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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Rodgers, Brees, Jim Harbaugh win AP awards

Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning, left, presents the AP MVP Player of the Year to Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers during the inaugural NFL Honors show Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, in Indianapolis.The New York Giants will face the New England Patriots in the NFL football's Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Marcio Sanchez)

Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers speaks after receiving the AP MVP Player of the Year during the inaugural NFL Honors show Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, in Indianapolis.The New York Giants will face the New England Patriots in the NFL football's Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees speaks after receiving the AP Offensive Player of the Year during the inaugural NFL Honors show Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, in Indianapolis.The New York Giants will face the New England Patriots in the NFL football's Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? The best quarterbacks bring fans out of their seats. Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning did exactly that Saturday night when the NFL Most Valuable Player accepted the trophy from the only four-time winner of the award.

The Green Bay quarterback won the 2011 Associated Press award in a landslide. Manning, the hometown hero who didn't play a down this season because of neck surgery, handed it to him.

Manning was greeted with a standing ovation when he came on stage at the Murat Theatre during "NFL Honors," a primetime special on NBC. Moments later, the crowd was back on its feet for Rodgers.

"It means a lot to be recognized as a consistent player and contributing on my team," Rodgers said. "I think it's an award that relies on a player having the support of his teammates, obviously, guys blocking, guys running, guys catching, guys making plays. But I'm very honored to receive the award."

Speaking to Manning, who didn't miss a game for 13 seasons before 2011, Rodgers added: "We're all really excited to see you back on the field next year."

Rodgers earned 48 votes to two for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. The Packers star is the first Green Bay player honored since Brett Favre concluded a run of three straight seasons as MVP in 1997.

Brees won Offensive Player of the Year for the second time.

Other winners included:

? Baltimore defensive end/linebacker Terrell Suggs, Defensive Player of the Year.

? San Francisco's rookie coach Jim Harbaugh, Coach of the Year.

? Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford, Comeback Player of the Year.

The top two picks in last April's draft took the rookie awards: Carolina QB Cam Newton and Denver linebacker Von Miller.

Rodgers led the NFL in passing with a 122.5 rating built on 45 touchdown passes, six interceptions and a 68.3 completion percentage as the Packers went 15-1 and won the NFC North. The Packers were beaten by the New York Giants at Lambeau Field in the divisional round.

"People really count on me to be consistent each week, to play well. Knowing that my performance, the fact that I touch the ball every play, I have a direct impact on the game, the way I play," Rodgers said. "And if I'm playing consistent and doing things I know I'm supposed to do, we've been able to have some success because of it."

He joined former Packers Bart Starr, Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung as MVPs.

Rodgers is the third consecutive quarterback voted MVP, joining New England's Tom Brady (2007, 2010) and Manning (2008, 2009).

Brees shattered Dan Marino's 27-year-old mark by passing for 5,476 yards, and his 468 completions broke Manning's 2010 record of 450. Brees finished the season completing 71.6 percent of his passes, breaking his own 2009 NFL record (70.6). He also surpassed 300 yards passing for seven straight games and 13 times during the season, both beating league marks he already held.

Thanks to Brees' brilliance, the Saints set several single-season records, including offensive yards with 7,474 and first downs with 416.

"Our best is yet to come, not just for our team, but the league," Brees said.

Suggs had 70 tackles, including 14 sacks, and was a threat all over the field from his hybrid linebacker-end position. He also forced seven fumbles and had two interceptions.

Teammate Ray Lewis, a two-time winner of the award, praised Suggs' versatility.

"That's why when you sit back and watch him year after year, week after week, I am just proud to say that I love how he understands the game now," Lewis said.

In his first season as an NFL head coach, Harbaugh guided the 49ers to a 13-3 mark and the NFC West championship. They beat New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs before losing the conference title game to the Giants.

Stafford beat out six other players who received votes. He fought through injuries his first two seasons, then threw for more than 5,000 yards in 2011 to lead Detroit to its first playoff berth in 12 years.

Newton set an NFL record for touchdowns rushing in a season by a quarterback with 14 and became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 500. He helped Carolina improve from 2-14 to 6-10, throwing for 21 touchdowns.

