Honor Student Jailed For Missing School

Diane Tran, a 17-year-old honor student in Texas, was forced to spend the night in jail last week after missing too many classes, KHOU-11's Sherry Williams reports.

The Willis High School junior, who helps support two siblings, has both a full time and part-time job. She said that she's often too tired to go to school.

"She goes from job to job from school," Devin Hill, one of Tran's classmates, told KHOU-11. "She stays up until 7:00 in the morning doing her homework."

In an interview with KHOU-11, Tran said she takes AP Spanish, college level algebra and dual credit English and history courses. Her parents divorced and no longer live near her, so she lives with the family that owns the wedding venue where she works on weekends.

According to Texas law, if a student has ten or more unexcused absences within a six-month period, the school district may refer the student to a juvenile court. "In such cases, resolution of the issue is entirely in the hands of the court," reads a statement on the website of the Willis Independent School District.

After being warned by a judge in April about missing too much school, Tran was arrested in court on Wednesday and required to spend the night in jail, according to the above video from KHOU-11. She has also been fined $100.

Tran's case has spread online, with dozens of news outlets across the country picking up her story. HelpDianeTran.com, a site set up by the Louisiana Children's Education Alliance in partnership with Anedot and Gatorworks, has raised over $2,000.

A petition at Change.org that calls for the judge to revoke the teen's fine and sentencing was approaching 8,000 signatures on Sunday afternoon.

"This remarkable young woman doesn't deserve jail," wrote a Change.org commenter going by Letitia Gutierrez. "She deserves a medal."

Williams, the KHOU-11 reporter, visited the judge who sent Tran to jail. Watch the video above to hear the judge's reasoning behind the punishment.  (Huffingtonpost.com)

Thieves 'like' Facebook cash photo

A WOMAN has been robbed after her daughter posted pictures of a large amount of cash on Facebook.

The 17-year-old girl was helping her grandmother count her personal savings in their Sydney home last Thursday afternoon when she took a photo of the cash and posted it on her Facebook page.

Later that night, two men armed with a knife and wooden club allegedly broke into the Southern Highlands house of the girl's mother demanding to talk to the girl about the money.

The woman told the intruders the girl no longer lived at the house but they searched it and took a small amount of cash and personal items.

No one was injured during the incident.

Police are warning social media users to be careful about what they post. (AAP)

Lazio captain arrested in match-fixing investigation

The captain of Lazio has been arrested by police investigating claims of match-fixing.

Midfielder Stefano Mauri, 32, was held along with former Genoa midfielder Omar Milanetto, police said.
Juventus coach Antonio Conte, who just led the club to the Serie A title in his first season in charge, is among those being questioned by police.

Officers also visited Italy's pre-Euro 2012 training camp to question left-back Domenico Criscito, 25.
Police are searching more than 30 homes, including those of players, trainers and administrators of clubs in Serie A, Serie B and lower divisions.

Eden Hazard moves closer to Chelsea switch

Lille forward Eden Hazard is poised to reveal which Premier League club he will join this summer - with Chelsea the firm favourites to sign Europe's hottest talent.

Chelsea are understood to have fought off interest from Manchester United and Manchester City for the Belgian, who has been in dazzling form in France this season.
Hazard and his agent have revelled in the apparent race for his signature, and the 21-year-old today increased speculation further by tweeting: "Good afternoon guys. I made up my mind. See you later. Thanks"
Hazard's agent John Bico told Telegraph Sport last week that terms had already been agreed with all suitors.
He said: "We are no longer in the negotiations stage. We have reached agreement with all parties. There will be no higher bid."

"Eden has already said he wants it to be fixed before June 2. He will decide after the games against Montenegro and England, then go on holiday with peace of mind."
If Chelsea complete a deal to sign Hazard it will be another significant coup for Roman Abramovich, just a week after his side won the Champions League.
That victory in Munich appeared to be the end of a successful road for the team built by Jose Mourinho, with Didier Drogba leaving the club and other senior players such as Frank Lampard now approaching their mid-30s.  (Telegraph.co.uk)

China to become world's largest consumer market

BEIJING - China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Monday that China is expected to become the world's largest consumer market in 2015.

The volume of consumer retail sales will surpass $5 trillion in 2015 amid an accelerated urbanization rate and the rise of people's incomes, Chen said at the opening ceremony of the first Beijing International Fair for Trade in Service.

The number of outbound tourists is expected to reach 88 million at that time, he said.

Demand for home services, education and training, medical care, financing, technology and tourism is booming, he said.

China currently ranks fourth in the world in terms of service trade volume, with $419.1 billion in 2011 compared with $66 billion in 2000.

England clinch series after nine-wicket win over West Indies

England coasted to a series-clinching nine-wicket win in the second Investec Test against the West Indies, wrapping up victory on the fourth evening at Trent Bridge.

Chasing 108 to win, captain Andrew Strauss (45) and Alastair Cook (43 not out) sealed a result - and an unassailable 2-0 lead with one game to play - that was all-but assured by last night’s bowling exploits.

Marlon Samuels, following on from his first-innings century, at least succeeded in frustrating England with 76 not out in his side’s 165 all out - a significant improvement on their overnight position of 61 for six.

The day summed up the West Indies’ exploits in this game and the tour as whole: a period of defiance against the odds followed by England asserting their dominance at the decisive moments.

Tim Bresnan and James Anderson both finished with four wickets in the second innings, while Strauss took his series tally to 309 runs in four knocks.

Winter of the World (The Century Trilogy #2) by Ken Follett

Ken Follett follows up his #1 New York Times bestseller Fall of Giants with a brilliant, page-turning epic about the heroism and honor of World War II, and the dawn of the atomic age.

Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants, the first novel in his extraordinary new historical epic, The Century Trilogy, was an international sensation, acclaimed as “sweeping and fascinating, a book that will consume you for days or weeks” (USA Today) and “grippingly told and readable to the end” (The New York Times Book Review). “If the next two volumes are as lively and entertaining as Fall of Giants,” said The Washington Post, “they should be well worth waiting for.”

Winter of the World picks up right where the first book left off, as its five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, Welsh—enter a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the Spanish Civil War and the great dramas of World War II, up to the explosions of the American and Soviet atomic bombs.

Carla von Ulrich, born of German and English parents, finds her life engulfed by the Nazi tide until she commits a deed of great courage and heartbreak. . . . American brothers Woody and Chuck Dewar, each with a secret, take separate paths to momentous events, one in Washington, the other in the bloody jungles of the Pacific. . . . English student Lloyd Williams discovers in the crucible of the Spanish Civil War that he must fight Communism just as hard as Fascism. . . . Daisy Peshkov, a driven American social climber, cares only for popularity and the fast set, until the war transforms her life, not just once but twice, while her cousin Volodya carves out a position in Soviet intelligence that will affect not only this war—but the war to come.

