Some New Mexico patients extol the benefits of medical marijuana

KOB.com - Saturday 29th June, 2013

The City of Albuquerque has issued a health alert due to blowing dust. The alert starts at 6:30pm Saturday and goes until 8am Sunday morning. People with respiratory issues should take note. The blowing dust in the air can aggravate breathing. People who are sensitive to blowing dust, such as those with asthma, chronic bronchitis and other respiratory and heart diseases, are ...

Pride comes to Albuquerque

KOB.com - Saturday 29th June, 2013

Saturday, thousands of people are celebrating Albuquerque Pride. It is an annual event for LGBT supporters. But this year it takes on special meaning. A sign spells it out- DOMA is dead. Tyler Ewan says, "It's timing couldn't have come better cause everybody was so supportive, it was kind of like, a reason to rejoice, it brought more meaning to the party that pride ...

Some New Mexico patients extol the benefits of medical marijuana

Las Cruces Sun-News - Saturday 29th June, 2013

Melissa M. Loomis, a part-time employee for MJ Express-O in Truth or Consequences, stands in a room where mature, harvested medical cannabis is stored before it is distributed to medical patients in and around T or ...

Woman escapes burning apartment

KASA - Saturday 29th June, 2013

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque woman nearly lost her apartment after it caught on fire Saturday afternoon. The fire started just after 2:30 p.m. at a small apartment on Montclaire NE near Phoenix. Firefighters quickly responded and put out the fire containing it to one room. The woman who lived there already had gotten help from a neighbor. "I woke up to my neighbor banging on my door ...

Grandmother doctors save abused boy

KASA - Saturday 29th June, 2013

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Doctors say a toddler was near death when an alert grandmother took him to the hospital. Now the boy's cousin and her boyfriend are facing charges. Adrienne Apodaca, the cousin of the 15-month-old, was in court Saturday charged with child abuse. According to a criminal complaint Apodaca, 20, and her boyfriend, Matthew Martinez, were taking care of the boy when they claim ...

Couple busted as child found in filth

KASA - Saturday 29th June, 2013

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies looking for a wanted man say they found a toddler living in filthy in a sweltering home. The parents of the 3-year-old are now in the Metropolitan Detention Center on child abuse charges. Neighbors told KRQE News 13 they had no idea what was going on inside the couple's home. And it turns out the mother in this case was arrested ...

Albuquerque woman faces multiple child abuse charges

KOB.com - Saturday 29th June, 2013

An Albuquerque woman faced a judge on four counts of child abuse on Saturday. Police say Adrienne Apodaca failed to take her cousin?s 1-year old son to the hospital after numerous medical emergencies. Court Records state she and her boyfriend were taking care of the child last month. Apodaca told police the boy went "lifeless" at least three times. Police say she ...

T or C medical marijuana grower looks to expand into Las Cruces

Las Cruces Sun-News - Saturday 29th June, 2013

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES - Thirty, bushy marijuana plants neatly line a clean, mid-sized room in a building somewhere in Truth or Consequences. A pungent, distinctive scent fills the air.It's here that buds will be carefully harvested from the 5-foot-tall bushes at the end of a three- to four-month growing cycle. They'll be trimmed, dried, packaged and shipped to fill pending orders.The ...

Pride shows during annual GLBT event

KASA - Saturday 29th June, 2013

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Folks came out in droves Saturday for PrideFest 2013 in Albuquerque. The event celebrates gays, lesbians, and transsexuals around the world. People spent the afternoon attending concerts, rallies, and had just having fun. The event was scheduled to run until 6 p.m. at Expo New ...

Wells Fargo Bank on Montgomery hit by robbery

KOB.com - Saturday 29th June, 2013

FBI and Albuquerque police are investigating a bank robbery that took place early Saturday afternoon. Authorities say the Wells Fargo at 5555 Montgomery Blvd NE, at San Pedro was robbed by a single person. The FBI have released a picture of the suspect and are asking anyone with information to contact ...

