On This Day In History April 10

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

April 10 is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 265 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1970, Paul McCartney announces the breakup of the Beatles.

The legendary rock band the Beatles spent the better part of three years breaking up in the late 1960s, and even longer than that hashing out who did what and why. And by the spring of 1970, there was little more than a tangled set of business relationships keeping the group together. Each of the Beatles was pursuing his musical interests outside of the band, and there were no plans in place to record together as a group. But as far as the public knew, this was just a temporary state of affairs. That all changed on April 10, 1970, when an ambiguous Paul McCartney “self-interview” was seized upon by the international media as an official announcement of a Beatles breakup.

The occasion for the statements Paul released to the press that day was the upcoming release of his debut solo album, McCartney. In a Q&A format in which he was both the interviewer and the interviewee, Paul first asked and answered a number of straightforward questions involving the recording equipment he used on the album, which instruments he played and who designed the artwork for the cover.

 428 – Nestorius becomes Patriarch of Constantinople.

837 – Halley’s Comet and Earth experienced their closest approach to one another when their separating distance equalled 0.0342 AU (3.2 million miles).

879 – Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks.

1407 – the lama Deshin Shekpa visits the Ming Dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded with the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma.

1500 – Ludovico Sforza is captured by the Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.

1606 – The Charter of the Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.

1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, enters into force in Great Britain.

1741 – War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia defeats Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz.

1815 – The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15.

The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth’s climate for the next two years.

1816 – The United States Government approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.

1821 – Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Turks from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.

1826 – The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town Messolonghi start leaving the town after a year’s siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.

1856 – The Theta Chi Fraternity is founded at Norwich University.

1858 – The original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonne bell for the Palace of Westminster is cast in Stockton-on-Tees by Warner’s of Cripplegate. This however cracked during testing and was recast into the 13.76 tonne bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry and is still in use to date.

1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is elected emperor of Mexico.

1865 – American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.

1866 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.

1868 – At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two die from the British/Indian troops.

1874 – The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.

1887 – On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of The Catholic University of America.

1904 – British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the third and final chapter of The Book of The Law.

1912 – The Titanic leaves port in Southampton, England for her first and only voyage.

1916 – The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City.

1919 – Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.

1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner’s Sons.

1941 – World War II: The Axis Powers in Europe establish the Independent State of Croatia from occupied Yugoslavia with Ante Pavelic’s Ustase fascist insurgents in power.

1944 – Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler escape from the Birkenau death camp.

1953 – Warner Brothers premieres the first 3-D film from a major American studio, entitled House of Wax.

1957 – The Suez Canal is reopened for all shipping after being closed for three months.

1959 – Akihito, future Emperor of Japan, weds Michiko.

1963 – 129 people die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.

1968 – Shipwreck of the New Zealand inter-island ferry TEV Wahine outside Wellington harbour.

1971 – Ping Pong Diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People’s Republic of China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a weeklong visit.

1972 – 20 days after he is kidnapped in Buenos Aires, Oberdan Sallustro is executed by communist guerrillas.

1972 – Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.

1972 – Seventy-four nations sign the Biological Weapons Convention, the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of biological weapons.

1973 – A British Vanguard turboprop crashes during a snowstorm at Basel, Switzerland killing 104.

1979 – Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people.

1991 – Italian ferry Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy killing 140.

1991 – A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.

1992 – The Maraghar Massacre, killing of ethnic Armenian civil population of the village Maraghar by Azerbaijani troops during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

2010 – Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board including President Lech Kaczynski.

Holidays and observances

  * Christian Feast Day:

     *  Fulbert of Chartres

     *  James, Azadanus and Abdicius

     *  William of Ockham (Church of England)

     *  April 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Punting the Pundits: Sunday Preview Edition

Punting the Punditsis an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

The Sunday Talking Heads:

Not one real economist from the left to critique the budget. Stay in bed

This Week with Christiane Amanpour: Ms. Amanpour’s guests Republican Congressman Mike Pence and Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen debate the serious budget crisis facing America. The roundtable with George Will, interim DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile, Chrystia Freeland of Thomson-Reuters and National Journal’s Ron Brownstein discuss the budget deal.

Christiane Amanpour has a the Sunday exclusive interview with Academy Award-winning director and actor Robert Redford.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Mr. Schieffer’s guests Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Vice Chair, Democratic Conference and Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee debating the budget battles.

The Chris Matthews Show: This week’s guests Gloria Borger, CNN Senior Political Analyst, Michael Gerson, The Washington Post Columnist, John Harris, Politico Editor-in-Chief and Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Columnist will give their opinions on these questions:

Will Republicans’ deep cut proposals hurt their chances in 2012?

Will his birther argument help or hurt Donald Trump In Republican primaries?

Meet the Press with David Gregory: Mr. Gregory will have exclusive interviews with Budget Committee Chairman, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the president’s senior adviser and former 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe.

The Roundtable guests Chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics, Tim Shriver; host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” Jim Cramer; the New York Times White House Corresopndent Helene Cooper; and NBC News Chief White House Correspondent and Political Director, Chuck Todd discussing the president’s leadership and the 2012 landscape.

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Ms. Crowley iintervies White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe, the Senate’s number two Democrat, Dick Durbin and the vice-chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, Republican Jeb Hensarling of Texas.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will join her to discuss the ongoing protests and upheaval in the Middle East and billionaire, Donald Trump to talk nonsense.

Fareed Zakaris: GPS: Fareed gives his take on Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and has an exclusive interview with one of America’s elder statesmen, James Baker on the US budget and foreign policy

Matt Taibbi: Tax Cuts for the Rich on the Backs of the Middle Class; or, Paul Ryan Has Balls

Paul Ryan, the Republican Party’s latest entrant in the seemingly endless series of young, prickish, over-coiffed, anal-retentive deficit Robespierres they’ve sent to the political center stage in the last decade or so, has come out with his new budget plan. All of these smug little jerks look alike to me – from Ralph Reed to Eric Cantor to Jeb Hensarling to Rand Paul and now to Ryan, they all look like overgrown kids who got nipple-twisted in the halls in high school, worked as Applebee’s shift managers in college, and are now taking revenge on the world as grownups by defunding hospice care and student loans and Sesame Street. They all look like they sleep with their ties on, and keep their feet in dress socks when doing their bi-monthly duty with their wives.

Every few years or so, the Republicans trot out one of these little whippersnappers, who offer proposals to hack away at the federal budget. Each successive whippersnapper inevitably tries, rhetorically, to out-mean the previous one, and their proposals are inevitably couched as the boldest and most ambitious deficit-reduction plans ever seen. Each time, we are told that these plans mark the end of the budgetary reign of terror long ago imposed by the entitlement system begun by FDR and furthered by LBJ.

Scarecrow at FDL: Obama DemoPods Feed Tea-GOP Zombies, Keep Washington Monument Open

You would think that a sentient President of the United States would be embarrassed, ashamed, and contrite after one of the more mindless and destructive governmental performances in years. Nope. Not the President who foolishly believes the federal government needs to tighten its belt because he’s clueless about the difference between families and the federal government. Has there ever been a Democratic President more befuddled about what leadership requires?

Having locked his own DemaPod Party into voting to slash $38 billion for their own programs, Mr. Obama didn’t apologize. Instead he thought it was a moment to make another speech urging you to visit the Washington Monument, as though he were George Bush telling you to visit Disneyland. Why anyone would want to watch this spectacle of a government and party betraying their followers and making fools of themselves from the top of the Washington Monument escapes me.

Robert Reich: Why the Right-Wing Bullies Will Hold The Nation Hostage Again and Again

When I was a small boy I was bullied more than most, mainly because I was a foot shorter than than everyone else. The demanded the cupcake my mother had packed in my lunchbox, or, they said, they’d beat me up. After a close call in the boy’s room, I paid up. Weeks later, they demanded half my sandwich as well. I gave in to that one, too. But I could see what was coming next. They’d demand everything else. Somewhere along the line I decided I’d have a take a stand. The fight wasn’t pleasant. But the bullies stopped their bullying.

I hope the President decides he has to take a stand, and the sooner the better. Last December he caved in to Republican demands that the Bush tax cut be extended to wealthier Americans for two more years, at a cost of more than $60 billion. That was only the beginning – the equivalent of my cupcake.

