Mobile Home Investing Red Flags | Real Estate Coach

After you have successfully closed a few mobile home deals you may find it necessary to NOT hire an inspector or contractor to inspect your mobile home properties before you purchase them. With a mobile homes? simple shape, structure, and a ?what you see, is what you get? construction, these homes typically show potential obstacles and warning flags if you know where to look. What follows is a list of mental-notes to make when walking through your next investment mobile home.Mobile Home Investing Red Flags is a post from: Real Estate Investing Blog For Real Estate Investors.

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Source: http://www.freedommentor.com/mobile-home-investing-red-flags/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mobile-home-investing-red-flags

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Libyan militia leader sues former UK spy chief (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? A Libyan militia leader has begun legal action against a former senior British intelligence chief whom he accuses of playing a key role in illegally returning him to Libya to be jailed and tortured under Muammar Gaddafi, his London-based lawyers said.

Abdel Hakim Belhadj, who commands one of Libya's most powerful militias, is seeking damages from Mark Allen, who was director of counter-terrorism at MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence agency.

Belhadj and a second Libyan dissident, Sami al-Saadi, accuse Allen of complicity in torture, negligence and misfeasance in public office -- the wrongful exercise of his authority.

"We are taking this unusual step of preparing legal action against an individual as the documents we have in our possession suggest Sir Mark was directly involved in the unlawful rendition of our clients," said lawyer Sapna Malik, from the London law firm Leigh & Day, which represents Belhadj and Saadi.

An Oxford-educated Middle East specialist, Allen retired from MI6 in 2004 and went on to work for oil major BP and The Monitor Group, a global investment and consultancy firm.

He is an honorary fellow of St Antony's College at Oxford University and sits on the advisory board for the London School of Economics' centre for diplomacy and international affairs.

Belhadj accuses Allen of helping to organize the operation to fly him from Bangkok to a prison in Libya in 2004.

During six years in jail, Belhadj says, he was tortured and beaten. He also accuses Thai and U.S. agents of abusing him when he was first held in Bangkok.

Born in Libya in 1966, Belhadj is a former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which waged an insurgency against Gaddafi in the 1990s.

His emergence as an important figure in Libya after Gaddafi's downfall is potentially embarrassing for London, which led international moves to improve relations with Libya after Gaddafi renounced weapons of mass destruction in 2003.

Belhadj's lawyers say Allen's name was found in intelligence documents recovered in Tripoli around the time of the collapse of Gaddafi's administration last August.

The pair are also suing the British government and its legal advisers, the MI5 domestic intelligence agency, the Home Office (interior ministry) and the Foreign Office, which oversees MI6.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We take all allegations of mistreatment seriously, but these matters are also the subject of legal correspondence between Mr Belhadj's lawyers and our own so we can offer no further comment at this stage."

Allen could not immediately be reached for comment.

Earlier this month, Britain postponed a judge-led inquiry into whether its security services knew about the torture of suspects overseas. Ministers said the inquiry would be delayed because police have begun a separate investigation into whether London illegally sent detainees to Libya.

Britain has long faced accusations that its spies were complicit in the abuse of overseas detainees in the years after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Prime Minister David Cameron has cited those suspicions as one of the reasons why he set up the now-delayed inquiry. Britain's security services have always denied using or condoning torture.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/wl_nm/us_britain_rendition

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Obama, like Roberts, seeks harmony in Washington

President Obama cites the military as a model for politics, similar to the aim of Chief Justice John Roberts for consensus on the Supreme Court. Why are both goals not working?

Twice last week, President Obama held up the military as a model for American politics. In his State of the Union message and later in a radio broadcast, he commended the armed forces for not being consumed with personal ambition or obsessed over differences.

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?They work together,? he stated.

His plea for similar harmony among elected leaders is an echo of one made in 2005 by John Roberts Jr. when he became the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

After being nominated, Mr. Roberts said he would try to create a more ?collegial atmosphere? among the nine justices, take on fewer cases, and, most of all, seek greater consensus in rulings to avoid the 5-to-4 splits that hurt the court?s legitimacy.

He noted how the early years of the court in the 19th century saw most rulings made with a unanimous vote. Both Roberts, and a later justice, Sonia Sotomayor, also claimed they would try to be the kind of judges that act with neutrality, not ideology. (They may have had in mind the court?s 2001 split decision, Bush v. Gore, that helped decide a presidential election.)

Both the president and the chief justice took over their jobs with the high hope of bringing a spirit of nonpartisanship to their Washington tenures. And they both cited models to follow ? today?s military and the Supreme Court of two centuries ago, respectively.

Both leaders, however, have had only limited success in their goals. One reason may be that their suggestions for models are flawed.

The military, by definition, focuses on an enemy and relies on discipline and cohesion to defeat a foe (and minimize defections). It also receives its marching orders from elsewhere, a civilian leadership.

Elected leaders, on the other hand, receive their signals from a divided and diverse public of 300 million. These leaders are expected to work out differing ideologies and interests by compromise and voting. If they don?t, another election may help sort it out for them. Or the nation?s problems are thrown to other levels of government, such as states, or left to the private sector.

The commander in chief may enjoy the practical and quick results of, say, a raid on Osama bin Laden. But he should not expect Congress to march to his orders in a similar fashion.

Roberts, too, confuses today?s America with the early Republic. Back then, much less was expected of government, and hot-button social issues were fewer. And Americans had not yet learned they could run to the courts to win victories that they couldn?t win in elections or in Congress.

At best, Roberts and Obama can ask their fellow leaders to act out of principle and integrity, as they see it, while always looking for common goals that can be achieved with little dissension. In both the courts and Congress, leaders are expected to exercise judgment in the face of difficult facts or unclear legal precedents.

To his credit, Roberts has tried to limit the scope of Supreme Court decisions with narrow rulings. Making broad declarations can only divide the court ? and the public. Obama, too, has often compromised on political issues rather than draw a firm line in the sand. But both seem frustrated in their goals.

Small steps can unite better than big leaps. The Constitution is designed to prevent quick decisions. America is not a command society, as is the military, and the three branches provide a balance to competing visions.