These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as their experiences illuminate the cataclysms that marked the century. From the drawing rooms of the rich to the blood and smoke of battle, their lives intertwine, propelling the reader into dramas of ever-increasing complexity.

As always with Ken Follett, the historical background is brilliantly researched and rendered, the action fast-moving, the characters rich in nuance and emotion. With passion and the hand of a master, he brings us into a world we thought we knew, but now will never seem the same again.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and starring Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, and an ensemble cast. Filming took place in Rhode Island from April until June 29, 2011. Worldwide rights to the independently produced film were acquired by Focus Features.

Synopsis: Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore -- and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl's parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.

Digital Fashion Week: first livestream-only event set for October

While almost every major label now streams fashion shows live, the phenomenon looks set to enter a new phase this October when the world's first digital-only fashion week takes place.

Organized by Singapore-based events agency STORM, Digital Fashion Week (DFW) will be streamed solely online, with consumers able to shop their favorite looks off the runway in real time and have them delivered far before they hit stores.

This October will see DFW's debut edition, Digital Fashion Week Singapore, exclusively available for viewing at www.digitalfashionweek.com. Following the official launch of the twice-yearly event in Southeast Asia, DFW will proceed to other major cities around the world.

A host of Singapore's homegrown designers as well as international creators will feature in the inaugural edition, where they will present their Spring/Summer 2013 collections -- with the official show schedule to be announced in August 2012.

In addition to runway streaming, there will be catwalk commentaries by key fashion figures, pre-show performances by international artists and an app to provide users with instant fashion show live streaming, films, runway photos, designer information and e-commerce shopping.

"Until now, no digital platform as powerful as DFW has existed  for designers to reach out to people worldwide. We aim to harness technology and creativity to promote homegrown designers in each city to the global audiences by capitalising on the hype generated from the fashion shows," said the event's co-founder Keyis Ng.

The announcement follows the increasing prevalence of online only runway shows, with labels including See by Chloé and ICB (International Concept Brand) favoring fashion production agency KCD's digital platform digitalfashionshows.com for virtual catwalk presentations earlier this year.

Also, back in 2011, Condé Nast owned fashion site Vogue.com ran a week-long online fashion event on its blog, featuring exclusive deals such as one-off collection launches and exclusive content including videos of retailers styling their collections.

'Extinct' bumblebee returns to UK

A species of bee not seen in the UK for a quarter of a century is being reintroduced to the countryside.

The short-haired bumblebee was once widespread across the south of England but it vanished in 1988.

However, after a healthy stock of the bees was found in Sweden, conservationists were able to collect some to seed a new UK colony.

About 50 queen bumblebees are being released at the RSPB's Dungeness reserve in Kent.

Nikki Gammans, from the Short-haired Bumblebee Project, said: "Normally, extinction means a species is gone forever.

"But it is magnificent that we can bring back this bee species and give it a second chance here in the UK."

The loss of the short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus) was caused by the dramatic decline of wildflower meadows that occurred after World War II as agriculture intensified to feed the growing population.

It is estimated that 97% of Britain's flower-rich grasslands, which the bees needed to forage and thrive, has vanished over the past 70 years.

The short-haired bumblebee was hit hard by the loss of wildflower meadows in the UK
But in southern Sweden, the species is doing much better as fewer people live there and farming practices are more bee-friendly.

Fuzzy buzzers

• Bumblebees are vital pollinators of wild flowers and crops. They appear to be particularly effective at pollinating tomato plants; the frequency of their buzz releases a cloud of pollen from the flowers, covering the bees' fuzzy bodies and the reproductive parts of other flowers. Some tomato-growers use pollination vibrators or even electric toothbrushes to mimic this effect.
• These large, robust members of the bee family visit flowers that are up to 2km from their hive. UK scientists recently found that the bees "optimise their journeys" - taking the shortest possible distance from one flower to another before returning to the hive.

How Greek communities are helping themselves

The Greek have been protesting against economic mess in an attempt to balance to balance nation's books.

The social situation has only worsened, the demonstrators - still incensed - feel ignored and many Greeks are now unrolling a quiet revolution.

Tucked away in a side-street of Marousi, a hilly, green suburb of northern Athens, you come across the local garden initiative.Marousi's mayor has transformed the land from a derelict dumping ground into small allotments for 40 families battered by the current economic climate.The sound of raking and digging fills the air.

What, at first glance, may simply look like a healthy hobby is actually a lifeline for people in this community.

Some of these supermarkets are supported by the state but a growing number of private initiatives stack the shelves with goods - from oranges to olive oil to nappies - donated by individuals or companies.

The money they pay is then used to provide the most destitute with goods for free, even helping them with gas and electricity bills.Greece's Child and Family group supports more than 4,500 families and has a growing army of voluntary aid workers, doctors and dentists.

Greece's community initiatives are a ray of light in extremely gloomy times ! Other countries should follow the same model.

Virtual Patients for future medical students

There will be no blood, no need for a scalpel or other medical instruments, in operating on a virtual patient. 

At St Mary's Hospital in London, surgeon Aimee Di Marco is about to cut up a body and afterwards she will be able to place the organs back in the body, reattach the bones and blood vessels, and put the skin back on.

The body in question is a virtual one, appearing on a touchscreen "operating table". It could represent the future for both teaching would-be doctors about anatomy and preparing for real-life operations.

Imperial College, the partner to St Mary's Hospital, purchased the table at a cost of £60,000 nine months ago. It is the first of its kind in Europe.

Students and surgeons can interact with it either via touch or with a traditional mouse. The body can be stripped back to expose internal organs, areas can be enlarged for more detailed study and the software can work with real patient data.

Headline May 29,2012/The Hi-Tech Culture

THE HI-TECH CULTURE

Respectful dedication future generations

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One pretty snippet : The Star Spangled banner leads! It always does! India gains on Canada. UK closes in on Pakistan! The rest of the world stirs, wobbles and lights up. All products will be essentially on the phone all day. Relaying messages back and forth. Your stereo on and should turn itself down when the phone rings. The screen, on the GUI, you are on, the book you are reading will prompt you to let your know when certain moves are premiering on the Book channel. Your medical records will follow you on a card. And the collective data of all hospitals will be mined for statistics to monitor the efficiency of drugs and treatments, for sure in real time. Just stop and imagine all retail products implanted with a chip, updating their shelf price according to daily demand. Imagine all manufactured items implanted with a chip – a vacuum cleaner, a drill press, linked together, calling for parts when broken, feeding wing and use information back to the designers, tracking sales data best to the factory floor, letting customers dictate options so that every product is custom-built. Imagine being able to get any information , from anywhere, anytime Connect that with city traffic records, satellite weather and resource use data, governmental and demographic stats, and you have got the Net. And hardly a keyboard in right.

