Mars explorer 'Curiosity' set for Saturday launch

NASA's Mars explorer Curiosity, the most capable robotic rover ever built for taking the measure of a planet, is to launch Saturday morning. Curiosity?will analyze the layered terrain in Gale Crater to read in its rocks the history of the environment there.

NASA's Mars explorer Curiosity, the most capable robotic rover ever built for taking the measure of a planet, is nestled snugly in its protective fairing atop an Atlas V rocket, awaiting a 10:02 launch this morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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Not since the twin Viking landers touched down on the Martian surface in 1976 has an advanced robotic chemistry lab been dispatched to the planet ? a sibling of Earth that has captured the human imagination for millenniums.

Unlike Vikings 1 and 2, Curiosity will not hunt for direct evidence of life on Mars. Instead, scientists fielding the Mini Cooper-sized rover with its seven foot "neck" will analyze the layered terrain in Gale Crater to read in its rocks the history of the environment there.

IN PICTURES:?Exploring Mars

The crater's rocks show evidence of water in their distant past. And the formations appear to record a progression from wet, to occasionally wet, to dry conditions. Now researchers are hunting for clues about the broader chemical and atmospheric processes affecting the planet during these changes, conditions that could have encouraged or inhibited the possible emergence of life on Mars.

Any life that exists on Mars "will be a function of its environment," says Pamela Conrad, an astrobiologist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and a deputy principal investigator for one of the soil-analysis instruments Curiosity carries.

"We can't say with any definitive knowledge that we could recognize life somewhere else in the solar system, or beyond the solar system, without being able to unbolt all the assumptions and all the experience we have" looking at life on Earth, Dr. Conrad says.

For Mars, Curiosity represents the tool that will suggest to astrobiologists how loose bolts have to be.??????

But first, Curiosity has to get there.

It's a 354-million-mile trip that begins with this morning's lift-off. Once Curiosity reaches space, the craft's Centaur upper stage will ignite and place the craft in a temporary parking orbit around Earth. Roughly 20 minutes later, the upper stage will ignite once more to send Curiosity on its way to Mars.

During the trip, scientists and engineers will make sure the 10 science instruments aboard the rover are working properly, make any course corrections that might be needed to keep Curiosity on the interplanetary not-so-straight but narrow, and plan the early stages of their exploration of Gale Crater.

Over the course of Curiosity's 98-week primary mission, the rover is expected to cover about 12 miles. But mission managers say they expect it to rack up far more than that if the mission receives extensions, according to Peter Theisinger, project manager for the Mars Science Laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/3q2i_TUq0TM/Mars-explorer-Curiosity-set-for-Saturday-launch

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Dan Walters: Education aimed at specific skills begins a comeback in California (Sacramento Bee)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/167167192?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Divorcing Couples Discover They Can Also Fight Over Their Pets

You usually hear about couples waging epic battles for custody of their children when they split up, but more and more people are learning that they can also fight over custody of their pets. And why not since pets are often considered members of the family. Mo Rocca delved into the different arrangements people make with their former partners, and how it affects the pets. While he has fun with the topic, it can be a serious issue. Some couples, according to one divorce lawyer, have killed pets rather than share them. (Evil!)

We must be becoming ever more attached to our pets, because legal battles over pets have gone up 23% in the last ten years, and it's not just cats and dogs people fight about?it can be birds, horses, and probably lizards and snakes too. But while divorce may be hard on the people, it's not always bad for the animal. As Rocca points out in the case of Baldwin the dog, sometimes splitting up and sharing the pet means the pet gets "the best of both worlds"?happy owners and plenty of time with both of them.

Pet Custody Battles Heat Up [CBS]

Source: http://jezebel.com/5862824/divorcing-couples-discover-they-can-also-fight-over-their-pets

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Occupy movements nationwide celebrate holiday

John Minchillo / AP

Occupy Wall Street protestors dig into their thanksgiving dinner in Zuccotti Park, Thursday in New York.

By NBC New York and?Associated Press?

Most Americans spent Thanksgiving inside their homes with families, food and football. Others used the day to give thanks alongside strangers at Occupy encampments, serving turkey or donating their time in solidarity with the anti-Wall Street movement that has gripped a nation consumed by economic despair.

In New York City, about 300 demonstrators lined up in Zuccotti Park at a rack loaded with meals, served in plastic trays wrapped with brown paper, NBC New York reported.

Organizers said they had between 2,000 and 3,000 Thanksgiving meals available to distribute at Zuccotti Park, where the protest movement began on Sept. 17 before spreading nationwide. Protesters were evicted from the park on Nov. 15.

"So many people have given up so much to come and be a part of the movement because there is really that much dire need for community," said Megan Hayes, a chef and organizer with the Occupy Wall Street Kitchen in New York. "We decided to take this holiday opportunity to provide just that ? community."

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Click here for complete NBC New York coverage

In upstate New York, Danny Cashman, 25, an Afghanistan war veteran who works for a company that resells cellphones, said he sleeps at least three nights a week at an encampment in Rochester to show his solidarity with the movement.

"For today, this is my family," Cashman said as he dug into a chicken dinner at the 35-tent encampment in tiny Washington Square Park. "We have a great brotherhood, great friends, a great community."

Los Angeles
More than 480 tents have been erected on the lawns of City Hall, activist Teri Adaju, 46, said she typically serves dinner to homeless people on Thanksgiving and knows that many at the Los Angeles encampment were just that.

Still, she added, "Everybody's in good cheer."

San Francisco
At least 400 occupiers at a plaza in the financial district were also served traditional Thanksgiving fixings sent by the renowned Glide Memorial Church to volunteers and supporters of the movement fighting social and economic inequality.

"We are thankful that we are, first and foremost, in a country where we can protest," said the Rev. Cecil Williams, the founder of Glide and a fixture in the city's activist community. "And we are thankful that we believe that there are things that could be worked out and that we have a sense of hope. But we know that hope only comes when you make a stand."

Las Vegas
Occupy protesters had a potluck meal at their campsite near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Organizer Sebring Frehner said he was happy to skip his traditional meal at home.

"Instead of hunkering down with five or six close individuals in your home, people you probably see all of the time anyway, you are celebrating Thanksgiving with many different families ? kind of like the original Thanksgiving," Frehner said.

Related stories:

Thanksgiving for US troops in Afghanistan?

Occupy movements nationwide celebrate holiday??

?

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/24/9004304-occupy-movements-nationwide-celebrate-holiday

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Harbaughs move on after sharing Thanksgiving (AP)

BALTIMORE ? The Harbaugh brothers met in the middle of the field, hugged, expressed their love for each other and headed off in opposite directions.

After their much-anticipated, oft-analyzed and historic confrontation was over, John and Jim Harbaugh expressed gratitude over having the opportunity to face each other on Thanksgiving.

John was just little bit happier, of course, because his Baltimore Ravens beat Jim's San Francisco 49ers 16-6 Thursday night.

"I felt really humble, just thankful," John said. "Running across the field to my brother ? he's my best friend, along with Mom and Dad and my wife. You don't put yourself in many other coaches' shoes, but you can put yourself in your brother's shoes. I'm really proud of him."

