CAIRO (AP) ? An Islamist-dominated panel is voting on Egypt's draft constitution, the country's first charter after the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. The draft largely reflects the conservative vision of the Islamists, with articles that rights activists, liberals and Christians fear will lead to restrictions on the rights of women and minorities and civil liberties in general.
Omissions of certain articles, such as bans on slavery or promises to adhere to international rights treaties, were equally worrying to critics of the new draft, who pulled out from the panel before the vote.
Here are some of the disputed articles:
? As in past constitutions, the new draft says that the "principles of Islamic law" will be the basis of law. Previously, the term "principles" allowed wide leeway in interpreting Shariah. But in the draft, a separate new article is added that seeks to define "principles" by pointing to particular theological doctrines and their rules. That could give Islamists the tool for insisting on stricter implementation of rulings of Shariah.
? A new article states that Egypt's most respected Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, must be consulted on any matters related to Shariah, a measure critics fear will lead to oversight of legislation by clerics.
? An article underlines that the state will protect "the true nature of the Egyptian family ... and promote its morals and values," phrasing that is vague and suggests state control over the contents of such arts forms as books and films.
? The draft contains no article specifically establishing equality between men and women because of disputes over the phrasing. However, it maintains that a woman must balance her duties toward family and outside work, suggesting that she can be held accountable if her public role conflicts with her family duties. No such article is mentioned for men.
? An article bans insulting or defaming the prophet and messengers, but is vague about what constitutes an insult, raising concerns of restrictions to freedom of expression.
? An article seeking to ensure people's dignity bans "insulting humans", a vague phrasing that rights activists say contradicts freedom of expression.
? An article maintains that the state supports the arts, science and literature and works to implement them in a way that serves society. That has raised concerns that some arts deemed not in the service of society may be restricted or censored.
? An article preserves the right of the military to try civilians before military tribunals in cases for crimes that harm the armed forces without restrictions, despite an outcry from activists who were calling for the abolishing of such tribunals. More than 11,000 civilians were tried before military tribunals during the post-Mubarak transition overseen by the military.
Some people will go to the gold buying party too late. At that point, the profits will be gone.(MVIP photo).
Here are the phases of gold buying.
Phase 1- Undervalued - gold is undervalued. The smart investors buy at this time when gold is undervalued.
Phase 2- Rapidly rising value- people begin to realize that gold is the way to go. This is when more investors go into it. The mania starts
Phase 3- Overvalued- Everybody get's into gold. The price of gold sky rockets. This is when the smart investors sell their gold before the gold price goes on a cliff and gets undervalued once again.
Right now we are in the beginning of phase 2. China, India, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, and many other countries are increasing their gold holdings. They know that trouble is brewing. Their citizens instinctually feel that now is the time to buy gold. The smart investors got in years ago. Some countries have woken up and realized that it is still not too late to get into the party.
However, other countries will join the party too late. Everyone will eventually get into it, but at some point the fun will end in a heartbeat. I suspect that when you see large swaths of citizens and central banks from countries like France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, England, and especially the United States join the gold party, that will be the time to get out. At that point everyone is in the game. When that happens the price of gold will sky rocket seemingly overnight. The smart investors will leave for another party before that happens.
How does an Inn in Savannah Georgia, with so many outstanding hospitality properties achieve? TripAdvisors rating as the number three hotel in Savannah? Well, it isn?t easy.
In the first place, it needs a dynamite location overlooking one of the outstanding squares in the middle of the downtown historic district. Second, it needs a striking architectural presence among many fine historic B&B?s and other historic buildings. Third, it needs meticulously restored interiors and a rich balance of antiques and guest friendly furnishings. Finally, the Inn needs owners who put their guests? needs first.
This current offering fulfills those characteristics and this rating is a just reward. Another reward is a strong business, with sales approaching $1,000,000.00.
The Inn has 17 well appointed rooms, a high occupancy rate of 60%,? and a strong bottom line. It is a chosen member of Select Registry, has been chosen for BedandBreakfast.com?s Diamond Collection and is also a Four Diamond AAA Inn. The price is $4,995,000.00. The cash flow will easily cover the debt service and provide a decent income for new owners. For those with the resources, this is a rare opportunity to own the best.
