In the Northeast, forests with entirely native flora are not the norm

Apr. 30, 2013 ? Two-thirds of all forest inventory plots in the Northeast and Midwestern United States contain at least one non-native plant species, a new U.S. Forest Service study found. The study across two dozen states from North Dakota to Maine can help land managers pinpoint areas on the landscape where invasive plants might take root.

" We found two-thirds of more than 1,300 plots from our annual forest inventory had at least one introduced species, but this also means that one-third of the plots had no introduced species," said Beth Schulz, a research ecologist at the Pacific Northwest Research Station who led the study, which is published in the current issue of the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. "By describing forest stands with few or no introduced species, we help managers focus on areas where early detection and rapid response can be most effective to slow the spread of introduced and potentially invasive plant species."

Nonnative, or introduced, plants are those species growing in areas where they are not normally found. Whether they were intentionally released or escaped cultivation, nonnative plants ultimately can become invasive, displacing native species, degrading habitat, and altering critical ecosystem functions.

Schulz and her colleague Andrew Gray, a research forester at the station, analyzed data gathered by the Northern Research Station's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program, which collects and reports statistics on the condition of forests in a 24-state region as part of its regular surveys. The data set, collected from 2001 to 2008, includes a sample of all trees, shrubs, vines, herbs, grasses, fern and fern-like plants conducted on a subset of the region's FIA plots.

Among the study's findings:

• There are 305 introduced plant species growing in the region's forests, including some not currently found on regional monitoring lists;
• Multiflora rose (which was recorded on over one-quarter of all plots studied), Japanese honeysuckle, and garlic mustard are among the most prevalent nonnative species;
• The presence of nonnative species increases as the level of forest fragmentation increases;
• Forests surveyed within the Eastern Broadleaf ecological province -- which runs from the

Atlantic coastal plains of Maine and New Hampshire to the southwest into Ohio and into the high hills and semi-mountainous areas of West Virginia -- contain the greatest assortment of introduced plant species.

The study's results can help focus research on individual species more widely distributed than previously thought or with yet-unexplored potential to become problematic.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by USDA Forest Service - Pacific Northwest Research Station.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Bethany K. Schulz, Andrew N. Gray. The new flora of northeastern USA: quantifying introduced plant species occupancy in forest ecosystems. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2012; 185 (5): 3931 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-012-2841-4

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/One9MjpI3U4/130430142106.htm

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Holocaust survivors, veterans gather at DC museum

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Elderly survivors of the Holocaust and the veterans who helped liberate them are gathering for what could be their last big reunion at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Some 1,000 survivors and World War II vets are coming together with President Bill Clinton and Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust activist and writer, on Monday when the museum marks its 20th anniversary. Organizers chose not to wait for the 25th milestone because many survivors and vets may not be alive in another five years.

Clinton and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wiesel, who both dedicated the museum at its opening in 1993, will deliver keynote speeches. On Sunday night, the museum presented its highest honor to World War II veterans who ended the Holocaust. Susan Eisenhower accepted the award on behalf of her grandfather, U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, and all veterans of the era.

The museum also launched a campaign to raise $540 million by 2018 to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and to combat anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and contemporary genocide. It has already secured gifts totaling $258.7 million. The campaign will double the size of the museum's endowment by its 25th anniversary. Also, a $15 million gift from Holocaust survivors David and Fela Shapell will help build a new Collections and Conservation Center.

Museum Director Sara Bloomfield said organizers wanted to show Holocaust survivors, veterans and rescuers the effort will continue to honor the memory of 6 million murdered Jews, in part by saving lives and preventing genocide in the future.

"We felt it was important, while that generation is still with us in fairly substantial numbers, to bring them together," Bloomfield said, "to not only honor them, but in their presence make a commitment to them that not only this institution but the people we reach will carry forward this legacy."

The museum continues collecting objects, photographs and other evidence of the Holocaust from survivors, veterans and archives located as far away as China and Argentina. Curators expect the collection to double in size over the next decade.

This week, the museum is opening a special, long-term exhibit titled "Some Were Neighbors: Collaboration and Complicity During the Holocaust." It includes interviews with perpetrators that have never been shown before, as well as details of mass killings in the former Soviet Union that were only uncovered in more recent years.

Curator Susan Bachrach said the exhibit and its research challenge the idea that the Holocaust was primarily about Hitler and other Nazi leaders. Surveys at the museum show that's what most visitors believe.

"That's very comforting to people, because it puts distance between the visitors and who was involved," Bachrach said.

So, the museum set out to look at ordinary people who looked on and were complicit in the killing and persecution of millions of Jews through greed, a desire for career advancement, peer pressure or other factors. It examines influences "beyond hatred and anti-Semitism," Bachrach said.

Focusing only on fanatical Nazis would be a serious misunderstanding of the Holocaust, Bloomfield said.

"The Holocaust wouldn't have been possible, first of all, without enormous indifference throughout Germany and German-occupied Europe, but also thousands of people who were, say, just doing their jobs," she said, such as a tax official who collected special taxes levied against Jews.

In an opening film, some survivors recall being turned over to Nazi authorities in front of witnesses who did nothing. "The whole town was assembled ... looking at the Jews leaving," one survivor recalls.

Steven Fenves was a boy at the time. He recalled how in 1944, Hungary, allied with Nazi Germany, forced his family out of their apartment. The family was deported to Auschwitz, where Fenves' mother was gassed.

"One of the nastiest memories I have is going on that journey and people were lined up, up the stairs, up to the door of the apartment, waiting to ransack whatever we left behind, cursing at us, yelling at us, spitting at us as we left," he said in an interview with the museum.

The museum located images of bystanders looking on as Jews were detained, humiliated and taken away.

Non-Jews were also punished for violating German policies against the mixing of ethnic groups. For the first time, the museum is showing striking, rare footage of a ritualistic shaming of a Polish girl and a German boy for having a relationship. They are marched through the streets of a town in Poland, where the film was located in an attic. Dozens of people look on as Nazi officers cut the hair of the two teenagers. They are forced to look at their nearly bald heads in a mirror before their hair is burned.

"It's hard not to focus on the cruelty that's being perpetrated on this young couple," Bachrach said. "But what we really want people to look at ... is all the other people who are standing around watching this."

