Trash piling up faster along border with Mexico

RIO RICO, Ariz?? Picking her way into the desert brush, Raquel Martinez gathered scores of plastic water bottles tossed in an Arizona desert valley near the Mexico border, often by migrants making a risky trek into the United States across increasingly remote terrain.

"We need more bags ... there's so much trash," said Martinez, one of scores of volunteers helping clean up the dry bed of the Santa Cruz River about 10 miles north of the Mexico border on Saturday.

Trash tossed by thousands of illegal immigrants as they chase the American Dream has been a persistent problem for years in the rugged Arizona borderlands that lie on a main migration and smuggling route from Mexico.

The problem was compounded as immigrants and drug traffickers responded to ramped up vigilance on the U.S.-Mexico border by taking increasingly remote routes, leaving more waste behind in out-of-the way and hard-to-clean areas, authorities say.

"Migants used to follow the washes or follow the roads or utility poles," said Robin Hoover, founder of the Tucson-based non-profit Humane Borders.

"Now they're having to move farther and farther from the middle of the valleys," he added. "They end up making more camp sites and cutting more trails when they do that, and, unfortunately ... leave more trash."

Those making the punishing march carry food, water and often a change of clothes on the trek through remote desert areas that can take several days.

Most is tossed before they pile into vehicles at pickup sites like the one getting attention on the outskirts of Rio Rico, from where they head on to the U.S. interior.

"One of the problems that we are facing is that these sites are becoming more and more remote as law enforcement steps up its efforts," Henry Darwin, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, said of the flourishing borderland garbage dumps.

"There's probably sites out there that we haven't encountered yet or don't know about because there's a lot of people out in those areas," added Darwin, who gave testimony on the issue to state lawmakers earlier this month.

There are no numbers to show exactly how many would-be migrants or smugglers take the illegal and surreptitious trek across the border into Arizona from Mexico each year.

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But in an indication of the scale of the migration, federal border police made nearly 130,000 arrests last year in Arizona, where hundreds of Border Patrol agents, miles of fencing and several unmanned surveillance drones have been added in recent years to tighten security along the porous border.

With limited funding for clean up, Arizona environmental authorities draw on volunteers to help in drives like the one near Rio Rico, where an estimated 140 volunteers including residents, community and youth groups took part on Saturday.

Clean up efforts since 2008 by the department of environmental quality have included pulling 42 tons of trash from 160 acres of Cocopah tribal lands in far western Arizona, and clean ups at least seven sites on ranches and public land in areas south of Tucson.

Signs of illegal immigrants and even drug traffickers making the circuitous foot journey abound in the mesquite-studded riverbed near Rio Rico, a vigorous day's walk north of the border.

"I've found about a trillion water bottles," said David Burkett, a lawyer from Scottsdale, who worked up a sweat as he filled his fourth 50-pound trash bag. Nearby are tossed backpacks, food containers, a blanket and a pair of shoes.

He points out that alongside the apparent migrant trash is a large amount of other waste including a couch, kitchen countertops and yard debris, likely tossed by residents and contractors. Still, it is a shock to those living locally.

"We don't realize how bad it is until we come down and see it," said Candy Lamar, a volunteer who lives in sprawling, low density Rio Rico, as she works to pick up trash.

The area getting attention on Saturday lies a few miles from a remote spot where the bodies of three suspected drug traffickers were found shot to death "execution style" last November.

The area is not far from another out-of-the-way spot where Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was shot dead by suspected border bandits in December 2010. Volunteers working on Saturday were aware of the potential hazards.

As she stuffed a blue garbage sack with trash, retiree Sharon Christensen eyed discarded burlap sacking, blankets and cord -- the remains of a makeshift backpack of the type often used by drug traffickers walking marijuana loads up from Mexico.

"It would make me hesitant to come out here on my own, knowing that this kind of activity is going on ... It is a concern, and we need to be mindful," said Christensen, a retiree and hiking enthusiast.

Clean-up organizers liaise with Border Patrol and local police on security, in addition to warning volunteers of potential danger from snakes, scorpions or even bees that can swarm in discarded vehicle tires, and of potential hazards including medical waste and human excrement.

Equipped with gloves, volunteers such as Burkett, the Scottsdale lawyer, were glad to take part on Saturday.

"As an avid outdoors person in Arizona, I spend a lot of time using the desert," he said. "It's important to me personally to take the time to give back."

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46183245/ns/us_news-life/

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Guns N' Roses Announce Six U.S. Tour Dates

Axl Rose and company to revisit NYC venue where they performed their 'Live at the Ritz' concerts 24 years ago.
By Andrea Duncan-Mao

Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose
Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images

All that's old is new again. Axl Rose and his revamped Guns N' Roses will revisit their beloved New York when they launch their Northeast tour in February.

In 2011, the band completed a sold-out international tour and will kick off 2012 with a series of intimate shows in the States, starting with New York. Beginning February 10, they will perform a three-show series in the city, the cornerstone of which will be at the club Webster Hall, which was originally called the Ritz. This is where GN'R played one of their most famous concerts, "Live at the Ritz," in 1998. For their return, the venue will revert to its original name, complete with new signage and marquee, and fans can wax nostalgic about the days when Guns were the biggest band on the planet.

Additional cities include Chicago; Silver Spring, Maryland; and Atlantic City, New Jersey. No word yet if more dates will be announced.

The stark difference this time around is that the original members of the group — namely Duff McKagan, Slash and Izzy Stradlin — will not be there. Axl remains the only original member in this latest incarnation of GN'R, and the latest crew has yet to release a new album. The last Guns N' Roses release was back in 2008 with Chinese Democracy.

McKagan currently lives in Seattle and has had success with his bands Velvet Revolver and Loaded, while the top-hat-wearing Slash, who was also in Velvet Revolver, has guested on tracks from Michael Jackson and Rihanna and is a major figure in the "Guitar Hero" video games.