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LONDON (AP) ? The judge who spent a year investigating the misdeeds of Britain's lively newspapers is giving Prime Minister David Cameron an early look at his recommendations for the regulation of the press.
Officials say Cameron will get a copy of Lord Justice Brian Leveson's report Wednesday, a day before the public sees it, but Cameron is already being besieged with advice about how to respond to the still-secret recommendations.
The big question: Should the government legislate to regulate newspapers, or give them another chance at self-regulation?
More than 80 politicians from all three main parties have signed a letter warning Cameron against legislating, while 42 members of his Conservative Party have urged tough new laws.
The report follows a long inquiry into phone hacking and other press intrusions into private life.
At 48, Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons is finally hitting his stride with a healthy diet and exercise routine that he says is on par with achieving the kind of physique he'll need to keep up with his Run-D.M.C. group mate Darryl "D.M.C" McDaniels.
"I just did a concert with D.M.C. after 13 years, and after losing some pounds for that, I felt really good," Simmons told The Huffington Post. "We got good reviews for having lots of energy on stage and I realized that if I?m going to continue to do shows ... I gotta be in Mick Jagger-type of condition."
But aesthetic goals (and criticism from the public) aside, Simmons says his new healthy-living routine is rooted in something far more serious -- combating his higher-than-average risk for Type 2 diabetes.
"I found out that [my father] had diabetes in his older age and as I was moving along in my life ... I realized that I had to start losing weight," he said, explaining how he's taken up walking and recently dusted off his treadmill in an effort to stay the course during the chillier winter months. "[It was] for many reasons, but the number one reason was for health."
And while family history factors in to why Simmons needs to get his health in check, diabetes educator Jeanette Jordan said it's a myth many people need to dispel.
"One of the biggest [misconceptions] out there is people feel like diabetes runs in [their] family, so it?s inevitable that they?re going to get it," Jordan said, touting her employer Novo Nordisk's "Ask. Screen. Know." campaign, for which Simmons is now an ambassador. "The message that we?re trying to get out is that it doesn?t have to happen to you the same way. Yes, family history is a risk factor, but it doesn?t mean that because this happened to your mom it has to happen to you.
A diabetes diagnosis also doesn't mean life-altering changes, Jordan said. "What we need to do is not that difficult ... moderation is actually the key. We don?t take away everything that you love, it?s just how much we eat," Jordan said, stressing the importance of knowing which foods turn into sugar, forgoing sweetened soft drinks, and realizing that you can limit yourself to just one cheddar biscuit from Red Lobster and still enjoy your meal.
"The myth is that life is going to change so drastically, '[I'm] not going to be happy with my dining anymore', and that?s not true. You can live well with diabetes if you have it. But the first thing is, you have to be screened, you have to know if you have it. Ask yourself if you?re at risk and then do something about that," Jordan said.
Simmons agrees that knowing is the key -- even if you are the picture of perfect health. "My dad had diabetes, so it doesn?t mean just because Russell stands on his head and does yoga, and Angela?s in perfect health that they don?t have it," he said, referring to his yoga-promoting brother Russell Simmons and his daughter Angela Simmons, who showed off a svelte new figure earlier this year.
And just ahead of the holidays Simmons said he's relying on them for support. "They?re right there for me; they know what I?m doing to keep my weight under control ... and [during the holiday season] I believe in being proactive instead of reactive," Simmons said. "I have all types of things set up so I know, this is what I?m going to eat when this sweet tooth moment comes, this is what I?m going to eat when dinner comes around. And no, I?m not going to wait until the big dinner. [For Thanksgiving], I didn?t wait for the one big moment, I had already eaten twice, the right way, before dinner, so when dinner came, I wasn?t starved."
One of the prime advantages of having a Nexus device, other than the fact that official Google updates are released first for these devices, is the fact that awesome custom ROMs based on the latest OS version are also made available for these devices, thanks to an extremely active developer community.
