BAGHDAD (AP) ? Insurgents launched a wave of attacks across Iraq on Monday, primarily targeting Shiite communities and pilgrims and killing at least 23 people, officials said.
The attacks appeared aimed at undermining security and confidence in the government by fomenting sectarian conflict. Overall violence has dropped since the nation neared a civil war several years ago, but attacks of a sectarian nature come almost daily, and government forces seem powerless to prevent them.
The deadliest blasts on Monday were in the town of Musayyib, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital, where militants planted bombs around two houses, one belonging to a police officer. Two women, two children and three men were killed in the pre-dawn explosions, a police officer said.
In Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Karrada, a parked car bomb went off next to a tent for Shiite pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, a police officer said. Five were killed and 25 wounded, he said.
The explosion rattled nearby buildings and sent a thick plume of black smoke billowing into the air. Ambulances and police rushed to the scene in the busy downtown shopping district, and several helicopters hovered above.
That came hours after a parked car bomb exploded in a busy street in the city of Hillah where local government offices are located, killing three people and wounding 21, another police officer said. He said some Shiite pilgrims were among the casualties, but he didn't say how many. Hillah is about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad.
Two other Shiite pilgrims were killed and 16 wounded in the town of Khalis, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad, when two bombs exploded simultaneously, another police officer said. In the town of Latifiyah, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, one pilgrim was killed and 11 wounded when two mortar rounds exploded nearby, another police officer said.
Six doctors confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information to reporters.
Also Monday, four policemen were killed in the northern city of Kirkuk while trying to defuse a bomb the center of the city, according to police Col. Taha Salaheddin. Kirkuk is 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad. The city is a focus of a power struggle among several sects and the Baghdad government.
Another a policeman was killed when a bomb hit a police convoy in the town of Tuz Khormato, 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of Baghdad, said the provincial spokesman of Salahuddin province, Mohammed al-Asi.
Although violence has ebbed since the height of the insurgency in the past, some groups presumed to be primarily Sunni extremists are still able to launch deadly attacks nationwide against government officials or civilians.
Shiite pilgrims are one of their favorite targets. Each year, hundreds of thousands converge on the southern city of Karbala where the Imam Hussein, an important figure in Shiite Islam, is buried. Many travel on foot, and the mass gatherings are frequently attacked, despite tight security.
___
Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Adam Schreck contributed to his report.
REFINING FIRE CHILES: http://www.superhotchiles.com
INGREDIENTS -2 lbs of Ground Beef (the leaner, the better) -1 whole White Onion (diced) -1 whole Garlic Bulb (minced) -4 large Jalapenos (de-seeded and diced) -7 Chocolate Bhut Jolokias (de-seeded and diced) -5 cans of Beans (Pink, Great Northern, Dark Kidney, Red Kidney, and Black) -1 14 ounce can of Diced Tomatoes -1 small can of Tomato Paste -1 packet of Chili Seasoning -1 teaspoon of Ghost Chile Powder -1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce -1 bottle of Barbecue Sauce (any kind)
DIRECTIONS 1.) Cook ground beef in a large skillet until brown. Drain thoroughly and transfer to crock pot. 2.) In same skillet, cook onion and garlic until the onion becomes transparent. Transfer to crock pot. 3.) Add diced jalapenos and chocolate bhuts. 4.) Add chili seasoning and ghost chile powder 5.) Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and worcestershire sauce. 6.) Add beans and pour in the entire bottle of barbecue sauce. 7.) Cook on low for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. 8.) After 4 hours, set crock pot to warm for 1 additional hour before serving. Makes approximately 8 servings.
(NOTE: For extra heat, add more hot peppers during last hour of cooking, OR use them as a garnish when serving.)
Duration : 0:6:13
This entry was posted on Saturday, December 29th, 2012 at 8:03 am and is filed under crock pot chili.
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Notre Dame football: Contact no problem for Daniels
SOUTH BEND - There was a flash of fear as DaVaris Daniels ran a pass pattern through the middle of the Notre Dame defense Friday, followed by a predictable thump that reverberated throughout his body.
But once the Irish sophomore wide receiver picked himself up after being tackled for the first time in 48 days, he was awash in normalcy.
?It was almost like a confidence boost,? he said Saturday.
And, perhaps a big boost for the Notre Dame offense heading into the BCS National Championship Game between the top-ranked Irish (12-0) and second-ranked Alabama (12-1), Jan. 7 in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound sophomore finished the regular season as ND?s fourth-leading receiver (25 receptions for 375 yards), despite missing the final 2? games with a broken collarbone suffered at Boston College on Nov. 10.
More telling than those numbers is how he stretches opposing defenses, as his 15-yards-per-catch average ? best among ND?s top five pass catchers ? suggests.
?We?ve got to get big-chunk plays,? Irish head coach Brian Kelly said. ?I?m telling you that right now. They (Alabama) know that. We know that.?
And Daniels knows that.
He also knows that if ND were playing in just about any other postseason game, he?d been questionable at best, if not completely unavailable. The Irish, for instance, played their bowl game on Dec. 29 last season. Daniels? first day of contact practice since the injury was Dec. 28.
?When I broke (the collarbone), I didn?t even know what I had done,? he said. ?I just knew it was bad. It was difficult, because I didn?t know at first if I?d be able to come back. I was just hoping I?d be in this position.?
He?ll be welcomed back into action by a team that ranks first nationally in total defense and second only to the Irish in scoring D.
