Your Information Marketing Teleseminars Revisited

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Consult With Fred Gleeck

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My weekly webinar is a great tool for my joint venture partners to communicate with me and with each other. I?ve been using webinars for a long time now and I?m comfortable with sharing my computer screen as well as giving a spontaneous presentation, responding to questions and allowing others to respond as well.

But you may not like to take on all that responsibility at once. So, teleseminars can be a good alternative, one that new information marketers often prefer.? They are conducted on the telephone instead of a computer, although it is possible to use your computer as your phone, too.

Your Information Marketing Teleseminars Revisited

Bob Jenkins gives some good teleseminar planning ideas in his post on The Future of Ink, which is geared towards repurposing the recorded presentation. I use this idea to great advantage with webinars, too.

Jenkins says, ?You can rapidly increase your digital publishing when you reduce the time it takes for you to create and publish your content. And my favorite way to do that is starting with teleseminars. Here?s why:

You can speak faster than you can type.

Getting ideas out of your head is likely easier by speaking instead of writing.

You can take an audio recording and repurpose it to create other forms of marketing and customer content. Better still, most of the repurposing can be done by someone else ? freeing up your time to do what you do best!?

His reasons are my reasons, too. I record webinars in order to create and publish content on YouTube and on my website. As Jenkins also suggests for repurposing teleseminars, I use virtual assistants to accomplish all the tasks following my webinars.

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Source: http://www.fredgleeck.com/blog/your-information-marketing-teleseminars-revisited/

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Burke leads UM rally over Kansas, 87-85 in OT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ? Trey Burke kept alive Michigan's deepest NCAA tournament run since the Fab Five era nearly 20 years ago with a shot the Wolverines won't soon forget.

Call it the Fab 3.

The sophomore standout scored all 23 of his points in the second half and overtime, including a long, tying 3-pointer in the final moments of regulation as Michigan rallied to beat Kansas 87-85 in the South Regional semifinals Friday night.

"Great shot," said Glenn Robinson III, who made it possible with a key bucket during a 14-4 run over the final 2:52 of regulation. "It was deep, too. He always makes that in practice."

Ben McLemore had 20 points to lead the Jayhawks (31-6), who looked to be on their way to a third straight regional final before Michigan's improbable rally. Instead, they became the third No. 1 seed to fall in this tournament, joining Gonzaga and Indiana.

"Well, this will certainly go down as one of the toughest games that obviously we've been a part of and I've been a part of," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "But props to Michigan for making all the plays late."

That's for sure.

The fourth-seeded Wolverines (29-7) were down five when Tim Hardaway Jr. missed a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left, but Robinson won a scramble for the ball and hit a reverse layup to force Kansas to win the game at the free-throw line.

The Jayhawks couldn't do it. Burke's tying shot ? he pulled up from well beyond the arc just left of the key ? came with 4.2 seconds left after Elijah Johnson missed a free throw and Michigan got the rebound.

Moments earlier, with 21 seconds remaining, Johnson had hit two from the line to keep the Kansas lead at five. Burke had scored on a layup to get Michigan back to within three.

"We never had the mindset that we were going to lose the game," Burke said. "When we were down 14, we knew anything could still happen. It's March, anything can happen."

Michigan went to back-to-back championship games a generation ago with the Fab Five, led by Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose. But the folks in Ann Arbor will be talking for years about the shot by Burke under the huge video board in Cowboys Stadium, just down the road from where Howard and Rose played their last game together with Ray Jackson and Jimmy King in a regional final loss to Arkansas in 1994.

The Wolverines will play Florida in the regional final Sunday. The third-seeded Gators beat 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast 62-50.

"Just to be able to get this program back to the Elite Eight, it feels good," Burke said. "But we want to go further."

The lead changed hands five times in overtime ? the first OT game of the tournament ? the last when Mitch McGary, who led Michigan with 25 points and 14 rebounds, hit a short jumper with Johnson in his face to put Michigan ahead 83-82.

The Jayhawks got a stop and had about 9 seconds to tie or win, but a jumbled possession ended with Naadir Tharpe missing a running jumper at the buzzer.

"We played like we were trying to hold onto something instead of just continuing to play," Johnson said.

Burke had eight points in the closing 14-4 run that tied the game, then gave Michigan its first lead since early with another long 3-pointer to make it 79-78 early in overtime. He hit a jumper on the next possession as well. After failing to score in the first 20 minutes, Burke ended his drought by scoring eight straight points early in the second half to momentarily cut the deficit to two.

"In the second half, Coach told me to be more aggressive, so I looked for my shot more," he said.

But Kansas restored a 10-point lead built on controlling the paint, this time with a 3-pointer and a tomahawk dunk on a breakaway by McLemore and a three-point play from Johnson.

Johnson, who picked up three fouls in just three minutes of playing time in the first half, gave Kansas its biggest lead at 68-54 with a 3-pointer from the corner with just under 7 minutes left.

Travis Releford had 16 points for the Jayhawks, while Jeff Withey had 12 points and eight rebounds.

McLemore didn't score again after going to the bench with his fourth foul with 8 minutes remaining.

"We had chance to seal the game, but we made some bonehead plays late," Releford said.

Kansas pushed out to a 10-point lead early by dominating around the basket. McLemore's first basket was the first outside the paint as the Jayhawks scored 34 of their 40 first-half points from inside while shooting 69 percent.

Withey put Kansas ahead 29-19 with a turnaround shot that had McGary shrugging at a teammate and saying, "I'm trying."

McGary wasn't having nearly as much trouble on the offensive end, leading the Wolverines with 11 points and five rebounds in the first half. He picked up where he left off in the third round against Virginia Commonwealth, when he had season highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Michigan pulled within 40-34 at the half when Nik Stauskas hit a 3-pointer and had chance for a four-point play when McLemore bumped him on the shot. But he missed the free throw.

No matter. In the end, Burke was Fab-u-lous and the Wolverines are one win away from the Final Four.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/burke-leads-um-rally-over-kansas-87-85-024557238--spt.html

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Rights groups slam UK town's under-16 restrictions

LONDON (AP) ? A British police force on Saturday defended its plan to impose nighttime restrictions on youngsters, saying it did not amount to a curfew, after civil liberties activists condemned the move.

