Experts call for small and easy changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the "bible" of psychiatry, so that everyone with autism spectrum disorder qualifies for a diagnosis
By Ferris Jabr
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January 30, 2012?|
DIAGNOSING THE DSM: The DSM-5 should sharpen the definition of autism, if the American Psychiatric Association makes a few tweaks in timeImage: UrsaHoogle, iStockphoto
People have been arguing about autism for a long time?about what causes it, how to treat it and whether it qualifies as a mental disorder. The controversial idea that childhood vaccines trigger autism also persists, despite the fact that study after study has failed to find any evidence of such a link. Now, psychiatrists and members of the autistic community are embroiled in a more legitimate kerfuffle that centers on the definition of autism and how clinicians diagnose the disorder. The debate is not pointless semantics. In many cases, the type and number of symptoms clinicians look for when diagnosing autism determines how easy or difficult it is for autistic people to access medical, social and educational services.
The controversy remains front and center because the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has almost finished redefining autism, along with all other mental disorders, in an overhaul of a hefty tome dubbed the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)?the essential reference guide that clinicians use when evaluating their patients. The newest edition of the manual, the DSM-5, is slated for publication in May 2013. Psychiatrists and parents have voiced concerns that the new definition of autism in the DSM-5 will exclude many people from both a diagnosis and state services that depend on a diagnosis.
The devilish confusion is in the details. When the APA publishes the DSM-5, people who have already met the criteria for autism in the current DSM-IV will not suddenly lose their current diagnosis as some parents have feared, nor will they lose state services. But several studies recently published in child psychiatry journals suggest that it will be more difficult for new generations of high-functioning autistic people to receive a diagnosis because the DSM-5 criteria are too strict. Together, the studies conclude that the major changes to the definition of autism in the DSM-5 are well grounded in research and that the new criteria are more accurate than the current DSM-IV criteria. But in its efforts to make diagnosis more accurate, the APA may have raised the bar for autism a little too high, neglecting autistic people whose symptoms are not as severe as others. The studies also point out, however, that minor tweaks to the DSM-5 criteria would make a big difference, bringing autistic people with milder symptoms or sets of symptoms that differ from classic autism back into the spectrum
A new chapter
Autism is a disorder in which a child's brain does not develop typically, and neurons form connections in unusual ways. The major features of autism are impaired social interaction and communication?such as delayed language development, avoiding eye-contact and difficulty making friends?as well as restricted and repetitive behavior, such as repeatedly making the same sound or intense fascination with a particular toy.
The DSM-5 subsumes autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)?which are all distinct disorders in DSM-IV?into one category called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The idea is that these conditions have such similar symptoms that they do not belong in separate categories, but instead fall on the same continuum.
Essentially, to qualify for a diagnosis of autistic disorder in DSM-IV, a patient must show at least six of 12 symptoms, which are divided into three groups: deficits in social interaction; deficits in communication; and repetitive and restricted behaviors and interests. In contrast, the DSM-5 divides seven symptoms of ASD into two main groups: deficits in social communication and social interaction; and restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests. (For a closer look at the changes, read the companion piece: "Autism Is Not a Math Problem". You can also compare DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria for autism on the APA's Web site.)
The APA collapsed the social interaction and communication groups from DSM-IV into one group in the new edition because research in the last decade has shown that the symptoms in these groups almost always appear together. Research and clinical experience has also established that heightened or dulled sensitivity to sensory experiences is a core feature of autism, which is why it appears in DSM-5 but not in the preceding version. The psychiatric community has generally applauded these changes to the criteria for ASD.
What is in question is how many of the DSM-5 criteria a patient must meet to receive a diagnosis?too many and the manual excludes autistic people with fewer or milder symptoms; too few and it assigns autism to people who don't have it. Since the 1980s the prevalence of autism has dramatically increased worldwide, especially in the U.S. where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nine per 1,000 children have been diagnosed with ASD. Many psychiatrists agree that the increase is at least partially explained by loose criteria in DSM-IV.
"If the DSM-IV criteria are taken too literally, anybody in the world could qualify for Asperger's or PDD-NOS," says Catherine Lord, one of the members of the APA's DSM-5 Development Neurodevelopmental Disorders Work Group. "The specificity is terrible. We need to make sure the criteria are not pulling in kids who do not have these disorders."
I'm looking for Rp partners, because so far all of the good rp's I've seen are either too crowded, too far along, inactive, or never started. If someone could point me in the right direction, that would be helpful ^^.
I do lot's of Rp's, nearly anything you're up to, with a few exceptions. I'm literate, but not used to forum's, since I role played on iScribble for the last two or three years. I haven't counted word for word my posts, but I'm guessing I could do 200-400 words? 400 on a good day... or I might be way off and it's like 100-300. (but... 100 seems pretty short.) I'm literate, and hate one liners. I just might virtually slap you. No word substitutes 'U, r, da,' ew, hate those so much. I'm not a Grammar Nazi though, if you forget commas or have a run on sentence or don't list actions properly i'm not going to get mad, as long as I understand what you're saying. anyways, back to what I'm looking for.
What I will rp with you: (In order of epicness) Fantasy Demons Angels Vampires Witches Werewolves Creatures High School Shonen-ai/Yaoi/Yuri/GAY STUFFS Romance Horror Circus Action? Apocalypse Animals Warriors (Not a favorite, but I'll do it) Fantasy Animals Asylum Rp's Lab Testing Anime based- (Probably Romance) -Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji -Soul Eater -Ouran High School Host Club -Inuyasha (It's been awhile so, meh) -Naruto (Don't really like the show anymore, but I loved season 1) -High School Of the Dead -Vampire Knight -Pokemon -Jounju Romantica -Hey Class President (I DON'T CARE IF THERE'S ONLY 2 EPISODES) -Hellsing OVA
I'm not really a fan of... Movie/Video game based rp's Fan based rp's (Except I'm okay with specifically Anime... it's kind of weird how that works) Dragons Undeveloped Characters. You may not think your character isn't very developed, but trust me when I tell you it is. I hate one line descriptions and two word personalities. I hate even more undeveloped depressing characters. I'm ALL FOR developed depressing characters, but if your character is a Mary-sue of a horrible past with cliche add-on's then no, it might not work. Example: Sam. Long blonde hair and blue eyes. She's quiet and shy. When she was 5 her parents were murdered and she became an orphan. She's suicidal and cuts her wrists.
