitous throughout the tropics, with local spatial variations in risk influenced strongly by rainfall, temperature and urbanisation. The team estimate that there are 390 million dengue infections across the globe each year, of which 96 million reach any level of clinical or subclinical severity. This is more than triple the WHO's most recent estimates of 50-100 million infections per year.

Professor Simon Hay explains: "We found that climate and population spread were important factors for predicting the current risk of dengue around the world. With globalisation and the constant march of urbanisation, we anticipate that there could be dramatic shifts in the distribution of the disease in the future: the virus may be introduced to areas that previously were not at risk, and those that are currently affected may experience increases in the number of infections.

"We hope that the research will initiate a wider discussion about the significant global impact of this disease."

Of the 96 million apparent infections, Asia bore 70 per cent of the burden. India alone accounted for around one-third of all infections. The results indicate that with 16 million infections, Africa's burden is almost equivalent to that of the Americas and is significantly larger than previously appreciated. The authors suggest that the hidden African dengue burden could be a result of the disease being masked by symptomatically similar illnesses, under-reporting and highly variable treatment-seeking behaviour.

Professor Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust Vietnam Research Programme and Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Vietnam, explains that the map and estimates produced by Hay's group set the benchmark for the disease: "This is the first systematic robust estimate of the extent of dengue. The evidence that we've gathered here will help to maximise the value and cost-effectiveness of public health and clinical efforts, by indicating where limited resources can be targeted for maximum possible impact

With endemic transmission in Asia and the Americas, recent outbreaks in Portugal, the ever-increasing incidence in Africa, and the challenges of making an effective dengue vaccine or controlling the vector, Professor Farrar stresses: "This really does represent a crucial period in the global spread of dengue."

Jimmy Whitworth, Head of International Activities at the Wellcome Trust, said: "Over time, this comprehensive map of global disease burden will also help to demonstrate which control measures are making the biggest difference in reducing the number of people suffering from dengue infection. Without a vaccine or specific treatment options, it's crucial that we understand where best to direct the limited resources available for preventing this resurgent disease."

###

Wellcome Trust: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk

Thanks to Wellcome Trust for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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89% Beyond The Hills

All Critics (75) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (8)

The final shot, with windshield wipers struggling to clean away a torrent of muddy water, suggests that no human agency is great enough to handle this world's misery.

"Beyond the Hills" seethes with astonishment and rage at a broken society marooned between the 21st century and the 16th.

It is a haunting movie, dealing with superstitions, possession, even exorcism, one in which Mungiu poses no easy answers, because there are none to be found.

If you long for the bleak intelligence of an Ingmar Bergman film, where humankind is deeply flawed and God is indifferently silent and the landscape is cloaked in perpetual winter, then Beyond the Hills promises to be your cup of despair.

There are no easy villains or heroes in this sad and slow but forcefully told tale, which exhibits the same humanity Mungiu brought to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, his abortion drama that won the 2007 Palme d'Or.

A film that asks its viewer to consider the nature of good and evil, love and trust - and trust that turns into something like blind faith.

What makes this movie unique is that it holds literally everyone in the film accountable for the unfortunate goings on.

It's an exorcism movie for everyone who thought, after Mungiu's gruelling abortion buddy-movie 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, that this guy should do an exorcism movie

It's an enigmatic and austere film from a region where political, sexual and religious repression are as stifling as the sooty air.

Mungui's rigorous approach to filmmaking isn't a ton of fun to watch, but his ideas stick with you.

It delivers an emotional punch, in what its director has called a story about the sin of indifference.

Such is the rigorous and high-minded nature of Romanian cinema that even a real-life exorcism story can inspire something loftier than a horror movie.

Heartbreak at a Romanian convent

...Cristian Mungiu has taken a real life event...to consider deeply human philosophies such as freedom vs. discipline, love vs. security, the choices facing those without financial recourse and the hypocrisies of organized religions.

I found it riveting to watch and fascinating to think about afterwards.

An undeniably tough watch.

Stark, deadpan, and darkly dry.

With this viscerally involving drama, acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) tells another strikingly original story of women caught between old and new world beliefs.