"He set a standard, a very high standard, for any rookie quarterback coming in, and he wants to improve," Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. "He's gotten better in so many different areas. ... He's really taken his game to next level, and there's so much room for him to grow. He's got such a high ceiling."

The second Bronco to win the award ? LB Mike Croel got it in 1991 ? Miller made 64 tackles and had 11? sacks despite missing one game and playing the last four contests with a cumbersome cast protecting his surgically repaired right thumb. He teamed with quarterback Tim Tebow to energize the Broncos, who rallied from a 2-5 record to the AFC West title and a playoff win over Pittsburgh.

___

AP National Writer Nancy Armour and Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis, Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton in Denver, and Sports Writers Janie McCauley in San Francisco, Larry Lage in Detroit and Steve Reed in Charlotte contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-02-04-AP%20Awards/id-58fbe4c37f274b08a58081c3b6bbc176

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Saturday, February 4, 2012

MPS prevails in class-action special education lawsuit

Court vacates lower-court rulings, remedial orders, DPI settlement

?MILWAUKEE ? (February 3, 2012) ? The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled in favor of Milwaukee Public Schools in a landmark, long-fought lawsuit over how the district identifies students in need of special education services.

The suit, filed in 2001 and often referred to as the ?Jamie S. case,? alleged that a student named Jamie and several other students were denied or delayed entry to special services in MPS.

The ruling overturns a lower court?s contention that MPS and the Department of Public Instruction had some ?systemic? violations in how they identified special education students.?

After that lower court decision, DPI settled with the plaintiffs and ordered MPS to meet certain compliance benchmarks.? DPI representatives stated at the time that MPS could raise the Milwaukee tax levy to cover the cost of the remedies.? ?MPS? Board and then-Superintendent William Andrekopoulos asserted that it was wrong to have taxpayers and the school district bear the burden alone, and filed an appeal.? MPS also challenged the district court?s class-certification decision.

Today?s ruling means all lower-court decisions are vacated, and so are the liability and remedial orders.? The ruling also tosses out the DPI settlement with the plaintiffs, saying that DPI?s settlement ?prejudiced MPS?s legal rights by requiring more of MPS than DPI had the statutory right to demand?.

?We will continue to provide quality special education services for Milwaukee?s children,? said Superintendent Gregory Thornton. ?Throughout the course of the litigation it has been the goal of the Board of School Directors to resolve the case in a way that best serves the needs of the children and families the district serves.??

Though the case has extended over more than ten years, the district and the City of Milwaukee taxpayers have not had to cover any of the costs of the district?s defense.? The costs have been covered by an insurance policy that was in place at the time the suit was filed.

Source: http://www5.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/dept/superintendent/2012/02/mps-prevails-in-class-action-special-education-lawsuit/

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West making case to Israel: Don't attack Iran (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Israel's major allies in the West are working hard to talk it out of a unilateral military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, arguing forcefully that an attack ultimately would strengthen, not weaken, the regime in Tehran.

The United States is leading the persuasion initiative, even though Washington largely has concluded that outside argument will have little effect on Israeli decision-making.

Iran's regime says it wants to extinguish the Jewish state, and the West accuses it of assembling the material and know-how to build a nuclear bomb. Israel fears that Iran is fast approaching a point at which a limited military strike no longer would be enough to head off an Iranian bomb.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that the world increasingly is ready to consider a military strike against Iran if economic sanctions don't persuade Tehran to give up suspect parts of its nuclear program. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.

"Today as opposed to in the past there is wide world understanding that in the event that sanctions won't reach the intended result of stopping the military nuclear program, there will be need to consider action," Barak said in Israel.

Israeli officials asserted at a security conference Thursday that Iran already has produced enough enriched uranium to eventually build four rudimentary nuclear bombs, and was even developing missiles capable of reaching the United States. Much of the agenda appeared aimed at strengthening Israel's case for a strike, if it chose to make one.

President Barack Obama maintains that the U.S. is reserving the right to attack Iran if it one day feels it must, but an Israeli strike on Iran is more likely than a U.S. one in the near term.

"Israel has indicated they are considering this, and we have indicated our concerns," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday in Brussels.

