Looking for a "one stop shop" blog? A place where you can get relevant news, movie and TV show recommendations or even a short story? Well look no further, this blog has what you need. So make yourself comfortable and browse around; there is something for everyone ....because THAT guy said it!
Being overweight in later life puts
you at higher risk of brain decline, research suggests.
A high BMI was linked to lower cognitive scores
A study of 250 people aged between 60 and 70 found those with a high body
mass index (BMI) and big waists scored more poorly in cognitive tests.
The Alzheimer's Society said the research, in the journal Age and Ageing,
added to evidence that excess body fat can affect brain function.
Lifestyle changes can help make a difference, it said.
The Korean study looked at the relationship between fat levels and cognitive
performance in adults aged 60 or over.
The participants underwent BMI - a calculation based on a ratio of weight to
height - and waist circumference measurements, a scan of fat stored in the
abdomen and a mental test.
Both a high BMI and high levels of abdominal fat were linked with poor
cognitive performance in adults aged between 60 and 70.
In individuals aged 70 and older, high BMI, waist circumference and abdominal
body fat were not associated with low cognitive performance.
The lead author of the study, Dae Hyun Yoon, said: "Our findings have
important public health implications. The prevention of obesity, particularly
central obesity, might be important for the prevention of cognitive decline or
dementia."
A spokesperson from the UK Alzheimer's Society said: "We have all heard how a
high BMI is bad for our heart but this research suggests it could also be bad
for the head.
"Although we don't know whether the people in this study went on to develop
dementia, these findings add to the evidence that excess body fat could impact
on brain function.
"One in three people over 65 will die with dementia but there are things
people can do to reduce their risk.
The obvious
"Eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly
and getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked can all make a
difference."
It says that during this month, at least 33 people were killed - including 22
by gunshot - and at least 83 others were injured, including 61 who were
shot.
At least 16 people remain unaccounted for, it said.
Dumped in river
It said it had documented the arrest of at least 265 civilians, most of whom
had been detained illegally or arbitrarily.
Many of these, the report alleges, were detained due to their affiliation
with the UDPS opposition party or because they came from the home province of
its leader, Etienne Tshisekedi.
It blames the bulk of these acts of violence on the Congolese Republican
Guard and officers of the National Congolese Police and its specialised
units.
Witnesses are quoted as saying some of the bodies were dumped in the Congo
river, while others were buried in mass graves.
The report calls on the Congolese authorities to conduct independent
investigations into all the cases of human rights violations committed in the
capital to bring those guilty to justice.
It also recommends that illegal detention facilities in the capital should be
immediately shut down.
The November elections were the first Congolese-organised polls since the end
of a devastating war in 2003, which left some four million people dead.
President Kabila has admitted that there were mistakes in the electoral
process, but said no poll was 100% perfect and rejected concerns that the
results, criticised by Western observers, lacked credibility.
So next time you complain about how bad our election process is, understand that it could be wose and appreciate the freedoms and privileges we have in this country...because THAT guy said it!
A close-up image of a sheet of "unphotocopied" paper reveals most of the toner has been removed
A process to "unphotocopy" toner ink
from paper has been developed by engineers at the University of Cambridge.
The process involves using short laser pulses to erase words and images by
heating the printed material to the point that they vaporise. The researchers say it works with commonly used papers and toner inks and is
more eco-friendly than recycling. However, they add that more research is needed to bring a product to
market.
"When you fire the laser, it hits the thin toner layer and heats it up until
the point that you vaporise it," the team's lead author, David Leal-Ayala
"Toner is mostly composed of carbon and a plastic polymer. It's the polymer
in the toner that is vaporised."
But they say that others who have tried to solve the problem have found that
they damaged and/or discoloured the paper in the process, or required specially
formulated toner. Toshiba already markets a laser printer which can erase ink, but notes that
the machine is dependent on its own "e-blue" ink to function.
Green pulses
Mr Leal-Ayala and his colleagues tested a range of ultraviolet, infra-red and
visible lasers at different speeds. They eventually found that the best setting was green laser pulses, lasting
just four billionths of a second in duration, which removed all but a hint of
the print.