Robber holds up Wells Fargo bank

KASA - Saturday 29th June, 2013

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A robber who all but posed for a security camera held up a Wells Fargo bank branch in Albuquerque Saturday afternoon. The FBI quickly released three photos showing the robber wearing a red Lobos cap and sporting a thin mustache. The holdup happened shortly before 1 p.m. in the shopping center on the northwest corner of Montgomery Boulevard NE and San Pedro Drive. The FBI and ...

Wildfires growing as flood threat rises

KASA - Saturday 29th June, 2013

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - As stormy weather returns to parts of New Mexico residents in and near the burn scars left by forest fires are being warned to be alert for flooding. "It is important that residents take steps to protect themselves and their property from flooding and mudflows," a statement from the Santa Fe National Forest released Saturday morning said. The statement urges ...

Nelson Mandelas family meets with Obama during presidents stop in South Africa

The Post-Standard - Saturday 29th June, 2013

Obama praised the former South African president's "moral courage" during remarks from the grand Union Buildings where Mandela was inaugurated as his nation's first black ...

U.S. asks Ecuador to reject Edward Snowden

The WBAL Channel - Saturday 29th June, 2013

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden asked Ecuador "to please reject" the request for asylum from self-avowed National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, according to Ecuadorian President Rafael ...

Escaped inmate recaptured in Texas

KASA - Saturday 29th June, 2013

PORTALES, N.M. (AP) - An inmate who escaped through an air conditioning vent at the Roosevelt County jail has been captured in West Texas. Ruben Lozano was caught Friday in Midland. Sheriff's deputies told the Portales News-Tribune that he was he was staying at an apartment complex with family members. Video footage showed Lozano and fellow inmate Stephen Phillips jumping off the ...

Sprinklers run wild at league ballpark

KASA - Saturday 29th June, 2013

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Malfunctioning sprinklers at a complex of Albuquerque little league fields have created a virtual oasis in the middle of a water-starved desert. Visit the baseball and softball field at the Alameda Little League on Alameda Park Drive NE and you will find a swamp land of sorts. Just outside of the ballfield fences lush green plants sprout in soaked ground as water stands ...

USDA approves permit to butcher horses

Action 7 News - Saturday 29th June, 2013

STORY RIGHT NOW-- A HORSE SLAUGHTER PLANT IN ROSWELL GETTING THE GO AHEAD FROM THE FEDS! ACTION 7 NEWS REPORTER LAURA THOREN TELLS US WHEN THE PLANT WILL START PROCESSING HORSE MEAT. IN JUST A FEW WEEKSprobably mid july A NEW MEXICO COMPANY WILL START UP OPERATIONS -- SOME HAVE CALLED OUTRAGEOUS, AND CRUEL. BUTCHERING HORSES. SOT it's kind of a reserved victory for them. THAT'S ...

Chavez computer reveals chilling search

KRQE - Saturday 29th June, 2013

BERNALILLO, N.M. (KRQE) - It's there clear as day. On November 27, 2006, somebody used the laptop computer for Levi and Tera Chavez to search for a chilling phrase--"how to klllsomebody"--and view an article on the subject. Less than a year later, Tera Chavez was dead, shot with Levi's Albuquerque Police Department-issuedgun in the couple's Los Lunas home. Levi, who ...

N.M. law closes sex-offender loophole

KRQE - Saturday 29th June, 2013

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - For years, sex offenders who moved to New Mexico from elsewhere were somehow able to slip through the state's sex-offender registry. It's a problem that stood out in a case that went all the way to the state Supreme Court earlier this year. But beginning Monday the loophole slams shut because of a new law taking effect July 1. "Now it's clear that if ...

Heat wont relent in scorched Southwest

Action 7 News - Saturday 29th June, 2013

Fun aside, the heat wave scorching the Southwest is dangerous, as 170 concert goers found out Friday evening in Las Vegas, according to the fire ...

