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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Lindsay Lohan Files A Legal Response To A Betty Ford Staff Member
Lindsay Lohan has hit back at claims she assaulted a Betty Ford Center staff member in 2010, filing a legal response to absolve her of any wrongdoing. Former employee Dawn Bradley accused the Mean Girls star of grabbing her wrist and twisting it when she tried the give the actress – then a patient at [...]
Download This iPhone Tethering App Before It Gets Pulled [IPhone Apps]
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Israeli settler seeks to beat Netanyahu in primary (AP)
JERUSALEM ? A hard-line Jewish settler who wants to pay Palestinians to leave the West Bank and Gaza is running against Israel's prime minister in Tuesday's party primary election.
Moshe Feiglin has little chance of defeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he could deliver an embarrassing blow to the country's leader in his fourth try for leadership of the Likud, none of which have had a realistic shot at success.
Experts say Feiglin could get a third of the vote in the closed party primary, reflecting the view of hard-liners that Netanyahu, despite his uncompromising worldwide, is not hawkish enough.
"I am providing an alternative," said Feiglin, 49. "The world expects ... much more than creating a terrorist country right in the heart of the land of the Bible," referring to a Palestinian state in the West Bank.
Israeli nationalists believe the West Bank must remain under Israeli control for religious and security reasons. Though Netanyahu backed that view for years, his movement has edged toward compromise in recent years, and Netanyahu himself has accepted the concept of creating a Palestinian state.
Feiglin founded a nationalist movement that blocked highway intersections around the country in 1995 to protest partial peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians, and he opposes further peace talks.
Feiglin proposes annexing the West Bank, retaking Gaza ? Israel withdrew in 2005 ? and bolstering a Jewish majority by offering emigration incentive packages of $350,000 to each Arab family in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Such extreme positions have the backing of a small but noisy minority of Israelis.
Netanyahu called the snap leadership primary in his Likud Party a year ahead of schedule, raising the possibility of an early general election later this year.
Netanyahu is so popular that no Likud Cabinet ministers or lawmakers dared challenge him, leaving Feiglin as the only other candidate.
Feiglin has steadily gained support over the last three times he has run for Likud party leadership ? from winning 3.5 percent of the vote in his first campaign nine years ago, to scooping up nearly a quarter of the vote in 2007.
Analysts are divided about how the underdog would affect the ruling party.
Avraham Diskin, a Hebrew University political scientist, said the stronger Feiglin performs in the primaries, the more Netanyahu will strive to portray a moderate face to the party by endorsing less hawkish lawmakers around him, he said.
"It doesn't look like (Netanyahu) will give in to the extremists," Diskin said.
Analyst Yaron Ezrahi says if Feiglin wins more than 30 percent of the votes in the primaries, it could push the Likud party's base further right politically and weaken Netanyahu's claim that the ruling party represents the majority of the nation.
"It's very serious. It hurts the Likud's image," Ezrahi said. He called Feiglin's camp an "embarrassing minority" for Netanyahu.
Feiglin's expected gains in Tuesday's primaries come as religious nationalists are preparing for a showdown with the government over plans to evict the unauthorized Migron settlement, which the government says was built on unlawfully seized land from private Palestinian landowners in 2001.
Hard-line lawmakers are threatening to bolt Netanyahu's coalition if Migron is dismantled, and Feiglin's campaign could add more pressure to Netanyahu to find a solution that will satisfy the settlers.
"Netanyahu is fighting a war of survival. But there is no survival without a vision," said Feiglin. "He is losing credit."
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29 Chinese missing after militant attack in Sudan (AP)
BEIJING ? Militants apparently captured 29 Chinese workers after attacking a remote worksite in a volatile region of Sudan, and Sudanese forces were increasing security for Chinese projects and personnel there, China said Sunday.
China has close political and economic relations with Sudan, especially in the energy sector.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said the militants attacked Saturday and Sudanese forces launched a rescue mission Sunday in coordination with the Chinese embassy in Khartoum.
The Ministry's head of consular affairs met with the Sudanese ambassador in Beijing and "urged him to actively conduct rescue missions under the prerequisite of ensuring the safety of the Chinese personnel," the statement said.
In Khartoum, a Chinese embassy spokesman said the northern branch of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement announced that 29 Chinese workers had been captured in the attack. The spokesman, who asked not be identified, gave no other details and it wasn't clear if the militants had demanded conditions for their return.
Other details weren't given. The official Xinhua News Agency cited the state governor as saying the Sudan People's Liberation Movement attacked a road-building site in South Kordofan and seized the workers.
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement are a guerrilla force that has fought against Sudan's regime. Its members hail from a minority ethnic group now in control of much of South Sudan, which became the world's newest country only six months ago in a breakaway from Sudan.
Sudan has accused South Sudan of arming pro-South Sudan groups in South Kordofan. The government of South Sudan has called such accusations a smoke screen intended to justify a future invasion of the South.
China has sent large numbers of workers to potentially unstable regions such as Sudan and last year was forced to send ships and planes to help with the emergency evacuation of 30,000 of its citizens from the fighting in Libya.
China has consistently used its clout in diplomatic forums such as the United Nations to defend Sudan and its longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. In recent years, it has also sought to build good relations with leaders from the south, where most of Sudan's oil is located.
Chinese companies have also invested heavily in Sudanese oil production, along with companies India and elsewhere.
___
Associated Press writer Mohamed Saeed contributed to this report from Khartoum.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Oliveira brilliant in finish of Wisely, Swanson scores big KO at UFC on Fox 2
CHICAGO -- Eric Wisely learned a new submission term - the calf slicer. Unfortunately, it was Wisely's calf, knee and thigh that were being shredded by Charles Oliveira.
In his featherweight debut, Oliveira showed off some nifty scrambling and submission skills in finishing the American at the 1:53 mark of the first round. The UFC's Tom Gerbasi said it was the first calf slicer finish in the history of the promotion.
Oliveira (15-2, 3-2 UFC, 1 NC) landed the Submission of the Night bonus good for? $65,000.