Great, now my character is going to feel bad for your character in the beginning, because I know you're going to make it apparent and obvious and tell him right away.
So.... develop your characters please.
Btw, I don't think I can PM people yet. You could help me out with that though.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A group of 44 senators, all but one Republican, have signed on to proposed legislation that would authorize the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline despite the refusal of President Barack Obama to advance the project.
Republican Senator John Hoeven is set to introduce the bill on Monday that, if passed into law, would allow work to begin immediately on all but the sensitive Nebraska portion of TransCanada's $7 billion controversial project.
It's not yet clear how the bill will advance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the lone Democrat to sign on as a co-sponsor of the bill, but other Democratic senators have in the past expressed support for the project.
Obama put the pipeline on the backburner earlier in January, saying the administration needed more time to review the environmental impact in Nebraska, where the state government is evaluating a new route after rejecting an initial plan that sent the line through a sensitive aquifer region.
The bill, led by Hoeven, Richard Lugar and David Vitter, incorporates an environmental review done by the U.S. State Department, and allows Nebraska time to find a new route.
"It will create thousands of jobs, help control fuel prices at the pump and reduce our reliance on Middle East oil," Hoeven said in a statement.
Environmentalists pushed for Obama to block the pipeline because they believe oil sands crude is a bigger polluter than other grades of oil. They have also accused TransCanada and its supporters of inflating job creation numbers from the project.
Obama has not rejected the project altogether, and TransCanada has said it plans to apply for another presidential permit. But that process would stretch beyond the 2012 election.
The new Senate bill -- which would require Obama's signature to become law -- would bypass Obama and let instead Congress approve the project. A study by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said Congress has the constitutional right to legislate permits for cross-border pipelines.
The State Department has said authority for the pipeline should stay with the administration because of the foreign policy, economic, environmental and safety issues involved.
Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives also are considering legislation to advance the project.
House Speaker John Boehner said on Sunday that Keystone legislation could be included in a highway and infrastructure bill that Congress will consider in February.
SIERRA BLANCA, Texas ? Nestled among the few remaining businesses that dot a rundown highway in this dusty West Texas town stands what's become a surprise destination for marijuana-toting celebrities: the Hudspeth County Jail.
Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and actor Armie Hammer have been among the thousands of people busted for possession at a Border Patrol checkpoint outside town in recent years, bringing a bit of notoriety to one of Texas' most sparsely populated counties.
"Once I was in Arizona, and when I said where I was from, they said, `That's where Willie Nelson was busted,'" said Louise Barantley, manager at the Coyote Sunset souvenir shop in Sierra Blanca.
Hudspeth County cameos aren't only for outlaws: Action movie star Steven Seagal, who's already deputized in Louisiana and Arizona for his reality show "Steven Seagal Lawman" on A&E, has signed on to become a county officer.
Locals already have found ways to rub shoulders with their celebrity guests.
Deputies posed for pictures with Snoop Dogg after authorities said they found several joints on his bus earlier this month. When Nelson was busted here in 2010, the county's lead prosecutor suggested the singer settle his marijuana charges by performing "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" for the court. Nelson paid a fine instead, but not before county commissioner Wayne West played one of his own songs for the country music legend.
West acknowledged he's a big fan of Nelson and wanted to capitalize on a golden chance to perform for such a noted "captive audience."
"Willie loved the song, he is a real outgoing individual" he added.
The once-thriving town of Sierra Blanca began to shrink to its current 1,000-person population after the construction of nearby Interstate 10 ? a main artery linking cities from California to Florida ? offered an easy way to bypass the community.
Now the highway is sending thousands of drug bust cases Sierra Blanca's way, courtesy of a Border Patrol checkpoint just outside of town where drug-sniffing dogs inspect more than 17,000 trucks, travelers ? and tour buses ? daily for whiffs of contraband that may have made its way inland from the border.
Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West, younger brother of the musically inclined commissioner, said his office handled about 2,000 cases last year, most of them having to do with drugs seized at the checkpoint.
Border Patrol agents say people busted with small amounts of pot often say they have medical marijuana licenses from California, Arizona or New Mexico ? three states along I-10 that, unlike Texas, allow for medicinal pot prescriptions ? and claim to believe the licenses were valid nationwide.
Nelson's publicists declined to comment about the specifics of the singer's case. Representatives for Snoop Dogg, who will pay a fine and court costs after being cited for possession of marijuana paraphernalia, did not return several messages seeking comment.
County authorities have not yet decided whether to prosecute or issue a citation for Hammer, who starred in the 2010 film "The Social Network" and more recently played the FBI's number two man in "J. Edgar" He was arrested in November on his way to his wife's bakery in San Antonio after authorities said they found marijuana-laced brownies and cookies. His attorney Kent Schaffer has called the case a "total non-issue."
Local officials say they're not on a celebrity witch hunt, but some residents are enjoying the publicity from the high-profile arrests. They say the once forgotten town of Sierra Blanca should take pride in not pandering to famous people caught breaking the law.
"We get attention because something is being done right," resident Adolfo Gonzalez said while shopping at a local convenience store. "It'd be worse if we'd let them go because they are celebrities."
That's not expected to change when Seagal comes to town. Sheriff West insists the "Under Siege" star hasn't indicated any plans to film his show here ? but the sheriff isn't ruling it out.
"If he wants to, we can do it but that's not what he said this was about," West said.
West's spokesman, Rusty Flemming, said Seagal will patrol the area and train colleagues in martial arts and weapons techniques. The actor is expected to arrive in Hudspeth County within months, once he's done filming a new movie in Canada.
Seagal's management agency did not return calls and emails seeking comment about his plans in Texas.