Guns N' Roses tour dates, according to a press release:

» 2/10 - New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
» 2/12 - New York, NY @ Terminal 6
» 2/15 - New York, NY @ The Ritz (Webster Hall)
» 2/19 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blue
» 2/23 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
» 2/24 - Atlantic City, NJ @ House of Blues

Related Artists

• Guns N' Roses

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678152/guns-roses-us-tour-six-dates.jhtml

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Japan, Russia to boost ties despite islands row (AP)

TOKYO ? The foreign ministers of Japan and Russia agreed Saturday to strengthen economic and security cooperation but made no progress on resolving a long-standing territorial dispute that has kept the two nations from concluding a peace treaty.

Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the two countries need to address the row over islands off northeastern Japan in a calm manner. Gemba said resolving the dispute and forging a peace treaty officially ending their hostilities in World War II is "more necessary than ever."

Both men sought to downplay the dispute and focus on ways the two nations could expand their ties.

"As the security situation in the Asia-Pacific undergoes major changes, the Japan-Russia relationship has taken on new importance," Gemba said at a joint news conference following what he called a "fruitful" two-hour meeting.

"We reaffirmed that we want to strengthen our cooperation in security, defense and economic matters, particularly energy modernization," he added.

Lavrov welcomed the increased trade between the two nations, which grew last year to 2.45 trillion yen ($31 billion).

"We want our international cooperation to expand," Lavrov said.

The two sides signed an agreement to simplify visa procedures to boost visitors and business interaction, particularly from Japan to Russia.

Ties between Japan and Russia soured in late 2010 when Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian president to visit the disputed islands, called the southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. They were seized by Soviet troops in the closing days of World War II, but Japan says they are part of its territory.

The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are believed to have oil, natural gas and mineral deposits.

"Resolving this problem and concluding a peace treaty is more necessary than ever," Gemba said. "But unfortunately ... our positions are different. We hope to resolve this through dialogue."

Lavrov said tackling the matter would have to wait until a new leader is chosen in Russia's presidential election on March 4.

"Both countries need to address the row over the islands in a calm manner without getting emotional or critical," he said.

Lavrov and Gemba were to discuss North Korea over a working lunch in the second part of their meeting. Japan and Russia are among six nations involved in long-stalled talks offering aid for North Korean nuclear disarmament.

Asked about North Korea, Lavrov said Moscow has information that the talks will "possibly resume." He did not elaborate.

North Korea, which is undergoing a leadership transition, appears to be pushing for a resumption of the talks, but the U.S. and its allies want it to first show it is serious about previous disarmament commitments. South Korea and China are the other countries involved in the talks.

Lavrov also said Russia would support Japan's efforts to press North Korea on its abduction of Japanese citizens.

After years of denials, North Korea said in 2002 that it had kidnapped 13 Japanese to train its spies. It returned five abductees but claimed the rest had died. Japan disputes that and says as many as 12 Japanese may still be captive in the North.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_russia

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Tom Waits: Silent Night - Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis (Little green footballs)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Afghanistan's Karzai in UK for talks with Cameron (AP)

LONDON ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Britain for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, a day after France announced it would withdraw its troops a year earlier than the 2014 date agreed by NATO.

Cameron is due to meet Karzai at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat outside London. Britain's Foreign Office said the meeting "is about long-term partnership and commitment beyond 2014 and the need for progress on the political track."

It is also sure to include the effects of the announcement by President Nicolas Sarkozy that French troops would speed up their withdrawal plans and leave the country by the end of next year, instead of by 2014.

Britain has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan and says it plans to withdraw almost all of them by the end of 2014.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_afghanistan

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Demi Moore 911 Call Released (Audio)

The 911 call the landed actress Demi Moore in the hospital and rehab has been released. There is a whole heck of a lot more going on than her just being exhausted that is for sure. In fact there seems to be a lot of confusion and hysteria and you can take a listen below. It is something to hear that is for sure. I have listened to the below audio a couple of times and I have to say this shiz is crazy. The woman who initially makes the call is clearly shaken and so unsure of what to do ,you feel bad for her. Plus the phone goes between two people, things were definitely out of control in Demi?s house that night. The dispatcher continues to ask questions as each of the callers tries to explain the scene and help. Anyway I am not going to tell you word for word what it says because that is no good. You absolutely have to listen to it. However what you should be aware of is that we learn that Moore smoked some kind of substance that night, which was not pot and it caused her to have some sort [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/TAUTFHmTOE0/

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Broken schools breed South Africa's "lost generation" (Reuters)

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) ? The first blow to Martha Netshiozwe's future came when her parents died of AIDS. The second came when she ran out of money and had to drop out of a South African high school.

Netshiozwe, 23, is a product of the first post-apartheid generation who entered a new and aspiring education system which aimed to heal the economic divisions created by the white-minority government. But like many, she left without the skills to qualify for anything other than manual labor.

Despite pouring billions of dollars into education, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has little to show for its money except for public primary schools regarded as among the worst in the world and millions of students destined for a life in the underclass.

"If you don't have an education, you don't have a chance in life," said Netshiozwe, who is unemployed with little prospect of finding regular work. She and her HIV-infected aunt live together and scrape by on about $100 a month in welfare benefits.

Nearly half of South Africa's 18 to 24 year olds -- the first generation educated after apartheid ended in 1994 -- are not in the education system and do not have a job, according to government data.

Academics have called this group the "lost generation" and worry it will grow larger unless the government fixes a system riddled with failing schools, unskilled educators and corruption that stops funding from reaching its intended destinations.

"This is an appalling waste of human potential and a potential source of serious social instability," the Ministry of Higher Education said this month when it unveiled sweeping plans

for boosting university enrollment and improving vocational colleges.

The lost generation poses long term risks for Africa's largest economy, which is trying to grow its tax base as it funds increased social spending.

There are about three people receiving social welfare payments for each taxpayer. While the recipients of state funds are set to increase substantially under anti-poverty programs, the number of taxpayers is not, which should cause already yawning budget deficits to widen.