Other items displayed include dozens of bullets excavated from the site of a mass grave in former Soviet territory and registration cards from city offices in Western and Southern Europe labeling people with a "J'' for Jew.

The federally funded museum's theme for its 20th anniversary is "Never Again: What You Do Matters." The museum devotes part of its work and research to stopping current and preventing future genocides. A study released by the museum last month found that the longer the current conflict in Syria continues, the greater the danger that mass sectarian violence results in genocide.

Much more is still being learned about the Holocaust, as well, Bloomfield said. The museum is compiling an encyclopedia of all incarceration sites throughout Europe. When the project began, scholars expected to list 10,000 such sites. Now the number stands at 42,000.

The museum opened in 1993 as a living memorial to the Holocaust to inspire people worldwide to prevent genocide. A presidential commission called for such a museum in 1979. Since opening, it has counted more than 30 million visitors. The museum also provides resources for survivors. It has partnered with Ancestry.com to begin making the museum's 170 million documents searchable online through the World Memory Project.

___

http://www.ushmm.org

___

Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/holocaust-survivors-veterans-gather-dc-135050784.html

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Chief of Zuckerberg's Political Lobby Highlights Immigration Reform At Disrupt NY

The head of Mark Zuckerberg’s enigmatic political lobby took the stage of TechCrunch’s Disrupt New York conference. “It’s?incumbent?on us to make the knowledge economy as inclusive as possible,” said FWD.us head Joe Green. FWD.us joins a crowded landscape of politically aggressive trade associations pressing Silicon Valley’s agenda on Capitol Hill. Since the organization’s launch with a rare op-ed from Zuckerberg, there have been few details about FWD.us’s agenda, though that hasn’t stopped it from gathering an exhaustive list of technology’s most influential executives, including the recent additions of Bill Gates and Sean Parker. FWD.us’s stated mission is to better prepare America for the knowledge economy, taking up the cause of high-skilled immigration as a first step. ” In a knowledge economy, the most important resources are the talented people we educate and attract to our country,” wrote Zuckerberg. To that end, Green took the stage with Vice President of Engineering at Dropbox, Aditya Agarwal, who shared a heartstring-tugging personal story about the madness of America’s current immigration system. “We learned something really, really simple: do not start a company in this country if you do not have a green card,” Agarwal said. The sentiment is unfortunate, since immigrants have founded many of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies, from Google to PayPal. Immigration reform is priority number one for the new congress, and is currently snaking its way through the bureaucratic process. A draft of comprehensive reforms hit the senate earlier this month, which promises to give the technology industry most of what it wants, including more visas for science graduates and a special visa for startup founders. After congress returns from recess, it’ll be taken up again and according to our sources on the Hill, will likely be ratified sometime in the summer, if it passes at all. There are still far more questions than answers about this new (potentially powerful) political interest group. Immigration will be their first test, and we’ll be watching. See their presentation below:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/kTh-0I7SUKs/

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Hitting 'reset' in protein synthesis restores myelination

Monday, April 29, 2013

A potential new treatment strategy for patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is on the horizon, thanks to research by neuroscientists now at the University at Buffalo's Hunter James Kelly Research Institute and their colleagues in Italy and England.

The institute is the research arm of the Hunter's Hope Foundation, established in 1997 by Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback, and his wife, Jill, after their infant son Hunter was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy, an inherited fatal disorder of the nervous system. Hunter died in 2005 at the age of eight. The institute conducts research on myelin and its related diseases with the goal of developing new ways of understanding and treating conditions such as Krabbe disease and other leukodystrophies.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth or CMT disease, which affects the peripheral nerves, is among the most common of hereditary neurological disorders; it is a disease of myelin and it results from misfolded proteins in cells that produce myelin.

The new findings, published online earlier this month in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, may have relevance for other diseases that result from misfolded proteins, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, cancer and mad cow disease.

The paper shows that missteps in translational homeostasis, the process of regulating new protein production so that cells maintain a precise balance between lipids and proteins, may be how some genetic mutations in CMT cause neuropathy.

CMT neuropathies are common, hereditary and progressive; in severe cases, patients end up in wheelchairs. These diseases significantly affect quality of life but not longevity, taking a major toll on patients, families and society, the researchers note.

"It's possible that our finding could lead to the development of an effective treatment not just for CMT neuropathies but also for other diseases related to misfolded proteins," says Lawrence Wrabetz, MD, director of the institute and professor of neurology and biochemistry in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and senior author on the paper. Maurizio D'Antonio, of the Division of Genetics and Cell Biology of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan is first author; Wrabetz did most of this research while he was at San Raffaele, prior to coming to UB.

The research finding centers around the synthesis of misfolded proteins in Schwann cells, which make myelin in nerves. Myelin is the crucial fatty material that wraps the axons of neurons and allows them to signal effectively. Many CMT neuropathies are associated with mutations in a gene known as P0, which glues the wraps of myelin together. Wrabetz has previously shown in experiments with transgenic mice that those mutations cause the myelin to break down, which in turn, causes degeneration of peripheral nerves and wasting of muscles.

When cells recognize that the misfolded proteins are being synthesized, cells respond by severely reducing protein production in an effort to correct the problem, Wrabetz explains. The cells commence protein synthesis again when a protein called Gadd34 gets involved.

"After cells have reacted to, and corrected, misfolding of proteins, the job of Gadd34 is to turn protein synthesis back on," says Wrabetz. "What we have shown is that once Gadd34 is turned back on, it activates synthesis of proteins at a level that's too high?that's what causes more problems in myelination.

"We have provided proof of principle that Gadd34 causes a problem with translational homeostasis and that's what causes some neuropathies," says Wrabetz. "We've shown that if we just reduce Gadd34, we actually get better myelination. So, leaving protein synthesis turned partially off is better than turning it back on, completely."

In both cultures and a transgenic mouse model of CMT neuropathies, the researchers improved myelin by reducing Gadd34 with salubrinal, a small molecule research drug. While salubrinal is not appropriate for human use, Wrabetz and colleagues at UB and elsewhere are working to develop derivatives that are appropriate.

"If we can demonstrate that a new version of this molecule is safe and effective, then it could be part of a new therapeutic strategy for CMT and possibly other misfolded protein diseases as well," says Wrabetz.