Commissioner West, meanwhile, is keeping his musical skills sharp ? just in case another performer pays a surprise visit to the county jail. The lead guitarist and vocalist of a local band, West said he regrets not having a chance to sing for Snoop Dogg, but wasn't sure if the rapper would have enjoyed the performance anyway.
"Our stuff is laid back," he said. "Mas o menos (more or less) country."
This citizen journalism image provide by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria and released early Friday Jan. 27, 2012, purports to show a Syrian man, right, mourning over the dead body of his son, who was shot by the Syrian forces, in Idlib province, Syria, on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A "terrifying massacre" in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed more than 30 people, including small children, in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Friday. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO
This citizen journalism image provide by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria and released early Friday Jan. 27, 2012, purports to show a Syrian man, right, mourning over the dead body of his son, who was shot by the Syrian forces, in Idlib province, Syria, on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A "terrifying massacre" in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed more than 30 people, including small children, in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Friday. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO
This citizen journalism image provided by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria and released on Friday Jan. 27, 2012, purports to show the bodies of five Syrian children wrapped in plastic bags, with signs in Arabic identifying them by name. Activists say the children were killed in a shelling attack by Syrian forces, in the Karm el-Zaytoun neighborhood of Homs, Syria, on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 A "terrifying massacre" in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed more than 30 people, including small children, in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Friday. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO EDITORIAL USE ONLY
An anti-Syrian regime protester, gestures during a demonstration against Syrian President Bashar Assad, at Khalidya area in Homs province, central Syria, on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Syrian troops stormed a flashpoint suburb of Damascus on Thursday, rounding people up in house-to-house raids and clashing with army defectors, activists said, as the 10-month-old uprising inches ever closer to the capital. (AP Photo)
Syrian army defectors stand guard on a rooftop to secure an anti-Syrian regime protest in the Deir Baghlaba area in Homs province, central Syria, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad barraged residential buildings with mortars and machine-gun fire, killing at least 30 people, including a family of women and children during a day of sectarian killings and kidnappings in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, activists said Friday. (AP Photo)
Syrian army defectors secure a street near an anti-Syrian regime protest in the Deir Baghlaba area of Homs province, central Syria, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad barraged residential buildings with mortars and machine-gun fire, killing at least 30 people, including a family of women and children during a day of sectarian killings and kidnappings in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, activists said Friday. (AP Photo)
BEIRUT (AP) ? The Arab League halted its observer mission in Syria on Saturday because of escalating violence that killed nearly 100 people the past three days, as pro-Assad forces battled dissident soldiers in a belt of suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus in the most intense fighting yet so close to the capital.
The rising bloodshed has added urgency to new attempts by Arab and Western countries to find a resolution to the 10 months of violence that according to the United Nations has killed at least 5,400 people as Assad seeks to crush persistent protests demanding an end to his rule.
The United Nations is holding talks on a new resolution on Syria and next week will discuss an Arab peace plan aimed at ending the crisis. But the initiatives face two major obstacles: Damascus' rejection of an Arab peace plan which it says impinges on its sovereignty, and Russia's willingness to use its U.N. Security Council veto to protect Syria from sanctions.
Syria's Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar vowed the crackdown would go on, telling families of security members killed in the past months that security forces "will continue their struggle to clean Syria's soil of the outlaws."
Government forces launched a heavy assault on a string of suburbs and villages on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, aiming to uproot protesters and dissident soldiers who have joined the opposition, activists said.
Troops in tanks and armored personnel carriers attacked the suburbs of Kfar Batna, Saqba, Jisreen and Arbeen, the closest of which lie only a few miles from downtown Damascus, said the Local Coordination Committees activist network and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Dissident troops were fighting back against the attackers, they said.
In a nearby suburb, Douma, gunmen ambushed a bus carrying army officers, the state-run news agency SANA, calling the attackers "terrorists." It said seven officers were killed.
The assault in the suburbs seemed to be a sign of the growing presence of dissident soldiers closer to the capital. Although the tightly controlled Damascus has been relatively quiet since the uprising began, its outskirts have witnessed intense anti-regime protests and army defectors have become more visible and active in the past few months.
"The fighting today is the most intense near the capital since the uprising began," said Rami Abdul-Rahman who heads the Observatory for Human Rights. "The Syrian regime is trying to finish the uprising militarily now that the case is being taken to the United Nations."
In Saqba, electricity and phone lines were cut off and mosque loudspeakers told residents to say in lower floors for fear high buildings might get hit in the fighting, said Omar Hamza, an activist in the district. "Random shelling and sound of explosions terrified the people," he told The Associated Press.
He said army defectors had managed to stop the advancing troops. The regime forces are putting all their force to finish the Free Syrian Army and protesters in the Damascus suburbs," Hamza said.
The Free Syrian Army force of anti-regime military defectors is based in Turkey, and its fighters frequently try to cross into Syria through the mountainous border area in the northwest. SANA reported that Syrian troops prevented gunmen from crossing in from Turkey on Saturday in fighting that it said left many of the infiltrators killed or wounded.
The LCC and the Observatory also reported intense fighting between troops and defectors in the town of Rastan near the restive central city of Homs.
The Observatory said at least 36 people, were killed across the country Saturday, including 17 civilians, three defectors and 16 troops, while the LCC said 20 died, half of them in Homs province, which has been one of the areas hardest hit by government crackdowns. The new deaths come after two days of bloody turmoil killed at least 74 people, including small children.
In the eastern oil-rich province of Deir el-Zour, an oil pipeline took a direct hit and caught fire as government troops shelled a nearby town, the two groups also said, reporting at least one person dead. State media blamed "terrorists" in the attack.
The month-old Arab League observer mission in Syria had come under widespread criticism for failing to bring a halt to the regime's crackdown. Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia pulled out of the mission Tuesday, asking the U.N. Security Council to intervene.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said in a statement that the organization decided to halt the observers' work immediately because of the increasing violence, until the League's council can meet to decide the mission's fate.