Major ratings agencies are also worried.

Fitch, this month, and Moody's a few months ago, downgraded the outlook for South Africa, saying the government has not done enough to tackle structural problems including chronic unemployment, growing state debt and a broken education system.

CRIPPLED BY CORRUPTION

South Africa does not suffer a lack of plans or finances for education, the largest sector of state spending and accounting for more than 20 percent of the budget.

The problems are with implementation.

Corruption eats away at money. Teachers are poorly trained and challenged by a constantly shifting curriculum. Schools are often shut by teachers' strikes.

There have been numerous changes for the better in the ANC-run education system with more of the country's blacks, excluded from most high-quality education under apartheid, entering high-performing schools.

Once almost exclusively white, universities now reflect the racial composition of the country with more people from groups disenfranchised by apartheid climbing the ladder with a degree or diploma.

But at the same time, the number of people living in poverty has changed little since apartheid ended, with no remedy in sight given the structural problems in education.

"As things stand, the ANC is wreaking untold damage on our children and, consequently, on the country's future, just as apartheid education did in the past," said Barney Mthombothi, editor of the influential weekly Financial Mail.

Hundreds of schools do not have electricity or running water and absenteeism has become such a concern that President Jacob Zuma has begged teachers to show up for classes.

A study by graft watchdog Transparency International last year pointed to massive local level corruption resulting in millions of students not having desks, chairs or books.

The central government has been trying to take over two provincial education systems that are effectively bankrupt.

In Limpopo province, students started the school year in January without textbooks even though millions of dollars had been allocated for purchases, with media reports saying a politically connected figure may have pocketed the funds.

This month, the central government said Limpopo, which has recorded some of the country's worst results in standardized testing, had unauthorized expenditure of 2.2 billion rand ($275 million). The province had more than 2,400 teachers on the payroll, including 200 "ghost teachers" who were not in classrooms but were still paid.

TICKET OUT OF POVERTY

A university education is seen as the best ticket out of poverty. Competition is fierce and at some of the top schools, there are about 10 applicants for each place.

The desperate demand for higher education led to a stampede at the University of Johannesburg this month when thousands of applicants lined up for a few hundred available places on the final day to submit paperwork.

"The lofty status of universities is an indicator of a lack of status for any other alternative for post-school education," said Frances Faller, an education expert at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

About eight in 10 unemployed have not completed secondary education or just made it through high school. Only six percent of South Africa's jobless have a university degree, a study from the South African Institute for Race Relations said.

The odds are also stacked against those who hope to find entry-level employment. Economists say labor laws make it difficult for employers who want to take on new workers and train them for jobs.

A cozy relationship between the ANC and organized labor, formed in their partnership against apartheid, has hampered apprenticeship programs.

The ANC, which relies on the 2 million members of top labor federation COSATU as a source of votes, has put off plans denounced by unions but backed by economists to reduce youth unemployment by allowing firms to hire youths at cut-rate wages and train them up.

"We will never let them get away with making these laws even more 'flexible' to allow even higher levels of exploitation," COSATU said in a statement.

ANC governments have spent billions of dollars on job training programs only to see large sums lost to corruption, while producing few graduates with skills required by employers.

"I know what will happen to me if I don't get into school," said university applicant Eddie Ncube, 18.

"Look at what I am exposed to. I am from the ghetto. Without school, I will get into drugs and I'll never find a job."

($1 = 8.0169 South African rand)

(Additional reporting by Ndundu Sithole; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/lf_nm_life/us_safrica_education

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Officials call off search for missing SC toddler (AP)

COLUMBIA, S.C. ? The mother of a South Carolina toddler missing since Thanksgiving is pregnant and mentally ill and should be released from jail because she needs medical care, the woman's attorney argued in court papers filed this week.

Hemphill Pride II says Zinah Jennings has been ordered to have treatment for her mental illness for a year and has been told to take Risperdal, which is used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia. He also said she needs prenatal care.

On Thursday afternoon, dozens of federal, state and local police agents and cadaver dog teams for more than four hours searched a county in the central part of the state for the boy who was 18 months old when he disappeared. Columbia police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said officers scoured an 8-mile radius near a small rural church in Richland County but found no evidence of the boy.

Jennings, 22, has been in jail since late December, when Columbia police say they arrested her for lying about the whereabouts of her son, Amir.

Her mother had reported Jennings missing several weeks earlier, telling police she thought her daughter and grandson were in Atlanta but that she was receiving evasive answers when she asked about Amir.

Speaking to police after a Christmas Eve car wreck, Jennings first said she didn't have children and then said her son was with relatives and friends in cities from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C.

Investigators say they chased down Jennings' stories but met with several dead ends before arresting her. Authorities said they hope a tip line and $10,000 reward will yield information, and state police are analyzing stains on blankets and clothes removed from Jennings' car to see if they are blood.

Her half-sister who reported her missing told police that she had left her home and suffered from "schizophrenic tendencies" that had not been diagnosed.

Jocelyn Jennings Nelson, who has said her headstrong daughter frequently traveled to visit relatives and friends in the Carolinas and Georgia, said she reported Jennings and the boy missing last month after becoming concerned during their visit to Atlanta.

Jennings was arrested on prostitution and drug charges in Georgia shortly before her son disappeared, accused of offering sex to an undercover officer. Jennings had been staying with a half-sister in the Atlanta area for three weeks before her Nov. 9 arrest.

On the day Zinah Jennings was arrested, her half-sister reported her missing, telling police that she had left her home and suffered from "schizophrenic tendencies" that had not been diagnosed. Nelson has said her headstrong daughter had been depressed since the birth of her son, struggling both in classes at a community college and in her search for a job that allowed the flexibility needed to go to school and care for her son.

In his motion filed Tuesday, Pride cites a doctor who has examined Jennings and says she "lacks sufficient insight or capacity to make responsible decisions" about her treatment and needed to be committed to the hospital.

Police would not say what information led to their search Thursday. Jennings' attorney said his client was no longer speaking to police.