And while CMT is the focus of this particular research, the work is helping scientists at the Hunter James Kelly Research Institute enrich their understanding of myelin disorders in general.

"What we learn in one disease, such as CMT, may inform how we think about toxins for others, such as Krabbe's," Wrabetz says. "We'd like to build a foundation and answer basic questions about where and when toxicity in diseases begin."

The misfolded protein diseases are an interesting and challenging group of diseases to study, he continues. "CMT, for example, is caused by mutations in more than 40 different genes," he says. "When there are so many different genes involved and so many different mechanisms, you have to find a unifying mechanism: this problem of Gadd34 turning protein synthesis on at too high a level could be one unifying mechanism. The hope is that this proof of principle applies to more than just CMT and may lead to improved treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Type 1 diabetes and the other diseases caused by misfolded proteins."

###

University at Buffalo: http://www.buffalo.edu

Thanks to University at Buffalo for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127974/Hitting__reset__in_protein_synthesis_restores_myelination

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Under Investigation, Rep. Don Young Pays $60,000 in Legal Fees ...

By Kent Cooper Posted at 3:23 p.m. on April 27

The?Congressman Don Young Legal Expense Trust?reported it paid $60,000 on 3/21 to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP for legal fees during the first quarter of 2013. The filing was made public this week.

In March, the House Ethics Committee formed an investigative subcommittee to probe whether Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) misused campaign accounts and made false statements. See Roll Call?article.

Source: http://blogs.rollcall.com/moneyline/under-investigation-rep-don-young-pays-60000-in-legal-fees/

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Jerry Lewis makes appearance at 'King of Comedy'

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Tribeca Film Festival has ended on a royal note with Jerry Lewis showing up at the 30th anniversary screening of "The King of Comedy."

The 87-year-old comedian-actor walked out to thunderous applause after the screening Saturday, joining co-star Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese.

Lewis answered questions about the making of the film and brought the audience to laughter with a tale about a guy he met on a subway train.

In the movie, Lewis plays a talk-show host kidnapped by a deranged comedian played by De Niro.

De Niro founded the festival with producers Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff as a way to rebuild the neighborhood where the World Trade Center fell in the 9/11 attacks.

___

Follow John Carucci on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jacarucci

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jerry-lewis-makes-appearance-king-comedy-061812928.html

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Nadal beats Almagro to win 8th Barcelona Open

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? All those months of hard work and rehab are starting to pay off for Rafael Nadal. Yet he is still not sure what this means for the French Open.

Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the eighth time Sunday, defeating Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3 for his fourth title of the year.

And with French Open about a month down the road, this latest victory is a promising sign that Nadal is getting back to full strength from a knee injury that sidelined him since last summer

"I am very happy," he said. "It has been an important week for me to win here again and a great source of joy after everything I have been through."

He has made six straight finals since returning from his knee injury. This title, the 54th of his career, comes one week after his eight-year reign at Monte Carlo ended with a loss to top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

"With just these six tournament since I have returned, I have managed to assure my place in the top 10 one more year, which is positive," said Nadal, who is ranked No. 5. "These months of work have been worth it."

Even so, Nadal was hesitant to say how this might carry over to Roland Garros, where he has won a record seven times.

"This win doesn't mean much," he said. "Just that I am in good form since I have come back. The results are fantastic. I would never have imagined them and they are better than I had dreamed. I am back playing at a high level."

After trailing 3-0 in the first set, Nadal found his form and broke his fellow Spaniard in three of his next four service games to take command in a final played in a drizzle.

Nadal won the Barcelona Open from 2005-09 but did not play in 2010 because of a knee injury. He has won every year since. He has won 39 straight matches on the red clay at Real Club de Tenis, his last loss coming 10 years ago to Spain's Davis Cup captain, Alex Corretja.

"I didn't know in 2005 that I would win again or that in 2013 I would still be winning," Nadal said.

Almaro, ranked 12th, has lost all 10 of his matches to Nadal. He enjoyed a good start Sunday and broke Nadal's first service game with a forehand winner before holding serve to love.

Almagro kept Nadal moving with deep backhands. He broke again for a 3-0 lead following a long rally when he swatted a running crosscourt return. But Nadal then showed why he hasn't lost in Barcelona in a decade, reeling off four straight games.

"It was important for me to get the break, down 3-0," Nadal said. "Almagro is having a great season and I wish him the best."

Almagro was serving and up 30-0 when he made a series of errors, including a double-fault that brought the score to three games apiece. Nadal took control by breaking Almagro a third time. Down 0-30, Nadal saved a point by returning a lob with a shot from between his legs before Almagro dropped the game and set.

In the second set, Nadal maintained the pressure and broke to lead 3-1. Nadal served out the match to love, and was soon applauding the fans who had cheered both players.

"He showed again why he is the best player in history on this surface," Almagro said, adding he'll try to win the title next year "if Rafa lets me."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nadal-beats-almagro-win-8th-barcelona-open-160656406.html

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U.S. sues Novartis over kickbacks, second case this week

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday announced its second civil fraud lawsuit against Novartis AG in four days, accusing a unit of the Swiss drugmaker of paying multimillion-dollar kickbacks to doctors in exchange for prescribing its drugs.

Authorities said the Basel-based company for a decade lavished healthy speaking fees and "opulent" meals, including a nearly $10,000 dinner for three at the Japanese restaurant, Nobu, to induce doctors to prescribe its drugs.

They said this led to the Medicare and Medicaid programs paying millions of dollars in reimbursements based on kickback-tainted claims for medication such as hypertension drugs Lotrel and Valturna and the diabetes drug Starlix.

The charges are detailed in a whistleblower lawsuit first filed against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp by a former sales representative in January 2011 and which the U.S. government has now joined.

Twenty-seven U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the cities of New York and Chicago are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which seeks triple damages under the federal False Claims Act.

"Novartis corrupted the prescription drug dispensing process," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said in a statement. "For its investment, Novartis reaped dramatically increased profits on these drugs, and Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs were left holding the bag."

On Tuesday, the government accused Novartis of inducing pharmacies to switch thousands of kidney transplant patients to its immunosuppressant drug Myfortic in exchange for kickbacks disguised as rebates and discounts.