Both the justices and lawmakers must practice the kind of collegiality and civility that lubricate effective decisionmaking. Pointing to a past time or the military model can only divert attention from the hard work of governance.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/45LCf7vNy54/Obama-like-Roberts-seeks-harmony-in-Washington

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PFT: New Bears GM will have hands full

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It?s official.? In Saturday?s edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, ?reader representative? Ted Diadiun addressed at length the decision to remove long-time Browns writer Tony Grossi from the team?s beat.? Diadiun?s article is well-written, superficially persuasive, and apparently effective, given the number of emails we?ve received from folks who believe based on Diadiun?s article that the newspaper did the right thing.

But it doesn?t change our opinion that the Plain Dealer cowered to the Browns.? In fact, it strengthens it.

When scrutinizing an employment decision, inconsistencies in the reasons and rationalizations from the employer become extremely important.? The thinking is that, if the employer can?t tell a unified story in support of a supposedly legitimate decision, it?s possible that the employer is trying to conceal potentially illegitimate motives.? Circumstantial evidence also takes on a critical role, since the employer rarely will admit to ordering the Code Red.? Or, perhaps for these purposes, a Code Orange.

And that?s really the ultimate question.? Did the Browns order a Code Orange on Grossi?? Or, more accurately, did the Plain Dealer reassign Grossi because it believed the Browns wanted Grossi out?

Let?s consider the facts, the circumstances, and the inconsistencies.

First, the facts.? Grossi posted on his Twitter page a message that he had intended to keep private.? In the message, Grossi called Browns owner Randy Lerner a ?pathetic figure? and ?the most irrelevant billionaire in the world.?? (Of all the billionaires in the world, technically one of them must be the most irrelevant.)? Grossi immediately deleted the tweet once he realized his mistake.? By then, however, his words had been copied and repeated across the Internet, and it was impossible to unring the bell.

Grossi apologized publicly, the Plain Dealer apologized publicly, and Plain Dealer publisher Terrance C.Z. Egger sent a written apology to the Browns and to Lerner.

Though not addressed in Diadiun?s column, the Browns responded with silence.? Apart from declining to comment in response to inquiries from PFT, the Browns and Lerner refused to take calls from Grossi, and possibly from other officials of the Plain Dealer.? Indeed, Diadiun admits that ?[n]one of the editors involved talked with anyone connected with the team? before making the decision to reassign Grossi.

Diadiun omits reference to the key question of whether the Plain Dealer tried to have such discussions.

Second, the circumstances.? Most significantly, Diadiun admits that Egger personally met with Lerner and team president Mike Holmgren on Wednesday, after the decision was made to reassign Grossi.? The fact that a meeting occurred invites speculation that the Browns cared ? or at a minimum that the Plain Dealer believed the Browns cared ? about the manner in which this situation was handled.

Third, the inconsistencies.? On Thursday, Plain Dealer managing editor Thom Fladung told 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland that the ?determining factor? for the decision was the following standard:? ?Don?t do something that affects your value as a journalist or the value of your newspaper or affects the perception of your value and the perception of that newspaper?s value.?? Fladung also said that Grossi?s opinions would have been permissible if he had posted them not on his Twitter page, but in the pages of the Plain Dealer.? ?Let?s say Tony had written that Randy Lerner?s lack of involvement with the Browns and their resulting disappointing records over the years has made him irrelevant as an owner, that?s defensible,? Fladung said.? ?That?s absolutely defensible.?

But Diadiun?s item contains a contradictory quote from Plain Dealer editor Adam Simmons, who thinks that Grossi?s role as a beat writer precluded him from making the statements about Lerner in any context.? ?If it had been a columnist who wrote that, we might cringe, but that role is different,? Simmons said. ?They?re paid to offer up opinions, however prickly. But we?re not asking them to go out and cover a team in a fair and balanced and objective way, like we are with a reporter.?? (Presumably, Simmons also believes that a columnist could have offered those opinions on his Twitter page, since opinions are fair game for a columnist.)

Complicating matters is Diadiun?s attempt to reconcile the action against Grossi with his First Amendment rights.? Rather that relying on the simple ? and accurate ? notion that employees of a private, for-profit enterprise have no First Amendment rights, Diadiun draws a clumsy line between personal and professional social media.? ?Anyone who works at the paper has the right to say, write or Tweet anything they wish,? Diadiun writes.? ?But they do not have a corresponding right to say it in the newspaper or on the website or on their newspaper Twitter account.? If they do, the editors who are in charge of maintaining the credibility of the newspaper have the right to change their assignment.?

So Fladung says that Grossi could have said what he said in the paper, Simmons says that Grossi couldn?t have said what he said anywhere unless he was a columnist, and Diadiun says that Grossi could have said what he said on his own, personal Twitter page.? And no one says it?s impermissible for Grossi to secretly possess those views, even if those views (as Diadiun writes) undermine his credibility.? Under the newspaper?s view of journalistic ethics, it only becomes a problem when those views are disclosed ? which actually should make Grossi even more credible, since he has openly acknowledged his bias.

The end result is a stew of mixed messages, which invites speculation that the real reason for the move was to maintain a good relationship with the Browns.? Though there continues to be ? and likely never will be ? any evidence that the Browns told the Plain Dealer what the Browns wanted the Plain Dealer to do, some of the loudest and clearest messages can be sent through silence.

When Grossi or others from the Plain Dealer tried to call Lerner and/or Holmgren and they refused to speak, what should a reasonable person conclude?? Moreover, why would a meeting with Lerner and Holmgren even be needed if the Plain Dealer didn?t care about the team?s response to the situation?? If this decision was solely about journalistic standards and the integrity and credibility of Grossi?s coverage in the eyes of the audience given his personal views regarding Lerner, there was no reason to go to Berea and kiss rings and/or smooch butts.

That?s the fundamental disconnect.? The Plain Dealer wants us to believe it engaged in a textbook exercise in ethics while at the same time doing things like writing letters of apology to Lerner and publicly calling Grossi?s words about Lerner insulting and personally meeting with Lerner and Holmgren.

Though the Browns may not have intended to order a Code Orange, we believe that the Plain Dealer believed that it needed to remove Grossi from the beat in order to remain in the good graces of the Browns.? And we?d have far more (or, as the case may be, any) respect for this decision if the Plain Dealer would simply admit that which upon inspection of the facts, the circumstances, and the inconsistencies seems obvious.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/29/phil-emery-will-have-his-hands-full-in-chicago/related/

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Massive radiation storm produces spectacular northern lights (+video)

The northern lights show was sparked by an intense solar flare that erupted from the sun, unleashing a wave of charged particles and triggering the strongest solar radiation storm since 2005.