Steve Benen: The Next Bite At The Apple

No one wants to hear this, but there are three moments for a budget crisis in 2011: wrapping up the current fiscal year, extending the debt limit, and next year’s budget. The first was wrapped up last night, and as ridiculous as this may sound, it was arguably the easiest of the three.

Last weekend, when the outcome of this week’s budget debate was still in doubt, a Republican congressional aide told Roll Call, “This is going to be nothing compared to the debt limit.” Or, as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) told CNN yesterday, “The debt ceiling is going to be Armageddon.”

Last night, almost immediately after the agreement was announced, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressed his satisfaction — and then mentioned the fight over the debt limit.

Oh, good.

John Nichols: No Shutdown, But a Lot of Sellouts

If you had asked Franklin Roosevelt or Harry Truman or John Kennedy or Lyndon Johnson or Jimmy Carter or even Bill Clinton what Democrats would defend in a fight over the future of government, there’s no real question that funding for housing, public transportation, community development programs and safe air travel would be high on the list.

Yet, in order to achieve the Friday night deal that averted a government shutdown — for a week and, potentially, longer if an anticipated agreement is cobbled together and agreed to — all of those programs took serious hits.

Peterr at FDL: user Lessons in Negotiations from Marian Anderson and Eleanor Roosevelt

Saturday April 9, 2011

Watching the news last night hurt.

President Obama’s remarks on the budget agreement with the GOP included this signature line: “Like any worthwhile compromise, both sides had to make tough decisions and give ground on issues that were important to them.  And I certainly did that.”

Yes, Mr. President, you certainly did. Nobody can “give ground” on important issues like you can. (See Iraq, the public option, Dawn Johnsen, . . .)

It wasn’t always like this in DC. Once upon a time, there were folks there who took on entrenched opponents with creativity and passion. And they won.

Eighty-two Seventy-two years ago today, the renowned Marian Anderson gave a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. That wasn’t where she originally wanted to sing, but that’s where the concert ended up.

Six In The Morning

Giving female veterans a chance to share their pain

At a weekend retreat in Oceanside, participants find that, by learning how other women have had experiences like theirs, they can feel less alone.

By Alexandra Zavis, Times Staff Writer

April 10, 2011

The war veterans gathered amid the tranquil gardens and arched walkways of the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside. In a circle, they sat together, more than 50 women in all.

Some laughed and chatted as they settled in chairs or propped themselves up on the floor of an adobe-walled hall. Others glanced around, uncertain what to expect from a weekend retreat.

Several commented that it was the first time they had been in a room with so many women.

Gbagbo stages bloody fightback in Ivory Coast

Violence continues as former president refuses to concede defeat

By Daniel Howden in Abidjan Sunday, 10 April 2011

What began as the week when Laurent Gbagbo would finally concede defeat ended with the Ivory Coast strongman defying the world from his bunker in Abidjan. After watching his area of control shrink to only a few pockets of the lagoon city, his forces pushed back dramatically overnight on Friday with an assault on the French ambassador’s residence.

AFP reported yesterday that Abidjan’s Golf Hotel, headquarters of the internationally recognised President-elect, Alassane Ouattara, had come under attack. The UN evacuated 17 British citizens from the high commissioner’s residence, which is close to the Gbagbo compound.

Tate Modern protest calls for release of missing Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei

Pictures of sunflower seeds bearing names of 50 of the detained or ‘disappeared’ laid on grass outside gallery

Vanessa Thorpe and Tania Branigan in Beijing

The Observer, Sunday 10 April 2011<


Pictures of sunflower seeds bearing the names of 50 Chinese dissidents and artists who are being held by their country’s government or who have “disappeared” have been laid across the grass outside the Tate Modern gallery in London.

The protest, organised by Chinese artists and British supporters, has been prompted by the detention of Ai Weiwei, the artist and designer whose installation of millions of ceramic sunflower seeds currently fills the floor of the gallery’s Turbine Hall.

Iceland rejects Icesave repayment deal

Icelanders have rejected the latest plan to repay the UK and Netherlands some 4bn euros lost when the country’s banking system collapsed in 2008

The BBC  10 April 2011

Partial referendum results show 58% voting no, and 42% supporting the plan.

“The worst option was chosen. The vote has split the nation in two,” Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said on state TV.

It is the second time a referendum has rejected a repayment deal, and the case will now go to an international court.

Landsbanki ran savings accounts in the UK and Netherlands under the name Icesave and investors there lost 4bn euros (£3.5bn; $5.8bn).

Cairo protesters defy military

 

April 10, 2011 – 11:39AM  

More than 1000 protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square vowed on Saturday to stay overnight in defiance of the military after a protester was killed the night before when soldiers dispersed a similar sit-in.

At least one person was killed earlier in the morning when troops and police stormed the iconic square to break up an overnight protest demanding the trial of former regime officials.

The health ministry said one person died, a figure later echoed by the army, and 71 people were hurt – some from bullet wounds and others suffering breathing difficulties or having been struck during clashes.

Advertisement: Story continues below

Medics said two people were killed and 18 people wounded

Aftershocks expose risks of emergency power at nuclear facilities



2011/04/10

The massive aftershock Thursday compromised power supply systems and emergency generators at nuclear power facilities in northeastern Japan, sparking concern that plant operators are still unprepared to avert another crisis.

As the nation races to deal with the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, experts foresee a series of aftershocks, including at least one major seismic event.

Stiglitz: The Cost Of War and Redistribution of Wealth

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz has consistently pointed out that the US is on the wrong track for economic recovery and that the continued support for the money pit of Iraq and the shifting the countries wealth to the 2% elite will be the downfall of economics growth, He recently wrote an excellent article in Vanity Fair, Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%, pointing out that even the wealthy will come to regret this path.

t’s no use pretending that what has obviously happened has not in fact happened. The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all boats. That response would be misguided. While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall. For men with only high-school degrees, the decline has been precipitous-12 percent in the last quarter-century alone. All the growth in recent decades-and more-has gone to those at the top. In terms of income equality, America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride. Among our closest counterparts are Russia with its oligarchs and Iran. While many of the old centers of inequality in Latin America, such as Brazil, have been striving in recent years, rather successfully, to improve the plight of the poor and reduce gaps in income, America has allowed inequality to grow.

(emphasis mine)

This is well worth the time to read the entire piece and save it as a reference as this country sinks further into the morass and becomes a “Banana Republic”as the Tea Party Republicans try to drag this country back to the 19th century by repealing laws that protect children and workers.

Stiglitz also appeared on Democracy, Now! with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez to discuss his article and the current US “budget crisis” that has been fabricated by the right wing, Obama and the ever beholding MSM:

This week Republicans unveiled a budget proposal for 2012 that cuts more than $5.8 trillion in government spending over the next decade. The plan calls for sweeping changes to Medicaid and Medicare, while reducing the top corporate and individual tax rates to 25 percent. We speak to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who addresses the growing class divide taking place in the United States and inequality in a new Vanity Fair article titled “Of the 1, by the 1, for the 1%.” Stiglitz is a professor at Columbia University and author of numerous books, most recently Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy. “It’s not just that the people at the top are getting richer,” Stiglitz says. “Actually, they’re gaining, and everybody else is decreasing… And right now, we are worse than old Europe.” includes rush transcript

Nobel Economist Joseph Stiglitz: Assault on Social Spending, Pro-Rich Tax Cuts Turning U.S. into Nation “Of the 1 Percent, by the 1 Percent, for the 1 Percent”

DocuDharma Digest

Regular Features-

Featured Essays for April 9, 2011-

DocuDharma

F1: Sepang

Once again I used up most of my good material yesterday for Qualifying, which is ok I guess since unless there are surprises or someone blows up or parks there’s just not a lot to talk about; and if you’re not going to cover all of Qualifying and cut it so you can carry your lame Scuderia Marlboro UPC suck up fest and repeat everything everybody knew 2 weeks ago there’s hardly any point at all.

Pick any random race from last year and you have almost exactly the same Starting Grid.  Michael Schumacher once again underperforms and Kamui Kobayashi does better than expected.  Everyone made the 107% limit so we start a field of 24.

As we approach the actual race there are 2 scenarios- rain and not rain.