"She's incapacitated at this time, so she's not in a position to cooperate," Pride said. "The medicine that she's on right now, she's quite frankly, zonked."

Nelson told The Associated Press she didn't know about the search until a conversation with a reporter.

"I'm not surprised that they didn't find anything," Nelson told AP. "I had no idea."

Nelson said she knew about her daughter's pregnancy and was not surprised that she had been prescribed psychiatric medication.

"She's very quiet, solemn, and basically that's it," Nelson said, of a recent visit to her daughter. "It's very hard to describe."

In a separate motion, Pride asks a judge to allow his client to wear street clothes during hearings because of intense media attention on her case. In a previous appearance, Jennings wore an orange jail jumpsuit and handcuffs.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday.

___

Online:

SC Crimestoppers: http://www.sccrimestoppers.com

___

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_us/us_sc_missing_boy

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Oil near $100 as Fed vows to keep key rate low

BANGKOK (AP) ? Oil rose to near $100 a barrel Thursday in Asia after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates at record lows at least until 2014 to help jump-start the world's biggest economy.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 43 cents at $99.83 a barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose by 45 cents to finish at $99.40 per barrel in New York on Wednesday. At one point it was as high as $100.40.

Brent crude for March delivery was up 71 cents at $110.52 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

The U.S. central bank, which has kept its benchmark interest rate near zero for three years, said Wednesday that it doesn't plan to raise the rate before late 2014.

That caused the dollar to turn lower against major currencies, which makes dollar-priced oil less expensive for holders of other currencies.

"That would mean the U.S. dollar would continue to be cheap versus other currencies, and there is typically an inverse correlation between the value of the dollar and commodity pricing," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

"So oil prices are supported by the Federal Reserve statement," he said.

But other analysts saw room for oil prices to fall.

Leaving rates low would encourage businesses and consumers to borrow money cheaply, boosting the economy and leading to higher oil demand. But the Fed also "telegraphed its concern regarding U.S. economic growth ... which is intuitively bearish for oil," said energy trader and consultant The Schork Group.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 2.3 cents to $3.03 per gallon and gasoline futures gained 1 cent to $2.85 per gallon. Natural gas advanced 3.9 cents to $2.77 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-26-Oil%20Prices/id-8e0ea0e9320b4263a3fa72b80a06beb7

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GABA deficits disturb endocannabinoid system

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Changes in the endocannabinoid system may have important implications for psychiatric and addiction disorders. This brain system is responsible for making substances that have effects on brain function which resemble those of cannabis products, e.g., marijuana.

The endocannabinoid system is of particular interest in the field of schizophrenia research because exposure to cannabis products during adolescence and young adulthood appears to increase the risk for developing schizophrenia. Also, in studies examining brain tissue collected from people who had schizophrenia, changes in the endocannabinoid system were highly correlated with changes in the principal inhibitory chemical messenger system in the brain, the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system.

The current study was conducted in order to research the relationship between changes in the GABA system and changes in the endocannabinoid system. Led by Dr. David Lewis at the University of Pittsburgh, researchers made genetic manipulations in mice that selectively reduced the GABA system function by decreasing the expression of the enzyme that makes GABA, GAD67, or by decreasing the expression of the principal receptor target for endocannabinoids in the brain, the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R), in order to determine whether a change in one is sufficient to cause a change in the other.

Using these techniques, the researchers demonstrated that reduced expression of GAD67 can lead to reduced expression of CB1R, but not vice versa.

"Because activation of the CB1R suppresses GABA release, lower levels of CB1R may help augment GABA release from nerve terminals that have below normal amounts due to reduced GABA synthesis," said Dr. Lewis of the results. "This evidence suggests that reduced GABA signaling is an 'upstream' event in the disease process of schizophrenia and that lower CB1R is a compensation to help normalize GABA signaling."

These findings indicate that GABA abnormalities in schizophrenia are what trigger the disturbances in the endocannabinoid system. Importantly, cannabis use also alters GABA activity in the brain.

"While the whole story is still developing, from these data, it looks like developmental deficits in GABA systems are sufficient to disturb the function of the endocannabinoid system. This could be an important clue to the link between cannabis use and psychosis," commented Dr. John Krystal, editor of Biological Psychiatry.

Additional research will be necessary to further explore such links, including investigations into whether and/or how cannabis exposure affects the relationship between GAD67 and CB1R.

###

The article is "Cortical Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase 67 Deficiency Results in Lower Cannabinoid 1 Receptor Messenger RNA Expression: Implications for Schizophrenia" by Stephen M. Eggan, Matthew S. Lazarus, Samuel R. Stoyak, David W. Volk, Jill R. Glausier, Z. Josh Huang, and David A. Lewis (doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.09.014). The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 71, Issue 2 (January 15, 2012), published by Elsevier.

Elsevier: http://www.elsevier.com

Thanks to Elsevier for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116998/GABA_deficits_disturb_endocannabinoid_system

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In Afghanistan, it?s dog-fight-dog world

Dmitry Solovyov / NBC News

The fight master at a dog fight outside of Kabul, Afghanistan during January 2012.

By Dmitry Solovyov , NBC News? Cameraman

Reporters? Notebook

KABUL ? Michael Vick would feel right at home here.

Just north of Kabul, on the edge of the mountains, around 1,000 people recently? gathered in the cold for a dog fight. The crowd was basically all men, of all ages, even babies, sharing in a tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years.
?
Dog fights are popular all over the country, and in some cases gambling is involved. In this particular case, we were told there was no gambling taking place, although I?m not sure that was true.
?
The dog fight is led by an old man, the fight master,? who stands with a stick. He rules the show and is very powerful and very confident. The crowds gather in a series of circles, and no one steps out of line. Only the dog owners and their dogs are allowed to enter the circle.
?
At the start of the fight, there is a green cloth between the dogs so they cannot see each other. The dogs are held by their owners without leashes. Then the cloth is dropped, and the dogs run towards each other and start the fight.