"It felt amazing to walk out and hear the energy of the crowd here in Chicago. I was extremely confident and proud going into this fight and I knew that God would be with me," Oliveira said. "I have practiced my submissions endlessly and it was easy to look for that opportunity to finish the fight. I am ready for the next challenge inside the Octagon."
Oliveira looked solid in all aspects, most importantly the bounce in his step. This was the 22-year-old's first fight down at 145 pounds. That first trip down to a new weight class can always be dicey from a stamina standpoint. The Brazilian's length at 5-foot-10 gave Wisely trouble from the start. He just couldn't get inside on Oliveira.
After eating a few good punches and a kick, Wisely (19-7) flopped to his back. From there, Oliveira patiently hovered above looking to land some good shots. He finally grabbed a leg and dropped back to work on a heel hook. It was tight, but Wisely escaped serious damage. He wasn't out of it, so Oliveira tried to reset the position.
Wisely scrambled to get to his hands and knees with his back facing Oliveira. That's when the Brazilian went into improvise-mode, jumped on Wisely's back and dropped back down. But he did so without releasing Wisely's left leg. He cranked backwards and the pressure on Wisely's leg was incredible. He tapped with his right hand a couple of times. The referee missed it. He groaned in agony as he tapped again with the left. The fight was over. Wisely (19-7, 0-1 UFC) lost his promotional debut.
"I've got to work on a few things to improve my overall game. With these Brazilian jiu-jitsu guys, I've got to be a little quicker all around. That might have been enough to have kept me from getting caught and we might be looking at an entirely different outcome," said Wisely.
Swanson posts a beautiful knockout of Roop
Cub Swanson's hands haven't always been kind to him. Tonight, they paid dividends big time.
Swanson scored a huge second-round knockout with a perfectly placed right hand on George Roop's chin. The impact of Swanson's overhand right sent Roop's mouthpiece flying into the cage and he went down in a heap. A surprised Swanson jumped on top to throw 10 more unanswered punches and the fight was stopped at 2:23 of the second.
"That shot just connected and rocked him and put him on his back. I wanted to make sure that I had finished it because it all happened so fast. I'm going to take about two weeks off and see how I feel. I might be looking to get back in here pretty quickly after a win like this," said Swanson.
During the immediate aftermath of the victory, Swanson (16-5, 1-1 UFC) appeared to a get a little emotional. It's been a rough run the last few years for Swanson, who's battled hand issue after hand issue. Because of the injuries, he's only fought two times since Aug. of 2010.
"We had some pretty good action when the match started and I was using my range to gain the advantage. I'm really not sure what happened because it really just happened to fast. He hit me with something that I didn't see coming at all," said Roop (12-9-1, 2-5 UFC).
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Expert who foresaw '08 crash warns of tough decade
DAVOS, Switzerland?? Economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed "Dr. Doom" for his gloomy predictions in the run-up to the financial meltdown four years ago, says the fallout from that crisis could last the rest of this decade.
Roubini, widely acknowledged to have predicted the crash of 2008, sees tough times ahead for the global economy and is warning that without major policy changes things can still get much worse.
Until Europe radically reforms itself and the U.S. gets serious about its own debt mountain, he said, the world economy will continue to stumble along to the detriment of large chunks of the world's population who will continue to see their living standards under pressure, even if they have a job.
Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde ? speaking Saturday at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland ? said Europe was making progress to overcome the euro zone crisis, but need to do more to boost its financial firewall to contain the contagion of the debt crisis and restore trust.
"There is work under way. There is progress as we see it," Lagarde told a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum.
"But it is critical that the euro zone members actually develop a clear, simple, firewall that can operate both to limit the contagion and to provide this sort of act of trust in the euro zone so that the financing needs of that zone can actually be met," she said.
She added that there would be need for IMF funds to help the euro zone.
US economy ended 2011 at a healthy pace
Roubini, a professor of economics and international business at New York University, spoke in an interview this week with The Associated Press at a dinner on the sidelines of the meeting, where he is one of the hotly pursued stars.
Looking at economic prospects this year, he agreed with the International Monetary Fund's latest forecast that the global economy is weakening and said he might be "even slightly more bearish" on its prediction of 3.3 percent growth in 2012.
Video: Haass from Davos: We're looking at little growth in half the world (on this page)He painted a grim picture of the eurozone in recession and key emerging markets in China, India, Brazil and South Africa slowing down, partly related to weakness in the eurozone.
Roubini predicted that the U.S. economy, the world's largest, will grow by just 1.7-1.8 percent this year, with unemployment remaining high. The government, he added, was "kicking the can down the road" and not taking measures to increase productivity and competitiveness.
"We live in a world where there is still a huge amount of economic and financial fragility," he said. "There is a huge amount of uncertainty ? macro, financial, fiscal, sovereign, banking, regulatory, taxation ? and there is also geopolitical and political and policy uncertainty."
Too little, too late? Factory jobs making a comeback
"There are lots of sources of uncertainty from the eurozone, from the Middle East, from the fact that the U.S. is not tackling its own fiscal problem, from the fact that Chinese growth is unbalanced and unsustainable, relying too much on exports and fixed investments and high savings, and not enough on consumption. So it's a very delicate global economy," Roubini said.
He said the biggest uncertainty is the possibility of a conflict with Iran over its nuclear program that involves Israel, the United States, or both. That could lead oil prices now hovering around $100 a barrel to spike to $150 per barrel, he said, and lead to a global recession.
Almost half of young Spaniards unemployed
Unemployment and economic insecurity have become big issues from the Mideast to the Occupy Wall Street movement in the U.S., and protests from Israel and India to Chile and Russia ? and at the same time there is rising inequality between rich and poor.
"All these things lead to political and social instability," he said. "So we have to reduce inequality. We have to give growth to jobs, skills, education, and increase human capital so workers can compete."
Video: Protesters build igloos at 'Occupy Davos'? (on this page)Roubini called for a major change in policy priorities.
"We have to shift our investment from things that are less productive like the financial sector and housing and real estate to things that are more productive like our people, our human capital, our structure, our technology, our innovation," he said.
