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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Duet Enterprise for Microsoft SharePoint and SAP Demo
LMFAO's Redfoo Opens Up About Honduras Concert Fire
DJ set cut short after venue's electrical system caught fire and at least 15 fans suffered smoke inhalation.
By James Montgomery
LMFAO's Redfoo (file)
Photo: Getty Images
LMFAO's Red Foo was forced to cut short a Wednesday night DJ set in Honduras after a fire broke out, filling the venue with smoke and sending fans scrambling for the exits.
According to TMZ, Red Foo was nearing the end of his performance at the Coliseo Nacional de Ingenieros in the capital city of Tegucigalpa when the venue's electrical system reportedly caught fire, filling the venue with smoke. According to reports, no one was seriously injured, though at least 15 fans were treated for smoke inhalation. Local television reports showed fans being escorted from the venue and receiving oxygen. Honduran authorities suggested the fire was intentionally set, though at press time, it was not clear if anyone had been arrested in connection with the blaze.
Immediately following the abrupt end to the show, LMFAO's Redfoo took to his Twitter account, joking, "Epic concert tonight!!!! Everybody in Honduras, we set the place on fire!!!! #sorryforpartyrocking." He then responded to a fan about the fire, writing, "They told us there was a fire when we were on stage. Then we went to the dressing rooms and there was smoke in the halls."
He then changed his tone, writing, "On a serious note, hope everybody is safe from the fire tonight! Love you Honduras!"
Through LMFAO's label, Interscope, Redfoo gave this account to MTV News: "All of a sudden, right in the middle of 'Beatockin,' my manager Ian Fletcher shouted, 'There's a fire under the stage. We have to go!'
"I didn't want to go!" he continued. "I didn't realize how serious it was. The security escorted us out the venue. We were forced to leave a few items behind, nothing irreplaceable.
"I hope everybody is safe," he added. "Honduras fans are true party rockers! This will go down in history as one if craziest Redfoo DJ sets ever."
Less than 24 hours removed from the fire, the hard-partying duo were pressing on, celebrating the ascension of their hit "Sexy and I Know It" to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (knocking off Rihanna's "We Found Love") and prepping for a New Year's Eve gig at the Haze nightclub in Las Vegas, where, hopefully, nothing will catch fire.
Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676610/lmfao-concert-fire.jhtml
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Rescue group in crisis mode after cat euthanized (AP)
PHOENIX ? Animal lovers threatened to pull donations to an animal rescue group and the public flooded the agency with scathing comments and calls after a man's cat was euthanized when he couldn't afford its medical care, prompting the Arizona Humane Society to go into damage-control mode Wednesday.
The group has hired a publicist, removed dozens of comments on its Facebook page and directed a team of five volunteers to respond to the overwhelming calls and emails it has received since The Arizona Republic published a weekend story about Daniel Dockery and his 9-month-old cat, Scruffy.
Dockery, a 49-year-old recovering heroin addict, told the Phoenix newspaper that he took Scruffy to a Humane Society center on Dec. 8 because she had a cut from a barbed-wire fence, an injury that he described as non-life-threatening. The agency said it would cost $400 to treat Scruffy, money he didn't have.
The Humane Society cited policy when it declined to accept a credit card over the phone from Dockery's mother in Michigan or to wait for her to wire the money. The staff said if he signed papers surrendering the cat, Scruffy would be treated and put in foster care, he said.
Instead, Scruffy was euthanized several hours later.
Dockery told the Republic that he was devastated.
"Now I've got to think about how I failed that beautiful animal," Dockery said. "I failed her. ... That's so wrong. There was no reason for her not to be treated."
He described the cat as helping him stay off drugs for more than a year, the longest he had ever been clean. He hand-fed the feline before she opened her eyes at 4 days old, giving her fresh tuna and letting her sleep on his pillow.
Stacy Pearson, who was hired by the agency specifically to deal with media questions about the cat, said Dockery's case has led to two changes. The Arizona Humane Society has set up an account, funded through donations, that would cover the costs of emergency treatment of animals whose owners need a day or two to come up with money for payments. And the group is now accepting credit card payments by phone, Pearson said.