Dmitry Solovyov / NBC News

Some of the dogs were decorated at a recent dog fight outside of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Contrary to common belief, the goal is not for the dogs to kill one another. The winner is the dog that best controls the other ? usually by holding on to the skin that surrounds the dogs? necks ? which is decided by the old man. And once he has made his pronouncement, the fighting stops immediately.
?
I know that the notion of dog-fighting is very controversial. I understand this view ? I have had dogs, and love these animals. But at the same time, the dogs do not die and the owners do not want their animals to get hurt.

In fact, the dog owners are very protective of their animals. After all, owning a fighting dog is an expensive proposition for an Afghan. One dog owner told us that the prices for a fighting dog start at $500 and go as high as $10,000 ? a lot of money anywhere, but particularly in Afghanistan.? The owners seemed to care for their dogs and treated them with respect.

Dmitry Solovyov / NBC News

Dogs fight outside of Kabul, Afghanistan on a Friday in January 2012.

That said, Afghans tend not to be concerned about cruelty to animals. Taking care of their fighting dogs is more about protecting a valuable asset.

After the fights were over, the elderly fight master told us that he has been going to fights since he was a 10-year-old, attending at first with his father. This is a part of Afghan tradition, a way of life and a bit of excitement on Fridays, the day of rest here.

NBC News? Kiko Itasaka contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10218753-in-afghanistan-its-dog-fight-dog-world

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Marine accepts plea deal in Iraqi civilian deaths

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2012 file photo, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich arrives for a court-martial session at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Wuterich, accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children in the Iraqi town of Haditha in 2005, pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, reaching a plea deal and ending the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2012 file photo, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich arrives for a court-martial session at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Wuterich, accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children in the Iraqi town of Haditha in 2005, pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, reaching a plea deal and ending the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Rosemarie Wuterich and her husband Dave Wuterich leave a courtroom where their son, Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty in his Haditha court martial trial, Jan. 23, 2012 in Camp Pendeton, Calif. It is the biggest criminal case against U. S. troops in the Iraqi War. Wuterich led the squad that killed 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Marine Major Nicholas Gannon, a prosecutor in the Haditha court martial trial of Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, leaves a court room at Camp Pendleton where Wuterich pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty in the biggest criminal against U. S. troops in the Iraqi War Monday January 23, 2012. Wuterich led the squad that killed 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) ? A Marine sergeant who told his troops to "shoot first, ask questions later" in a raid that killed unarmed Iraqi women, children and elderly pleaded guilty Monday in a deal that will carry no more than three months confinement and end the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops from the Iraq War.

The agreement marked a stunning and muted end to the case once described as the Iraq War's version of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. The government failed to get one manslaughter conviction in the case that implicated eight Marines in the deaths of 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha in 2005.

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 31, of Meriden, Conn., who was originally accused of unpremeditated murder, pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty for leading his troops to disregard rules of combat when they raided homes after a roadside bomb exploded near their convoy, killing one Marine and wounding two others.

The Haditha incident is considered among the war's defining moments, further tainting America's reputation when it was already at a low point after the release of photos of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.

"The case doesn't end with a bang, it ends with a whimper and a pretty weak whimper at that," said Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and judge. "When you have 24 dead bodies and you get dereliction of duty, that's pretty good defense work."

Wuterich, his family and his attorneys declined to comment after he entered the plea that halted his manslaughter trial at Camp Pendleton before a jury of combat Marines who served in Iraq.

Prosecutors also declined to comment on the plea deal. Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel said the deal was not a reflection or in any way connected to how the prosecution felt their case was going in the trial.

Wuterich, the father of three children, had faced the possibility of life behind bars when he was charged with nine counts of manslaughter, among other charges.

The prosecution implicated him in 19 of the 24 deaths.

The manslaughter charges will be dropped now that Wuterich has pleaded guilty to the minor dereliction of duty charge. As a result, he faces a maximum of three months in confinement, two-thirds forfeiture of pay and a rank demotion to private when he's sentenced.

Both sides will present arguments Tuesday during a sentencing hearing. Seven other Marines were acquitted or had charges dismissed in the case.

The killings still fuel anger in Iraq after becoming the primary reason behind demands that U.S. troops not be given immunity from their court system.

Kamil al-Dulaimi, a Sunni lawmaker from the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi, called the plea deal a travesty of justice for the victims and their families.

"It's just another barbaric act of Americans against Iraqis," al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press. "They spill the blood of Iraqis and get this worthless sentence for the savage crime against innocent civilians."

News of the plea agreement came late in the evening in Iraq, just hours before curfew most cities still impose, producing no noticeable public reaction. Government officials didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The issue at the court martial was whether Wuterich reacted appropriately as a Marine squad leader in protecting his troops in the midst of a chaotic war or disregarded combat rules and ordered his men to shoot and blast indiscriminately at Iraqi civilians.

Prosecutors said he lost control after seeing the body of his friend blown apart by the bomb and led his men on a rampage in which they stormed two nearby homes, blasting their way in with gunfire and grenades. Among the dead was a man in a wheelchair.

Wuterich has said he regretted the loss of civilian lives but believed he was operating within military combat rules.

During Monday's hearing, he acknowledged he told the squad before the raids to shoot without hesitation, leading them to believe they could ignore the rules of combat. He told the judge that caused "tragic events."

"I think we all understood what we were doing so I probably just should have said nothing," Wuterich told the judge, Lt. Col. David Jones.

He admitted he did not positively identify his targets, as he had been trained to do. He also said he ordered his troops to assault the homes based on the guidance of his platoon commander at the time.

Wuterich also acknowledged in his plea that the squad did not take any gunfire during the 45-minute raid on the homes or find any weapons.

After Haditha, Marine commanders ordered troops to try and distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The prosecution had several squad members testify, but many said they do not believe to this day that they did anything wrong because they feared insurgents were inside hiding. Several also acknowledged lying to investigators in the past, leaving doubt about their credibility.