Primary or lack of it, is legitimate concern in the future. My best opinion is that there are ways to protect privacy with unbearable encryption and ways to interact data in aggregate so individuals are protected but we can look forward to privacy becoming a major entllified in the future. Equally powerful and equal worrying are neobiological technologies. Gene therapy, gene counseling, embryonic clones, ethnic biotreatments, gene databanks, DNA finger printing and bioengineered food must truly explode on the Society by 2020. We can be whatever we want to be ; so what do we want to be? And , and we will soon be faced with the ethical dilemmas that we’ve known about since brave new world, but we have chosen to deny or postpone. Biotechnology is just too powerful to suppress!! A nail biting finish ladies and gentlemen is on! The Samurai ponder their options! Many thanks to !WOW! for its continuing research and equal thanks to you all for your appreciation, support and inspiration. Post and share! Good night and God bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless!

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Solar plane midway through first intercontinental flight

Solar Impulse enroute to Madrid.

Solar Impulse, a Swiss sun-powered aircraft, on Friday finished the first leg of its attempt at an intercontinental flight without using a single drop of fuel.

The solar plane took off Thursday from Payerne, Switzerland, bound for Morocco. It landed safely Friday on a planned three-day technical stopover in Madrid, where it will get a new pilot.

If successful, the 1,550-mile journey will be the longest to date for the craft, which last year completed it's completed its first international flight from its home in Switzerland to Brussels.

Pilot Andre Borschberg took the jumbo jet-size plane on its first leg. His colleague Bertrand Piccard will take the helm for the second stretch to the Moroccan capital Rabat.

According to the Solar Impulse Web site, Borschberg, made his way out of the cockpit, "smiley and certainly happy to stretch his legs."

"The flight went very well and thanks to the team of meteorologists, everything went according to the plan: it was extraordinary," he said. "It was incredible to fly alongside the barrier of clouds during most of the flight and not need to hesitate to fly above them. This confirms our confidence in the capacity of solar energy even further."

The plane's wingspan measures more than 200 feet, which boosts its aerodynamic efficiency. That long wingspan also houses the more than 12,000 solar panels that soak up the sunlight required to power the Solar Impulse during the day and charge its lithium polymer batteries to keep it aloft at night.

The current trip is intended as a rehearsal in the run-up to the plane's round-the-world flight planned for 2014.

The flight duration for the first leg was 17 hours, 3 minutes, and 50 seconds. The average ground speed was 89 km/h or 55.3 mph.

Andre Borschberg, makes his way out of the cockpit.

Man sues to make 'Google' ordinary word

An Arizona man says that "Google" now simply means "search on the Internet," so he sues to have Google's trademarks canceled. Oh, and he does own Googlegaycruises.com and Googledonaldtrump.com.

Have you ever asked someone to Bing something?

When Microsoft launched the word, it was surely in the hope that it would catch on. Alas, we either Google something or we do nothing.

Now, an Arizonan called David Elliott wishes the courts would bow to him and to the inevitable. For he is suing to have all of Google's trademarks set asunder. "Google," he says, just means "search on the Web."

You can see his point. But then you might ask yourself why David Elliott, of all human beings, has taken up this cause.

Well, as Paid Content explains, he happens to own a number of Web sites of which Google isn't fond.

Indeed, Google so dislikes them -- yes, all 750 of them -- that it took him to court and won the rights to them all. Why might Google object to Elliott's Web sites? Why, they're called things that Googlegaycruises.com and Googledonaldtrump.com.

You might wonder what Elliott's real business might be. The legal complaint explains that he's looking to take advantage of ICANN's release of "affinity- and location-based domain names." He wishes to use these domain names to promote "commerce, community, relationships, personal health, charity, and more."

Some might say he's not made a good start with the "relationships" part, as he's got himself sued and had to return the favor.

The complaint declares that he has developed a detailed business plan for developing these 750 domain names which all seem to start with the name -- um, the word -- "Google."

Elliott's lawyer. Richard M. Wirtz, clearly enjoyed himself in filing this action (Complaint). He leans heavily on the American Dialect Society declaring that "Google" was the word of the decade, a word that means "search the Internet." The complaint also says Google is aware that its trademark could be lost, as happened with "zipper," "thermos" and "yo-yo."

There is also the allegation that there are many domain names that begin with "Google," names that the company has taken no action against.

This case just does have the potential to provide for a little entertainment. If Elliott's lawyer somehow manages to charm his way into a Grishamesque victory, this might make for an excellent David Fincher movie.

Source

Priest apologizes for using naughty words on Facebook

Priests are human beings. They have feelings, too. They try, they suffer, they get frustrated.

However, what seems to be denied them is the ability to express those feelings on Facebook.

I genuflect in sympathy toward Canon Paul Shackerley, an Anglican priest in Doncaster, England. For, perhaps in an amusing attempt to lay bare his humanity, he reportedly went on his Facebook page one weekend and posted: "I've done f*** all today other than jazz lesson and visit a friend. I hear the fizz of tonic in my gin beckoning."

If there's one place whose inhabitants truly need the occasional gin and tonic to fizz them through the day, it is Doncaster, England. It is a town where the joys are relatively scarce.

Canon Hackerley seems to have warmed to his lyricism. Another posting read: "Alas, I have religion tomorrow. At least I'm not preaching this week."

Yes, being a priest can seem like a job, sometimes. This is why, perhaps, he also posted a picture of himself building a snowman with the accompanying thought: "Forgive my sin of frivolity. Sin is such fun!"

One other post that appears to have offended was: "Pisss myself! H, you are so funny!!! It was good to share over lunch yesterday and at the URC Homelessness 'event.' I say 'event.' It was hardly worship, was it?"

Oh, yes. Someone was offended. That someone, though, clearly believes in privacy controls because, according to the Daily Mail, he or she wrote an anonymous letter to the canon's bishop.

Part of this letter reportedly said: "Your priest colleague uses language that most would find abhorrent for a man in his position and pretty distasteful for anyone as a matter of fact."

Gosh, yes. How terribly distasteful. Like sneaking behind someone's back to complain about them, perhaps.

The canon, who's something of a character -- yes, he has a pierced tongue and eyebrow -- has now apologized.