If it doesn’t rain then the drivers and teams who waited in the pits until the last 2 and a half minutes of Qualifying (warm up and hot lap) may have done themselves a favor in terms of tire wear since Sepang is notoriously tough because of the heat and cornering.  On the other hand everyone might start a fresh set of Wets which will be exciting racing.  If dry they are predicting 3 or 4 pits.  The bottom 14 get a chance to start Hards (weather permitting) and run some tire strategy.  Right now the forecast is for temperatures in the high 80s, 70 – 80% humidity, and a 60% chance of scattered Thunderstorms (if there is lightning they Red Flag the race because it’s just not safe).

Nothing I’ve seen yet has changed my overall opinion, which is that it’s McLaren and Red Bull and everybody else.  Hamilton and Button will be running handcrafted Titanium underwings that they’re running their exhausts back to front over to improve downforce.  The exhaust direction is not unique, all the other teams are doing the same thing but their wings are Carbon Fiber.

Pretty tables and discussion below.

Once again the Q-Laps field gives an indication of tire and engine wear during qualifying.  If it rains, of course, tire strategy goes out the window.

Starting Grid

Grid Driver Team Q-Time Q-Laps
1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 01:34.9 12
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 01:35.0 19
3 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 01:35.2 17
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 01:35.2 15
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:35.8 14
6 Nick Heidfeld Renault 01:36.1 9
7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:36.3 13
8 Vitaly Petrov Renault 01:36.3 9
9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 01:36.8 17
10 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 01:36.8 13
11 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:37.035 12
12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:37.160 13
13 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:37.347 12
14 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:37.370 12
15 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:37.496 15
16 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.528 10
17 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:37.593 9
18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 01:38.3 8
19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 01:38.6 8
20 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 01:38.8 8
21 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 01:40.6 8
22 Jerome d’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 01:41.0 7
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 01:41.5 7
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 01:42.6 7

Driver Standings

Rank Driver Team Points
1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 25
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 18
3 Vitaly Petrov Renault 15
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 12
5 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 10
6 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 8
7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 6
8 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 4
9 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 2
10 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1

Constructor Standings

Rank Team Points
1 RBR-Renault 35
2 McLaren-Mercedes 26
3 Ferrari 18
4 Renault 15
5 STR-Ferrari 4
6 Force India-Mercedes 3

from firefly-dreaming 09.4.11

(midnight. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

This is an Open Thread

Essays Featured Saturday the 9th of April:

Sympathy for the Devil begins the day in Late Night Karaoke, mishima DJs

Six Brilliant Articles! from Six Different Places!! on Six Different Topics!!!

                Six Days a Week!!!    at Six in the Morning!!!!

Alma discusses being long standing customers in Saturday Open Thoughts

A wonderful piece of Saturday Art! from mishima‘s talented hands.

Gha!

Betsy L. Angert tells a tale of Parenthood Planned

Diane Gee asks Did You Fuck it Up?

The most recent Popular Culture  from Translator showcases The Who: Happy Jack  

join the conversation! come firefly-dreaming with me….

Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Portuguese president appeals for interim debt deal

AFP

2 hrs 21 mins ago

GODOLLO, Hungary (AFP) – Portugal’s president pleaded for mercy from the EU and IMF Saturday after they set tough conditions for an 80-billion-euro ($115 billion) bailout weeks ahead of snap general elections.

Anibal Cavaco Silva said that with new elections due on June 5 “what we need now is an interim programme so that the next government can take part in the final negotiations, because it is the next government that will implement” the deal that emerges.

“It’s understandable (and) we need, let’s say, a little imagination on the part of European institutions to come up with a suitable interim programme,” he added.

AFP

2 Tens of thousands against European austerity measures

by Eszter Balazs, AFP

Sat Apr 9, 11:54 am ET

BUDAPEST (AFP) – European and local trade unions held a massive demonstration in the Hungarian capital Budapest Saturday to protest austerity measures, on the margins of a meeting of European finance ministers.

“We want jobs, growth, our welfare state intact, and we are not going to pay for bankers’ mistakes,” European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) leader John Monks said in front of a crowd organisers estimated at 45,000.

The tens of thousands of marchers swarmed from everywhere from Spain to Romania into Budapest, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

3 Icelanders go to polls on Icesave repayment deal

by Agnes Valdimarsdottir, AFP

Sat Apr 9, 6:55 am ET

REYKJAVIK (AFP) – About 230,000 Icelandic voters went to the polls Saturday to approve or reject a renegotiated deal to compensate Britain and The Netherlands over the 2008 collapse of Icesave bank.

The latest opinion polls put the “no” vote on the 3.9 billion euro ($5.6 billion) deal slightly in the lead.

The Netherlands and Britain spent this amount to compensate some 340,000 of their citizens who lost money when Icesave, an online bank, went under at the height of the global financial crisis.

4 Libya rebels pushed back, more relief for Misrata

by Joseph Krauss, AFP

33 mins ago

NEAR AJDABIYA, Libya (AFP) – Heavy loyalist fire pushed Libyan rebels back almost to the town of Ajdabiya on Saturday, after the insurgents had pressed westward halfway to the oil refinery town of Brega, 80 kilometres (50 miles) away.

As diplomatic efforts gathered pace for a truce, the Red Cross brought much-needed relief to the besieged rebel-held port city of Misrata, the scene of fighting for more than 40 days.

A huge blast rocked Ajdabiya, said an AFP correspondent on its outskirts, with some residents suggesting it might have been a NATO air strike. In Brussels, a NATO official denied that there had been a strike.

5 Two protesters killed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square

by Samer al-Atrush, AFP

18 mins ago

CAIRO (AFP) – At least one person was killed Saturday when troops and police stormed Cairo’s Tahrir Square to break up a demonstration demanding the ouster of the country’s de facto military ruler.

The health ministry said one person died, a figure later echoed by the army, and 71 people were hurt — some from bullet wounds and others suffering breathing difficulties or having been struck during clashes.

Medics said two people were killed and 18 people wounded.

6 Pro-Gbagbo forces launch attack on rival’s HQ

by Thomas Morfin, AFP

30 mins ago

ABIDJAN (AFP) – Forces loyal to Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo launched an attack Saturday on the headquarters of his rival, UN-recognised president Alassane Ouattara, in a major escalation of the battle for control of the country.

Witnesses told AFP the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, where Ouattara has been holed up since disputed November elections, came under attack starting from about 5:00 pm local time (1700 GMT).

It was the first time since the start of the west African nation’s political crisis that the hotel had come under direct attack.

7 Gbagbo’s forces not finished yet, UN warns

AFP

Fri Apr 8, 6:46 pm ET

ABIDJAN (AFP) – The UN on Friday warned that well-equipped fighters loyal to Laurent Gbagbo were gaining ground in Abidjan, and reported evidence of “utterly horrifying” violence elsewhere in Ivory Coast.

In New York, UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy warned that troops loyal to Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after a November election, still had tanks and other heavy weapons and had made advances in Abidjan.

Gbagbo forces were just one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the hotel headquarters of internationally recognized president Alassane Ouattara, Le Roy told reporters after a UN Security Council briefing on the Ivory Coast crisis.

8 Ivory Coast fighting thwarts evacuation of diplomats

AFP

2 hrs 33 mins ago

ABIDJAN (AFP) – Clashes with Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo’s troops forced French troops to abort an evacuation of diplomatic personnel from Abidjan Saturday, as pleas mounted for humanitarian aid.

The evacuation began at around 3:00 am (0300 GMT) but the head of the country’s mission decided to cancel the operation because “security conditions were insufficient,” Colonel Thierry Burkhard of the French forces in Ivory Coast told AFP.

French forces drew fire during the operation and French helicopters destroyed an armoured vehicle of pro-Gbagbo forces in Abidjan’s diplomatic quarter, Burkhard said.

9 Nigerians vote in large numbers despite violence, delays

by Aderogba Obisesan, AFP

27 mins ago

LAGOS (AFP) – Nigerians voted in large numbers Saturday in the first of a series of key elections in Africa’s most populous nation, shaking off fears of violence after a deadly bomb blast and other attacks.

Parliamentary polls finally went ahead Saturday after two earlier postponements and despite violence that included a bomb attack on an electoral office Friday night which officials said killed 13 people and wounded dozens more.

Another explosion occurred at a polling place in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on Saturday, but authorities had not officially confirmed any deaths. A police source said on condition of anonymity that three people were killed.

10 Pack chase McIlroy at Masters

by Allan Kelly, AFP

59 mins ago

AUGUSTA, Georgia (AFP) – The chase was on in the third round of the Masters on Saturday as a clutch of contenders sought to reel in 21-year-old Rory McIlroy.