New Mexico mired in extreme drought

Action 7 News - Saturday 29th June, 2013

Action 7 News reporter Laura Thoren said two towns have declared a state of emergency because of the drought -- Maddalena and Cloudcroft -- and that number will undoubtedly climb. As of this week, nearly half the state is suffering from exceptional drought ...

Police clash with anti-Obama protestors as President meets Mandelas family

Breaking News.ie - Saturday 29th June, 2013

Riot police in South Africa have clashed with anti-Obama protestors in the township of Soweto.Stun guns were fired at demonstrators to try and disperse them shortly before the US President Barack Obama arrived in the Johannesburg district.President Obama has met privately with the family of Nelson Mandela.The meeting was held in Johannesburg at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, part of the ...

Source: http://www.albuquerquenews.net/index.php/sid/215524876/scat/d867a54a6fc00b3b

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'First bionic eye' retinal chip for blind

June 29, 2013 ? University Hospitals (UH) Eye Institute will be one of the first medical centers in the United States to offer the Argus? II Retinal Prosthesis System ("Argus II").

The Argus II is the first and only "bionic eye" to be approved in countries throughout the world, including the U.S. It is used to treat patients with late stage retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Argus II was developed by Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., located near Los Angeles.

In preparation for the launch of Argus II later this year, implanting centers, including UH, will soon begin to accept consultations for patients with RP. UH is one of a select number of medical centers in 12 major markets in the nation, and the only one in Cleveland and the state of Ohio, chosen by Second Sight to offer the Argus II, which received FDA approval earlier this year.

Argus II works by converting video images captured by a miniature camera, housed in the patient's glasses, into a series of small electrical pulses that are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes on the surface of the retina. These pulses are intended to stimulate the retina's remaining cells resulting in the corresponding perception of patterns of light in the brain. Patients then learn to interpret these visual patterns thereby regaining some visual function.

"This is a remarkable breakthrough," said Suber S. Huang, MD, MBA, Director, UH Eye Institute's Center for Retina and Macular Disease, who also served as the Independent Medical Safety Monitor for clinical trials of the system and gave the summary closing to the FDA Ophthalmic devices panel.

"The system offers a profound benefit for people who are blind from RP and who currently have no therapy available to them. Argus II allows patients to reclaim their independence and improve their lives."

RP is a rare inherited, degenerative eye disease that often results in profound vision loss to the level of bare light perception or no light perception. It affects nearly 100,000 Americans. Noted Cleveland businessman and professional sports owner Gordon Gund is blind from this disease.

"We are thrilled that several of the nation's top hospitals will be the first to offer Argus II to patients in the U.S.," said Brian Mech, Vice President of Business Development, Second Sight. "After an intensive and difficult selection process, these sites were chosen for their cutting-edge approach to medicine and unparalleled commitment to patient care. We are confident that RP patients seeking treatment at these centers will benefit greatly from the best-in-class services these sites provide."

Argus II had more than 20 years of work in the field, three clinical trials, more than $100 million in public investment by the National Eye Institute, the Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation, and an additional $100 million in private investment.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/Rl1fuNyJzyA/130629164628.htm

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One Direction Rock, Twerk And Do The Robot: Seven Fun Concert Moments!

MTV News heads to 1D's Jones Beach show to watch the dudes in action.
By Emilee Lindner

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709801/one-direction-jones-beach-new-york.jhtml

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Filibuster and protest stop Tx. abortion bill

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Despite barely beating a midnight deadline, hundreds of jeering protesters helped stop Texas lawmakers from passing one of the toughest abortion measures in the country.

As the protesters raised the noise to deafening levels in the Texas Senate chamber late Tuesday, Republicans scrambled to gather their colleagues at the podium for a stroke-of-midnight vote.

"Get them out!" Sen. Donna Campbell shouted to a security guard, pointing to the thundering crowd in the gallery overhead that had already been screaming for more than 10 minutes.

State troopers try to clear the gallery after Davies' filibuster.This verified video was uploaded to YouTube by journalist Andrea Grimes.

