ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2011) ? The astrophysicist Stephen Hawking believes that if humanity is to survive we will have to up sticks and colonise space. But is the human body up to the challenge?
Scientists at The University of Nottingham believe that Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a microscopic worm which has biologically similarities to human beings, could help us understand how humans might cope with long-duration space exploration.
Their research, published Nov. 30, 2011 in Interface, a journal of The Royal Society, has shown that in space the C. elegans develops from egg to adulthood and produces progeny just as it does on earth. This makes it an ideal and cost-effective experimental system to investigate the effects of long duration and distance space exploration.
In December 2006 a team of scientists led by Dr Nathaniel Szewczyk from the Division of Clinical Physiology in the School of Graduate Entry Medicine blasted 4,000 C. elegans into space onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The researchers were able to successfully monitor the effect of low Earth orbit (LEO) on 12 generations of C. elegans during the first three months of their six month voyage onboard the International Space Station. These are the first observations of C. elegans behaviour in LEO.
Dr Szewczyk said: "A fair number of scientists agree that we could colonise other planets. While this sounds like science fiction it is a fact that if mankind wants to avoid the natural order of extinction then we need to find ways to live on other planets. Thankfully most of the world's space agencies are committed to this common goal.
"While it may seem surprising, many of the biological changes that happen during spaceflight affect astronauts and worms and in the same way. We have been able to show that worms can grow and reproduce in space for long enough to reach another planet and that we can remotely monitor their health. As a result C. elegans is a cost effective option for discovering and studying the biological effects of deep space missions. Ultimately, we are now in a position to be able to remotely grow and study an animal on another planet."
Many experts believe the ultimate survival of humanity is dependent upon colonisation of other planetary bodies. But we face key challenges associated with long term space exploration. Radiation exposure and musculoskeletal deterioration are thought to be two of the key obstacles to successful habitation beyond LEO.
The C. elegans has been used on Earth to help us understand human biology -- now it could help us investigate living on Mars.
C. elegans was the first multi-cellular organism to have its genetic structure completely mapped and many of its 20,000 genes perform the same functions as those in humans. Two thousand of these genes have a role in promoting muscle function and 50 to 60 per cent of these have very obvious human counterparts.
Dr Szewczyk is no stranger to space flight -- this was his third space-worm mission. Dr Szewczyk and his team at Nottingham collaborated with experts at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Colorado and the Simon Fraser University in Canada, to develop a compact automated C. elegans culturing system which can be monitored remotely to observe the effect of environmental toxins and in-flight radiation.
Dr Szewczyk said: "Worms allow us to detect changes in growth, development, reproduction and behaviour in response to environmental conditions such as toxins or in response to deep space missions. Given the high failure rate of Mars missions use of worms allows us to safely and relatively cheaply test spacecraft systems prior to manned missions."
The 2006 space mission, which led to this latest research, was followed up with a fourth mission in November 2009. Some of the results of the 2009 mission were published earlier this year in the journal PLoS ONE.
Together these two missions have established that the team are not only in a position to send worms to other planets but also to experiment on them on the way there and/or once there. More results, including a mechanism by which muscles can repair themselves are due to be published shortly.
The origins of Dr Szewczyk's worms can be traced back to a rubbish dump in Bristol. C. elegans often feed on bacteria that develop on decaying vegetable matter.
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WASHINGTON ? In the final weeks of Mitt Romney's term as Massachusetts governor, a small team of aides combed through statehouse filing cabinets. They filled more than 630 cartons with papers destined for the state archives as the primary documentary legacy of his administration. One floor, though, was almost completely off limits to them: Romney's inner sanctum, his third-floor office.
The former legislative affairs director who headed the archiving effort, John O'Keefe, recalls that his team was given a stack of Romney's public schedules over four years and a limited variety of other documents from the governor's executive office, but not much else. "We were told we were not in charge of archiving the third floor," he says.
The mystery deepened recently when the chief legal counsel for Romney's Democratic successor, Gov. Deval Patrick, said that just before Patrick took office, material on a state government web server that housed Romney's emails was erased. Top Romney aides also bought and removed their state-issued computer hard drives, and remaining leased computers were replaced. Romney said he followed the law in authorizing the purge, and his campaign aides said their actions were based on a 1997 Massachusetts court ruling that all governors' records are private.
Romney's selective policy toward public access and preservation of his executive records raises stark questions about how transparent his administration would be if he were to become president. He's not alone. Other leading candidates for the presidency ? incumbent Barack Obama and Texas Gov. Rick Perry ? have touted their commitment to transparency, but their administrations also have been selective at times in the records they disclose. They have limited, stalled or denied access when it suited their purposes.
"What I wish Americans could expect is a politician who talked a good game and walked a good game, too," said Ken Bunting, executive director of the nonpartisan National Freedom of Information Coalition. "The reality is everybody gives lip service to transparency and accountability."
Romney's submission of paper documents to the Massachusetts archives was made "in the interest of transparency and to help provide a record of his time in office," said Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior campaign adviser. But the holdings in the archives are far from comprehensive. An Associated Press reporter sent from Washington earlier this fall spent a week examining the Romney archives, but did not find paper copies of any emails to or from Romney or any internal calendars or in-house memos ? all commonly used by governors. There are no state archives records accounting for what happened to those materials.
The growing use by government agencies and political campaigns of new channels of electronic communication, including text messages, online videos and social media services, has opened new dimensions in the availability of public records. But presidential candidates haven't been especially transparent.
"There's the potential for a lot more raw information than in the past as emails and other electronic communications replace phone and face-to-face conversations," said Peter Scheer, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit public interest group. "The problem is we're seeing officials and governments moving more and more to shield those materials from public access."
Only about one-quarter of the 630 cartons of Romney paper records are available for inspection at the Massachusetts archives. State legal officials have yet to say whether the 1997 court ruling allows access to the other material. Even if they do, Assistant State Archivist Michael Comeau said, staff shortages and time-consuming redaction checks could extend delays close to the 2012 election. More than 75 cartons examined by the AP revealed staff and legislative documents but no internal materials written to or from Romney himself ? except for ceremonial bill-signing and official letters.
As governor, Romney's careful line on providing records was based on a 1997 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that "the governor is not explicitly included" among other state officials and agencies covered by the state's Public Records Law, which generally requires agencies to submit to records requests. Other governors since 1997 have interpreted the ruling similarly.
The AP submitted detailed questions to Romney about how his administration handled public records when he was governor, but the campaign responded with only a brief statement: "The governor's office in Massachusetts is not subject to the state's public records law. As a legal matter, it is not required to disclose any documents." Fehrnstrom, who was Romney's chief spokesman during that era, said the Romney campaign does not possess any remaining gubernatorial records outside of the Massachusetts archives.