The Ulsterman has led from the start at Augusta National and his 10 under par halfway total of 134 gave him a two strokes lead over Australia’s Jason Day with Tiger Woods and K.J. Choi tied for third a further stroke back.

Before they set off several players started to make their moves.

11 Ballabriggs keeps National in family for McCain

AFP

2 hrs 49 mins ago

LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom (AFP) – Ballabriggs, trained by Donald McCain and ridden by Jason Maguire, won the Grand National here on Saturday, the 14-1 chance beating Oscar Time, partnered by amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen.

Don’t Push It, last year’s winner, put up a valiant defence of his crown in third under Tony McCoy with State Of Play coming from the clouds to grab fourth.

McCain was cementing his family’s links with the world’s most famous steeplechase, his father Ginger having sent out Red Rum to memorably win three Grand Nationals in the 1970s.

12 Wine traders expect strong demand for Bordeaux futures

by Suzanne Mustacich, AFP

Fri Apr 8, 12:25 pm ET

BORDEAUX (AFP) – Wine merchants warned Friday demand could be high for another excellent Bordeaux vintage after buyers from around the world descended on southwest France for the annual market.

China and Hong Kong have become the biggest customers for the world renowned Bordeaux wines but some traders are warning against neglecting the more traditional markets in Europe and the United States.

Most expect sales and prices to match last year’s or to increase through the three month sales period, leading up to June’s annual Vinexpo sales fair.

13 Superb Vettel storms to Malaysian pole

by Gordon Howard, AFP

Sat Apr 9, 12:31 pm ET

SEPANG, Malaysia (AFP) – World champion Sebastien Vettel stormed to pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix in a thrilling qualifying session Saturday as Red Bull’s misfiring power-boost system finally came good.

The German ace narrowly beat McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton by just over one-tenth of a second in the session’s dying moments, with Vettel’s Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber third and Jenson Button (McLaren) fourth.

Hamilton had set the best time with some audacious driving, before Vettel — who claimed last month’s season-opener from pole — snatched top spot with a red-hot 1min 34.870 sec.

Reuters

14 EU wants more Portugal austerity as EU unions protest

By Marton Dunai, Reuters

Sat Apr 9, 9:40 am ET

GODOLLO, Hungary (Reuters) – EU finance ministers on Saturday urged Portugal to commit to reforms and defended the region’s austerity steps as tens of thousands of European workers protested in Budapest against spending cuts.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the 27-nation bloc held a second day of informal talks outside the Hungarian capital on their response to the euro zone debt crisis after Portugal on Wednesday became the third euro zone country to ask for EU and IMF financial aid.

EU ministers said that in return for an estimated 80 billion euros in emergency loans over three years, Lisbon would have to commit to further structural reforms to bring down its budget deficit and debt in a sustainable way.

15 EU wants pre-election bailout deal for Portugal

By Krisztina Than and Sakari Suoninen, Reuters

Fri Apr 8, 2:42 pm ET

GODOLLA, Hungary (Reuters) – Euro zone ministers said Portugal must make deeper budget cuts and privatize state firms in return for an 80 billion euro bailout the bloc wants to finalize by mid-May, just weeks before an election and state funding crunch.

Portugal bowed to pressure from financial markets and its European partners this week and became the third euro zone country after Greece and Ireland to request financial help from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Finance ministers from the 17-nation single currency area met at a palace north of Budapest on Friday to discuss the details and timeline of a rescue, which has been complicated by political turmoil in the Iberian nation of 10.5 million.

16 Army says ready to use force to clear Cairo square

By Patrick Werr and Marwa Awad, Reuters

45 mins ago

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s ruling generals said on Saturday they were ready to use force to end protests in Tahrir Square after troops cracked down on demonstrators overnight and sparked violence that medical sources said killed two people.

Soldiers and police had used tasers and batons to try to drive out protesters from the square, the epicenter of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak on February 11. Gunshots echoed across the square in the overnight operation.

Hundreds defied the army move and stayed. Thousands more joined them on Saturday demanding power be handed to civilians and calling for the resignation of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the ruling council.

17 Libya rebels repel attack on Misrata, Gaddafi appears

By Maria Golovnina, Reuters

1 hr 24 mins ago

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels beat off a new assault by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on the besieged western city of Misrata on Saturday, losing eight of their fighters in fierce street battles, the insurgents said.

As fighting raged on for the coastal town, where conditions are said to be desperate, a buoyant Muammar Gaddafi made his first television appearance for five days and his troops engaged rebels in more fighting on the eastern front of the civil war.

Rebel spokesman Mustafa Abdulrahman told Reuters by telephone that Saturday’s fighting centered on the Nakl al-Theqeel road to Misrata port, where a Red Cross vessel brought in badly needed medical supplies earlier in the day.

18 Syrian forces fire at mourners after mass funeral

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Suleiman al-Khalidi, Reuters

Sat Apr 9, 12:39 pm ET

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian security forces opened fire on mourners near a mosque in the flashpoint city of Deraa after a mass funeral for pro-democracy protesters, two witnesses said on Saturday.

Security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse thousands of people who were chanting freedom slogans after assembling near the old Omari mosque in the old quarter of the city, near the border with Jordan, the witnesses said.

Dozens of people have been killed in a wave of protests across Syria against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

19 Gbagbo forces regain ground in Abidjan

By Ange Aboa, Reuters

Sat Apr 9, 10:42 am ET

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, besieged in Ivory Coast’s main city, have retaken ground and are edging closer to where rival presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara is holed up, the United Nations said.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy told reporters on Friday that Gbagbo forces had used a lull in fighting for peace talks as a ruse to reinforce their positions.

“We understand that since that time, the forces of Mr. Gbagbo … have regained terrain and they have full control of the Plateau and Cocody area,” Le Roy said, referring to districts of the commercial capital Abidjan where his residence and diplomats’ homes are located.

20 Italy steps up call for EU help with migrant crisis

By James Mackenzie, Reuters

2 hrs 5 mins ago

ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped up calls Saturday for Europe to help deal with the “human tsunami” of refugees and illegal immigrants from North Africa arriving in southern Italian islands in recent weeks.

“Europe cannot get out of this,” he said during a visit to Lampedusa, the tiny island located midway between Sicily and Tunisia.

“Either Europe is something that’s real and concrete or it isn’t and in that case it’s better to go back to each going our own way and letting everyone follow their own policies and egotism.”

21 Japan’s reactor operator apologizes for radiation

By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Chisa Fujioka, Reuters

Sat Apr 9, 10:46 am ET

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese power company executive apologized on Saturday for spreading radiation into the air and sea as regulators said the pumping of radioactive water into waters off Japan from a crippled nuclear plant would end one day later than planned.

The apology from Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) came a day after China and South Korea expressed concern at the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant smashed by last month’s earthquake, reflecting growing international unease over the month-long nuclear crisis.

“It is almost a month since the earthquake took place. I would like to apologize from my heart over the worries and troubles we are causing for society due to the release of radiological materials into the atmosphere and seawater,” Sakae Muto, a TEPCO vice president, told a news conference.

22 Nigerians vote amid tight security after violence

By Nick Tattersall, Reuters

Sat Apr 9, 8:14 am ET

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigerians voted in a delayed parliamentary election on Saturday, voicing determination to hold a credible poll in Africa’s most populous nation despite chaotic organization and violence.

At least seven more people were killed in four separate incidents in the last few hours before polling. Those deaths followed the killing of at least 10 people by a bomb at an election office late on Friday.

Violence which has taken around 100 lives in the run-up to the election, as well as the logistical chaos which forced the postponement of the vote a week ago, have renewed doubts over whether democracy can work in Nigeria.

23 U.S.-Pakistan intelligence operations frozen since January

By Chris Allbritton, Reuters

Sat Apr 9, 9:00 am ET

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Joint U.S.-Pakistan intelligence operations have been halted since late January, a senior Pakistani intelligence officer said, reflecting strain in a relationship seen as crucial to combating militants and the war in Afghanistan.

Uneasy U.S.-Pakistani ties have become even more tense after a string of diplomatic disputes so far this year, including a massive drone strike in March and the case of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis on January 27 in the eastern city of Lahore.