?We would not put him out there unless he was free from injury,? Kelly said. ?Now he practiced the last three weeks, but in a red jersey. We just didn?t want any contact. I usually don?t put jerseys on guys, but I wanted him?to be involved in all the timing work, but nobody could touch him.
?Now, he?s out of the red jersey. He?s good to go out and play, jump, get hit, fall down. He?s a really good player who understands his reps are going to be based upon how he practices and how he performs. I?m certain that he?ll play a role in the game.?
Personnel matters
Safety Austin Collinsworth was never expected to be a late-season option to play for the Irish, but Kelly at least figured he?s have the junior available for scout-team duty in preparation for Alabama.
But as Collinsworth recovered from June shoulder surgery that effectively wiped out his 2012 season, he began to experience back discomfort.
The day before the Irish closed the regular season Nov. 24 at USC, Collinsworth underwent back surgery, Kelly revealed Saturday.
?It?s similar to what (tight end Tyler) Eifert had,? Kelly said. ?He needed that attended to. He feels great, so we think we?ve got him put back together, and he?s champing at the bit.?
Collinsworth, a possible starter for 2013 who will potentially have two seasons of eligibility left, is expected to be full-go in the spring, per Kelly.
Need a New Year's Resolution? Choose to Believe In Free Will!
We?re approaching the end of one year and the beginning of another, when people resolve to quit smoking, swill less booze, gobble less ice cream, jog every day, or every other day, work harder, or less hard, be nicer to kids, spouses, ex-spouses, co-workers, read more books, watch less TV, except Homeland, which is awesome. In other words, it?s a time when people seek to alter their life trajectories by exercising their free will. Some mean-spirited materialists deny that free will exists, and this specious claim?not mere physiological processes in my brain?motivates me to reprint a defense of free will that I wrote for The New York Times 10 years ago:
When I woke this morning, I stared at the ceiling above my bed and wondered: To what extent will my rising really be an exercise of my free will? Let?s say I got up right . . . now. Would my subjective decision be the cause? Or would computations unfolding in a subconscious neural netherworld actually set off the muscular twitches that slide me out of the bed, quietly, so as not to wake my wife (not a morning person), and propel me toward the door?
One of the risks of science journalism is that occasionally you encounter research that threatens something you cherish. Free will is something I cherish. I can live with the idea of science killing off God. But free will? That?s going too far. And yet a couple of books I?ve been reading lately have left me brooding over the possibility that free will is as much a myth as divine justice.
The chief offender is The Illusion of Conscious Will (MIT Press, 2002), by Daniel M. Wegner, a psychologist at Harvard. What makes Wegner?s critique more effective than others I?ve read over the years is that it is less philosophical than empirical, drawing heavily upon recent research in cognitive science and neurology. Wegner also carries out his vivisection of free will with a disturbing cheerfulness, like a neurosurgeon joking as he cuts a patient?s brain.
We think of will as a force, but actually, Wegner says, it is a feeling ? ?merely a feeling,? as he puts it ? of control over our actions. I think, ?I?m going to get up now,? and when I do a moment later, I credit that feeling with having been the instigating cause. But as we all know, correlation does not equal causation.
When neurologists make patients? limbs jerk by electrically zapping certain regions of their brains, the patients often insist they meant to move that arm, and they even invent reasons why. Neurologists call these erroneous, post hoc explanations ?confabulations,? but Wegner prefers the catchier ?intention inventions.? He suggests that whenever we explain our acts as the outcome of our conscious choice, we are engaging in intention invention, because our actions actually stem from countless causes of which we are completely unaware.
He cites experiments by psychologist Benjamin Libet in which subjects pushed a button whenever they chose while noting the time of their decision as displayed on a clock. The subjects took 0.2 seconds on average to push the button after they decided to do so. But an electroencephalograph monitoring their brain waves revealed that the subjects? brains generated a spike of brain activity 0.3 seconds before they decided to push the button. The meaning of these widely debated findings, Wegner says, is that our conscious willing is an afterthought, which ?kicks in at some point after the brain has already started preparing for the action.?
Other research has indicated that the neural circuits underlying our conscious sensations of intention are distinct from the circuits that actually make our muscles move. This disconnect may explain why we so often fail to carry out our most adamant decisions. This morning, I may resolve to drink only one cup of coffee instead of two, or to take a long run through the woods. But I may do neither of these things (and chances are I won?t).
Sometimes our intentions seem to be self-thwarting. The more I tell myself to go back to sleep instead of obsessing over free will, the wider awake I feel. Wegner attributes these situations to ?ironic processes of mental control.? I prefer Edgar Allan Poe?s phrase ?the imp of the perverse,? which more vividly evokes that mischievous ?other? we sense lurking within us.
Brain disorders can exacerbate experiences of this kind. Schizophrenics perceive their very thoughts as coming from malevolent external sources. Those who have lasting damage to the corpus callosum, a neural cable that transmits signals between the brain?s hemispheres, may be afflicted with alien-hand syndrome. They may end up, Wegner says, like Dr. Strangelove, whose left hand frantically tried to keep his right from jutting out in Nazi salutes.
Perfectly healthy people may lose their sense of control over actions their brains have clearly initiated. When we are hypnotized, playing with Ouija boards, or speaking in tongues, we may feel as though someone or something else is acting through us, whether a muse, ghost, devil, or deity. What all these examples imply is that the concept of a unified self, which is a necessary precondition for free will, may be an illusion.