Officials in Barnsley, northern England, have given police the power to remove under-16s from the town center between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless they are accompanied by an adult.

The trial rules take effect this weekend and operate for six months.

South Yorkshire Police said the measure would be applied with "discretion" and only target youths engaged in misbehavior.

Rights group Liberty criticized the move, saying the use of age as a basis for removal could face a court challenge. Emma Norton, a lawyer for the group, said "police should target offenders of whatever age, not show disrespect and distrust of a whole generation."

Nick Pickles of the group Big Brother Watch called the measure "a waste of time and resources."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rights-groups-slam-uk-towns-under-16-restrictions-220950011.html

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10 influential authors who came to the US as immigrants

"Give me your tired, your poor,/?Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" ? from "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, engraved on a plaque on Ellis Island

Though not born on American soil, these 10 authors all became United States citizens. Some were pushed here by political forces, some came for job opportunities, but each brought a new thread to the American tapestry. Today, as the US Congress struggles with the issue of immigration reform, seems an opportune moment to remember the contributions that this talented group has made to American literature and culture.

- Ben Frederick,?Contributor

1. Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini was born in Afghanistan, moved to Paris, and became a US citizen following the Russian invasion of his native country in 1980. His 2003 novel "The Kite Runner" was on The New York Times bestseller list for over a year. Hosseini's work tends to focus on family, violence, and the greater forces that shape personal lives. "The Kite Runner," about the life of a young Afghani refugee who must confront his traumatic childhood as an adult, was adapted into a movie in 2007. The movie rights have been bought to his second novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns."

His third book, "And the Mountains Echoed" is due out in May of this year.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Oix4WvMA6o8/10-influential-authors-who-came-to-the-US-as-immigrants

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Clanging Bell: Adventures in Home Improvement: Building a Short ...

I currently have several writing assignments that I am accumulating the research for. "Accumulating research" is code for "I'm woefully under-motivated to begin the actual writing."

In truth, I am putting together the research -- much of it is really being accumulated by other people on my behalf, but, hey, just because I'm delegating doesn't mean I'm not being productive. The old wheels are always turning.

In any event, I have plenty of money-making work built up in my in-box. That, however, is not deterring me from launching into a home-improvement project. I have a couple of semi-major projects I want to accomplish this year. The first is to construct a small 2-ft x 4-ft wall behind my TV and entertainment center. The goal is to hide all the wires and other assorted audio-video flotsam behind my TV from the dining area that borders it. The back of the TV is what people first see when they enter through my back door. I'm not trying to impress anyone, but it's just damn ugly.

For the past six months I've been looking for some sort of storage cabinet to place behind the TV to accomplish the same thing, but just haven't found anything I like that's reasonably priced. So, I decided to bite the bullet and build a short wall. It won't take up nearly as much space -- always a concern when you live in a 1,100 sq. ft house. And, I can complete the project for about $50. That, of course, doesn't include the cost of the paint I'll have to buy to paint the wall it will attach to, along with the rest of the main floor that didn't get new paint when I repaired the cracks in the drywall.

In fact, the painting will probably cost more and require more time than constructing the wall. Nothing is ever easy with an older home.

My other project will be to construct a closet in the second bedroom upstairs. It has a linen-like closet, but you can't hang anything in it. I'm going to add a closet that will be roughly 5-ft wide. I will drywall over the linen closet doorway, and then build a doorway in its other side, which will transform it into a linen closet for the upstairs bath.

I can probably do the closet project for $200 to $250.

So you see, I have plenty of job-jar chores to fall back on when I don't feel like really working.

I just hope the people I've asked to help with the research take their time.

Source: http://clanging-bell.blogspot.com/2013/03/adventures-in-home-improvement-building.html

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Innovation by Asian business leaders no longer a luxury - The Nation

Home ? business ? Innovation by Asian business leaders no longer a luxury

The Nation March 30, 2013 1:00 am

Increasing globalisation is a given, with international competition likely to grow fiercer and markets even more diversified. The rise of India and China, coupled with the global economic power shift towards Asia, is reshaping the world before our very eyes. In the West, the number of jobs is falling; in the East, leaders have to learn how to manage in new markets as they expand westwards.

Technology convergence and the evolution of social media have raised the bar on customer engagement. Customers now expect an instant response to their queries - and even to be involved in the process of product development in such services as information technology and communication.

Additionally, advances in technology convergence will continue to blur the boundaries between private and working lives. More business is conducted "virtually", and power is shifting to employees - particularly the rising class of digital-knowledge workers, who can work anywhere.

However, while technological prowess can aid innovation, digital natives' over-reliance on technology and their lack of social skills make them unprepared for leadership roles. Hence talent will continue to be at a premium, and retaining employees with key skills will be a challenge.

The "youth bulge" in Asia poses significant leadership challenges. What will it take to accommodate and motivate the "me" generation that forms our next band of leaders? The hunger to capture Asia's abundant business opportunities is challenged by higher expectations, greater business risks and stronger market competition. Meanwhile, the growing scarcity of strategic resources such as water, minerals, metals and fossil fuels will cause price increases and lead to social instability.

Coupled with shorter economic cycles, hyper-connectivity and restless digital natives, the only way for companies to succeed is to innovate - not just in new products and services for customers, but also in the way they treat and motivate employees, groom leaders and conduct business. As we know, innovation is easy. Commercialising it and building organisational discipline around it is much more challenging.

While there is no silver bullet for success, Hay Group's study reveals specific organisational practices that market leaders have adopted to enable and encourage innovation. To establish and sustain a climate that is conducive to meaningful innovation, Hay Group has identified four business practices that organisations need to have:

1. Enable agility. Agile organisations are better able to respond to challenges with innovations, and capitalise on their successes. Good organisations structure their organisations for speed and flexibility.

2. Create the context. Smart innovations require a fundamental understanding of customer needs, and a willingness to risk rethinking them. Good organisations ensure that employees understand customer needs, and support new approaches to address them.

3. Broaden perspectives. New and different points of view are essential precursors to innovation. Good organisations encourage and embrace different cultural and generational perspectives, and work to broaden the viewpoints of their employees.

4. Reward collaboration. If innovation is the product of different perspectives, collaboration is the process that brings them together. Good organisations do not merely preach collaboration; they require and reward it.