Android 4.2 ? the latest flavor of Jelly Bean debuted with the LG Nexus 4 and the Nexus 10, and was also pushed out the the Nexus 7, and Galaxy Nexus on the same day ? November 13th. It is no surprise then, that the developer community has already swung into action and are experimenting with custom ROMs based on the Android 4.2 AOSP code for these devices.
We already know that an AOKP ROM is already out for the Nexus 4. Acclaimed developer Roman?is working on a yet unofficial AOKP build of Android 4.2 for the Galaxy nexus, and it has been ?uploaded to his Goo.im folder for whoever wants to download and try it out.
For those who are wondering what AOKP is, it is a custom ROM based on AOSP, and includes a ton of customization ?options which let you tweak almost every single corner of the UI, including the?lockscreen, notifications menu, and a lot more, while also letting you fine tune the performance of the device. It also includes inbuilt support for themes, and you can choose from a huge number of fan-submitted themes to change the look and feel of your device. This is an ?early build though, and has not found its way into the official AOKP build list as yet, so there are chances of a few odd bugs popping up. But it should work fine for the most part.
Without further ado, let?s move on to how we can install AOKP 4.2 on the Galaxy Nexus.
Compatibility
This ROM and the guide below are compatible only with the international GSM Galaxy Nexus, model number i9250. It?s not compatible with Verizon/Sprint variants or any other device. Check your device model in Settings ? About phone.
Warning!
The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky, so try them out at your own risk, and make sure to read each step carefully before attempting anything. We will not be held responsible if anything goes wrong.
This procedure will wipe all your apps, data and settings. Backup your Apps and important data ? bookmarks, contacts, SMS, APNs (internet settings), etc. This?Android backup guide?would help you. NOTE:?While most APN settings are automaticaclly detected by the OS, it would be a good idea to make a note of your APN settings, so that you can manually configure the APN later if the data connection does not work after installing the ROM.
Installing a custom ROM requires an unlocked bootloader. Unlock the bootloader on your Galaxy Nexus by following the guide ??here.?This will erase all your data, including the data on the SD card, so back everything up first (see step 1).
You would also need to install a custom recovery like TWRP, for flashing this ROM. You can use this?handy guide to install the latest version of TWRP?on your Galaxy Nexus.?The guide is meant for the Nexus 4, but will work perfectly for the Galaxy Nexus as well.
Download the latest version of the AOKP 4.2 ROM from the Roman?s Goo.im folder. Filename : aokp_maguro_unofficial_Nov-27-12.zip?
Next download the Android 4.2 Gapps package. ?AOSP based ROMs come devoid of the default Google apps such as Gmail, YouTube, Search, Talk etc and would have to be installed separately ?| Download 4.2 Gapps
Copy both the AOKP 4.2 ROM and Google apps zip files to the SD card on the Galaxy Nexus (copy the files as they are, don?t extract them)
Turn off the phone and boot into recovery. To do so, press and hold the?Volume Up + Volume Down + Power?buttons together till you see a green android on its back and the letters?Start?at the top right. Press the?volume up??key twice to highlight the Recovery Mode option, and use the Power key to select it and boot into TWRP.
First thing to do in recovery, before flashing any ROM is to take a full Nandroid backup of your existing ROM. That way, you have a fallback option in case things get messy with the new ROM. To do this,?tap on?Backup, make sure the?System, Data and Boot?boxes are?checked, and slide the blue circle button at the bottom to the right to start backing up your current ROM. After backup is complete, go back to the main menu by clicking the home button at the bottom left of the screen.
Next from the Main menu, Tap?Wipe, then select?Factory Reset?and confirm wipe on the next screen. Now Tap?Cache?from the Wipe menu and confirm wipe on the next screen. Once done, Tap?Dalvik Cache?and again confirm wipe on the next screen. Once done, press the back button to go back to the main menu.
Now from the main menu, tap?Install, and on the next screen navigate to the?aokp_maguro_unofficial_Nov-27-12.zip?file you transferred to your phone in Step 6, and select it. Slide the blue circle on the next screen to start the installation of AOKP 4.2
After the ROM installation is complete, repeat Step 10, but this time select the Gapps package instead, and confirm installation.