"Time is running out," Campbell pleaded. "I want them out of here!"

It didn't work. The noise never stopped and despite barely beating the midnight end-of-session deadline with a vote to pass the bill, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the chaos in the chamber prevented him from formally signing it before the deadline passed, effectively killing it.

Dewhurst denounced the protesters as an "unruly mob." Democrats who urged them on called the outburst democracy in action.

In either point of view, a raucous crowd of chanting, singing, shouting demonstrators effectively took over the Texas Capitol and blocked a bill that abortion rights groups warned would close most abortion clinics in the state.

"They were asking for their voices to be heard," said Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, who spent nearly 11 hours trying to filibuster the bill before the outburst. "The results speak for themselves."

The final outcome took several hours to sort out.

Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards announces the vote result to protesters.This verified video was uploaded to YouTube by journalist Andrea Grimes.

Initially, Republicans insisted the vote started before the midnight deadline and passed the bill that Democrats spent the day trying to kill. But after official computer records and printouts of the voting record showed the vote took place Wednesday, and then were changed to read Tuesday, senators retreated into a private meeting to reach a conclusion.

At 3 a.m., Dewhurst emerged from the meeting still insisting the 19-10 vote was in time, but said, "with all the ruckus and noise going on, I couldn't sign the bill" and declared it dead.

He denounced the more than 400 protesters who staged what they called "a people's filibuster" from 11:45 p.m. to well past midnight. He denied mishandling the debate.

"I didn't lose control (of the chamber). We had an unruly mob," Dewhurst said. He even hinted that Gov. Rick Perry may immediately call another 30-day special session, adding: "It's over. It's been fun. But see you soon."

Many of the protesters had flocked to the normally quiet Capitol to support Davis, who gained national attention and a mention from President Barack Obama's campaign Twitter account. Her Twitter following went from 1,200 in the morning to more than 20,000 by Tuesday night.

"My back hurts. I don't have a lot of words left," Davis said when it was over and she was showered with cheers by activists who stayed at the Capitol to see her. "It shows the determination and spirit of Texas women."

Davis' mission was cut short but her effort ultimately helped Democrats earn a rare victory in a Legislature dominated by Republicans for more than a decade.

"It's a bad bill," said Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin, leader of the Senate Democrats.

The bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and force many clinics that perform the procedure to upgrade their facilities and be classified as ambulatory surgical centers. Also, doctors would be required to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles ? a tall order in rural communities.

If signed into law, the measures would have closed almost every abortion clinic in Texas, a state 773 miles wide and 790 miles long with 26 million people. A woman living along the Mexico border or in West Texas would have to drive hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion if the law passed. The law's provision that abortions be performed at surgical centers means only five of Texas' 42 abortion clinics are currently designated to remain in operation.

Republicans and anti-abortion groups insisted their goal was to improve women's health care, but also acknowledged wanting clinics to close.

"If this passes, abortion would be virtually banned in the state of Texas, and many women could be forced to resort to dangerous and unsafe measures," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late former Texas governor Ann Richards.

The showdown came after Davis had slogged her way through about 11 hours of speaking while Senate Republicans ? and several House members ? watched and listened for any slipup that would allow them to end the filibuster and call a vote.

Democrats chose Davis, of Fort Worth, to lead the effort because of her background; she had her first child as a teenager and went on to graduate from Harvard Law School.

Rules stipulated she remain standing, not lean on her desk or take any breaks ? even for meals or to use the bathroom. But she also was required to stay on topic, and Republicans pointed out a mistake and later protested again when another lawmaker helped her with a back brace.

Lawmakers can vote to end a filibuster after three sustained points of order. As tension mounted over Davis' speech and the dwindling clock, Campbell, a first-term lawmaker from New Braunfels, made the call on the third violation, sparking nearly two hours of debate on how to handle it.

After much back and forth and senators shouting over each other, the Republican majority forced a vote to end the filibuster minutes before midnight, sparking the raucous response from protesters.