Novartis spokeswoman Julie Masow said the company disputes the claims in both lawsuits and will defend itself. She also said physician speaker programs are "an accepted and customary practice" in the industry.

People who file whistleblower lawsuits, sometimes known as "qui tam" lawsuits, on behalf of the government under the False Claims Act share in recovered damages.

The United States does not participate in all such lawsuits, but often joins cases it believes have greater merit.

The original lawsuit against East Hanover, New Jersey-based Novartis Pharmaceuticals was filed by Oswald Bilotta, who now lives in North Carolina. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"We believe that Novartis' alleged payment of kickbacks is yet another example of abuse in the pharmaceutical industry that contributes to skyrocketing medical costs," James Miller, a partner at Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller, and Shah in Chester, Connecticut representing Bilotta, said in a statement.

A $9,750 DINNER

According to the complaint, from January 2002 to November 2011, Novartis often paid doctors to speak about its drugs and programs that were supposed to have educational purposes, but which in reality were often social occasions or not held at all.

Authorities said that for Lotrel, Valturna and Starlix alone, the company spent nearly $65 million and conducted more than 38,000 speaker programs over the decade.

The complaint describes a variety of alleged improper programs, including seven at Hooters restaurants that Novartis sales representatives attended, and pricey meals to which Novartis allegedly treated doctors.

Among these meals were dinners at high-end Chicago restaurants such as Japonais and L20, a $2,016 dinner for three at Smith & Wollensky in Washington, D.C. and the $9,750 dinner for three at Nobu in Dallas in December 2005.

Satow, the Novartis spokeswoman, said speaker programs are "promotional programs" designed to inform physicians how to use the company's medicines.

Novartis "invests significant time and resources to help ensure these programs are conducted in an ethical and responsible manner," she said. "We are dedicated to doing it right.

Bilotta filed his lawsuit four months after Novartis in September 2010 agreed to pay $422.5 million to resolve criminal and civil liability over its marketing of several drugs, including the epilepsy drug Trileptal.

The case is U.S. ex rel. Bilotta v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-00071.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Andre Grenon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-files-second-lawsuit-accusing-novartis-kickbacks-184700321.html

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Teachers in Mexico break windows, torch offices to protest anti-union reforms

Some educators are teaching a not-so-gentle lesson to President?Enrique Pe?a Nieto about his ambitious government reforms.

By Whitney Eulich,?Staff writer / April 25, 2013

A teacher gives the thumb down sign as he holds a photograph of Mexico's President Enrique Pe?a Nieto outside of the office of the Secretary of Educations after they attacked the building causing significant damage in Chilpancingo, Mexico, Wednesday.

Alejandrino Gonzalez/AP

Enlarge

Mexican teachers and teachers-in-training once again abandoned lesson plans to protest education reform in the southwestern state of Guerrero this week.

Skip to next paragraph Whitney Eulich

Latin America Editor

Whitney Eulich is the Monitor's Latin America editor, overseeing regional coverage for CSMonitor.com and the weekly magazine. She also curates the Latin America Monitor Blog.

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The individuals charged with educating Guerrero's children, and helping build a brighter future for a country lauded for its economic promise, have been on strike since a federal education reform bill was introduced almost two months ago.

The bill is part of a wider reform agenda by President?Enrique Pe?a Nieto which aims to feed economic opportunity and growth in Mexico. Other initiatives discussed include boosting competition in the telecommunications industry and increasing bank lending rates.

But in yet another sign that President Enrique Pe?a Nieto is facing pushback on his ambitious reform plan, this week scores of educators took to the streets armed with sticks and spray paint. They broke windows, threw papers and plants out of buildings, vandalized furniture and office equipment, and set fire to political offices, according to Mexican news outlets.

?Teach and learn ? vandalism,? read today?s front page of Mexican newspaper Reforma, with photos splashed above the fold showing a political party office in Guerrero?engulfed in flames, and a highway road block using a ?kidnapped? 18-wheeler from state-owned oil company PEMEX in the neighboring state Michoac?n, which is also experiencing teacher protests.

Earlier this year President Pe?a Nieto passed far-reaching education reform that aims to diminish the tight grasp of Mexico?s powerful teachers union and reverse common practices like teachers receiving pay despite not showing up to work. According to The Christian Science Monitor:

The reform strips the education union ??arguably the most powerful in Latin America ??of its influence over the hiring of teachers. It provides for a system of merit-based pay and promotions, subjects Mexico?s estimated 1 million teachers to evaluations, and requires exams of those entering the profession. All with greater oversight by the federal government.

In Guerrero state, educators upped protests after state legislators failed to incorporate the 200,000-member education union?s demands to water down the federal legislation at the state level on Tuesday.

The mayor of Chilpancingo, where the vandalism took place yesterday afternoon, told Mexican newspaper Milenio that he?s requested federal assistance. The governor of Guerrero announced via Twitter that arrest warrants had been issued for the head of the state Education Workers Union, Minervino Moran, and another union leader, for ?masterminding? the destruction of property, reports the Associated Press.

Guerrero, home of the well-known beach destination Acapulco, has repeatedly made headlines this year for violence and the uptick in vigilante militias and self-defense groups.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/hUNBoXE68n4/Teachers-in-Mexico-break-windows-torch-offices-to-protest-anti-union-reforms

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After Dhaka garment factory collapse, chances for supply chain changes low

A factory collapse in Bangladesh left some 300 dead, and prompted calls for improved regulations of the country's sweatshops. But veteran campaigners to improve factory conditions say pushing for change is harder than ever.?

By Ryan Lenora Brown,?Correspondent / April 26, 2013

A Bangladeshi woman weeps as she holds a picture of her and her missing husband as she waits at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday.

Kevin Frayer/AP

Enlarge

As Bangladeshi rescue workers continue to pull survivors and bodies from the ruins of a Dhaka, Bangladesh factory where some 300 were killed in a building collapse Wednesday, thousands of protesters took to the streets across the city to express their outrage at?negligence that has racked the world's second-largest garment-exporting country for years.

Skip to next paragraph Ryan Lenora Brown

Correspondent

Ryan Brown edits the Africa Monitor blog and contributes to the national and international news desks of the Monitor. She is a former Fulbright fellow to South Africa and holds a degree in history from Duke University.?