Although the 49ers (9-2) had their eight-game winning streak end, Jim Harbaugh was thankful for the experience of coaching against John in the first NFL game with two brothers on opposite sidelines as head coaches.

"I was proud to be part of it, proud to be part of the family," Jim said. "I was thankful on Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful thing."

Asked what he said to John, he replied, "I congratulated him and told him I loved him."

John, 49, and Jim, 47, grew up dueling each other in all sorts of games. This, however, was the first time their sibling rivalry was displayed on a national stage.

During the final minute, John got a Gatorade bath from his players ? twice. After the game ended, the brothers hugged at midfield.

"There's a saying that says, `As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another,'" Jim said. "And I have to say my brother John is the sharpest iron I've ever encountered in my life."

The Ravens (8-3) sacked 49ers quarterback Alex Smith nine times, tying a franchise record, despite playing without middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the team's leading tackler and spiritual leader. Lewis was inactive for a second straight game with a foot injury.

Smith completed 15 of 24 passes for 140 yards and an interception, and San Francisco was held without a touchdown for the first time this season. Smith never could get into a rhythm against an aggressive defense that rarely let him set up in the pocket.

"It's tough to get ready for a defense like that in a short week. They do so many things," he said. "They're a great front. At home with the crowd noise, they were teeing off."

Terrell Suggs had three sacks for first-place Baltimore, which moved a half-game ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.

"That's always the game plan, to get after the quarterback, but I think the No. 1 game plan was to win the Harbaugh Bowl," Suggs said. "Coach tried to downplay it ? act like it's not me against my brother, this is the Ravens vs. the 49ers and let's get win No. 8 and make sure our destiny is in our own hands ? but it was really important to him. We as a team went out there and really wanted to win for him."

Now that it's over, the Harbaughs can put their rivalry on hold and get back to winning football games for reasons that involve division crowns and home-field advantage.

"For those two guys, they're probably glad it's over," Ravens center Matt Birk said. "They can breathe a sigh of relief, and now we can move on. Tonight just solidified that they're two great coaches with two pretty good football teams."

Baltimore broke a 6-6 tie with a 76-yard, 16-play drive that lasted more than 7 1/2 minutes and ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to tight end Dennis Pitta with 14:56 left. Flacco went 4 for 4 for 34 yards and a touchdown on third down during the drive.

"When you have that kind of game plan ? your line being so efficient on third downs ? you have to come through," Flacco said.

Billy Cundiff wrapped up the scoring with his third field goal, a 39-yarder with 4:16 remaining.

In a game dominated by both defenses, Flacco finished 15 for 23 for 161 yards and Ray Rice ran for 59 yards on 21 carries.

The 49ers began the third quarter with a 13-play drive that lasted 7 1/2 minutes and produced a 52-yard field goal by David Akers for a 6-6 tie. The key play was an 18-yard completion from Smith to Michael Crabtree on a third-and-17 from the San Francisco 26.

The Ravens responded with their lone touchdown drive of the game.

Baltimore sacked Smith four times in the first half and picked off a pass in taking a 6-3 lead.

NOTES: Baltimore has won all six home games and 15 of 16. ... Gore finished with 39 yards on 14 carries. ... Although the Ravens had a first-and-goal at the 4 in second quarter, the 49ers held and kept intact their distinction of not allowing a rushing TD all season. ... Lee Evans had a catch for the Ravens, his first reception since Week 2 after missing seven games with an ankle injury.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_sp_fo_ga_su/fbn49ers_ravens

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French former first lady Mitterrand dies at 87 (AP)

PARIS ? Danielle Mitterrand, a decorated member of the French Resistance and combative advocate for the poor who broke the mold as first lady alongside France's first Socialist president, died Tuesday at age 87.

Mitterrand died before dawn after being hospitalized at Georges Pompidou hospital in Paris in recent days for fatigue, her foundation France Libertes said.

An avowed leftist, Mitterrand turned the 14-year tenure of her husband, French President Francois Mitterrand, into her own bully pulpit ? one that long outlasted him.

He died of cancer less than a year after leaving office in 1995. In an especially poignant moment in modern French politics, the widowed Danielle Mitterrand stood before the late president's coffin alongside his mistress and daughter, whose out-of-wedlock birth and existence were long kept secret from the French public.

A determined if soft-spoken activist, Danielle Mitterrand advocated many left-leaning causes, supporting Marxist rebels in El Salvador and ethnic minorities like Kurds and Tibetans, and vociferously opposing capitalist excess.

Mitterrand created several charities and criss-crossed the world in defense of human rights. She reportedly once kissed Cuba's Fidel Castro on the steps of the presidential Elysee Palace.

Her foundation said Mitterrand found guidance in a phrase of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre: "It's not right to want to heal the suffering of people without committing to fight the very causes of this suffering."

France Libertes, whose focus has been human rights and had recently made a top priority of getting drinking water to those without it around the world, said Mitterrand left behind "a message of hope."

Despite her timid demeanor and gentle voice, Mitterrand urged worldwide unity among "new Resisters" to "put an end to economic and financial dictatorship, the henchman of political dictators. Finally, they seem to be shaken by the anger of peoples."

Well before the Occupy movement took on Wall Street, Mitterrand told Le Figaro newspaper in 1996: "Of course, the world revolves around the Dow Jones, the Nikkei stock index or the CAC 40 (French stock exchange). ...But all around the world, little voices are being raised to say that man is unhappy even if the stock market is doing well."

She reiterated that theme last month in an interview with RTL radio: "Everybody knows that the foundation of the system today is money: Money is the guru, money decides everything ... that's why we are working to get out of this system."

Praise and appreciation for her poured in from across France's political spectrum Tuesday.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said: "Neither the setback or the victory caused her to deviate from the road she had laid for herself: giving a hearing to the voice of those that no one wanted to hear."

Ever outspoken, in 2008 Mitterrand denounced American support for foes of Bolivia's leftist president Evo Morales, and accused "fascist gangs" of intimidating native peoples in the South American country.

Thirteen years ago, Mitterrand visited in prison Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther who has spent nearly 30 years on death row over his 1982 conviction for killing a white police officer in Philadelphia.

She was no novice at defending her convictions. As a young woman, she was awarded the Croix de Guerre for her work in the Resistance during the Nazi occupation in World War II.

Danielle Emilienne Isabelle Gouze was born Oct. 29, 1924 in Verdun, a town in northeastern France known as one of World War I's biggest killing fields.

Under the Nazi collaborationist Vichy regime during World War II, her father, a Socialist-leaning school principal, lost his job after refusing a state order to list all Jewish students and teachers for authorities, according to a biographical brief of Mitterrand provided by her foundation.

In March 1944, she went underground in the Burgundy hills with the Resistance. That year, she met and then married Francois Mitterrand, who had joined up under the code name "Francois Morland." They had three sons together, one of whom, Pascal, died at a young age.

For years, Danielle Mitterrand kept quiet about a secret relationship that her husband had had with Anne Pingeot, a museum curator who was 28 years his junior and mother of his long-secret daughter, Mazarine Pingeot.