“Presently, joint operations are on hold,” a senior Pakistani intelligence officer told Reuters, adding that they were halted after Davis killed the two men. A Pakistani court has since acquitted Davis of murder and he has been released.

24 Iraqi cleric warns of violence if U.S. troops don’t go

By Muhanad Mohammed, Reuters

Sat Apr 9, 8:37 am ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s fiery anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will “escalate military resistance” and unleash his Mehdi Army militia if U.S. troops fail to leave Iraq as scheduled this year, his aides said on Saturday.

On the 8th anniversary of the day U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein’s statue in Baghdad, senior Sadr aide Hazem al-Araji told tens of thousands of followers: “We say to the Black House (White House), ‘we are all time bombs and the detonators are at the hands of Moqtada al-Sadr.’ American troops must definitely leave our lands.”

Men, women and children — many waving Iraq’s black, white and red flag or singing songs — gathered in Baghdad’s Mustansiriya square to mark the occasion. The mood was festive, and vendors milled around, selling ice cream, water and juice.

25 Budget deal avoids shutdown

By Patricia Zengerle and Jeff Mason, Reuters

2 hrs 27 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The last-minute budget deal President Barack Obama and congressional leaders struck to avert a government shutdown paves the way for what Republicans promised on Saturday will be more spending fights to come.

With just over an hour to spare before a midnight deadline, Obama’s Democrats and opposition Republicans agreed on Friday to a compromise that will cut about $38 billion in spending for the rest of this fiscal year, which ends on Sept 30.

Congress then approved a stopgap funding measure to keep the federal government running until the deal can be formally approved in the next several days. Obama signed it on Saturday.

AP

26 Analysis: So much for change coming to Washington

By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent

Sat Apr 9, 12:16 pm ET

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama promised to change Washington’s ways. Yet he’s as caught up in them as ever.

As the week began, Obama kicked off his re-election bid with a sunny video of people talking about their hopes and needs, the very image of life outside Washington politics.

By week’s end, Obama was mired in budget negotiations, canceling trips and scrambling to stave off a government shutdown that could only undermine the public’s faith in his leadership.

27 Obama, Boehner each earn wins in budget pact

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press

11 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Rivals in a divided government, President Barack Obama and the most powerful Republican in Congress split their differences to stave off a federal shutdown that neither combatant was willing to risk.

Their compromise is the result of a battle pitting the enduring power of the presidential veto and the White House soapbox – despite a “shellacking” in the last election – against a strong-willed GOP House speaker vaulted into office by a voter revolt against Washington’s free-spending ways.

The resulting measure will bleed about $40 billion from the day-to-day budgets of domestic agencies over just the next six months, the biggest rollback of such government programs in history. It allows Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to claim his GOP shock troops had put Cabinet department operating budgets on track toward levels in place before Obama took office. In the end, the White House had to meet Boehner more than halfway on spending.

Complete and utter bullshit.

28 Analysis: GOP won first round of budget battle

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press

2 hrs 53 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Republican conservatives were the chief winners in the budget deal that forced Democrats to accept historic spending cuts they strongly opposed.

Emboldened by last fall’s election victories, fiscal conservatives have changed the debate in Washington. The question no longer is whether to cut spending, but how deeply. Rarely mentioned is the idea of higher taxes to lower the deficit.

Their success is all the more notable because Democrats control the Senate and White House.

29 Long meetings, dashed hopes – but finally a deal

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press

52 mins ago

WASHINGTON – There was barely an hour left before the midnight padlocking of government doors. In a Capitol basement meeting room, House Speaker John Boehner was telling exhausted fellow Republicans that a deal to avert a shutdown was nearly finished when an aide alerted him that staff had completed the final details and the agreement was complete.

“He said we don’t have the Senate and we don’t have the White House, and it’s a good day’s work,” said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., who was in the closed-door session and later described the scene.

And with that, Republicans clapped: “Not euphoria,” Kingston said, reflecting fatigue and the realization of a long year of intense budget battling lay ahead. But for now, a week of top-level White House meetings, round-the-clock bargaining by staff and lots of emotional hills and valleys had produced a bipartisan accord to trim $38.5 billion in spending over this fiscal year’s remaining six months and head off a federal shutdown that both parties feared could hurt their standing with voters.

30 Last-minute budget deal brings relief, disgust

By BRETT ZONGKER, Associated Press

1 hr 33 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A collective sense of relief resonated across the nation Saturday, now that a federal government shutdown is merely a thought of what could have been.

Thousands of tourists poured into the Smithsonian museums in Washington – which would have been shuttered without Friday’s late-night budget deal – to see artifacts like the original “Star-Spangled Banner” flag. And military families won’t have to stock their freezers, not knowing when they might have another paycheck to put food on the table.

The only thing that rivals their comfort? Widespread disgust, knowing that political bickering made them cringe in the first place.

31 Sienna Miller: still suing over tabloid phone hack

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

59 mins ago

LONDON – Prominent Britons who accuse a tabloid newspaper of hacking into their phone messages said Saturday they were not satisfied with the paper’s apology and offer of compensation.

The News of the World has acknowledged eavesdropping on the voicemails of public figures and says it will pay compensation for an unspecified number of “justifiable claims.”

But the admission has done little to end a scandal that has rattled Britain’s political establishment and Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

32 Libyan rebels face military surge on key outpost

By SEBASTIAN ABBOT, Associated Press

1 hr 19 mins ago

AJDABIYA, Libya – Government soldiers and rebel gunmen battled in the streets of a key front-line city Saturday after the Libyan military used shelling and guerrilla-style tactics to open its most serious push into opposition territory since international airstrikes began. NATO airstrikes, meanwhile, hammered at Gadhafi’s ammunition stockpiles and armored forces, destroying 17 tanks.

At least eight people were killed in the fighting over Ajdabiya, a hospital official said.

Recapturing the city would give the Libyan military a staging ground to attack the rebels’ main stronghold, Benghazi, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) farther east along the coastal highway. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces were approaching Benghazi when they were driven back by the international air campaign launched last month to protect civilians and ground Gadhafi’s aircraft.

33 Syrian rights group says funeral comes under fire

By ZEINA KARAM and ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press

47 mins ago

BEIRUT – Syrian security forces fired on mourners at a funeral for slain protesters Saturday as authorities vowed to crush any new unrest from a three-week uprising that showed no sign of letting up even as the death toll topped 170.

Activists vowed to accelerate their movement with daily protests nationwide, bringing new pressure on President Bashar Assad’s authoritarian regime. Assad has answered the tens of thousands of protesters with both force and limited concessions that have failed to appease an emboldened movement inspired by the Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

“Old-style crackdowns and techniques simply do not work anymore,” said Aktham Nuaisse, a prominent Syrian pro-democracy activist. “The first thing authorities must do is stop this violence and enact serious reforms. Failing that, I fear everyone is going to lose control of the situation.”

34 Anger flares at Egypt army for brutal protest raid

By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press

1 hr 34 mins ago

CAIRO – Thousands of demonstrators barricaded themselves in Cairo’s central square with burned-out troop carriers and barbed wire Saturday and demanded the removal of the military council ruling Egypt, infuriated after soldiers stormed their protest camp overnight, killing at least one person and injuring 71 others.

In a sign the confrontation could escalate, the military warned Saturday evening that it will clear Tahrir Square of protesters “with all force and decisiveness” for life to get back to normal.

The warning could presage a repeat of the scene before dawn, when hundreds of soldiers, including a highly trained parachute unit, swarmed into Tahrir Square, firing in the air and beating protesters with clubs and shocking some with electrical batons. Troops dragged away protesters, while others staggered away bleeding from beatings and gunshot wounds. Witnesses reported two killed, though the Health Ministry insisted there was only one death.

35 Iraqi cleric threatens action if US forces remain

By BUSHRA JUHI, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 12:30 pm ET

BAGHDAD – A powerful anti-American Shiite cleric threatened Saturday to reactivate his feared militia if American soldiers remain in Iraq beyond this year, after a U.S. offer to keep troops on if they are needed.

Muqtada al-Sadr issued a statement to his followers on the eight anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s ouster that stopped just short of calling for violent action against U.S. forces. He accused “the occupation” of inciting panic, corruption and unrest among Iraqis.

His statement was read aloud at a huge protest of tens of thousands in Baghdad’s Mawal Square, near al-Sadr’s stronghold in an eastern Baghdad slum. The cleric is in Iran, where he has been studying religion for the last several years.