A dazzling display of auroras lit up the far northern skies Tuesday night (Jan. 24) in a supercharged light show captured on camera by skywatchers around the world.

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"I was screaming from excitement like a small kid at Christmas," said skywatcher Jens Buchmann, who watched the northern lights dance across the sky from Kiruna, Sweden.

The northern lights show was sparked by an intense solar flare that erupted from the sun late Sunday (Jan. 22). The flare unleashed a wave of charged particles, triggering the?strongest solar radiation storm since 2005, NASA scientists said, adding that some minor satellite interference was possible.

Buchmann and a friend booked a last-minute flight from Stockholm to Kiruna after hearing about the solar storm. They braved freezing temperatures of about minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 30 degrees Celsius) in order to see the aurora display, moving inside only to thaw off before heading out again. Their photos show wispy green ribbons of energy rippling across the sky over a snow-covered landscape. [See video and photos of the solar storm's northern lights]

"After the main show was over I just continued lying in the snow for nearly two hours and watched the fainter, but fast-pulsating auroras that were everywhere," Buchmann told SPACE.com in an email. "All faint stars just lost their meaning behind these auroras."?

The auroras from the solar flare could potentially be seen at latitudes as low as Maine or Montana, they added.

"The trip was totally worth it!" Buchmann said.

Delta Airlines officials said the commercial airline rerouted some planes from polar routes as a precaution to avoid any interference from the solar storm, according to press reports.

Buchmann and his friend were not the only skywatchers to make a special trip to see the auroras.

In Muonio, Lapland in Finland, skywatcher and photographer Antii Pietk?nen made a special snowmobile ride with companion Thomas to try to catch the display. They posted one photo to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com, which received several others from different observers.

"The show started slowly and after 15 [minutes] the landscape was green!" Pietk?nen?told Spaceweather.com. "This was the first time for Thomas to see the northern lights, and he was very happy."

Photographer Chad Blakely in Lapland, Sweden recorded an?eye-popping time-lapse video of the northern lights display, showing auroras swirling over a snowy meadow while observers alternate between snapping photos and staying warm at a campfire.

A streaming camera at the Aurora Sky Station in Sweden's Abisko National Park, an observing post for aurora hunters, beamed real-time photos of the northern light show every few minutes. The images revealed stunning hues of red and green across the northern night sky.

Auroras are created when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth's upper atmosphere, causing an energy release that can be seen as lights. Because the charged solar particles are typically funneled to Earth's poles by the planet's magnetic field, the most dazzling displays occur in the far north and south. The so-called northern lights are known as the aurora borealis, while their southern counterpart is dubbed the aurora australis.

Tuesday's aurora display was sparked by a powerful solar flare on Sunday night that triggered an eruption of solar plasma, called a coronal mass ejection. The flare was?classified as an M9-class solar flare, a moderate ? but still powerful ? sun storm. This eruption flung charged particles out into space, which delivered a glancing blow to Earth.

The sun storm is only the latest solar weather to ignite dazzling auroras on Earth. A series of flares late last week made for a great weekend northern lights show for some observers, even as the sun was unleashing its latest solar tempest.

The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year solar cycle, which is called Solar Cycle 24. Solar activity is expected to peak in 2013.

You can follow Tariq Malik on Twitter?@tariqjmalik.?Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/n-yGV9viCwo/Massive-radiation-storm-produces-spectacular-northern-lights-video

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Jesse Jackson adds voice to Grammy protest (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse James on Friday urged Grammy organizers to reinstate 31 ethnic and minority musical categories that have been cut from the music industry's top awards.

In a letter to Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, sent three weeks before the February 12 Grammy Awards show, Jackson said the elimination of awards for Native American and Hawaiian musicians, and cuts in Latin Jazz, R&B and other categories were ill-considered and unfair.

Jackson said some of the categories dropped by the Recording Academy in a major overhaul last year "constitute the very heart of the music that nourishes and inspires minority communities."

Writing on behalf of the Rainbow Push Coalition of U.S. civil rights groups, Jackson called for an urgent meeting with Portnow to try and resolve the conflict that has spurred months of protests and a lawsuit by leading musicians.

Portnow said on Friday he was "receptive to meeting with the Rev. Jackson to explain how our nomination process works and to show the resulting diverse group of nominees it produced" for this year's Grammy Awards.

Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Bobby Sanabria are among dozens of musicians who have protested the decision, announced last April, to slash the number of Grammy categories to 78 from 109 for the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Some categories, such as Hawaiian and Native American albums were dropped completely, while others including Latin music and R&B saw the number of award categories halved.

Portnow said at the time the changes were necessary to maintain "the prestige of the highest and only peer-recognized award in music."

Sanabria and three other Latin Jazz musicians filed a lawsuit in New York in August saying the cuts would harm their careers financially. They have also called for a boycott of the CBS network, which broadcasts the annual Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles.

The 2012 Grammy Awards take place on February12. Rapper Kanye West leads the field of contenders with seven nominations followed by British singer Adele, Bruno Mars and alternative rock band Foo Fighters.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/media_nm/us_grammys_protest

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Obama urges Congress to act in election year

President Barack Obama speaks at the House Democratic Issues Conference, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Cambridge, Md. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama speaks at the House Democratic Issues Conference, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Cambridge, Md. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama is introduced by Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., before speaking at the House Democratic Issues Conference, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Cambridge, Md. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama shares a laugh as he is introduced by Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., before speaking at the House Democratic Issues Conference, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Cambridge, Md. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama is introduced by Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., before speaking at the House Democratic Issues Conference, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Cambridge, Md. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

CAMBRIDGE, Md. (AP) ? President Barack Obama rallied House Democrats for an election-year fight, urging them to work with Republicans if they show some willingness to put politics aside but telling the rank and file to call them out if they stand in the way.

Addressing Democrats on the final day of their three-day annual retreat, Obama outlined the political stakes over the next few months as congressional Democrats try to push his agenda in the face of Republican opposition, the GOP choses its nominee and signs of recovery in a fragile economy go a long way to determining his re-election chances and the party's fate.

Obama said Democrats should seize the opportunity "whenever there is a possibility that the other side is putting some politics aside for just a nanosecond in order to get something done for the American people, we've got to be right there ready to meet them," the president told the sometimes raucous crowd.