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Blocking traffic and vandalizing garment factories that stayed open during today?s official day of mourning, protestors smashed cars and clashed violently with police, demanding accountability for what The New York Times is calling ?one of the worst manufacturing disasters in history.?

Among those at the receiving end of the rage are not only unscrupulous local factory owners and lax regulators, but also the Western corporations whose demands for cheaply-made garments have fueled the precarious working conditions in Bangladesh?s 5,000 clothing factories.

Plucked from the rubble of the eight-story factory were labels from several Western brands, including some sold in major chains such as Wal-Mart, JC Penney, and Spanish retailer El Corte Ingles, who immediately began to issue a flurry of sympathetic press releases. British retailer Primark said it was ?shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling incident? and the Canadian retailer Loblaw said it was ?extremely saddened? by the tragedy, the Times reports.

None, however, went so far as to implicate themselves in the disaster.

?These companies have come up with some very effective approaches to distance themselves from responsibility in tragedies like this,? says Heather White, founder of Verite, an independent auditing group.?Indeed, she says, Western companies often bring their garments from factory to store through a tangled and globally sprawled cluster of middlemen ? subcontractors, auditors, consultants ? who not only drive down their prices but also help ensure that responsibility for corporate stumbles are spread thinly.

That leaves many Western consumers, even the most conscientious, flummoxed by how to react to tragedies like the factory collapse, Ms. White says. Short of switching to niche-marketed fair trade brands?think American Apparel or TOMS Shoes ? there?s ?no real way for your average consumer to use their buying power to mobilize around these issues,? she says.

But it wasn?t always that way.

In the late 1990s, a widespread campaign against labor conditions in Nike factories helped shame the company into adopting a code of conduct in its factories for the first time. Responding to massive protests, sit-ins, and hunger strikes, a large number of universities forced the suppliers of their branded athletic apparel to institute labor code reforms in return for their business.

?It was amazing to see how people bought in [to the campaign],? remembers Kirsten Moller, organizing director for the human rights group Global Exchange, which helped lead the Nike campaign. ?They really had no idea what was happening, no idea under what conditions these products they loved were being made.?

So what changed?

As the issue slid from the front page, "people got tired of protesting,? Ms. Moller says.

Many of the activists from the 1990s ? immortalized by their chaotic protests at the 1999 summit of the World Trade Organization ? moved on to new causes, White says, with many becoming deeply involved in anti-war efforts in the early 2000s.?

And perhaps more importantly, the corporations simply caught up. ?They co-opted the language of human rights and social responsibility,? she says, ?because they realized their consumers now cared about that.?

As a result of the Nike movement, she says, most corporations now at least pay lip service to the idea that transnational companies have a responsibility to the people who work for them and the land they work on.

?But we?re nowhere near where we should be,? she says.

In the streets of Dhaka today, it seems there are many who would agree with that.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/WJTSJ0l83no/After-Dhaka-garment-factory-collapse-chances-for-supply-chain-changes-low

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Panic Disorder: Self-help - DRN Health World - Tips For Healthy ...

You can do several things yourself to reduce panic attacks. If you decide to try self-help options, you can discuss with your health-care professional. Usually, they are effective in reducing panic episodes. There are several management options in self-help category.

• Bibliotherapy
• Support groups
• Physical activities

Bibliotherapy is a programme, which includes reading materials depending on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It helps deepen and broaden the person?s understanding of the panic disorder. Patient can read about the condition him or herself. Bibliotherapy encourages active participation of the person in the management and stimulates a stronger feeling of own responsibility for recovery. Additionally, the affected individuals can read about people, which have had the panic disorder and have coped effectively or recovered from the condition. Sometimes, the health-care professional may offer additional assignments or information to be completed during the daily routines. It accelerates the recovery.

Your health-care professional may help you to access to specific support groups. Sometimes, these groups operate by individuals, who have experienced the condition themselves and recovered from it.

They may ask you to do regular exercise. Physical activities cannot cure the panic disorder. However, they can enhance your mood.

Throughout the self-help therapy, you should see the health-care professional regularly, normally every four to eight weeks.

Related Links:

What Is Panic Disorder?
Planning the Management of Panic Disorder
Panic Disorder: Psychological Management
Panic Disorder: Pharmacological Management
What Is Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?

Source: http://www.drnhealth.com/2013/04/panic-disorder-self-help.html

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Celgene: EU panel recommends new Revlimid approval

SUMMIT, N.J. (AP) -- A panel that advises the European Union's chief medical agency is recommending a new approval for the cancer drug Revlimid, the drug's maker, Celgene Corp., said Friday.

The panel recommended that the European Medicines Agency approve Revlimid as a treatment for anemia in patients with certain forms of a group of blood disorders called myelodysplastic syndromes. Celgene said the EU is expected to make a final decision within three months.

Revlimid is approved as a treatment for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood, in patients who have been treated with at least one other therapy. It is already approved in the U.S. as a treatment for anemia in MDS patients, and Revlimid is running further trials of the drug to win new marketing approvals. New approvals are a key part of the company's growth plans.

Celgene is studying Revlimid as a treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and myelodysplastic syndromes.

Celgene expects to report about $6 billion in revenue in 2013, with $4.1 billion to $4.2 billion coming from Revlimid sales.

Shares of Celgene rose $2.39, or 2 percent, to $120.34 on Friday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/celgene-eu-panel-recommends-revlimid-202515423.html

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Pitt team finds melatonin delays ALS symptom onset and death in mice

Public release date: 25-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Anita Srikameswaran
SrikamAV@upmc.edu
412-578-9193
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

Melatonin injections delayed symptom onset and reduced mortality in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In a report published online ahead of print in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, the team revealed that receptors for melatonin are found in the nerve cells, a finding that could launch novel therapeutic approaches.

Annually about 5,000 people are diagnosed with ALS, which is characterized by progressive muscle weakness and eventual death due to the failure of respiratory muscles, said senior investigator Robert Friedlander, M.D., UPMC Endowed Professor of neurosurgery and neurobiology and chair, Department of Neurological Surgery, Pitt School of Medicine. But the causes of the condition are not well understood, thwarting development of a cure or even effective treatments.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that is best known for its role in sleep regulation. After screening more than a thousand FDA-approved drugs several years ago, the research team determined that melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that blocks the release of enzymes that activate apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

"Our experiments show for the first time that a lack of melatonin and melatonin receptor 1, or MT1, is associated with the progression of ALS," Dr. Friedlander said. "We saw similar results in a Huntington's disease model in an earlier project, suggesting similar biochemical pathways are disrupted in these challenging neurologic diseases."