36 French helicopters attacked in Ivory Coast

By MARCO CHOWN OVED, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 1:40 pm ET

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – French helicopters on an evacuation mission were fired upon by forces supporting the country’s strongman as they tried to retain power in Ivory Coast’s largest city, a military spokesman said Saturday.

No French soldiers were injured in the attack late Friday, but French forces fired back destroying one armored vehicle, Cmdr. Frederic Daguillon said. The mission to evacuate diplomats from an embassy was aborted, he said.

The attack came the same night that France’s embassy was hit by two mortars and a rocket fired by forces for Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to cede power or emerge from a bunker at his residence.

37 End to Japan nuke crisis is years, a fortune away

By CHARLES HUTZLER and MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 10:24 am ET

TOKYO – Once Japan’s leaky nuclear complex stops spewing radiation and its reactors cool down, making the site safe and removing the ruined equipment is going to be a messy ordeal that could take decades and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Radiation has covered the area around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and blanketed parts of the complex, making the job of “decommissioning” the plant – rendering it safe so it doesn’t threaten public health and the environment – a bigger task than usual.

Toshiba Corp., which supplied four of Fukushima’s six reactors, including two on which General Electric Co. collaborated, submitted a roadmap this past week to the plant’s operator for decommissioning the crippled reactors. The study, done with three other companies, projects that it would take about 10 years to remove the fuel rods and the reactors and contain other radioactivity at the site, said Keisuke Omori of Toshiba.

38 Japan bans planting rice in radioactive soil

By RYAN NAKASHIMA, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 9:54 am ET

TOKYO – Fears of radiation spread to rice as the planting season began in Japan, prompting the government to ban its cultivation in contaminated soil as fallout leaking from a tsunami-damaged nuclear plant dealt another blow to the national diet.

Vegetables and milk were the first foods that sparked concerns about the safety of Japanese agriculture after the March 11 tsunami flooded the nuclear plant and its reactors began to overheat and spew radiation. But those worries intensified when highly radioactive water was spotted gushing from the complex into the Pacific and contaminated fish showed up in catches.

Those concerns have abated somewhat after the leak was plugged and bans on produce from some areas were lifted.

39 Ramirez avoids drug ban, at ease with retirement

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

1 hr 53 mins ago

NEW YORK – Unwilling to face another drug ban, Manny Ramirez is leaving baseball and is at peace with his decision while the sport confronts the specter of steroids again.

“I’m at ease,” Ramirez told ESPNdeportes.com by phone from his home in Miami. “God knows what’s best (for me). I’m now an officially retired baseball player. I’ll be going away on a trip to Spain with my old man.”

One of the game’s great sluggers, Ramirez tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and wasted little time in saying he was done with the game.

40 After tear in a 737, asking what’s old for a plane

By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ, AP Airlines Writer

Sat Apr 9, 7:45 am ET

How old is too old for an airplane?

Most travelers don’t think twice about it – although there’s something unsettling about easing into your seat and finding the armrest still has an ashtray built in.

But fliers may be more worried than usual after a 5-foot hole opened in the roof of a 15-year-old Southwest jet earlier this month. Southwest quickly grounded 79 of its older Boeing 737s for inspections.

41 Boeing 737s around the world face new scrutiny

By BOB CHRISTIE, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 5:25 am ET

PHOENIX – A terrifying flight emergency caused by a fuselage hole 34,000 feet over the Arizona desert is focusing attention on the hundreds of older-model 737s around the world that could be similarly vulnerable.

A 5-foot section of the passenger cabin roof of a 15-year-old Boeing 737-300 tore off April 1, forcing the Southwest Airlines flight to make an emergency landing.

None of the 118 people aboard was seriously injured, but light-headed passengers were banged around the cabin and had to quickly put on overhead oxygen masks as pilots made a rapid descent.

42 Cold War neutrals now taking sides, timidly

By KARL RITTER, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 7:12 am ET

STOCKHOLM – Swedish fighter jets are roaring into action over Libya under NATO command. Ireland is offering itself as a transit hub for U.S. military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Even famously independent Switzerland has peacekeepers in Kosovo.

For Europe’s once-staunchly neutral countries, much has changed in the two decades since the Cold War ended. With no East-West conflict as a reference point, the concept of neutrality has been redefined to the point that some would say it’s lost its meaning.

“There’s total confusion. People have forgotten the concept of neutrality, which means don’t take sides in a military conflict,” said Swiss peace researcher Daniele Ganser.

43 San Francisco hopes tech success isn’t Bubble 2.0

By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 10:44 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO – A certain feeling is back in San Francisco. Murmurings of stock market riches. Twenty-something entrepreneurs as celebrities. Lamborghinis parked next to taco trucks.

Driven by social media and mobile startups, the money is flowing in the city’s tech industry again, a decade after the dot-com boom minted overnight millionaires and its crash fueled a local recession worse than anything San Francisco has seen in the latest downturn.

A recent tax break for Twitter and other proposals show city officials are hopeful that this latest tech industry prosperity does not portend another bubble and another bust.

44 World stumbles toward climate summit

By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 3:54 am ET

BANGKOK – Nineteen years after the world started to take climate change seriously, delegates from around the globe spent five days talking about what they will talk about at a year-end conference in South Africa. They agreed to talk about their opposing viewpoints.

Delegates from 173 nations did agree that delays in averting global warming merely fast-forward the risk of plunging the world into “catastrophe.” The delegate from Bolivia noted that the international effort, which began with a 1992 U.N. convention, has so far amounted to “throwing water on a forest fire.”

But the U.N. meeting in Bangkok, which concluded late Friday after delegates cobbled together a broad agenda for the December summit, failed to narrow the deep divisions between the developing world and the camp of industrialized nations led by the United States. These may come to plague the summit in Durban.

45 Oregon cowboy town promotes solar energy

By SHANNON DININNY, Associated Press

41 mins ago

PENDLETON, Ore. – A cowboy grasping the reins of a bucking bronco has long been the image of this farm and ranch town. It’s the emblem of the annual Pendleton Roundup, a celebration of the city’s colorful past, when pioneers on the Oregon Trail settled the prairie.

Today, solar panels might just outnumber cowboys.

Rural Pendleton is blazing an unlikely renewable energy trail, offering no-interest loans to spark interest in solar power and a group-buy philosophy to get better prices. More than 50 residents installed systems last year, and the program was expanded to more residents and to include businesses this year.

46 Wis. Rep.’s Medicare plan worries local voters

By DINESH RAMDE, Associated Press

2 hrs 12 mins ago

JANESVILLE, Wis. – Brian Krutsch has been long one of many automatic votes here for Rep. Paul Ryan. The unemployed warehouse manager, along with a solid majority of other Janesville voters, has helped elect Ryan seven times and watched with pride as he became one of Congress’ leading authorities on the federal budget. But this week, admiration has been tinged with apprehension as one of Ryan’s signature ideas – ending Medicare’s status as a full, guaranteed benefit for senior citizens – suddenly took a step toward reality.

“I think that’s one of the things they should probably leave alone – you know – unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Krutsch said as he took a break from reviewing job openings at the Rock County Job Center. “Old people need help with medical bills. There’s too many people under-insured right now – especially people like myself right now who don’t have insurance.”

Changing Medicare has become a hot topic around town, and the qualms underscore why many officeholders are wary of talking about it.

47 Civil War 150th a lifetime event for re-enactors

BRUCE SMITH, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 10:53 am ET

FORT SUMTER NATIONAL MONUMENT, S.C. – For thousands of Civil War re-enactors, the next four years are a chance to capitalize on the public’s curiosity about a century-old hobby that demands such attention to detail that the fights seem almost real.

The die-hards converging soon at the site where the War Between the States began 150 years ago with a Confederate artillery barrage on Union-held Fort Sumter can’t wait to help others understand why they spend weekends tramping through the rain, sleeping in tents in snow-covered fields, cooking on open campfires and enduring mock battles in wool coats under the hot Southern sun.

They’re expecting a surge of interest in a pastime that has roots at the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1913, when Confederate veterans retraced Pickett’s Charge. Re-enacting took hold for good five decades ago during the Civil War’s centennial.

48 Planned Parenthood, abortion and the budget fight

By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press

Sat Apr 9, 12:03 am ET

WASHINGTON – Republicans portray Planned Parenthood as primarily focused on performing abortions and – intentionally or not – using American taxpayer dollars to do it.