Senate security and several Department of Public Safety state troopers tried to quiet the crowd but were simply outnumbered and had no hope of stopping the outburst.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, blamed the confusion surrounding the final vote on the demonstrators and Democratic senators who urged them on.

"Had that not happened, everyone would have known," what was happening, Patrick said.

Standing next to him was Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, a Democrat.

"This is democracy," Hinojosa said. "They have a right to speak."

___

Senate Bill 5: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=831&Bill=SB5

___

Follow Jim Vertuno on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JimVertuno .

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cltomlinson

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-abortion-bill-falls-challenge-080130212.html

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Collette Brown: Artist Fuel (The Powerhouse of New York City)

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New York City is a metropolis that has been photographed, documented, and written about a billion times over, and it will probably always continue to be this way. This city has summoned millions of people all over the world; it has literally entered the homes, minds, spirits, ideals and fantasies of people who have goals they want to make a reality. My experience in this 'concrete jungle' is that the very atmosphere of New York City is consisted of the dreams that have come to live and die here over the centuries. With so many dreams in one place, all consistently evolving and dissolving, one can wonder what is the common link? When people look back on this imploding city, what title will they give us? Will we be documented as a purely economic driven society, lead by trends and social status, or is it possible to give a voice to the true powerhouse of this city, the artist?

The voice of the artist is creativity itself and creativity is always a dream until its physical manifestation. Creativity is what New York City has continually thrived on. When people come here they want to create or recreate themselves and their lives. The ability to create and recreate our self is a gift all of us have, but few choose to fully explore. During my time living, working, and loving in New York City, I have met so many incredible artists. These people range from homeless rebel teenagers to noteworthy actors, musicians and painters, designers and writers, models and photographers...the list literally goes on; and all of them have been beyond gifted. But, I have yet to find acknowledgement of their effect on our daily lives as a city. Where are their stories of encouragement and endurance for the other 8 million of us out here? In times where many people in the western hemisphere are becoming more conscious of the effect human beings have on planet earth, people are becoming more conscious of themselves. This consciousness of self has always been documented by the art of the times.

Every person who has gone against the odds to paint when they were destined to be a doctor, or every singer who belts in the most underground subway instead of working a 9-5, their voices should be heard. We are all on our own journey, and it has been proven throughout time, finding relation to others story of victory and sorrow is always healing and empowering. Am I biased? As a runaway writer and actor, covert dancer and sketcher, yes, I am biased. The voices of those who have come here not pursuing wealth or acknowledgment, but operating purely off of the creative force that must be expressed within them, has been some of my cords of strength when life here has been beyond extreme.

As humans on a mission to make it to the next day we all have hard times. We all share a dream to create a life for ourselves that is ideal. The voice of the artist, the life of the artist is not ideal, it is not a glamorized Hollywood tale of rags to riches. It is a determination to be self sufficient based on one's own talents and gifts. These talents and gifts can be a burden when one is surrounded by images of the socially acceptable way to live. The voice of the artist is more like a spirit, and its strength is in loving and believing in one's self.

The spirit of the artist brings the realization that nothing tangibly obtainable can determine the worth of a human being. We can only determine the quality of our lives by the effect our dreams and creativity have on others. The dreams keep bringing people here, the hope that they can create something from these dreams, in a place where so many have tried. The tourist attractions, the wealth this city contains, the possibility of stardom are all someone's dream. The voice of the artist is the individuals dream. This person understands themselves to be part of an evolving system of life, where life keeps recreating itself. This individual realizes they themselves are a beautiful and important part of that evolution.

So dream on New York, and shout the praises of the famed and wealthy, we the artists will keep writing for you, singing for you, painting for you, playing for you, all in hopes that you too will find the power to express your true self during your life's evolution.

?