"It's crucial to foster an atmosphere, environment and mechanism where people are encouraged and enabled to undertake creative problem solving, where people are not afraid of failure and are prepared to welcome and deal effectively with changes, and where people are trained and supported to undertake and manage risks with prudence," said Punyacha Teparakul, senior consultant at Hay Group.

To run globalised companies, Asian leaders must set the direction and discipline for innovation. Insights on individual leadership styles, ensuring strong leadership pipelines and so forth have been useful preludes, but they are no longer enough for sustainable success in the new economy.

Hay Group's research urges Asian firms to catch up to leading companies in the following ways:

? Develop an organisational structure that enables quick communication. This is fundamental to organisational agility, its decision-making frameworks and responsiveness to market changes.

? The Asian tradition of directive leadership will not work. Everyone is expected to lead, even if they have no formal position of authority, and Asian bosses must learn to delegate their authority and decision-making power. This, Hay found, leads to higher employee engagement and motivation.

? Create personally meaningful work. Having an innovation strategy is no guarantee of success, and the most innovative companies are interested in discretionary effort. Therefore, strategies must be decoded vertically and horizontally so that personal interests are aligned with corporate and interdepartmental goals.

"The challenge for today's leaders is to apply various leadership styles suitably, may they be coercive, pace-setting, democratic, coaching and so on, into different situations and employee groups," Punyacha said. "Leadership styles have significant impact on organisational climate and culture, which in turn has an impact on employee perception and engagement, which in turn has an impact on individual and company performance."

LEADERSHIP RELOADED

In an uncertain business environment of rapid and irrevocable change, innovation is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. To be successful, leaders need to be adept at conceptual and strategic thinking, have deep integrity and intellectual openness, find new ways to create loyalty, and relinquish their own power in favour of collaboration.

Leading in the new normal environment will test executives' virtuosity in switching between leadership styles. To envisage and then sell a concept of customers' future needs will require an authoritative style of leadership that many leaders in Asia already exhibit. However, to encourage and enforce discipline around innovation will require a more collaborative style of leadership - this is where Asian leaders need to step up.

In addition, keen influencing skills will prove to be the key ingredient for managing productivity in the "cloud", where leaders are responsible for multifunction and cross-border teams, some of whom may not even report to them.

Finally, leaders need to tap into their emotional maturity and lead their teams to bounce back from negative feedback and failure. This calls for both emotional and mental resilience.

Building discipline around innovation has become just as, if not more, important than innovation itself. And innovating leadership is perhaps the most critical step to survival.

Asia has made great strides in leadership competencies in the past 20 years. To meet the growing demands of business here, companies have done a great job of developing and accelerating talent. Is there more to be done?

Latest stories in this category

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Innovation-by-Asian-business-leaders-no-longer-a-l-30203000.html

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?The Korean Zombie,? Boston and Tito Ortiz: Where did they fall on the Cagewriter Hot or Not list?

It's been a slow week for MMA, but it's likely to pick up as we start an eventful April. In this last week of March, who was hot or who was not?

Hot ? Boston: According to a tweet from UFC president Dana White, the promotion is headed back to Boston, his hometown. Fox's new channel, Fox Sports 1, will get its first UFC event with this card, scheduled for Aug. 17.

Not ? Commissions: First, Nick Diaz's camp said his weigh-in at UFC 158 was mishandled by the commission in Quebec. Then, Andrei Arlovski's camp said there was a timing error at the World Series of Fighting 2 card that caused Arlovski to take extra damage. Commissions' doing things right is necessary for the sport to grow, so mistakes like these are worrisome.

Hot ? Chan Sung Jung, aka "The Korean Zombie:" He stood up to the UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre with a respectful dignity. Jung informed GSP, and much of the MMA world, about the symbolism behind the Rising Sun that the welterweight champion wore on his gi for UFC 158. GSP and Hayabusa, the company behind the gi quickly apologized. Jung handled the situation with quiet courage, and used it as a teachable moment. It was an impressive moment for both TKZ and GSP.

Not ? Tito Ortiz: The retired UFC legend is now working as the manager for Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, and he has a plan. Santos is fighting on next weekend's Invicta card, and he wants her to fight her next few fights in Invicta. Then on New Year's Eve, Ortiz wants Santos, who won't move down to bantamweight, to fight UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in the UFC.

"Cris has shown in Strikeforce, why she's so dominant, why women are afraid of her. She has three fights with Invicta, she will be the world champion and she will walk away a world champion. Like I said, New Year's Eve, let's make a super fight. Forget the title. Champion vs. champion, who cares about the title?"

That's a nice plan if you forget that Rousey has said she doesn't want to move up in weight, or that most of her 2013 is set. She will coach against the winner of Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate in the next edition of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Hot ? Fans: You're getting another Fan Expo. The UFC will host a Fan Expo in conjunction with UFC 162 in Las Vegas. Get your tickets here.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/korean-zombie-boston-tito-ortiz-where-did-fall-183338427--mma.html

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Deal of the Day: Qmadix Metalix Snap-On Cover for Galaxy S3

The March 28 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Qmadix Metalix Snap-On Cover for Samsung Galaxy S3. The Metalix Snap-On Cover adds style, sophistication and protection to your Galaxy S3. The durable but lightweight, textured polycarbonate border helps to keep a firm grip on your device while aluminum alloy accents enhance the look without adding bulk or unwanted weight. Comes in red, green and copper.

The Qmadix Metalix Snap-On Cover is available for just $16.00, 54% off today only. Grab yours while supplies last!

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Uz8G-PZjByo/story01.htm

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Historic Bed and Breakfast and Luxury Boutique Hotel near CBD ...

This magnificant property is situated at the foot of the beautiful hills overlooking Nelson City to the Tasman Sea beyond and is often referred to by the locals as "The Castle".

Thirty four individual rooms, including twelve bedrooms, five lounges, eight bathrooms and two extra toilets. The original wing, currently the owners residence, could be developed into four or five additional suites. Resource consent is in place to build a self-contained apartment over the garage, which would be ideal for a manager. Alternatively, a more substantial house could be built on a vacant site on the eastern side of the property, which extends down to Seymour Avenue.