After installation is complete, select the?Reboot system?button to reboot the phone and boot up into AOKP ROM based on Jelly Bean. First boot may take a while, which is normal, so please be patient. NOTE:?In case you want to go back to your previous ROM, boot into TWRP recovery, then select?Restore, and restore your previous ROM we backed up in Step 8 by selecting it from the list.
AOKP 4.2 based on Android 4.2 source is now installed on your Galaxy Nexus. Check out the various features and customization options that AOKP offers, and share your thoughts about the ROM with us in the comments section. To join in on the discussion at the official XDA thread for AOKP on Galaxy Nexus, click the Via link below.
Religion / Politics
Judge Sentences Teenager to Ten Years of Church
Posted
by Paul Constant
on Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 2:44 PM
ThinkProgress links to an interesting story from AllGov.com:
[Tyler] Alred, 17, pled guilty to manslaughter after he drove his vehicle into a tree, killing a 16-year-old passenger, John Luke Dum. Alred had been drinking, but was not legally drunk. Because Alred was prosecuted as a youthful offender, Norman had more discretion in deciding the teen?s punishment.
The judge gave Alred a choice: he could avoid prison as long as he was willing to attend church for ten years, as well as complete high school, train as a welder, and give up alcohol, drugs and tobacco for one year.
Besides being unconstitutional, there's an interesting statement about priorities hidden in this verdict: Alred is supposed to go to church for a decade, but he only has to abstain from booze and drugs for a year. What I'm taking from this is that it's more important to be publicly repentant than it is to actually learn a lesson.
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The 49ers are looking to move closer to clinching the division title as take on the Rams.
The San Francisco 49ers travel to St. Louis to take on the Rams in a Week 13 NFC West battle. The Niners can move within one win of clinching the division title if they can come away victorious on the road, as second-place Seattle is a major underdog on Sunday.
The Seahawks face a tough test when they visit the Chicago Bears. Seattle suffered a surprising loss to the Dolphins last Sunday, and needs a win to keep up in the playoff race. A loss would put the Seahawks at 6-6, which means the 49ers would need just two more wins to grab a second-straight division title.
Arizona would be eliminated from NFC West contention with a loss or 49ers win on Sunday. They will try to snap a seven-game losing streak as they take on the New York Jets.
The Saints are looking for an upset as they travel to Atlanta for face the Falcons for the Thursday night game. Pittsburgh and Baltimore square off for the second time in three weeks on Sunday afternoon, while the Giants and Redskins do battle on Monday.
Reducing sibling rivalry in youth improves later health and well-beingPublic release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sara LaJeunesse SDL13@psu.edu 814-863-4325 Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Sibling conflict represents parents' number one concern and complaint about family life, but a new prevention program -- designed and carried out by researchers at Penn State -- demonstrates that siblings of elementary-school age can learn to get along. In doing so, they can improve their future health and well-being.
"Negative sibling relationships are strongly linked to aggressive, anti-social and delinquent behaviors, including substance use," said Mark Feinberg, research professor in the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development. "On the other hand, positive sibling relationships are linked to all kinds of positive adjustment, including improved peer and romantic relationship quality, academic adjustment and success, and positive well being and mental health. With this program, we wanted to help siblings learn how to manage their conflicts and feel more like a team as a way to improve their well-being and avoid engaging in troublesome behaviors over time."
The researchers recruited 174 families living in both rural and urban areas to participate in the study. Each of the families had one child in the fifth grade and a second child in the second, third or fourth grade. To obtain background information about the families, the researchers collected questionnaire data from the parents, interviewed each of the siblings privately and videotaped family interactions. The team also videotaped the siblings as they planned a party together.
The team also gave a popular book on how to parent siblings to each of the families -- including those in the control and the intervention groups -- to see if the intervention would yield benefits above and beyond having access to such a parenting book.
The program -- called SIBlings Are Special (SIBS) -- was designed by Feinberg; Susan McHale, director of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State and professor of human development; and colleagues to improve sibling and family relationships just prior to older siblings' transition to middle school, which often is marked by increased exposure to and involvement in risky behaviors. The 174 families who participated in the study were randomly assigned to take part in SIBS or to be in a control condition.