Tests reveal only a faint outline of erased text were left behind
They say that curling, bending and accelerated-ageing tests carried out on
the resulting "unprinted" paper suggested it had not sustained significant
damage and was "comparable to blank unlasered paper". A gas extraction system was used to capture nanoparticles and "mostly
harmless" gases produced by the process.
Replacing
recycling
Having demonstrated the technique in a lab setting, the engineers now plan to
develop a prototype device suitable for an office.
They concede that most businesses would still find recycled paper a more
cost-effective solution, but add that the price should fall if it went into
production thanks to economies of scale.
"When you recycle paper you use a lot of resources," Mr Leal-Ayala said.
"You use electricity, water and chemicals, and to be honest when you print
something the only reason that you don't re-use the paper is because there is
print on it.
"The paper is still in good condition and there is no point in going through
all the heavy industrial process if the paper is still perfectly fine."
A man has opened fire outside a court in the US state of
Texas, leaving at least one person dead and three injured, say police.
The alleged shooter tried to escape in a vehicle after the attack in the city
of Beaumont, about 80 miles east of Houston.
One victim was hit by the suspect's lorry as he tried to get away.
The suspect had come to court with family members, but police did not say why
he was there.
In a news conference, deputy police chief Zena Stephens confirmed the suspect
was injured by police returning fire outside the courthouse. One person ran into the courthouse for safety after being shot, she said. After abandoning the lorry in a nearby street, the suspect ran into a nearby
building and took hostages.
Local and county police surrounded the building and contacted the suspect by
telephone. He then handed the gun to people inside and gave himself up to
police. The alleged shooter was then brought to a nearby hospital.
Police say they will not release the identity of the person shot dead until
the family is notified.
market work on
its own, we would have no objections''
The US, Japan and the European Union
have filed a case against China at the World Trade Organization, challenging its
restrictions on rare earth exports. After discussing the Afghanistan situation, US President Barack Obama announced the filing at the White House, accusing
China of breaking agreed WTO rules.
Beijing has set quotas for exports of rare earths, which are critical to the
manufacture of high-tech products from hybrid cars, to flat-screen TVs. It is the first WTO case to be filed jointly by the US, EU and Japan. They argue that by limiting exports, China, which produces more than 95% of
the world's rare earth metals, has pushed up prices.
Environmental concerns?
"We've got to take control of our energy future and we cannot let that energy
industry take root in some other country because they were allowed to break the
rules," Mr Obama said in a Rose Garden press conference.
What are rare earths?
Despite their name, rare earths are not particularly rare
The term refers to 17 elements, most of which are fairly abundant in
nature
Rare earths are a collection of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table:
scandium, yttrium, and some 15 lanthanides
Some are as common as copper or zinc, while even the rarest occur in greater
quantities than gold or platinum
They are essential in the manufacture of many electronic goods
"If China would simply let the market work on its own we
would have no objections."
In the press conference, Mr Obama also said his new trade enforcement unit -
which he established last month, with China the primary target - was ramping up
its operations. China has denied the allegations in the WTO case, saying that it had enforced
the quotas to ensure there was no environmental damage caused due to excessive
mining.
"We think the policy is in line with WTO rules," said Chinese foreign
ministry spokesman Liu Weimin. "Exports have been stable. China will continue to export, and will manage
rare earths based on WTO rules," he said. The 17 metals are used in electrical products, as well as many renewable
energy devices. There have been concerns that Beijing has implemented the quotas in a bid to
ensure that prices remain low within China, which would give its manufacturers
an advantage.
But Ivor Shrago, chairman of the mining services firm Rare Earths Global,
said the US was in trouble because it took the wrong decisions in the past.
China controls almost the entire world supply of rare
earths
"They took a deliberate decision about 20 years ago not to develop [rare
earth mining] and instead to buy the completed products," he told BBC News. "Because of the deliberate decision that was taken, in China we have
developed skills and expertise that the others do not have."