Follow Collette Brown on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Mypoeticlife

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/collette-brown/artist-fuel-the-powerhouse_b_3511385.html

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Raspberry Pi gets its own media center kit: ?46 for easy XBMC and controller (hands-on)

Behold, a ready-made answer for those who own a Linux-powered fruit machine but who are still looking for new ways to use it. It's a simple media center starter kit, fresh out today, which makes it easy to hook your Raspberry Pi up to an HDMI display and use it to play video or music from the internet or your home network through the wonders of XBMC. Known simply as "XBMC Solution," it consists of the Raspbmc software on a bootable SD card (this is an all-in-one install that combines XBMC with a lightweight Linux distro), a rechargeable RF controller with a small keyboard and touchpad to aid navigation (it's generic, unbranded, and even has a "Win" key, but it works fine), plus Ethernet and HDMI cables in case you don't have any going spare.

The kit isn't wildly different from those you can pick up on eBay, or that could be gathered together more cheaply from constituent parts (Raspbmc being entirely free and open source), but it comes with Element 14's promise that it'll work smoothly and it's designed to be up and running within minutes. That's something we can vouch for, at least -- once we'd allowed the application and OS to update themselves automatically over the web, it took just a few moments longer before we were playing FLAC music files off a USB stick, adding libraries from the network and checking on the weather. What's more, XBMC is a tinkerer's paradise in its own right, with plenty of add-ons to choose from, so XBMC Solution's ease-of-use doesn't feel like it conflicts with Pi's underlying DIY philosophy. The kit will be available globally through Element 14, with a UK price of £45.99 -- and yes, that's a lot more than the little computer itself. Stay tuned for US pricing, and check out the gallery to see exactly what'll come in the box.

Gallery: Raspberry Pi XBMC Solution

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Networking, Internet, Software, HD

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/19/raspberry-pi-xbmc-solution/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Obama making plans to tackle global warming

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is planning a major push using executive powers to tackle the pollution blamed for global warming in an effort to make good on promises he made at the start of his second term. "We know we have to do more ? and we will do more," Obama said Wednesday in Berlin.

Obama's senior energy and climate adviser, Heather Zichal, said the plan would boost energy efficiency of appliances and buildings, plus expand renewable energy. She also said the Environmental Protection Agency was preparing to use its authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants.

"The EPA has been working very hard on rules that focus specifically on greenhouse gases from the coal sector," Zichal said.

Zichal, speaking at a forum hosted by The New Republic in Washington, said that none of the proposals would require new funding or action from Congress. It has shown no appetite for legislation that would put a price on carbon dioxide after a White House-backed bill to set up a market-based system died in Obama's first term with Democrats in charge.

The plan, with details expected to be revealed in coming weeks, comes as Obama has been under increasing pressure from environmental groups and lawmakers from states harmed by Superstorm Sandy to cut pollution from existing power plants, the largest source of climate-altering gases. Several major environmental groups and states have threatened to sue the administration to force cuts to power plant emissions. And just last week, former Vice President Al Gore, a prominent climate activist and fellow Democrat, pointedly called on Obama to go beyond "great words" to "great actions."

It was unclear whether the White House's plans would include controls on existing power plants. An administration official, who wasn't authorized to comment on the plan by name, said the White House was still weighing it. But since the administration has already proposed action on future power plants, the law would likely compel it to eventually tackle the remaining plants, or it would be forced to through litigation.

Obama's remarks in Berlin echoed comments he made in his State of the Union and inaugural speeches this year.

"This is the global threat of our time," Obama said Wednesday. "And for the sake of future generations, our generation must move toward a global compact to confront a changing climate before it is too late. That is our job. That is our task. We have to get to work."

Some environmentalists who cheered those remarks when they were made months ago, criticized them Wednesday.

"President Obama deserves praise for including climate change among the long-term threats facing us all," said Ned Helme, president of the Center for Clear Air Policy, an environmentally friendly think tank. "But he should do more than talk about the problem. The president needs to put the full force of his office behind new regulations that will truly curb greenhouse gas emissions. For too long now, he has produced little action. I'm encouraged that he will finally act and not just ask."