After The Boston Globe first reported that his aides had purged electronic files, Romney said the deleted materials might have contained confidential medical, judicial or personnel records. Still, when Romney's archive team found confidential files at the end of his administration, they separated those materials from thousands of other documents that were turned over to the archives. O'Keefe, now city manager in Manchester, Vt., recalled that anything that appeared "confidential in nature" was turned over to a private vendor for shredding.
Suggesting that Romney's Massachusetts administration "deliberately sought to delete public records" in advance of his 2007 presidential run, the Democratic National Committee has pressed three separate Massachusetts public records requests for more background on the purge. Romney's campaign has responded with its own request to Patrick's office asking for any evidence of collaboration between his staff and Obama re-election officials.
Gavi Wolfe, a legal counsel for the Boston office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Romney's authorization of the purging of third-floor electronic files set an "alarming" precedent: "I would be concerned about the chief executive wanting to shield the actions of his administration from public scrutiny." Romney said during a New Hampshire campaign stop that if elected, his presidential administration "would do what's required by the law and then some."
In three years in the White House, Obama set an even more ambitious standard, committing publicly to improving transparency and setting clear goals for federal agencies to respond more quickly and expansively to public records requests.
Obama signed an executive order on his first day in office in 2009, directing federal officials to make good on his detailed commitment to broaden accountability. His directive led to the opening of White House visitor logs and plans to improve responses to records requests, whistleblower protections and declassification of outdated secret documents.
But many of Obama's broad commitments have not been met. In the face of criticism, the Justice Department abandoned a proposal that would have allowed officials to pretend that some government files didn't exist when people asked to see them. And the government completely turned down records in one-third of all requests in 2010 ? even censoring 194 pages of internal emails about Obama's Open Government directive.
The White House and Energy Department have been hesitant and selective turning over records related to the GOP-led congressional investigation of Solyndra, the failed California solar panel company. The AP pressed three separate appeals for records in September, but Energy Department officials said they would take months because of the number of documents and requests to read them. In early October, as Congress threatened to issue subpoenas, White House officials quickly provided reporters with thousands of pages and DVDs filled with hundreds of emails.
White House officials would not comment on the sudden shift, but campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said, "The president and this administration are changing the ways Washington works in terms of transparency."
In Texas, Perry has made similar claims, pointing to broad swaths of electronic data that his administration has made available online ? from state agency expenditures to death certificates. But Perry's administration has also blocked viewing of expenditures for his security guards when he travels, even though much of that travel has been subsidized by campaign funds or by private business executives. He also barred access to his reviews of death penalty cases and to his private calendars, even though his predecessor, former President George W. Bush, had made both available when he was governor.
"The people of America aren't seeing the real Rick Perry," said Keith Elkins, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. "They may get a glimpse of him on the campaign trail, but the real record has been hidden and carefully parceled out."
___
Associated Press writers Brett J. Blackledge, Matthew Daly and Jack Gillum contributed to this report.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? This was one frantic finish the New York Jets might consider a turning point if they end up pulling off another late-season playoff push.
Mark Sanchez threw a career-high four touchdown passes, including the winning 16-yard score to Santonio Holmes with just over a minute remaining, as the Jets kept pace in the AFC playoff race with a 28-24 comeback victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
"He's at his best," coach Rex Ryan said of his quarterback, "in big moments."
And, this was certainly one of them. One win down. Five more to go.
With several Jets players saying they needed to win each of their last six games to reach the postseason, things appeared bleak with New York (6-5) trailing 24-21 after Dave Rayner's 53-yard field goal and facing a third-and-11 from the Bills 36. But Sanchez connected with Plaxico Burress, who reached up and made an impressive one-handed grab along the left sideline for 18 yards and the first down.
"It was crazy," Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said of the catch. "He's 6-foot-5 and he's got those `Go-Go-Gadget' arms. It was probably one of the best catches I've seen in a while."
Added Sanchez: "I don't know if words could do it any justice. It was a big-time catch in a crucial situation."
Sanchez quickly ran a quarterback sneak ? just to make sure there was no challenge, even though replays showed Burress caught it cleanly. On the next play, Sanchez rolled out to his right to buy some time and found Holmes alone in the right corner of the end zone to give the Jets the lead with 1:01 left.
"I felt good," Sanchez said of his confidence entering the winning drive. "We've been in that situation before."
But the Jets then had to overcome a valiant comeback attempt by the Bills (5-6), who have lost four straight. With Buffalo driving for a winning score, a wide-open Stevie Johnson dropped a pass that would have gone for a long gain. Ryan Fitzpatrick also threw behind Johnson in the end zone with 8 seconds left that might have been a touchdown.
"It's hard," Fitzpatrick said. "They scored at the end and we had a legitimate four chances to get it in there in the end zone and unfortunately we were unable to make the plays. It hurts real bad."
Sanchez wasn't great in this one, going 17 of 35 for 180 yards and an interception, but came through with the game on the line. It was his eighth fourth-quarter comeback victory in two-plus seasons. He also threw two touchdown passes to Dustin Keller and another to Burress as the Jets rebounded from a deflating loss to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos 10 days ago.
"Defensively, the one thing we can say is we finished," Ryan said.
Fitzpatrick was 26 of 39 for 264 yards and three touchdowns, but couldn't pull out one more in the end. Buffalo played without several injured starters, including Fred Jackson and George Wilson.
Johnson had one of the Bills' touchdown catches late in the first half and got up and mocked being shot in the thigh, clearly making fun of Burress who served 20 months in prison for shooting himself in the leg in a nightclub in 2008 while he was with the Giants. Johnson then ran to the left side of the end zone mocking the "flight" celebration the Jets often use after scoring and fell to the ground, getting flagged 15 yards for excessive celebration on the play that gave Buffalo a 14-7 lead.
"I was just having fun and part of having fun ended up being a penalty and a touchdown for the Jets," Johnson said. "It was a stupid decision by myself."
New York was already going to have good field position, but Rayner flubbed a squibbed kick attempt that hit off the Jets' Emanuel Cook, who recovered the ball at Buffalo's 36.
The Jets moved to the 14 when Buffalo's Marcell Dareus was hit for a 15-yard penalty for using his helmet to make contact with Sanchez. Three plays later, Burress caught a 14-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to tie it at 14 with 1:03 left in the half. Burress simply bowed to the crowd and ran to the stands and handed the ball to his son Elijah, as he always does after scoring receptions.
"I've seen worse, and I've heard worse," Burress said of Johnson's celebration. "So, it doesn't bother me at all. The result I'm looking at is we won the football game."