Welcoming Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping to the White House last month, Mr
Obama warned that China must play by the same rules as other major powers in the
world economy.
The US economy created 227,000 jobs
in February, while the unemployment rate stayed at 8.3%, the lowest level in
nearly three years.
President Barack Obama says he is confident
there are "better days ahead" for the US economy
The Labor Department report also showed that job-creation figures in December
and January were even stronger than first estimated. President Barack Obama said the figures showed the economy "getting
stronger". Employment has been rising for the past six months, but the jobless rate has
been stuck above 8% since early 2009.
That, largely, can be explained by the changing size of the workforce. Americans who had given up looking for work have started streaming back into
the labour market.
Those who re-enter the market but do not secure jobs are in effect counted
afresh as unemployed.
That's why the unemployment rate in February remained unchanged at 8.3%.
ANALYSIS
by Adam BrookesBBC News, Washington
The American economy, it seems, is lumbering out of recession's shadow. These
numbers are very good for President Obama's reelection chances. But we have been
here before. In the last couple of years, surges of economic activity have
simply withered away.
Economists warn the same could still happen this time. The
cost of fuel is worryingly high, and may prove a drag on growth. The Republicans who seek the presidency this year pour scorn on Mr Obama's
handling of the economy. And that message resonates among millions of desperate
Americans. But if the economy continues to improve, the Republican position will
begin to look a little thin come November.
And Mr Obama's approval ratings are ticking upwards. They hover around 50%
now, showing that, as America's economy slowly improves, the president undergoes
a political recovery of his own - but the two remain equally tentative.
The number of new jobs being created has been
consistently above 200,000 in each of the past three months, fuelling hopes that
the US recovery is gathering pace.
"Our job now is to keep this economic engine churning. We can't go back to
the same policies that got us into this mess," Mr Obama said at a Rolls Royce
plant in Virginia, insisting that better times lay ahead.
"We can't go back to an economy that was weakened by outsourcing and bad debt
and phoney financial profits."
Earlier, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, said
the US may exceed a previous forecast of 1.8% growth in 2012.
On Friday, new figures showed the US trade deficit higher than expected in
January.
High oil prices and renewed demand helped to push imports to a record high of
$233.4bn, according to the Department of Commerce, with imports from China
rising 4.7% to $34.4bn.
The trade gap was $52.6bn in January, the highest since October 2008, and its
estimate of December's trade deficit was revised up to to $50.4bn from a
previous figure of $48.8bn.
Expansion
Employment in February rose in professional and businesses services by
82,000, with half of that in temporary help services.
Jobs growth also occurred in health care and social assistance, leisure and
hospitality, manufacturing, and mining.
Manufacturing added 31,000 jobs, with most car makers been taking on new
workers and adding shifts and overtime to meet pent-up demand after production
was disrupted early last year following the tsunami and earthquake in Japan.
Job-creation has been a major issue on the US eletion campaign trail
Another positive note was provided by a revision to data showing that the
economy had created 61,000 more jobs in December and January combined than was
previously estimated.
Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics, said the figures
added to evidence that the US jobs market had turned a corner: "Overall, another
very strong payroll report and there's every chance that March will bring more
of the same."
The number of people without a job remained all but unchanged last month, at
12.8 million, and the number of those working part time because their hours have
been cut back or because they have been unable to find a full-time job was also
stuck at 8.1 million.
Unemployment is one of the most hotly contested topics among the candidates
battling to win November's presidential election.
An improvement in the figures is seen as favourable to the incumbent,
President Barack Obama.
Did Elizabeth I have more time on her hands, or have standards slipped?
A letter leaked to the press from Vince Cable criticising
the government was signed off by the business secretary with a distinctive
moniker akin to a smiley face. So how significant is a signature?
The odd-looking sign-off became a talking point this week, with some people
joking about what the signature might say about Vince Cable.
Is he trying to be cool? Is he too busy?
Maybe he just likes to draw a caricature of a smiling whale at the end of his
letters as a reminder to himself and all of us that we are not alone on this
planet and all our decisions have impacts on the eco-system.