Meanwhile, the environmental community is growing impatient.

"I really can't understand why they haven't moved forward on this more quickly, and we hope that turns around," said Nathan Wilcox of Environment America.

An orchestrated and well-publicized campaign to persuade Obama to reject the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would carry oil extracted from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, appears to be an uphill battle.

Opponents call the $7 billion project a "carbon bomb" that would carry "dirty oil" and exacerbate global warming. But the State Department in an environmental evaluation concluded that other means of transporting the oil would be worse from a climate perspective.

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

___

Follow Dina Cappiello on Twitter at www.twitter.com/dinacappiello and Josh Lederman at www.twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-making-plans-tackle-global-warming-211211619.html

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The Taliban?s Qatar Office: Are Prospects for Peace Already Doomed?

As far as diplomatic prospects go, the omens don?t augur well. On Tuesday, the Afghan Taliban announced the opening of their first political office in the Qatari capital, Doha. They cut a ribbon, played their anthem, hoisted the Taliban flag and signaled their readiness to meet for talks with foreign delegations, including U.S. officials, whose government is clearly itching for a way out of its twelve-year Afghan imbroglio. Not long thereafter, though, a Taliban attack on Bagram air base left four U.S. soldiers dead.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai was not at all pleased with the Taliban office?s Doha unveiling, seeing it as a challenge to Kabul?s legitimacy. Despite longstanding Afghan government demands, the insurgent militia has so far refused to accept the Afghan constitution. The Taliban?s elaborate opening ceremony, the raising of their own flag and their rhetorical invocation of the Islamic Emirate?a term which, among other things, gestures to the state they ran when in control of much of Afghanistan before 2001?seemed to suggest the Doha office was an embassy of an alternative government rather than a front for Afghan reconciliation.

Karzai summarily dismissed the notion of attending talks in Doha and, for good measure, also suspended planned discussions with the Americans on a security pact elaborating Washington?s involvement after the official 2014 withdrawal of international forces. He blamed the U.S. for allowing the Taliban to stage such triumphant agit-prop in Qatar: ?The way the Taliban office was opened in Qatar and the messages which were sent from it was in absolute contrast with all the guarantees that the United States of America had pledged,? read a statement from Karzai?s office.

U.S. officials, desperate for the prospect of talks not to collapse, are scrambling to soothe Kabul?s rage, according to the New York Times. Plans for the Taliban office in Doha?advanced both by Qatar?s Emir and the U.S.? have been an open secret for months, even as hostilities raged in Afghanistan and Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers continued to penetrate some of the most fortified areas of Kabul. Despite the violence, the need for a peace process that could bring stability to war-ravaged Afghanistan has remained imperative throughout. In tackling the Taliban, American and NATO officials know there can be no decisive military solution. And there are signs as well that, unlike the warlords of the 1990s, the current Taliban leadership knows it will be unable to oust the government in Kabul.

A Taliban commander operating in Afghanistan?s Kunar province spoke to a TIME contributor in Pakistan of his cohorts? war weariness. ?Though there are some internal differences among the Taliban, all the groups are in favor of talks as they have become exhausted of fighting,? he says.

If formal negotiations begin, at least between U.S. officials and the Taliban, it?s clear what would be first be on the agenda: the rumored return of a number of Taliban fighters currently languishing in Guantanamo Bay, perhaps in exchange for the last remaining American prisoner of war, Bowe Bergdahl, a soldier believed to be in the hands of the notorious militant Haqqani network. In an encouraging sign, the Haqqanis have overcome internal divisions within the Taliban and lent their support to the formation of the Taliban office.