This solidly constructed, 810 square metre building was very strongly built throughout with great beams of kauri and 28 millimetre thick matai floors. All weatherboards, ceilings and most doors are heart kauri. Weatherboards on several sides were covered with a heavy stucco render in the 1950s, which gives it the distinctive castle appearance. The exterior is now painted rich Colonial cream, with burgundy timber joinery and the original 7000 tiled, high pitched Welsh slate roof.

In recognition of the huge amount of restoration work done on Warwick House, the current owners were presented with the 2009 Environmental Award, in the Heritage Site category. Over the past few years, this superb home has hosted many distinguished guests, held many charity fundraisers, hosted tours, high teas and many great musical events.

Exceptional features include the opulent ballroom with a 5.5 metre stud, the four level, 33 metre high octagonal turret, balconies, exterior staircases and ornate kauri fretwork around the large verandah and viewing decks. There are two large oriel windows, five large bay windows and a minstrel gallery, high above the main entrance hall.

Two single garages, an elegant Victorian-style street lamp and a history board flank the substantial, original cast iron gates and posts, which were brought out from England in the 1840s. There is a large sealed parking area, a large carport and a central flagstone Maltese cross.

The original wing is the current owners home which has two spacious living areas, a charming dining / conservatory , kitchen , five bedrooms and two bathrooms.

This is one of New Zealand's most attractive tourism & hospitality businesses for sale and allows the next owner to take this awesome property to the next level of development.

Price by Negotiation for Land, Building and Business including specified chattels. We invite all interested parties to contact Adrian Chisholm 021 727 888 - TourismProperties.com www.tourismproperties.com specialist real estate company helping buyers and sellers of touris, hospitality and leisure businesses and properties nationwide in New Zealand and the South pacifiic Islands.
?

Source: http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?id=103419

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You don't 'own' your own genes

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Humans don't "own" their own genes, the cellular chemicals that define who they are and what diseases they might be at risk for. Through more than 40,000 patents on DNA molecules, companies have essentially claimed the entire human genome for profit, report two researchers who analyzed the patents on human DNA. Their study, published March 25 in the journal Genome Medicine, raises an alarm about the loss of individual "genomic liberty."

In their new analysis, the research team examined two types of patented DNA sequences: long and short fragments. They discovered that 41 percent of the human genome is covered by longer DNA patents that often cover whole genes. They also found that, because many genes share similar sequences within their genetic structure, if all of the "short sequence" patents were allowed in aggregate, they could account for 100 percent of the genome.

Furthermore, the study's lead author, Dr. Christopher E. Mason of Weill Cornell Medical College, and the study's co-author, Dr. Jeffrey Rosenfeld, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey and a member of the High Performance and Research Computing Group, found that short sequences from patents also cover virtually the entire genome -- even outside of genes.

"If these patents are enforced, our genomic liberty is lost," says Dr. Mason, an assistant professor of physiology and biophysics and computational genomics in computational biomedicine at the Institute for Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell. "Just as we enter the era of personalized medicine, we are ironically living in the most restrictive age of genomics. You have to ask, how is it possible that my doctor cannot look at my DNA without being concerned about patent infringement?"

The U.S. Supreme Court will review genomic patent rights in an upcoming hearing on April 15. At issue is the right of a molecular diagnostic company to claim patents not only on two key breast and ovarian cancer genes -- BRCA1 and BRCA2 -- but also on any small sequence of code within BRCA1, including a striking patent for only 15 nucleotides.

In its study, the research team matched small sequences within BRCA1 to other genes and found that just this one molecular diagnostic company's patents also covered at least 689 other human genes -- most of which have nothing to do with breast or ovarian cancer; rather, its patents cover 19 other cancers as well as genes involved in brain development and heart functioning.

"This means if the Supreme Court upholds the current scope of the patents, no physician or researcher can study the DNA of these genes from their patients, and no diagnostic test or drug can be developed based on any of these genes without infringing a patent," says Dr. Mason.

One Patented Sequence Matched More Than 91 Percent of Human Genes

Dr. Mason undertook the study because he realized that his research into brain and cancer disorders inevitably involved studying genes that were protected by patents.

Under U.S. patent law, genes can be patented by those researchers, either at companies or institutions, who are first to find a gene that promises a useful application, such as for a diagnostic test. For example, the patents received by a company in the 1990s on BRCA1 and BRCA2 enables it to offer a diagnostic test to women who may have, or may be at risk for, breast or ovarian cancer due to mutations in one or both of these genes. Women and their doctors have no choice but to use the services of the patents' owner, which costs $3,000 per test, "whereas any of the hundreds of clinical laboratories around the country could perform such a test for possibly much less," says Dr. Mason.

The impact on these patents is equally onerous on research, Dr. Mason adds.

"Almost every day, I come across a gene that is patented -- a situation that is common for every geneticist in every lab," says Dr. Mason. Dr. Mason and his research partner sought to determine how many other genes may be impacted by gene patents, as well as the overall landscape of intellectual property on the human genome.

To conduct the study, Dr. Mason and Dr. Rosenfeld examined the structure of the human genome in the context of two types of patented sequences: short and long fragments of DNA. They used matches to known genes that were confirmed to be present in patent claims, ranging from as few as 15 nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA) to the full length of all patented DNA fragments.

Before examining the patented sequences, the researchers first calculated how many genes had common segments of 15 nucleotide (15mer), and found that every gene in the human genome matched at least one other gene in this respect, ranging from as few as five matches 15mer to as many as 7,688 gene matches. They also discovered that 99.999 percent of 15mers in the human genome are repeated at least twice.

"This demonstrates that short patent sequences are extremely non-specific and that a 15mer claim from one gene will always cross-match and patent a portion of another gene as well," says Dr. Mason. "This means it is actually impossible to have a 15mer patent for just one gene."

Next, researchers examined the total sequence space in human genes covered by 15mers in current patent claims. They found 58 patents whose claims covered at least 10 percent of all bases of all human genes. The broadest patent claimed sequences that matched 91.5 percent of human genes. Then, when they took existing gene patents and matched patented 15mers to known genes, they discovered that 100 percent of known genes are patented.

"There is a real controversy regarding gene ownership due to the overlap of many competing patent claims. It is unclear who really owns the rights to any gene," says Dr. Rosenfeld. "While the Supreme Court is hearing one case concerning just the BRCA1 patent, there are also many other patents whose claims would cover those same genes. Do we need to go through every gene to look at who made the first claim to that gene, even if only one small part? If we resort to this rule, then the first patents to be granted for any DNA will have a vast claim over portions of the human genome."