His bishop, Peter Burrows, told the Mail: "Whilst meant in a jocular sense, he recognizes that some of the language was unfitting."

How sad that Canon Shackerley hasn't been given the opportunity to use this event in order to give a sermon on the subject of, say, honesty being the policy. Or, perhaps, love thy neighbor as thou lovest thyself.

Source

Four ASC Students Selected to Teach Abroad as Fulbright Fellows

A record-tying four Agnes Scott College students have been selected this year to receive U.S. Fulbright Fellowships, a prestigious scholarship to research or teach abroad. A faculty member was also selected as a Fulbright Research Scholar.

This year’s student Fulbright recipients are Katherine Curtiss ’12, Melissa Griffith ’11, Marian Kaufman ’12 and Susanna Martinez ’12. Li Qi, associate professor of economics, was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholar grant for study in China.

“The Fulbright competition gets more competitive every year, so we are thrilled to have so many of our deserving students be awarded grants this year,” said Christine Cozzens, Fulbright program adviser and Charles A. Dana Professor of English at Agnes Scott. “Once you become a Fulbright scholar, you are a Fulbrighter for life: you will always have lots of international friends, and the significance of this prestigious and truly life-changing program will follow you for life. This year’s recipients have already inspired a large new group of outstanding Agnes Scott students to apply, and I am looking forward to another round of strong applications and possible grant recipients!”

The Fulbright Program is a flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and designed “to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” Since its establishment in 1946 the Fulbright Program has provided almost 300,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Curtiss, an anthropology major, will be an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Taiwan later this year. Curtiss recently studied abroad in Ghana at the University of Ghana and volunteered with the West African AIDS Foundation, where she worked with orphaned and vulnerable children affected by the disease. After her time teaching in Taiwan, Curtiss said she’d like to go on to graduate school to become a medical anthropologist.

“I’d like to do more work with HIV and AIDS, focusing on public health,” Curtiss said. “Ultimately, I’d love to combine my love of theater with public health, to use theater as a teaching tool. So instead of just standing up in front of a group of people to talk about abstinence or protection, you could make it theatrical, make sure everyone has a part to play to make sure they truly understand what’s going on.”

Curtiss added that the support she received from Agnes Scott faculty during her time at the college was vital to her acceptance into the Fulbright Program and something she’ll always remember.

“I felt so lucky to be given that sort of attention. They believe in you here—it’s amazing,” Curtiss said. “You don’t get that just anywhere, you don’t have faculty who put all their faith in you, who say, ‘I’ll sit down with you for hours each week until this is done so that you have a chance.’ No matter how the Fulbright turned out, I would have kept that with me forever, their faith was inspiring.””

Griffith, who graduated last year with a degree in international relations, will also be an ETA in Taiwan. After graduating, she taught English in Shanghai last year and is currently volunteering with Wildlife Rescue Inc. of New Mexico. She’s particularly intrigued by security studies and selected Taiwan because she thought it offered an interesting security situation.

“I’m really interested in how states interact with each other—how they create security architectures and systems to ensure their security and world security in ways that are positive,” Griffith said. “I come from an active-duty family. It makes you more aware of the human cost of international relations,” she added.

Kaufman, an English literature-creative writing major with a minor in film and media studies, will be an ETA in Indonesia. While teaching in the country, she said she’ll write about her experiences both as a teacher and as visiting American and absorb as much Indonesian culture as possible. She’s particularly interested in how Indonesia’s recent transition from a dictatorship to democracy has affected the country’s literature and film.

Kaufman said she chose Indonesia in order to challenge herself as a writer and a person. “As a writer, I’m expecting to get a lot out of it. I have a safe and happy life and wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone. I feel fortunate to do that with a program like Fulbright,” Kaufman said.

Martinez, a psychology major with a minor in education, will be an ETA in Argentina. Martinez spent 10 months last year studying at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaísoin in Chile. She enjoyed her time in Chile and wanted to experience nearby Argentina as well.

“Once I was in Chile, I loved the South American culture. And I’ve always loved working with children,” Martinez said. “I love teaching for that moment when you realize they’re getting it, watching their curiosity and eagerness to learn.”

After her time teaching in Argentina, Martinez said she’d like to continue working with young people. “I’d really like to do something with psychology, possibly school counseling,” she said.

Original source here.

McComas to bike across country, build affordable housing

Transylvania University

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kelsey McComas says she’s never been much of a biker. “But I’m learning to be,” she quickly adds.

That’s a bit of an understatement. McComas, who will graduate from Transylvania University May 26, is scheduled to leave June 20 from Portsmouth, N.H., and spend the next 10 weeks biking 3,700 miles across country to Vancouver, British Columbia.

It’s all for a good cause: Bike and Build, a non-profit that organizes trips in which groups of about 30 participants bike along eight cross-country routes and, along the way, build affordable housing for deserving citizens. Each rider must raise $4,500, and more than half of those funds go toward the building projects.

“I’ve been active in community service since high school,” said McComas, an Ashland, Ky., native who volunteered at her community’s hospice, took a Transylvania service learning course in the Philippines and helped raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network. “I’m in a transitional stage of life right now—graduating from college and entering the real world. This is the perfect time to do something productive on my own, and I’m looking forward to seeing the immediate impact of our construction projects.”

McComas started training for her ride in January, alternating between daily regimens of weight lifting and cardio. Once she raised $1,000, Bike and Build sent her a bike to use on the trip, and she started practicing on Lexington’s Legacy Trail.

She says she’ll be ready when she gets to Portsmouth, where she’ll complete a two-day orientation to learn how to ride safely with a group and make on-the-road repairs. “I’ve never changed a bike tire,” she admits.

Each rider will carry a camel-back container of water and a few supplies. A van will follow the group to transport additional equipment and for safety purposes. Community centers, schools and YMCAs will provide lodging and meals along the way, and once a week, the group will spend an extra night in a town to complete a building project.

“I’ve never undertaken such a huge time and energy commitment before, but this is what I’m most excited about—testing my limits and myself,” says McComas. “I’m also looking forward to seeing the U.S. I’ve never been further west than Bozeman, Montana.” After her summer adventure, McComas hopes to work for AmeriCorps and then enroll in pharmacy school.

Original source here.

World's Biggest School Assembly by BBC

BBC is holding a unique event for the schools worldwide. In this online school assembly, schools around the world with share what matters to them. Schools from  Burma, Ghana, China, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Ukraine, Indonesia, UK, and Spain  participated in the assembly.
The environment, the credit crunch, education, social media, whaling, drugs, poverty, families and Nicki Minaj got young people around the world talking.