Dozens of scathing comments have since inundated the group's Facebook page, with animal lovers demanding to know why the cat was put down. Pearson said angry comments were removed because of their content: One called for the staff to be euthanized, while another said what happened to Scruffy was murder.
Pearson said Scruffy was put down over a number of reasons, including Dockery's lack of immediate funds, a lack of veterinarians to treat her and what Pearson described as a very serious cut on Scruffy from her abdomen to her knee that went to the muscle.
She said the Arizona Humane Society at the time didn't accept credit card payments over the phone because of possible fraud and can't treat pets with only a promise from owners that they can pay the next day. She said staff had every intention of getting Scruffy the help she needed but the number of animals requiring help at the group's second-chance clinic was too much for the resources available.
If Dockery had been able to pay, Scruffy would have been treated at the facility where he brought her, Pearson said.
"There was no malicious intent to take Scruffy away from her father," Pearson said. "Pulling funding is only going to make a problem like this worse."
On Facebook, where only the agency's executive director is allowed to post comments now, Guy Collison wrote that "Scruffy's story is heartbreaking, and underscores the worst-case-scenario of need eclipsing resources available." He said that his agency has always done what's best for animals.
In less than an hour after his statement was posted, more than 100 people responded, with most slamming the agency and some defending it as doing the best it can with available resources.
Pearson said the group told Dockery on Tuesday that when he's ready for another pet, he could come in and pick one out, but he declined, telling them: "No thanks."
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All eyes on German renewable energy efforts
FELDHEIM, Germany (AP) - This tiny village of 37 gray homes and farm buildings clustered along the main road in a wind-swept corner of rural eastern Germany seems an unlikely place for a revolution.
Yet environmentalists, experts and politicians from El Salvador to Japan to South Africa have flocked here in the past year to learn how Feldheim, a village of just 145 people, is already putting into practice Germany's vision of a future powered entirely by renewable energy.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's government passed legislation in June setting the country on course to generate a third of its power through renewable sources?such as wind, solar, geothermal and bioenergy?within a decade, reaching 80 percent by 2050, while creating jobs, increasing energy security and reducing harmful emissions.
The goals are among the world's most ambitious, and expensive, and other industrialized nations from the U.S. to Japan are watching to see whether transforming into a nation powered by renewable energy sources can really work.
"Germany can't afford to fail, because the whole world is looking at the German model and asking, can Germany move us to new business models, new infrastructure?," said Jeremy Rifkin, a U.S. economist who has advised the European Union and Merkel.
In June, the nation passed the 20 percent mark for drawing electric power from a mix of wind, solar and other renewables. That compares with about 9 percent in the United States or Japan?both of which rely heavily on hydroelectric power, an energy source that has long been used.
Expanding renewables depends on the right mix of resources, as well as government subsidies and investment incentive?and a willingness by taxpayers to shoulder their share of the burden. Germans currently pay a 3.5 euro cent per kilowatt-hour tax, roughly euro157 ($205) per year for a typical family of four, to support research and investment in and subsidize the production and consumption of energy from renewable sources.
That allows for homeowners who install solar panels on their rooftops, or communities like Feldheim that build their own biogas plants, to be paid above-market prices for selling back to the grid, to ensure that their investment at least breaks even.
Critics, like the Institute for Energy Research, based in Washington, D.C., maintain such tariffs put an unfair burden of expanding renewables squarely on the taxpayer. At the same time, to make renewable energy work on the larger scale, Germany will have to pour billions into infrastructure, including updating its grid.
Key to success of the transformation will be getting the nation's powerful industries on board, to drive innovation in technology and create jobs. According to the Environment Ministry, overall investment in renewable energy production equipment more than doubled to euro29.4 billion ($38.44 billion) in 2011. Solid growth in the sector is projected through the next decade.
Some 370,000 people in Germany now have jobs in the renewable sector, more than double the number in 2004, a point used as proof that tax payers' investment is paying off.