A further issue of concern is that patents on DNA can readily cross species boundaries. A company can have a patent that they received for cow breeding and have that patent cover a large percentage of human genes. Indeed, the researchers found that one company owns the rights to 84 percent of all human genes for a patent they received for cow breeding. "It seems silly that a patent designed to study cow genetics also claims the majority of human genes," says Dr. Rosenfeld.

Finally, they also examined the impact of longer claimed DNA sequences from existing gene patents, which ranged from a few dozen bases up to thousands of bases of DNA, and found that these long, claimed sequences matched 41 percent (9,361) of human genes. Their analysis concluded that almost all clinically relevant genes have already been patented, especially for short sequence patents, showing all human genes are patented many times over.

"This is, so to speak, patently ridiculous," adds Dr. Mason. "If patent claims that use these small DNA sequences are upheld, it could potentially create a situation where a piece of every gene in the human genome is patented by a phalanx of competing patents."

In their discussion, the researchers argue that the U.S. Supreme Court now has a chance to shape the balance between the medical good versus inventor protection, adding that, in their opinion, the court should limit the patenting of existing nucleotide sequences, due to their broad scope and non-specificity in the human genome.

"I am extremely pro-patent, but I simply believe that people should not be able to patent a product of nature," Dr. Mason says. "Moreover, I believe that individuals have an innate right to their own genome, or to allow their doctor to look at that genome, just like the lungs or kidneys. Failure to resolve these ambiguities perpetuates a direct threat to genomic liberty, or the right to one's own DNA."

###

Weill Cornell Medical College: http://www.med.cornell.edu/index.html

Thanks to Weill Cornell Medical College 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.

This press release has been viewed 5 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127464/You_don_t__own__your_own_genes

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The Benefits of Online Marketing for Realtors | Helix House | Internet ...

As with other segments of the economy real estate sales stand to gain tremendously from online marketing. Realtors seeking to take their real estate business to the next level should consider the real advantages and benefits of online marketing. As more and more people shift their way of life to an online existence with mobile connectivity as well as social media it is essential that realtors and other business professionals participate in this burgeoning and growing trend. One clear and obvious benefit of online marketing is that it simply attracts a greater number of potential customers and clients. Another huge advantage of using online marketing as a sales strategy is that it allows realtors to engage buyers and sellers of real estate more directly.

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Providing Textual Information as Well as Images to Perspective Clients

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Through the careful and thoughtful use of online marketing that includes social media, e-mail campaigns and the online distribution of high-quality content, realtors can quickly catapult their sales figures into a much higher category. Another benefit of online marketing with regard to the real estate business that is often overlooked by realtors is that it affords realtors the opportunity to provide textual information as well as images to perspective clients in real-time. Also, with the increasing popularity of video testimonials and video tours realtors are able to quickly engage buyers and sellers like never before. Combining all these benefits and advantages of online marketing can give forward-looking realtors an incredible edge on the competition.

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One of the Most Critical Choices a Realtor Can Possibly Make

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As a premier online marketing agency, Helix House is dedicated and committed to helping realtors achieve extraordinary success with their online marketing campaigns. Helix House understands online marketing and custom tailors a unique strategy for each realtor who is seeking help in the otherwise complex online arena. Real estate is a unique industry that requires unique strategies with regard to online marketing. Employing the services of the right online marketing agency is one of the most critical choices a realtor can possibly make in today?s highly competitive real estate market. The benefits of online marketing as it relates to real estate are plain to see and should compel any real estate professional to learn more about online marketing and its many benefits.

Source: http://www.myhelixhouse.com/the-benefits-of-online-marketing-for-realtors/

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House watcher Stx - USVI Moving Center

Anyone know the going rate for watching a house for a few months while the owner is away? Not property mgmt, just checking on the place once per week to be sure no issues exist and that all is well. No maintenance required, no house sitting required. Thanks.

Source: http://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,200455,200455

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Supreme Court justices suggest they may avoid a major ruling on California's gay marriage ban (Star Tribune)

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Soros to Give $1 Million to NAACP Legal Fund - NYTimes.com

George Soros, the billionaire financier and philanthropist, has pledged $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the country?s leading civil rights legal advocacy group, officials there said Tuesday.

The gift, which Mr. Soros is making through his Open Society Foundations, is the largest grant the group has received from a named donor in recent decades.

It comes as the fund and other legal advocacy groups are locked in battles around the country over states? efforts to impose tighter restrictions on voting.

The fund is closely involved with a case now before the Supreme Court, Shelby County v. Holder, which challenges the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act. The group is also active in cases involving the death penalty, classroom integration and housing discrimination.

Mr. Soros and his family were among the largest donors in the country to Democratic ?super PACs? during the 2012 elections. He is also a longtime supporter of voting rights and voter registration initiatives, a major focus of the NAACP fund.

In a statement, Mr. Soros said, ?We need bold and courageous civil rights strategies if we are to achieve racial equality in this country.?

Sherrilyn Ifill, who took over as the legal defense fund?s top official last year, was previously the board chairwoman for United States programs at Open Society Foundations.

?L.D.F. is a great American institution that remains vigorously engaged in the fight for justice in the areas of voting rights, access to economic and educational opportunity and in challenging injustice in the criminal justice system,? Ms. Ifill said in a statement.

Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/soros-to-give-1-million-to-naacp-legal-fund/

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Trees used to create recyclable, efficient solar cell

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Solar cells are just like leaves, capturing the sunlight and turning it into energy. It's fitting that they can now be made partially from trees.

Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University researchers have developed efficient solar cells using natural substrates derived from plants such as trees. Just as importantly, by fabricating them on cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates, the solar cells can be quickly recycled in water at the end of their lifecycle.

The technology is published in the journal Scientific Reports, the latest open-access journal from the Nature Publishing Group.

The researchers report that the organic solar cells reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7 percent, an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials. The CNC substrates on which the solar cells are fabricated are optically transparent, enabling light to pass through them before being absorbed by a very thin layer of an organic semiconductor. During the recycling process, the solar cells are simply immersed in water at room temperature. Within only minutes, the CNC substrate dissolves and the solar cell can be separated easily into its major components.