The prosecution was further hurt by the testimony of former Lt. William T. Kallop, Wuterich's former platoon commander, who said the squad was justified in its actions because the house was declared hostile. From what was understood of the rules of combat at the time, that meant Marines could attack without hesitation, Kallop said.

Legal experts say the prosecution had an uphill battle because of the delay caused by six years of pre-trial wrangling between the defense and prosecution, including over whether the military could use unaired outtakes from an interview Wuterich gave in 2007 to the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes."

Prosecutors eventually won that right but overestimated its value, analysts say.

Solis, the former military prosecutor, said the military should have pushed for an earlier trial to ensure witnesses' memories were fresh.

"Six years for a trial is unacceptable," said Solis, who teaches law of war at Georgetown University Law Center. "Delay is always to the benefit of the accused."

He said prosecutors may have been cowed by the Army's missteps in its handling of the death of former NFL star and Ranger Pat Tillman from friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

___

Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Mazin Yahya in Baghdad, and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-23-US-Marines-Haditha/id-993d1e6aad3746ada3cea654bcf9733e

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Bulls rise without Rose for big win in Cleveland (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The league-leading Bulls shrugged off the absence of Derrick Rose to outclass the Cavaliers 114-75 on Friday, handing Cleveland their worst home loss in franchise history as Chicago continued to dominate on the road.

C.J. Watson scored 15 points and added seven assists in place of the injured league MVP Rose, who missed his third consecutive game with a strained big toe.

"C.J. is making us play with pace and is doing a great job of running the team," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters.

"And our wings are doing a good job of running the floor and running through. That's allowing Carlos (Boozer) to get deep post ups in transition before the defense is set."

Chicago (14-3) seized control of the contest following a timeout late in the first quarter with the scores tied at 23-23, setting off on a 15-3 run that took the game away from the hosts.

"They did a great job defensively of making every shot we took pretty tough," Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson said.

"We definitely have to fight a lot harder. We can't just allow it to keep going down. At some point, you have to push back."

Luol Deng led Chicago with 21 points while Boozer scored 19 and added 14 rebounds before the Bulls starters sat down early with the win that improved their road record to 8-3 already assured.

"We have 10, 11 guys who can really play," said Kyle Korver, who led the Bulls reserves with 14 points.

"In a season like this, guys are going to get hurt. Obviously, we'd prefer Derrick playing. But there's no reason for him to be out here playing hurt."

Anderson Varejao, with 14 points, and Kyrie Irving, 13, were the only two Cavaliers (6-8) to reach double digits.

The 39-point margin is four more than the previous heaviest defeats for the Cavs in Cleveland, set in 1990 and matched in 2001.

(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario; Editing by John O'Brien)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/sp_nm/us_nba_bulls

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Ice Cream Sandwich update for original Transformer coming 'mid-February,' says ASUS

Last we heard, the Ice Cream Sandwich update making its way to the O.G. Transformer was still "in the process of being approved" by the G-men. Although we've heard rumors that the holo-coated upgrade would come in February, nothing's been confirmed until now. ASUS replied to a life long fan's Facebook post, revealing that the update should arrive "mid-February." We know hearing the news that you'll have to keep waiting might not stop you from rolling on the floor and throwing a temper tantrum, but hey, you could not be getting one at all.

[Thanks, Udupa]

Ice Cream Sandwich update for original Transformer coming 'mid-February,' says ASUS originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  ASUS (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/21/ice-cream-sandwich-update-for-original-transformer-coming/

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Apple Gets ?Samsunged? by a Second Snarky Ad Spot

With all the mudslinging staining the GOP primary race, Samsung seems to have taken a page out of the politicians? playbooks. The company’s new ad for the Galaxy S II — the second installment in a campaign that’s slated to culminate during the Super Bowl — lobs a direct snark attack at the iPhone’s fanboy [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/gIrDzcxexfA/

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Defense cutbacks worry some military families

Jim Seida / msnbc.com

Hermes Corcuera, seen here with his wife Amber, in Gig Harbor, Wash., spent six months in Iraq and a year in Korea during his five years of military service. Now he's looking for a new career.

By Allison Linn

Hermes Corcuera joined the military because he wanted to give back to a country that has given him so much.

But now that he?s done his duty, the 25-year-old Cuban immigrant is finding himself in a position that could be familiar to many soldiers in the coming months and years: Out of the military, and out of a job.

The move to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and potentially cut military spending significantly over the next 10 years is translating into pocketbook worries for many military families.

"For a lot of individuals, it's going to be very difficult, especially if they have families," said Joe Sharpe, director of economics for The American Legion, one of the most prominent veterans services organizations.

A new survey finds that middle-class military families are more likely to be setting stringent savings and spending goals this year, as the military gears up for some major cost-cutting of its own.

The First Command Financial Behaviors Index, which tracks the finances of families with income of $50,000 or more, found that 49 percent of military families were planning to cut back on excessive spending in 2012, compared with 42 percent of nonmilitary families.

In addition, 47 percent of military families said their goals for 2012 included getting out of debt, compared with 38 percent of nonmilitary families. The military families who responded to the monthly survey also were more likely to say they planned to do things like learn to budget responsibly and improve their credit scores.

First Command also found that just one in four of the military families they surveyed think there are enough jobs out there for unemployed veterans.

Corcuera, who immigrated to the United States?as a young child, said he is glad to have been in the military.

"It is a very rewarding job,? he said. ?I get to serve my country.?

After training as an interrogator and community liaison, Corcuera?spent six months in Iraq and a year in Korea. A Specialist E4, he was most recently stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington state.

He said he enjoyed the work.

?It?s another way of saving lives,? he said.

But as the military works to withdraw troops from the Gulf, he said there was not nearly as?much need for interrogators and community liaisons. Although he was offered the option to re-enlist, he said the available jobs?would have been a step down from his current position, and a foot injury left him ineligible for some of the available positions.

He left the military on Jan. 4, after five years of service.