As first lady, Mitterrand shucked the tradition of her predecessors who largely kept to the background. In a 1986 interview with The Associated Press, her blue eyes flashed at the suggestion she resembled a high-profile American first lady.

"There is no traditional role" for a first lady, Mitterrand said. "Each woman has her own personality and ... acts according to her conscience and her sensibilities."

Her nephew Frederic Mitterrand, who now serves as culture minister in Sarkozy's conservative government, told BFM TV that his aunt "did a lot to humanize the role of first ladies."

She is survived by sons Gilbert and Jean-Christophe. Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.

____

Associated Press writer Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_obit_mitterrand

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Republicans Debate Foreign Policy Tonight (The Atlantic Wire)

The Republican presidential primary debates have shaped the race a lot this year, but mostly in one way: making candidates not named Mitt Romney look bad. Herman Cain and the other two ex-frontrunners -- Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry -- will try to get voters to love them again, while the three remaining not-Romneys -- Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul -- will ask to have their turn. But the topic of tonight's debate -- foreign policy -- might make that tricky. The subject has made Cain look bad?several times already, but he's only the guy who's had the hardest time with it. We'll be liveblogging the debate, which starts at 8p.m. on CNN, right here.

Related: Debate Liveblog: Romney, Perry Attack Each Other

Bachmann said this month the U.S. economy could grow faster if it became less socialist like China, which is a communist country. Paul was booed at an earlier debate for suggesting American foreign policy encouraged terrorists to attack us. Huntsman says he was merely doing his duty to serve the country when he took a job as ambassador to China under President Obama, even though he quit that job to run for Obama's.?Santorum has been the most open about begging for love. When Hot Air's Ed Morrissey asked him if he deserved a "second look" from Republicans, Santorum shot back, "They haven?t really taken a first look." All that time in the wilderness has made the former frat guy introspective. Noting that Saturday Night Live portrays him as "Angry Santorum," he told ABC News' Shushannah Walshe, "I?m not angry. Do you think I?m angry? I?m not an angry guy. I get wound up and passionate about things, but I?m not angry." Still, he's taken apologizing for sounding angry at campaign events, explaining that he's just "passionate." It will be interesting to see how he balances that tonight when talking about Israel, an issue he's shown quite a bit of passion about in previous debates.

Related: GOP Debate: Perry Forgets Things

CNN's Todd Graham sums up their positions like this:

• Negotiating with the Taliban: Yes = Gingrich; No = Romney.
• If needed, going to war with Iran: Yes = Romney, Gingrich, Santorum; No = Cain, Paul.
• Use of waterboarding: Yes = Cain, Bachmann, Perry; No = Huntsman, Paul.
• Quickly pulling out of Afghanistan: Yes = Huntsman, Paul; No = Perry, Romney.
• Giving foreign aid without preconditions (especially to countries like Pakistan): Yes = Bachmann, Santorum; No = Perry, Gingrich.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20111122/pl_atlantic/republicansdebateforeignpolicytonight45328

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Loud music may have led to Halman's stabbing

This is a 2010 photo of Greg Halman of the Seattle Mariners baseball team. Dutch police said Monday Nov. 21, 2011 that Halman has been stabbed to death> (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

This is a 2010 photo of Greg Halman of the Seattle Mariners baseball team. Dutch police said Monday Nov. 21, 2011 that Halman has been stabbed to death> (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

FILE -This is a Tuesday, July 19, 2011 file photo of Seattle Mariners' Greg Halman as he ia congratulated after his three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning of a baseball game in Toronto . Dutch police say Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman has been stabbed to death and his brother has been arrested as a suspect. Rotterdam Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels says police were called to a home in the Dutch port city early Monday Nov. 21. 2011 and found Halman bleeding from a stab wound. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn, File)

FILE - This is a Sunday, June 5, 2011 file photo of Seattle Mariners' Greg Halman as he triples in a pair of runs against the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh inning of a baseball game in Seattle. Dutch police say Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman has been stabbed to death and his brother has been arrested as a suspect. Rotterdam Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels says police were called to a home in the Dutch port city early Monday Nov. 21. 2011 and found Halman bleeding from a stab wound.(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? Police say an argument about loud music could be the reason Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death.

Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels tells The Associated Press that loud music "appears to be the reason the victim walked downstairs," but police are still trying to piece together what happened after that.

Police say they are still interviewing the brother of Halman as a suspect in the death of the 24-year-old Dutch baseball player, who was killed in the early hours of Monday morning at an apartment in Rotterdam.

Halman hit .230 in 35 games and made starts at all three outfield positions for the Mariners in 2011 before being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-22-BBA-Mariners-Halman-Killed/id-bee6c82382d64db5809c710ad2e49006

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Key gene function against cell death discovered

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2011) ? A team of researchers at the MedUni Vienna's Institute of Medical Genetics has discovered that two genes (TSC/Tuberin and PRAS40) are extremely important regulators in the development of stem cells: if these genes are switched off, the stem cells do not develop but instead die a programmed cell death.

The group led by Markus Hengstschl?ger, Director of the Institute of Medical Genetics at the MedUni Vienna, has been able to prove in a paper now published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, that stem cells need both of these proteins to develop and be involved in the regeneration and differentiation processes in cells.

The human body maintains a stable equilibrium between cell death and the breakdown of tissue and the regeneration of tissue from stem cells. Stem cells have the potential to develop into other types of cells such as skin, muscle or nerve cells and are therefore crucial for the rebuilding of tissue. A human stomach cells, for example, lives only two days. Skin cells live for up to four weeks. A lung cell dies after around 80 days and a red blood cell dies after around 120 days.

The two proteins TSC (tuberin) and PRAS40 are crucial for this development, deciding whether the stem cell develops correctly or undergoes apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death. They act, as it were, as 'gatekeepers'.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Medical University of Vienna.

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. C. Fuchs, M. Rosner, H. Dolznig, M. Mikula, N. Kramer, M. Hengstschlager. Tuberin and PRAS40 are anti-apoptotic gatekeepers during early human amniotic fluid stem cell differentiation. Human Molecular Genetics, 2011; DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddr535

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111121085618.htm

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Awesome iPhone case spins up Holga lenses (Yahoo! News)

When photo apps just don't cut it, dial up some photo effects

There are a lot of different?lens attachments for the iPhone. From fisheye to 360-degree panoramics, the options are wide, but you still have to actually take the lens attachment off the phone to switch to another. Apparently, the folks at hipster camera company Holga thought that was just a bit too much work, so they created a case with a spinning lens attachment, so you can dial up the effects without ever taking off the case.

Holga is known for creating simple, inexpensive toy cameras that embrace an old-school vibe, yielding photographs with blur, vignetting, light leaks, and other distortions that most consider undesirable. It has developed a cult following, though, and many consider those "flaws" to add to the artistic flavor of the cameras.

This iPhone case continues the Holga's retro ideal, with a rotary dial reminiscent of an old-fashioned phone, with nine different lens filters. There's a macro lens, red and green filters, yellow and blue filters with clear centers, a red filter with a clear heart-shaped center, and dual, triple, and quadruple image lenses. And, for those rare moments when you actually just want to take a normal photo with your phone, there's also an empty hole.