Whatever it is, his squiggle is sufficiently odd to have people resurrecting
that old chestnut: trying to predict personality from handwriting.
I became aware of the "science" of graphology around the time I had to
produce my first signature. This was when I opened my first account of any
description with a financial institution.
Signing an application form for a Sammy Squirrel Savings Account in the Irish
Post Office is not exactly the same as inking a merger between Glencore and
Xstrata but nevertheless it was a milestone of sorts.
I didn't make what one would call a cool signature. I just wrote my name a
little bit faster. And that is still the case today. Someone analysing my
signature now would conclude that I've no strong feelings about anything and
that I may not even be a real person.
It's too late to change now and the lack of an impressive signature has
affected my life. One of the reasons why I consciously shun the fame that would
have otherwise occurred as a natural result of my talent, is that it would take
too long for me to sign "all those books".
Really, are all those loops necessary?
As for the rest of my letters, they soon came into focus. My older brother
got a book from the library about graphology and a whole new world of
navel-gazing opened up. Apparently my backward slanting writing was an
indication that I was too focused on the past.
That was uncanny. I did sometimes think about the day before. I started
rotating my pages anti-clockwise and immediately felt the past fall like a
weight off my 13-year-old shoulders.
Large loops on the below-the-line letters were, according to my brother, a
sure sign of a "total pervert". I clamped down on that dark side of me straight
away.
For a few weeks when nothing else was happening, I gradually addressed each
aspect of my handwriting until, according to the graphology book, I was a cross
between Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe and Carl Lewis.
You don't see so much about graphology now - a succession of studies in
recent decades have emptied a vat of scorn over its ability to describe and
predict personality, but perhaps the biggest threat to graphology is not
scepticism. It is the March of Time.
With the advent of computers, fewer and fewer people are doing any
handwriting beyond their middle-school years, so their penmanship isn't evolving
beyond the teenage stage of development either.
"Times New Roman? This person is a no-nonsense
individual”
This would lead graphology experts analysing future
populations to conclude that most of the subjects studied are moody, hard to get
up in the mornings and think their parents are an embarrassment (I know what you
mean, especially when they're trying to be cool).
Against this background, future pseudoscientific analysis will have to look
at our computer-based evidence in order to jump to dodgy conclusions. Take fonts
for example. If you want to spot the deranged and the psychopathic now, start
with anyone who types exclusively in Wingdings.
Those who employ Comic
Sans are the kind of people who want to make dull activities sound fun. A
Comic Sans user may also display passive aggressive tendencies particularly when
highlighting falling standards in the canteen. "These cups don't wash
themselves" looks cheery in A4 on the wall, but inside the author is a seething
cauldron of rage.
Times New Roman? This person is a no-nonsense individual. They believe if a
job's worth doing, it's worth doing well and no amount of dressing it up or
"design" is going to change that fact. Or it could be someone who has not worked
out how to change the font in Microsoft Word.
Apart from font there are other tell-tale signs of personality traits. If
someone uses lots of emoticons they're not confident in their ability to convey
their meaning to others. DO THEY WRITE IN BLOCK CAPITALS followed by a parade of
exclamation marks that looks like a picket fence? Then they are someone who
comments on an article on a website. You can leave yours below.
As for graphology, the writing's on the wall.
By Colm O'Regan Comedian and writer BBC News Magazine
A strong solar storm is expected to
hit Earth shortly, and experts warn it could disrupt power grids, satellite
navigations systems and plane routes.
NASA image showing extreme unltraviolet
wavelengths on Sun's surface
The storm - the largest in five years - will unleash a torrent of charged
particles between 06:00 GMT and 10:00 GMT, US weather specialists say. They say it was triggered by a pair of massive solar flares earlier this
week.
It means there is a good chance of seeing the northern lights at higher
latitudes, if the skies are clear.
The effects will be most intense in polar regions, and aircraft may be
advised to change their routings to avoid these areas.