The Jets' offense started the third quarter with a nice drive capped by Keller's second touchdown catch of the game that gave New York a 21-14 lead with 3:50 remaining in the period.
After the Jets held the Bills to three-and-out late in the third quarter, Buffalo got the ball right back when cornerback Antonio Cromartie ? who was returning the punt because Jim Leonhard was a bit banged up ? muffed the fair catch and Leodis McKelvin recovered at New York's 36. McKelvin injured his ribs on the play and left the game.
Fitzpatrick went for a big play right away, throwing a ball up deep down the right sideline to former Jets wide receiver Brad Smith, who appeared to get a hand on it, along with Cromartie, and tapped the ball up, grabbed it out of the air as the defender fell and took off into the end zone for a career-best 36-yard touchdown that tied it at 21 with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter.
Notes: David Nelson had the Bills' other touchdown, an 8-yard catch that gave Buffalo a 7-0 lead late in the opening quarter. ... Jets DE Mike DeVito left in the third quarter with a right knee injury, and Ryan had no update on the severity. ... Former Bills first-rounder Aaron Maybin had two of the Jets' three sacks. He had none in two unproductive seasons in Buffalo. ... Fitzpatrick became the fifth QB in team history with 50 TD passes, joining Jim Kelly, Joe Ferguson, Jack Kemp and Drew Bledsoe.
Frequent 'heading' in soccer can lead to brain injury and cognitive impairmentPublic release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kim Newman sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu 718-430-3101 Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Einstein Montefiore research suggests frequency threshold for injury that could lead to safety guidelines
November 29, 2011 (BRONX, NY) Using advanced imaging techniques and cognitive tests, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center , the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, have shown that repeatedly heading a soccer ball increases the risk for brain injury and cognitive impairment. The imaging portion of the findings was presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago.
The researchers used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an advanced MRI-based imaging technique, on 38 amateur soccer players (average age: 30.8 years) who had all played the sport since childhood. They were asked to recall the number of times they headed the ball during the past year. (Heading is when players deliberately hit or field the soccer ball with their head.) Researchers ranked the players based on heading frequency and then compared the brain images of the most frequent headers with those of the remaining players. They found that frequent headers showed brain injury similar to that seen in patients with concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The findings are especially concerning given that soccer is the world's most popular sport with popularity growing in the U.S., especially among children. Of the 18 million Americans who play soccer, 78 percent are under the age of eighteen. Soccer balls are known to travel at speeds as high as 34 miles per hour during recreational play, and more than twice that during professional play.
After confirming the potentially damaging impact of frequent heading, "Our goal was to determine if there is a threshold level for heading frequency that, when surpassed, resulted in detectable brain injury," said lead author Michael Lipton, M.D., Ph.D. , director of Einstein's Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center and medical director of MRI services at Montefiore. Further analysis revealed a threshold level of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 heads per year. Once players in the study exceeded that number, researchers observed significant injury.
"While heading a ball 1,000 or 1,500 times a year may seem high to those who don't participate in the sport, it only amounts to a few times a day for a regular player," observed Dr. Lipton, who is also associate professor of radiology, of psychiatry and behavioral sciences ), and of the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Einstein.
"Heading a soccer ball is not an impact of a magnitude that will lacerate nerve fibers in the brain," said Dr. Lipton. "But repetitive heading may set off a cascade of responses that can lead to degeneration of brain cells."
Researchers identified five areas, in the frontal lobe (behind the forehead) and in the temporo-occipital region (the bottom-rear areas) of the brain that were affected by frequent heading areas that are responsible for attention, memory, executive functioning and higher-order visual functions. In a related study, Dr. Lipton and colleague Molly Zimmerman, Ph.D. , assistant professor in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at Einstein, gave the same 38 amateur soccer players tests designed to assess their neuropsychological function. Players with the highest annual heading frequency performed worse on tests of verbal memory and psychomotor speed (activities that require mind-body coordination, like throwing a ball) relative to their peers.
"These two studies present compelling evidence that brain injury and cognitive impairment can result from heading a soccer ball with high frequency," Dr. Lipton said. "These are findings that should be taken into consideration in planning future research to develop approaches to protect soccer players."
Heading is an essential part of soccer and is unlikely to be eliminated from practice or play.
As there appears to be a safe range for heading frequency, additional research can help refine this number, which can then be used to establish heading guidelines. As in other sports, the frequency of potentially harmful actions in practice and games could be monitored and restricted based on confirmed unsafe exposure thresholds.
"In the past, pitchers in Little League Baseball sustained shoulder injuries at a rate that was alarming," Dr. Lipton noted. "But ongoing research has helped shape various approaches, including limits on the amount of pitching a child performs, which have substantially reduced the incidence of these injuries."
"Brain injury due to heading in children, if we confirm that it occurs, may not show up on our radar because the impairment will not be immediate and can easily be attributed to other causes like ADHD or learning disabilities," continued Dr. Lipton. "We, including the agencies that supervise and encourage soccer play, need to do the further research to precisely define the impact of excessive heading on children and adults in order to develop parameters within which soccer play will be safe over the long term."
###
In addition to Drs. Lipton and Zimmerman, other authors on these studies include Namhee Kim, Ph.D., Richard Lipton, M.D. , Edwin Gulko, M.D., and Craig Branch, Ph.D. , all at Einstein, and Walter Stewart, Ph.D., at Geisinger Health System.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. In 2011, Einstein received nearly $170 million in awards from the NIH for major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS, as well as other areas. Through its affiliation with Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, and four other hospital systems, the College of Medicine runs one of the largest post-graduate medical training programs in the United States, offering 155 residency programs to 2,244 physicians in training. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu and follow us on Twitter @EinsteinMed.
Montefiore Medical Center
As the University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore is a premier academic medical center nationally renowned for its clinical excellence, scientific discovery and commitment to its community. Montefiore is consistently recognized among the top hospitals nationally by U.S. News & World Report, and excels at educating tomorrow's healthcare professionals in superior clinical and humanistic care. Linked by advanced technology, Montefiore is a comprehensive and integrated health system that derives its inspiration for excellence from its patients and community. For more information, please visit www.montefiore.org and www.montekids.org and follow us on Twitter @MontefioreNews.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Frequent 'heading' in soccer can lead to brain injury and cognitive impairmentPublic release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kim Newman sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu 718-430-3101 Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Einstein Montefiore research suggests frequency threshold for injury that could lead to safety guidelines
November 29, 2011 (BRONX, NY) Using advanced imaging techniques and cognitive tests, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center , the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, have shown that repeatedly heading a soccer ball increases the risk for brain injury and cognitive impairment. The imaging portion of the findings was presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago.