Roubini said slow growth in advanced economies will likely lead to "a U-shaped recovery rather than a typical V," and it may last for another three to five years because of high debt.
"Once you have too much debt in the public and private sector, the painful process could last up to a decade, where economic growth remains weak and anemic and sub-par until we have cleaned up the balance sheet and invested in the things that make us more productive for the future," he said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46172944/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/
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Windows 8 to step back on customization in Apple-like choice
Windows 8 to limit custom look to themes
A seemingly minor decision for Windows 8 in the post-developer preview versions has shown an about-face by Microsoft in its approach to design. During new demos on Thursday to TechRadar, Windows 8 communications lead Chris Flores explained that users wouldn't be allowed to change the background of the main Metro screen to their own photo. Scaling was an issue, but Microsoft had also decided that the home screen tiles would cover it up too much, defeating the point of a custom image.
In its place, Microsoft is offering a mix of basic styles with color themes, each of which has a coordinating set of hues for the trim. The login screen will still allow a custom photo, much like Windows Phone.
The reduced choice is unusual for Microsoft and shows the emphases on consistent style, visibility, and usability in the new OS. Apple has often been criticized for not allowing much customization of Mac OS X, but it like Microsoft today has argued that preserving the look and consistency of the interface is more important.
Along with the customization aspects, Microsoft has been at work improving the interface for its public beta in late February. Windows 8 now has more controls for mouse users in the Metro interface to flick through home screens or running apps. The charm bar, where the Start button and other common controls are available on touch devices, also now has a subtler effect where it won't deploy fully if the user's input suggests they'd tapped the very edge of the screen by accident.
Windows 8 is expected to ship in the second half of the year and will use the stylized Metro interface as the default Start screen for most users, whether or not their PCs support touch.
Source: http://feeds.electronista.com/click.phdo?i=24e7b014a94dcbb9115a5a5c2117106e
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Reader recommendation: Killing the Cranes
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Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/-fpMqaOm94c/Reader-recommendation-Killing-the-Cranes
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Papua New Guinea mutineers demand pardon (AP)
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea ? A day after a retired colonel seized Papua New Guinea's military headquarters in an attempt to force out the prime minister, the ex-soldier was holed up in a nearby barracks on Friday, demanding a pardon for himself and his supporters.
A small group of soldiers led by retired Col. Yuara Sasa put the military's top commander under house arrest Thursday in a bloodless, pre-dawn takeover, but later that day Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said Brig. Gen. Francis Agwi had been released and remained in charge of most of the military. O'Neill said Sasa had been "dealt with," but did not say how.
The mutiny was part of a power struggle in which O'Neill and former Prime Minister Michael Somare claim to be the rightful leader of the South Pacific island nation.
On Friday, police said Sasa was at Taurama Barracks in Port Moresby, near the military headquarters, with about 20 supporters. Police spokesman Dominic Kakas said Col. Sasa had asked for a pardon.
"That is correct, yes," Kakas said. "They are trying to sort something out."
On Thursday, Sasa had told reporters in Port Moresby he was giving O'Neill seven days to comply with a Supreme Court order reinstating Somare as prime minister. The government responded by calling on Sasa's group to surrender and saying the mutiny had little support.
Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah told reporters Thursday that about 30 soldiers were involved in the mutiny and that 15 of them were arrested. Namah said Sasa could be charged with treason, which carries the death sentence.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard condemned the mutiny, saying in a written statement that the military has no place in Papua New Guinea's politics. Australia is the main provider of foreign aid to its former colony.
"It is critical therefore that this situation be resolved peacefully as soon as possible, with the PNG Defense Force chain of command restored," she added.
Somare was Papua New Guinea's first prime minister when it became independent in 1975, and was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. Papua New Guinea's Parliament replaced him with O'Neill in August, while Somare was getting medical treatment outside the country.
Last month, the country's Supreme Court and Governor-General Michael Ogio backed Somare, who the court ruled was illegally removed. But Ogio changed his mind days later, saying bad legal advice had led him to incorrectly reinstate Somare.
Sasa, who was Papua New Guinea's defense attache to Indonesia before retiring from the military, has said Somare appointed him defense chief. Somare's spokeswoman and daughter, Betha Somare, said that his ousted Cabinet had confirmed Sasa's appointment several days ago. She did not respond to a request for comment on Friday's developments.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
AP Enterprise: NM license data points to fraud (AP)
SANTA FE, N.M. ? Dozens of the same business and residential addresses were used repeatedly by people to obtain driver's licenses in New Mexico in a pattern that suggests fraud by immigrants trying to game the system, an Associated Press investigation has found.
In one instance, 48 foreign nationals claimed to live at a smoke shop in Albuquerque to get a license. In another case, more than a dozen claimed to live at an automotive repair shop over a one-year period. The scenario has been repeated at other addresses since New Mexico changed its law in 2003 to allow illegal immigrants to get the same driver's license as a U.S. citizen ? one of just two states allowing that.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is pressing the Legislature to scrap the law because of public safety concerns about widespread fraud. She contends New Mexico has become a magnet for out-of-state immigrants seeking a license, which can be used to board airplanes, conduct financial transactions or get another license in some other state. The governor's proposal will be considered by a legislative committee on Thursday.
Having an address in New Mexico is a critical part of getting a license. Applicants without a Social Security number must prove their identity with multiple documents such as a passport or notarized English translation of a foreign birth certificate. They also must show New Mexico residency with other documents, including property lease agreements, utility bills and bank statements. Of the more than 90,000 licenses issued so far to foreign nationals, it's impossible to know how many are illegal immigrants because the state doesn't ask a person's immigration status.
The AP analyzed license data since 2003 and found a striking pattern at addresses across the state that suggests the license system is being abused.
Seventeen people with different last names used a car repair shop's address in Albuquerque for licenses during nine months in 2007; only four additional licenses were issued to people using that same address in 2008 and 2009.
Thirty-one people listed a mobile home address in Albuquerque to obtain licenses over 29 months and sometimes the licenses came in quick succession. One a week was issued on average at that address during a two-month stretch at the end of 2008. But no additional licenses have been issued since then.