Complex network
"It's hitting us right in the nose," said Joseph Kunches, an expert at the US
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
He described the storm as the Sun's version of Super Tuesday - in a reference
to the US Republican primaries and caucuses in 10 states.
"Space weather has gotten very interesting over the past 24 hours," Mr
Kunches added.
The charged particles are expected to hit Earth at 4,000,000 mph (6,400,000
km/h), and Noaa predicts the storm will last until Friday morning.
Images of from the Sun's region where the flares happened show a complex
network of sunspots indicating a large amount of stored magnetic energy.
Other solar magnetic storms have been observed in recent decades.
One huge solar flare in 1972 cut off long-distance telephone communication in
the US state of Illinois.
The Brazilian economy is still booming, despite the global economic slowdown
Brazil has become the sixth-biggest
economy in the world, the country's finance minister has said.
The Latin American nation's economy grew 2.7% last year, official figures
show, more than the UK's 0.8% growth.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) and other
economic forecasters also said that Brazil had now overtaken the UK.
The Brazilian economy is now worth $2.5tn (£1.6tn), according to Finance
Minister Guido Mantega.
But Mr Mantega was keen to play down the symbolic transition - which comes
after China officially overtook Japan as the world's second-biggest economy last
year.
"It is not important to be the world's sixth-biggest economy, but to be among
the most dynamic economies, and with sustainable growth," he said. Brazil is enjoying an economic boom because of high food and oil prices,
which has led to rapid growth.
However, according to NIESR, using the IMF's figures at current exchange
rates, Brazil's economy is now $2.52tn and the UK's is $2.48tn.
The larger increase in the nominal size of both economies is explained by
domestic inflation.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research has also said that Brazil's
economy has overtaken the UK's. A UK Treasury spokesman said: "Strong economic growth and large populations
in the big emerging economies mean that some will catch up with advanced
economies like the UK. This shows why the government is right to place high
importance on its economic ties with large emerging economies."
Oil production
In the fourth quarter of last year, Brazil's economy grew by 0.3% from the
previous quarter, according to Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia de Estatistica.
Both the annual and quarterly figures were less than analysts had
predicted.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has attributed the slowdown in growth last
year mainly to the weak global economic situation and the need to fight rising
inflation.
Brazil, the largest Latin American economy and one of the so-called Bric
nations together with Russia, India and China, has seen its economy soar in
recent years, with growth far outpacing the US and western Europe, but sending
inflation higher.
The currency, the real, fell 11% against the US dollar last year.
That is after two years of huge gains - up 5% in 2010 and 34% in 2009. The
currency is worth more than double what it was 10 years ago.
With substantial oil and gas reserves continuing to be discovered off
Brazil's coast in recent years, the country is now the world's ninth largest oil
producer, and the government wishes to ultimately enter the top five.
Brazil has about 190 million people, in contrast to the UK's 60 million
people.
And the country has struggled with inequality. The country's Gini
coefficient, a measure of income inequality, peaked at 0.61 in 1990 - but 2010's
figure was a historic low of 0.53.
Absolute and relative poverty have declined in recent years, especially in
the past decade, during which the poorest 50% saw their incomes go up by 68%,
according to the Getulio Vargas Foundation.
The country will host the 2014 World Cup, and Rio de Janeiro will be home to
the 2016 summer Olympics.
Sandra Fluke said President Obama told her that her parents "should be proud"
US President Barack Obama has called
to offer support to a US law student attacked by radio host Rush Limbaugh for
her views on contraception.
Mr Obama told Sandra Fluke he was disappointed she had been the subject of
"unfortunate attacks", White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Limbaugh called Ms Fluke a "slut" and suggested her testimony to US lawmakers
made her "a prostitute".
She was initially blocked from testifying by House Republicans.
But Ms Fluke eventually testified on 23 February in support of Mr Obama's
ruling that religiously affiliated institutions such as universities and
hospitals should provide insurance plans that cover all costs for medicinal
contraceptives.
Limbaugh's comments came during his radio show earlier in the week.
"What does it say about the college co-ed Susan [sic] Fluke who goes before a
congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex,"
he said.