However, "where they obstruct, where they're unwilling to act, where they're more interested in party than they are in country, more interested in the next election than the next generation, then we've got to call them out on it," the president said. "We've got to push. We can't wait; we can't be held back."

Coming off a three-day tour to promote his State of the Union message, Obama promised a "robust debate about whose vision is more promising" when Republicans choose their nominee.

On a day when reports showed the economy picking up late in 2011 but still considered "fragile" by the White House, Obama told Democrats wondering about their re-election prospects: "It's going to be a tough election because a lot of people are still hurting out there and a lot of people have lost faith generally about the capacity of Washington to get anything done."

House Republicans, who held their retreat in Baltimore last week, have repeatedly said the election will be a referendum on Obama's policies, especially his handling of the economy.

The president acknowledged that Democrats have embraced parts of his agenda when it was politically difficult and in some cases costly. The party took a drubbing in the midterm elections, losing control of the House and seeing their ranks diminished in the Senate.

And despite some past clashes with House Democrats over his willingness to compromise with Republicans, Obama was warmly received and was introduced as "our champion" by Rep. John Larson of Connecticut.

The president returned the warmth with a vote of confidence that Democrats would win back the House in November, making a nod to their leader as "soon-to-be once-again Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi."

"I believe in you guys. You guys have had my back through some very tough times," said the president, who received a small gift ? a DVD of House Democrats singing Rev. Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."

Last week, at a fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in New York, Obama stood on the stage and crooned a line from the Green classic.

Democrats were upbeat at their three-day session, energized by Obama's State of the Union address and its populist themes as well as recent polls showing more Americans say the country is on the right track and approve of Obama's handling of the economy. Divisions in the Republican ranks that were on full display last year in the fight over extending the payroll tax cut and the bitter battle between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for the GOP presidential nomination also lifted Democratic spirits.

But the relationship with the White House hasn't always been cordial. Vice President Joe Biden, who addressed the Democrats prior to Obama's speech, described some of the rough patches.

He noted that several members in the room were mad at him in December 2010 after Obama negotiated an extension of President George W. Bush's tax cuts over the objections of some House Democrats. Last year, frustrated Democrats complained the Obama gave away too much in negotiating a spending bill and an agreement to raise the government's borrowing authority.

Biden said Pelosi told him at the last conference to "get tough. Enough is enough." He said the "message was heard. The message was heard. And I think we've delivered."

Biden said Democrats would reclaim the House and he would help candidates in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida. Those states also are critical to Obama's hopes of winning another term.

"We cannot succeed unless you all come back," Biden told House Democrats.

The vice president was more pointed in his political remarks than Obama and called out some Republicans by name. He said the American people will reject GOP unwillingness to compromise and its blatant determination to make Obama a one-term president.

Of the presidential candidates, Biden said Romney's criticism of the auto bailout and a host of positions stated by rival Newt Gingrich on government intervention will create a clear contrast for voters.

"These guys are helping us by saying what they believe," Biden said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-27-House%20Democrats/id-0bcae9942ec4414f8ec3ce9ef9c33843

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Obama's Drop-Out Proposal Won't Make Kids Learn (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | During his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama called on states to pass laws requiring that children remain in school until age 18. According to Chris Moody's posting in The Ticket, Obama was using his "bully pulpit" to tell local school districts how to do their jobs. It offended some Republicans, Moody writes, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who had to fight the urge to become this year's Joe Wilson.

I don't find Obama's desire to see children stay in school offensive so much as I find his suggestion as to how to do this poorly thought out. It's one of those things that sounds nice when you say it, but you realize upon further consideration that it just won't work. At first blush: Local school districts, at least the ones in my home state of Colorado, would have an incentive to do this as they get revenue for the state based upon how many students are enrolled. Fewer dropouts, bigger enrollment.

The Obama Administration could spice up the offer a little from the federal side too, tying education funding for states to the requirement that each state pass a law mandating attendance until age 18. It actually wouldn't shock me, having seen the feverish intensity by which my state's department of education and others were willing to modify state laws in order to pursue multi-million dollar "Race to the Top" federal grants. In fact, the suggestion that states do this may have been more of a sign of things to come than merely a suggestion.

But it still won't work. First of all, how is it going to be enforced? And who is going to enforce it? Are you going to put a bunch of 16- and 17-year-olds in jail if they don't go to school? Are you going to put their parents in jail for having truant children? (As hideous as I find it, some states and districts already have truancy laws calling to do exactly this.)

So, say you force most, but not all, students to stay in school until age 18. What then? Are they going to want to learn? A lot of them don't want to learn now. Instead, as Phil Gingrey of Georgia stated in Moody's post, they go to school when they feel like it and disrupt the other kids in class.

There are certainly things that could promote kids staying in school until 18. I think more could be done in the arena of school-to-work or trade school cooperatives that put practical application to what kids learn, making that learning more engaging and meaningful. But attempting to force someone to stay in school when they are determined not to be there doesn't seem to be the most logical solution ever suggested. Especially not for the kids who do want to be there.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120127/pl_ac/10890127_obamas_dropout_proposal_wont_make_kids_learn

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Mideast Israel Film Frenzy

Mideast Israel Film Frenzy

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2012 file photo from right: Israeli film director Joseph Cedar, actor Shlomo Bar Aba, and producer Moshe Edry stand together during a press conference after the film "Footnote", a mordant tale of rivalry between father-son Talmudic scholars was nominated in the Academy Awards' best foreign-language film category, in Tel Aviv, Israel.The budgets are bare-bones and the talent pool is limited, but little Israel has emerged as a surprising powerhouse in the foreign film industry. The Israeli film "Footnote," up for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film this year, is Israel's fourth such nomination in the past five years _ crowning Israel in that five-year period with more nominations than any other country.(AP Photo/Dan Balilty, Files)

Source: AP - Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=app-07bb0493-aa49-4d25-b7d6-25b61e1e2d8b&show_article=1

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Pac-Man Is NP-Hard

Assuming that this method of measuring complexity is actually useful, is there an ideal level of theoretical complexity in a computer game?

(This is not necessarily the same as the complexity of play - Doom is, after all, very easy to play but PSPACE-hard problems are extremely difficult problems to solve.)

Any retro-gamers here want to determine the theoretical complexity of Wizardry, Atic Atac, Knightlore, Citadel or Cholo?