Those claiming the smoke shop address as their legal residence in New Mexico obtained licenses from May 2005 through 2010. Only two of the four dozen individuals had the same last name ? making it highly unlikely that they were part of the same family.
Critics say it's obvious what is happening.
"This is yet another sign of how New Mexico's driver's license has been compromised and is not secure," said Scott Darnell, a spokesman for Martinez. "When business addresses are being used as residential addresses by a large number of foreign nationals for the purpose of obtaining a driver's license, it's highly concerning and it points to the presence of fraud that has persisted in this program for some time."
Supporters of the current policy say the government can crack down on fraud without repealing the law and hurting immigrants who are working and raising families in New Mexico. They argue licenses bring a vital benefit to the state and make New Mexico a safer place.
"Many of these folks have U.S. citizen children who depend on their parents' ability to drive them around legally, be insured, register their vehicle, have an identification for purposes of picking up medication for their kids," said Marcela Diaz, executive director of Somos un Pueblo Unido, an immigrant rights group in Santa Fe. "These driver's licenses are a good thing not just for our community but a good thing for the state."
Diaz said Wednesday she viewed the AP analysis as evidence that fraud is a problem only in a small percentage of licenses going to immigrants.
The licensing patterns found by the AP don't conclusively prove fraud ? tenant turnover in rental property, for example, could account for some licenses. And there can be legitimate reasons for multiple licenses to be issued at the same address. Fifty-six licenses went to an address in Alamogordo that state officials say is housing at Holloman Air Force Base used by foreign military personnel stationed there.
But the broader pattern raised enough questions for the Martinez administration to send investigators to knock on doors and check on dozens of addresses that were used repeatedly for licenses.
Investigators found at least one person at an address with "first-hand knowledge" that the location had been used purposely to help immigrants get driver's licenses, according to Darnell. That case is still open.
In another instance, investigators couldn't find an Albuquerque area address used by 17 people for licenses. The closest location to the fictitious address was a scrap yard, which had no home on the property.
New Mexico and Washington are the only states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain a driver's license. Utah grants immigrants a special driving permit that cannot be used as identification.
In New Mexico, repeal of the immigrant license issue became a hot-button political topic when Martinez ? a former prosecutor ? made it a centerpiece of her 2010 campaign for governor and it remains an emotional issue in this year's legislative session.
The AP requested the license data to try to determine whether there was evidence to back up Martinez administration claims of fraud in the immigrant license system.
There are 170 addresses in New Mexico at which 10 or more licenses have been issued to different foreign nationals from 2003 through August 2011, according to the AP analysis. The addresses account for 2,662 licenses ? representing nearly 3 percent of the total issued to foreign nationals during that period. Those are licenses issued to individuals for the first time and do not include renewals.
Albuquerque, the state's largest city, accounts for most of those addresses but others are scattered across the state in communities from Santa Fe and Portales to Farmington and Gallup.
Topping the list was a case familiar to investigators and prosecutors. The state granted 66 licenses to foreign nationals who used the residential address of an Albuquerque woman from 2004 to 2009. She's is in prison after pleading guilty in 2010 to felonies for providing fraudulent residency documents to illegal immigrants to obtain driver licenses. All of those licenses have been canceled.
An aging computer system does not permit the Motor Vehicle Division to detect automatically when multiple licenses are issued at the same address, agency officials say. However, the state has beefed up its scrutiny of applications from foreign nationals.
Since May 2008, agency investigators review all applications for possible fraud and criminal charges have been brought in what state officials describe as organized fraud rings that obtained driver's licenses for foreign nationals from China, Poland, Mexico and other countries.
Martinez points to those abuses as a reason why New Mexico should no longer issue licenses to illegal immigrants. But her proposal failed last year in the Senate after passing the House. Democrats hold majorities in both chambers.
Despite rejecting a Martinez-backed measure, the Senate approved what Democratic leaders called a compromise. It would have toughened penalties for license fraud, required fingerprinting of immigrants applying for licenses and canceled all previously issued licenses to foreign nationals who didn't renew them within two years. The governor opposed the alternative proposal, however.
___
Follow Barry Massey on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/bmasseyAP
The top 10 songs and albums on the iTunes Store (AP)
iTunes' Official Music Charts for the week ending Jan. 23, 2012:
Top Songs:
1. "Turn Me On (feat. Nicki Minaj)," David Guetta
2. "Set Fire to the Rain," ADELE
3. "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)," Kelly Clarkson
4. "Rack City," Tyga
5. "Good Feeling," Flo Rida
6. "Young, Wild & Free (feat. Bruno Mars)," Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg
7. "We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris)," Rihanna
8. "Sexy and I Know It," LMFAO
9. "Domino," Jessie J
10. "Ni(asterisk)(asterisk)as in Paris," Kanye West, JAY Z
___
Top Albums:
1. "21", ADELE
2. "Take Care," Drake
3. "El Camino," The Black Keys
4. "Bangarang," Skrillex
5. "Kidz Bop 21," Kidz Bop Kids
6. "Mylo Xyloto," Coldplay
7. "Joyful Noise (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)," Various Artists
8. "This Means War," Attack Attack!
9. "Lana Del Rey," Lana Del Rey
10. "Making Mirrors," Gotye
___
(copyright) 2012 Apple, Inc.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Researchers quantify muscle soreness
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Public release date: 23-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Katherine Scott
katherine.scott@jove.com
617-765-4367 x301
The Journal of Visualized Experiments
Quantifying how sore a person is after a long workout is a challenge for doctors and researchers, but scientists from Loma Linda and Asuza Pacific Universities think they may have figured it out. Their research article describing a new technique to measure muscle soreness will be published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) or exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is one of the most common sports injuries, but without a reliable method of quantifying muscle soreness, assessing treatments is difficult.
Traditionally, muscle soreness has been measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Participants mark their level of agreement to a statement along a continuous line. Rather than measuring soreness subjectively, the researchers used thermal imaging to detect subtle changes in the temperature of the skin above exercised muscles.