Panetta would not comment on a published report that he fears Israel already has decided to go ahead. A Washington Post opinion column by David Ignatius asserted Thursday that Panetta believes there is a "strong likelihood" that Israel will attack in April, May or June.

The U.S. and its allies hope to hold off an Israeli strike at least until the latest round of sanctions ? the first to hit Iran's lifeblood oil sector directly ? take effect later this year. They argue that a strike would do more harm than good and would endanger Israel and every nation perceived to be allied with it.

Western officials offered several of the arguments being laid out to Israel by the U.S., Britain, France and others. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to outline the sensitive diplomacy.

A senior Obama administration official said the U.S. and Israel have similar views of the risk of an Iranian bomb and the timeframe in which the world could act. The U.S., however, sees a clear "breakout" to nuclear capability by Iran as necessary before military action could be justified, the official said.

The official said the U.S. is making its case publicly and privately but that the ultimate decision will be Israel's.

The West is appealing to Israel's self-interest, arguing that a military strike on known Iranian nuclear sites would not completely destroy Iran's nuclear capability. The U.S. and others say it would not be effective except in the very short term, and ultimately would strengthen the Iranian regime by rallying Iranian national pride under attack and drawing sympathetic support from other Israeli enemies.

Some of the arguments are well-known, including that widespread and unpredictable Iranian retaliation would seed more violence in the Mideast and make Israel less secure. That has been a U.S. conclusion for several years.

A newer argument holds that the Iranian regime is weakened by years of sanctions and the implosion of its nearest ally, Syria, so it makes little sense to do something that would build it back up.

Some nations also are warning Israel that it will lose international backing if it acts outside international law. European nations, especially, are wary of unilateral Israeli action. U.S. officials are careful on that point, saying the U.S. bond with Israel is unbreakable. As a practical matter, the United States would be bound to defend Israel in a full war with Iran.

A senior European diplomat said there are signs that some in Israel are receptive to the Western push to buy time with more sanctions that could further weaken the Iranian government. The Israeli government remains divided about the wisdom of a strike, the diplomat said.

Reflecting rising international alarm at the prospect of a unilateral strike, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon warned Israel on Wednesday that the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program must be resolved peacefully.

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg expressed concern Thursday that Israel could carry out a pre-emptive strike.

"Of course I worry that there will be a military conflict and that certain countries might seek to take matters into their own hands," Clegg was quoted as telling The House Magazine, a British political journal.

Clegg said Britain had been attempting to demonstrate "that there are very tough things we can do which are not military steps in order to place pressure on Iran."

In Washington, the Senate Banking Committee easily approved yet more penalties on Tehran on Thursday.

"This helps tighten the screws on them," said Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the panel's top Republican.

The sweeping measure, which is not yet law, would target Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, require companies that trade on the U.S. stock exchanges to disclose any Iran-related business to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and expand penalties for energy and uranium mining joint ventures with Tehran.

The legislation comes just weeks after Congress approved ? and Obama signed ? a wide-ranging defense bill that would target financial institutions that do business with Iran's Central Bank. The European Union has imposed a broad oil embargo, depriving Iran of a major market.

Several Israeli officials told The Associated Press this week that they were concerned that the sanctions, while welcome, were constraining Israel in its ability to act because the world expected the effort to be given a chance. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss Iran.

Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon, who heads the strategic affairs ministry and is a former commander of the military, said all of Iran's nuclear installations are vulnerable to military strikes.

That contradicts assessments of foreign experts and Israeli defense officials that it would be difficult to strike sensitive Iranian nuclear targets hidden dozens of yards below ground.

U.N. chief Ban said Wednesday that he holds Iran responsible to prove it is not pursuing nuclear weapons.

"I believe they have not yet done so," he said during a visit to Israel.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that some of Iran's alleged experiments can have no purpose other than developing nuclear weapons.

___

Associated Press writers Robert Burns in Brussels, Karin Laub in Herzliya, Israel, and Donna Cassata in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120203/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_iran

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Friday, February 3, 2012

Health and Fitness Programs That Will Help Keep You in Shape ...