Mungiu is not preaching - he is telling us what can happen when people are trapped within their own emotions and circumstances. Remarkable.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/beyond_the_hills_2012/

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Health and Fitness Talk ? Sickle Cell Disease

by Kimberly Allen, RN

Sickle cell disease (also called sickle cell anemia) is a blood disorder that is inherited.? It is a condition that affects mostly people of African descent, however, it also develops in other ethnic groups. ?There are over 70,000 Americans with sickle cell disease and approximately 2 million Americans that have the sickle cell trait.? Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive disorder which means it requires 2 abnormal genes, one from each parent.? Those that inherit 1 gene are carriers which is called having the sickle cell trait.
In sickle cell disease, there are not sufficient healthy red blood cells available to carry oxygen throughout the body.? Normal red blood cells are round and flexible allowing them to move easily through the blood vessels.? In a person that has sickle cell disease the red blood cells are sticky and rigid.? They are shaped like crescent moons or sickles thus the name sickle cell.? Because the red blood cells are sticky, rigid and irregularly shaped they tend to get stuck in the smaller blood vessels which slows and can even block the blood flow which in turn slows or blocks the oxygen from reaching parts of the body.? This can cause? significant pain as well as cause damage to muscles, organs and bones in your body.
Usually the symptoms of sickle cell disease manifest after an infant has reached 4 months of age.? The major symptom is anemia.? Normal red blood cells have a life span of 120 days, then they die? and are replaced by new red blood cells.? In a person with sickle cell disease, the red blood cells affected only have a life span of 10-20 days.? Because they die off so quickly there are not enough new red blood cells to replace them which leaves them with a chronic shortage of red blood cells to deliver oxygen throughout their body, which in turn leads to chronic fatigue as well as? other symptoms of anemia.? People with sickle cell disease also experience episodes of severe pain.? These are known as sickle cell crises and occur because the sickle cells have? gotten stuck and blocked the blood flow throughout the small blood vessels located throughout areas of the body including the chest and abdomen as well as the joints.? Some people even need to be hospitalized in order to manage the crisis.? One of the first symptoms a parent may notice in an infant is swollen hands and feet caused by the sickle cell red blood cells obstructing the blood flow in and out of their hands and feet.? People with sickle cell disease are also more prone to infection because the spleen which helps to fight infection tends to become damaged by the sickle cells.? Children with sickle cell also tend to experience slowed growth and delayed puberty in teenagers.? Another problem that some people with sickle cell disease have is with the tiny blood vessels in their eyes.? If those blood vessels become blocked by the sickle cells the retina can be damaged causing vision problems.
Currently the only potential cure for sickle cell disease is a bone marrow transplant.? However, this is a very serious procedure that carries serious risks including potential death.? Because of this treatment for sickle cell disease usually focuses on avoiding crises, relieving symptoms and preventing complications.? People with sickle cell disease need to see their doctor regularly to have their blood checked and their overall health monitored.? Some doctors will recommend that children with sickle cell disease start taking penicillin when they?re 2 months old until they are at least 5 years old to help prevent serious infections like pneumonia.? For adults with sickle cell disease the doctor may recommend a medication called hydroxyurea which can help decrease the need for blood transfusions and reduce the frequency of crises.? Because hydroxyurea increase your chances of developing an infection it is only recommended for adults.? There have also been some concerns raised that long-term use on this medication may cause leukemia or tumors in some people.? Your doctor will be able to help you decide if this medication will benefit you.

Kimberly Allen is a registered nurse with an AND in nursing. She has worked in ACF, LCF and psychiatric facilities, although she spent most of her career as a home health expert. She is now a regular contributor to HealthAndFitnessTalk.com, dispensing advice and knowledge about medical issues and questions. You can reach her with any comments or questions at? mussatti3@gmail.com.

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Source: http://www.healthandfitnesstalk.com/sickle-cell-disease/

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Researchers create next-generation Alzheimer's disease model

Apr. 9, 2013 ? A new genetically engineered lab rat that has the full array of brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease supports the idea that increases in a molecule called beta-amyloid in the brain causes the disease, according to a study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

"We believe the rats will be an excellent, stringent pre-clinical model for testing experimental Alzheimer's disease therapeutics," said Terrence Town, Ph.D., the study's senior author and a professor in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics in the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles.