"The main advantage of this technique," said paper author Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky, "is that unlike visual scales, which are kind of a subjective measure of whether someone is sore or not, this technique gives you quantifiable, absolute data."
"There is no gold standard for measuring DOMS and other techniques, such as needle biopsies, are invasive and painful for patients," said JoVE Editor, Leiam Colbert. "The technique presented here allows for earlier diagnosis and quicker treatment of soreness."
###
The very visual technique was published yesterday in JoVE, the world's only peer reviewed, PubMed indexed science video journal.
About The Journal of Visualized Experiments:
The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is the first and only Pubmed and Medline indexed academic journal devoted to publishing research in the biological sciences in video format. Using an international network of videographers, JoVE films and edits videos of researchers performing new experimental techniques at top universities, allowing students and scientists to learn them much more quickly. As of January 2012 JoVE has released 59 monthly issues including over 1500 video-protocols on experimental approaches in developmental biology, neuroscience, microbiology and other fields.
[ | 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.
Public release date: 23-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Katherine Scott
katherine.scott@jove.com
617-765-4367 x301
The Journal of Visualized Experiments
Quantifying how sore a person is after a long workout is a challenge for doctors and researchers, but scientists from Loma Linda and Asuza Pacific Universities think they may have figured it out. Their research article describing a new technique to measure muscle soreness will be published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) or exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is one of the most common sports injuries, but without a reliable method of quantifying muscle soreness, assessing treatments is difficult.
Traditionally, muscle soreness has been measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Participants mark their level of agreement to a statement along a continuous line. Rather than measuring soreness subjectively, the researchers used thermal imaging to detect subtle changes in the temperature of the skin above exercised muscles.
"The main advantage of this technique," said paper author Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky, "is that unlike visual scales, which are kind of a subjective measure of whether someone is sore or not, this technique gives you quantifiable, absolute data."
"There is no gold standard for measuring DOMS and other techniques, such as needle biopsies, are invasive and painful for patients," said JoVE Editor, Leiam Colbert. "The technique presented here allows for earlier diagnosis and quicker treatment of soreness."
###
The very visual technique was published yesterday in JoVE, the world's only peer reviewed, PubMed indexed science video journal.
About The Journal of Visualized Experiments:
The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is the first and only Pubmed and Medline indexed academic journal devoted to publishing research in the biological sciences in video format. Using an international network of videographers, JoVE films and edits videos of researchers performing new experimental techniques at top universities, allowing students and scientists to learn them much more quickly. As of January 2012 JoVE has released 59 monthly issues including over 1500 video-protocols on experimental approaches in developmental biology, neuroscience, microbiology and other fields.
[ | 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/2012-01/tjov-rqm012312.php
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Michigan Report Shows Arts and Culture Spending Yields High Return (ContributorNetwork)
Creative State Michigan, an annual report by ArtServe, showed every dollar spent in Michigan on arts and culture repays the state back 50-fold. According to Michigan Radio, the purpose of the report was to demonstrate to lawmakers how profitable arts funding can be. Here are details about cultural-to-business connections in Michigan.
* Information was collected from the Michigan Cultural Data Project, state community foundations, charitable trust groups, area arts councils, public broadcasting, employment agencies and tourism bureau reports.
* Michigan has 2,000 nonprofit arts groups. The report examined 2009 fiscal year statistics gathered from 211 organizations and venues, including 32 of the state's top 50 earners, says ArtServe.
* In 2009, the state funding level was slightly less than $10 million. Michigan's arts budget has been cut by about 80 percent, Michigan Radio says.
* Arts venues generated more than $450 million in economic activity. Tourists spent more than $2 billion in Michigan on cultural attractions. That's more than tourism dollars earned from golf, skiing, hunting, fishing and boating combined, Michigan Radio says.
* Visitors attended 12,667,492 performances and cultural events. More than half of those were free visits, funded by government grants, state tax dollars and patron contributions.
* Nearly 2 million children in more than 25,000 school groups visited a cultural event. 797 programs come to schools through community outreach programs, ArtServe says. The average ticket cost was $6 for children and $18 for adults. Most venues also give teachers follow-up activities for classroom use for free.
* More than 31,000 people volunteer at arts events and exhibits and more than 330,000 support them with financial contributions.
* Arts venues also provide employment, ArtServe says. In 2009, unemployment hit record highs of 14 percent in Michigan, but employment at arts-related exhibits was up from 2006 to 2010. The 211 organizations that participated in the survey reported more than 15,000 jobs. Those jobs earned Michigan residents $152 million in 2009.
* Since 2006 arts-related businesses in Michigan have increased almost 33 percent. There are 24,306 establishments state-wide.
Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about people, places, events and issues in her home state of "Pure Michigan."
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Video: Paterno dies at 85
>> the nittany lions every season since lyndon johnson was in the white house , nearly half a century, pacing the sidelines at penn state . a look back tonight from nbc's ron allen .
>> reporter: joe paterno was one of the greatest figures ever in college sports . 46 years as head coach at penn state , 409 victories, the most of the division one school. from his idealistic early days , paterno had implemented what he called a grand experiment, to graduate more players while maintaining success on the field. most recently his teams consistently ranked monday the best in the big ten for graduating players. the coach took the nittany lions to 37 bowl games , and two national championships , hundreds of the players he coached went on to the nfl. penn state became known as happy valley .
>> people ask me why i stayed here so long, and, you know what, look around. look around. i stayed here because i love you all!
>> reporter: but last year, everything changed. in his final days, paterno battled lung cancer , his spirit and legacy battered by the child sexual abuse scandal centered around his long time assistant jerry sandusky .
>> i had never had to deal with something like that. and i didn't feel adequate.
>> reporter: penn state fired paterno last november. he had been widely criticized for not taking more responsibility or confronting sandusky. after his dismissal, paterno tried to stay positive.
>> i've had a wonderful experience here at penn state . i don't want to walk away from this thing bitter.