You can read the comments as it is here.

Clerget '09 Wins Prestigious Burton Award

Sean Clerget ’09 has won the prestigious Burton Award for excellence in legal writing. Clerget is a third year law student at George Mason University in Washington D.C.

The Burton Award program was started in 1999 in association with the Library of Congress and its Law Library. Nominations for the award come from law school deans and managing partners of the 1,000 largest law firms in the U.S. Fifteen winners are slected each year.

Clerget has served as Articles Editor for George Mason Law Review. His winning entry was titled, “Time is of the Essence: Reviving the Neutral Law of General Applicability Standard Writing and Applying it to Restrictions Against Religious Face Coverings Worn While Testifying in Court."

“The creation and development of my Article had a number of Wabash connections,” Clerget explained. “First, the Article is on the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. I became interested in religious liberty issues by taking Professor Scott Himsel's Constitutional Law course on religious freedom in the Spring of 2008. Second, through Professor Himsel I got to know Jane Ann Himsel. Jane Ann assisted me in developing the topic of the Article and then she served as a professional mentor, which included editing a first draft and providing very useful feedback. You will find in the biographical footnote of my Article my thanks to both Jane Ann for her specific feedback and my thanks to Wabash College for teaching me how to write (spreading the fame of her honored name).”



Wabash Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science Scott Himsel was thrilled to see a former student honored with such an important award.

“Sean not only wrote well. But he focused upon a critical and timely public policy issue: how we accommodate Muslim dress in courthouse and courtroom settings,” Himsel said. “I am not surprised that his article was recognized as one of the best law review articles in the nation. I think we will continue to see Sean accomplish great things as he launches his legal career.”

Clerget offered a summary of his article. “The Article addresses a cultural and constitutional conflict that will become more prevalent in coming years as the Muslim population in the United States continues to grow.” He said. “In Michigan, a Muslim woman took the stand wearing a full veil (known as a niqab) to testify in her own small claims case. The judge told her that she must take off her veil so that he can see her face in order to know if she is telling the truth. She responded by saying that her religion forbids her from taking off the veil in the presence of a man that is not her husband. The Judge then dismissed her case. The woman filed a civil rights case, but it was eventually dropped for unknown reasons.”

Original source here.

Interdisciplinary Science Center Launches through Competitive Grant

Ursinus College will establish a Center for Science and the Common Good, connecting science and civic engagement, with an $800,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

HHMI announced the selection of 47 small U.S. colleges and universities which will work together to create more engaging science education, bring more research experiences to students, and increase the diversity of students who study science. The awardees were selected from 182 proposals.


The Center “not only reflects Ursinus College’s rich legacy in the sciences, but connects it to our values of civic engagement and working across the disciplines,” said President Bobby Fong. “We hope it will enhance the breadth of the liberal arts education we offer while also providing experiences that will lead to post-college success.”

The Center for Science and the Common Good will serve as a resource for all students who want to learn about the impact of science on society, according to Biology Professor Rebecca Kohn. It will provide opportunities for science students who want to pursue careers in civic leadership and will encourage underrepresented minority students who are interested in studying science. Fellows of the Center will prepare for careers in science and civic leadership through courses and internships, with
opportunities to explore their interests off campus in the U.S. or abroad.

“Students who are members of underrepresented minority groups will be encouraged to pursue careers in science through early immersion in scientific research in the Fellowships in the Ursinus Transition to the Undergraduate Research Experience (FUTURE) program,” Kohn said. These students will work closely with faculty and undergraduate student mentors developing and pursuing a research project.

Additionally, the Center will reflect the values emphasized in the distinctive Ursinus first-year course, the Common Intellectual Experience (CIE).

“The Center for Science and the Common Good is designed to advance inquiry into the profoundly significant questions about human good raised in our first-year program, The Common Intellectual Experience,” said Professor of Politics Paul Stern. “It expresses our view that an Ursinus education should prepare our students to engage thoughtfully with the world. Because modern science decisively shapes that world, such engagement must involve consideration of the ethical and political implications of science. This applies as much to students who will be citizens and leaders in our communities as it does for those who will become trail-blazing researchers. The Center provides all Ursinus students a venue for sustained reflection on such questions as, “What should the goals of science be? What role should science play in a thriving society?”

The generous grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute funds a seminar series featuring leaders in relevant fields, the appointment of a science writer-in-residence, the development of specially-designed courses, and a program of discussions organized and run by student Fellows of the Center. “All of these promise to engender the kind of vibrant and informative intellectual exchange that fulfills Ursinus’ promise to provide its students with a genuine liberal education,” Stern said.

The Center for Science and the Common Good will open in the fall, and the FUTURE program will begin the summer of 2013. The College plans to house the Fellows and FUTURE students together in campus housing.

According to Sean B. Carroll, vice president of science education at HHMI, the schools selected to receive grants have shown “they are superb incubators of new ideas and models that might be replicated by other institutions to improve how science is taught in college. We know that these schools have engaged faculty. They care deeply about teaching and how effectively their students are learning about science.”

The initiative is designed to encourage long-term collaboration among schools working on a similar issues, and grouped around strategic themes. Ursinus is in the category of “Defining and Assessing Scientific Literacy,” with Bard College, Hunter College and San Francisco State University.

Of 215 schools invited by HHMI to apply for the grants, 187 schools submitted 182 proposals. After two rounds of peer review, a panel of 23 leading scientists assessed 84 final proposals, and recommendedawards to 47 schools including is among a group of national liberal arts colleges that includes Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, Smith, Carleton, Grinnel, Oberlin, Franklin & Marshall and Gettysburg.

HHMI’s grants to small colleges and universities—the Institute’s longest running science education program—have had an important impact on undergraduate science education in the United States, including enabling of hands-on research, infusion of teaching talent, new courses and curricula.

Original source here.

28 May 2012 Last updated at 13:17 GMT Share this page Email Print Share Facebook Twitter Flame: Massive cyber-attack discovered, researchers say

A complex targeted cyber-attack that collected private data from countries such as Israel and Iran has been uncovered, researchers have said.