He sharply criticized Damascus for the spike in bloodshed, saying the regime has "resorted to escalating the military option in complete violation of (its) commitments" to end the crackdown, Elaraby said. He said the victims of the violence have been "innocent citizens," in an implicit rejection of Syria's claims that it is fighting "terrorists."
Syria's state-run news agency quoted an unnamed official saying Damascus "regrets and is surprised" by the Arab League decision after Syria agreed to extend the observer's mission for another month. The official said the halt aims "to pressure the talks in order to call for external intervention in Syria's internal affairs," referring to the U.N. talks.
Elaraby's deputy, Ahmed Ben Heli, told reporters that the around 100 observers will remain in Damascus while their mission is "reevaluated." He suggested the observers could resume their work in the future...
Elaraby and the prime minister of Qatar were set to leave for New York on Sunday to seek U.N. support for the latest Arab plan to end Syria's crisis. The plans calls for a two-month transition to a unity government, with Assad giving his vice president full powers to work with the proposed government.
Syria has rejected the proposal, saying it violates its sovereignty. Elaraby had previously been due to travel Saturday, but his trip was pushed back to Sunday with no explanation.
The U.N. Security Council began closed-door negotiations Friday on a new Arab-European draft resolution aimed at resolving the crisis, but Russia's envoy said he could not back the current language as it stands.
Any resolution faces strong opposition from China and Russia, and both nations have veto power. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the text introduced by new Arab Security Council member Morocco has "red lines" for Moscow, but he's willing to "engage" with the resolution's sponsors.
Churkin said those lines include any indication of sanctions, including an arms embargo. "We need to concentrate on establishing political dialogue," he said.
____
Batrawy reported from Cairo; Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
___
Bassem Mroue can be reached on twitter at http://twitter.com/bmroue
by Adam Chitwood????Posted:January 26th, 2012 at 11:23 am
Relativity Media?s take on the Snow White story, Mirror Mirror, is undergoing a slight schedule change. The studio has pushed the release of the Tarsem Singh-directed film back from March 16th to March 30th. The film will now open the same weekend as Wrath of the Titans and The Pirates! Band of Misfits. More interesting, though, is the fact that this move now positions the film after the release of Lionsgate?s highly anticipated The Hunger Games. The studio is hoping Games becomes the next big franchise in the vein of Harry Potter, as the book series comes with millions of devoted fans.
Mirror Mirror is one of two Snow White movies coming out this year (the other is Snow White and the Huntsman), and Singh?s light and fluffy take on the fairy tale looks genuinely terrible. It appears to be more farce than anything, and I highly doubt young teenagers will choose Mirror Mirror over a second go-around with The Hunger Games come opening weekend.
Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi nuclear power plant No. 3, right, and No. 4 reactors are seen in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, north of Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday began their first inspection of the Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests" _ a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi nuclear power plant No. 3, right, and No. 4 reactors are seen in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, north of Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday began their first inspection of the Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests" _ a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi nuclear power plant No. 2, right, No. 3, center, and No. 4 reactors are seen in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, north of Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday began their first inspection of the Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests" _ a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team leader James Lyons, center, speaks during a press conference following their inspection tour of Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi nuclear power plant in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, western Japan, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The IAEA experts on Thursday began their first inspection of a Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests" _ a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi nuclear power plant No. 3 reactor stands in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, north of Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday began their first inspection of the Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests," a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
FILE - This July 16, file 2011 photo shows Kansai Electric Power Co.'s No. 3, right, and No. 4 units of the Ohi nuclear power plant in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, western Japan. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 began their first inspection of the Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests," a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. A 10-member IAEA team was inspecting the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the plant. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, FRANCE, HONG KONG, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA
OHI, Japan (AP) ? International inspectors are visiting a rugged Japanese bay region so thick with reactors it is dubbed "Nuclear Alley," where residents remain deeply conflicted as Japan moves to restart plants idled after the Fukushima disaster.
The local economy depends heavily on the industry, and the national government hopes that "stress tests" at idled plants ? the first of which is being reviewed this week by the International Atomic Energy Agency ? will show they are safe enough to switch back on.
But last year's tsunami crisis in northeastern Japan with meltdowns at three of the Fukushima reactors has fanned opposition to the plants here in western Fukui prefecture, a mountainous region surrounding Wakasa Bay that also relies on fishing and tourism and where the governor has come out strongly against nuclear power.
"We don't need another Fukushima, and we don't want to repeat the same mistake here," said Eiichi Inoue, a 63-year-old retiree in the coastal town of Obama. "I know they added stress tests, but what exactly are they doing?"
"I oppose restarting them," he said.
Other residents said that economic realities made the plants indispensable, including Chikako Shimamoto, a 38-year-old fitness instructor in Takahama, a town that hosts one of the region's nuclear plants.
"We all know that we better not restart them," Shimamoto said. "But we need jobs and we need business in this town.
"Our lives in this town depends on the nuclear power plant and we have no choice," she said.
On Thursday, an IAEA team visited a plant in the town of Ohi to check whether officials at operator Kansai Electric Power Co. had correctly done the tests at two reactors. The tests are designed to assess whether plants can withstand earthquakes, tsunamis, loss of power or other emergencies, and suggest changes to improve safety.
Their visit, at Japan's invitation, appeared aimed at reassuring a skeptical public that authorities are taking the necessary precautions before bringing nuclear plants back on line. After the visit, IAEA team leader James Lyons said its assessment would be released at the end of the month but deciding whether to restart the reactors was up to the Japanese goverment.
Some experts are critical of the stress tests, saying they are meaningless because they have no clear criteria, and view the IAEA as biased toward the nuclear industry.
"I don't view their evaluation as something that is trustworthy or carries any weight," said Hiromitsu Ino, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and member of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency's stress test panel.
The government idled of Japan's 54 reactors for mandatory tests and maintenance after the Fukushima disaster. The number still operating dropped from four to three Friday morning, when Chugoku Electric Power Co. suspended operations at the Shimane No. 2 reactor for scheduled tests.
If no idled plants get approval to restart, the country will be without an operating reactor by the end of April.