Wegner quotes Arthur C. Clarke?s remark that ?any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.? Because we cannot possibly understand how the fantastically complex machines in our skulls really work, Wegner says, we explain our behavior in terms of such silly, occult concepts as ?the self? and ?free will.? Our belief in our personal identity and self-control does have its uses, Wegner grants; without it, ?we might soon be wearing each other?s underclothing.?
Maybe I should lighten up and embrace my lack of free will and a self. That?s what Susan Blackmore, a British psychologist and a practitioner of Zen, advises. In her book The Meme Machine (Oxford University Press, 1999), she contends that our minds are really just bundles of memes, the beliefs and habits and predilections that we catch from one another like viruses. Take all of the memes out of a mind, and there is no self left to be free.
Once you realize you have no control over your destiny, says Blackmore, you will expend less energy regretting past decisions and fretting over future ones, and you will be more appreciative of the vital present. Be here now, and so on. In other words, true freedom comes from accepting there is no freedom.
Blackmore?s reasoning strikes me as less spiritual than Orwellian. To me, choices, freely made, are what make life meaningful. Moreover, our faith in free will has social value. It provides us with the metaphysical justification for ethics and morality. It forces us to take responsibility for ourselves rather than consigning our fate to our genes or God. Free will works better than any other single criterion for gauging the vitality of a life, or a society.
Theologians have proposed that science still allows faith in a ?God of the gaps,? who dwells within those shadowy realms into which science has not fully penetrated, such as the imaginary time before the Big Bang banged. In the same way, maybe we can have a free will of the gaps. No science is more riddled with gaps, after all, than the science of human consciousness.
As I lay in bed this morning, however, my faith in free will wavered. Scanning my mind for something resembling will, I found a welter of roiling thoughts and anti-thoughts, a few of which transcended virtuality long enough for closer inspection. One thought was that, no matter what my intellect decides, I?m compelled to believe in free will.
Abruptly my body, no doubt bored with all this pointless cogitation, slipped out of bed, padded to the door, and closed it behind me.
An interview with the author of Analyzing Jesus: Questioning The ...
Here it is ? Christmas time ? and what crosses my path but a book that some would call heresy.? If you?re a devout Christian ? Analyzing Jesus ? will rock you and potentially strengthen your faith or wobble it.? The book can be found on Amazon here.? In the description the following words are shared:
Analyzing Jesus: Questioning the Doctrine of Christianity may be one of the most compelling arguments ever written in support of the belief that Jesus of Nazareth may have never existed as an historical person. While currently pursuing his B.A. in Science and Religion, Dorsey, began composing Analyzing Jesus before graduating Liberty University?s Willmington School of the Bible. Dorsey?s extensive research skillfully challenges the ?Jesus Defenders? of our day with many of the Bibles irrefutable contradictions, inconsistencies, myths, fabrications and forgeries.
Analyzing Jesus not only offers an in-depth study on the Christian doctrine but also gives attention to the pagan origins of the resurrection. As Dorsey brilliantly lays out the facts, opinions, and arguments, amongst some of the world?s most influential scholars, evangelist, historian?s and theologians; he also, exposes the hidden manipulation that is associated with organized religion and its goal to constantly control what we are to believe. So could it be true that the Jesus story is one of the greatest myth?s ever told? You decide!
The interview with Dorsey follows.? Feel free to ask questions or respond to this blog interview on what I think will be a hot topic!
1.???? You have just written a book ? Analyzing Jesus: Questioning The Doctrine of Christianity ? tell my readers what inspired you to write such a potentially controversial book.
Well Chuck, what inspired me to write such a controversial book on such a controversial subject is simple?Christians deserve to know the truth, not my truth, not his truth, but ?the truth? about their religion and its history. It wasn?t long ago that prior to it being called the Holy Bible the ancients called it the Helio Biblia, the Book of the Sun. This is because Sun worship was an ancient pagan practice in ancient Egyptian, Asian, and Indo-European cultures centuries before Christianity immerged as a religion. But when it did flourish as a religion the emperor Constantine who was a sun-worshipper himself in 321 A.D issued a decree making Sun-day the official day of rest; which is the main reason why Christians go to Church on Sunday and not Saturday.
So make no mistake about it when Jesus is being referenced as the ?Son of God? he is really being cited as a personification of the ?Sun.? This is why we are told ?As the men watched, Jesus? appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun? (Matt. 17:2). Moreover, Christians deserve to know that the Gospel?s were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John but by anonymous authors who never met Jesus. Also, nowhere in the New Testament do we read ?I, Jesus write these things.? In fact, no one including Paul has ever laid eyes on the alleged God-man?Jesus Christ.
2.?? ?Give my readers an insight into your background.? You were once a Christian songwriter?? Seems like going from songwriter to skeptic is a massive stretch.? Share with us your journey.
Sure, for 21 years of my life I always strived to be the Christian God wanted me to be. I?d go to Church, study what I once believed to be the word of God and diligently helped spread the message of Jesus Christ. It wasn?t long that I started my own independent record label called God Musiq. The puissance of my desire to write songs for Christ was truly amazing. As a result, to really show my dedication to God I took it upon myself to enroll in Bible College so that I could become more effective in the kingdom (as Christians say). I also, wanted to be more knowledgeable in the Bible and its history. This way I could teach it in my music and to people more effectively. Little did I know my faith was about to change?forever!