The researchers used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an advanced MRI-based imaging technique, on 38 amateur soccer players (average age: 30.8 years) who had all played the sport since childhood. They were asked to recall the number of times they headed the ball during the past year. (Heading is when players deliberately hit or field the soccer ball with their head.) Researchers ranked the players based on heading frequency and then compared the brain images of the most frequent headers with those of the remaining players. They found that frequent headers showed brain injury similar to that seen in patients with concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The findings are especially concerning given that soccer is the world's most popular sport with popularity growing in the U.S., especially among children. Of the 18 million Americans who play soccer, 78 percent are under the age of eighteen. Soccer balls are known to travel at speeds as high as 34 miles per hour during recreational play, and more than twice that during professional play.
After confirming the potentially damaging impact of frequent heading, "Our goal was to determine if there is a threshold level for heading frequency that, when surpassed, resulted in detectable brain injury," said lead author Michael Lipton, M.D., Ph.D. , director of Einstein's Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center and medical director of MRI services at Montefiore. Further analysis revealed a threshold level of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 heads per year. Once players in the study exceeded that number, researchers observed significant injury.
"While heading a ball 1,000 or 1,500 times a year may seem high to those who don't participate in the sport, it only amounts to a few times a day for a regular player," observed Dr. Lipton, who is also associate professor of radiology, of psychiatry and behavioral sciences ), and of the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Einstein.
"Heading a soccer ball is not an impact of a magnitude that will lacerate nerve fibers in the brain," said Dr. Lipton. "But repetitive heading may set off a cascade of responses that can lead to degeneration of brain cells."
Researchers identified five areas, in the frontal lobe (behind the forehead) and in the temporo-occipital region (the bottom-rear areas) of the brain that were affected by frequent heading areas that are responsible for attention, memory, executive functioning and higher-order visual functions. In a related study, Dr. Lipton and colleague Molly Zimmerman, Ph.D. , assistant professor in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at Einstein, gave the same 38 amateur soccer players tests designed to assess their neuropsychological function. Players with the highest annual heading frequency performed worse on tests of verbal memory and psychomotor speed (activities that require mind-body coordination, like throwing a ball) relative to their peers.
"These two studies present compelling evidence that brain injury and cognitive impairment can result from heading a soccer ball with high frequency," Dr. Lipton said. "These are findings that should be taken into consideration in planning future research to develop approaches to protect soccer players."
Heading is an essential part of soccer and is unlikely to be eliminated from practice or play.
As there appears to be a safe range for heading frequency, additional research can help refine this number, which can then be used to establish heading guidelines. As in other sports, the frequency of potentially harmful actions in practice and games could be monitored and restricted based on confirmed unsafe exposure thresholds.
"In the past, pitchers in Little League Baseball sustained shoulder injuries at a rate that was alarming," Dr. Lipton noted. "But ongoing research has helped shape various approaches, including limits on the amount of pitching a child performs, which have substantially reduced the incidence of these injuries."
"Brain injury due to heading in children, if we confirm that it occurs, may not show up on our radar because the impairment will not be immediate and can easily be attributed to other causes like ADHD or learning disabilities," continued Dr. Lipton. "We, including the agencies that supervise and encourage soccer play, need to do the further research to precisely define the impact of excessive heading on children and adults in order to develop parameters within which soccer play will be safe over the long term."
###
In addition to Drs. Lipton and Zimmerman, other authors on these studies include Namhee Kim, Ph.D., Richard Lipton, M.D. , Edwin Gulko, M.D., and Craig Branch, Ph.D. , all at Einstein, and Walter Stewart, Ph.D., at Geisinger Health System.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. In 2011, Einstein received nearly $170 million in awards from the NIH for major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS, as well as other areas. Through its affiliation with Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, and four other hospital systems, the College of Medicine runs one of the largest post-graduate medical training programs in the United States, offering 155 residency programs to 2,244 physicians in training. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu and follow us on Twitter @EinsteinMed.
Montefiore Medical Center
As the University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore is a premier academic medical center nationally renowned for its clinical excellence, scientific discovery and commitment to its community. Montefiore is consistently recognized among the top hospitals nationally by U.S. News & World Report, and excels at educating tomorrow's healthcare professionals in superior clinical and humanistic care. Linked by advanced technology, Montefiore is a comprehensive and integrated health system that derives its inspiration for excellence from its patients and community. For more information, please visit www.montefiore.org and www.montekids.org and follow us on Twitter @MontefioreNews.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Journalists and photographers need to rethink how they package - and how they get paid for - their work when it comes to tablet computers. Tablets, predicted to become the reading device of choice in the next few years, will change the demand and market for information. Those are some of the takeaways from a "Hacks and Hackers" meetup held at Storify headquarters in San Francisco called, "New rules of storytelling: The rise of tablets."
[More from Mashable: 5 Steps for Starting and Funding a Social Good Enterprise]
Talking about the burgeoning demand for touchscreen-friendly information were John Knight, a co-founder and editor of Once Magazine, an iPad photojournalism publication that readers have called "similar to American Life and National Geographic," and Jessi Rymill, a design and editorial consultant at Closed Mondays, whose recent tablet projects include Al Gore's "Our Choice" and Tim Ferriss's "4-Hour Chef."
Here are five more points worth touching on for journalists and photographers when it comes to tablet publishing.
[More from Mashable: How Social Media Helped Kate Spade Become a Global Brand]
1. There's No Money in Tablet Publishing - Yet
Once Magazine, launched in September, has a revenue sharing model that will hopefully pay journalists and photographers decent rates for their work. Readers currently pay $2.99 for each edition. When answering a question from the audience about whether tablet publishing provides a decent paycheck, Once's Knight said, "No! Just kidding. Sometimes. Well, it could... If we have 20,000 subscribers, it would be decent paycheck. I mean, if we could pay $2,500 for the photos and $1 a word, that would be decent. First, you have to establish yourself. The onus right now is on contributors to market... There's not a market for us right now any more than there is for contributors."
2. Your News Organization Is Interested in Them
Back in January, Forrester research predicted that U.S. consumers would buy more tablets than computers by 2015.
In addition to launching hundreds of dedicated apps, news organizations have heeded the call to create content consumable on tablet computers with initiatives ranging from Rupert Murdoch's iPad-only publication The Daily to a Philadelphia media group subsidizing tablets for readers. The result? The Economist recently reached 100,000 subscribers for its iPad version.