>> reporter: joseph paterno was born december 21st , 1926 in brooklyn, new york, a depression era child of italian immigrants . he graduated from brown university , served a year in the u.s. army as world war ii ended, and then went to coach at penn state as an assistant where he stayed for 61 years. beyond all the football glory , paterno also gave millions of dollars to penn state for academics. a legendary coach, in the end tainted by scandal, who leaves a very complicated legacy behind. ron allen , nbc news, new york.
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46093937/
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Crews contain Reno fire that claimed 29 homes
The ruins of a home in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., are seen on Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, after a wind-driven brush fire raced through the area Thursday. The blaze started shortly after noon Thursday and, fueled by wind gusts reaching 82 mph, mushroomed to more than 6 square miles before firefighters stopped its surge toward Reno. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)
The ruins of a home in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., are seen on Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, after a wind-driven brush fire raced through the area Thursday. The blaze started shortly after noon Thursday and, fueled by wind gusts reaching 82 mph, mushroomed to more than 6 square miles before firefighters stopped its surge toward Reno. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)
The ruins of a home in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., are seen on Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, after a wind-driven brush fire raced through the area. The blaze started shortly after noon Thursday and, fueled by wind gusts reaching 82 mph, mushroomed to more than 6 square miles before firefighters stopped its surge toward Reno. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)
Firefighters battle a wind-driven brush fire burning through Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez says crews were able to stop the wall of flames before it reached Galena High School. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)
Firefighters wait for water before attacking an outbuilding adjacent to a home Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in Pleasant Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more and forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Tim Dunn) NEVADA APPEAL OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES
The ruins of a home in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev. smolders as firefighters battle a wind-driven brush fire on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more and forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)
RENO, Nev. (AP) ? Rain and snow helped firefighters surround a brush fire that destroyed 29 homes and forced thousands to flee near Reno, leading officials to declare the blaze contained early Saturday and lift all remaining evacuations.
Fueled by hurricane force winds, the blaze burned nearly 3,200 acres with flames as high as 40 feet. The break in the weather for firefighters arrived with calmer winds on Friday, allowing crews to gain the upper hand on a blaze Gov. Brian Sandoval described as "horrendous."
"There is nothing left in some of those places except for the chimneys and fireplaces," he said in a tour of the area Friday.
The next challenge for emergency workers may be a storm in the Sierra Nevada, which for many brings welcome snow and rain amid one of the Reno's driest winters in more than a century but could create headaches for officials who fear its potential for causing flooding in burned areas.
Authorities say an "extremely remorseful" elderly man admitted to accidentally starting the fire Thursday when he improperly discarded fireplace ashes at his home south of town.
Investigators already had tracked the origin of the fire that raged south of Reno to a location in East Lake on the north end of the Washoe Valley, where the man lives about 20 miles south of downtown Reno.
"He came forward on his own accord," Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said. "He has given statements to our investigators as well as law enforcement officers. He is extremely remorseful."
Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley said a formal case file will be forwarded to the district attorney next week for consideration of charges.
In addition to the potential for facing jail time on arson charges, the man could also be ordered to pay the cost of fighting the fire, which already totals $690,000.
Washoe County Manager Katy Simon said she expects the final bill to run into the millions of dollars.
The blaze started shortly after noon Thursday and, fueled by the wind, mushroomed to more than 6 square miles before firefighters stopped its surge toward Reno.
The strong, erratic winds caused major challenges for crews evacuating residents, Sierra Front spokesman Mark Regan said. "In a matter of seconds, the wind would shift," he said.
The sheriff confirmed that the body of June Hargis, 93, was found in the fire's aftermath, but her cause of death has not been established, so it's not known if it was fire related.
Jeannie Watts, the woman's 70-year-old daughter, told KRNV-TV that Hargis' grandson telephoned her to tell her to evacuate but she didn't get out in time.
Fire officials said Thursday's fire was "almost a carbon copy" of a blaze that destroyed 30 homes in Reno during similar summer-like conditions in mid-November.
"There was fire in front of me, fire beside me, fire behind me. It was everywhere," said Connie Cryer, who was relieved to learn Friday that her home survived the flames. "I don't know how more didn't burn up. It was terrible, all the wind and the smoke."
She had seen wildfires before, but nothing on this scale.
State Forester Pete Anderson said he has not seen such hazardous fire conditions in winter in his 43 years in Nevada. Reno had no precipitation in December. The last time that happened was 1883.
An inch of snow Monday ended the longest recorded dry spell in Reno history, a 56-day stretch that prompted Anderson to issue an unusual warning about wildfire threats in a fire season that has stretched well past the usual endpoint of November.
Kit Bailey, U.S. Forest Service fire chief at nearby Lake Tahoe, said conditions are so dry that even a forecast calling for rain and snow might not take the Reno-Tahoe area out of fire danger.
"The scary thing is a few days of drying after this storm cycle and we could be back into fire season again," he said.
___
Associated Press writers Scott Sonner in Reno, Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas and Sandra Chereb in Carson City contributed to this report.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
HRW calls on West to end 'Arab exception' (AP)
CAIRO ? Popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world exposed biases by Western governments that supported Arab autocratic rulers for the sake of "stability" while turning a blind eye to their repressive policies, Human Rights Watch said Sunday.
The New-York based group urged democratic governments to adopt persistent and consistent support for peaceful protesters and to press both autocratic rulers and newly emerging democracies to avoid intolerance and seeking revenge.
"The events of the past year show that the forced silence of people living under autocrats should never have been mistaken for popular complacency," HRW's executive director Kenneth Roth said. "It is time to end the 'Arab exception.'"
The Arab Spring revolts began in Tunisia in late 2010 and quickly spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, deposing or challenging authoritarian rulers as citizens who long seemed incapable or unwilling to rise against decades of repression took to the streets in a stunning awakening.
In some ways, the unexpected uprisings amounted to a slap to the United States and other Western governments, which had supported autocratic regimes that served as bulwarks against Islamists hostile to the West and appeared to offer stability in a volatile region.