Hoping to stop neuron death in ALS just as they did in Huntington's, the research team treated mice bred to have an ALS-like disease with injections of melatonin or with a placebo. Compared to untreated animals, the melatonin group developed symptoms later, survived longer, and had less degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord.

"Much more work has to be done to unravel these mechanisms before human trials of melatonin or a drug akin to it can be conducted to determine its usefulness as an ALS treatment," Dr. Friedlander said. "I suspect that a combination of agents that act on these pathways will be needed to make headway with this devastating disease."

###

Co-authors of the paper include other scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Harvard Medical School; Ohio State University; Weifang Medical University; Bedford VA Medical System, Boston; St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix; University of Texas Medical School at Houston; and VA Pittsburgh Health Care System.

The project was funded by grants NS051756, NS039324, and NS055072 of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health; the U.S. Department of Defense; and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings recently released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt ranked fifth among all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support.

Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see http://www.medschool.pitt.edu.

---

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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.

Public release date: 25-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Anita Srikameswaran
SrikamAV@upmc.edu
412-578-9193
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

Melatonin injections delayed symptom onset and reduced mortality in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In a report published online ahead of print in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, the team revealed that receptors for melatonin are found in the nerve cells, a finding that could launch novel therapeutic approaches.

Annually about 5,000 people are diagnosed with ALS, which is characterized by progressive muscle weakness and eventual death due to the failure of respiratory muscles, said senior investigator Robert Friedlander, M.D., UPMC Endowed Professor of neurosurgery and neurobiology and chair, Department of Neurological Surgery, Pitt School of Medicine. But the causes of the condition are not well understood, thwarting development of a cure or even effective treatments.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that is best known for its role in sleep regulation. After screening more than a thousand FDA-approved drugs several years ago, the research team determined that melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that blocks the release of enzymes that activate apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

"Our experiments show for the first time that a lack of melatonin and melatonin receptor 1, or MT1, is associated with the progression of ALS," Dr. Friedlander said. "We saw similar results in a Huntington's disease model in an earlier project, suggesting similar biochemical pathways are disrupted in these challenging neurologic diseases."

Hoping to stop neuron death in ALS just as they did in Huntington's, the research team treated mice bred to have an ALS-like disease with injections of melatonin or with a placebo. Compared to untreated animals, the melatonin group developed symptoms later, survived longer, and had less degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord.

"Much more work has to be done to unravel these mechanisms before human trials of melatonin or a drug akin to it can be conducted to determine its usefulness as an ALS treatment," Dr. Friedlander said. "I suspect that a combination of agents that act on these pathways will be needed to make headway with this devastating disease."

###

Co-authors of the paper include other scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Harvard Medical School; Ohio State University; Weifang Medical University; Bedford VA Medical System, Boston; St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix; University of Texas Medical School at Houston; and VA Pittsburgh Health Care System.

The project was funded by grants NS051756, NS039324, and NS055072 of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health; the U.S. Department of Defense; and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings recently released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt ranked fifth among all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support.

Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see http://www.medschool.pitt.edu.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uops-ptf042413.php

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Zachary Quinto to make Broadway bow in 'Menagerie'

NEW YORK (AP) ? Another Tennessee Williams masterpiece is coming to Broadway and it's bringing Zachary Quinto and Cherry Jones along for the ride.

Producers Jeffrey Richards said Thursday he'll transfer the American Repertory Theater's production of "The Glass Menagerie" to New York for a 17-week engagement starting this September.

Quinto, who plays Spock in the "Star Trek" reboots and wowed audiences in a recent off-Broadway production of "Angels In America," will be making his Broadway debut as Tom.

Jones, the two-time Tony Award winner for "Doubt" and "The Heiress" who played President Allison Taylor in the TV series "24," will play Amanda Wingfield.

They'll be joined by Celia Keenan-Bolger, fresh off her role as Wendy in Broadway's "Peter and the Starcatcher," and Brian J. Smith, recently in "The Columnist." John Tiffany, who helmed "Once," will direct.

Performances begin Sept, 5 with an opening night set for Sept. 26. The venue will be a Shubert Theatre that has yet to be announced. The show originated at the acclaimed American Repertory Theater outside Boston this winter.

The play centers on an aging Southern belle who hopes her son can fulfill her dreams of finding the perfect "gentleman caller" for her shy and damaged daughter.

The last time "The Glass Menagerie" hit Broadway was 2005 starring Jessica Lange and Christian Slater. The latest revival comes on the heels of "A Streetcar Named Desire" last year with Blair Underwood and Nicole Ari Parker, and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" this year with Scarlett Johansson.

___

Online: http://www.TheGlassMenagerieBroadway.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zachary-quinto-broadway-bow-menagerie-222038227.html

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Insert Coin: Snapzoom gives Kickstarters a crack at its smartphone scope adapter (video)

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Snapzoom stole a lot of hearts at Engadget Expand, but it didn't quite steal enough votes to win our Insert Coin contest. Now you can exact some justice, as the smartphone adapter for binoculars, telescopes and microscopes is now up for grabs on Kickstarter to let you zoom in on the moon, bacteria or whatever else you can think of. So far it's vacuumed up $15,000 toward its $55,000 goal, and while the early bird offer is sold out, backers can still grab one starting at $60, a hefty discount from the final $80 retail price. For $90, you'll even get a basic 10x25 compact Bushnell travel binocular tossed in, so if you want to see what made our Insert Coin judges go zoom-crazy, hit the source or video after the jump.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras

Comments

Source: Snapzoom (Kickstarter)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/5X_t12b56pQ/

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Stocks surge after fake tweet scare

Dow briefly plunges 143 points after fake AP tweet about explosions at the White House. But the market recovers and the Dow closes 152 points higher. Strong quarterly earnings boost stocks.