But as the current climate shows, those confidence-building steps are meaningless as long as Kabul sits on the sidelines?let alone other key regional players in Pakistan and Iran. While on tour in Germany, U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged the delicate choreography and difficulty of the transition to talks:??We had anticipated at the outset that there were going to be some areas of friction, to put it mildly, in getting this thing off the ground.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/taliban-qatar-office-prospects-peace-already-doomed-231016880.html

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Perfect pitch may not be absolute after all

June 11, 2013 ? People who think they have perfect pitch may not be as in tune as they think, according to a new University of Chicago study in which people failed to notice a gradual change in pitch while listening to music.

When tested afterward, people with perfect, or absolute pitch, thought notes made out of tune at the end of a song were in tune, while notes that were in tune at the beginning sounded out of tune.

About one out of 10,000 people has absolute pitch, which means they can accurately identify a note by hearing it. They are frequently able, for instance, to replicate a song on a piano by simply hearing it. Absolute pitch has been "idealized in popular culture as a rare and desirable musical endowment, partly because several well-known composers, such as Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Handel, have been assumed to posses absolute pitch," the researchers write in "Absolute Pitch May Not Be So Absolute," in the current issue of Psychological Science.

The study showed that exposure to music influences how people identify notes from their sound, rather than having a rare, absolute ability at an early age. The research also demonstrates the malleability of the brain -- that abilities thought to be stable late in life can change with even a small amount of experience and learning.

One of the researchers, Stephen Hedger, a graduate student in psychology at UChicago, has absolute pitch, as determined by objective tests. Joining him in the study were postdoctoral scholar Shannon Heald and Howard Nusbaum, professor in psychology at UChicago.

Hedger and Heald decided to pursue the study after a session in which Heald tricked Hedger by covertly adjusting pitch on an electronic keyboard.

"Steve and I have talked about absolute pitch, and I thought it might be more malleable than people have thought," Heald said. While in the lab, Hedger began to play a tune, and Heald secretly changed the pitch with a wheel at the side of the keyboard.

Heald changed the tuning to make the music a third of a note flatter than it was at the beginning of the song. Hedger never noticed the change, which was gradual, and was later surprised to discover the music he was playing was actually out of tune at the end.

"I was astounded that I didn't notice the change," Hedger said. Working with Nusbaum, an expert on brain plasticity, they devised experiments to see if other people with absolute pitch would make the same mistake as Hedger.

The researchers recruited 27 people who were identified as having absolute pitch by standard tests and assigned them to two groups for two experiments. The subjects were tested on identifying notes at the beginning of the experiments, and each was able to correctly identify an in-tune note.

One group then listened to Johann Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C Minor. In another experiment, a second group listened to music played on a French horn to determine whether individual instruments impact the ability to detect music going out of tune.

As the people listened to the symphony, the music was detuned during the first movement (about 15 minutes) to become flatter at the rate of two cents a minute. (The tonal distance between two notes, such as an A and G sharp, is measured as 100 cents).

By the end of the movement, the pitch had been detuned by 33 cents, a change none of the listeners detected, much like Hedger. The symphony was then played out of tune for the next three movements.

The listeners were then tested after listening to the detuned music, as they had been at the beginning of the session. They identified out-of-tune notes from the newly detuned music as being in tune, while reporting notes they heard in the pre-test were slightly out of tune.

Another test composed of only five notes, called phase music, equally found that people with absolute pitch changed what they determined was in tune after listening to the slightly out-of-tune music. That included notes not actually heard as detuned during the musical exposure.

In both tests, only the specific instruments used in the compositions were affected by the detuned nature of the listening experience. Neither the Brahms' Symphony nor the five-note compositions used a piano or French horn, and after listening to detuned music, notes played on these instruments were unaffected.

"Listening to detuned music significantly shifted the perceived intonation and generalized to notes that had not been heard in the detuned music," said Nusbaum. The researchers are now experimenting with people who have more limited pitch identification ability and are finding that their pitch identification can be improved.

"This is further evidence of how adaptable even the adult mind is for learning new skills. We are finding out more and more about how our brains are equipped to learn new things at any age and not limited by abilities previously thought to be available only from the time of birth," Nusbaum said.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/Hdz14EH2I5w/130611122011.htm

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