Feldheim has zero unemployment?despite its tiny size?compared with roughly 30 percent in other villages in the economically depressed state of Brandenburg, which views investments in renewables as a ticket for a brighter future. Most residents work in the plant that produces biogas?fuel made by the breakdown of organic material such as plants or food waste?or maintain the wind and solar parks that provide the village's electricity.
"The energy revolution is already taking place right here," says Werner Frohwitter, spokesman for the Energiequelle company that helped set up and run Feldheim's energy concept.
But it's not only in the country. Earlier this month in Berlin, officials unveiled a prototype of a self-sustaining, energy-efficient home, built from recycled materials and complete with electric vehicles that can be charged in its garage.
The aim of the prototype home is to produce twice as much energy as is used by a family of four?chosen from a willing pool of volunteers who will be selected to live in the home for 15 months?through a combination of solar photovoltaics and energy management technology, in order to show the technology already exists to allow people to be energy self-sufficient.
"We want to show people that already today it is possible to live completely from renewable energy," said German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer as the project, dubbed "Efficiency House Plus," was unveiled. The house is part of a wider euro1.2 million ($1.57 million) project investing in energy-efficient buildings.
"The Efficiency House Plus will set standards that can be adopted by the majority in the short term," Ramsauer told The Associated Press. "The basic principle is that the house produces more energy than needed to live. The extra energy is then used to charge electric-powered cars and bicycles or sold back to the public grid."
Germany's four leading car makers are also participating in the project with BMW AG, Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG and Opel, which is part of Buick's parent company, General Motors Co., each making an E-car for use by in the home.
Such strong cooperation between Germany's industrial sector coupled with a political landscape that emphasizes stability and a heightened public ecological sensibility makes Germany fertile ground to lead the way in the transformation from a post-carbon economy to one run on renewable energy.
"Germany has the most robust industrial economy per capita. When you talk about industrial revolution, that's Germany. It's German technology, it's German IT, it's German commutation," said Rifkin, who outlines what he calls the "The Third Industrial Revolution," in a newly released book of the same title that explains how the economies in the future could swap fossil fuels for renewable energies and still maintain growth.
Robert Pottmann, an asset manager with Munich Re, one of the world's biggest reinsurers, says the company seeks to invest about euro2.5 billion ($3.27 billion) in the next few years in renewable energy assets such as "wind farms, solar projects or maybe new electricity grids."
Alan Simpson, an independent energy and climate adviser from Britain who visited Feldheim as part of a wider tour of Germany last month to see what the renewable revolution looks like up close said it was inspiring to view what is being accomplished on the ground.
"It's great to think about Germany delivering on everything that we are being told in Great Britain is impossible," Simpson said.
Amid the excitement, there is also an awareness of the real need for the German experiment to succeed.
"If Germany can't pull this off," said Rifkin. "We don't have a plan B."
___
Associated Press writer Juergen Baetz contributed to this story from Berlin.
___
On the Internet:
Feldheim: http://www.neue-energien-forum-feldheim.de/
German Renewable Energy Agency: http://www.unendlich-viel-energie.de/en/homepage.html
Source: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9RU2KTO0&show_article=1
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ICMIC Receives $8M to Upgrade Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer Using Advance Imaging Tools
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Source: www.azooptics.com --- Friday, December 30, 2011
By Andy Choi Johns Hopkins progresses on a research initiative for a five- year period with a group of Cancer imaging specialists to hasten the improvement of early detection, diagnosis and advanced,... ...
Source: http://feeds.azooptics.com/~r/OpticsNewsFeed/~3/bIKY2_NmY-k/details.asp
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AT&T-branded Nokia Ace possibly leaked in holiday card
AT&T-branded Nokia Ace possibly leaked in holiday card originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Japan's new PM faces early trouble after minister gaffes
?VOL NO 146 REGD NO DA 1589 | Dhaka, Sunday September 11 2011
TOKYO , Sept 10 (Reuters): Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's new government ran into trouble after just a week in office with calls for one of his ministers to quit over gaffes on the sensitive topic of radiation from the tsunami-hit Fukushima plant.