Holga Direct via?Engadget

This article was written by Katherine Gray and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

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UN: AIDS epidemic stabilizing, still work to do (AP)

LONDON ? The AIDS epidemic is leveling off and the number of people newly infected with the virus that causes it has remained unchanged since 2007, the United Nations said in a report Monday.

Critics say that the body's aim of wiping out the disease is overly optimistic, however, considering there is no vaccine, millions remain untreated and donations have slumped amid the economic crisis.

There were 2.7 million new HIV infections last year, approximately the same figure as in the three previous years, said the report from UNAIDS, the joint United Nations program on HIV and AIDS. The figures largely confirm earlier findings released by the group in June.

At the end of last year, there were about 34 million people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. While that is a slight rise from previous years, experts say that's due to people surviving longer. Last year, there were 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths, down from 1.9 million in 2009.

The outbreak continues to hit hardest in southern Africa. But while the number of new infections there has fallen by more than 26 percent since the peak in 1997, the virus is surging elsewhere.

In eastern Europe and central Asia, there has been a 250 percent jump in the number of people infected with HIV in the past decade, due largely to the spread among injecting drug users. In North America and western Europe, the outbreak "remains stubbornly steady," according to the report.

"It's looking promising, but the numbers are still at a scary level," said Sophie Harman, a global health expert at City University in London. She was not connected to the UNAIDS report.

In its strategy for the next few years, UNAIDS says it is working toward zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. Harman said that was an admirable goal but wasn't sure it was achievable. "They need to get real," she said. "Maybe they need to aim high but if their main goal is eradication, it's highly unlikely that will ever happen."

Dr. Paul De Lay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, acknowledged the idea of eliminating AIDS infections and deaths is "more of a vision for the future," and would likely not be accomplished without new tools like a vaccine, which could take several decades. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an AIDS-free generation and promised more money for programs in Africa.

De Lay said U.N. strategies will focus on more aggressive prevention and treatment policies, like treating people with HIV earlier. In Africa, people with HIV are not usually treated until their immune system reaches a certain threshold, and officials are now increasingly trying to start treatment before patients get too sick.

Future strategies might also include giving medicines to people at high risk even before they get infected. The World Health Organization is considering how to advise countries with major epidemics on giving drugs to healthy people vulnerable to catching the virus, such as prostitutes, gay men and injecting drug users, as a prevention method.

While studies have shown that could dramatically slow AIDS transmission, experts have voiced concerns about healthy people taking AIDS drugs, which have toxic side effects. It could also encourage drug resistance, and there are already millions of people in developing countries who qualify for treatment but are still waiting for it.

Sharonann Lynch, an HIV policy adviser at Doctors Without Borders, said many African countries are anxious to implement more aggressive strategies and that some are redrafting their guidelines even before official U.N. advice is available. But she said the financial crisis is affecting treatment and that enrollment in some clinics, like in Congo, have stalled or even been suspended. That could allow the epidemic to resurge.

"Just at the moment when we know how to manage HIV, we're hitting the brakes," Lynch said. "Without more investment, we'll be squandering the best chance we have of getting ahead of the new wave of infections."

___

Online:

http://www.unaids.org

http://www.msf.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_on_he_me/eu_med_global_aids

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Chimp attack victim reveals new face

Meredith Vieira couldn?t stop staring at Charla Nash?s face.

1. 1. Chimp attack victim reveals new face

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That?s nothing new for Nash ? nearly three years after a horrific chimp attack literally tore her face off, she?s gotten used to people staring. What was new was the reason for the attention.

?Wow. You really look fantastic,? Vieira told Nash. ?I?m just?I? I apologize. I'm looking at your face and I am in awe.?

After a full face transplant, Nash has begun venturing out into public again, no longer worried her severely disfigured face would frighten people. On Monday, she revealed that new face in an exclusive interview on TODAY.

Slideshow: A new face for Charla (on this page)

As the donor face has begun molding to Nash?s underlying bone structure, Nash has begun returning to more of her normal life. She particularly remembered one day she went to the store with her brother.

While shopping they ran into a little girl, who said hello to Nash.

?That didn't happen before,? ?Nash told Vieira. ?It was nice. The little girl was saying hi to me.? I looked like I?ve got eyes and everything. ?I?m not scaring anybody.?

Producer's Notebook: Behind the scenes with Charla Nash
TODAY Moms: Charla Nash and her daughter Briana
allDAY: Meredith Vieira on Charla's beautiful spirit

Because she was permanently blinded in the attack, Nash cannot see her own face. She can?t even feel it because the attack also took her hands. So she has to depend on the feedback of others.

?I?ve had people tell me I?m beautiful,? Nash told Vieira. ?And they were not telling me I was beautiful before.?

Nash got her new face in a groundbreaking, 20-hour triple transplant surgery. Doctors replaced not only her face, but also the two hands ripped off in the horrific attack. The face thrived. Unfortunately there were problems with the hands. Because Nash developed pneumonia shortly after the transplant, her circulation was compromised and the hands began to deteriorate and doctors decided to remove them.

Related: Chimp attack victim reveals new face

At the time, Nash was struggling just to survive the operation.

"I found out later on that they ? I had hands and they removed them," Nash told Vieira. "And it didn't really bother me because I was too sick to worry about that, you know? ? And then later on, I was disappointed that, you know, I had them and they're gone again. But I'm hoping, you know, for in the future, that it can be done again."

The good news: doctors have told her that she might be able to try a hand transplant again in as little as a year.

And Charla?s face will continue to heal over the coming year, said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, director of plastic surgery transplantation at Brigham and Women's Hospital. ?What we have seen is that the face almost blends in and becomes the patient's own, to the point that I think that regular person passing by will not be even able to tell,? he told TODAY.

Related: Charla Nash is 'strong,' brother says after attack

For now, though, Nash is just happy to be able to actually chew food and to smell the world around her. Even scents the rest of us might find off-putting are wonderful to her: ?I can smell the nurse that come in. I can smell their perfume and ?. They all smell pretty.?

Nash?s daughter, Briana, feels like she?s gotten her mom back.? The transplanted face has been molding to Nash?s bone structure and now she?s starting to look like she did before the attack, Brianna says.

?She looks similar,? Briana told Vieira. ?I mean the nose is very similar. I?m still waiting for the underlying bone structure to take some shape on her cheeks. But it?s my mom.?

It has been a long journey since that horrifying day on Feb. 16, 2009.

Nash had come to visit her friend, Sandra Herold, to help with her pet chimp, Travis.

Travis was something of a local celebrity in their hometown of Stamford, Conn. He had appeared in commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola, been a guest on Maury Povich?s talk show, and was a familiar sight around town, riding in a car with his owners. But the chimp could also be aggressive, and Nash said she often felt uncomfortable around her friend's large, powerful "pet" before the attack.

Nash had just gotten out of her car when Travis spotted her, went berserk and attacked. A terrified Herold dialed 911 and Nash was rushed to the hospital where doctors managed to save her life, but not her face or her hands.