Is there any correlation between the complexity and how long the game stuck in people

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/3nfltwimYbE/pac-man-is-np-hard

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Funeral service for Paterno as thousands mourn (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? Quiet mourners lined the route of Joe Paterno's funeral procession Wednesday, watching with grief and reverence as the electric-blue hearse carrying the Penn State coach's casket slowly drove by.

Some took pictures with their cell phones, or waved to his widow. Others craned their necks hoping for a better glimpse through the crowd sometimes four deep or more.

The private funeral and burial service capped another emotional day for a campus and community pained over Paterno's death from lung cancer Sunday at age 85, and over the way his stellar career ended ? being fired by university trustees Nov. 9 in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against a former assistant.

Thousands of students, alumni and fans took to the streets in and around Penn State to say their last goodbyes to the football coach who grew into a beloved figure in Happy Valley, not only for his five undefeated seasons but for his love of the school and his generosity.

"He cared about the kids. He wanted to see us succeed. So for a lot of us, he became a grandfather-like figure," Jordan Derk, a senior from York, said after the procession went past Beaver Stadium.

"He loved us and we loved him back," Derk said. "So saying goodbye is very tough."

Jay Paterno, the coach's son and quarterbacks coach, sent a message to the mourners via Twitter.

"Thank you to all the people who turned out for my father's procession," he wrote. "Very moving."

The elder Paterno won two national titles and a Division I record 409 games over 46 seasons as head coach. His cancer was disclosed just nine days after he was forced to leave the football program he had worked with since 1950.

But Wednesday was once again a salute to Paterno's life and accomplishments. The service, a Roman Catholic Mass, was attended by a veritable who's who of Penn State and Paterno connections.

Paterno's family arrived about an hour before the funeral service on two blue school buses, the same kind the coach and his team rode to home games on fall Saturdays. His wife of nearly six decades, Sue, sat in the seat traditionally reserved for her husband and was first off the bus, followed by Jay.

Former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley walked to the service with NFL great Franco Harris. Also in attendance were other ex-NFL players including Matt Millen and Todd Blackledge, both now TV analysts. Nike founder Phil Knight and actor William Baldwin were there, too.

"Today's Mass was a celebration. We laid to rest a great man," Bradley said. "Not so much for the football victories ... He meant so much to so many people."

Charles Pittman, who played for Paterno in the 1960s, also was at the Mass.

"It really focused on the type of person Joe Paterno was ? his devotion to his family, his wife, his grandkids," said Pittman, a senior vice president for publishing at Schurz Communications Inc., an Indiana-based company that owns television and radio stations and newspapers, and a member of the Board of Directors of The Associated Press.

A family spokesman, Dan McGinn, said Paterno's grandchildren escorted the casket down the aisle during the opening procession, and again at the end of the service. Jay Paterno and his brother, Scott, were among the pallbearers.

In between, during the service, all of Paterno's children spoke except for Jay, who is scheduled to talk at a campus memorial service Thursday at the Jordan Center. Two of Paterno's 17 grandchildren also talked and shared the favorite moments collected among the rest of the grandkids ? including one instance when Paterno mistakenly drove over a bicycle after returning home from work.

Former defensive tackle Anthony Adams, who carried a program with a black-and-white picture of a smiling Paterno on the cover, said the service was befitting of his former coach, who loved to be surrounded by family and just talk.

On the other hand, Paterno also was notorious for trying to avoid the spotlight himself.

"He would've been embarrassed. He would've hated it," Millen said. "He would've told us to shut up already. I guarantee it."

Paterno didn't focus on the scandal that led to his stunning ouster, Scott Paterno has said, and neither did mourners.

Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant coach at the center of the abuse scandal, has been charged with molesting 10 boys over a period of 15 years. He has pleaded not guilty and is out on bail, awaiting trial. Paterno was criticized in the days after Sandusky's arrest for not going to authorities outside campus when he was told of an allegation against the retired assistant in 2002. Paterno did notify two of his superiors at Penn State.

Mike McQueary, the then-graduate assistant who told Paterno about the alleged assault, went both to the public viewing and the funeral. Also at the service was former athletic director Tim Curley, who along with former university official Gary Schultz, is charged with perjury and failure to notify authorities about the 2002 allegation.

They melted into the crowd on a day when Paterno was the center of attention.

"The things he did for athletes, the things he did for all students actually ? that alone earns our respect to say one final goodbye," said Alex Jimenez, a sophomore from Manapalan, N.J., standing directly across from Paterno Library. The procession went right past the library to which the Paterno family has donated millions of dollars.

And the procession rolled past Beaver Stadium, the 100,000-plus seat facility that Paterno helped turn into a college football landmark. Thousands watched in silence there until the convoy reached "Paternoville," the makeshift campground outside the stadium used by students the week before games.

There, as the procession slowed nearly to a stop to negotiate a curve, someone in the throng screamed, "We are ."

"Penn State!" came the crowd's reply.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Rubinkam and AP freelance writer Emily Kaplan contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_paterno

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Gabrielle Giffords Steps Down From Congress (SPACE.com)

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a gunshot to the head a year ago, is stepping down from office, she announced Sunday (Jan. 22).

The Congresswoman, wife of retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly and a former member of several congressional committees on science and space, will take a break from politics to focus on her health and rehabilitation.

"I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week," Giffords said in a video message posted on her Facebook website. "Arizona is my home, always will be. A lot has happened over the past year; we cannot change that. But I know, on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better: jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together."

Other members of Congress expressed their respect and affection for her at the news.

"I am very sorry that our friend and colleague, Gabrielle Giffords, will leave the Congress this week," Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) said in a statement. "She has been an outstanding member, thoughtful and focused, and determined to make an impact for her constituents, state and the nation. ?And in that, there is no doubt she has been successful. ?She has handled the aftermath of her attack and her recovery with tremendous courage and grace, inspiring the nation and the world, and I know that she will continue to make a positive difference in whatever she does."

At the time of the shooting, Giffords held seats on the House Science and Technology and House Armed Services committees, and had served as chairwoman of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.

"Representative Giffords has served the American people with distinction as a member of Congress over the past five years, and she has been a friend and colleague on the committee," said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) in a statement. "Her bright and energetic personality, her incredible work ethic, and her willingness to reach across the aisle have made her a real asset to Congress and to this committee."