Trade Minister Yoshio Hachiro faced pressure to resign on Saturday after reports that he joked with a reporter about radiation from the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
Hachiro was quoted in Japanese media as attempting to rub up against a reporter saying "I'll give you radiation" after visiting the Fukushima plant on Thursday.
Ruling Democratic Party policy chief Seiji Maehara said it is "very serious" if the report was true.
"It is important for him to explain clearly his true intentions by today," Maehara said.
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Friday, December 30, 2011
Did Nokia's First US LTE Windows Phone Get Leaked in a Christmas Card? [Rumor]
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How the major stock indexes fared on Wednesday (AP)
Stocks weakened Wednesday, ending a five-day advance in the S&P 500 index, as new signs of strain emerged in the European banking system. The euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar in nearly a year and Treasurys rallied.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 139.94 points, or 1.1 percent, to 12,151.41.
The S&P 500 fell 15.79 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,249.64.
The Nasdaq composite declined 35.22 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,589.98.
For the week:
The Dow is down 142.59 points, or 1.2 percent.
The S&P 500 is off 15.69, or 1.2 percent.
The Nasdaq is down 28.66, or 1.1 percent.
For the year to date:
The Dow is up 573.90 points, or 5 percent.
The S&P 500 is down 8 points, or 0.6 percent.
The Nasdaq is down 62.89, or 2.4 percent.
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Women with celiac disease suffer from depression, disordered eating, study finds
ScienceDaily (Dec. 27, 2011) ? Women with celiac disease -- an autoimmune disorder associated with a negative reaction to eating gluten -- are more likely than the general population to report symptoms of depression and disordered eating, even when they adhere to a gluten-free diet, according to researchers at Penn State, Syracuse University and Drexel University.
People with celiac disease often suffer from abdominal pain, constipation, decreased appetite, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting in response to ingesting gluten. The disease affects somewhere between one in 105 to one in 1,750 people in the United States and is typically controlled by avoiding gluten-containing foods such as those made with wheat, barley and rye.
"It is easy to see how people who are not managing their disease well can frequently feel unwell and, therefore, be more stressed and have higher rates of depression," said Josh Smyth, professor of biobehavioral health and medicine, Penn State, "But researchers had not carefully looked at whether people who are effectively managing celiac disease exhibit a greater risk for such difficulties."
Smyth and his colleagues used a Web-mediated survey to assess a range of physical, behavioral and emotional experiences in 177 American women over the age of 18 who reported a physician-provided diagnosis of celiac disease. The survey questions explored respondents' levels of adherence to a gluten-free diet and assessed various symptoms of celiac disease, how physical symptoms interfere with functioning, the respondents' experience and management of stressful situations, symptoms of clinical depression, and frequency of negative thoughts and behaviors associated with eating and body image.
The results are posted online and will appear in a future issue of Chronic Illness.
"We found that most participants frequently adhered to a gluten-free diet, and this greater compliance with diet was related to increased vitality, lower stress, decreased depressive symptoms and greater overall emotional health," said Smyth. "However, even those people who were managing their illness very well reported higher rates of stress, depression and a range of issues clustered around body dissatisfaction, weight and shape when compared to the general population."
Smyth noted that he and his colleagues did not survey people without celiac disease; rather, they compared their results to those previously determined for the non-celiac population.
It is understandable to find that women with celiac disease tend to suffer from what is typically characterized as disordered eating, given that the focus of celiac-disease management is to pay careful attention to what and how one eats, said Smyth.
"What we don't know is what leads to what and under what circumstances," he said. "It's likely that the disease, stress, weight, shape and eating issues, and depression are interconnected. But we don't know if women with both higher stress and have celiac disease are more likely to develop symptoms of disordered eating and then become depressed, or if women with celiac disease are depressed and then become stressed, which leads to disordered eating. In the future, we plan to investigate the temporal sequence of these symptoms."