Russian security firm Kaspersky Labs told the BBC they believed the malware, known as Flame, had been operating since August 2010.
The company said it believed the attack was state-sponsored, but could not be sure of its exact origins.
They described Flame as "one of the most complex threats ever discovered".
Research into the attack was carried out in conjunction with the UN's International Telecommunication Union.
They had been investigating another malware threat, known as Wiper, wihch was reportedly deleting data on machines in western Asia.
In the past, targeted malware - such as Stuxnet - has targeted nuclear infrastructure in Iran.
Others like Duqu have sought to infiltrate networks in order to steal data.
This new threat appears not to cause physical damage, but to collect huge amounts of sensitive information, said Kaspersky's chief malware expert Vitaly Kamluk.
"Once a system is infected, Flame begins a complex set of operations, including sniffing the network traffic, taking screenshots, recording audio conversations, intercepting the keyboard, and so on," he said.
More than 600 specific targets were hit, Mr Kamluk said, ranging from individuals, businesses, academic institutions and government systems.
Iran's National Computer Emergency Response Team posted a security alert stating that it believed Flame was responsible for "recent incidents of mass data loss" in the country.
The malware code itself is 20MB in size - making it some 20 times larger than the Stuxnet virus. The researchers said it could take several years to analyse.
Iran and Israel Mr Kamluk said the size and sophistication of Flame suggested it was not the work of independent cybercriminals, and more likely to be government-backed.
He explained: "Currently there are three known classes of players who develop malware and spyware: hacktivists, cybercriminals and nation states.
"Flame is not designed to steal money from bank accounts. It is also different from rather simple hack tools and malware used by the hacktivists. So by excluding cybercriminals and hacktivists, we come to conclusion that it most likely belongs to the third group."
Among the countries affected by the attack are Iran, Israel, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
"The geography of the targets and also the complexity of the threat leaves no doubt about it being a nation-state that sponsored the research that went into it," Mr Kamluk said.
The malware is capable of recording audio via a microphone, before compressing it and sending it back to the attacker.
It is also able to take screenshots of on-screen activity, automatically detecting when "interesting" programs - such as email or instant messaging - were open.
'Industrial vacuum cleaner' Kaspersky's first recorded instance of Flame is in August 2010, although it said it is highly likely to have been operating earlier.
Prof Alan Woodward, from the Department of Computing at the University of Surrey said the attack is very significant.
"This is basically an industrial vacuum cleaner for sensitive information," he told the BBC.
He explained that unlike Stuxnet, which was designed with one specific task in mind, Flame was much more sophisticated.
"Whereas Stuxnet just had one purpose in life, Flame is a toolkit, so they can go after just about everything they can get their hands on."
Once the initial Flame malware has infected a machine, additional modules can be added to perform specific tasks - almost in the same manner as adding apps to a smartphone. (BBC)

Dive right in with this summer’s hottest grilling gadgets

For many people, Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have fought for our country, enjoy a nice three-day weekend, and celebrate the unofficial start to summer. But for others — aka my family — Memorial Day sparks a summer-long "battle of the barbecue." (Read that last bit in a professional wrestling announcer's voice for full effect). While I can't give away all of the top dog's prime pit boss secrets, I happen to know first hand that a few high-tech tools and gadgets can make the difference between a ho-hum hamburger and the holy mother of all mouthwatering mega meals.

iGrilliGrill
Price: $80
If you have an iPhone, iPod, or iPad, the iGrill is the easiest and most affordable high-tech way to get your grill on without missing the party. Paired with a free app, this multiple meat thermometer gives you a dashboard gauge of how the cooking is coming along, from as far as 200 feet away. It sends an alarm when you need to check the grill, and helps you cook like a King, even when you're totally distracted by the poolside cannonball contest.

BBQ Guru CyberQ Wifi
Price: $295
Like the iGrill on steroids, the BBQ Guru CyberQ Wifi includes a control station that you can connect with via wifi from any mobile device or PC. It also has a fan that mounts inside the grill to automatically fan the flames or simmer the heat down to a slow burn. The CyberQ basicallly does it all for you, then keeps you updated via e-mail or text message. That's right — your grill emails you. This is a serious cyber cooking "two-fer" for any master-chef who wants to have full bragging rights on their food and their high-tech hook-ups.
Hamburger PressRoullier-White Hamburger Press
Price: $23
If you've ever bitten into a burger that was charred on the outside and raw in the middle (and didn't ask for it extra-rare) or had it crumble to pieces on you, you definitely need this gadget. The Roullier-White hamburger press smashes meats (or vegan alternatives) into perfectly packed, round, even, tight patties. No muss, no fuss, and no crying over spilled meat.

Chef'n Herb Wand
Price: $15
A lot of the barbecue buzz this summer is around healthy food. No, that's not an oxymoron. Type in "healthy grilling recipes" on Pinterest and you'll see thousands of food porn pics of low-fat, low-cal, high-taste grilled foods. And that brings us to this little wand that helps add flavor like magic. All you do is stick woody herbs, like rosemary or thyme, into the Chef'n Herb Wand and brush them over your chicken, pork, veggies, or whatever else you're cooking. Rather than basting your food with butter, you're really basting them with herbs and the tiniest bit of oil. It adds tons of flavor and couldn't be easier to use. I also like that you don't get chunks of herbs stuck in your teeth when you're eating a meal brushed with herbs, instead of covered in them.

3-in-1 ToolStake 3-in-1 BBQ Tool
Price: $30
Don't pick the dang hot dog up from the grill with your fingers, no matter how superhuman you think you are. Yes, I actually have to say that at least once every summer, mostly to myself. This handy-dandy hybrid tool let's you grip it, flip it, and serve it. The Stake tool has a spatula, tongs, and a little barbecue fork all in one wooden-handled grill gadget. It's really easy to use, even with a beer in one hand. You'll be the Houdini of the hibachi.

S'more to Love S'More Maker
Price: $15
Using the S'More to Love, you can make six perfect s'mores in a matter of minutes with no mess. Just stack up the classic ingredients — graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows — close the cover, and you're all set for a sweet melted treat. Need I say more?

Grill Daddy Steaming Grill Cleaner
Price: $25
Cleaning the burnt, stuck-on chunks of meat off the grill at the end of the day can be just plain gross. Here's another hybrid tool for making the job easier. You fill the Grill Daddy's handle with water, scrub the grates back and forth a few times with the wire bristles, and voila, you're done. Then just put the grill brush in the dishwasher and go to bed.

Grill-It!Grill-It!
Price: $0.99 for iPhone and Android
Great grilling? Of course there's an app for that. In fact, there are several apps out this year to help you earn that title of Grill King. The Grill-It! app (download for iPhone and Android) contains detailed information, including recipes and high quality photos for just about everything you could imagine cooking over an open flame. You can even search foods by ingredient, category, or key words, and save your finds as a list to bring to the grocery store.

Get your grill on
What are some of your secrets behind the best barbecue ever? What tools do you covet? Be sure to join the conversation in the comments section at the bottom of this story, and happy grilling! (Yahoo)

Facebook reportedly building phone with ex-Apple engineers

Among other murmurings of a Facebook smartphone, The New York Times reports that the company is hoping to release the handset by next year.

nteresting how the very week that Google became a hardware maker with the closing of its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, there's talk of another Internet giant making a similar move.