Before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima crisis, nuclear plants generated about 30 percent of the country's electricity. To make up for the shortfall, utilities are temporarily turning to conventional oil and coal-fired plants, and the government has required companies to reduce their electricity consumption.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power over time, but it still needs some nuclear power until next-generation sources are developed.
In Fukui, 13 reactors at four complexes are clustered along a 55-kilometer (35-mile) stretch of coast with snow capped mountains facing the Sea of Japan. It's known as "Gempatsu Ginza," a phrase that roughly translates to "Nuclear Alley."
Only one of the 13 reactors is still running. The rest have been shut down for regular inspections required every 13 months. To start running again, they must pass the stress test.
Another hurdle will be gaining local support for the plants to restart. While local consent is not legally required for that to happen, authorities generally want to win local backing and make efforts to do so.
Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa, however, says he will not allow a startup of any of the prefecture's commercial reactors.
And the city assembly in Obama ? a town that briefly enjoyed international fame when it endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential race? has submitted an appeal to the central Tokyo government to make Japan nuclear-free.
But officials in Mihama, another town that hosts a nuclear plant, have expressed support for the town's three reactors also operated by Kansai Electric, also called Kepco.
Fukui is a largely rural area, traditionally focused on fishing and farming, but it has a significant textile and machinery industry, and boasts of being a major producer of eyeglasses. Its nuclear power plants supply approximately half of all the electricity used in the greater Kansai region, which includes Osaka and Kyoto.
Several towns' fortunes are tied closely to the nuclear industry.
Community centers and roads are paid by the government subsidies for hosting the plants. Closing the plants not only means losing jobs for thousands of workers, but hardship for stores, restaurants and other service industries.
Many of those interviewed had family members, relatives or friends with jobs at the plants, and some refused to give their names due to fear of repercussions.
Noda has said the final decision on restarting nuclear plants would be political, suggesting that the government would override any local opposition if Japan's energy needs become dire.
Naozane Sakashita, a taxi and bus driver, said his salary had decreased "substantially" after the Ohi and other plants went offline.
"I think these idle plants should resume as soon as their safety is confirmed," he said. "Our jobs and daily life are more important than a disaster that occurs only once in a million years."
Still, he said he is concerned about the safety of the plants because his son works as a control room operator at the Takahama plant.
"If our economy prospers without compromising our safety, of course it would be best to live without nuclear energy," he said.
Vic Alboini, a Research in Motion shareholder and also president & CEO of Jaguar Financial, discusses why Research in Motion needed a change in management.
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As controversy rages around the scientists who created mutant strains of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, leading flu researchers have called for a 60-day voluntary pause on such work. The call comes in a statement jointly published today in Nature (R. A. M. Fouchier et al. Nature481, 443; 2012) and Science.
On 20 December, the United States government ? acting on advice from the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) ? asked both journals to publish only the main conclusions of two flu studies, but not to reveal details "that could enable replication of the experiments by those who would seek to do harm" (see 'Call to censor flu studies draws fire'). The journals and the authors have agreed to this redaction, on the condition that a mechanism is established to disseminate the information to legitimate flu researchers on a need-to-know basis.
The US government, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other bodies are now frantically trying to put together this mechanism, along with a framework for international oversight of such research. The signatories of today's statement, including the key authors behind the controversial research, say that the pause is intended to allow time for this discussion. "We realize that organizations and governments around the world need time to find the best solutions for opportunities and challenges that stem from the work," they write.
The scientists add that they intend to organize an international forum to debate the risks and benefits of the research. "We recognize that we and the rest of the scientific community need to clearly explain the benefits of this important research and the measures taken to minimize its possible risks," they write.
"Scientists need to have their voices heard in this debate," says Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, lead investigator on the paper submitted to Nature and a signatory of today's statement. "We hope that by having a calm and reasoned discussion of the facts, scientists and biosecurity experts can reach a better understanding and find ways to enable the research to go forward while minimizing risks."
Bioterrorism is just one potential risk of such research. More worrying to some researchers is that if a mutant virus were to accidentally escape from the lab, it could cause a H5N1 pandemic. The authors of the statement say that they hope to "assure" the public that the viruses are in safe hands in secure containment facilities. Such research is currently classed as requiring biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) enhanced containment facilities, but many scientists argue that it should be done only in BSL-4 labs, which have the highest biosafety rating (see 'Fears grow over lab-bred flu').
"I am very much in favour of having a pause," says Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). He concedes that the length of the pause is not long, but that researchers were concerned about having an open-ended moratorium. "60 days as a start I think is reasonable, and after 60 days we will re-evaluate it," he says.
"The pause is welcome in the sense that hopefully it will relieve some of the immediate urgency in terms of trying to chart a course forward," agrees Michael Osterholm, who heads the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy in Minneapolis, and is a member of the NSABB.
WASHINGTON ? South Carolina voters in Saturday's Republican presidential primary were focused on the economy and looking for a candidate who could defeat President Barack Obama in this fall's election, preliminary results from an exit poll of voters showed.
The figures also suggested that the final days of the campaign in the state could have an important impact on the results.
Around half said they'd chosen whom to support in just the last few days, and around the same number said candidates' debates played a major role in making their decisions. There were two debates in the state in the campaign's closing days.
Most expressed positive opinions about the background of Mitt Romney, the former head of Bain Capital, a venture capital firm. Some GOP rivals ? including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia ? criticized Romney and the company for being callous about workers when they invested in companies.
In addition, the voters divided about evenly over whether Romney or Gingrich had run the most unfair campaign. Fewer said so about another contender, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Given a choice of four issues that mattered most in deciding how to vote, more than half chose the economy. A strong majority said they are very worried about the direction the nation's economy seems to be taking, and around a third said someone in their household has lost a job in the last three years.
South Carolina's unemployment rate of 9.9 percent is well above the national average.
The next most cited issue was the federal deficit.
The preliminary data also show that when it comes to the desired qualities of a candidate, nearly half want someone who can defeat Obama this November. Smaller, roughly equal numbers were seeking a contender with the right experience, with strong moral character and a true conservative.