The team's results may have implications for people with food allergies, diabetes and Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, as well as celiac disease, according to Smyth.
"Going out to eat with friends or to a holiday potluck is a much different experience for these people because they have to be vigilant and monitor their diets," he said. "They may feel that they are a burden on a host or hostess. In many cases the only treatment option they are given is to manage their diets. I think we need to educate patients at diagnosis or post-diagnosis about some of the other associated difficulties they might experience and provide strategies for how to better manage those things. I am a proponent of elaborating our treatment models to not just address diseases, but also to address the psychological, social and behavioral aspects of disease as well, as they can influence disease outcomes and the well being of patients."
Other researchers on this project include Danielle Arigo, graduate student, Syracuse University, and Alicia Anskis, graduate student, Drexel University.
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Journal Reference:
- D. Arigo, A. M. Anskis, J. M. Smyth. Psychiatric comorbidities in women with Celiac Disease. Chronic Illness, 2011; DOI: 10.1177/1742395311417639
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111227093059.htm
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Daily Apps: Don 2: The Game, Phraseology, PocketAlg, Quips, Hip Hop To Heaven
Don 2: The Game: Play the role of Don in this spine tingling action adventure Lite game inspired from the sequel to the mega-hit Bollywood Movie Don, starring Shahrukh...
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
European, US markets eke out gains but Italy lags (AP)
PARIS ? Buoyant U.S. consumer confidence figures helped stock markets in Europe and on Wall Street eke out modest gains Tuesday in very light holiday trading but Italian shares dipped as the country's key borrowing rate ratcheted up to worrisome levels.
In the run-up to Christmas, investors have been cheered by a slew of upbeat U.S. economic indicators, particularly related to the crucial shopping season.
That continued Tuesday with the closely-watched survey into U.S. consumer confidence from the New York-based Conference Board. Its main Consumer Confidence Index rose almost 10 points to 64.5 from a revised 55.2 in November. That was above market expectations for a more modest rise to 60.
Though below the 90 level that indicates an economy on solid footing, the survey provided further evidence that the U.S. economy enjoyed a decent holiday shopping season. Economists watch the confidence numbers closely because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
"The consumer is sitting pretty in winter wonderland according to the Conference Board," said Andrew Wilkinson, an analyst at Miller Tabak & Co.
The figures helped cement the advance in markets in Europe and the U.S. and pushed oil prices back above $100 a barrel amid hopes of rising demand in the U.S.
In Europe, France's CAC-40 closed around a point higher at 3,103.11 while Germany's DAX was up 0.3 percent at 5,889.76. The FTSE index of Britain's leading shares remained closed.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.1 percent at 12,303 while the broader S&P 500 index rose by an equivalent rate to 1,267.
One market bucking the trend was Italy's FTSE MIB, which traded 1 percent lower as the yield on the country's ten-year bonds hovered around the 7 percent once again ? a level that is considered unsustainable in the long run and eventually forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek outside financial help.
Italy is the eurozone's third-largest economy and is considered to be too big to save under current bailout facilities. Mario Monti, the country's new premier got parliamentary approval last week for a big austerity package that is intended to save the country from financial disaster. Markets have grown increasingly fearful over the past few months that Italy will find it difficult to pay off its massive debts, which stand at around euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion).
Despite ongoing worries over the spread of Europe's debt crisis to Italy, the euro was trading 0.1 percent higher too at $1.3064.
However, analysts said the euro could face some choppy waters over the coming couple of days as Italy prepares for a couple of bond auctions on Wednesday and Thursday.
"The euro is little changed as markets look ahead to Italian government debt auctions later this week, which are likely to set the tone for the single currency and the wider foreign exchange market," said Vassili Serebriakov, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo Bank.
Markets took little notice of figures from the European Central Bank showing that Europe's banks parked a record euro411.8 billion ($538.2 billion) overnight at the bank on Monday.
