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শুক্রবার, ১ ফেব্রুয়ারি, ২০১৩

Fourth grader's science project utilizes cocaine

A detective provided his daughter with drug-sniffing dogs, like this one, and cocaine for a science fair. (Get??

In an early bid for Father of the Year, a Miami police detective allowed his 10-year-old daughter to use three drug-sniffing dogs and an ounce of cocaine for a science fair project.

Douglas Bartelt, a detective with the Miami-Dade Police Narcotics Bureau, provided his daughter, Emma, with three detector canines and 28 grams of cocaine (street value: approximately $1,300) for her entry into Coral Gables Preparatory Academy's annual science fair.

Not surprisingly, she won.

?The purpose for this scientific investigation was to find which dog would find the cocaine fastest using it?s [sic] sense of smell,? the fourth grader wrote in the abstract for her project, entitled "Drug Sniffing Dogs."

According to the Miami Herald, Bartelt, fellow detective William Pedraja and Sgt. Samantha Machado provided the dogs (a springer spaniel named Roger; Levi, a golden retriever; and Franky, a retired chocolate labrador) and the cocaine. (Franky showed he's still got the touch, locating the illegal substance in 43 seconds.)

Emma's mother, Michelle Bartelt, said the experiment was her daughter's idea, and that Emma was under constant supervision and "did not touch the cocaine."

?[Doug] handled the drugs,? she said. ?He?s always very meticulous about how he handles drugs.?

John Schuster, a spokesman for the school district, issued a statement saying the project, while unusual, did not violate any of the science fair's rules--and that cocaine is not a specifically banned substance.

?The student?s science project involved a very unusual set of circumstances, including having a parent who is a well-respected police detective with experience in training dogs that sniff for illegal substances," Schuster's statement read. "From our understanding, the parent was the only person involved in working directly with the dogs and the hidden substances, which took place at a police training facility.?

The first-place honor gave Emma an automatic entry into the Miami-Dade Elementary Schools Science Fair, where her drug-sniffing project earned an honorable mention.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/science-fair-cocaine-drug-sniffing-dog-141435818.html

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Northwest 2012 Real Estate Market Review

Listing information is provided by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). Property information is based on available data that may include MLS information, county records, and other sources. Listings marked with this symbol: provided by Northwest Multiple Listing Service, 2013. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. All properties are subject to prior sale or withdrawal. ? 2013 NWMLS. All rights are reserved.
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Source: http://livingnorthwest.com/2013/01/northwest-2012-real-estate-market-review/

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Israel?s Tea Party and how it helped Yair Lapid

With the rise of the Tea Party in the US, and Mitt Romney?s frantic dash to the far-right in order to secure the Republican nomination, Americans are no strangers to the phenomenon of extremist elements hijacking a mainstream party and ultimately damaging its prospects of appealing to the wider population.

It has long been known that there is a faction within the Likud, affiliated with the far-right religious activist Moshe Feiglin, that intends to move the Likud further to the right, away from its national liberal moorings. This time, it succeeded.

Moshe Feiglin (photo credit: Flash90)

Not only was Feiglin selected to a realistic spot on the party list for the first time, he will be joined in the 19th Knesset by the most right-wing Likud slate in history. The likes of Danny Danon, Miri Regev and Ze?ev Elkin epitomize a Likud that has largely abandoned the teachings? of Vladimir Jabotinsky, a classical, early 20^th century liberal, and Menachem Begin, who was arguably Israel?s most consistent advocate of democratic values and civil rights during his nearly 40 years in the Knesset.

Here?s Begin, in 1962, arguing in the Knesset against the idea that Israeli Arabs should be denied certain rights because they don?t serve in the army:

We are the ones who decided not to obligate Arab residents, as opposed to the Druze, to serve in the army? We believe that in the Jewish state, there must be, and must always be, equal rights for all citizens, regardless of religion, nationality or ethnic origin.

It would be difficult to imagine anyone sent to the Knesset for Likud-Beytenu in last week?s election making that statement.

The new Likudniks understand that democratic rule means the rule of the majority, but they forget ? or ignore ? that the liberal democratic tradition that Israel lays claim to also demands checks and balances to protect minority rights and prevent the abuse of power by the majority. And minority rights includes both those of ethnic minorities like Israel?s Arab citizens, and the rights of those whose political views run counter to the government?s.