3. Tablet Publishing Isn't Necessarily About Interactivity or Extreme Stories
Once's format doesn't allow readers to pinch and zoom on photos, for example. "That's how it was shot and this is how you look at it," Knight said. He added that the photos are carefully chosen and crafted, and that the reader isn't the professional, plus it's more work for the publisher. One of Once's more popular stories, Knight said, isn't "war photography, but a story about a retirement community in Arizona." The photos chronicle the daily activities of the over-55 members from gymnastics to crocheting.
4. Tablet Publishing May Reverse the Traditional Text-to-Photo Ratio
Once magazine publishes three stories per edition, each story contains 15-20 photos accompanied by 800 words of text, the opposite of your usual word-heavy glossy magazine where two or three pics accompany 10,000 words of copy.
5. Get Ready for the "Bookification" of Content
Rymill's latest project is the "4-hour Chef," specifically made for the Kindle Fire. The free app, designed for first-time tablet users, gives a "taste" of the forthcoming Tim Ferriss book of the same title. Launched right after Thanksgiving, it's a combo cookbook, diet and exercise regime that promises to get readers into fighting shape before the expansive Christmas holidays.
Apple has leaked a few hidden tidbits about a number of possible upcoming mobile devices in its recent developer release of iOS 5.1. Included in the script are references to the iPhone 5 and multiple versions of the iPad 3.
Deep in the bowels of iOS 5.1 beta, which was released early this week, are mentions of iPad 2,4, iPad 3,1, iPad 3,2 and iPad 3,3, as well as iPhone 5,1.
As Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac speculates, the iPad 2,4 mention possibly refers to a version of the Apple tablet for Sprint, which recently joined Verizon and AT&T as an carrier in the US. The various iPad 3 references most likely refer to the next-generation tablet, which is expected to debut sometime in March, according to earlier reports.
Apple currently offers three versions of the iPad and iPad 2, one Wi-Fi-only version, one for Verizon?s CDMA network and one for GSM networks, like AT&T. Given the dual-mode capabilities in the iPhone 4S, which allows one device to connect to both types of networks, it?s possible that Apple will instead release an one iPad 3 with a 3G connection, and one with 4G capabilities.
The iPhone 5,1 reference was uncovered by iOS developer Filippo Bigarella, who posted screenshots of his findings on Twitter. Bigarella also discovered evidence that the iPhone 5 will run on Apple?s A5 dual-core processor, which also powers the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Unlike the iPhone 4S, which looks identical on the outside to the iPhone 4, the iPhone 5 is expected to have a complete design overhaul
The presence of the iPhone 5,1 reference in this version of iOS 5.1 suggest that Apple plans to release the device earlier in the year than it released the iPhone 4S, which was launched in October. Prior to this year, Apple released all previous iPhone models in June.
While the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 references provide clear evidence that Apple is working on these devices, it?s still possible that they won?t be brought to market. But seeing as Apple will surely release a new iPhone and new iPad models next year, speculation that these devices will find their way into customers? hands isn?t such a stretch of the imagination.
This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
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On the eve of "Cyber Monday," online retailers reported an even stronger start to the holiday shopping season than brick-and-mortar stores.
Research firm comScore reported on Sunday that e-commerce spending jumped 26 percent on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, compared with the same day a year ago. ComScore reported $816 million in online sales for the day, up from $648 million.
The 26 percent growth rate for online sales compares with a 7 percent retail sales increase reported for Black Friday by ShopperTrak, which gathers data from individual stores and shopping malls. At $11.4 billion, the brick-and-mortar sales total still dwarfs the online total.
Gian Fulgoni, comScore chairman, said in a statement that e-commerce enjoyed a banner day, despite some analysts' predictions that early store openings on Black Friday could hurt online sales.
"With brick-and-mortar retail also reporting strong gains on Black Friday, it's clear that the heavy promotional activity had a positive impact on both channels," Fulgoni said.
Thanksgiving is also a big day for online sales, and comScore reported an 18 percent increase this year compared with a year ago, with $479 million in sales.
Online sales also have been strong throughout November. Online sales through Saturday rose 15 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to comScore, which is based on Reston, Va. Through the first 25 days of the month, online sales have totaled $12.74 billion.
ComScore said 50 million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, up 35 percent from a year ago. Each of the top five retail sites reported double-digit gains in visitors, in percentage terms, led by top retail site Amazon. Walmart ranked second, followed by Best Buy, Target and Apple.
Next up is Cyber Monday, when many online retailers run promotions for the first business day of the week following Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday sales topped $1 billion last year, making it the heaviest day of online spending ever. ComScore's Fulgoni expects another record will be set this year.
Toys R Us got a jump on things by offering Cyber Monday deals beginning at 6 p.m. on Sunday. The retailer's website also offered free shipping on purchases of $49 or more, through the holiday weekend until Dec. 3.
Amazon and Walmart launched weeklong online sales promotions on Sunday. Amazon's offers included a discounted price of $259 on a Kindle DX e-reader that normally sells at $379. That offer was scheduled to end Monday. Walmart expanded its Cyber Week offerings with more than 250 online-only specials, with savings of up to 40 percent. Walmart also offered free shipping on orders of $45 or more.
ComScore reported online sales for Black Friday two days after another researcher, IBM Corp.'s Coremetrics unit, reported a smaller online spending gain for Black Friday. Coremetrics reported a 20 percent increase, compared with comScore's 26 percent.
I refer to a trip I undertook, braving the crossing of the mighty Hudson River, from New Jersey into the borough of Manhattan, to visit what has been the centerpoint of gaming in the greater New York City area for nigh on three decades or more; the Compleat Strategist.
When I was growing up in the 1970's and early 1980's, the Compleat Strategist was a mind-blowing experience for me. I coaxed and conned my mother into taking me on a regular basis (usually agreeing to also visit the Museum of Natural History in the same trip-- very much of a cheat, since I loved going there as well). I purchased my first real wargame there (Invasion America), and was a steady customer of both wargames and, later, RPGs, at both the main store at 11 East 33rd Street (I still have the address memorized, which is a real feat considering my normally-atrocious memory for such things) and the store in Montclair, NJ. I actually worked in the Boston store after college in the early 1990's. But it was that store, mere steps from the Empire State Building, that always held a soft spot in my heart.
I'd not made the time to visit it in more than a decade myself, and with some time off from work, I and one of my friends from the game I run (as well as one of the more fanatical and enthusiastic Ogre Miniatures players) hopped the train into Manhattan and, after encouraging him to his first true "dirty water dog", brought him to the Strategist. It helped that the temperature, even in late November, was edging towards 70 degrees.
This, my friends, is what a real game store should be like. It occupies a narrow NYC storefront, and is quite literally packed from floor to ceiling with games of every type. Not just the newest and hottest stuff; they've accumulated things over the decades that even the staff don't realize is on the shelves (although one of the staff was nearly encyclopedic in his knowledge of what was where, and they were all friendly and helpful in the extreme).