Georgia Tech College of Engineering Professor Bernard Kippelen led the study and says his team's project opens the door for a truly recyclable, sustainable and renewable solar cell technology.

"The development and performance of organic substrates in solar technology continues to improve, providing engineers with a good indication of future applications," said Kippelen, who is also the director of Georgia Tech's Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE). "But organic solar cells must be recyclable. Otherwise we are simply solving one problem, less dependence on fossil fuels, while creating another, a technology that produces energy from renewable sources but is not disposable at the end of its lifecycle."

To date, organic solar cells have been typically fabricated on glass or plastic. Neither is easily recyclable, and petroleum-based substrates are not very eco-friendly. For instance, if cells fabricated on glass were to break during manufacturing or installation, the useless materials would be difficult to dispose of. Paper substrates are better for the environment, but have shown limited performance because of high surface roughness or porosity. However, cellulose nanomaterials made from wood are green, renewable and sustainable. The substrates have a low surface roughness of only about two nanometers.

"Our next steps will be to work toward improving the power conversion efficiency over 10 percent, levels similar to solar cells fabricated on glass or petroleum-based substrates," said Kippelen. The group plans to achieve this by optimizing the optical properties of the solar cell's electrode.

Purdue School of Materials Engineering associate professor Jeffrey Youngblood collaborated with Kippelen on the research.

A provisional patent on the technology has been filed with the U.S. Patent Office.

There's also another positive impact of using natural products to create cellulose nanomaterials. The nation's forest product industry projects that tens of millions of tons of them could be produced once large-scale production begins, potentially in the next five years.

The research is the latest project by COPE, which studies the use and development of printed electronics. Last year the center created the first-ever completely plastic solar cell.

###

Georgia Institute of Technology: http://www.gatech.edu

Thanks to Georgia Institute of Technology 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/127472/Trees_used_to_create_recyclable__efficient_solar_cell

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Threshing mills make life less of a grind for West African women

Women farmers in West Africa are replacing manual pestle and mortars with grinding machines that save time and grueling labor.

By Agathe Diama and Alina Paul-Bossuet,?AlertNet / March 25, 2013

A grinding machine halves the time and labor needed to thresh grain into flour for these women in Niger.

Courtesy of ICRISAT

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The majority of women in developing countries rely on agriculture, and it is widely acknowledged that gender should be a major consideration in agricultural development for the rural poor.

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When we think of how to improve the situation for women farmers, we often focus on farming issues such as land rights, training, and access to better seeds and markets. But for many women, post-harvest chores entail a heavy work burden that needs to be relieved to improve their lives. Doing so could also improve their communities? resilience to drier climates.

The pestle and mortar are still the main tools used to grind staple cereals such as millet and sorghum in most sub-Saharan countries. But manually grinding grains is painful and time-consuming for rural women with relentless daily workloads in West Africa.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and its partners have been working with women to try progressive technologies to ease their work burden. As part of the HOPE Project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, women farmers like Z?nabou Halilou from Niger are replacing manual pestle and mortars with grinding machines that save time and labor.

"Before the mill was installed in our village, we manually processed all our grain,? says Halilou. ?Threshing, husking, and milling used to take about 16 hours of my daily time. Thanks to the mill I save nearly eight hours a day. This has made a big difference.

?I can now spend more time on food processing and have just started a poultry farm. I also have more time for my children. Instead of meals served very late or not at all, they now eat every night before going to bed,? she explains.

The time needed to prepare and process grain is a key criterion for smallholder farmers in choosing their crop. Saving several hours a day in millet preparation encourages farmers to grow this drought-tolerant crop. So introducing this post-harvest technology helps farmers become more resilient to drier climates.?

Under the CODEWA project funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, ICRISAT explored crop diversification strategies to help farmers in the Sahel region boost their resilience to drought. This includes encouraging them to grow highly drought-resistant traditional crops, such as fonio, the smallest millet and a major staple cereal crop in dryland regions of West Africa.

Very nutritious and fast growing ? it just needs six to eight weeks from sowing to harvest ? the grain is used to prepare porridge, couscous, bread, and beverages. But its tiny size (2,000 grains per gram) means women commonly spent hours threshing the grain.

Over the past decades, farmers have adopted other cereal crops that are easier to process, such as maize. But maize yields suffer in dry weather, leaving drought-affected farmers at risk of losing their harvest when water is scarce.

The dissemination of an award-winning fonio threshing machine that can prepare 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of grain in six minutes instead of two hours of hand pounding has been a driver to reintroduce the cultivation of this hardy cereal.

The World Bank, through its West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program Project, has recently funded the distribution and assessment of fonio-husking machines in Senegal. This is good news as fonio is often the only crop farmers succeed in harvesting in very dry climates.

Technologies that free women from manual threshing are also appreciated for other reasons. Halilou proudly shows off her hands.

?Threshing and husking used to make my hands very rough,? she says. ?Now that I use the mill, they are much smoother, and I am not ashamed to greet people with my hands.?

? This article originally appeared at AlertNet, a humanitarian news site operated by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/SedbvRCIfhM/Threshing-mills-make-life-less-of-a-grind-for-West-African-women

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Heat win 27th straight, run away from Magic 108-94

Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) shoots in front of Orlando Magic forward Maurice Harkless during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) shoots in front of Orlando Magic forward Maurice Harkless during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Orlando Magic forward DeQuan Jones (20) collides with Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh (1) while driving to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen (11) dunks the ball in front of Orlando Magic guard E'Twaun Moore, right, as the Heat's LeBron James, left, and Norris Cole (30) watch during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ? Late in the third quarter, the game was tied and the Miami Heat winning streak seemed to be in jeopardy.

Then LeBron James got mad.

And then the Orlando Magic had no chance.

James finished with 24 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, throwing down a dunk to start a huge, swift run that decided everything and the Heat won their 27th straight game by topping the Magic 108-94 on Monday night.

"We are not taking this team for granted," James said. "I continue to always say that in professional sports, wins are hard to come by and teams like this are really rare. To be part of a team like this, we do not take it for granted."

That dunk ? which came one possession after James badly missed a layup and got frustrated ? started what became a 20-2 run over merely a 4?-minute portion of the third and fourth quarters, and it put the Heat in control for good.