By Steve Rothwell,?AP Markets Writer / April 23, 2013

Glenn Kessler, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange last week. Stocks, which plunged briefly on a fake AP tweet, quickly recovered and then surged.

Richard Drew/AP/File

Enlarge

Companies that do the best when the economy is improving led the market higher Tuesday after several of them reported strong quarterly earnings.

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Weekly Digital Edition

Coach, a maker of luxury handbags, and Netflix, which streams TV shows and movies over the Internet, were winners after announcing profits that impressed investors. Financial?stocks?rose after Travelers' earnings beat the expectations of financial analysts who follow the company.

That's a change from earlier this year. The?stock?market's surge in 2013 has been led by so-called defensive industries such as health care, consumer staples and utilities. Investors buy those?stocks?when they're unsure about the direction of the economy and want to own companies that make products people buy in bad times as well as good. Until now, they've been less enthusiastic about?stocks?of companies that provide discretionary goods and services and do best in good times.

"For a change we are actually seeing more cyclical parts of the economy lead the market," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.

Israeli focus on Syria gives Hagel respite on Iran

JERUSALEM (AP) ? On Chuck Hagel's inaugural visit to Israel as U.S. defense secretary, Syria surpassed Iran as the security threat of greatest urgency to the U.S.' closest Mideast ally. That quite unexpectedly gave the new Pentagon chief a temporary respite from the delicate duty of tempering Israeli warnings about attacking Iran to stop it from building a nuclear bomb.

Israeli leaders see Iran's nuclear ambitions as a threat to their country's very existence, given Tehran's vow to wipe it off the map. But Syria suddenly has emerged so prominently that it overshadowed Iran during Hagel's three days in Israel.

That explains, in part, why Hagel repeatedly stressed in public Israel's right to defend itself and to decide on its own, if necessary, whether and when to attack Iran. He gave less emphasis than usual by American officials to Washington's wish that diplomacy and sanctions be given more time to persuade Iran to change course.

Notably, Israel's new defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, said at a joint news conference with Hagel on Monday that he, too, thinks non-military means ought to be pursued further.

"By one way or another, the military nuclear project of Iran should be stopped," Yaalon said. "Having said that, we believe that the military option, which is well discussed, should be the last resort anyhow. " He added, "There are other tools to be used and to be exhausted, whether it is diplomacy, economic sanctions, or even more support of the opposition in Iran."

Hagel seemed to sense slightly less urgency in the Israeli concern about Iran, although he by no means dismissed the problem. One year ago, Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta, was letting it be known that he feared Israel could attack Iran in a matter of weeks. Washington worries that such a strike could ignite a wider war in which it would be difficult for the U.S. to avoid getting involved.

That was before the Syrian civil war had reached the point of widespread concern that its illicit stockpiles of chemical weapons could pose a threat to Israel and other neighbors. Jordan, too, is worried about transfers of Syrian chemical weapons. Hagel stopped briefly in Jordan Tuesday and ended his day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

"The United States and Jordan share mutual concerns about the ongoing crisis in Syria and continue to consult closely on a number of issues including chemical weapons and the demands posed by the influx of Syrian refugees fleeing the violence," Pentagon press secretary George Little said after Hagel's meeting in Amman.

Little said the Pentagon has provided more than $70 million to Jordan this year to help secure its border and prevent the transfer of chemical weapons from Syria.

The Israelis see immediate dangers in the Syrian civil war, not only in the threat along Israel's northeastern border but also in the grim possibility that Syrian chemical weapons could fall into the hands of extremists. Israel says each of those possibilities is a "red line" beyond which it would have to act.

The concern is that if President Bashar Assad is overthrown, any of the Islamic extremist groups trying to oust him could turn his extensive arsenal against Israel.

A senior Israeli military intelligence official said Tuesday that Assad has repeatedly used chemical weapons against insurgent groups. It was the first such public claim by Israel and appeared to increase pressure on Washington and other Western countries to intervene in Syria.

President Barack Obama has warned that the use of chemical weapons by Assad would be a "game changer." Little, the Pentagon press secretary, said Tuesday the U.S. government is still assessing reports of Syrian chemical weapons use, adding that such acts would be "entirely unacceptable." He did not elaborate on possible U.S. actions.

The White House said Tuesday the U.S. hasn't yet come to the conclusion that Assad has used chemical weapons even though close U.S. allies say he has.

In his assessment, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, the head of research and analysis in Israeli military intelligence, told a security conference in Tel Aviv that Assad has used chemical weapons multiple times, including near Damascus, the capital, last month.

During Hagel's visit, Israeli leaders still emphasized the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran ? as did Hagel. But to a degree not foreseen when Hagel arrived in Israel over the weekend, the threat posed by Syria's chemical weapons overshadowed Iran.

Hagel wrapped up his visit Tuesday by meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who greeted him with a brief but pointed caution about resolving the Iran problem. He complained of Iran arming terrorist groups with sophisticated weapons, and its "attempt to arm itself with nuclear weapons."

"This is a challenge that Israel cannot accept, and as you and President Obama have repeatedly said, Israel must be able to defend itself, by itself, against any threat," Netanyahu said.

___

Associated Press writer Ariel David contributed to this report.

Robert Burns can be followed on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-focus-syria-gives-hagel-respite-iran-190331708--politics.html

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Drinking, Nightlife and Parties - Food & Drink - Orlando Weekly

4th Annual WinestockThis outdoor wine tasting around the lake lands you also with food and live music. 7-10 p.m. Friday; Cranes Roost Park, 274 Cranes Roost Blvd., Altamonte Springs; $30-$40; 407-571-8863; winestockuncorked.com.

Ape + Shake 'N Bass Presents: Sweat With DJ Sliink Live moombahton and bass music in the club. 10 p.m. Thursday; Roxy Nightclub, 740 Bennett Road; $10; 407-898-4004; roxyorlando.com.

Beer:30 Enjoy $2 off Orlando Brewing beers. 3-10 p.m. Tuesday; Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave.; free; 407-872-1117; orlandobrewing.com.

Beer Bomb Bus Tour Guided tour of area beer bars, including Hourglass Brewery, the Imperial in Sanford, Buster's Bistro and BART. 1 p.m. Sunday; BART, 1205 N. Mills Ave.; $25-$30; bartcade.com.