The newest stuff is between knee and slightly-above-eye level. And there is TONS of it. Games, modules, miniatures, paints, magazines, cards, supplements for a hundred games I've never even heard of. There is a wealth of older stuff near the floor and on the top shelves, as well. Stuff from the early 1990's (and some even earlier) that's still in the shrink-wrap because it's been on the shelf since it first came out. I'm talking Starfleet Battles, Advanced Squad Leader, Lost Worlds...
The OSR is more than well represented, too. Castles and Crusades had a very decent piece of shelf space, as did Labyrinth Lord and a number of other products I recognized and was greatly heartened to see. My previous FLGS couldn't even special order this stuff, but the Strategist has it on a shelf at eye level.
Plus they have wargames. Not just what passes for wargames today with either plastic or metal miniatures (although they had those too) but real, honest-to-goodness hex-and-counter wargames. And they carry the version of Strategy & Tactics magazine that actually has the game inside the magazine, unlike the version carried in Barnes & Nobel (which is still good, but sans ludi). It was like being transported back to 1977. Except for the prices of said magazine (ouch!).
I ended up picking up a solo game from a company of which I'd never heard, DVG, called Field Commander: Rommel. My friend picked up a pair of games, Discworld and Ivanhoe. They all look like fun, and I'm particularly looking forward to breaking out Rommel on those long blissful winter afternoons when the wife and daughter are off on some mission or other.
Just about the only thing they're lacking is space to play games, but in this environment, that seems natural. This is a place to browse and peruse and buy.
We had completely lost track of time, and when we emerged it turned out that we had spent two and a half hours in the store, blissfully unaware of the time, pouring through the old and new stuff on the shelves. We followed up with a long but enjoyable walk to the Strand Bookstore down in Greenwich Village (which boasts 18 miles of bookshelves, and somehow manages to discount even new books), with a brief detour to the comic store Forbidden Planet (which, I am reliably informed, also has a shop in Leeds).
All in all, this was a terrific day, and the terrific selection of the Strategist, combined with the really helpful and knowledgeable staff (even if they hadn't ever heard of "The Emperor Must be Told" by Victory Point Games... ahem...) made this an enormously pleasurable trip I'm eager to repeat.
Timbuktu Chronicles: Investing in Health - Avenue Healthcare (Kenya) receives a $2.5m investment
Investing in Health - Avenue Healthcare (Kenya) receives a $2.5m investment
In African Capital Markets News:
Aureos Africa Health Fund invested $2.5 million in a Kenyan hospital and health insurance company, the Avenue Group , which offers affordable healthcare cover, integrated with quality healthcare provision. It has a 70-bed full-purpose hospital in Nairobi, 7 clinics through Kenya as well as in-house clinics for corporate clients, a home-based care service for elderly, terminally ill or otherwise dependent patients, rental and sale of wheelchairs and other rehabilitation equipment for home use, and First Aid training schemes. It combines healthcare cover with quality, affordable outpatient and inpatient medical services. The group?s corporate medical schemes are designed to be accessible to businesses with as few as 10 employees and around 70% of the staff covered are in non-managerial roles. With Aureos investment, Avenue Group will expand into other regions in Kenya, building 2 more clinics in smaller towns and expanding existing in-patient facilities in Kisumu and Mombasa. The funding will ensure the group can continue non-profit activities, such as free medical camps across Kenya and public health screening days at Avenue clinics...[continue reading]
WASHINGTON ? It's become a symbol of sorts for the federal government's budget dysfunction: Unless Congress acts before Jan. 1, doctors will again face steep Medicare cuts that threaten to undermine health care for millions of seniors and disabled people.
This time it's a 27.4 percent cut. Last year, it was about 20 percent. The cuts are the consequence of a 1990s budget law that failed to control spending but was never repealed. Congress passes a temporary fix each time, only to grow the size of reductions required next time around. Last week's supercommittee breakdown leaves the so-called "doc fix" unresolved with time running out.
A thousand miles away in Harlan, Iowa, Dr. Don Klitgaard is trying to contain his frustration.
"I don't see how primary care doctors could take anywhere near like a 27-percent pay cut and continue to function," said Klitgaard, a family physician at a local medical center. "I assume there's going to be a temporary fix, because the health care system is going to implode without it."
Medicare patients account for about 45 percent of the visits to his clinic. Klitgaard said the irony is that he and his colleagues have been making improvements, keeping closer tabs on those with chronic illnesses in the hopes of avoiding needless hospitalizations. While that can save money for Medicare, it requires considerable upfront investment from the medical practice.
"The threat of a huge cut makes it very difficult to continue down this road," said Klitgaard, adding "it's almost comical" lawmakers would let the situation get so far out of hand.
There's nothing to laugh about, says a senior Washington lobbyist closely involved with the secretive supercommittee deliberations. The health care industry lobbyist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to make public statements, said lawmakers of both parties wanted to deal with the cuts to doctors, but a fundamental partisan divide over tax increases blocked progress of any kind.
The main options now before Congress include a one-year or two-year fix.
The problem is the cost. Congress used to add it to the federal deficit, but lawmakers can't get away with that in these fiscally austere times. Instead, they must find about $22 billion in offsets for the one-year option, $35 billion for the two-year version. A permanent fix would cost about $300 billion over 10 years, making it much less likely.
"It's going to be a real challenge, and there's not a lot of time to play ping-pong," said the lobbyist. "It's entirely possible given past performance that Congress misses the deadline."
Congressional leaders of both parties have said that won't happen. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., says the Medicare fix is too important not to get done. But how? The endgame for a complex negotiation also involving expiring tax cuts, unemployment benefits and dozens of lesser issues remains unclear.
"They have to come up with a solution, and they will have to appear to pay for that solution, and that will be contentious," said economist Robert Reischauer, one of the public trustees who oversees Medicare and Social Security financing. One option: cut other parts of Medicare. Another: trim back spending under the health care overhaul law. Either of those approaches would mobilize opposition.
A nonpartisan panel advising lawmakers is recommending that doctors share the pain of a permanent fix with a 10-year freeze for primary care physicians and cuts followed by a freeze for specialists. Doctors aren't buying that.
The Obama administration says seniors and their doctors have nothing to fear.
But doctors are becoming increasingly irritated about dealing with Medicare. Surveys have shown that many physicians would consider not taking new Medicare patients if the cuts go through. Some primary care doctors are going into "concierge medicine," limiting their practice to patients able to pay a fee of about $1,500 a year, a trend that worries advocates for the elderly.