New Health And Fitness.Org - Health Information You Can Use

Staying fit is important for your health and happiness, but it can be tough to do in today?s fast paced world. There are a lot of ways to approach fitness, and if you are wondering which ones are right for you, this article will answer some of your questions about staying fit.

While doing exercises, usually reduce the weight by simply approximately 10 %, when you modify your grip. For example, if you just finished a set of bench presses doing 200 pounds with a medium grip, you should drop to 180 pounds when switching to a narrow or wide grip. When you switch grips, you are stressing the joints in a different way than you have become accustomed to, which can cause you to get injured.

Avoid working out if you are beneath the temperature, until you are simply unwell across the neck and throat. To be on the safe side, it is best to just take the day off to rest. Besides that, all of your efforts from exercising would not go toward building your body up, but they?d go toward healing it from your illness.

The last several units of your training are the most essential; as you should work with this the perfect time to stop strong. If you feel like you are letting up, push harder so that you can finish with a bang. This extra effort, over time, will help dramatically in your overall fitness results.

When working out your biceps, make sure you are lifting the weights properly. You can also perform chin ups for stronger and limber arms and shoulders with the use of chin up bars. This is important because you can strain muscles in your arms. To properly lift weights, extend your wrists slightly backward and hold it that way. Slowly release your wrist into a normal position. This will help build bicep muscles properly.

Get healthier and toned by committing to daily exercise. You do not have to go to the gym every day; you can exercise at home or during your breaks at work. Daily exercise increases your energy and stamina. It also makes you feel wonderful, and that makes it more likely you will exercise more.

When working out, you should always work in sets. But, instead of counting up to see how many sets you have already completed, you should count down, so that you have more motivation and drive to finish those last sets of your work out.

A good tip for increasing your flexibility as a means of gaining a higher level of fitness is to work your inflexible areas twice as long your flexible areas. Whenever you stretch, you should put a majority of the focus on your tight muscles as these are the areas that can easily be injured.

To improve your health, by no means turn to steroids or functionality pills. These can have devastating effects on your body, and the results will typically be short term. Additionally, you will be damaging your health, which can lead to muscle tears and pulls. Lay off the steroids if you desire optimal fitness results.

Those are just some of the things that you can do to make sure that you remain fit, as you go about your day, and all throughout your life. If you always keep your goal to be fit at the front of your mind, you can?t help but enjoy the many health and happiness benefits that follow.

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Source: http://newhealthandfitness.org/2012/02/02/health-and-fitness-programs-that-will-help-keep-you-in-shape/

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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Japan Plans To Merge Major Science Bodies

Your post makes no sense. First you say they need to stop with Keynesian economics, then you go on about stopping them and their ability to print money. Which is a central keynesian ideal. So which is it?

- can you re-read this and try to explain to yourself, how come 2 statements, both of which are true, are contradictory?

Yes, Japan needs to stop Keynesian charlatanism, which means they need to stop government spending and for this they need to stop printing currency. They need market money, not political money, which means in almost every case that they need gold, not paper.

Oddly Japan seems to be doing fine after learning from their housing bubble in the 90's, which the US didn't learn from.

- so you don't know what Japanese zombie banks and zombie corporations are?

And you believe japanese unemployment is a problem? At 4.3%?

- that's nonsense. The real unemployment is over 3 time

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/WDE2F1qazlA/japan-plans-to-merge-major-science-bodies

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Video: Gingrich refuses to concede

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46227471#46227471

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A Wildlife Vet, a Pigeon, a Groundbreaking Discovery

One of the reasons I love my job as a wildlife veterinarian so much is the variety of my days. No two days are the same; each is filled with different animals with different problems, and I love the anticipation of what my day may bring. I never know what kind of animal will come through the door, what challenges I?ll face, and what skills I?ll get to use ? it?s very unpredictable and that makes it so fun and exciting! My job is very fast-paced, keeps me on my toes, and there?s never a dull moment ? emergency medicine at its finest! It is also full of new discoveries, as I found out last spring.

A wild pigeon with S. calchasi. Note the characteristic head tilt (torticollis). Photo by WRC

Last April I was examining a wild male adult Rock Pigeon that couldn?t fly. The person who found the pigeon suspected a broken wing. On the initial physical exam, I didn?t find any broken bones but the bird was exhibiting odd neurologic behaviors, including ataxia (lack of coordination) and torticollis (head tilt).