The conservative and religious viewpoints of many of the state's GOP voters were also clear.
Solid majorities consider themselves conservative and around the same number support the tea party. Well more than half say they are born again or evangelical Christians, and a majority said it was important that their candidate shares their religious beliefs.
Around 1 in 4 voters said they were military veterans.
A majority expressed satisfaction with the performance of Nikki Haley as South Carolina's governor. Haley was elected to the post with strong tea party support and has endorsed Romney.
The survey was conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research as voters left their polling places at 35 randomly selected sites in South Carolina. The survey involved interviews with 1,577 voters and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
___
Associated Press global polling director Trevor Tompson contributed to this report.
Metastasis of pancreatic cancer in action Public release date: 19-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Karen Kreeger karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu 215-349-5658 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
PHILADELPHIA - Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected. What's more, they showed that inflammation enhances cancer progression in part by facilitating a cellular transformation that leads to entry of cancer cells into the circulation. They report their findings this week in Cell.
Metastasis has been difficult to study because it involves a series of unpredictable events. To capture these events, the team developed a sensitive method to tag and track pancreatic epithelial cells in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Tagged cells invaded and entered the bloodstream unexpectedly early, before overt malignancy could be detected by rigorous analysis of tissue slides.
Pancreatic cancer is among the most lethal of cancers, with no real treatments, and at the time of diagnosis up to three-quarters of patients have metastatic disease, says Stanger. Little is known about how pancreatic cancer cells spread, "What leads to this are rare events that are hard to catch in tissues. Small numbers of cells break off tumors and move, but how can we find them?"
These wandering cells are associated with a phenomenon called the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This change in cell motility is an important process during the development of embryos. But when the transition is aberrantly reactivated in adults it can have dire physiological consequences, leading to cancer metastasis as well as other disease processes. Epithelial cells form a covering or lining of a body surface and are the type of cell from which most solid tumors arise. However, when a molecular switch is turned off or absent, epithelial cells acquire characteristics of another cell type, called mesenchymal cells, and gain the ability to migrate and move away from the primary tumor site.
Using a mouse model of pancreatic cancer developed at Penn in 2005, the team delivered mutations in an oncogene and a tumor suppressor protein, K-ras and p53 respectively, in the pancreas. A green marker was also induced in the embryos' still-forming pancreas. At about one to two months, the juvenile mice developed pre-malignant lesions, and at about four to five months full blown pancreatic cancer.
During this time, the mouse pancreatic epithelial cells lost their epithelial characteristics and became more like mesenchymal cells, blending in and making their way to the bloodstream. True epithelial cells are sticky, keeping linings tightly connected, but these imposter epithelial cells changed identity, becoming less sticky.
With the green stain, the researchers were able to detect the transition from epithelial cell to mesenchymal cell in a tissue slide, showing many green cells that had undergone EMT. "We are now able to see what was before before unseeable the pancreas cells that have taken on a disguise," says Stanger.
What spurs the EMT in first place? The team surmised that it was inflammation, so they blocked inflammation with an immunosuppressant, and at about eight to ten weeks, the green cells undergoing EMT disappeared. Conversely, when they induced pancreatitis- associated inflammation, the EMT green cells increased.
In trying to relate these findings to metastasis, they looked for green EMT cells outside of the pancreas and found them in the blood and distinct tissues such as the liver at eight to ten weeks of age, long before a pathologist would recognize it as cancer.
"These results provide new insight into the earliest events of cellular invasion and suggest that inflammation enhances cancer progression by giving cells increased access to the bloodstream," says Stanger.
The team plans to use the methodology used in this study to enhance the detection of spreading cells in human patients at an early timepoint, when therapy could have a greater impact.
Both the development of the pancreatic cancer mouse model and Dr. Stanger's current work were partially funded by research grants from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. "We are highly encouraged by Dr. Stanger's recent results," said Lynn Matrisian, PhD, vice president of Scientific and Medical Affairs at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. "A deeper understanding of the disease biology, and in particular metastasis, will move us closer to our goal of doubling the survival rate of pancreatic cancer by the year 2020."
###
This work was also supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK088945; NIDDK007066; NCI134292; NCI138907; NCI117969; NIDDK083355; NIDDK083111), the National Pancreas Foundation, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Pew Charitable Trust.
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4 billion enterprise.
Penn's Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools and among the top 10 schools for primary care. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $507.6 million awarded in the 2010 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top 10 hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2010, Penn Medicine provided $788 million to benefit our community.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Metastasis of pancreatic cancer in action Public release date: 19-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Karen Kreeger karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu 215-349-5658 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
PHILADELPHIA - Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected. What's more, they showed that inflammation enhances cancer progression in part by facilitating a cellular transformation that leads to entry of cancer cells into the circulation. They report their findings this week in Cell.
Metastasis has been difficult to study because it involves a series of unpredictable events. To capture these events, the team developed a sensitive method to tag and track pancreatic epithelial cells in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Tagged cells invaded and entered the bloodstream unexpectedly early, before overt malignancy could be detected by rigorous analysis of tissue slides.
Pancreatic cancer is among the most lethal of cancers, with no real treatments, and at the time of diagnosis up to three-quarters of patients have metastatic disease, says Stanger. Little is known about how pancreatic cancer cells spread, "What leads to this are rare events that are hard to catch in tissues. Small numbers of cells break off tumors and move, but how can we find them?"
These wandering cells are associated with a phenomenon called the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This change in cell motility is an important process during the development of embryos. But when the transition is aberrantly reactivated in adults it can have dire physiological consequences, leading to cancer metastasis as well as other disease processes. Epithelial cells form a covering or lining of a body surface and are the type of cell from which most solid tumors arise. However, when a molecular switch is turned off or absent, epithelial cells acquire characteristics of another cell type, called mesenchymal cells, and gain the ability to migrate and move away from the primary tumor site.