3.?? ?In your bio on Amazon it says, ?It was during my enrollment in Bible College that I seriously began to question the Christ figure. Did he truly walk the earth or was he just a myth??? Tell us the story of how your transformation came to be.
Yeah, during my enrollment in Bible College we learned so much from Apologetics, Systematic Theology, Christology, Hermeneutics which is the art and science of interpreting scripture, and Church history including the rise of modern Roman Catholicism. But it wasn?t until we began to study The Case for The Resurrection of Jesus resurrection of Jesus by Dr. Gary Habermas & New Testament scholar Michael Licona, who both admit that ?Although, other religions contain ?resurrection accounts?, there are excellent reasons for accepting the story of Jesus resurrection while rejecting others? (pg. 89).
Surprised, I was then curious to know what other religions contained resurrection accounts. It wasn?t long before I would learn in my own personal time of study that the resurrection story is really an ancient pagan myth that originated in Egypt. In fact it can be found in the Pyramid Text written on the pyramid walls of the last king of the fifth dynasty, Unas (B.C. 2375-2345) over 2,000 years before Christianity.
In these texts we learn about the Resurrection and Ascension of a Deceased King, named Horus. In fact, in Egyptian mythology Horus can always be seen with a ?sun-disk? around his head identical to many ancient paintings of Jesus. Lastly, the original manuscript of Mark?s Gospel did not contain a resurrection account of the risen Lord. Chapter 16 originally ends at verse 8. This has been the most ignored ?addition? to the Jesus story. Learning these things and more were the beginning stages of how my religious to non-religious transformation came to be.
4.?? ?You know that publishing a book like ?Analyzing Jesus? had to have some repercussions when it came to the education you were receiving.? What response have you received from the academic community?
You know Chuck, so far no one from the academic community has tried to challenge my knowledge or discredit my work. But I?m sure they will and honestly I look forward to it because I can support all of my arguments with conspicuous facts, references and explanations to help sustain, serve and defend the belief that Jesus Christ may have never breathed, one single breath, on the face of this earth. Even Paul admitted that he was ?sent not from men nor by man?? (Gal 1:1). He also admitted that ?he received his message from no human source? (Gal. 1:12). So was Jesus not a man? Was he not a ?human? source? This is why there is so much debate over Paul?s letters because many scholars have come to believe that Paul was a Gnostic and was not referring to a historical Christ. In fact, Paul is severely silent on just about everything the Gospels tell us about Jesus and in my book Analyzing Jesus I discuss this at length.
5.?? ?Share with my readers some of the challenges (if any) that have arisen as a result of your written and very public challenge to the life and existence of Jesus.
One of the main challenges I face is constantly having to explain to Christians that the intent of my book Analyzing Jesus is not to hinder anyone?s faith in Christ or God. As paradox as this may sound my goal is not to stir up controversy; but rather to truly help educate Christians on what they?ve been taught to believe. But because I challenge the existence of a human Christ some Christians simply do not care to learn about some of the Bibles most irrefutable contradictions, inconsistencies, myths, fabrications and forgeries. Instead, they?d rather graduate to new levels of blind faith.
6.?? ??Analyzing Jesus? is seemingly well thought out ? yet there have to be many in the academic community that would refute your challenges to Jesus.? What type of challenges have you received relative to your new book?
Well in my book I make it clear that if Jesus wasn?t God and if God wasn?t Jesus, then Christianity is idolatry, therefore we must develop the habit of examining what the scriptures say of Christ. Because to be Christian we must believe that Jesus was God manifested in the flesh and this is what creates the challenge. But we must ask ourselves if Jesus was God why would Jesus say: ?Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone? (Mk. 10:8)??? If Jesus was God why would God be ?seated at the right hand of God? (Col. 3:1)? After all aren?t we told ?God is not a man?? (Num. 23:19)? These questions and so many others I address in my book Analyzing Jesus. I also debunk the doctrine of the Trinity and expose how it was formulated which is another challenge I receive from Christians who try to explain away the deity of Christ.
7.?? ?Several quotes on your Amazon site share that your book took them away from Jesus or Christianity. What was your intent when writing the book? ?
Good question Chuck I?m Glad you asked that actually. I make it very clear in my book that the intent of its pages is not written to undermine the Christian faith nor cause disbelief in God in fact it?s quite the opposite. My primary objective is to pass along the knowledge and information I carefully researched over the past 24 months of my life. Which pertains to the life of Jesus Christ did he or did he not exist? Therefore, my hope is to help enlighten the mind of another especially Christians because again they deserve to know the truth about their religion.
8.?? ?How has your research and the resultant effort in writing your book changed your faith or religious belief or both?
Honestly, at first it changed me for the worse. I was upset because I felt I had been lied to, I felt deceived and bamboozled. I was a Christian for 21 years of my life, very active in the Church and really did whatever it took to spread the message of Jesus Christ to my friends, family and strangers. But it wasn?t until I came to the realization that God, or the Creator (as I like to call it) cannot be fully explained or completely understood nor conformed into a ?religion? and I truly believe that?s the beauty of it. Because everything is not meant for us to understand, however, something?s are. I also believe that the search for truth takes you wherever the evidence leads you, and therefore I was led to Analyze Jesus and Question the Doctrine of Christianity.
9.?? ?What three things do you wish your readers to gain from your book?
If there were three things I?d want my readers to gain from my book it would be to inherit knowledge, logic and truth about early Christianity, the organic meaning of Christ, and the hidden manipulation that is associated with organized religion
10.?? ?A number of my readers are in the media, so as we conclude this interview ? what two things would you want them to know about the uniqueness of your book?