Cigar City Brewing Beer Dinner Enjoy a five-course meal paired with brews from the Tampa-based brewery. 7-9 p.m. Tuesday; Smokey Bones Barbeque, 3400 E. Colonial Drive; $35; 407-894-1511; smokeybones.com.

Crawfish Festival Grab a beer and enjoy some mudbugs. Call for details Sunday; World of Beer, 3402 Technological Drive, Suite 201; 321-235-9741; wobusa.com.

Cruising for a Brewzin Bike Pub Crawl Hop on your bicycle, grab drinks at a variety of bars and then enjoy a live concert by Room Full of Strangers. 6 p.m. Saturday; Lizzy McCormack?s, 55 N. Orange Ave.; free; orlandobikepolo.com.

DJ Bao OW's live music columnist spins your requests and other tunes. 10 p.m. Saturday; The Falcon, 819 E. Washington St.; free; 407-423-2788; thefalconbar.com.

Jack Daniel's BBQ Hill Party Whiskey tasting with the Jack Girls, barbecue dinners, raffle prizes and drink specials. 2-6 p.m. Sunday; Johnny?s Fillin? Station, 2631 S. Ferncreek Ave.; $20; 407-894-6900; johnnysfillinstation.com.

Mac N Cheese Saved by the Bell Party Featuring a meet-and-greet with Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding). 10 p.m. Wednesday; Independent Bar, 70 N. Orange Ave.; free; 407-839-0457; independentbar.net.

Source: http://orlandoweekly.com/dining/drinking-nightlife-and-parties-1.1478091

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Libya car bomb wounds French embassy guards

By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Ghaith Shennib

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A car bomb in Tripoli wounded two French guards at France's embassy in Libya on Tuesday, bringing new violence to a capital that has not seen attacks on diplomats like that which killed the U.S. ambassador in Benghazi last year.

Since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled by Western-backed rebels in late 2011, Tripoli, like the rest of the sprawling desert state, has been awash with weapons and roving armed bands, but violence in the city has not targeted diplomats before in the way Western envoys have been shot at and bombed in the east of the country.

"This is an attack that targets not only France but all countries that fight against terrorist groups," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in Paris before flying out to inspect the damage to the embassy.

One of the two wounded French guards required emergency surgery in Tripoli, he added.

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zaidan joined him at the scene of the explosion and together they also visited the damaged homes of residents nearby.

Security will be stepped up across a region where France has taken a leading role of late, first in pushing for a NATO air campaign to defend the Benghazi-based rebels from Gaddafi's forces, and most recently mounting its own assault in its former colony of Mali against Islamist insurgents who have profited from arms and fighters coming over the Sahara border from Libya.

President Francois Hollande said: "France expects the Libyan authorities to shed light on this unacceptable act so that the perpetrators are identified and brought to justice."

Libya's government, struggling to exert its authority, said it was a "terrorist act" aimed at destabilizing their country, and ministers said they would work with French investigators.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility in the hours after the early morning blast, which caused extensive damage, but al Qaeda's north African arm, AQIM, threatened retaliation for the French intervention in Mali as recently as last week.

Interior Minister Ashour Shuail told a press conference he could not say whether the strike was linked to the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi last year, but said a commission had been set up to investigate the blast.

The minister added a diplomatic security force would be active in the country within days.

INCREASED RISKS

Westerners in the region have been on alert since January's bloody mass hostage-taking at the In Amenas natural gas plant in Algeria, close to the Libyan and Malian frontiers, during which militants demanded Paris halt operations in Mali.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said France had not received any specific threat against the Tripoli embassy but it had been aware of a generally increased risk, adding that the embassy was now out of action and staff would move elsewhere.

He said France had asked Libyan authorities to strengthen security around French institutions, which were now all closed, including a cultural center and a school.

"This is a very worrying sign for the government," one Western diplomat said. "It will be a further deterrent for companies who have so far been reluctant to come to Libya."

In the chaos following Gaddafi's overthrow and death, there have been attacks on diplomats, notably in Benghazi in the east.

In September, the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed at Washington's consulate in the city, which is the hub for the lucrative oil industry. U.S. officials say militants with ties to al Qaeda were most likely involved in that attack, but no group has credibly claimed responsibility.

British, United Nations and Red Cross missions in eastern Libya have also been the targets of violence.

Most foreign embassy staff and international aid workers have strict security in Tripoli, and Benghazi remains off-limits to many foreigners.

DAWN BLAST

People living near the French embassy compound, in Tripoli's Hay Andalus area, close to the Mediterranean seafront, said they heard two explosions at around 7 a.m. (0500 GMT).

Tripoli police chief Mohammed Sharif said "an explosive device was planted in a car parked outside the embassy".

A large part of the wall around the compound collapsed, and one corner of the embassy building had caved in. Office cabinets lay scattered on the ground outside and water from a burst pipe ran down the street. Residents pointed to jagged metal fragments which they said came from a car that had exploded.

One neighbor said his young daughter was taken to hospital after she was hit by a falling piece of masonry at home.

The Libyan army cordoned off the compound as dozens gathered outside. An embassy employee arrived at the scene and burst into tears when she saw the destruction. She was allowed inside to join colleagues and French security staff.

"I was in my house sleeping, when I was woken up by a long explosion. I went to my front door and found that it had blasted out," said Osama al-Alam, who lives next door to the embassy.

"I went into the street and saw smoke everywhere. We heard shooting and went inside the house."

Two cars outside the embassy were burnt out, others damaged. A palm tree in one front garden had fallen onto a roof.

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdelaziz condemned "a terrorist act" and announced the formation of a French-Libyan investigation team to probe the incident, state media said.

Deputy Prime Minister Awad al-Barasi, as well as the interior and justice ministers, visited the scene.

"We are in a critical stage, and there are some who want to destabilize Libya," Barasi said. "This will not stop us from moving forward, even though it is painful to see the damage."

AQIM - Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - said on Friday it would retaliate for France's mission to push Islamist fighters out of the large part of northern Mali they seized last year.

(Additional reporting by John Irish and Leigh Thomas in Paris; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Jessica Donati; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/french-embassy-tripoli-hit-car-bomb-embassy-source-055725775.html

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