Using a mouse model of pancreatic cancer developed at Penn in 2005, the team delivered mutations in an oncogene and a tumor suppressor protein, K-ras and p53 respectively, in the pancreas. A green marker was also induced in the embryos' still-forming pancreas. At about one to two months, the juvenile mice developed pre-malignant lesions, and at about four to five months full blown pancreatic cancer.
During this time, the mouse pancreatic epithelial cells lost their epithelial characteristics and became more like mesenchymal cells, blending in and making their way to the bloodstream. True epithelial cells are sticky, keeping linings tightly connected, but these imposter epithelial cells changed identity, becoming less sticky.
With the green stain, the researchers were able to detect the transition from epithelial cell to mesenchymal cell in a tissue slide, showing many green cells that had undergone EMT. "We are now able to see what was before before unseeable the pancreas cells that have taken on a disguise," says Stanger.
What spurs the EMT in first place? The team surmised that it was inflammation, so they blocked inflammation with an immunosuppressant, and at about eight to ten weeks, the green cells undergoing EMT disappeared. Conversely, when they induced pancreatitis- associated inflammation, the EMT green cells increased.
In trying to relate these findings to metastasis, they looked for green EMT cells outside of the pancreas and found them in the blood and distinct tissues such as the liver at eight to ten weeks of age, long before a pathologist would recognize it as cancer.
"These results provide new insight into the earliest events of cellular invasion and suggest that inflammation enhances cancer progression by giving cells increased access to the bloodstream," says Stanger.
The team plans to use the methodology used in this study to enhance the detection of spreading cells in human patients at an early timepoint, when therapy could have a greater impact.
Both the development of the pancreatic cancer mouse model and Dr. Stanger's current work were partially funded by research grants from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. "We are highly encouraged by Dr. Stanger's recent results," said Lynn Matrisian, PhD, vice president of Scientific and Medical Affairs at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. "A deeper understanding of the disease biology, and in particular metastasis, will move us closer to our goal of doubling the survival rate of pancreatic cancer by the year 2020."
###
This work was also supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK088945; NIDDK007066; NCI134292; NCI138907; NCI117969; NIDDK083355; NIDDK083111), the National Pancreas Foundation, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Pew Charitable Trust.
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4 billion enterprise.
Penn's Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools and among the top 10 schools for primary care. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $507.6 million awarded in the 2010 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top 10 hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2010, Penn Medicine provided $788 million to benefit our community.
[ | 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.
ESO's VISTA telescope, at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, has captured a striking new image of the Helix Nebula. This picture, taken in infrared light, reveals strands of cold nebular gas that are invisible in images taken in visible light, as well as bringing to light a rich background of stars and galaxies.
The Helix Nebula is one of the closest and most remarkable examples of a planetary nebula. It lies in the constellation of Aquarius (The Water Bearer), about 700 light-years away from Earth. This strange object formed when a star like the Sun was in the final stages of its life. Unable to hold onto its outer layers, the star slowly shed shells of gas that became the nebula. It is evolving to become a white dwarf star and appears as the tiny blue dot seen at the centre of the image.
The nebula itself is a complex object composed of dust, ionised material as well as molecular gas, arrayed in a beautiful and intricate flower-like pattern and glowing in the fierce glare of ultraviolet light from the central hot star.
The main ring of the Helix is about two light-years across, roughly half the distance between the Sun and the nearest star. However, material from the nebula spreads out from the star to at least four light-years. This is particularly clear in this infrared view since red molecular gas can be seen across much of the image.
While hard to see visually, the glow from the thinly spread gas is easily captured by VISTA's special detectors, which are very sensitive to infrared light. The 4.1-metre telescope is also able to detect an impressive array of background stars and galaxies.
The powerful vision of ESO's VISTA telescope also reveals fine structure in the nebula's rings. The infrared light picks out how the cooler, molecular gas is organised. The material clumps into filaments that radiate out from the centre and the whole view resembles a celestial firework display.
Even though they look tiny, these strands of molecular hydrogen, known as cometary knots, are about the size of our Solar System. The molecules in them are able to survive the high-energy radiation that emanates from the dying star precisely because they clump into these knots, which in turn are shielded by dust and molecular gas. It is currently unclear how the cometary knots may have originated.
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ESO: http://www.eso.org
Thanks to ESO for this article.
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Sen. Marco Rubio's statement on his Facebook page.
By Suzanne Choney
Updated at 9 p.m. ET
As websites from Wikipedia to Wired went dark Wednesday to protest anti-piracy bills, some co-sponsors of the legislation in Congress said they're withdrawing their support for the bills.
Pulling out were: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), who was a co-sponsor of the Protect IP Act in the Senate, as well as Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), John Boozman (R-Arkansas) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), according to the AP; and Reps. Lee Terry (R-Nebraska), Ben Quayle (R-Arizona) and Rep. Rick Larsen, (D-Washington), who said they had been in support of a similar measure in the House, the Stop Online Piracy Act.
Speaker of the House? John Boehner said Wednesday it was "pretty clear to many of us that there is a lack of consensus at this point."
Bloomberg News also reported that Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) is withdrawing his support of PIPA, as is Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Florida) for SOPA and Rep. Rick Larsen, (D-Washington). Larsen said he heard from many constituents and come to the conclusion that the House and Senate bills "create unacceptable threats to free speech and free access to the Internet," the AP reported.
Meanwhile, Sen. Rubio of Florida, shared his changed stance on his Facebook page:
"I have been a co-sponsor of the Protect IP Act because I believe it?s important to protect American ingenuity, ideas and jobs from being stolen through Internet piracy, much of it occurring overseas through rogue websites in China," Rubio said on Facebook.
Since the bill was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, "we've heard legitimate concerns about the impact the bill could have on access to the Internet and about a potentially unreasonable expansion of the federal government's power to impact the Internet," Rubio said. "Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences."
In withdrawing his support, Rubio said he is urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) "to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor" in the coming weeks. "Instead, we should take more time to address the concerns raised by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet."
The senators' withdrawal is important, although it doesn't by any means quash the legislation, aimed at stopping illegal downloading and streaming of movies and TV shows. Many in the tech world ? including giants Google and Facebook ? say the legislation would let federal authorities shut down portions of the Internet without due process, and fundamentally alter the Internet's ability to provide a platform for free speech. Wednesday's blackout by many sites is symbolic of the concern and opposition.