Alzheimer's is an age-related brain disorder that gradually destroys a person's memory, thinking, and the ability to carry out even the simplest tasks. Affecting at least 5.1 million Americans, the disease is the most common form of dementia in the United States. Pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's brains include abnormal levels of beta-amyloid protein that form amyloid plaques; tau proteins that clump together inside neurons and form neurofibrillary tangles; and neuron loss. Additionally, glial cells -- which normally support, protect, or nourish nerve cells -- are overactivated in Alzheimer's.

Plaque-forming beta-amyloid molecules are derived from a larger protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP). One hypothesis states that increases in beta-amyloid initiate brain degeneration. Genetic studies on familial forms of Alzheimer's support the hypothesis by linking the disease to mutations in APP, and to presenilin 1, a protein thought to be involved in the production beta-amyloid.

Researchers often use rodents to study diseases. However, previous studies on transgenic mice and rats that have the APP and presenilin 1 mutations only partially reproduce the problems caused by Alzheimer's. The animals have memory problems and many plaques but none of the other hallmarks, especially neurofibrillary tangles and neuron loss.

To address this issue, Dr. Town and his colleagues decided to work with a certain strain of rats.

"We focused on Fischer 344 rats because their brains develop many of the age-related features seen in humans," said Dr. Town, who conducted the study while working as a professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The rats were engineered to have the mutant APP and presenilin 1 genes, which are known to play a role in the rare, early-onset form of Alzheimer's. Behavioral studies showed that the rats developed memory and learning problems with age. As predicted, the presence of beta-amyloid in the brains of the rats increased with age. However, unlike previous rodent studies, the rats also developed neurofibrillary tangles.

"This new rat model more closely represents the brain changes that take place in humans with Alzheimer's, including tau pathology and extensive neuronal cell death," said Roderick Corriveau, Ph.D., a program director at NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "The model will help advance our understanding of the various disease pathways involved in Alzheimer's onset and progression and assist us in testing promising interventions."

The researchers performed a variety of experiments confirming the presence of neurofibrillary tangles in brain regions most affected by Alzheimer's such as the hippocampus and the cingulate cortex, which are involved in learning and memory. Further experiments showed that about 30 percent of neurons in these regions died with age, the largest amount of cell death seen in an Alzheimer's rodent model, and that some glial cells acquired shapes reminiscent of the activated glia found in patients.

"Our results suggest that beta-amyloid can drive Alzheimer's in a clear and progressive way," said Dr. Town.

Activation of glia occurred earlier than amyloid plaque formation, which suggests Dr. Town and his colleagues identified an early degenerative event and new treatment target that scientists studying other rodent models may have missed.

The findings support a prime research objective identified during the May 2012, NIH-supported Alzheimer's Disease Research Summit 2012: Path to Treatment and Prevention, an international gathering of Alzheimer's researchers and advocates. Improved animal models were cited as key to advancing understanding of this complex disease.

"To fully benefit from this exciting new work, there is a critical need to share the animal model with researchers dedicated to finding ways to delay, prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease'' said Neil Buckholtz, Ph.D., of the National Institute on Aging, which leads the NIH effort in Alzheimer's research. "Accordingly, Dr. Town and his colleagues are working towards making their new rat model easily accessible to the research community."

In addition to grants from NINDS (NS076794), NIA (AG029726, AG033394) and the NIMH Intramural Research Program, this study was funded by the Alzheimer's Association (IIRG-05-14993, ZEN-10-174633) and the Ellison Foundation/American Federation for Aging Research (M11472).

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Cohen RM et al. A transgenic Alzheimer rat with plaques, tau pathology, behavioral impairment, oligomeric A? and frank neuronal loss. Journal of Neuroscience, April 10, 2013 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3672-12.2013

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/WI4UTPqjdDY/130409173455.htm

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Twitter gatecrashers destroy home: key lessons - AOL Money UK

Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

A family in Enderby, Leicestershire, is facing a bill of ?3,500 to repair damage to their home, after a party was advertised at the house on Twitter, and 100 gatecrashers showed up.