Nash was so terribly mauled that the policeman who responded to the call at first didn?t recognize Nash as human, and then, when he got closer, couldn?t tell if she was male or female.

Related: Experts try to explain chimp's rampage

After being released from the hospital, Nash was moved to an assisted-living facility, unable to eat solid food and breathing through a tube.

The Nashes know that their salvation came at the cost of someone else?s tragedy.? And they are grateful beyond words to the family and the person who donated her new face.

?Words can?t even say enough, but that donation, you know, as hard as it was for them, was a wonderful gift for us, me and my family,? Nash told Vieira. ?Because it really gave me a life back. It?s such a wonderful thing. I could not thank them enough. ?

Charla Nash's family has established a fund for her care at nashtrust.com.

? 2011 MSNBC Interactive.? Reprints

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45380267/ns/today-today_health/

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At British hearing, stars turn tables on tabloids

FILE - In this Monday, May 9, 2011 file photo of British actor Hugh Grant, as he poses with fans as he arrives for the European premiere of the 'Fire in Babylon' film at a cinema in London. Film star Hugh Grant, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, and the father of missing girl Madeleine McCann are among those due to testify starting Monday Nov. 21, 2011 and over the next week at the U.K. inquiry into media ethics _ a judicial body that could recommend sweeping changes to the way Britons get their news. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE - In this Monday, May 9, 2011 file photo of British actor Hugh Grant, as he poses with fans as he arrives for the European premiere of the 'Fire in Babylon' film at a cinema in London. Film star Hugh Grant, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, and the father of missing girl Madeleine McCann are among those due to testify starting Monday Nov. 21, 2011 and over the next week at the U.K. inquiry into media ethics _ a judicial body that could recommend sweeping changes to the way Britons get their news. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

LONDON (AP) ? They've been hacked and libeled, stalked and slandered. Now the public figures whose personal lives have long offered grist for Britain's news mill have been given a rare chance to confront their tabloid tormentors.

Film star Hugh Grant, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, and the father of missing girl Madeleine McCann are among those due to testify over the next week at the U.K. inquiry into media ethics ? a judicial body that could recommend sweeping changes to the way Britons get their news.

The nationally televised inquiry would give many of those in the public eye an unprecedented chance to challenge those who write about them, said Cary Cooper, a professor at northern England's Lancaster University and the author of "Public Faces, Private Lives."

"This is the first time the celebrities have been able to strike back," Cooper said. "I think it will have an impact, and the media might ? for a while at least ? pull away."

Speaking ahead of the testimony, victims' lawyer David Sherborne told the inquiry multiple tales of shattered privacy, broken lives and even suicides stemming from relentless media intrusion.

"When people talk of public interest in exposing the private lives of well-known people or those close to them, this is the real, brutally real impact which this kind of journalism has," Sherborne said.

Britain's media ethics probe was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July after it became clear that the tabloid had systematically broken the law. Most horrific was the news that the tabloid had broken into the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler in its search for scoops.

Cooper acknowledged that celebrities like Grant or actress Sienna Miller ? another star due to give evidence ? have struggled to get much in the way of public sympathy even when it was shown that their privacy had been invaded. But he said their appearance alongside crime victims such as Bob and Sally Dowler or Gerry McCann could mark a shift in attitudes.

"They're going to get hit worse by the Milly Dowler family and witnesses of that ilk," he said.

Sherborne, in a two-and-half-hour-long presentation Wednesday, promised to make journalists squirm.

Most powerful among his accusations was the suggestion that media coverage had driven some celebrities' family members to the brink of suicide ? or beyond.

Sherborne said that former Formula One racing boss Max Mosley believed that the suicide of his 39-year-old son Alexander could also be at least in part attributed to "the very public humiliation" dealt to his father by the News of the World's expose of his sexual shenanigans.

He went on to outline the case of soccer player Garry Flitcroft, whose life was turned upside down by a newspaper's revelation that he'd cheated on his wife. Flitcroft's children were teased in school, his family was tracked by helicopter and his ailing father fell into a deepening depression before taking his own life, the lawyer said.

Another case involved Charlotte Church, the British singer who shot to stardom as a teenager. Sherborne said she'd been subjected to waves of harassment. Photographers chased her in cars, tried to take pictures up her skirt and cut holes in bushes to install secret cameras. So hungry was the press for scoops about her private life that journalists revealed she was pregnant before she had even told her parents.

Worse still was the News of the World's expose of her father's affair in 2005. Sherborne said that Church's mother had attempted suicide shortly before the story ran, but that rather than hold back, "the newspaper approached her mother directly and persuaded her to give them an exclusive, despite her fragile condition, as part of a Faustian pact that in return they would not run another lurid follow-up story about her husband's affair."

Others testifying over the next seven days include comic actor Steve Coogan, whose romantic exploits have been exhaustively documented, and broadcaster Anne Diamond, who was targeted by Murdoch's press after she challenged the mogul about his ethics.

Chris Jeffries, who was wrongly implicated in the murder of his tenant, is also due to give evidence, along with soccer star Paul Gascoigne's ex-wife Sheryl; human rights activist Jane Winter; former army intelligence officer Ian Hurst; and Margaret Watson, whose teenage daughter Diane was stabbed to death in 1991.

___

Online:

The Leveson Inquiry: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-20-EU-Britain-Tabloids-on-Trial/id-f9a6e620e97c4c518f627bd2686f5c92

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VIDEO: The Muppets, Paul Rudd and Olivia Wilde Crash Jason Segel's SNL Party (omg!)

In case anyone had any doubt what Jason Segel was promoting on Saturday Night Live, the How I Met Your Mother star wasted no time in bringing out his colorful co-stars from The Muppets movie. During his monologue, Segel decided to sing about how he couldn't believe he's hosting SNL, when Kermit, Miss Piggy and the gang hijacked his song and assumed that they were all hosting the show together as a group. (I mean, hello, the Muppets knew executive producer Lorne Michaels when he still said "aboot"):

Watch more videos from Saturday Night Live

Segel's I Love You, Man and Forgetting Sarah Marshall co-star Paul Rudd also stopped by the show to play Segel's brother in the most recent sketch about the oddly affectionate Vogelchecks:

Olivia Wilde's cameo was much easier to miss in a '80s-inspired digital short about the secrets of seducing women through chess, checkers, jenga, eating glass and hiring a prostitute:

SNL took the opportunity to kick-start the search for Regis Philbin's replacement on Live!. Potential replacements included Ricky Gervais (Jason Sudeikis), the "adorkable" Zooey Deschanel (Abby Elliot) and ? the man behind the Nasonex bee voice ? Antonio Banderas (Segel):

Related Articles on TVGuide.com

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Oops! Dean McDermott Accidentally Posts Topless Pic Of Wife Tori Spelling

Oops! Dean McDermott Accidentally Posts Topless Pic Of Wife Tori Spelling

Former ?Beverly Hills, 90210? star Tori Spelling’s hubby accidentally tweeted a topless photo of her on Wednesday. The photo of their 4-year-old son, Liam, looks [...]