My differential diagnoses included head trauma, aberrant parasite migration (a parasite that?s normally found in the gastro-intestinal system migrates to other parts of the body, like the central nervous system), and a viral or bacterial infection causing encephalitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain).

I started the bird on anti-inflammatories and moved it into our isolation ward in case he was potentially contagious to other birds. Over the next five to seven days, the bird?s neurological symptoms progressively worsened. He literally started standing on his head and spinning in circles (see video). The torticollis also worsened. Because of his decreasing status and poor prognosis I humanely euthanized him.

Normally, when we euthanize an animal or when an animal dies, it?s disposed of or saved under a salvage permit for a licensed organization to use in their collections, for research, etc. Sometimes though, we send animals out for additional testing to help pinpoint the cause of the animal?s illness or death. This is done via a necropsy (just like an autopsy but for animals).

Since Paramyxovirus, a highly contagious viral disease in pigeons that manifests as neurological symptoms, including ataxia and torticollis, was high on my list of possible diagnoses, I sent this bird to the University of Minnesota (UMN) Diagnostic Lab (D-Lab) where they would do a necropsy and test for the virus.

In the past WRC has had several pigeons showing similar signs and Paramyxovirus was always suspected. To my knowledge, however, none had ever been sent in for necropsy. A pattern was there, but what was it? What is going on with these neurologic pigeons, I wondered.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the brain of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

Well, the bird tested negative for Paramyxovirus. However, what the D-Lab did find was shocking. A parasite, named Sarcocystis calchasi, was found in cysts in the bird?s skeletal muscles. The really neat thing? This parasite had never been identified in the United States! It actually hadn?t been identified anywhere outside of Germany (where it was identified in 2009)!

When the pathologists contacted me to tell me this news, I was very excited (as were they!). Tissue samples were sent to Germany to confirm identification of the parasite, and sure enough it was S. calchasi.

The parasite is passed from bird to bird via infected feces, likely from the Northern Goshawk or Cooper?s hawk, which acts as final host in the lifestage of the parasite (does not cause symptoms in those birds). The parasite then migrates from the GI tract into the muscles of the bird. The aforementioned bird had a severe case of meningoencephalitis (inflammation in the brain); however, the parasite was not found there. The parasite?s role in causing neurologic symptoms is still unknown but the UMN?s pathologists are busy researching other birds.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the muscle of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

With these amazing results, we promptly collaborated and published the findings in ?Transboundary and Emerging Diseases.? My first paper as a wildlife veterinarian has been published!

Dr. Arno Wunschmann, a veterinary diagnostician at UMN who discovered the S. calchasi cysts, speaks of what impact this discovery has on the global transmission of diseases:

?This case demonstrates that diseases can spread very quickly and how the use of modern diagnostic tools can help diagnose diseases (in this case PCR). The disease was first described in 2009 in Germany and showed up 2 years later already in Minnesota.

?I was only to able to put the pieces together because somebody in Germany had worked hard to get his cases published in a timely fashion (because the first cases were only seen two years before the paper was in print) and I used the literature resources (including the internet). It is a beautiful example of how the scientific community as a whole is meant to function and can function. Alternatively, one can speculate that the disease went undiagnosed for some period of time but that seems unlikely because the lesion is very obvious (if a pathologist examines the muscle).?

S. calchasi is now recognized as an important differential diagnosis in neurologic pigeons.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the muscle of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

How many pigeons possibly have it and have been misdiagnosed? That?s hard to say, but since S. calchasi was discovered, we?ve submitted every pigeon (all wild birds, not domestic) that dies while in our care or is euthanized. Nearly 20% have tested positive for this parasitic infection. This is huge news in the tracking of wildlife diseases on a global level.

One of the best parts of this discovery? My curiosity paid off! Wunschmann states: ?The case demonstrates nicely how important it is that curious clinicians do not just accept the status quo and submit animals for necropsy. Compliments to you!?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=96ea989a822864f0cab5e6b87a08b86a

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