Rep. Terry's reasoning for pulling back from SOPA was simple: "After waves of negative sentiment toward the bill from free speech and civil rights groups, technology companies and others, the congressman "has concluded that SOPA, as currently drafted, isn't the solution," a spokesman said on the congressman's website.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and Comcast/NBC Universal. Microsoft publicly opposes SOPA in its current form, while?Comcast/NBC Universal is listed as a supporter of SOPA?on the House Judiciary Committee website.)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The Ethiopian government is forcing an tens of thousands of people off their land so it can be leased to foreign investors,? Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Tuesday.
The Horn of Africa state has already leased 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres)? to foreign farm businesses and the U.S.-based rights group said that the government had plans to lease another 2.1 million hectares (5.2 million acres), Reuters reported.
HRW said that 1.5 million Ethiopians would eventually be forced from their land and highlighted what it said was the latest case of forced relocation in its report "Ethiopia: Forced Relocations Bring Hunger, Hardship."
"My father was beaten for refusing to go along [to the new village] with some other elders," HRW quoted a former villager as saying.? "He said, 'I was born here -- my children were born here -- I am too old to move so I will stay.'? He was beaten by the army with sticks and the butt of a gun. He had to be taken to hospital. He died because of the beating -- he just became weaker and weaker."
The United Nations has increasingly voiced concern that countries such as China and Gulf Arab states are buying swathes of land in Africa and Asia to secure their own food supplies, often at the expense of local people.
"The Ethiopian government under its "villagization" program is forcibly relocating approximately 70,000 indigenous people from the western Gambella region to new villages that lack adequate food, farmland, health care, and educational facilities," HRW said, adding it had interviewed more than 100 people for the report.
"The first round of forced relocations occurred at the worst possible time of year -- the beginning of the harvest. Government failure to provide food assistance for relocated people has caused endemic hunger and cases of starvation," it said.
Government denial Government officials deny the charge and say the affected plots of land are largely uninhabited and under-used, while it has also launched a program to settle tens of thousands from the remote province in more fertile areas of the country.
"Human Rights Watch has wrongly alleged the villagization program to be unpopular and problematic," government spokesman Bereket Simon told Reuters.
"There is no evidence to back the claim. This program is taking place with the full preparation and participation of regional authorities, the government and residents," he said.
Ethiopia says its prime intention in leasing large chunks of land is technology transfer and to boost production in a country that has been ravaged by droughts over the past few decades.
Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
Source: brandheroin.livejournal.com --- Tuesday, January 17, 2012 Os mostramos DoS nuevos stills de Robert en su nueva pelicula, Bel Ami. Gracias a pattinsonlife | Rplife | gossip-dance Posteado por: Marypiper ...
FILE - In this Fe. 16, 2011 file photo, TD Ameritrade's President and CEO Fred Tomczyk, discusses with shareholders the online brokerage's performance at the company's annual meeting in Omaha, Neb. TD Ameritrade said Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, its fiscal first-quarter net income grew 5 percent despite last fall?s economic concerns, but the online brokerage?s revenue slipped as trading activity slowed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
FILE - In this Fe. 16, 2011 file photo, TD Ameritrade's President and CEO Fred Tomczyk, discusses with shareholders the online brokerage's performance at the company's annual meeting in Omaha, Neb. TD Ameritrade said Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, its fiscal first-quarter net income grew 5 percent despite last fall?s economic concerns, but the online brokerage?s revenue slipped as trading activity slowed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? TD Ameritrade said Tuesday that its fiscal first-quarter net income grew 5 percent and its revenue was almost unchanged as the online brokerage's trading activity slowed amid worries about the economy.
The Omaha-based company posted $152 million in net income, or about 27 cents per share, in the October-December quarter. That's up from $145 million, or 25 cents per share, in the same quarter in 2010, and topped the 26 cents per share profit that analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.
But revenue fell less than 1 percent to $653.4 million from $656.2 million. Analysts expected revenue to grow to $671.5 million.
One of the key drivers of Ameritrade's revenue is the fees it charges for transactions it handles, but trading slipped during the last three months of 2011 due to growing worries about the European debt crisis. The average number of trades per day dipped to 367,479 from 371,916 in the same period a year earlier. In the July-September quarter, there was an average of 415,739 trades per day.
And average commissions and transaction fees per trade fell to $11.90 during the quarter from $12.39 in the last three months of 2010.
"While volumes have improved over December, clients continue to hesitate in their trading and investing in the face of all of the uncertainty in the markets right now," said Fred Tomczyk, Ameritrade's president and CEO. He said that while there are signs the U.S. economy is improving, it will be a slow recovery, and there remains a "cloud of uncertainty" for Europe.
Tomczyk said he thinks trading will improve once the situation in Europe stabilizes and the market starts to move consistently, either up or down.
Ameritrade also makes money from fees based on clients' assets, but the current low interest rates are limiting what TD Ameritrade earns on its clients' deposit accounts and other investment products.
Ameritrade said its net new assets grew 11 percent to $10.2 billion from $9.7 billion. The total client assets Ameritrade holds grew 7 percent to $406.3 billion at the end of the quarter from $386.4 billion.
Severance costs for laying off 145 people were $7 million from October through December. But the company also benefited from a lower-than-expected tax rate, so there was a net gain of one cent per share from those two factors.
Ameritrade said it spent about $107 million during the quarter to repurchase 6.7 million shares of its own stock, and plans to pay a dividend of 6 cents per share in February.
Ameritrade's stock declined 25 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $16.05 in morning trading, while broader markets were higher. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 1 percent.
DIAGNOSING THE DSM: The DSM-5 should sharpen the definition of autism, if the American Psychiatric Association makes a few tweaks in time
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Os mostramos DoS nuevos stills de Robert en su nueva pelicula, Bel Ami. Gracias a pattinsonlife | Rplife | gossip-dance Posteado por: Marypiper ...