Oops! Dean McDermott Accidentally Posts Topless Pic Of Wife Tori Spelling Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2011/11/17/oops-dean-mcdermott-accidentally-posts-topless-pic-of-wife-tori-spelling/

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Google Music vs Amazon MP3 vs iTunes: Which Online Music Store is the Best for You? [Music Stores]

Google opened its new music store to all comers in the US this week, touting its partnerships with music labels and indie musicians, and its broad reach thanks to the Android Market. The new store has millions of songs for sale, but whether it's a game changer, serious competition for iTunes and Amazon MP3, or the best online music store out there is another question entirely. Let's take a look at each service based on its features.

Each music store is a little different. This showdown is all about the music stores that these companies offer?not their respective players, applications, or services. We can't help but mention them in terms of usability and integration with the store and the user experience, but we're going to try and focus on the features of the stores and steer clear of the bugs or quirks of each player.

Google Music: The New Kid on the Block is Perfect for Android Faithful, Indie Music Lovers, and Free Music Fanatics

Google Music has been around for a while, but Wednesday's launch of the music store put Google in direct competition with Apple and Amazon (among others.). The new music store has been added to the Android Market so you can access it on the web or any Android device. The web player is still as sharp as ever, and combined with Google's Magnifier music blog gives you multiple points of entry to download great free music you've never heard, and shop for albums you've been waiting for.

Who Google Music Is For

• Bleeding edge music fans and indie music lovers. People with playlists populated with bands they'll be happy to tell you you've never heard of. Google's velvet-gloved approach to independent artists was on display at Wednesday's event.
• Android faithful. Android fans will get the most benefit from the music store. After all, it will be pre-installed on every Android device, and songs you buy or add for free from the music store won't count against your 20,000 song limit.
• Music fans on a budget. Budget-conscious music fans who already have large libraries will appreciate the ability to upload a ton of songs absolutely free, and the plethora of free music already available to add to your Google Music account.
• Google+ users. Fans of Google's burgeoning social network will adore the ability to share your purchases with your circles. The Google+ integration means that after buying an album, it'll make sense to share it so your friends can listen and let you know what they think. Even better, create a "Music Lovers" circle on Google+ where you all trade music suggestions and post your purchases.

Pros

Google Music's biggest perk is that aside from the songs themselves, it's free. Accounts and storage for 20,000 songs is free, as is additional storage for any free or purchased songs. The music store boasts a 13 million track catalog of songs from three of the four major labels and thousands of indie artists. Tracks come in DRM-free 320kbps mp3 files, and you don't need to download another app to get access to your purchases. They're automatically added to your Google Music account (you can download them there), and are available instantly in the web player and on your Android device.

Indie music lovers and independent musicians will love Google's new music store. After all, $25 for the Artist's Hub gives you access to 200 million Android devices, not to mention the Google Music users who use the web player on their desktops or iOS devices, and 45 million Google+ users. No other music store has embraced indie music the way Google has, and that's huge, not just for indie musicians and fans, but DJs, basement bands, and anyone else who wants to get their name and their music out there. Hear that? It's the last nail being driven into MySpace's coffin.

Google's music store is pretty compelling, especially for Android users (although the web player on iOS is slick too), prefer webapps to desktop players, or own a lot of music already they'd like to take with them.

Cons

One drawback to Google Music is that it's only available in the United States. It's unfortunate, but it's a reality of dealing with the music industry in different parts of the world. The agreement that works for labels in the US may not be the agreement that works for the labels in the UK, or in Australia. These things take time, and Google decided to play on its home turf first.

Speaking of labels, the gaping hole in the music store where Warner Music should be is unfortunate. One Google rep on-stage at the event casually mentioned that "other labels are welcome if they choose to join," clearly a statement designed to both point the finger at Warner for missing the bus and assure viewers that Warner should be along shortly. Here's hoping they are.

The only other minus we could find is pricing. Songs are competitively priced, but in more than a few cases they're not the best price. This makes sense, since Amazon and Apple have history and a bit more bargaining power, but we live in a time where the difference between a $0.99 track and a $1.29 track can mean a lost sale for the more expensive store.

Amazon MP3: The Pioneer of DRM-Free, Cheap Music Soldiers On Despite the Competition

Long before Google got into music, and before Apple was willing to remove DRM from purchased songs, Amazon MP3 came pre-installed on Android phones and allowed you to download DRM-free mp3s and copy them to any of your devices. Today, Amazon boasts a huge catalog, offers free cloud storage for your purchased music, and continuously beats the competition on price.

Who Amazon MP3 Is For

• Music fans who have to have the absolute lowest price. Amazon MP3's pricing is often the lowest across all of the major music stores, especially for popular artists and new releases. Amazon often doesn't bother highlighting popular artists the way other stores do: they assume you'll search for what you want. Instead, the front page of the MP3 store is populated with "Albums under $5," and "$0.69 songs." They want to be the value player, and it works?as long as you're not interested in cloud storage.
• Bargain hunters who live for daily deals and special events. A day without a discounted album on Amazon MP3 or a refreshed list of completely free music is a day without sunshine. Amazon may not go out of the way to highlight its free music the way Google does, but that doesn't mean it's not there.
• Amazon shopaholics and Prime members. Frequent customers are occasionally treated to $5 credits to Amazon MP3 purchases after a purchase, and those credits are pretty hard to pass up, especially considering how far your money goes at Amazon MP3.
• Kindle Fire Owners. The Kindle Fire, even though it's new, is probably one of the few devices that provides a real integrated experience for Amazon's various services. Sure, there's an Amazon MP3 app for Android, and it's an okay player, but the user experience leaves a little to be desired, and the store isn't well integrated.

Pros

Amazon MP3 is overall the most affordable music store available, a feat considering its 16 million track catalog. The store has music from all four major labels, and it is a great place to look if you're searching for specific songs, special releases, and EPs that the other stores don't have. Purchases come as 256kbps variable bitrate MP3s without DRM, and can be automatically added to your Amazon Cloud Drive. When you do add them, the space they take doesn't count against your overall storage limit.

It doesn't hurt that Amazon MP3 is already on many Android devices. Before the Google music store existed, it was the only good way you could browse, buy, and download music directly to your Android phone. It's still a great option, and Amazon hasn't sworn allegiance to any one mobile OS. Amazon's play as the music store with one of the biggest catalogs of popular music at super-low prices makes it an attractive option, or at least a place to stop and check prices before you buy from another store.

Cons

One of the biggest problems with the Amazon music store is the Amazon Downloader. It works in most situations, but when it doesn't, it sucks badly, and the fact that you have to download an app to download the songs that you just purchased at Amazon is a nuisance at best and a troubleshooting nightmare at worst. Of course, you can always just have your music dropped into your Amazon Cloud Drive, but let's be honest, given the pricing and storage limits, is anyone actually paying for Cloud Drive?

We also really have to ding Amazon a bit for the quality of its player. The web player is no real joy to use, and the fact that the app is only available for Android leaves iOS users somewhat out of the action, which sucks. It means that iPhone and iPad owners who want to buy from the Amazon MP3 store have to buy, download, and then add their music to iTunes if they want it on multiple devices: no Cloud Player for iOS users unless they use the special iPad-optimized webapp.