So what happened, and how can you protect your home?

Trashed

The worrying part of this story is that the party was not advertised by 16-year-old Brodie Norman, or any of her close friends. However, someone issued a general invitation to her property - giving the address - and inviting them for the evening of 31 March. According to This Is Leicestershire, between 80 and 100 people showed up.

Her parents, Kevin and Lesley Norman, were out at the time. They returned to find food smeared all over their home, wardrobes emptied and clothes thrown everywhere, an antique chair smashed, and ornaments broken.

Mr Norman told the Daily Telegraph: "The trouble was caused by people who just turned up because someone put it out on Twitter. It was mayhem but my daughter and her friends were too scared to do anything."

This is Leicestershire said the parents had contacted the parents of those they believe were involved.

Protect your home

This isn't the first party to have led to disaster after being advertised on social media. We reported at the end of last year about the lottery winner's daughter who mentioned a party on Facebook, and had 200 gatecrashers.

Perhaps the most famous example was in Haren in Holland last October, when 3,000 showed up to a party advertised on Facebook, and when police intervened it led to riots and looting.

If your party is advertised online, then your insurer may well argue that you were inviting strangers into your home - and they may refuse to pay out for the damage - so prevention is the only solution.

The answer is simply that parties cannot be advertised on any social media site. Even a private invitation to friends or a casual mention of a party you are planning are not a good idea unless you want gatecrashers - because invitations are just too easy to forward on to everyone else. If you know someone well enough to invite them to a party, then you'll know them well enough to do it in person or by phone.

If the message leaks out somehow online, then you don't have a choice - you need to cancel the party. If you cancel the event and inform police, they will be on stand-by to turn any gatecrashers away.

You may think this is something you only need to worry about with older kids - but 'Project X' parties - where gatecrashing and destruction are planned by strangers - can happen at any age. In December last year a 14-year-old in Essex organised a party on Facebook, which caused ?30,000 of damage to the family home.

Source: http://money.aol.co.uk/2013/04/08/twitter-gatecrashers-destroy-home-key-lessons/

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Yen's slide stalls, U.S. earnings lift stocks

By Richard Hubbard

LONDON (Reuters) - A selloff in the yen paused on Tuesday as it neared 100 to the dollar, while a firm start to the U.S. corporate earnings season and a fall in Chinese inflation helped shares and commodities.

The Japanese currency touched 99.67 to the dollar in Asian trade, the greenback's strongest level versus the yen since May 2009, before the selloff ran out of steam. The euro peaked at 129.94 yen, its highest level since January 2010.

Most market players expect the halt in selling to be temporary and believe it is only a matter of time before the dollar breaks the 100 yen mark.

"It's looks inevitable and I'd say (it will break 100) within the next month, if not sooner," said Alpesh Patel, a founding principal at asset manager Praefinium Partners.

In European trading the yen's recovery left the dollar down 0.3 percent at 99.05 yen, while the euro was off 0.15 percent on the day at 129.10 yen.

"Investors have been quick to use any setback to put on new short yen positions. Everything is pointing to a weaker yen and everyone is happy to go with the flow," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen.

The dollar has still gained around 7 percent against the yen since the Bank of Japan (BOJ) unveiled a massive stimulus program last Thursday involving large purchases of long term Japanese government bonds (JGBs).

The BOJ's bold measures have had a major impact on the world's main debt markets, sending Japanese government yields down sharply and spurring a search for higher-yielding assets, which has seen yields fall on U.S. and euro zone bonds as well.

"Markets are increasingly focused on the notion that larger JGB purchases, at longer maturities, by the BOJ could push Japanese domestic long-term investors elsewhere," said Vassili Serebriakov, strategist at BNP Paribas.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes stood at 1.75 percent, little changed from late U.S. trade on Monday, although not far from a four-month low of 1.68 percent when markets began to price in the effect of the BOJ's plans.

German 10-year bonds were also steady at 1.24 percent having hit 1.2 percent on Friday, their lowest level since mid-2012 before European Central Bank President Mario Draghi promised to do whatever it took to save the euro.

EARNINGS LIFT

Equity markets were being led higher by mining stocks as investors hoped for more accommodative monetary policy from China following benign inflation data, and after U.S. resources giant Alcoa posted solid earnings.