The New York Times' Nick Bilton reports today, citing unnamed sources, that Facebook is hoping to release its own smartphone by next year.

Bilton's sources include Facebook employees and several engineers who have been sought out by recruiters there, as well as people briefed on Facebook's plans, he says. Those briefed on the plans told Bilton that the company has already hired more than six "former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad."

Of course, this builds on earlier reported attempts at a Facebook phone. In November, AllThingsD reported that Facebook had tapped HTC to build a smartphone that integrates the social network at its core in an effort code-named "Buffy." DigiTimes later reiterated that report saying HTC was working in cooperation with Facebook on a phone that could be launched as early has the third quarter of 2012.

And TechCrunch first starting talking about efforts for a Facebook phone in fall 2010.

It should be noted as well that in February 2011 at Mobile World Congress, HTC unveiled two new smartphones that feature dedicated Facebook buttons: the HTC ChaCha, which eventually became the HTC Status (review here), and the HTC Salsa.

From Bilton's report:

Now, the company has been going deeper into the process, by expanding the group working on "Buffy," and exploring other smartphone projects too, creating a team of seasoned hardware engineers who have built the devices before. One engineer who formerly worked at Apple and worked on the iPhone said he met with Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, who then peppered him with questions about the inner workings of smartphones. It did not sound like idle intellectual curiosity, the engineer said; Mr. Zuckerberg asked about intricate details, including the types of chips used, he said. Another former Apple hardware engineer was recruited by a Facebook executive and was told about the company's hardware explorations.

Facebook, for its part, didn't confirm or deny Bilton's assertion that a smartphone project is under way, but rather referred him to a statement it had earlier given All Things D. "We're working across the entire mobile industry; with operators, hardware manufacturers, OS providers, and application developers."

A Facebook representative also declined CNET's request for comment on the story, adding, "We don't comment in rumors and speculation."

Interestingly, Bilton's story comes on the heels of a Business Insider report today that lays more groundwork for a successful Facebook smartphone OS. It notes that just this week, Facebook rolled out Facebook Camera, not to mention its pending acquisition of Instagram. And it's also all set with a Facebook Messages app, a Facebook app store, and is reportedly interested in buying the Opera.

Plus, we know the newly public company has long been concerned about how the shift of its users to mobile devices is hurting its long-term revenue prospects. Here's a way to take advantage of that shift.

Bilton points out that rather than go against Apple in the smartphone marketplace, it could be Facebook vs. Android-maker Google, with both going after buyers of lower-priced smartphones.

The Digital Future Of A Hotel Stay

Our modern age is defined by our technology and how it's become a part of our day-to-day lives, yet when traveling hotels have struggled to keep up.

Everyone from business travelers to the common vacationer has their life somehow linked to digital technology with iPods, smart phones, tablets, and laptops. Hotels, amazingly, are slow to offer a way for guests to plug-in and integrate with the hotel. Even something as simple as internet access is difficult to get without being charged a princely sum. Amazing because internet access is something that is freely available at coffee shops like Starbucks or even McDonald's now offers free internet access at many of their locations.

However, some hotels are beginning to change by providing more ways for guests to plug-in. There may be a day very soon were guests could have a complete stay from making a reservation to ordering room service to receiving their checkout receipt without speaking to a single real person. They can achieve this completely by digital means.

There are a couple of reasons for this change of attitude among hotels. One reason is that a hotel or a hotel chain can really stand out in the market by offering new and appealing technologies to their guests. A second reason is that early adopters of technology are an appealing demographic for hotels, not only because of their economic affluence but also their propensity to tell others practically immediately about their stay. A hotel with a significant technological component for the geek-set would be reason enough for them to brag across all social media platforms about their hotel stay.

Social media is a great equalizer that both the large chain hotels and the small independently owned bed and breakfast can use. Consider how a guest can put up their own pictures from their smart phones onto Pinterest bragging about their stay. Or another guest tweeting in real-time how they are on Twitter using the hotel room's multiple monitors. Immediate word-of-mouth.

An Example at Check-in

Taking concierge service into the digital age a pair of boutique hotels in New York are greeting guests at the door with an iPad carrying greeter. Using the iPad the hotel greeter is able to check-in guests and create room keys either in the lobby or in transit to the room. Not only does this service enable a more friendly and relaxed check-in, it also introduces the guests to the person who will be acting as their concierge for their stay. The greeter/concierge is easily made available by texting.

One hotel in Hong Kong is doing away with people altogether. Check-in actually starts when they are picked up at the airport. The shuttle vehicle is equipped with internet access where people can both check-in and checkout without paper and without people.

While these are just a few remote examples, they are a snapshot of the future of the hotel stay.

An Example of a Room Key

One Las Vegas hotel is differentiating itself by providing keys that operate by using a sensor. While this is not new technology, as people have been "badging-in" at work for years now. The use of sensor keys as an access control to a person's hotel room is a new use of this technology. However, this being Las Vegas, the hotel does do some unique one-upmanship with it. As a person enters a room for the first time using the key, the room will turn on the lights, open the curtains, and turn on the television automatically. The television turns onto a list of controls that the guest can personalize for their stay. Also, the hotel not only offers but brags about its free internet access (or at least included in their room rate) which can be up to eight times faster than the other Vegas hotels.

An Example of Entertainment in the Room

An upscale chain hotel in Seoul is providing a way for guests to plug in their equipment to the hotel room's audio and video systems at a single location. Then their video or music files can be controlled through the room's large screen televisions. Even one's laptop can be plugged into the system. This provides the ultimate of personalized entertainment, entertainment that the guest brought with them.

A London hotel provides charging stations in the room's walls, but its true differentiator is that it gives guest an iPod 2 to use in the room. Also, the rooms come with 3D Blu-ray systems for the large screen 3D television. Of course, 3D specs are provided in the room for the television. Continuing that theme, the hotel also has a 103 inch 3D screen in the hotel bar with specs available there too.

An Example of Things to Do

A hotel in Tokyo realizes that people come to stay in hotels but want activity outside it. Actually, hotels have known this for some time because ever hotel tries to tout its proximity to popular local attractions. So, in the digital age this Tokyo hotel provides walking tours of the surrounding neighborhoods via iPod. It even provides an iPod tour of the hotel's 1000 piece art collection. Should someone not have an iPod, then they can get one provided by the hotel.