I would want them to know that in my book Analyzing Jesus I can confidently uncover all the loopholes in the Jesus story, how it was formulated, how it was fabricated and even worse how it was forged.? I would also want them to know that you can now purchase my new book Analyzing Jesus: Questioning the Doctrine of Christianity on Amazon.com and send any questions you may have to me on Twitter @Analyzing Jesus. Thanks
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 26th, 2012 at 11:16 pm and is filed under Book Reviews, Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
NTU's ground-breaking study warns of more great quakes in the Himalayas
NTU's ground-breaking study warns of more great quakes in the HimalayasPublic release date: 28-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lester Kok lesterkok@ntu.edu.sg 656-790-6804 Nanyang Technological University
A research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has discovered that massive earthquakes in the range of 8 to 8.5 magnitudes on the Richter scale have left clear ground scars in the central Himalayas.
This ground-breaking discovery has huge implications for the area along the front of the Himalayan Mountains, given that the region has a population density similar to that of New York City.
NTU Professor Paul Tapponnier, who is recognised as a leading scientist in the field of neotectonics, said that the existence of such devastating quakes in the past means that quakes of the same magnitude could happen again in the region in future, especially in areas which have yet to have their surface broken by a temblor.
Published recently in Nature Geosciences, a prestigious scientific journal, the study by NTU's Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) and colleagues in Nepal and France showed that in 1255 and 1934, two great earthquakes ruptured the surface of the earth in the Himalayas. This runs contrary to what scientists have previously thought.
Massive earthquakes are not unknown in the Himalayas, as quakes in 1897, 1905, 1934 and 1950 all had magnitudes between 7.8 and 8.9, each causing tremendous damage. But they were previously thought not to have broken the earth's surface - classified as blind quakes - which are much more difficult to track.
However, Prof Tapponnier said that by combining new high resolution imagery and state of the art dating techniques, they could show that the 1934 earthquake did indeed rupture the surface, breaking the ground over a length of more than 150 kilometres, essentially south of the part of the range that harbours Mt Everest.
This break formed along the main fault in Nepal that currently marks the boundary between the Indian and Asian tectonic plates - also known as the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) fault.
Using radiocarbon dating of offset river sediments and collapsed hill-slope deposits, the research team managed to separate several episodes of tectonic movement on this major fault and pin the dates of the two quakes, about 7 centuries apart.
"The significance of this finding is that earthquakes of magnitude 8 to 8.5 may return at most twice per millennium on this stretch of the fault, which allows for a better assessment of the risk they pose to the surrounding communities," said Prof Tapponnier.
Prof Tapponnier warns that the long interval between the two recently discovered earthquake ruptures does not mean people should be complacent, thinking that there is still time before the next major earthquake happens in the region.
"This does not imply that the next mega-earthquake in the Himalayas will occur many centuries from now because we still do not know enough about adjacent segments of the MFT Mega-thrust," Prof Tapponier explains.
"But it does suggest that areas west or east of the 1934 Nepal ground rupture are now at greater risk of a major earthquake, since there are little or no records of when last earth shattering temblor happened in those two areas."
The next step for Prof Tapponnier and his EOS scientists is to uncover the full extent of such fault ruptures, which will then allow them to build a more comprehensive model of earthquake hazard along the Himalayan front.
About the NTU's Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS)
EOS is a premier research institute at NTU which conducts fundamental research on earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami and climate change in and around Southeast Asia, towards safer and more sustainable societies.
###
Funded by the National Research Foundation's Research Centres of Excellence programme, EOS and its field of research contributes greatly to NTU's research strengths in Sustainability, which is one of the university's Five Peaks of Excellence.
The Peaks of Excellence are five key areas of research which NTU hopes to make a global mark in by 2015 under its 5-year strategic plan. The other peaks include Future Healthcare, New Media, Innovation Asia, and the Best of East and West.
Media contact:
Lester Kok
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications Office
Nanyang Technological University
About Nanyang Technological University
A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has 33,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, and Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences. In 2013, NTU will enroll the first batch of students at its new medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, which is set up jointly with Imperial College London.
NTU is also home to four world-class autonomous institutes the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) and Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI).
A fast-growing university with an international outlook, NTU is putting its global stamp on Five Peaks of Excellence: Sustainable Earth, Future Healthcare, New Media, New Silk Road, and Innovation Asia.
Besides the main Yunnan Garden campus, NTU also has a satellite campus in Singapore's science and tech hub, one-north and is setting up a third campus in Novena, Singapore's medical district. For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg.
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NTU's ground-breaking study warns of more great quakes in the HimalayasPublic release date: 28-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lester Kok lesterkok@ntu.edu.sg 656-790-6804 Nanyang Technological University
A research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has discovered that massive earthquakes in the range of 8 to 8.5 magnitudes on the Richter scale have left clear ground scars in the central Himalayas.
This ground-breaking discovery has huge implications for the area along the front of the Himalayan Mountains, given that the region has a population density similar to that of New York City.
NTU Professor Paul Tapponnier, who is recognised as a leading scientist in the field of neotectonics, said that the existence of such devastating quakes in the past means that quakes of the same magnitude could happen again in the region in future, especially in areas which have yet to have their surface broken by a temblor.
Published recently in Nature Geosciences, a prestigious scientific journal, the study by NTU's Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) and colleagues in Nepal and France showed that in 1255 and 1934, two great earthquakes ruptured the surface of the earth in the Himalayas. This runs contrary to what scientists have previously thought.