Alcoa Inc , the largest U.S. aluminum producer, kicked off U.S. earnings on Monday, reporting an increase in quarterly profit and easing concerns about corporate results in the first three months of 2013.

Europe's FTSE Eurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> was up 0.6 percent at 1,171.75 points in morning trade. London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> were between 0.7 and 0.9 percent higher.

Earlier, the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> rose 1 percent, led by Australian shares <.axjo> which gained 1.4 percent on rises in blue chip financials and miners. <.l><.eu/>

MSCI's world equity index <.miwd00000pus>, which tracks share prices in 45 countries, was up 0.3 percent with further gains likely as U.S. stock futures suggest Wall Street will open higher. <.n/>

CHINA STIMULUS

China's annual consumer inflation cooled in March as food prices eased from nine-month highs and producer price deflation deepened, data showed on Tuesday, leaving policymakers room to keep monetary conditions easy and nurture a nascent recovery.

The Chinese data underpinned demand for copper which climbed to $7,550 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange, its highest since March 28, before paring the gains to trade around $7,534 a tonne, up 1.01 percent.

LME copper prices are recovering from 8-month lows of $7,331.25 a tonne hit last week but are still down by more than 5 percent from a peak above $8,300 a tonne in early February as weak global demand leads to a surplus in supply.

Oil also gained on the Chinese data though a stalemate in talks between Iran and Western nations over its nuclear program and rising tension on the Korean peninsula added support to prices.

North Korea has nearly closed its last major project with its southern neighbor, raising speculation it may test a nuclear weapon or a missile, in a crisis that has become one of the most serious since the Korean War ended in 1953.

U.S. oil futures were up 0.2 percent to $93.58 a barrel and Brent rose 0.4 percent to $105.08.

(Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer. Editing by David Stamp.)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yen-still-focus-u-earnings-seen-aiding-asian-001647531--finance.html

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Sandy Hook families on Air Force One: why it matters

In an unusual move, 11 family members of Sandy Hook victims will fly with President Obama back to Washington on Air Force One so they can lobby Congress on gun control.

By Linda Feldmann,?Staff writer / April 8, 2013

President Obama (c.) arrives at Bradley Air National Guard Base in Hartford, Conn., Monday. Obama is in Connecticut to deliver remarks on measures to reduce gun violence, at the University of Hartford.

Jason Reed/Reuters

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President Obama is pulling out all the stops this week on gun legislation, amid news of a fresh effort at compromise to expand background checks for gun buyers.

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Mr. Obama delivers a speech late Monday afternoon on gun violence in Hartford, Conn., about an hour from the scene of last December?s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Vice President Joe Biden will hold a gun-related event at the White House on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, first lady Michelle Obama travels to Chicago for another gun event. ?

But most unusual, perhaps, is the fact that 11 family members of Sandy Hook victims will accompany the president on Air Force One back to Washington after his speech at the University of Hartford. The family members will head to Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress on gun legislation.

At his daily briefing, White House press secretary Jay Carney portrayed the Air Force One news as a matter of logistics.

?These are family members who are planning to be in Washington to speak with Congress about the importance of taking action to reduce gun violence,? Mr. Carney said, ?and in order to make sure they were able to attend the event in Connecticut and still be in Washington when they needed to be, we invited those family members to fly back with the president.?

Obama frequently surrounds himself with stakeholders ? be they middle-class taxpayers, law enforcement, or supporters of health-care reform ? when making public remarks. But having them hitch a ride on Air Force One to get them to D.C. for a lobbying push is rare. The move no doubt reflects the depth of Obama?s emotion on gun violence, and on the Sandy Hook massacre in particular, in which 20 first-graders were murdered by a lone gunman. The day of the massacre, the president brushed away tears and could barely speak when he addressed the tragedy in public for the first time.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/uAxlm5bsd54/Sandy-Hook-families-on-Air-Force-One-why-it-matters

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Beyonce, Michelle Cameos Are 'Not Destiny's Child' Reunion, Kelly Rowland Insists

'It's me featuring Beyonce and Michelle,' Rowland teases about Talk A Good Game song.
By Jocelyn Vena

Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé and Michelle Williams
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705168/beyonce-kelly-rowland-michelle-williams-destinys-child.jhtml

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Sustained stress heightens risk of miscarriage

Apr. 8, 2013 ? Several studies have examined the impact of stress on a pregnancy -- both chronic stress, such as workload, and acute stress associated with traumatic events like the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They conclude that stress can lead to adverse birth outcomes, including miscarriage and premature birth.