Not so, say Democrats who counter that the group’s 800-plus health centers nationwide provide an array of services, from screenings for cancer to testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Abortion is just one of many procedures, and the law bars Planned Parenthood from using tax money for it.

In the budget maelstrom Friday stood Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a 90-year-old organization now part of a decades-long congressional battle over abortion. Republicans wanted any legislation keeping the government operating to bar federal dollars for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of abortions. They wanted to distribute the money to the states.

49 House votes to repeal regs on Internet access

By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press

Fri Apr 8, 9:38 pm ET

WASHINGTON – House Republicans adamant that the government keep its hands off the Internet passed a bill Friday to repeal federal rules barring Internet service providers from blocking or interfering with traffic on their networks.

Republicans, in voting to repeal rules on “network neutrality” set down by the Federal Communications Commission, said the FCC lacked the authority to promulgate the rules. They disputed the need to intervene in an already open Internet and warned that the rules would stifle investment in broadband systems.

“The FCC power grab would allow it to regulate any interstate communication service on barely more than a whim and without any additional input from Congress,” said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., sponsor of the legislation. The Internet, he added, “is open and innovative thanks to the government’s hands-off approach.”

Random Japan

Photobucket

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

The Red Cross Society of North Korea sent $100,000 (¥8.1 million) in aid to the Japanese Red Cross Society for victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Fearless leader Kim Jong Il also kicked in another $500,000 to help pro-Pyongyang Korean residents in Japan affected by the quake/tsunami.

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic organized a charity soccer match and dinner involving several ATP stars that raised $100,000 for the relief effort.

Yomiuri Giants baseball star Alex Ramirez, meanwhile, donated $1 million, as well as sending trucks stocked with medicine to the worst-hit areas.

One of the biggest sources of aid has come from what some might consider an unlikely source-the yakuza.

Stats

262

Number of aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater in the seven days following March 11, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency-a record

145 million

Approximate number of DS gaming consoles sold by Nintendo through the end of 2010

1,024,820

Signatures from around the world on display at UN headquarters in New York calling for the abolition of

FALLOUT

The American-owned Tokyo Apache of basketball’s bj-league decided to scrap the rest of their season after the destructive earthquake and tsunami hit. They also donated $1 million to relief efforts.

It was reported that a play concerning the effects of a tsunami that was written by an ex-elementary school principal will be published in social studies textbooks next year. “People stand no chance against the power of nature,” said author Hagemu Kumagaya, whose grandfather lost his whole family in the 1933 Showa Sanriku Tsunami.

Tokyo’s Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka is set to be knocked down, but before that happens, the landmark will be used as a shelter for up to 1,600 people who have been evacuated due to the crisis in Fukushima.

It was revealed that Masataka Shimizu, the president of TEPCO, whose damaged nuclear power plants have left the nation on edge since March 11, took a few days of sick leave after the disaster.

A group of student volunteers in the tsunami-hit village of Noda in Iwate Prefecture have begun searching for photo albums amid the rubble that was once a town and handing them back to their rightful owners.

Unlike many other nations, the Philippines decided to keep importing Japanese food with the exception of chocolate made with milk from the Fukushima area.

Every Dog  

Has His Day    

Catch And Release

Caught    

Deport Me  

Please  

Man found stranded since March 11 in empty town inside evacuation zone



Saturday 09th April, 06:24 AM JST

The farmhouse sits at the end of a mud-caked, one-lane road strewn with toppled trees, the decaying carcasses of dead pigs and large debris deposited by the March 11 tsunami.

Stranded alone inside the unheated, dark home is 75-year-old Kunio Shiga. He cannot walk very far and doesn’t know what happened to his wife.

His neighbors have all left because the area is 20 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant – just within the zone where authorities have told everyone to get out because of concerns about leaking radiation.

No rescuer ever came for him.

Curbs on summer power use in offing

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Kyodo News

The government said Friday that it plans to set a legal curb on power consumption by large-lot users to cope with electricity shortages expected this summer in the Kanto and Tohoku regions, while asking households to reduce their use by about 15 to 20 percent during peak hours.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a government task force that the measures are intended to avoid the rolling blackouts introduced by Tokyo Electric Power Co. after the March 11 catastrophe.

Tepco separately said it is basically terminating the scheduled area-by-area blackouts as of Friday.

Health and Fitness News

Welcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Desserts for the Conscientious

Photobucket

Apple Clafoutis

Winter Strawberry Gelato

Honey-Baked Pears

Grapefruit Ice

Pear and Red Wine Sorbet

General Medicine/Family Medical

People With Signs of Parkinson’s Wait to See Doctor

By Bill Hendrick

Survey Shows Many Are Reluctant to See Doctor After Experiencing Tremors

April 6, 2011 — A majority of people who experience ongoing tremors that could be an early warning sign of Parkinson’s disease say they would wait to see their doctors, according to a new survey.

Meditation May Reduce Pain

By Salyn Boyles

Brain Imaging Shows Impact of Brief Mindfulness Meditation Training

Meditation May Reduce Pain

Brain Imaging Shows Impact of Brief Mindfulness Meditation Training

Long-Term Ecstasy Use May Damage the Brain

By Bill Hendrick

Study Shows Chronic Ecstasy Users Have Reduced Volume of Hippocampus Region of Brain

April 7, 2011 — Long-term users of the street drug ecstasy may be at increased risk of structural brain damage, new research suggests.

Researchers in the Netherlands enlisted 10 men in their mid-20s and seven in their early 20s for the study. The 10 in the mid-20s were long-term users of ecstasy. The other seven men were healthy and had no history of ecstasy use.

Working Long Hours Linked to Heart Disease Risk

By Bill Hendrick

Study Shows a Higher Risk of Heart Disease for People Who Work 11 Hours a Day

April 5, 2011 — People who work 11 hours or more on a daily basis may be at increased risk of developing coronary heart disease, a British study indicates.

The researchers note that doctors often use information from the Framingham Risk Score, which identifies common factors of heart disease, to predict a patient’s 10-year risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Rates Rising in U.S.

By Jennifer Warner

Major Cause of Chronic Liver Disease Linked to Rise in Obesity

April 2, 2011 — Thanks to rising obesity rates, the U.S. may soon face an epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a major cause of chronic liver disease, according to a new study.

Researchers say if current trends continue for another 20 years, the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is expected to increase by 50% by 2030.

Stress Reduction in Cancer Patients May Pay Off

By Kathleen Doheny

Study Examines the Link Between Stress Reduction and Telomere Length

April 2, 2011 — Cancer patients who learn to cope with their stress can have improvement in stress-related biomarkers after a short time, new research suggests.

And that could translate to improved health and possibly improved survival, says researcher Edward Nelson, MD, chief of hematology and oncology at the University of California, Irvine.

Aspirin Linked to Lower Pancreatic Cancer Risk

By Jennifer Warner

Study Shows Association Between Regular Aspirin Use and Reduced Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

April 4, 2011 — Preventing pancreatic cancer may be an additional health benefit of using aspirin to treat everyday aches and pains or prevent heart disease.

A new study shows people who took aspirin at least once a month were 29% less likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those who used other types of pain relievers or nothing at all.

Few Alcoholics Realize They Need Help

By Bill Hendrick

Federal Report Shows That Millions of Americans With Alcohol Dependency See No Need for Treatment

April 8, 2011 — Most Americans with alcohol dependency don’t realize they need treatment and don’t believe that treatment would help, a federal report finds.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says that of the nation’s 7.4 million adults aged 21 and 64 who have an untreated alcohol abuse disorder, only 1.2% believe they could benefit from treatment.

Pneumonia death rates lower in statin users

(Reuters) – Taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs such as Pfizer’s Lipitor and AstraZeneca’s Crestor could help prevent people dying from pneumonia, according to a study by British scientists released on Tuesday.

The investigators are not saying that everyone should take statins to protect themselves in case they get pneumonia. Instead, they say the results suggest that further research could be worthwhile, to see whether statins should be given to patients with severe infections who are diagnosed with pneumonia.

Warnings/Alerts/Guidelines

27 Tons of Turkey Burgers Recalled

April 4, 2011 – Jennie-O Turkey Store has issued a nationwide recall of 54,960 pounds of frozen turkey burgers because of salmonella contamination.