Finally, if you're an indie music fan or love independent artists and labels, your mileage may vary with Amazon MP3. There are indie artists and labels at Amazon, but the focus is clearly on more popular musicians and major labels. Also, Amazon's music store is only available in the US and the UK. If you like to share music with friends, Amazon's social features are limited to Twitter and Facebook buttons to tell your friends about your purchase, and if you like to preview before you buy, you can listen to a 30 second clip of the song - a far cry from iTunes' and Google's 90-second previews.

iTunes: The Biggest Digital Music Store Still Thrives on Its Ecosystem

Regardless of what you think about Apple or the iTunes software, there's no debating that the iTunes Music Store transformed the way we enjoy music. It heralded the end of widespread piracy and proved to the music labels that you don't have to treat music fans like criminals to convince them to buy music. With the launch of iTunes Match and iCloud, the iTunes Music Store just got much more attractive.

Who iTunes Is For

• New release hunters. iTunes is the juggernaut in the digital music space for a reason. It has agreements with all of the major labels, and new launches and special editions often appear on the iTunes first.
• Cloud haters and organization freaks. iCloud and iTunes Match exist, sure, but by default all of your music purchases are downloaded to your computer via iTunes, and are stored locally. If you like taking your music with you or don't care for web players or cloud services, iTunes still delivers that "click to buy and to download" experience that makes you feel like you're getting something tangible. Plus, your music comes from a single source, with tags, album art, and metadata intact, can be organized in a single app (even if it is iTunes) and if it's lost, you can?with strings attached?redownload it.
• iOS device owners. Let's face it, the reason there's no Amazon MP3 app for iOS is because Apple has no desire to allow a competing music store on its devices. If you want your Amazon MP3 purchases on your iOS device, you'll have to downlaod them and add them to iTunes. The same applies for Google Music - the store is built-in to the Android Market, so don't expect that on your iPhone anytime soon. The iTunes Music Store, on the other hand, is right there, full of music that you can buy and download immediately. Once you do, it's synced to iCloud.
• People who need fast, easy, and cheap. iTunes' dominance isn't only due to its closed ecosystem with the iPhone and iPod. It's also the fact that iTunes is dead simple to use and shop from. The iTunes' music store plus jukebox experience is still very popular with a lot of people. Attitudes may be changing however, and fewer people want to install iTunes just to shop for music, but right now it offers a seamless union between the music you already own and new music you can purchase.

Pros

iTunes is clearly the best option for people invested in the Apple ecosystem. The music selection is massive?larger than any of the other stores?with over 20 million tracks in the catalog from all four major labels and scores of independents. Even if you don't have an iOS device, it's a great music store with a broad depth of music at solid prices. The days where everything was $0.99 are over, but the vast majority of songs are still around that mark, with older songs and releases by independent musicians often less than that. iTunes also has a huge selection of comedy, spoken-word, latin music, and other genres with narrower appeal, along with "sub-stores" created by specific companies (like Starbucks) and playlists by celebrities to feature music they enjoy.

Tracks can be previewed for 90 seconds, and purchased songs come as 256kbps DRM-free AACs. From there it's automatically added to your music collection, albums get their own playlists, and the song is added to your "Recently added" or "Downloaded" playlists. Combined with an iOS device or iCloud, iTunes is still a great music store and holistic music experience. Without either of those however, it's a huge music store where you'll have no trouble finding something you like at a decent price.

Cons

For as big as its catalog is and as deep its library is, iTunes hasn't really changed or improved in any meaningful way in years. You don't necessarily want to fix what isn't broken, and we get that iCloud and iTunes Match will give iOS users a new way to back up and access their music on other devices (even though iTunes Match doesn't stream and has no web player) but to get the most from these services you have to be fully wrapped up in Apple's ecosystem. Even freeing your music from iTunes if you prefer to listen to it on your non iOS device or in another music player can be an irritating process. Possible, but an unnecessary pain.

For as great as its shopping experience is, iTunes loses points for its lackluster social experience, which consists entirely of Ping?Apple's half-assed social network that no one really uses (unless they're using it to post to Twitter.) Plus, even though Apple bought and killed LaLa back in 2009, we have yet to see a meaningful web component to iTunes. There's iTunes Preview, but frankly, it's awful. Where other music stores are integrating social networks to help you discover music and giving you more ways to enjoy the music you buy anywhere, iTunes is spinning its wheels. That's fine for now, but it won't be forever.

The Verdict: Which Music Store Deserves Your Money?

If you've followed along with us so far or you've skipped to the end to see which service you should buy your music from, the answer is?as always?that it depends on what kind of music lover you are:

• Google Music is best for people who would say "I need access to the music I already own everywhere I go," or "I'm a huge indie music fan," and people who are onboard and comfortably seated on the Android train.
• Amazon MP3 is best for bargain hunters who don't want to buy elsewhere before checking for a better deal and want the best possible deal. It's also best for people who still aren't sure about this whole Google Music thing and have Android devices. Plus, if you don't trust Google and can't stand Apple, well, here you are.
• iTunes is best for people wrapped up in Apple's cozy blanket of walled-off products and services. Getting in from the outside with another service is a herculean feat, one that's really not worth it if you have all the music you want to buy in iTunes at good prices and you own an iOS device. You may want to check Amazon for better prices now and again, and then import the songs to iTunes.

Everyone Else: Zune Marketplace, eMusic, and the Others

Apple, Amazon, and Google aren't the only players. There are still a lot of smaller, independent music stores out there, even if most of them are struggling to get by. Bandcamp is a great indie music store that lets artists sell directly to their fans, and EMusic is still kicking around with a 13 million song catalog and DRM-free mp3s. Subscription-only services like the Zune Music Store, Napster, and even Rhapsody often sell individual tracks and walk the line between a la carte and subscription-only.

For music lovers who don't mind renting their music instead of owning it, it may make financial sense to sign up for all-you-can-eat plans where you get tons of music for a monthly fee. With the Zune store, each month you used to get to keep some of the songs you've rented, so it's a little of both worlds. They may not have the selection or mobile and cloud features that the big guys do, but these services are worth mentioning because they cater to specific markets or often go out of their way to be platform agnostic.

A Nod to Streaming Music Services

Speaking of renting music, no look at online music stores would be complete without mentioning the explosion of streaming and cloud-based music services, some of which work with music you own, and others that exist purely in the cloud. Contrary to traditional music stores, with these services you're paying for regular access to a service's music library. You don't own anything, and you don't even rent the songs themselves?you just pay to listen to them whenever you like.

Streaming music services are trendy, and many of them even allow you to cache songs offline to simulate the feeling of owning your music. Most of them are platform agnostic, and offer apps, webapps, and tools for every OS. Even so, most people use them in addition to?not a replacement for?a music store that lets them buy or listen to their own music. That may change as they grow in popularity.

Which music store excites you the most? Where will you be spending your money? Perhaps you prefer a different store we haven't mentioned, or you're giving up on buying music entirely and going the streaming route instead. Whatever you think, let us know in the comments below.