Giffords defied the odds by living, and then making a remarkable recovery, after being shot through the head at point-blank range while meeting with constituents at a Tucson, Ariz. grocery store Jan. 8, 2011. Six people were killed in the attacks, and 13 were injured.

"I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," Giffords said. "Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover."

Kelly, who was training to command the second-to-last space shuttle mission at the time, took a break to be by his wife's side, but ultimately returned to training in time to launch on NASA's 134th shuttle flight - the last flight of shuttle Endeavour - in May 2011. Giffords watched the liftoff in person from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

A month later, Kelly announced his retirement from NASA. While some speculated he may try his hand in politics while Giffords recovers, the spaceman said he would leave that arena to his wife. [Photos: Astronaut Mark Kelly & Gabrielle Giffords]

"She's the politician and I'm the space guy, and I see no reason to change that now," Kelly said last summer.

Giffords, meanwhile, maintains that she would like to return to work when she's ready.

"I am getting better every day," she said in the video. "My spirit is high.?I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country."

The couple met in 2003, during a leadership conference in China. They married in 2007. Giffords wears a ring from Kelley that reads "You're the closest to heaven that I've ever been."

You can follow SPACE.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120123/sc_space/gabriellegiffordsstepsdownfromcongress

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The State of the Union: A Fix live chat (Washington Post)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/191123791?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Biochip measures glucose in saliva, not blood

Monday, January 23, 2012

For the 26 million Americans with diabetes, drawing blood is the most prevalent way to check glucose levels. It is invasive and at least minimally painful. Researchers at Brown University are working on a new sensor that can check blood sugar levels by measuring glucose concentrations in saliva instead.

The technique takes advantage of a convergence of nanotechnology and surface plasmonics, which explores the interaction of electrons and photons (light). The engineers at Brown etched thousands of plasmonic interferometers onto a fingernail-size biochip and measured the concentration of glucose molecules in water on the chip. Their results showed that the specially designed biochip could detect glucose levels similar to the levels found in human saliva. Glucose in human saliva is typically about 100 times less concentrated than in the blood.

"This is proof of concept that plasmonic interferometers can be used to detect molecules in low concentrations, using a footprint that is ten times smaller than a human hair," said Domenico Pacifici, assistant professor of engineering and lead author of the paper published in Nano Letters, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

The technique can be used to detect other chemicals or substances, from anthrax to biological compounds, Pacifici said, "and to detect them all at once, in parallel, using the same chip."

To create the sensor, the researchers carved a slit about 100 nanometers wide and etched two 200 nanometer-wide grooves on either side of the slit. The slit captures incoming photons and confines them. The grooves, meanwhile, scatter the incoming photons, which interact with the free electrons bounding around on the sensor's metal surface. Those free electron-photon interactions create a surface plasmon polariton, a special wave with a wavelength that is narrower than a photon in free space. These surface plasmon waves move along the sensor's surface until they encounter the photons in the slit, much like two ocean waves coming from different directions and colliding with each other. This "interference" between the two waves determines maxima and minima in the light intensity transmitted through the slit. The presence of an analyte (the chemical being measured) on the sensor surface generates a change in the relative phase difference between the two surface plasmon waves, which in turns causes a change in light intensity, measured by the researchers in real time.

"The slit is acting as a mixer for the three beams ? the incident light and the surface plasmon waves," Pacifici said.

The engineers learned they could vary the phase shift for an interferometer by changing the distance between the grooves and the slit, meaning they could tune the interference generated by the waves. The researchers could tune the thousands of interferometers to establish baselines, which could then be used to accurately measure concentrations of glucose in water as low as 0.36 milligrams per deciliter.

"It could be possible to use these biochips to carry out the screening of multiple biomarkers for individual patients, all at once and in parallel, with unprecedented sensitivity," Pacifici said.

The engineers next plan to build sensors tailored for glucose and for other substances to further test the devices. "The proposed approach will enable very high throughput detection of environmentally and biologically relevant analytes in an extremely compact design. We can do it with a sensitivity that rivals modern technologies," Pacifici said.

Tayhas Palmore, professor of engineering, is a contributing author on the paper. Graduate students Jing Feng (engineering) and Vince Siu (biology), who designed the microfluidic channels and carried out the experiments, are listed as the first two authors on the paper. Other authors include Brown engineering graduate student Steve Rhieu and undergraduates Vihang Mehta, Alec Roelke.

###

Brown University: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau

Thanks to Brown University for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116947/Biochip_measures_glucose_in_saliva__not_blood

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DNA motor programmed to navigate a network of tracks

Public release date: 22-Jan-2012
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Contact: David Kornhauser
pr@icems.kyoto-u.ac.jp
81-757-539-755
Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, Kyoto University

Kyoto, Japan -- Expanding on previous work with engines traveling on straight tracks, a team of researchers at Kyoto University and the University of Oxford have successfully used DNA building blocks to construct a motor capable of navigating a programmable network of tracks with multiple switches. The findings, published in the January 22 online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, are expected to lead to further developments in the field of nanoengineering.

The research utilizes the technology of DNA origami, where strands of DNA molecules are sequenced in a way that will cause them to self-assemble into desired 2D and even 3D structures. In this latest effort, the scientists built a network of tracks and switches atop DNA origami tiles, which made it possible for motor molecules to travel along these rail systems.

"We have demonstrated that it is not only possible to build nanoscale devices that function autonomously," explained Dr. Masayuki Endo of Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), "but that we can cause such devices to produce predictable outputs based on different, controllable starting conditions."

The team, including lead author Dr. Shelley Wickham at Oxford, expects that the work may lead to the development of even more complex systems, such as programmable molecular assembly lines and sophisticated sensors.

"We are really still at an early stage in designing DNA origami-based engineering systems," elaborated iCeMS Prof. Hiroshi Sugiyama. "The promise is great, but at the same time there are still many technical hurdles to overcome in order to improve the quality of the output. This is just the beginning for this new and exciting field."