Massive earthquakes are not unknown in the Himalayas, as quakes in 1897, 1905, 1934 and 1950 all had magnitudes between 7.8 and 8.9, each causing tremendous damage. But they were previously thought not to have broken the earth's surface - classified as blind quakes - which are much more difficult to track.
However, Prof Tapponnier said that by combining new high resolution imagery and state of the art dating techniques, they could show that the 1934 earthquake did indeed rupture the surface, breaking the ground over a length of more than 150 kilometres, essentially south of the part of the range that harbours Mt Everest.
This break formed along the main fault in Nepal that currently marks the boundary between the Indian and Asian tectonic plates - also known as the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) fault.
Using radiocarbon dating of offset river sediments and collapsed hill-slope deposits, the research team managed to separate several episodes of tectonic movement on this major fault and pin the dates of the two quakes, about 7 centuries apart.
"The significance of this finding is that earthquakes of magnitude 8 to 8.5 may return at most twice per millennium on this stretch of the fault, which allows for a better assessment of the risk they pose to the surrounding communities," said Prof Tapponnier.
Prof Tapponnier warns that the long interval between the two recently discovered earthquake ruptures does not mean people should be complacent, thinking that there is still time before the next major earthquake happens in the region.
"This does not imply that the next mega-earthquake in the Himalayas will occur many centuries from now because we still do not know enough about adjacent segments of the MFT Mega-thrust," Prof Tapponier explains.
"But it does suggest that areas west or east of the 1934 Nepal ground rupture are now at greater risk of a major earthquake, since there are little or no records of when last earth shattering temblor happened in those two areas."
The next step for Prof Tapponnier and his EOS scientists is to uncover the full extent of such fault ruptures, which will then allow them to build a more comprehensive model of earthquake hazard along the Himalayan front.
About the NTU's Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS)
EOS is a premier research institute at NTU which conducts fundamental research on earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami and climate change in and around Southeast Asia, towards safer and more sustainable societies.
###
Funded by the National Research Foundation's Research Centres of Excellence programme, EOS and its field of research contributes greatly to NTU's research strengths in Sustainability, which is one of the university's Five Peaks of Excellence.
The Peaks of Excellence are five key areas of research which NTU hopes to make a global mark in by 2015 under its 5-year strategic plan. The other peaks include Future Healthcare, New Media, Innovation Asia, and the Best of East and West.
Media contact:
Lester Kok
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications Office
Nanyang Technological University
About Nanyang Technological University
A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has 33,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, and Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences. In 2013, NTU will enroll the first batch of students at its new medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, which is set up jointly with Imperial College London.
NTU is also home to four world-class autonomous institutes the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) and Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI).
A fast-growing university with an international outlook, NTU is putting its global stamp on Five Peaks of Excellence: Sustainable Earth, Future Healthcare, New Media, New Silk Road, and Innovation Asia.
Besides the main Yunnan Garden campus, NTU also has a satellite campus in Singapore's science and tech hub, one-north and is setting up a third campus in Novena, Singapore's medical district. For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg.
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Putin signs law banning American adoptions - World News
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a ban on Americans adopting children from Russia. Many Americans, and many Russians, see the ban as a political maneuver that comes at the expense of children. Channel Four's Jane Deith reports.
By NBC News staff and wire reports
President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Friday that bans Americans from adopting Russian children and imposes other measures in retaliation for new U.S. legislation meant to punish Russian human rights abusers.
The law, which has ignited outrage among Russian liberals and children's rights advocates, enters into force on Jan. 1 and is likely to strain U.S.-Russia relations.
As well as banning U.S. adoptions, it will also outlaw some non-governmental organizations that receive U.S. funding and impose a visa ban and asset freeze on Americans accused of violating the rights of Russians abroad.
The law could block dozens of Russian children expected to be adopted by American families from leaving the country and cut off one of the main international routes for Russian children to leave orphanages that are often dismal. Russia is the single biggest source of adopted children in the United States, with more than 60,000 Russian children being taken in by Americans over the past two decades.
The bill is retaliation for an American law that calls for sanctions against Russians deemed to be human rights violators and part of an increasingly confrontational stance by the Kremlin against the West.
Related: Americans may lose right to adopt Russian children
Putin said U.S. authorities routinely let Americans suspected of violence toward Russian adoptees go unpunished ? a clear reference to Dima Yakovlev, a Russian toddler for whom the bill is named. The child was adopted by Americans and then died in 2008 after his father left him in a car in broiling heat for hours. The father was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov on Wednesday said that 46 children who were about to be adopted in the United States would remain in Russia if the bill came into effect. On Thursday, he petitioned the president to extend the ban to other countries.
Courtesy Thomas family
John and Renee Thomas with their son, Jack, 7, who was adopted from Russia at the age of 3. Jack is hoping for his brother, Nikoly, now in a Russian orphanage, to join him in the United States.
Would-be adoptive parents in the United States are left hanging by Putin's signing of the bill, which was passed by Russian lawmakers last week.
Among them are John and Renee Thomas of Minnetonka, Minn., Kari Huus of NBC News reported.?The Thomases have already adopted Jack, 7, from Russia. When they found out he had a little brother, they began the process to try to adopt him, too. The wait has stretched to four years, and now the adoption may be in danger.?
"When Jack is asked about his family, he talks about his brother," John Thomas said. "He always asks, 'When is he coming home?' We just tell him we?re waiting for the call."