Few studies, however, assess the impact of continuous military or political stress throughout a pregnancy, says Prof. Liat Lerner-Geva of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Women and Children's Health Research Unit at The Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research Ltd, Tel Hashomer. Now her new study, conducted with PhD student Tamar Wainstock and Prof. Ilana Shoham-Vardi of Ben Gurion University, Prof. Eyal Anteby of the Barzilai Medical Center, and Saralee Glasser of Gertner Institute, Tel Hashomer, reveals that living under these sustained stresses significantly increases the risk of miscarriage.

Following the pregnancies of women from the Israeli town of Sderot, which is constantly under threat of rocket bombings from Gaza, and women from nearby Kiryat Gat, which is outside of Gaza's rocket range, the researchers demonstrated that those living under rocket fire were 59 percent more likely to miscarry than their neighbors.

These results, published in the Psychosomatic Medicine Journal of Biobehavioural Medicine, should be a call-to-action for practitioners, advises Prof. Lerner-Geva, who suggests making intervention readily available to pregnant women in stressful and threatening situations.

Studying stress under fire

Sderot has been a constant target of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip since 2001. Rocket attacks are preceded by an alarm warning residents to take shelter. The alarms themselves are loud, sudden, and themselves stress-inducing -- once they sound, Sderot residents have only seconds before the rocket hits. Between 2001 and 2008, more than 1,000 alarms were sounded in the vicinity of Sderot. Since 2001, rockets exploding in the town have killed at least 13 residents, wounded dozens, and caused extensive property damage.

To study the impact of such sustained stress on pregnancy, researchers turned to the medical records at Barzilai Medical Center, a hospital which serves both Sderot and Kiryat Gat. They followed the pregnancies of 1,345 women from Sderot who were exposed to alarms and subsequent rocket fire, and 2,143 residents of Kiryat Gat who live out of missile range. The medical records were then cross-referenced to local municipal databases that track the number and location of rocket attacks.

In the unexposed group in Kiryat Gat, miscarriage rates were 4.7 percent, which accords with predictions from existing medical research literature. In the exposed group in Sderot, however, 6.9 percent of women miscarried -- a statistically significant increase. The results were controlled for other risk factors for miscarriage, such as age and other medical conditions.

Within the exposed group, the researchers also analyzed the intensity of exposure. Not every neighborhood in Sderot was subject to the same number of attacks, notes Prof. Lerner-Geva, and the researchers originally hypothesized that women in higher stress areas would have a higher probability of miscarriage. However, the results indicate that women in both high-intensity and low-intensity areas were at the same risk. One explanation is that the constant fear of attack is as stressful as the attacks themselves, she concludes.

Prevention through intervention

One advantage that healthcare providers have in dealing with populations under constant threat is that they can make use of early intervention, says Prof. Lerner-Geva. "Most of the Sderot pregnant women receive prenatal care through community health clinics. This presents an opportunity to run preventive interventions to reduce stress or even provide one-on-one counseling."

Currently, she and her fellow researchers are conducting further studies on the same population to determine whether sustained stress had an impact on other negative birth outcomes, such as preterm delivery or low birth weights.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Friends of Tel Aviv University.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. T. Wainstock, L. Lerner-Geva, S. Glasser, I. Shoham-Vardi, E. Y. Anteby. Prenatal Stress and Risk of Spontaneous Abortion. Psychosomatic Medicine, 2013; 75 (3): 228 DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e318280f5f3

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/a0LEFQPIsD4/130408133917.htm

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Warren 'overwhelmed' by response to son's death

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) ? Megachurch pastor and popular Christian author Rick Warren posted a message on Twitter Sunday saying he was "overwhelmed" by the love and support offered after the apparent suicide of the youngest of his three children.