In the last Knesset, three Likud elder statesmen ? Benny Begin, Dan Meridor and Michael Eitan ? were the voices of protest at the direction the party was taking. All three were purged from the party list this time around.

In a January 2012 letter to his fellow party MKs following a rash of distinctly illiberal legislation proposed by the Likud young guard, Meridor wrote:

There are those who want to turn the Likud into something else, into a national movement without liberalism, a movement that glorifies the needs of the state and society, while diminishing human rights ? both for Jews and Arabs ? such as their right to full equality, or as stated in the Declaration of Independence, the ?complete equality of social and political rights.?

Dan Meridor (photo credit: Noam Moskowitz/Flash90)

What this transformation of Israel?s mainstream right-wing party has done is to create a huge void in the country?s political spectrum. The Likud now sits alongside the Jewish Home well right of center. And of course the latter party is no option for those looking for a right-wing party infused with democratic values. Naftali Bennett?s list includes several followers of?Rabbi Dov Lior of Hebron, an inciter of racist violence who has proclaimed Baruch Goldstein to be ?holier than all the martyrs of the Holocaust.?

There is presently no center-right party in Israel. Those who naturally identified with the Likud as a liberal nationalist party were left, during this election, without a political home. So where did many of them go on Election Day? Of all the alternatives on offer, which party looked like the most comfortable choice?

Only one party running spoke proudly of Zionism and liberal democratic values but wasn?t also associated with firmly left-wing positions on either economics or the Palestinian issue, and that was Yair Lapid?s impressive list of secular and religious social activists.

This is the writer Yossi Klein Halevi, who voted Likud in 2009, on why he voted for Lapid:

?he is frankly, unapologetically, in love with the state of Israel. There is nothing complicated about Yair?s Israeliness. He is not a hyphenated Israeli, whose loyalty to the state depends on its fulfillment of an ideological agenda?? Netanyahu, who accepted a two-state solution in principle and then imposed a 10-month settlement freeze, tried to turn the Likud into a center-right party, more pragmatic than ideological and able to attract voters like me. But the ideological right within the Likud revolted.

The predictions of so many outside Israel that this election would reveal a population drifting ever further rightward were proven false. What the results actually indicated was an electorate that seemed to recognize that there was no outstanding prime-ministerial alternative to Netanyahu, but that wanted to drag him away from the crude and intolerant nationalism of his party toward the liberal democratic center. Lapid provided the perfect vehicle for such a move, and the extent to which the prime minister will travel to Lapid?s center-ground ? and remain there ? could determine how long the next government lasts.

The opinions, facts and any media content here are presented solely by the author, and The Times of Israel assumes no responsibility for them. In case of abuse, report this post.

Source: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israels-tea-party-and-how-it-helped-yair-lapid/

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'Warm Bodies': The Reviews Are In!

The zombie rom-com earns accolades from critics for its genre-bending take on the undead.
By Amy Wilkinson

Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer in "Warm Bodies"
Photo: Summit Entertainment

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1701212/warm-bodies-reviews.jhtml

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RIM unveiling new BlackBerrys with modern software

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2008, file photo, the logo on a BlackBerry smartphone is shows in Bochum, Germany. The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone is promising a speedy browser, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone, the fruit of a crucial, long-overdue makeover for the Canadian company. (AP Photo/dapd, Volker Hartmann)

NEW YORK (AP) ? After lengthy delays, Research In Motion Ltd. is unveiling its first phones with the new BlackBerry 10 system. RIM redesigned the system to embrace the multimedia, apps and touch-screen experience prevalent today. The question is whether there's time for the once-pioneering BlackBerry to catch up to Apple's trend-setting iPhone and devices running Google's Android system.

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins is hosting the main event in New York. Video of his appearance is being shown at other RIM events in Toronto, London, Paris, Dubai, Johannesburg, New Delhi and Jakarta, Indonesia.

RIM initially said BlackBerry 10 would come by early 2012, but then the company changed that to late 2012. A few months later, that date was pushed further, to early 2013, missing the lucrative holiday season. The holdup helped wipe out more than $70 billion in shareholder wealth and 5,000 jobs.