He is applying for police department jobs, but he said it will likely be months before he hears back. He said many of his colleagues are looking at contract intelligence jobs, but he would rather be a police officer because he likes the idea of working with the community.

?I want a stable career, and for a family that seems like the best option,? he said.

Meanwhile, he said his initial claim for unemployment benefits was declined so he?s sorting out the paperwork for that.

His wife?Amber, 31,?is hoping she can pick up more personal training work to keep the family afloat until Hermes lands a job. She said the couple, who have two children from Amber?s previous marriage, didn?t have much time to prepare financially for the change.

They are especially nervous about keeping up on their bills because they know a ding in their credit score could affect Hermes? job prospects.

?We?ve done some things that save us a little bit of money, (but) all in all it?s just a matter of, ?Hey, I guess we?re broke now,?? Amber said.

The couple said they don?t think they could afford for Hermes to go to school, even with military aid, because they need income to support the family. Amber said they?re struggling to figure out what other options and support systems are out there for veterans.

?As long as you?re in the military, it?s a great career to have. But because it?s a lifestyle rather than just a job, when you?re out, you?re out,? Amber said. ?There aren?t a lot of avenues, realistically, for a military person to take.?

Such worries are legitimate, said Sharpe of the?American Legion.

Sharpe noted that the unemployment rate?for veterans of the most recent Gulf war efforts is already quite high at 13.1 percent. The comparable, non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the general population is 8.3 percent.

Sharpe expects joblessness among veterans to become an even bigger problem now that the military has withdrawn from Iraq and is working to reduce its presence in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the military is being asked to reduce defense spending by $487 billion over 10 years as part of the government?s effort to keep the deficit in check. The tight federal budgets also may mean that there are fewer government jobs available to veterans, Sharpe said.

Sharpe also said military personnel don?t necessarily have the certifications or other training they need to do private sector jobs that are similar to their military training. And although the nation's employment picture is?improving, the competition for jobs is fierce.

?It?s going to be extremely difficult,? Sharpe said.

Sharpe is also a reservist at Fort Bragg, N.C., and he said many of the troops he serves with are worried about potential cutbacks. Some are putting off big expenses like a new car and others are planning to use their tax refunds to pay down debt. He said some are even stocking up on items they can get more cheaply at the commissary in preparation for leaving the military.

?There seems to be a wave of panic going through the military community there at Fort Bragg,? he said.

Related:

We are the median: Living on $50,000, military-style

They served, and now they search for work?

?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/17/10174734-defense-cutbacks-worry-some-military-families

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Sudan dismisses fear of looming humanitarian crisis (Reuters)

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Researchers' refinement increases solar concentrator efficiency

ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2012) ? A team of researchers at the University of California, Merced, has redesigned luminescent solar concentrators to be more efficient at sending sunlight to solar cells.

The advancement could be an important breakthrough for solar energy harvesting, said UC Merced physics Professor Sayantani Ghosh, who led the project.

"We tweaked the traditional flat design for luminescent solar concentrators and made them into cylinders," Ghosh said. "The results of this architectural redesign surprised us, as it significantly improves their efficiency."

The main problem preventing luminescent concentrators from being used commercially is that they have high rates of self-absorption, Ghosh said, meaning they absorb a significant amount of the light they produce instead of transporting it to the solar cells.

The research team showed the problem can be addressed by changing the shape of the concentrator. They discovered a hollow cylindrical solar concentrator is a better design compared with a flat concentrator or a solid cylinder concentrator. The hollow cylinders absorb more sunlight while having lower self-absorption losses.

Luminiscent solar concentrators are designed to absorb solar radiation over a broad range of colors and re-emit it over a narrower range (for example, only red), a process known as down-converting. This light is transported to solar cells for photocurrent generation. The quantum dots embedded in the concentrator are the materials that carry out this color conversion.

The biggest advantage they offer over traditional solar cells is that they can work even in diffuse sunlight, like on cloudy days. And because of this, they do not need to directly face the sun at all times, eliminating the need for tracking mechanisms.

Ghosh said the discovery could make commercially viable luminescent solar concentrators a reality, especially because the design enhances performance while using the same number of quantum dots, therefore without being more costly.

This saves on infrastructure costs and also opens up the possibility that the collectors can be integrated onto vertical surfaces like walls and windows. The next step is to develop a large array of hollow cylindrical luminescent solar concentrators and track the efficiency of the panel.

Richard Inman, Georgiy Shcherbatyuk, Dmitri Medvedko and Ajay Gopinathan are the other members of the team that conducted this research.

Inman served as the lead researcher while he was an undergraduate at UC Merced, an example of the hands-on learning opportunities available to students. He's now a graduate student at UC San Diego. Medvedko is an undergraduate student, and Shcherbatyuk is a graduate student. Gopinathan is a physics professor.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California, Merced.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. R. H. Inman, G. V. Shcherbatyuk, D. Medvedko, A. Gopinathan, S. Ghosh. Cylindrical luminescent solar concentrators with near-infrared quantum dots. Optics Express, 2011; 19 (24): 24308 DOI: 10.1364/OE.19.024308

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119153042.htm

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Lost Darwin fossils rediscovered

16 January 2012 Last updated at 15:16 ET

A "treasure trove" of fossils - including some collected by Charles Darwin - has been re-discovered in an old cabinet.

The fossils, lost for some 165 years, were found by chance in the vaults of the British Geological Survey HQ near Keyworth, UK.

They have now been photographed and are available to the public through a new online museum exhibit released today.

The find was made by the palaeontologist Dr Howard Falcon-Lang.

Dr Falcon-Lang, who is based in the department of earth sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, spotted some drawers in a cabinet marked "unregistered fossil plants".

"Inside the drawer were hundreds of beautiful glass slides made by polishing fossil plants into thin translucent sheets," Dr Falcon-Lang explained.

"This process allows them to be studied under the microscope. Almost the first slide I picked up was labelled 'C. Darwin Esq'."