He left one rebound shy of a triple-double, feigning disappointment. That's about all the Heat could complain about afterward.

Mario Chalmers scored 17, and Chris Bosh and Ray Allen each added 12 for Miami, giving Heat coach Erik Spoelstra his 250th win and bringing the reigning NBA champions within six games of matching the Lakers for the longest winning streak in league history, a 33-game run.

"We did enough late in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter to come away with this win," Spoelstra said. "That was some of our best in that fourth quarter on both ends of the court. ... Before that, it was a little bit of a sleepwalk."

Jameer Nelson had 27 points and 12 assists for the Magic, who got 20 points from Tobias Harris. And Magic coach Jacque Vaughn didn't exactly seem to think after the game that Miami's winning streak will end anytime soon.

"I'm far from the expert on that. ... That's a very good ballclub led by a very good player," Vaughn said. "It's impressive what they're doing."

The four-game road trip for Miami continues in Chicago on Wednesday, followed by a Friday matchup in New Orleans ? which snapped Denver's 15-game winning streak on Monday night. Miami's trip ends Sunday in San Antonio.

It's now the second-longest winning streak in American major sports, behind only the Lakers' run. Baseball's New York Giants won 26 straight games in 1916, the New England Patriots took 21 consecutive NFL games in 2003 and 2004, and the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins won 17 consecutive times in 1993.

"When they got rolling, we had to try to stop them," said Orlando's Kyle O'Quinn. "But they got rolling too quick."

Both teams were missing key components, Dwyane Wade for Miami and Nik Vucevic for Orlando.

Wade missed his second straight contest with a sore right knee, one that he said before the game had been bothering him periodically since March 9 and then flared up after a collision against Boston last week. He had an MRI exam over the weekend to rule out any major problems and plans to play at Chicago on Wednesday.

Vucevic sat his third straight game while dealing with a mild concussion. Vucevic averaged a staggering 22.5 points and 25 rebounds in two games against Miami earlier this season. Compounding the injury issues for Orlando was losing power forward Andrew Nicholson, the team's first player off the bench Monday, to a sprained left ankle just 1:52 after he checked in for what was the only time.

A 9-2 run early in the third gave Miami what was then its biggest lead, 64-53. Instead of deflating the Magic, it seemed to almost inspire the hosts, who answered with probably their best 5-minute stretch of the game, capped by a 3-pointer by Nelson with 3 minutes left that tied the game at 68-all.

And when James missed a layup at the other end, then got called for a foul after the rebound, Orlando may very well have been thinking that the streak could soon be snapped.

Nope.

"They're a great team," Magic rookie Maurice Harkless said. "They got a lot of different weapons out there. Obviously there's a reason why they've won so many games in a row. They just took it to another level at that point in the game. We couldn't punch back. They hit us and we couldn't find a way to hit back."

Miami needed only 2 minutes to close the quarter with 10 unanswered points, with James doing either the orchestrating or performing. He got loose on a curl for a dunk to start the run, and the Heat took off.

Chris Andersen ? the Heat are now 29-1 when he plays ? got Miami the ball with a spectacular block against Harkless. James then cleared everyone out to drive on Harkless, score and get fouled for a three-point play.

That was part of a rough few moments for the rookie out of St. John's.

Harkless threw the ball into the sideline seats on Orlando's next possession, and James found Allen for a 3-pointer. Harkless had another turnover with 19.5 seconds left and then fouled James with 4.2 ticks remaining. James missed both shots, but got his own rebound, was fouled by Harris and made those two ensuing free throws for a 78-68 Miami lead.

"Any time LeBron gets a dunk, that excites everybody," Chalmers said. "Makes us play a little bit harder."

The run didn't stop there. Allen started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, pushing Miami's edge to 81-68 as Orlando's Beno Udrih ? who was 0 for 8 from the field at that point ? lay writhing in pain under the basket after apparently being hit in the face.

It was injury to insult, at that point.

Norris Cole lobbed one off the glass to James for a dunk and an 83-70 lead, Allen made another 3-pointer on the next possession, James set up Andersen for an alley-oop dunk as half the arena roared in delight as the reigning champions pushed the margin to 18.

Game, over.

Streak, not over.

NOTES: There was practically a baseball All-Star team in attendance, with Ken Griffey Jr., Detroit slugger Prince Fielder and Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia all near one another opposite the Miami bench. Tigers stars Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera were also in the crowd, as was Masters champion Bubba Watson. ... Orlando comes to Miami on April 17 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-25-BKN-Heat-Magic/id-af529406ee9749b68f7a0296db4607aa

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CyanogenMod founder leaves Samsung, praises the Galaxy S 4 on his way out

Less than two years after the CyanogenMod founder was scooped up by Samsung to improve Android's veneer, Steve Kondik has decided to depart for greener pastures. In a Google Plus posting, the software engineer shared his mostly positive impressions for Samsung's Galaxy S 4, casually mentioning that he'd departed the Korean behemoth's embrace. The one thing that came in for a bashing was TouchWiz's updated UI, that he says "feels like it has been sent back a few years in time to the Froyo days." Responding to a comment, Mr. Kondik said that nothing in particular had prompted his departure beyond a desire to "do something new," but given the man's pedigree, we can only assume it'll be somehow related to the little green droid that could.

[Image credit: Erica Joy]

Filed under: Mobile, Samsung

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Falcons 'rapidly evolved hunter skill'

25 March 2013 Last updated at 03:40 By Ella Davies Reporter, BBC Nature

Falcons rapidly evolved their renowned hunting skills, a study has found.

Scientists from Cardiff University have sequenced the genome of peregrine and saker falcons for the first time.

Research revealed that compared with other species, these birds of prey have been subjected to fierce competition and pressures, leading them to adapt quickly in order to survive.

Investigation of the genes responsible for the birds' unique beaks highlighted this rapid development.

The name falcon comes from the Latin word falco, meaning hook shaped and refers to the birds' strongly curved beaks.

"We have been able to determine that specific genes, regulating beak development, have had to evolve to withstand the pressure of impacting their prey at a speed of up to 300 kilometres an hour," explained Professor Mike Bruford, who authored the paper published in the journal Nature Genetics.

"The shape of the falcon beak has also had had to evolve to be capable of tearing at the flesh of its prey."