RIM had shown off prototypes and previews before. Wednesday's event is the first time RIM is showing a complete product, with details on prices and availability.

Most analysts consider a BlackBerry 10 success to be crucial for the company's long-term viability.

RIM is promising a speedier device, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone. Previews of the BlackBerry 10 software have gotten favorable reviews on blogs. Financial analysts are starting to see some slight room for a comeback. With smartphone sales growing, the BlackBerry 10 can succeed without iPhone and Android users switching.

Regardless of BlackBerry 10's advances, though, the new system will face a key shortcoming: It won't have as many apps written by outside companies and individuals as the iPhone and Android.

Here's a running account of the BlackBerry 10 event, presented in reverse chronological order. All times are EST. Besides Heins, presenters include Alec Saunders, vice president of developer relations.

___

10:20 a.m.

Heins, who became RIM's CEO last January, says "It has been easily the most challenging year of my career to date." He thanks employees and proclaims, "BlackBerry 10 is here." But he says the launch is just the beginning.

___

10:15 a.m.

Heins appears on stage.

___

10:10 a.m.

Saunders touts the amount of work done by RIM's outside developers. He says BlackBerry 10 is launching with the largest-ever catalog of apps for a new phone operating system.

RIM has said it plans to launch BlackBerry 10 with more than 70,000 apps, including those developed for RIM's PlayBook tablet, first released in 2011. Even so, that's just a tenth of what the iPhone and Android offer. Popular service such as Instagram and Netflix won't have apps on BlackBerry 10.

___

10:05 a.m.

The event in New York begins with a look at BlackBerry 10 events elsewhere through videoconferencing. Customer testimonials follow.

___

10 a.m.

Several hundred people await the start of the event, which is being held in a large warehouse-like entertainment venue on the shore of New York's East River.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-30-RIM-BlackBerry-Running/id-3c7ae15a1c8842f098323f0c38ba9895

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Open online classes raise questions about future of education

Dozens of elite institutions are now partnering with start-up companies such as Coursera, Udacity and edX, to deliver so-called massive open online courses or MOOCs. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.

Allison Flicker, NBC News writes

University of Virginia history professor Philip Zelikow has taught the course, "The Modern World: Global History Since 1760" for 16 years -- but this semester is different. Instead of delivering it to 120 students on campus, he'll be teaching 42,000 students around the world.

While online learning is not new, access to top-notch professors at some of the world's most prestigious universities is. Along with the University of Virginia, Harvard University, Stanford University, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University are among dozens of elite institutions partnering with start-up companies such as Coursera, Udacity and edX, to deliver so-called massive open online courses or MOOCs.

Now, Greek history at Wesleyan University, poetry at the University of Pennsylvania, astronomy at Duke University, and "Introduction to Music Production" at the Berkley College of Music are all just a click away. And they're absolutely free.

Since 2011, more than 2.5 million students from around the world have enrolled in MOOCs. Even though they are not offered for college credit and completion rates are low, some educators see the potential to revolutionize higher learning.

"Thanks to these free online courses, you can shop a range of disciplines and do it all from the comfort at your own home," Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller said.

Zelikow was apprehensive at first.?

"I'm not a techie guy who's interested in experimenting with all this computer stuff," he said. "In fact, I was kind of a skeptic about all this online stuff. I thought it was fad-ish."

But after spending hundreds of hours preparing for this semester's course, Zelikow now sees the potential in expanding online.

"Bruce Springsteen is involved in selling recorded music to people all over the world. And he also sells tickets to live concerts," Zelikow said. "Nobody thinks the recorded music is just as good as the live concert. But he wants to be in both those lines of business."

He says there's not only value in reaching thousands of students worldwide, but believes the move online has actually improved his course for those taking it on campus.

"I thought of ways to use this [online course] to actually re-invent the ways I teach my ordinary class at the university and make it a better class than it used to be, to solve certain problems that are kind of structural problems in the way we teach our residential courses," Zelikow said.

Dawn Smith, 38, has taken "Fundamentals of Pharmacology" through the University of Pennsylvania and a public health class through Johns Hopkins after deciding to change careers.??