Ultimately, the solution is an overhaul of Medicare's payment system so that doctors are rewarded for providing quality, cost-effective care, said Mark McClellan, an economist and medical doctor who served as Medicare administrator for President George W. Bush. That continues to elude policymakers.
Instead, the threat of payment cuts has become a holiday tradition, said McClellan. "It's just not a very enjoyable one."
ATHENS (Reuters) ? Greece may miss its target for privatization revenues next year because of the worsening economic climate in Europe, the head of the agency responsible for selling state assets said in an interview to be published on Sunday.
Greece's repeated failure to meet budget targets including for privatization revenues has angered international lenders, raising questions about whether they will continue indefinitely to keep the country afloat with bailout loans.
Costas Mitropoulos, head of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, told the Kathimerini newspaper the privatization revenue target of 9.3 billion euros ($12.3 billion) for 2012 was "achievable," based on the draft budget assumptions.
"But reality will show whether these assumptions were right. In order to be able to sell, there should be buyers," he said, noting that even Germany failed this week to sell all its bonds at an auction.
"If this (difficult economic) situation continues, then it is certain that it will be difficult for us to find buyers for our assets."
Greece initially agreed with its international lenders to raise five billion euros from state asset sales this year. But government delays in setting up the privatization fund and imploding market values on the Athens bourse forced the government to cut the target to 4 billion euros.
Now Greece is seen raising only about 1.8 billion euros this year.
Under the terms of last year's 110 billion euro bailout, Greece is meant to sell state assets worth 50 billion euros by 2015 to convince its lenders it is serious about reforming its uncompetitive economy and also to shoulder part of the cost.
Greece's new national unity government is now pushing a tough 2012 austerity budget through parliament, a key condition for unlocking funds from a second bailout agreed last month worth an additional 130 billion euros.
A poll published in Sunday's edition of Eleftheros Typos daily showed more than 70 percent of Greeks expect their country's economy to remain in its current doldrums or to deteriorate further under the new government.
Greece is in its fourth year of recession. The draft budget envisages the economy contracting by 2.8 percent in 2012 after shrinking more than five percent this year.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, writing by Gareth Jones, editing by Rosalind Russell)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? At age 87, Doris Day is not exactly pop music's latest hot young artist. But this week the star of film, TV and music returns to the U.S. record world she conquered more than 60 years ago with a new album, "My Heart."
The CD, which hits record stores and websites December 2, is filled with old standards like "My Buddy," previously unreleased tunes such as "Stewball," about a race horse Day loved, and pop hits of the 1960s and '70s such as "Daydream" and "You Are So Beautiful."
"I like the music when I was working and singing," she told Reuters. "I think the writers were so incredibly brilliant, and when you sang a song of theirs that you loved, it really meant something. And love songs, I love love songs."
Day, whose first hit was 1945's "Sentimental Journey," went from big band singer to movie star of the 1950s and '60s. She became the quintessential All-American girl and a major box office draw with films such as "Calamity Jane" and "Pillow Talk," opposite Rock Hudson. In the late 1960s, she moved to TV where she starred in "The Doris Day Show."
But after that show ended in 1973, Day stepped out of the Hollywood limelight, moved to California's Central Coast and devoted herself to helping animals through various charitable groups, including the Doris Day Animal Foundation.
For the most part, she has stayed away from entertainment circles for more than 20 years since accepting a lifetime achievement honor from Golden Globe organizers in 1989.
Day recorded and released the songs for "My Heart" because she wanted to help animals -- sales proceeds go to her animal foundation -- and she dedicated the song "My Buddy" to her son, the late record producer and songwriter Terry Melcher, who died in 2004 after battling melanoma.
"He really was my buddy," Day said of her son. "I wanted that song to be there because it was for him and, well, all I can say is that I miss him very much."
PICKING SONGS SHE LIKES
Day's voice is sharp on songs such as "My One and Only Love" and "The Way I Dreamed It," and she says she picked the songs for the album simply because she liked them.
"It's difficult to explain," she said. "You pick the songs that you like and like a lot."
She agreed that she's lived a magical life -- from Ohio schoolgirl to Hollywood star -- but then remembered that not all was sunshine and sweetness.
While her years in music, movies and TV will be known for performing, Day's setbacks notably included being left deeply in debt after one husband and his business partner squandered her earnings. Still, she recovered.
"I had a lot of bumps, but each one led me to something better," she said.
Of all her endeavors, Day said she loved singing the most -- singing and the movies equally, on second thought. Of her favorite memories, she said, are those when she first became a singer in a big band with a swinging sound.
"My Heart" already has been released in Great Britain, and it landed in the top 10 on U.K. record charts, making Day among the oldest singers ever to earn that achievement.
Day said she thinks the key to her longevity is "laughing a lot ... My entire family has gone to heaven, so I'm all alone. But if I sat in my house and cried all the time, what kind of life would that be?"
She ends the album with the song "Ohio" -- a musical reference to the state where she was born, with its classic lyrics "Why, O why, O why-o//why did I ever leave Ohio?"
Day said she's not really sure exactly why she left home so many years ago, except that she simply loved to sing.
"I was going to marry a very nice man," she said. "I was going to have a nice little house and cook for him."
SHANGHAI (Reuters) ? China's largest search engine Baidu Inc said on Monday it will invest 3 billion yuan ($470.6 million) by the end of 2015 to help 2 million small- and medium-sized enterprises expand their businesses.
As part of the investment, Baidu will groom 100,000 search marketing professionals, help small- and medium-sized enterprises develop their service platforms, provide free marketing about less developed regions and help government departments in their research on business, Baidu said, confirming a Xinhua report issued late on Sunday.
China, with more than 485 million users, is the world's largest Internet market. Yet, with Internet penetration hovering around 36 percent and user sophistication outside the big cities still low, the potential for growth is huge.
In the third quarter, China's online search market grew 77.8 percent to 5.51 billion yuan. Baidu had a 77.7 percent share of the market, while Google had 18.3 percent, according to data from Beijing-based consultancy iResearch.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
Four people have been arrested in the Philippines for allegedly hacking into AT&T customers' phones as part of a plan to funnel money to a Saudi-based terror group, according to police.
The Philippine Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said it worked with the FBI to arrest the suspects last week. The hackers, according to investigators, worked for a group that helped finance a deadly 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.
AT&T's systems weren't compromised but some of its customers were targeted, spokeswoman Jan Rasmussen said Saturday. AT&T cooperated in the investigation with the FBI, she said.
The FBI would not comment Saturday.
AT&T wrote off some fraudulent charges on customers' bills, but Rasmussen wouldn't say how much. Philippine police put the alleged hacking cost to AT&T at $2 million.