More: Adoption of little brother caught in US-Russia spat
UNICEF estimates that there are about 740,000 children without parental custody in Russia, while only 18,000 Russians are now waiting to adopt a child.
Russian President Vladamir Putin has said he'll sign a proposed law that would halt adoptions of Russian children to Americans. NBC's Duncan Golestani reports.
The U.S. State Department on Thursday repeated its opposition to the Russian measure.
"The welfare of children is simply too important to tie to the political aspects of our relationship," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. "Additionally, we are deeply troubled by the provisions in the bill that would restrict the ability of Russian civil society organizations to work with American partners." ?
Critics of the bill left dozens of stuffed toys and candles outside the parliament's lower and upper houses to express solidarity with Russian orphans.?
An online petition urging the Kremlin to scrap the bill garnered more than 100,000 Russian signatures.?
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More world stories from NBC News:
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Scholarships: FREE Money Toward College | Globe University Blog
Less than 20 percent of the Globe University-Woodbury students apply for scholarships, according to the campus?s financial aid department.
Globe University believes that higher education should be accessible to those who want it. For this reason, we offer a number of opportunities to help students defray the costs of education.
??According to the Institute for College Access and Success, the average college graduate has acquired $24,000 in student loans by the time they graduate, and that figure is likely to increase,? said Jill Garcia, Globe University-Woodbury associate director of financial aid. ?For this reason, students need to take advantage of every scholarship opportunity out there in order to reduce their overall college debt.?
Below is a new scholarship for medical assisting students in Minnesota that Jennifer Larson, medical assistant program chair at Globe University-Woodbury, is encouraging all the medical assistant students to apply for.
The Minnesota Society of Medical Assistants (MSMA) is sponsoring three $1,000 scholarships for medical assisting students in Minnesota. Any student currently attending a Commission on Accredited of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) schools are encouraged to apply. The scholarships will be sent to the campus and will be applied to the students? tuition. The MSMA scholarships will be awarded in the spring and formally presented at the 2013 MSMA Spring Conference in April.
Eligibility criteria for the scholarships:
Applicants must be a Minnesota Resident
Applicants must be attending a college that is CAAHEP or ABHES accredited as well as a medical assisting program approved by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). (Globe University?s medical assisting program meets the above criteria.)
Applicants must have an aptitude for the field of medical assisting
Applicants must submit the following information:
Completed application (Please stop by the front desk for an application.)
Self-written essay
Faculty letter of reference
Business letter of reference
Copy of most recent official college transcript (see Registrar)
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Anarchy for children? A pro-anarchy kids' book angers the Tea Party
'A Rule is to Break: A Child's Guide to Anarchy,' by John Seven and Jana Christy, was called 'downright shocking' by a Tea Party publication and received a blurb from activist Bill Ayers.
By Husna Haq / December 13, 2012
'A Rule is to Break' is by John Seven and Jana Christy.
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Children?s books seem to be the center of controversy lately. First there was the 9/11 coloring book that depicted scenes from 9/11 and the killing of Osama bin Laden. Then there was ?Maggie Goes on a Diet,? which encouraged young girls to diet.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
This latest divisive children?s book has the Tea Party, Bill Ayers, and even President Obama ensnared in its controversial crosshairs.
?A Rule is to Break: A Child?s Guide to Anarchy,? by husband-and-wife team John Seven and Jana Christy, has some readers up in arms, with one Tea Party publication calling its publication ?downright shocking.?
Published by Manic D, a small San Francisco press specializing in anarchist and fringe publications including ?The Civil Disobedience Handbook,? and ?The International Homosexual Conspiracy,? this 44-page picture book for children ages 4 and up is the press?s first foray into children?s book publishing, according to Publisher?s Weekly.
Its colorfully-illustrated pages contain such advice as ?Don?t look like everybody else! Be you,? ?Think for Yourself!? ?No Baths Ever Again!? and ?Give Away Stuff for Free,? along with the more eyebrow-raising ?When Someone Says, ?Work!? You Say Why?? and ?Do What You Want!...Or do nothing, if you prefer.?
And while some see it as ?gently humorous,? like the UK?s Guardian, and showing ?the softer side of anarchy, with an emphasis on fun and independence, but also community and kindness,? like Publishers Weekly, others aren?t so amused.
A report in the Tea Party publication Liberty News Network calls the book ?horrendous? and ?downright shocking.?
?But it gets even worse,? continues the write-up, ?when we realize Bill Ayers, radical terrorist leftist and friend of Obama, not only endorsed it through his twitter account, his comments in support of the book are listed on the actual Amazon.com book page? Wow... If a person can be read by the company he keeps, what does this say about Obama??
In his blurb, Ayers calls the book ?a delight to read? and says that ?a children?s book on anarchy seems somehow just right: an instinctive, intuitive sense of fairness, community, and interdependence sits naturally enough with a desire for participatory democracy, feminism, queer-rights, environmental balance, self-determination, and peace and global justice.? Beneath the blurb, Ayers is identified with a wink and a nod, as an ?author? teacher, Barack Obama?s alleged terrorist pal, and grandpa.??
Not surprisingly, publisher Manic D approached this firestorm with a sense of humor and doesn?t seem bothered by the attacks. Sales are ?pretty good,? marketing manager Jennifer Swihart Voegele told Publishers Weekly, and the controversy will likely only drum up more interest and sales. Incidentally, Manic D also sent early Christmas presents to rightwing pundit Bill O?Reilly and comedian Stephen Colbert: copies of the book with a ?Happy holidays? card.