###

The article, "A DNA-based molecular motor that can navigate a network of tracks" by Shelley F. J. Wickham, Jonathan Bath, Yousuke Katsuda, Masayuki Endo, Kumi Hidaka, Hiroshi Sugiyama, and Andrew J. Turberfield was published online in the January 22, 2011 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/G037930/1), the Clarendon Fund, the OxfordAustralia Scholarship Fund, CREST of JST, and a Grant-in-Aid for Science Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

About the iCeMS

The Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University in Japan aims to advance the integration of cell and material sciences -- both traditionally strong fields for the university -- in a uniquely innovative global research environment. The iCeMS combines the biosciences, chemistry, materials science, and physics to capture the potential power of stem cells (e.g., ES/iPS cells) and of mesoscopic sciences (e.g., porous coordination polymers). Such developments hold the promise of significant advances in medicine, pharmaceutical studies, the environment, and industry.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 22-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Kornhauser
pr@icems.kyoto-u.ac.jp
81-757-539-755
Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, Kyoto University

Kyoto, Japan -- Expanding on previous work with engines traveling on straight tracks, a team of researchers at Kyoto University and the University of Oxford have successfully used DNA building blocks to construct a motor capable of navigating a programmable network of tracks with multiple switches. The findings, published in the January 22 online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, are expected to lead to further developments in the field of nanoengineering.

The research utilizes the technology of DNA origami, where strands of DNA molecules are sequenced in a way that will cause them to self-assemble into desired 2D and even 3D structures. In this latest effort, the scientists built a network of tracks and switches atop DNA origami tiles, which made it possible for motor molecules to travel along these rail systems.

"We have demonstrated that it is not only possible to build nanoscale devices that function autonomously," explained Dr. Masayuki Endo of Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), "but that we can cause such devices to produce predictable outputs based on different, controllable starting conditions."

The team, including lead author Dr. Shelley Wickham at Oxford, expects that the work may lead to the development of even more complex systems, such as programmable molecular assembly lines and sophisticated sensors.

"We are really still at an early stage in designing DNA origami-based engineering systems," elaborated iCeMS Prof. Hiroshi Sugiyama. "The promise is great, but at the same time there are still many technical hurdles to overcome in order to improve the quality of the output. This is just the beginning for this new and exciting field."

###

The article, "A DNA-based molecular motor that can navigate a network of tracks" by Shelley F. J. Wickham, Jonathan Bath, Yousuke Katsuda, Masayuki Endo, Kumi Hidaka, Hiroshi Sugiyama, and Andrew J. Turberfield was published online in the January 22, 2011 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/G037930/1), the Clarendon Fund, the OxfordAustralia Scholarship Fund, CREST of JST, and a Grant-in-Aid for Science Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

About the iCeMS

The Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University in Japan aims to advance the integration of cell and material sciences -- both traditionally strong fields for the university -- in a uniquely innovative global research environment. The iCeMS combines the biosciences, chemistry, materials science, and physics to capture the potential power of stem cells (e.g., ES/iPS cells) and of mesoscopic sciences (e.g., porous coordination polymers). Such developments hold the promise of significant advances in medicine, pharmaceutical studies, the environment, and industry.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/ific-dmp012012.php

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Flags and flowers on Lunar New Year in North Korea (AP)

PYONGYANG, North Korea ? Soldiers and children, bundled up against the freezing cold, lined up Monday at Pyongyang's main plaza to pay their respects again to late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday.

A massive portrait of a smiling Kim that had been removed after a mourning period following his Dec. 17 death was restored at Kim Il Square. People scurried across the vast plaza to get in line to bow and place flowers, including his namesake "kimjongilia" begonias, in piles beneath the portrait. The song "It's Snowing" blared from loudspeakers, a reminder of Kim's solemn funeral procession through the capital's snowy streets late last month.

For several weeks after Kim's funeral, Pyongyang was barren and somber. But almost overnight the city has filled with color again. North Korea's red, white and blue national flag fluttered from signposts. Banners celebrating "Juche 101" ? the current year, according to the North Korean calendar, which begins with the 1912 birth of national founder Kim Il Sung ? and posters marking the holiday were pinned to buildings and walls.

One sign read, "The power of single-hearted unity ? congratulations on New Year's Day."

At the plaza in front of the Pyongyang Grand Theater, hundreds of children scampered and shouted as they played traditional Korean games. Signs in front of the theater spelled out "We are happy" in big, bold letters. In a large square, groups of children from the surrounding district gathered to jump rope, fly kites and practice taekwondo, their breaths steaming in the cold weather.

"Our great general gave instructions to bring up children educated with national character from their childhood by encouraging folk games," teacher Yu Un Ju told AP.

Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second person to lead North Korea since it was founded in 1948. State television aired a segment late Sunday on making rice cake soup, a traditional New Year's meal in both Koreas.

The holiday comes as new leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il's son, visits military units.

Outside observers have questioned whether Kim Jong Un ? who's believed to be in his late 20s ? is ready to rule a country of 24 million with a nuclear program and chronic food shortages.

But the North has dismissed such worries, and state media have produced reports and images meant to show that Kim has strong military and governing experience. Late last week, North Korea credited Kim Jong Un with spearheading past nuclear testing and said he was "fully equipped" with the qualities of an extraordinary general.

Kim Jong Un, anointed his father's successor at least three years ago, was declared "supreme leader" of the North Korean people, party and military after his father's death. He has pledged to uphold his father's "military first" policy.

The new era of leadership comes as North Korea prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary in April of the birth of Kim's grandfather, late President Kim Il Sung.

___

Follow AP's North Korea coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/newsjean and twitter.com/dguttenfelder.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_new_year

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Does Newt Own a Beet Farm? (Powerlineblog)

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Nate Silver's Florida Projections: Gingrich 66%, Romney 32% (Little green footballs)

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Children And Lying: What To Do About It

Dear Susan,

My 4-year-old old granddaughter lies regularly. She makes up stories about things that couldn't possibly be true, looking you straight in the face as she tells something that is obviously a lie. I want her to grow up to be an honest person.?What can be done?

Signed,
Pinnochio's Grandma

Dear Pinnochio's Grandma,

There's nothing quite as charming as a straight-faced 4-year-old telling you about the trip they took to the moon on the back of a talking kangaroo while they ate candy that the Easter bunny gave them for the trip. One of the most endearing qualities about children this age is the fact that they have one foot in reality, and one firmly in the world of fantasy. A 4-year-old can look you in the eye and tell you they had nothing to do with that missing piece of cake with a face smeared with chocolate. Instead of scolding your granddaughter for "lying," try these strategies:

Don't use logic as a way to "catch" your granddaughter being dishonest. "No, you didn't talk to Santa on the phone about how granny was naughty for not letting you have candy for dinner!" Enjoy the moments when your little one weaves those far-fetched stories as proof that she is still, thankfully, living at least part-time in the world of her imagination.