Last Tuesday, AT&T said that hackers unsuccessfully attempted to link mobile numbers with online customer accounts, but it wouldn't say on Saturday if that incident was linked to the arrests of the four people in the Philippines.
The hackers were working on commission for a terrorist group linked to Muhammad Zamir, according to the Philippine police. Zamir, a Pakistani, was arrested in Italy in 2007, where he was running a call center that collected money from callers but then routed the calls through hacked phone lines. He also allegedly sold international access codes for long distance calls that were gathered by Filipino hackers.
Since then, police said, Zamir's group has been taken over by a Saudi national. Philippine police didn't name the group, but India has blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant organization, for the Mumbai attacks. Three years ago Saturday, 10 Pakistan-based gunmen laid siege to India's financial hub, killing 166 people.
Fahrenheit 451: The temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns.
They're back.
But then, they've never gone away. The Book Killers have always been with us. Before recorded history they were with us, murdering the scholars and storytellers and mystics of every tribe they ever conquered.
They were there when Great Library burned in Alexandria 2,000 years ago. They destroyed the library known as the House of Wisdom, when the Mongol Empire invaded Baghdad in 1258. They say the invaders took the books from every ruined library in Baghdad and piled them into the Tigris River, to serve as a bridge for their soldiers and chariots.
They say the river ran black with ink for years.
In 2003 the United States invaded Iraq with an indifference, incompetence, and arrogance that led to anarchy in the streets. There was widespread rioting, vandalism, and looting of priceless ancient antiquities and manuscripts. The National Library burned, and the flames lit the skies for miles around.
Seven centuries later, the great library of Baghdad died again.
Always before it had been like snuffing a candle. The police went first and adhesive-taped the victim's mouth and bandaged him off into their glittering beetle cars, so when you arrived you found an empty house. You weren't hurting anyone, you were hurting only things! Fahrenheit 451
Now the book assassins have come to Wall Street. They removed the people and property from Zuccotti Park, destroying or damaging thousands of books in the process. Occupiers and Supporters brought the surviving books to a press conference this week. They were "torn, wrinkled, coverless and even mangled," as Gianna Palmer reported for McClatchy. "Among the books visible on the table were a leather-bound copy of the Bible, a collection of Chinese mythology and a volume of selected poems by Allen Ginsberg."
Bloomberg hasn't apologized. In his press conference announcing the raid he wore the same arrogant look of self-satisfaction that humanity has seen for thousands of years. It was the face of every Mongol chieftain, every Roman centurion, every officious book-destroying official that has ever lived.
Bloomberg and his compatriots would undoubtedly be horrified at any comparison to these vandals and barbarians. If Bloomberg ever does deign to apologize, which would only happen if there's enough political pressure, he'll undoubtedly say it was an accident.
And since things really couldn't be hurt, since things felt nothing, and things don't scream or whimper, as this woman might begin to scream and cry out, there was nothing to tease your conscience later.
But it was no accident. As Captain Ray Lewis explained to Piers Morgan, police procedure demands that receipts be provide for any personal property that is confiscated. The property must then be stored carefully.
Bloomberg and his minions ignored police procedure. His police, aided by a private militia, disregarded property rights that are safeguarded for any suspected criminal. But then, they knew they weren't dealing with criminals. They were dealing with something much more threatening to their system: Independence.
You were simply cleaning up. Janitorial work, essentially ... Who's got a match!
Rights are inalienable, which means they can't be sold or transferred. Somebody should tell Bloomberg and any other politicians. It means you can't designate a public area as "privately owned" and then retroactively suspend civil liberties there. Somebody ought to give Mayor Bloomberg a copy of the Constitution.
I'm sure the Occupiers would be happy to lend him theirs. Unfortunately it's been destroyed.
Rights are also indivisible. If you discard one or two of our legal safeguards, you've discarded them all. Nobody gets to decide how many of our freedoms we're allowed, when or where they may be granted or denied. That's not freedom at all.
Books in the Occupy Library were literally treated like garbage. Their owners were finally allowed to reclaim their shredded remains - at the Sanitation Department.
But that shouldn't be a surprise. Bloomberg and his forces were already treating the Constitution like it was trash and police manuals like they were toilet paper. Why behave any differently toward a library? After all, Bloomberg and his peers must have been furious at what they would have considered the arrogance, the impertinence, of Zuccotti Park's residents. A library? A library is for a community!
And we decide who is a community and who isn't, say the Book Killers.
A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man's mind.
Even worse, books contain ideas. And information. You only have to read one or two of them to realize how transparently Mayor Bloomberg is lying - about human rights, or about the cause of the financial crisis of 2008. One of the Occupy movement's great victories has been the unmasking of Michael Bloomberg, who until now had been the false face of a "centrist" mythology designed to hide the corruption behind today's politico-economic dynasty.
Billionaires sometimes endow libraries, but they don't want people creating their own. Knowledge is power, and power must be centralized. The centralization's well underway. As the book publishing industry dies, that power is concentrated in the hands of fewer, and larger, corporations.
Ray Bradbury's Firemen will soon be obsolete and so will Bloomberg's troops. Soon a faceless bureaucrats or corporate lackey will be able to destroy every single copy of any "unauthorized" book - instantly, simultaneously, and permanently - with a single electronic command.
"It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed."
Have you seen the video clips of the Mayor announcing his crackdown? It's the look of a man who was, as Southern aristocrats used to say, "taking his pleasure with his social inferiors." But some pleasures extract a high price on the soul.
Killing books is the instinctive act of tyrants and their servants. Subconsciously or consciously, they're driven by a desire to crush the minds of others, the awareness of others, the memory of others. Ultimately, they're driven by a desire to destroy their own awareness and memory. Deep inside themselves they know what they're doing is wrong.
The Book Killers. Every time they burn a book, they destroy a piece of themselves. They can destroy the physical objects, but they can't destroy the spirit that created them, reads them, and shares them.
The Book Killers. In every age, they return. They come back to destroy the books, and usually they succeed. But they never kill the minds, or the memories, or the insights behind them. They never kill knowledge, or passion, or justice, or wisdom. They're always trying, but they always fail.
And in the end, that's why they always lose.
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Follow Richard (RJ) Eskow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjeskow
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Public release date: 29-Nov-2011
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Apple currently offers three versions of the iPad and iPad 2, one Wi-Fi-only version, one for Verizon?s CDMA network and one for GSM networks, like AT&T. Given the dual-mode capabilities in the iPhone 4S, which allows one device to connect to both types of networks, it?s possible that Apple will instead release an one iPad 3 with a 3G connection, and one with 4G capabilities.
11-27-2011, 12:51 AM
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