The program included a series of 12 afterschool sessions in which the researchers used games, role-playing activities, art activities and discussions to teach small groups of sibling pairs how to communicate in positive ways, how to solve problems, how to come up with win-win solutions and how to see themselves as part of a team rather than as competitors. The program also included three "family fun nights" in which the children had the opportunity to show their parents what they had been doing in the afterschool sessions.
"We found that the siblings who were exposed to the program showed more self-control and social confidence; performed better in school, according to their teachers; and showed fewer internalizing problems, such as depressive symptoms, than the siblings in the control group," said Feinberg.
Not only did the program help the siblings, it helped their parents too.
"The program helped parents use more appropriate strategies for parenting their kids," said Feinberg. "In addition, intervention mothers reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms after the program than control mothers, perhaps because their kids were doing better and they were less worried about them. No effects of the program were seen for fathers regarding depression."
The results appeared this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
How can the team's results be used by parents who are not involved in the study?
"We think that by encouraging siblings to feel like they're part of a team, and by giving them tools to discuss and resolve issues, parents can help their kids develop more positive relationships with each other, which can benefit everyone in the family," said Feinberg. "So, for example, if the kids are fighting over what television channel to watch or whose turn it is, we might suggest that a parent not resolve the issue for them, but instead give them just enough help so that they can calmly discuss and resolve the problem on their own. When siblings come up with their own solutions, they may be more likely to use those solutions again in the future."
Investing in more effort on the front end as a parent by helping siblings learn how to stay calm and discuss and resolve issues will pay off over time, according to Feinberg. "It's an investment in reducing your own stress and enhancing your children's well-being for the future."
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The National Institute of Drug Abuse and the Children, Youth, and Family Consortium at Penn State funded this research. Other authors on the paper include Anna Solmeyer, postdoctoral scholar; Michelle Hostetler, research associate; Kari-Lyn Sakuma, research associate and curriculum development expert; Damon Jones, research assistant professor of health and human development; and co-principal investigator Susan McHale, director of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State and professor of human development.
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Reducing sibling rivalry in youth improves later health and well-beingPublic release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sara LaJeunesse SDL13@psu.edu 814-863-4325 Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Sibling conflict represents parents' number one concern and complaint about family life, but a new prevention program -- designed and carried out by researchers at Penn State -- demonstrates that siblings of elementary-school age can learn to get along. In doing so, they can improve their future health and well-being.
"Negative sibling relationships are strongly linked to aggressive, anti-social and delinquent behaviors, including substance use," said Mark Feinberg, research professor in the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development. "On the other hand, positive sibling relationships are linked to all kinds of positive adjustment, including improved peer and romantic relationship quality, academic adjustment and success, and positive well being and mental health. With this program, we wanted to help siblings learn how to manage their conflicts and feel more like a team as a way to improve their well-being and avoid engaging in troublesome behaviors over time."
The researchers recruited 174 families living in both rural and urban areas to participate in the study. Each of the families had one child in the fifth grade and a second child in the second, third or fourth grade. To obtain background information about the families, the researchers collected questionnaire data from the parents, interviewed each of the siblings privately and videotaped family interactions. The team also videotaped the siblings as they planned a party together.
The team also gave a popular book on how to parent siblings to each of the families -- including those in the control and the intervention groups -- to see if the intervention would yield benefits above and beyond having access to such a parenting book.
The program -- called SIBlings Are Special (SIBS) -- was designed by Feinberg; Susan McHale, director of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State and professor of human development; and colleagues to improve sibling and family relationships just prior to older siblings' transition to middle school, which often is marked by increased exposure to and involvement in risky behaviors. The 174 families who participated in the study were randomly assigned to take part in SIBS or to be in a control condition.
The program included a series of 12 afterschool sessions in which the researchers used games, role-playing activities, art activities and discussions to teach small groups of sibling pairs how to communicate in positive ways, how to solve problems, how to come up with win-win solutions and how to see themselves as part of a team rather than as competitors. The program also included three "family fun nights" in which the children had the opportunity to show their parents what they had been doing in the afterschool sessions.