"I needed some textbook knowledge," Smith said. "I felt in order to be taken seriously as a candidate I needed to show I was doing something proactive."

Critics of MOOCs complain about their size, saying it leads to minimal student-professor interaction.

"I've met students from Germany that I've spoken to quite frequently - Australia, Japan, China, and then some in Africa," Smith said.

Although she would "absolutely recommend" this online platform, Smith acknowledges the limitations, too.

"There isn't that immediacy of being able to ask a question and then have an answer," Smith said. "There's no one standing in front of you showing you how to do something."

Other concerns include measuring student progress and the sustainability of these courses over a long period of time.

Siva Vaidyanathan, University of Virginia media studies professor, says he thinks MOOCs are an "interesting experiment," but that they're just that - an experiment.

He doesn't believe they can replace a traditional college education.

"Imagine taking a university and removing all the really fun stuff," Vaidyanathan said. "And all you're left with is me talking to you through a camera. That's not that good for anybody."

As professors, students and investors navigate this new terrain, there are questions about the potential for profit in the future and the place MOOCs may have in higher education.

For some, however, these online classes bring about hope.

"Education is such an equalizer. It raises people's abilities ? lets people build a better life," Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng said.

Even Vaidyanathan sees the silver lining.

"I hope somewhere in some corner of the world ? some child discovers calculus, discovers physics, or discovers poetry through a MOOC and gets ? inspired to change the world," he said.??

Source: http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/31/16795195-massive-open-online-classes-raise-questions-about-future-of-education?lite

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New order found in quantum electronic material: May lead to new materials, magnets and superconductors

Jan. 30, 2013 ? Two Rutgers physics professors have proposed an explanation for a new type of order, or symmetry, in an exotic material made with uranium -- a theory that may one day lead to enhanced computer displays and data storage systems and more powerful superconducting magnets for medical imaging and levitating high-speed trains.

Their discovery, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, has piqued the interest of scientists worldwide. It is one of the rare theory-only papers that this selective publication accepts.

Collaborating with the Rutgers professors was a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who earned her doctorate at Rutgers.

"Scientists have seen this behavior for 25 years, but it has eluded explanation." said Piers Coleman, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences. When cooled to 17.5 degrees above absolute zero or lower (a bone-chilling minus 428 degrees Fahrenheit), the flow of electricity through this material changes subtly.

The material essentially acts like an electronic version of polarized sunglasses, he explains. Electrons behave like tiny magnets, and normally these magnets can point in any direction. But when they flow through this cooled material, they come out with their magnetic fields aligned with the material's main crystal axis.

This effect, claims Coleman, comes from a new type of hidden order, or symmetry, in this material's magnetic and electronic properties. Changes in order are what make liquid crystals, magnetic materials and superconductors work and perform useful functions.

"Our quest to understand new types of order is a vital part of understanding how materials can be developed to benefit the world around us," he said.

Similar discoveries have led to technologies such as liquid crystal displays, which are now ubiquitous in flat-screen TVs, computers and smart phones, although the scientists are quick to acknowledge that their theoretical discovery won't transform high-tech products overnight.

Coleman, along with Rutgers colleague Premala Chandra and MIT collaborator Rebecca Flint, describe what they call a "hidden order" in this compound of uranium, ruthenium and silicon. Uranium is commonly known for being nuclear reactor fuel or weapons material, but in this case physicists value it as a heavy metal with electrons that behave differently than those in common metals.

Recent experiments on the material at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico provided the three physicists with data to refine their discovery.

"We've dubbed our fundamental new order 'hastatic' order, named after the Greek word for spear," said Chandra, also a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The name reflects the highly ordered properties of the material and its effect on aligning electrons that flow through it.

"This new category of order may open the world to new kinds of materials, magnets, superconductors and states of matter with properties yet unknown," she said. The scientists have predicted other instances where hastatic order may show up, and physicists are beginning to test for it.

The scientists' work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation. Flint is a Simons Postdoctoral Fellow in physics at MIT.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rutgers University.

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

Journal Reference:

Premala Chandra, Piers Coleman, Rebecca Flint. Hastatic order in the heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2. Nature, 2013; 493 (7434): 621 DOI: 10.1038/nature11820

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/T3kcgVXVD2k/130130184410.htm

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