Make it clear that some topics require her to be accurate with her facts. Try saying things like, "I know it may be uncomfortable to tell Grandma that you had an accident in your pants, but I have to know, and I promise that I won't get mad." Or "I know it's scary to tell your Daddy that you took your brother's action figure because he wouldn't let you play with it, but I will be less upset if you tell me than if you try to hide it..."

Make it safe for your granddaughter to confess to doing something she shouldn't have done. If she believes that she'll be hurt -- physically or emotionally -- when she does tell you the truth, you will essentially "teach" her that twisting the facts pays off.

Channel some of your child's creative juices into story-telling. Encourage her to narrate into a recorder. This activity will give her the thrill of hearing her imagination take flight. Help her understand that there's a time and a place where it's absolutely fine to play make-believe so she doesn't think that she can never wander in her fantasy world.

Preschoolers need to know that when you say, "Tell me what really happened", they must reach for the truth, but they also have to know that it's safe to reveal it. Just keep in mind that they are still at a stage where the truth is often mixed up with make-believe. So, don't come down too hard when your granddaughter tries to convince you that the fairies really did give her the chocolate bar that looks very much like the one that's missing from your purse!

Yours in parenting support,
Susan

Parent Coach, Susan Stiffelman, is a licensed and practicing psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in developmental psychology and a Master of Arts in clinical psychology. Her book, Parenting Without Power Struggles, is available on Amazon. Sign up to get Susan's free parenting newsletter.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/children-and-lying_n_1210981.html

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How to See the Moon: Telescope Viewing Tips (SPACE.com)

Anyone who received a telescope over the holidays may be itching to try it out. The most popular first target for any telescope is our nearest neighbor in space, the moon.

Here are some tips to make your first telescopic encounter with the moon more enjoyable:

Before looking at the moon with your new telescope, take a good look at it with your naked eyes.

The most noticeable thing about the moon is that it is large enough to show some detail without any optical aid. As the moon moves in its orbit around the Earth, the sun's light strikes it from different angles, sometimes illuminating only a thin crescent from behind, at other times shining full on, making it a full moon. These are called the moon's phases.

You can also see a surprising amount of detail on the moon with your naked eye. Most obvious are the shades of gray: the large bright areas mostly on the southern half, and the darker gray areas mostly on the northern half. [Harvest?Moon?of 2011: Amazing Skywatcher?Photos]

Using a telescope

With binoculars you begin to resolve more detail on the moon: mountains, valleys, plains and especially craters. But with even the smallest telescope, a whole new world appears before you, ready to explore.

Like any tourist, it will help you to have a good map.

One of the most useful ones is the "Sky & Telescope Field Map of the Moon," available in both normal and mirror-reversed versions. The latter is mainly for observers with refractors and Cassegrain telescopes, which reverse the moon's image left to right. This map is on a large- enough scale to show fine detail, but is folded in four to make it easy to use at the telescope. It is laminated with plastic to protect it from dew.

When's the best time to observe the moon? Most people think it's around full moon (the next one is Feb. 7), but in fact this is the worst time. At full moon, the sunlight is falling on the moon's surface from straight overhead, and it looks like the desert at high noon.

The best times to moon-watch are actually at the two "quarters": the times when the moon is a quarter way around its orbit, and the sun is hitting it from right or left.

First quarter next occurs on Jan. 30. It will be a perfect half moon: the right half in sunlight and the left half in shadow. Two or three nights on either side of this date will be equally good.

Focus on the terminator

Concentrate your observing along the terminator, the boundary between light and dark. The sun is rising along this line, and so the shadows are at their maximum length. In fact, if you watch for a few minutes, you can actually see the shadows change as the sun rises.

A lot of beginners are surprised at how bright the moon is in a telescope. In fact, it is only as bright as an asphalt highway on a sunny day, but it seems much brighter because we're usually observing the moon in a dark sky from a dark location. If the brightness bothers you, try observing before the sky is completely dark, or else turn some lights on at your observing location.

As the moon gets closer to full on Feb. 7, the terminator moves closer to the edge of the moon, and it gets harder to see detail. As noted above, the full moon is literally a washout with a telescope, though perfect for romantic evenings.

A few nights after full, the moon starts to get interesting in the telescope again but at this point, many people lose the moon. That's because the moon, in its orbit around the Earth, rises about 50 minutes later each night. By third quarter, on Feb. 14, the moon rises around midnight and is high in the southern sky at dawn. [January?2012 Skywatching?Events]

If staying up late to observe the moon doesn't agree with you, try observing it first thing in the morning instead. Once again, observing in a blue sky helps kill the glare.

Managing magnification

What is the best magnification to use on the moon? Try all of them; they're all good.

A low magnification of around 50x will show you the whole moon and give you the "big picture." But to see the moon at its best, try a high magnification, at least 150x. The moon can tolerate high magnification better than any object in the sky. This also has the added benefit of reducing the glare from the moon.

The only time high magnification can't be used is just as the moon is rising or setting. When close to the horizon, the moon is so blurry it looks like it is deep in boiling water.

With a good map of the moon in hand, try "crater-hopping" your way up or down the terminator. See how many craters you can identify, noting the variety of their sizes and shapes, what their walls look like, and what they have on their floors. What other topographic features can you see? Look for mountains, both isolated peaks and mountain ranges. Many of these are named for their counterparts on Earth.

Apollo landing sites

There are things on the moon that you never or almost never see on Earth. There are rilles: systems of grooves in the surface, thought to be the remnants of collapsed lava tubes. There are domes ? gentle swellings in the relatively flat surfaces of lunar "seas" and flat-floored craters.

Look for the landing sites of the Apollo astronauts. You won't see any of the stuff they left behind, because they are too small to see from this distance, but you can often identify nearby geographic features. [How to Spot?Apollo?Moon?Landing Sites?in Telescopes]

Like any good tourist, try to take some pictures. Because the moon is lit by full sunlight, it is easy to photograph with short exposures just holding the camera to the telescope's eyepiece.

We're always interested in seeing good lunar photographs here at SPACE.com. If you'd like to submit any of your photos for a possible gallery or story, please send them to managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

This article was provided to SPACE.com by Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120120/sc_space/howtoseethemoontelescopeviewingtips

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