The hunting skills of falcons are well known, with the peregrine falcon often referred to as the fastest animal on Earth due to the impressive speeds at which it plummets through the air to catch prey.

Researchers worked with experts at the Beijing Genomics Institute in China to obtain the genome sequences of the birds.

They discovered the "revelatory" evidence of the falcons' evolutionary history when comparing their genomes with those of other birds that have had their genomes sequenced: chickens, turkeys and zebra finches.

Through DNA sequencing, they were able to identify the genes behind the birds' exemplary predatory adaptations.

These adaptations include hard skulls to allow the birds to survive collisions with their prey and highly efficient circulatory and respiratory systems to cope with the extreme air pressure encountered during their high-speed dives.

Tracking when and how these genes developed, the scientists identified that the process was very rapid and theorised that this was due to intense competitive pressures experienced by the birds as they sought prey.

"Evolution seems to be pushing the genome sequence in an unusual direction," said Prof Bruford.

"If we had found this just in the peregrine, that would have been interesting, but we also sequenced the saker falcon and it shows the same pattern, leaving us with the most likely explanation that it is their predatory lifestyle [that is responsible]."

Saker falcons are found across Central Asia and the research team were able to understand more about how they developed to live in arid environments.

The birds are listed as endangered in the wild and conservationists from International Wildlife Consultants, Carmarthen, who co-funded the project hope an improved understanding of their history will help safeguard the species for the future.

Join BBC Nature on Facebook and Twitter @BBCNature.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21885659

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UN's Myanmar envoy visits city wracked by violence

MEIKHTILA, Myanmar (AP) ? The top U.N. envoy to Myanmar on Sunday toured a central city wracked by the country's worst Buddhist-Muslim violence this year, calling on the government to punish those responsible for a tragedy that left dozens of corpses piled in the streets, some of them charred beyond recognition.

Vijay Nambiar, the U.N. secretary-general's special adviser on Myanmar, also visited some of the nearly 10,000 people driven from their homes after sectarian unrest shook the city of Meikhtila for several days this week. Most of the displaced are minority Muslims, who appeared to have suffered the brunt of the violence as armed Buddhist mobs roamed city.

Nambiar said he was encouraged to learn that some individuals in both communities had bravely helped each other and that religious leaders were now advocating peace. He said the people he spoke to believe the violence "was the work of outsiders," but he gave no details.

"There is a certain degree of fear and anxiety among the people, but there is no hatred," Nambiar said after visiting both groups on Sunday and promising the United Nations would provide as much help as it can to get the city back on its feet. "They feel a sense of community and that it is a very good thing because they have worked together and lived together."

But he added: "It is important to catch the perpetrators. It is important that they be caught and punished."

Nambiar's visit came one day after the army took control of the city to enforce a tense calm after President Thein Sein ordered a state of emergency here.

The government has put the official death toll at 32, and late Sunday state television reported that authorities had detained 35 people allegedly involved in arson and violence in Meikhtila and the townships of Yamethin and Lewei, which are about 64 kilometers (40 miles) and 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Meikhtila, respectively.

The report said that a group of people burned down a mosque and several buildings early Saturday in Lewei, and that a mosque and 50 homes were also burned in Yamethin the same day.

The bloodshed marked the first sectarian unrest to spread into Myanmar's heartland since two similar episodes rocked western Rakhine state last year. It is the latest challenge to efforts to reform the Southeast Asian country after the long-ruling military ceded power two years ago to a civilian government led by retired army officers.

There are concerns the violence could spread, and the bloodshed has raised questions about the government's failure to rein in anti-Muslim sentiment in a predominantly Buddhist country where even monks have armed themselves and taken advantage of newfound freedoms to stage anti-Muslim rallies.

In Meikthila, at least five mosques were set ablaze from Wednesday to Friday. The majority of homes and shops burned in the city also belonged to Muslims, and most of the displaced are Muslim.

During his trip, Nambiar visited some of the thousands of Muslim residents at a city stadium, where they have huddled since fleeing their homes. He later visited around 100 Buddhists at a local monastery who have also been displaced.

No new violence was reported overnight in Meikhtila, but residents remained anxious.

"The city is calm and some shops have reopened, but many still live in fear. Some still dare not return to their homes," said Win Htein, an opposition lawmaker from the city.

Myanma Ahlin, a state-run newspaper, carried a statement from Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Hindu leaders expressing sorrow for the loss of life and property and calling on Buddhist monks to help ease tensions.

"We would like to call upon the government to provide sufficient security and to protect the displaced people and to investigate and take legal measures as urgently as possible," the statement from the Interfaith Friendship Organization said.

Muslims, who make up about 30 percent of Meikhtila's 100,000 inhabitants, have stayed off the streets since their shops and homes were burned and Buddhist mobs armed with machetes and swords began roaming the city.

Little appeared to be left of some palm tree-lined neighborhoods, where the legs of victims could be seen poking out from smoldering masses of twisted debris and ash. Broken glass, charred cars and motorcycles and overturned tables littered roads beside rows of burned-out homes and shops, evidence of the widespread chaos that swept the town.

The struggle to contain the violence has proven another major challenge to Thein Sein's reformist administration, which has faced an upsurge in fighting with ethnic Kachin rebels in the north and major protests at a northern copper mine where angry residents ? emboldened by promises of freedom of expression ? have come out to denounce land grabbing.

The devastation was reminiscent of last year's clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya that left hundreds of people dead and more than 100,000 displaced ? almost all of them Muslim. The Rohingya are widely perceived as illegal migrants and foreigners from Bangladesh; the Muslim population of Meikhtila is believed to be mostly of Indian origin.

Chaos began Wednesday after an argument broke out between a Muslim gold shop owner and his Buddhist customers. Once news spread that a Muslim man had killed a Buddhist monk, Buddhist mobs rampaged through a Muslim neighborhood and the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

Residents and activists said the police did little to stop the rioters or reacted too slowly, allowing the violence to escalate.

Occasional isolated violence involving Myanmar's majority Buddhist and minority Muslim communities has occurred for decades, even under the authoritarian military governments that ruled the country from 1962 to 2011.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uns-myanmar-envoy-visits-city-wracked-violence-151132883.html

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Feds shut down bus company serving Montana, ND (Providence Journal)

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