"Kay and I are overwhelmed by your love, prayers, and kind words," Warren tweeted to his nearly one million followers two days after Matthew Warren, 27, was found dead. "You are all encouraging our (hash)brokenhearts." The pastor posted the same message on his Facebook page.

Warren did not attend Sunday services at his Saddleback Church in Orange County, where worshippers opened the meeting with a prayer for the family.

Tom Holladay, teaching pastor at Saddleback and Matthew Warren's uncle, opened the 9 a.m. worship service by saying the congregation would face the tragedy together, "as a church family."

Holladay led a prayer for Warren and his wife, Kay, and their surviving son and daughter.

The Warrens said in an email to church staff Saturday that Matthew Warren had taken his own life in a "momentary wave of despair." It said he had long struggled to control his emotional pain despite years of prayers and the best available treatment.

"Matthew was an incredibly kind, gentle and compassionate young man whose sweet spirit was encouragement and comfort to many," the email said. "Unfortunately, he also suffered from mental illness resulting in deep depression and suicidal thoughts."

Allison O'Neal, a supervising deputy coroner for Orange County, declined to release the cause and manner of death pending an autopsy planned for Tuesday.

The elder Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980, according to his biography on the church website, and watched it grow to 20,000 members and several campuses beyond its home base of Lake Forest.

Already well-known among evangelical Christians, he became a national celebrity in 2002 with the publication of the multimillion-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life," whose popularity reached far beyond the usual religious readers.

He later delivered the opening prayer at Barack Obama's inauguration in 2008.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/warren-overwhelmed-response-sons-death-014610375.html

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US general: Taliban likely to be long-term threat

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) ? The United States accepts that a diminished but resilient Taliban is likely to remain a military threat in some parts of Afghanistan long after U.S. troops complete their combat mission next year, the top U.S. military officer said Sunday.

In an Associated Press interview at this air field north of Kabul, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he is cautiously optimistic that the Afghan army will hold its own against the insurgency as Western troops pull back and Afghans assume the lead combat role. He said that by May or June, the Afghans will be in the lead throughout the country.

Asked whether some parts of the country will remain contested by the Taliban, he replied, "Yes, of course there will be."

"And if we were having this conversation 10 years from now, I suspect there would (still) be contested areas because the history of Afghanistan suggests that there will always be contested areas," he said.

He and other U.S. commanders have said that ultimately the Afghans must reach some sort of political accommodation with the insurgents, and that a reconciliation process needs to be led by Afghans, not Americans. Thus the No. 1 priority for the U.S. military in its final months of combat in Afghanistan is to do all that is possible to boost the strength and confidence of Afghan forces.

Shortly after Dempsey arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, the Taliban demonstrated its ability to strike.

It claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing that killed five Americans ? three soldiers and two civilians, including Anne Smedinghoff, a foreign service officer and the first American diplomat killed overseas since the terrorist attack Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya.

A fierce battle between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and Taliban militants in a remote corner of eastern Afghanistan left nearly 20 people dead, including 11 Afghan children killed in an airstrike, Afghan officials said Sunday.

There are now about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. That number is to drop to about 32,000 by February 2014, and the combat mission is to end in December 2014. Whether some number ? perhaps 9,000 or 10,000 ? remain into 2015 as military trainers and counterinsurgents is yet to be decided.

Dempsey spent two days talking to senior Afghan officials, including his counterpart, Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, as well as top U.S. and allied commanders.

He also visited a U.S. base in the volatile eastern province of Paktika for an update on how U.S. troops are balancing the twin missions of advising Afghan forces and withdrawing tons of U.S. equipment as the war effort winds down.

Paktika is an example of a sector of Afghanistan that is likely to face Taliban resistance for years to come.

Bordering areas of Pakistan that provide haven for the Taliban and its affiliated Haqqani network, Paktika has been among the more important insurgent avenues into the Afghan interior.

While the province has a functioning government, Taliban influence remains significant in less populated areas, as it has since U.S. forces first invaded the country more than 11 years ago.

"There will be contested areas, and it will be the Afghans' choice whether to allow those contested areas to persist, or, when necessary, take action to exert themselves into those contested area," he said.