Western governments also have been accused of being selective in supporting the protesters, with NATO airstrikes proving key to the ouster of slain Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Meanwhile, the West has stood largely on the sidelines amid continued crackdowns in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria.
"The people driving the Arab Spring deserve strong international support to realize their rights and to build genuine democracies," Roth said in the group's annual report, which covers some 90 countries. He added that the Arab world is in a "transformative moment," and it will not be an easy one.
Human Rights Watch pointed to five main issues that dominated the relationship between Western governments and their Arab autocratic friends: the threat of political Islam, the fight against terrorism, support for Israel, protection of the oil flow and cooperation in stemming immigration.
Even after the leaders of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia were toppled, Western governments remained hesitant to lean too hard on other shaky authoritarian leaders, the group said.
As an example, the watchdog group singled out the United States, saying it has been reluctant to "press Egypt's ruling military council to subject itself to elected civilian rule," nearly a year after the country's longtime leader was ousted following an 18-day uprising.
Roth acknowledged Western governments were re-evaluating their policies as new governments emerge in the region, but said changes have been selective.
"The West has not put Bahrain under pressure, and other monarchs, to carry out reforms," he told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of the report's release in Cairo.
The organization also blamed the Western hesitation in part on the ascendence of political Islam in most of the countries that witnessed the fall of their autocratic rulers like Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia.
HRW urged the West to recognize that Islamists are the "majority preference," while keeping pressure on the emerging new governments to respect human rights, especially regarding women and religious minorities.
Roth was cautious when asked about concerns about potential human rights violations under Islamist rule, particularly in Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafis won a majority of seats in the first post-Hosni Mubarak parliament.
He said the Muslim Brotherhood has been "saying the right things" but "we have to see how they govern and how they deal with women, religious minorities. These are the big questions."
The popular uprisings also have alarmed other repressive regimes such as China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan, where rulers were worried about facing similar fates. The group said China and Russia in particular acted "obstructionist," using their veto power at the U.N. security council to halt pressure on Syria to stop killings of protesters.
Saudi Arabia also continues to discriminate against its citizens and workers, according to HRW, which said 9 million women, 8 million foreign workers and 2 million Shiite citizens are either suppressed or lacking rights in the country.
"As we mark the first anniversary of the Arab Spring, we should stand firmly for the rights and aspirations of the individual over the spoils of the tyrant," Roth said.
Outside the Arab world, the last year has not witnessed significant progress in countries with poor human rights records, including China and North Korea, according to the report.
Corruption, poverty and repression still prevail in Equatorial Guinea, the tiny, oil-rich nation off the western coast of Africa, which has been ruled by Africa's longest-serving ruler Teodoro Obiang Nguema since he seized power in a 1979 coup, the group said.
Eritrea continues to be governed by "one of the world's most repressive governments," and its citizens are subjected to torture, detentions, restrictions on freedom of speech, HRW said.
It also cited Colombia, saying armed conflict in the South American country has displaced millions while paramilitary groups with ties to the security apparatus are on the rise.
Cuba, HRW said, remains "the only country in Latin America that represses virtually all forms of political dissent."
The group also claimed that even member states of the European Union have violated human rights through restrictive asylum and migration policies.
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RedPad: Android tablet for Chinese politicians that costs twice as much as the iPad (Yahoo! News)
An Android tablet designed for Chinese officials without special features inexplicably costs $1,600
Would you buy a $1,600?Android tablet that doesn't have any special features compared to other slates half its price? A relatively unknown Chinese manufacturer seems to think people would, and released a tablet called the RedPad ? a?Honeycomb device specifically meant for?China's government officials, that costs almost two grand.
The 9.7" RedPad?is a pretty standard Android?tablet fare, with 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage, which is usually the lowest capacity found in mid-range slates. For $2,000, you'd think buyers will get a top-of-the-line device or at least a few extras. But the only bonus they will get is a rather shoddy looking leather case, and an inscription of China's "Serve the People" slogan at the back of the tablet. The total cost for manufacturing each device is $480, so why it's priced at $1,600 is beyond us. An?interview with the company spokesperson, Xianri Liu, reveals RedPad's somewhat twisted reasoning for that price point: the company believes people think expensive things are good. Therefore, RedPad must be good.
He also argues that RedPad comes with a bunch of apps including tablet versions of periodicals, and a state-sanctioned Chinese version of?Twitter. Installing those kinds of apps on the?iPad, he says, will cost as much as $1,600 in a year. A device of that price point targeted toward?politicians will almost certainly cause a stir not only within China, but all over the internet.
Liu says the company plans to release RedPad to market, and compete with?Apple's iPad?? a feat that will be extremely hard to accomplish when the tablet costs that much.
[via?Penn Olson,?The Verge]
(Source)
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
How protein in teardrops annihilates harmful bacteria: Novel technology reveals lysozymes have jaws
ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2012) ? A disease-fighting protein in our teardrops has been tethered to a tiny transistor, enabling UC Irvine scientists to discover exactly how it destroys dangerous bacteria. The research could prove critical to long-term work aimed at diagnosing cancers and other illnesses in their very early stages.
Ever since Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming found that human tears contain antiseptic proteins called lysozymes about a century ago, scientists have tried to solve the mystery of how they could relentlessly wipe out far larger bacteria. It turns out that lysozymes have jaws that latch on and chomp through rows of cell walls like someone hungrily devouring an ear of corn, according to findings that will be published Jan. 20 in the journal Science.
"Those jaws chew apart the walls of the bacteria that are trying to get into your eyes and infect them," said molecular biologist and chemistry professor Gregory Weiss, who co-led the project with associate professor of physics & astronomy Philip Collins.
The researchers decoded the protein's behavior by building one of the world's smallest transistors -- 25 times smaller than similar circuitry in laptop computers or smartphones. Individual lysozymes were glued to the live wire, and their eating activities were monitored.
"Our circuits are molecule-sized microphones," Collins said. "It's just like a stethoscope listening to your heart, except we're listening to a single molecule of protein."
It took years for the UCI scientists to assemble the transistor and attach single-molecule teardrop proteins. The scientists hope the same novel technology can be used to detect cancerous molecules. It could take a decade to figure out but would be well worth it, said Weiss, who lost his father to lung cancer.