"We found that the siblings who were exposed to the program showed more self-control and social confidence; performed better in school, according to their teachers; and showed fewer internalizing problems, such as depressive symptoms, than the siblings in the control group," said Feinberg.
Not only did the program help the siblings, it helped their parents too.
"The program helped parents use more appropriate strategies for parenting their kids," said Feinberg. "In addition, intervention mothers reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms after the program than control mothers, perhaps because their kids were doing better and they were less worried about them. No effects of the program were seen for fathers regarding depression."
The results appeared this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
How can the team's results be used by parents who are not involved in the study?
"We think that by encouraging siblings to feel like they're part of a team, and by giving them tools to discuss and resolve issues, parents can help their kids develop more positive relationships with each other, which can benefit everyone in the family," said Feinberg. "So, for example, if the kids are fighting over what television channel to watch or whose turn it is, we might suggest that a parent not resolve the issue for them, but instead give them just enough help so that they can calmly discuss and resolve the problem on their own. When siblings come up with their own solutions, they may be more likely to use those solutions again in the future."
Investing in more effort on the front end as a parent by helping siblings learn how to stay calm and discuss and resolve issues will pay off over time, according to Feinberg. "It's an investment in reducing your own stress and enhancing your children's well-being for the future."
###
The National Institute of Drug Abuse and the Children, Youth, and Family Consortium at Penn State funded this research. Other authors on the paper include Anna Solmeyer, postdoctoral scholar; Michelle Hostetler, research associate; Kari-Lyn Sakuma, research associate and curriculum development expert; Damon Jones, research assistant professor of health and human development; and co-principal investigator Susan McHale, director of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State and professor of human development.
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ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2012) ? By using common materials found pretty much anywhere there is dirt, a team of Michigan State University researchers has developed a new thermoelectric material.
This is important, they said, because the vast majority of heat that is generated from, for example, a car engine, is lost through the tail pipe. It's the thermoelectric material's job to take that heat and turn it into something useful, like electricity.
The researchers, led by Donald Morelli, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science, developed the material based on natural minerals known as tetrahedrites.
"What we've managed to do is synthesize some compounds that have the same composition as natural minerals," said Morelli, who also directs MSU's Center for Revolutionary Materials for Solid State Energy Conversion. "The mineral family that they mimic is one of the most abundant minerals of this type on Earth -- tetrahedrites.
"By modifying its composition in a very small way, we produced highly efficient thermoelectric materials."
The search to develop new thermoelectric materials has been ongoing. Morelli said that while some new, more efficient materials have been discovered as of late, many of those are not suitable for large-scale applications because they are derived from rare or sometimes toxic elements, or the synthesis procedures are complex and costly.
"Typically you'd mine minerals, purify them into individual elements, and then recombine those elements into new compounds that you anticipate will have good thermoelectric properties," he said. "But that process costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time. Our method bypasses much of that."
The MSU researchers' method involves the use of very common materials, grinding them to a powder, then using pressure and heat to compress into useable sizes.
"It saves tremendously in terms of processing costs," he said.
The researchers expect this discovery could pave the way to many new, low-cost thermoelectric generation opportunities with applications that include waste heat recovery from industrial power plants, conversion of vehicle exhaust gas heat into electricity, and generation of electricity in home-heating furnaces.
The research was published in the online journal Advanced Energy Materials.
The work is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy/Office of Science. The work is a partnership with the University of Michigan and UCLA. Other institutions involved with the MSU-based center are Northwestern University, the Ohio State University, Wayne State University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
For more information on the Center for Revolutionary Materials for Solid State Energy Conversion, visit www.egr.msu.edu/efrc/about-us%20.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University.
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Journal Reference:
Xu Lu, Donald T. Morelli, Yi Xia, Fei Zhou, Vidvuds Ozolins, Hang Chi, Xiaoyuan Zhou, Ctirad Uher. High Performance Thermoelectricity in Earth-Abundant Compounds Based on Natural Mineral Tetrahedrites. Advanced Energy Materials, 2012; DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201200650
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Public release date: 27-Nov-2012
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