"It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid
to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She
wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex."
A model of civil discourse
Ms Fluke was invited to testify in front of a House committee convened by
Democrats after she was blocked from the first panel. A third year law student at Georgetown University, she previously served as
president of the university's Students for Reproductive Justice group.
"Clearly the president of the university and I disagree
about the issues, but we're both able to handle this in a civil
manner”
Sandra Fluke
Her
testimony included the case of a fellow student who needed birth control to
control ovarian cysts.
Georgetown, a Catholic university with a prestigious law school, does not
cover birth control to prevent pregnancy in its student health plan, and the
student, who is gay, could not convince the insurance company she was ill.
Ms Fluke also asserted that birth control prescriptions could cost as much as
$3,000 (£1893) without insurance.
Georgetown University President John DeGioia defended Ms Fluke in a
statement, calling her "a model of civil discourse" and branding Limbaugh's
remarks "misogynistic, vitriolic, and a misrepresentation of the position of our
student".
In an interview with cable network MSNBC the Georgetown law student pointed
to Mr DeGioia's remarks as a "model we should look to in our national
discourse".
"Clearly the president of the university and I disagree about the issues, but
we're both able to handle this in a civil manner," she said.
After criticism of his remarks, Limbaugh did not back down.
"If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have
sex, we want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all
watch," he said on Thursday.
Rule change
Catholic leaders have been angered by the new rule, which required
church-linked institutions to offer health insurance including birth control
while exempting houses of worship directly.
Rush Limbaugh is no stranger to
controversy, once accusing Michael J Fox of exaggerating his illness
But the White House changed the scheme to allow health insurers to provide
cover if employers objected.
"No woman's health should depend on who she is or where she works," President
Obama said, announcing the policy change at the White House in February.
The adjustment to the policy would mean Americans would not have to choose
between "religious liberty and basic fairness", he said.
Female bonobos "advertise" their
homosexual activity to important audiences, say scientists.
Researchers studying communication among the apes found that females made the
most noise during sex if the "alpha female" was nearby.
Low-ranking females that were invited to have sex with high-ranking females
would also call to tell other group members about the bond.
Experts suggest females communicate the encounters to boost their status.
"It's all about climbing up the social ladder for female
bonobos”
Zanna ClayEmory
University
The species Pan paniscus are referred to as the
"erotic" or "promiscuous apes" because they regularly engage in sexual contact
with both their own and the opposite sex.
"[Sex] is used to reduce stress and competition, develop affiliations,
express and test social relationships and for reconciling conflicts and
consoling victims in distress," explained Dr Zanna Clay, from Emory University
in Atlanta, who has been studying vocalisations in the species for five
years.
In order to understand more about communication among the apes, Dr Clay led
an international team of researchers to observe a group at the Lola Ya Bonobo
sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa.
"Using vocalisations, females only advertise sexual contacts with important
group members," said Dr Clay, "It's all about climbing up the social ladder for
female bonobos."
By Invitation
The team found that calls were most likely to be made by lower-ranking
females, particularly if they were "picked" by a higher-ranking female.
The females also appeared to consider their audience - calling more if the
most important group member, the alpha female, was present.
"Bonobos appear to be highly aware of the dynamics governing their social worlds," said Dr Clay.
She suggests that the females have adopted the calls, usually associated with
reproduction, as a strategic tool.
"As a low-ranked female, advertising [a] social-sexual bonding with another
dominant group member may serve to strengthen their social position, and signal
this to the alpha."
Unlike their close relatives, the chimpanzees, bonobo societies are not
male-dominated. Dr Clay suggests that this may be due to the strong
relationships between females.
"In bonobos, sexual interactions represent a powerful means to enable females
to develop and maintain social relationships, and it is these bonds which lie at
the heart of their raised status in bonobo society."
The lead author of the study, Dae Hyun Yoon, said: "Our findings have
important public health implications. The prevention of obesity, particularly
central obesity, might be important for the prevention of cognitive decline or
dementia."