"If we can detect single molecules associated with cancer, then that means we'd be able to detect it very, very early," Weiss said. "That would be very exciting, because we know that if we treat cancer early, it will be much more successful, patients will be cured much faster, and costs will be much less."
The project was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the National Science Foundation. Co-authors of the Science paper are Yongki Choi, Issa Moody, Patrick Sims, Steven Hunt, Brad Corso and Israel Perez.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Irvine.
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Journal Reference:
- Y. Choi, I. S. Moody, P. C. Sims, S. R. Hunt, B. L. Corso, I. Perez, G. A. Weiss, P. G. Collins. Single-Molecule Lysozyme Dynamics Monitored by an Electronic Circuit. Science, 2012; 335 (6066): 319 DOI: 10.1126/science.1214824
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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119143332.htm
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Growing Catholic divide over Mexico drug war (The Christian Science Monitor)
Saltillo, Mexico ? Bishop Jos? Ra?l Vera L?pez of Mexico has never shied away from controversy, defending unpopular minorities ranging from illegal migrants to prostitutes.
Now, as violence between Mexican drug traffickers and security forces pushes the drug war's five-year death toll over 45,000, the Roman Catholic bishop is taking on the government. He claims that corrupt officials are allying with criminals to skim drug profits and using the military to murder criminals who might reveal any collusion.
RELATED: 5 facts about Mexico's powerful Sinaloa drug cartel
"The use of the army was the worst mistake of [President Felipe Calder?n]," Bishop Vera says in a recent interview at his diocese in Saltillo, set in the desert mountains of northern Mexico. "This strategy is covering the corrupt people in government, the people washing the money. Organized crime is growing. The destruction of the criminals is impossible if you don't put the justice of the people first."
It is a stinging rebuke from a cleric in the Catholic church, whose collective stance has been more ambiguous.
The church hierarchy initially remained largely silent on the gore that has thrust Mexico's drug war into the international spotlight.
While it is now increasingly condemning drug-gang violence and more vocally supporting Mr. Calder?n's military-led strategy, the church's stance remains less clear when it comes to innocent victims of the drug-war crackdown by the military. The ambiguity is driving a wedge between priests and human rights activists within the church and the Catholic hierarchy ? a divide likely to grow leading up to Pope Benedict XVI's planned visit in March.
Tensions over human rights
Roderic Ai Camp, an expert on Mexican institutions, says the church's lack of clarity comes from leaders' desire to shore up government institutions in a young democracy, even when they might be abusing their authority.
"The church is trying to pursue a fine line between condemning violence generally, while not delegitimizing the security institutions by condemning these human rights violations," says Dr. Camp, a professor at Claremont McKenna College in California.
From 2006, when Calder?n began his efforts against drug trafficking, through 2010, Mexico's National Human Rights Commission has received more than 5,300 complaints of human rights abuses committed by the army.
According to a Human Rights Watch report from November, Mexican security forces may have participated in more than 170 cases of torture, as well as disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Not speaking out for these victims could ultimately undermine the church, say some scholars.
"If the church is not providing adequate attention to the violence issues and they haven't demonstrated to people that, 'You matter as a Catholic,' I think that could be a factor [in maintaining influence]," says Joseph Palacios, a sociology professor and Catholic priest at Georgetown University.
Whereas churches elsewhere in the region have long aligned with the government, in Mexico there has been a firmer separation of church and state ??? though the drug war has changed that somewhat.
"There has been a coming together of the church hierarchy and government in recent years on the issue of violence," says Victor Ramos Cortes, a religion expert at the University of Guadalajara, in Mexico. He says the government has lobbied the church for support in its efforts, especially as Mexico has wearied under surging violence.
Culture wars, particularly over abortion and gay marriage in Mexico's liberal capital, have also brought the church and Calder?n's conservative administration closer together.
But that closeness is causing rifts within the church, says Mr. Ramos. While the hierarchy underlines its support for Calder?n, activists are demanding a change in the strategy of the drug war.
Ties between churches, traffickers?
Some churches have benefited from the criminal underworld, receiving hefty donations from members who sit in their pews on Sundays but work as traffickers during the week. Mr. Palacios says the church needs to address the local financial relationships between clergy and drug traffickers. He says priests should discourage donations from drug traffickers, not allowing them to pay for church festivals or repairs to buildings, for example.
But priests and their congregations have also been the target of violence. Masses have been interrupted by gunfire, and some priests have been shot. Many priests have reported being victims of extortion.
Despite such challenges, though, Vera has forged ahead as a priest and human rights activist. Among those he helps are the hundreds of disappeared victims of the state.
"Vera's leadership has been exceptional in helping the families of the disappeared in [the Mexican state of] Coahuila fight back fear, get organized, and find a voice," says Nik Steinberg of Human Rights Watch. "These families are demanding justice from government officials, who often find it easier to pass off victims as criminals than to conduct real investigations into their cases."
In 2010 Vera's work was recognized internationally: He was awarded the prestigious Rafto Prize in Norway, given for human rights work.
Pushback from church superiors
But outspokenness can carry a cost; Vera has faced opposition from within the church since transforming from a theological conservative to an advocate for gays and other marginalized minorities.
This summer, an anonymous group hung banners on the Saltillo cathedral criticizing Vera's theology. "We want a Catholic bishop," read one. The Vatican then summoned him to explain his support of gay rights advocates.
His words rile the government, too, but he has forged ahead nevertheless.
"There are very few men of the cloth in Mexico who speak out on any issue, left or right," says Palacios. "But Vera is also a public intellectual who has the capacity to engage non-Catholic influentials in Mexico ? academics, [nongovernment organization] staff, human rights advocates, the press."
Asked about risks to his safety, Vera waves his hand: "I am inspired by the sufferings of the people," he says.
? Staff writer Sara Miller Llana contributed to this report from Mexico City.
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RELATED: 5 facts about Mexico's powerful Sinaloa drug cartel
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120113/wl_csm/445898
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