The item turned out to be a piece of fossil wood collected by Darwin during his famous Voyage of the Beagle in 1834. This was the expedition on which he first started to develop his theory of evolution.

In the course of his visit to Chiloe Island, Chile, Darwin encountered "many fragments of black lignite and silicified and pyritous wood, often embedded close together".

He had these shipped back to England where they were cut and ground into thin sections.

Joseph Hooker, a botanist and a close friend of Darwin, was responsible for assembling the "lost" collection while he briefly worked for the British Geological Survey in 1846.

The fossils became "lost" because Hooker failed to number them in the formal specimen register before setting out on an expedition to the Himalayas.

The collection was moved several times and gradually became forgotten.

Dr John Ludden, executive director of the Geological Survey said: "This is quite a remarkable discovery. It really makes one wonder what else might be hiding in our collections."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-16578330

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Make a serious impression with these exclusive diamond-encrusted $1,500 business cards (Yahoo! News)

Each Black Astrum business card will have a carat's worth of diamonds

If you think metallic business cards are posh, then you've never seen these ultra-fancy cards by?Black Astrum before. Meant for the same people who can afford insanely expensive?wedding rings from space, these cards are decked out in real diamonds, with each card boasting around a carat's worth of stones. Handing them out essentially means giving money away, but if you can afford getting them instead of your?average cards in the first place, we're guessing you won't mind too much.

Diamond-based design company, Black Astrum, will customize the card based on your preferences, so exact prices vary. You can lessen ? or add more ? diamonds on the Swiss-made cast acrylic base covered with scratch and chemical resistant coating. So far, though, the average selling price is a mind-boggling $1,500 for?each card. A full pack that contains as much as 30 cards would then be worth a small fortune ? unless you're the type who can?rent a whole plane, and treat $45,000 as chump change.

Unfortunately, even if you have a grand lying around, you won't be able to buy one card just for the heck of it.?These cards (that were originally commissioned by an inarguably wealthy Middle Eastern family) are extremely exclusive, and you'd have to score an invite from the company first before you can even think of getting one. Black Astrum's concept director Sufian Khawaja claims the company has received several inquiries "from American celebrities and international businessmen" ? all of whom it has seemingly turned down. So how exactly does one get invited, you ask? Just have an exceedingly high net worth, and be among the?richest people on earth.

Black Astrum via?The Rich Times,?Shortlist

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120117/tc_yblog_technews/make-a-serious-impression-with-these-exclusive-diamond-encrusted-1500-business-cards

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Toddler's cuss word on 'Modern Family' draws ire (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? An anti-profanity crusader is asking the ABC television network to pull this week's "Modern Family" episode about a cursing toddler.

A college student who founded the No Cussing Club in 2007 said Tuesday that he's called on club members to contact ABC and ask that the episode be dropped.

McKay Hatch says that he wants the network to at least realize people are uncomfortable with the idea of a toddler using profanity. He says ABC should set a better example.

In the episode titled "Little Bo Bleep," the tot playing Lily says the word "fudge" during taping as a substitute for an obscenity. It's to be bleeped when the show airs on Wednesday night.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_toddlers_cuss_word_modern_family_draws_ire024407751/44212423/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/toddlers-cuss-word-modern-family-draws-ire-024407751.html

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Inside the Obama fund-raising machine: leadership circles (Reuters)

CHICAGO (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and its key supporters are looking to grow on a national scale a fundraising effort targeting rich individual donors that was successful in its Democratic stronghold of Chicago, according to sources familiar with the program.

Eager to widen its donor base, the Obama campaign is using its team of top fundraisers and donors to distribute marketing materials to thousands of potential top-dollar donors across the nation. Those who donate $5,000 -- the maximum legal contribution to a Presidential candidate in the 2012 cycle -- will gain a stream of perks large and small, sources said.

The benefits could include free entry to campaign fundraisers featuring the President, access to strategy sessions at headquarters, and pizza parties at the homes of supporters to watch upcoming voting contests to pick the Republican candidate challenging Obama for the White House in 2012.

The campaign hopes to draw thousands to this category of donor, which so far includes roughly 80 people in Chicago, the Democratic bastion where Obama has supporters with deep pockets.

Members of the pilot group, called the "Chicago Leadership Circle," paid $5,000 either in a lump sum or over five months to get "unparalleled networking opportunities" to meet with campaign officials and key political operatives coming to Chicago for events and strategy meetings, according to sources and the program's marketing materials.

Some of the campaign's regional fundraising efforts could incorporate parts of the plan, according to a person involved with the concept, but each of the regional efforts are free to take pieces of this program or abstain.

The idea addresses concerns in the Obama campaign that well-off and passionate supporters who had already contributed the maximum $5,000 could not attend more fundraising events where supporters donate to hear or briefly meet with the President.

"The model of political fundraising for party and candidate is a little flawed," said a key supporter for the campaign and a Chicago Leadership Circle member. "The notion is to get people to max out ... and get people with shared values engaged in the campaign with multiple points of involvement."

"We've gotten calls from multiple jurisdictions" such as Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Dallas, Texas, "and sent sample literature to other places," the CLC member added.

A spokesman for the Obama campaign declined to comment on the expansion of the fund-raising efforts.

President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and its Democratic allies announced on January 12 that they raised more than $68 million in the last three months of 2011, eclipsing his Republican rivals in the White House race.

Obama's Campaign Manager Jim Messina, a former White House aide, described that quarterly fund-raising effort as "pretty good."

One of the challenges for the Obama campaign and its Democratic allies, who have brought in more than $200 million in 2011, is to rally the support of disillusioned donors from 2008 who have yet to open their wallets to Obama.

The Obama team is shooting to top the roughly $750 million it raised when he was elected president in 2008.

The closest rival in fund-raising on the campaign's heals is Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, whose campaign said on Wednesday it had raised $24 million in the fourth quarter.

(Editing By Peter Bohan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/pl_nm/us_hold_usa_campaign_fundraising

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