An Example of Reservations

One major US-based hotel chain is growing its app presence in the smart phone market, like those for the iPhone or Android phones. Their smart phone app lets people check for the closest hotels, availability, and the rates for those available rooms. This helps them gain more regular customers who will use the app for last minute reservations. Last minute reservations are actually growing as people are learning they can check for hotel availability from their digital devices (and often score the best rates for a last minute reservation). The app also helps those last minute users loyal to the chain.

Raj Kapoor's 'Awaara' in Time's 100 greatest films

MUMBAI: Time magazine has included Raj Kapoor's 1951classic Awaara among 20 new entries added to its All-Time 100 list of the greatest films made since 1923, the beginning of the prestigious US periodical.

Rethinking the movie masterpieces, Time critic Richard Corliss describes Raj Kapoor as "the great star-auteur of India's postcolonial golden age of movies - Cary Grant and Cecil B. DeMille in one handsome package."

"The '50s films he headlined and directed became huge hits not just in his newly freed homeland but also across the Arab crescent from Indonesia to North Africa," Time noted.

Kapoor, who modelled his screen persona on Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp, was 26 when he filmed Awaara (The Tramp).

Time calls Awaara as "a glistening showcase for Kapoor and the great India siren Nargis (his lover onscreen and off)."

"And of course it's a musical, whose main song, Awaara Hoon, by the famed Shanker-Jaikishan duo, soared to the top of the pop charts in India, the USSR and China."

The original All-Time 100 list published in 2005 included Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy, Mani Ratnam's Nayakan and Guru Dutt's Pyaasa.

Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman's score for Mani Ratnam's Roja (The Rose), the tale of a woman whose lover is kidnapped by terrorists, was also among 10 Best Soundtracks.

Last week, Time magazine ranked Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2002 film Devdas eighth among the ten greatest movies of the millennium (thus far).

Naked Man Allegedly Eating Victim's Face Shot And Killed By Miami Police

One man is dead and another hospitalized after a bizarre assault off Miami's MacArthur Causeway reportedly forced a police officer to open fire.

City of Miami police say the incident began Saturday afternoon about 2 p.m. when an officer responded to reports of 2 men fighting in the bike path of the Biscayne Boulevard exit ramp, alongside the Miami Herald's parking garage. There, according to the Herald, the officer observed a naked man eating another man's face:

The officer...approached and saw that the naked man was actually chewing the other man's head, according to witnesses. The officer ordered the naked man to back away, and when he continued the assault, the officer shot him.
The attacker continued to eat the man, despite being shot, forcing the officer to continue firing. Witnesses said they heard at least a half dozen shots.

According to CBS Miami, police sources said the victim had "virtually no face" and was unrecognizable.

"[Officers] attempted to separate them, there was some sort of confrontation," Miami Police spokesman Willie Moreno told Local10.   (Huffingtonpost.com)

Marine reserves boost fish, research

AUSTRALIAN researchers tracking life on the Great Barrier Reef say they have proven a long-debated theory that fish born in marine reserves boost overall ocean stocks by dispersing widely.

The team, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, used DNA testing to track the spread of baby coral trout and stripey snappers from their spawning on the reef's Keppel Island marine reserve, where fishing is illegal.

"We found that the marine reserves, which cover about 28 per cent of the 700 hectare reef area of the Keppels, had in fact generated half the baby fish, both inside and outside of the reserves," said lead researcher Hugo Harrison.

"The study provides conclusive evidence that fish populations in areas open to fishing can be replenished from populations within marine reserves."

Published in the scientific journal Current Biology, the study is the first to prove the sometimes contested theory that setting aside marine reserves can help restock neighbouring fishing zones, added co-author Garry Russ.

"This study in the Keppel Islands, for the first time, demonstrates that reserve networks can contribute substantially to the long-term sustainability of coral reef fisheries, and thus to food security and livelihoods in the region," said Russ, from James Cook University.

The Great Barrier Reef is the biggest in the world, comprising more than 3000 individual reef systems and hundreds of tropical islands.

It is home to 1500 fish species and 30 types of whale, dolphin and porpoise. (AFP)

Police halt anti-GM wheat protest

Anti-GM protesters who had planned to "decontaminate" a field of modified wheat in Hertfordshire have been stopped from entering by a police line.

The Take the Flour Back group say crops could contaminate the surrounding area. The protesters had planned to rip up the crops.

More than 400 growers, bakers and families from across England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Belgium marched against the return of open air GM field.

Kate Bell from Take the Flour Back stated that “In the past, kids, grannies, and everyone in between has decontaminated GM trial sites together. Here at the beginning of a new resistance to this obsolete technology, we see GM hidden behind a fortress. We wanted to do the responsible thing and remove the threat of GM contamination, sadly it wasn’t possible to do that effectively today. However, we stand arm in arm with farmers and growers from around the world, who are prepared to risk their freedom to stop the imposition of GM crops.”

An order banning protesters from entering the site was issued on Friday.
Police say that two men, who were arrested for trespassing in the banned area, are being questioned at a Hertfordshire police station.

The GM wheat trial designed to repel aphids, contains genes for antibiotic-resistance and an artificial gene ‘most similar to a cow’.

Wheat is wind-pollinated. In Canada similar experiments have leaked into the food-chain costing farmers millions in lost exports. There is no market for GM wheat anywhere in the world.

This experiment is tax-payer funded, but Rothamsted hope to sell any patent it generates to an agro-chemical company. La Via Campesina, the world’s largest organisation of peasant farmers, believe GM is increasing world hunger. They have called for support resisting GM crops, and the control over agriculture that biotech gives to corporations.

Anti-obesity proposal fails again at McDonald's

McDonald's Corp investors soundly rejected a shareholder proposal that would have required the world's biggest fast-food chain to assess its impact on childhood obesity.

The subject was a major topic of discussion at Thursday's annual shareholder meeting, which also served as a send-off for retiring Chief Executive Jim Skinner - whose nearly eight years at the helm will be remembered as a time when the price of McDonald's stock tripled.

The shareholder proposal, which also failed last year, returned amid growing concern over the social and financial costs of obesity in the United States and around the world - not only in terms of healthcare-related expenses but also lower worker productivity and diminished quality of life.

Nearly one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese. America is one of the fattest nations on earth, and the Institute of Medicine, in a 2006 report requested by Congress, said junk food marketing contributes to an epidemic of childhood obesity that continues to rise. The institute is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

McDonald's executives on Thursday defended the brand and its advertising.

"We're proud of the changes we've made to our menu. We've done more than anybody in the industry around fruits and vegetables and variety and choice," said Skinner, who will retire on June 30 and who received a standing ovation from investors.  (Reuters)