TechCrunch Disrupt Beijing Finalist 8 Securities Raises $3M, Set To Launch In Japan
Stock trading portal 8 Securities, a TechCrunch Disrupt Beijing 2011 finalist, just announced that it will launch in Japan next month. The Hong Kong-based startup hopes to tap into the Japanese market, which it estimates has over 16 million online investors. It also closed a $3 million funding round last week, with all eight private investors from its initial round of $8 million returning.
In human rights spat, Russia poised to target US adoptive parents
After the US Congress approved a bill to punish Russian officials involved in human rights abuses, Moscow is set to blacklist Americans accused of violating Russians' rights ? including US parents accused of abusing adoptive children from Russia.
By Howard LaFranchi,?Staff writer / December 12, 2012
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Russian parliamentarians, incensed that the US Congress passed a law targeting human rights abusers in Russia, are expected to approve this week a retaliatory measure aimed at Americans who abuse the human rights of Russians.
Who might those Americans be? Russian lawmakers are zeroing in on the limited world of Americans who adopt Russian children.
Earlier this month the US Senate overwhelmingly passed the Magnitsky Act, named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer and whistleblower who died under mysterious circumstances in a Moscow jail in 2009 after he accused law-enforcement officials of corruption. The measure, which President Obama says he will sign, would freeze assets and ban US travel of Russian officials involved in human rights abuses.
In response, the Russian Duma has drawn up the Dima Yakovlev bill, named for a 2-year-old adopted Russian boy who died of heatstroke after being left in his Virginia family?s car in 2008. The law would blacklist Americans accused of violating the human rights of Russians or of committing crimes against Russians.
In particular, the law would include a list of Americans accused of abusing their adopted Russian children.
The Duma?s action reflects what Russia experts say is a marked uptick in Russian nationalist sentiment in recent years. The trend is reflected broadly in increasingly prickly US-Russia relations over everything from Syria to missile defense, and more specifically in the comments by Russian leaders after the Dec. 6 Senate passage of the Magnitsky Act.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the law ?anti-Russian? and said parliaments like the US Congress should mind their national business and not ?instruct others.? The deputy speaker of the upper house of Russia?s parliament, Svetlana Orlova, told reporters this week that Russians had for too long remained silent before the ?double standards? practiced by the US toward their country, but she added that ?those times are gone.?
Some children?s advocates in Russia have condemned the proposed law as a sideshow, saying it overlooks a more pressing national problem of child neglect and abuse.
But Russia appears ready to focus on standing up to the US. Even before the Dima Yakovlev legislation comes up for a vote, there are signs of a looming trade war as a result of the Magnitsky Act.
Magnitsky was actually approved as part of an action granting Russia new favorable trade relations with the US ? known as ?permanent normal trade relations,? or PNTR. The PNTR legislation did away with the Soviet-era Jackson-Vanik legislation, which targeted the USSR for restricting the emigration of Jews and others seeking to leave the communist bloc.
But the Magnitsky Act appears to have reverberated louder than PNTR with Russian officials, who have suddenly slapped restrictions on US imports.?Last week Russian health authorities announced restrictions on imports of US pork and beef containing a particular feed additive.
US trade officials traveling to Moscow this week are expected to try to reverse the meat import restrictions ? even as they gauge the depth of anti-US sentiment over the Magnitsky measure. ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos, Galaxy S II Plus possibly spied in Chinese certification
Samsung has been pushing an ever-growing number of its mid-tier phones to larger screen sizes, and there's further evidence that it's not about to stop. Following some rumors, both the Galaxy Grand Duos and Galaxy S II Plus appear to have been spotted going through China's TENAA certification process. The Grand Duos seen here isn't likely to reach the US given its lack of compatible 3G, but it looks to have a Galaxy S III-based design that's still relatively fresh for the category. Claims have it mating its namesake dual SIM slots with a 4.5-inch (if just 800 x 480) screen, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and cameras similar to its bigger cousin.
As for the Galaxy S II Plus? While it should have 3G that works with AT&T and Canadian carriers, we're not anticipating much pressure to bring the S II Plus to North America when the device at TENAA closely resembles the 4.3-inch original, especially if talk of a modest 1GHz dual-core chip proves true. We'll need an official announcement, or further leaks, to know whether the S II Plus or the Grand Duos are enough to lure in new buyers.
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When I woke this morning, I stared at the ceiling above my bed and wondered: To what extent will my rising really be an exercise of my free will? Let?s say I got up right . . . now. Would my subjective decision be the cause? Or would computations unfolding in a subconscious neural netherworld actually set off the muscular twitches that slide me out of the bed, quietly, so as not to wake my wife (not a morning person), and propel me toward the door?
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Analyzing Jesus: Questioning the Doctrine of Christianity may be one of the most compelling arguments ever written in support of the belief that Jesus of Nazareth may have never existed as an historical person. While currently pursuing his B.A. in Science and Religion, Dorsey, began composing Analyzing Jesus before graduating Liberty University?s Willmington School of the Bible. Dorsey?s extensive research skillfully challenges the ?Jesus Defenders? of our day with many of the Bibles irrefutable contradictions, inconsistencies, myths, fabrications and forgeries.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 28-Dec-2012
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Less than 20 percent of the Globe University-Woodbury students apply for scholarships, according to the campus?s financial aid department.
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