Dempsey said he is encouraged by the recent development of coordination centers, including one in Paktika, where a wide range of Afghan government agencies work together on security issues. He called it a "quilt" of government structures that links Kabul, the capital, to ordinary Afghans in distant villages.

In some parts of the country, Afghan villagers have shown their dissatisfaction with Taliban influence by taking up arms against the insurgents, even without being pushed by the U.S. or by Kabul. This has happened in recent weeks in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, a traditional stronghold of the Taliban. The Andar district of Ghazni province has seen a similar uprising.

"We should encourage it, but we shouldn't be seen as hijacking" these local movements, he said.

Dempsey said he discussed the uprisings with Karimi, the army chief, and the Afghan defense minister, Bismullah Khan Mohammadi. They told him they "appreciated that they should allow this to occur (and) they should probably nurture it. They don't necessarily feel at this point as if they should tangibly support it."

The Afghan government's concern, Dempsey said, is that influential warlords could embrace these local movements and eventually leverage them to threaten the armed forces of the central government.

In a separate interview Sunday with al-Hurra, the Arabic-language satellite TV channel funded by the U.S. government, Dempsey was asked whether he worries that Syria, in the midst of a civil war, could become another Afghanistan.

"I do. I have grave concerns that Syria could become an extended conflict" that drags on for many years, he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-general-taliban-likely-long-term-threat-174457696--politics.html

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Conn. gov faults gun lobbyists over restrictions

In this April 4, 2013, photo, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, center, signs legislation at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., that includes new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, a response to last year's deadly school shooting in Newtown. Neil Heslin, behind left, father of Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, Nicole Hockley, right, mother of Sandy Hook School shooting victim Dylan, and Conn. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, left, watch. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

In this April 4, 2013, photo, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, center, signs legislation at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., that includes new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, a response to last year's deadly school shooting in Newtown. Neil Heslin, behind left, father of Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, Nicole Hockley, right, mother of Sandy Hook School shooting victim Dylan, and Conn. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, left, watch. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy harshly criticized gun industry lobbyists on Sunday, saying they are doing too little to halt gun violence.

Just three days after he signed into law new restrictions on weapons and large-capacity magazines, the governor compared Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, to clowns and said lobbyists want to ensure that the industry can sell guns indiscriminately.

"Wayne reminds me of the clowns at the circus," Malloy said of LaPierre on CNN's "State of the Union." ''They get the most attention and that's what he's paid to do."

Representatives of the NRA did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

"What this is about is the ability of the gun industry to sell as many guns to as many people as possible even if they're deranged, even if they're mentally ill, even if they have a criminal background," Malloy said. "They don't care. They want to sell guns."

Robert Crook, executive director of the Connecticut Coalition of Sportsmen, a lobbying group, said Malloy's criticism was "absolutely false."

"It's another political statement from a governor with little knowledge," he said.

Connecticut's gun industry supports a gun trafficking task force and tighter background checks of buyers, Crook said.

Andrew Doba, a spokesman for Malloy, said the Democratic governor was criticizing lobbyists, not the gun industry. Malloy has said he wants Connecticut's large gun industry to remain in the state, though gun manufacturers say the new restrictions will hurt their business.

"People are welcome to stay in our state as long as they're producing a product that can be sold in the United States legally," Malloy said.

Nearly four months after a gunman killed 20 children and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, lawmakers and Malloy enacted legislation that adds more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban. It also immediately bans the sale of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. People who purchased those guns and magazines before midnight Wednesday will be allowed to keep them if they're registered with the state police before Jan. 1.

Required background checks for private gun sales also take effect.

Other parts of the new law include a ban on armor-piercing bullets, establishment of a deadly weapon offender registry, expansion of circumstances when a person's mental health history disqualifies them from holding a gun permit, mandatory reporting of voluntary hospital commitments, doubled penalties for gun trafficking and other firearms violations, and $1 million to fund the statewide firearms trafficking task force.

Malloy said he preferred an "all-out ban" on magazines of more than 10 rounds of ammunition, but the legislature opposed him on the issue.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-07-Gun%20Control-Conn/id-77f0c259ff6e4bcb98c05219c97f495c

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