So far, 12 people in 10 states have been sickened by the Hadar strain of salmonella. At least three of these people, in three different states, ate the Jennie-O products before falling ill.

The recall includes 4-pound boxes of Jennie-O Turkey Store “All Natural Turkey Burgers with seasonings Lean White Meat.”  Each box contains 12 one-third-pound turkey burgers, each individually wrapped.

WHO warns drugs misuse weakens fight against diseases

(Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said the misuse and irrational use of antibiotics has undermined the global fight against tuberculosis and malaria, warning of a possible return to the days before the drugs were developed.

An estimated 440,000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis were reported last year in nearly 60 countries across the globe, Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for Western Pacific area, said in a statement.

Seasonal Flu/Other Epidemics/Disasters

U.N. expert sees no serious Fukushima health impact

(Reuters) – Japan’s nuclear accident is not expected to have any serious impact on people’s health, based on the information available now, the head of a U.N. scientific body said on Wednesday.

Wolfgang Weiss, chairman of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), also said the Fukushima disaster was less dramatic than Chernobyl in 1986 but “much more serious” than Three Mile Island in 1979.

Post-Katrina heart attack rate three-times higher: study

(Reuters) – New Orleans residents were found to have three times the rate of heart attacks four years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina than before the storm and levee break that flooded the city, according to a study presented at a major heart meeting on Sunday.

The three-fold increase had first been observed two years after the August 2005 hurricane and, much to the surprise of researchers collecting the data, it has persisted.

Women’s Health

Progesterone Gel Reduces Risk of Early Preterm Birth

By Dennis Mann

Pregnant Women With a Short Cervix May Benefit From Progesterone Therapy, Study Finds

April 6, 2011 — Progesterone gel may reduce the chances of early preterm birth in some women who are considered high risk, according to new research in Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Babies born too early are at risk for many health problems, including breathing difficulty, blindness, deafness, and learning disabilities.

Is Soy Safe to Eat After Breast Cancer?

By Denise Mann

New Study Suggests Soy Will Not Increase Risk of Return of Breast Cancer

April 5, 2011 — For years, breast cancer survivors were often counseled to avoid soy foods and supplements because of estrogen-like effects that might theoretically cause breast tumors to grow.

Now, a new study of more than 18,312 women shows that eating soy foods did not increase risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Weight Gain After Breast Cancer May Be Risky

By Brenda Goodman

Study Shows Increased Risk of Cancer’s Return in Women Who Gain a Lot of Weight

April 5, 2011 — Gaining large amounts of weight in the two years after a breast cancer diagnosis may increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer recurrence and death, a new study shows.

But the study, which is collecting information on more than 18,000 breast cancer survivors in the U.S. and China, also had a silver lining: most won’t pack on a large number pounds, at least not so many as to put their health at risk.

Estrogen-Only HRT Not So Risky in 50s

By Daniel J. DeNoon

Lower Estrogen Risk Seen for 50-ish Women With Hysterectomy

April 5, 2011 – For women with a prior hysterectomy, estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is less risky for women in their 50s than was thought — and may protect against breast cancer.

For women in their 70s, however, estrogen-only HRT increased risk of colorectal cancer, chronic disease, and death, according to seven-year follow-up data from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI).

Pediatric Health

Overweight Teens Face Heart Risks as Adults

By Brenda Goodman

Study Shows Heart Risk Persists Even if a Person Loses Weight in Adulthood

April 6, 2011 — Researchers have long known that overweight or obese kids are more likely to grow up to be heavy adults, and as overweight adults, to be more likely to develop significant health problems associated with excess body weight, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Now a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine has added a significant wrinkle to the problem of growing childhood girth.

As Kids’ CT Scans Rise, So Do Radiation Worries

By Daniel J. DeNoon

More Kids Getting More Scans at ERs, but Few See Pediatric Radiologists

April 6, 2011 — Emergency CT scans for kids are on the rise — and so are worries that too many children are getting too much radiation too early in life.

“We found that abdominal CT imaging went from almost never being used in 1995 to being used in 15% to 21% of visits in the last four years of [our] study,” Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati researcher David B. Larson, MD, MBA, says in a news release.

More Music, Less Reading in Kids With Depression

By Brenda Goodman

Study: Depressed Teens and Tweens Spend More Time Listening to Music, but Music Probably Isn’t Causing the Depression

More Music, Less Reading in Kids With Depression

Study: Depressed Teens and Tweens Spend More Time Listening to Music, but Music Probably Isn’t Causing the Depression

What Works to Treat Autism?

By Brenda Goodman

Studies Detail Evidence Behind Medication, Behavioral Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorders

April 4, 2011 — For children diagnosed with autism, hope comes in many forms — stimulants, hormone therapy, vitamins, powerful antipsychotic medications, intensive behavioral therapies, and strict diets.

It is harder, however, to find treatments that have been scientifically proven to help.

Aging

Death Rate Declining for Elders With Heart Failure

By Bill Hendrick

But Study Shows Readmission to Hospital for Heart Failure Is Still Frequent

April 5, 2011 — Death rates after hospitalization for patients 80 and older with heart failure have dropped significantly in the past decade, but readmissions for the disorder — common among the elderly — are frequent, a new study shows.

Heart failure is one of the most common reasons older patients are readmitted to hospitals. This is not likely to change in coming years, in part because people 80 and older make up the fastest growing segment of the older population.

MRI Scan May Predict Alzheimer’s Disease

By Kathleen Doheny

Study Shows MRIs May Be Useful in Predicting Alzheimer’s for People With Mild Cognitive Impairment

April 7, 2011 — Using MRI, researchers may be able to predict on an individual basis which people who have mild cognitive impairment will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

“We have known for a long time that the brain shrinks in Alzheimer’s disease and you can detect this on MRI,” says researcher Linda K. McEvoy, PhD, assistant professor of radiology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

Mental Health

Income loss linked to risk of mental disorders

(Reuters Health) – People with a recent drop in income are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety disorders, and drug abuse, according to a new study.

The researchers also found that people in the lowest income brackets had higher overall rates of attempted suicide, mood and personality disorders than those with the highest income.

Nutrition/Diet/Fitness

Strawberries May Help Prevent Esophageal Cancer

By Kathleen Doheny

Small Study Shows Slowing of Precancerous Lesions for People Who Ate Freeze-Dried Strawberries

April 6, 2011 — Eating freeze-dried strawberries may help prevent esophageal cancer, according to new but preliminary research.

”Eating strawberries may be a way for people at high risk for esophageal cancer to protect themselves from the disease,” says researcher Tong Chen, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus.

Crave Caffeine? It May Be in Your Genes

By Bill Hendrick

DNA May Influence How Much Caffeine People Consume, Researchers Say

April 7, 2011 — DNA may play a large role in determining how much caffeine people consume in beverages such as coffee, tea, and soda and food such as chocolate, new research indicates.

Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, and other institutions say they have discovered two genetic variations that influence the metabolism of caffeine and are associated with how much caffeine people consume. People with particular variations of two specific genes are more likely to consume caffeine, and to drink more of it when they do, study leader Marilyn C. Cornelis, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, tells WebMD.

Food Addiction May Have Impact on the Brain

By Kathleen Doheny

Study Shows People With Food Addictions Have Same Brain Activity Patterns as People With Other Addictions

April 5, 2011 — The brains of people with food addiction appear to behave like those of people with dependence on alcohol or drugs, according to new research.

”People who report symptoms of addictive-like eating behavior also appear to show the same pattern of brain activity as we would see in other addictions,” says researcher Ashley N. Gearhardt, a clinical psychology doctoral student at Yale University.

Periodic Fasting May Cut Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes

By Denise Mann

Despite Health Benefits, Fasting May Not Be for Everyone, Doctors Say

April 5, 2011 — Occasional water-only fasts may lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes, according to new research presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.

The study was conducted in Salt Lake City, where two-thirds of the residents are Mormons who fast once a month for 24 hours for religious purposes.

Vegetarians May Need to Boost Omega-3s, B12

By Kathleen Doheny

Researcher Says Deficiencies May Boost Heart Disease Risk, but Vegetarians’ Risk Still Lower Than Meat Eaters’ Risk

Vegetarians May Need to Boost Omega-3s, B12

Researcher Says Deficiencies May Boost Heart Disease Risk, but Vegetarians’ Risk Still Lower Than Meat Eaters’ Risk

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