---

You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, at alan@lifehacker.com, or better yet, follow him on Twitter or Google+.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/CtqZ9_I4b0s/google-music-vs-amazon-mp3-vs-itunes-which-online-music-store-is-the-best-for-you

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South Korea shuts down for the all-or-nothing Korean SAT

Some 80 percent of Korea's high school students go on to further education. And to ensure students have the best chance, one day every year Korea changes its plane schedules, redirects traffic, and holds its breath.

So much rests on today's annual college entrance exam in South Korea that planes were grounded, roads were closed, and places of worship were thronged with parents praying for divine intervention as students plowed through its five separate sections for nine hours.

Skip to next paragraph

For the nearly 700,000 high schoolers on their way out of school taking the test this morning, this will determine what university they will go to (if any), their salary, and their future fate.

Such is the all-or-nothing emphasis pinned on gaining entry to one of a handful of the top higher education institutions in the country ? anchored in the so-called SKY (Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei universities) trinity ? that the entire Korean education system is geared toward success on this single day of the year.

Beyond college, a place at one of the top colleges is seen as a golden ticket to the?ultimate prize of a job at one of the country's top conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai, and LG.

But the pressure-laden path to the test, say critics, is one littered with some of South Korea's most glaring social ills. Though its education system is held up as a model around the world, with about 80 percent of high school students going on to college, South Korea harbors one of the world's most astronomical levels of private education costs forked out by parents intent on ensuring their children get ahead. And some have linked the test to some of the increasing number of teen suicides in the country.

One national newspaper columnist noted that this surge for a limited number of places at so few universities has also been linked to a spike in real estates prices in school districts with rumors of historically high pass rates.

The winds of change have been set in motion, however. President Lee Myung-bak wants companies to focus energies on recruiting high school graduates from vocational-focused places of learning in a bid to curb a rising youth unemployment rate.

South Korea's high university graduate rate leads to a bottleneck in the job market, pitting too many applicants in competition for a much smaller number of jobs. That, say experts, helps explain the country's high youth unemployment rate.

Whether Koreans will make the switch and value vocational educations, remains to be seen. For now, the exams are a "Korean rite of passage." Students are scheduled to find out what life holds in store for them on Nov. 30.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/PItYxwuvbm0/South-Korea-shuts-down-for-the-all-or-nothing-Korean-SAT

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Arab League meets Assad foes after 69 die in Syria (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? The Arab League, stung into action by months of bloodshed in Syria, met opponents of President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday, a day after violence in his country killed 69 more people.

The League, which has voted to suspend Syria's membership from Wednesday, asked Syrian opposition groups to draw up their plans for a transition of power, as a prelude to a wider gathering on Syria's future planned by the Cairo-based body.

"The Arab League will announce soon a date for a conference to include many of the Syrian opposition groups to discuss the ways and time needed to move to a transitional period," Abdel Basset Sedah, of the opposition Syrian National Council's executive office, told Reuters after meeting League officials.

After months of hesitation, the League decided on Saturday to discipline Syria for pursuing a violent crackdown on dissent instead of implementing an Arab peace initiative. It has stopped short of calling for Assad's departure or proposing any Libya-style foreign military intervention in Syria.

Hundreds of Syrians have been killed this month in one of the bloodiest periods of the revolt, inspired by uprisings which have overthrown leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Damascus says it is committed to the Arab peace initiative, which calls for a ceasefire and dialogue with the opposition.

Syria requested an emergency Arab summit, but a Saudi-led bloc of six Gulf Arab states rejected the idea, which would need the support of 15 of the League's 22 members.

Morocco's foreign minister said "Syrian colleagues" were welcome at Wednesday's meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Rabat, but did not say if Syria's top diplomat could attend.

Arab ostracism is a particularly bitter blow for Assad, who has always seen himself as a champion of Arab unity.

The United States hoped the League would use Wednesday's meeting to send a "forceful message to Assad that he needs to allow for a democratic transition to take place and end the violence against his own people," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "President Bashar should stop immediately the killing of his own people."

The United Nations says more than 3,500 people have been killed since protests against 41 years of Assad family rule began in March. The government blames armed gangs sponsored from abroad for killing at least 1,100 troops and police.

RUSSIA MEETS SYRIAN OPPOSITION

Russia, one of Syria's last few foreign friends, hosted talks with the Syrian National Council and urged it to hold a dialogue with Assad's government. The opposition group responded by pressing Moscow to join calls for the Syrian leader to quit.

Russia joined China last month to block a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned Assad's crackdown, and has accused the West of discouraging dialogue in Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who had fostered close ties with Syria before this year's unrest, warned Assad that his government was on a "knife-edge" and demanded an apology for attacks on Turkey's diplomatic missions in Syria.

The U.N. Security Council called on Syria to protect diplomatic missions and staff.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem apologized on Monday for the attacks, which also targeted Saudi and French missions. But Erdogan said Turkey expected more contrition.

"Bashar, you are required to punish those who attacked the Turkish flag. We want the Syrian administration to not only respect the Turks in Turkey and the Turkish flag but also to respect their own people. We especially want this."

Erdogan has yet to unveil promised sanctions against Syria, but his country now hosts the main Syrian opposition and has given refuge to Syrian civilians and defecting soldiers.

"Nobody now expects the (Syrian) people's demands to be met. We all want the Syrian administration, which is now on a knife-edge, to turn back from the edge of the cliff," he said.

POWER SUPPLIES AT RISK

Turkey's energy minister suggested power supplies to Syria might be affected. "Right now we are supplying electricity there (Syria). If this course continues, we may have to review all of these decisions," Taner Yildiz told reporters.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his country wanted sanctions that would not harm the Syrian people.

"The Syrian regime does not want to listen to the demands of its people," he told a news conference in the Moroccan capital. "Unfortunately, it still shoots its own people.

"We have given a last opportunity to the Syrian regime but they didn't want to seize it."

Violence in Syria has not abated. Activists reported at least 69 deaths in southern Syria on Monday, most in clashes between loyalist troops and army deserters.

Syria has barred most foreign media, making it hard to verify accounts from authorities and activists. Syria's state news agency did not mention clashes in the south on Monday.

As the diplomatic pressure mounted, Syria released more than 1,000 prisoners, state media reported, including prominent dissident Kamal Labwani.

To offset the impact of Western sanctions, Syria plans to strengthen economic ties with Asian and African countries, its economy and trade minister told an Egyptian newspaper.

Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar said Syria's economy was bearing up well, with only European oil investments badly hit.

"We have a lot of options ... including Mercosur (Latin American bloc) countries, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Africa and some countries from Southeast Asia," he said.

Oil industry sources say Royal Dutch Shell and Total have slashed oil output in Syria because U.S. and EU sanctions have deterred normal buyers of Syrian crude.

Many analysts expect Syria's economy to shrink this year, perhaps by several percent or more. [

(Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan in Cairo, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Isabel Coles in Dubai, Jonathon Burch in Ankara, Dominic Evans in Beirut, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman and Souhail Karam in Rabat; Writing by Alistair Lyon and Janet Lawrence; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111115/wl_nm/us_syria

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