Heavy use of the ECB's deposit facility has been a sign of distrust in interbank lending markets, as banks remain wary of lending to each other and prefer to hold it at low interest rates at the ECB. However, it can also rise and fall for technical reasons as banks adjust their liquidity requirements, especially in the run-up to the year-end.
The narrow ranges across stock markets reflect light holiday trading conditions. Markets in Europe and the U.S. were closed Monday and trading is expected to be light most of this week though there could be some year-end movements, particularly on Friday as investors look to lock in any gains they may have made.
Earlier in the day, Asian shares fell after a disappointing profit performance by Chinese companies and a warning that Japan faces "significant downside risks" due to Europe's debt problems. That warning came from a Finance Ministry representative at a November Bank of Japan meeting, the bank said Tuesday.
Tokyo lost 0.5 percent to 8,440.56 while Seoul's Kospi shed 0.8 percent to 1,842.02. Taipei, Singapore and Jakarta also declined. Hong Kong and Sydney were closed.
China's benchmark Shanghai index dropped nearly 1.1 percent to 2,166.21 after the country's government reported that profit growth slowed at its major industrial companies. Total profit in the January-November period rose 24.4 percent over a year earlier, down 0.9 percent from the growth rate for the first 10 months of the year.
Oil prices got a boost after the consumer confidence figures and benchmark crude for February delivery was up $1.22 to $100.90 per barrel in late morning trade in New York.
___
AP Business Writer Joe McDonald contributed to this report from Beijing.
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Dear Santa Cook, all we want from Apple in 2012 is?
If Tim Cook were Santa and you were sitting down to write him your wish list, what would be on it? Last year we got the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, and not much else in terms of hardware, but iOS 5 and iCloud...
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Video: Hot Stocks to Watch: MSFT, TXN & WFC
Our strategy is to buy high quality stocks that we would be willing to hold for years although we don't promise to when they are selling at big discounts for their value, says Wally Weitz, Wallance R. Weitz & Co. founder/president, who shares why Wells...
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45795399/
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Susan Blumenthal, M.D.: Health and the Holidays
By Susan Blumenthal, M.D. and Beth Hoffman
The holidays are a time for celebrating with family and friends. As we reflect on the things that we are most thankful for this holiday season, don't forget the importance of good health! While the holidays are brimming with joy and happiness for many, it can also be a stressful time with traveling, visiting relatives and trying to maintain diet and exercise goals. This holiday season, when faced with choices about behaviors that will influence your health today and tomorrow, a wonderful gift you can give yourself is to make choices to ensure a healthier future today and in the years to come. Here are some simple steps to staying healthy while fully enjoying the festivities of the season:
1) Eat Healthy
Eating a balanced diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, healthy sources of proteins, vitamins including D, folate, and calcium that is low in saturated fats and salt are critical ingredients in a recipe for a healthier future. Eating smart will help you to maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of chronic illnesses including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers [1]. In the 21st century, science is revealing that rather than individual nutrients being the key, the health effects of food result from the interactions of nutrients and other substances within and among the foods we consume. Maintaining healthy eating patterns, however, can be difficult during the holiday season. The USDA recently released, My Plate, a visual guide to healthy eating that simplifies making choices for nutritious meals by emphasizing the foods that are healthiest for us and the proportions in which to consume them. The best way to avoid overeating is to maintain a routine eating schedule during the holidays, pile your plate with vegetables and fruits, eat mindfully, taking the time to enjoy your food, and consume a healthy breakfast every day. Starting the morning with a small but satisfying breakfast, such as whole grain cereal with skim milk or an egg with whole wheat toast, will provide you with more control over your appetite. Whether you are hosting the meal or bringing a few dishes to share at the event, make your recipes healthier by reducing fat, sugar and calories (e.g. use fat free chicken broth, reduce the amount of oil and butter, use sugar substitutes, and replace cream with fat free yogurt or sour cream when preparing mashed potatoes or casseroles). At holiday meals, choose lean turkey meat, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, salads, and other foods that contain lots of water and fiber. Not only are they healthy choices but they will add to a feeling of fullness and satiety. Variety is also important -- sampling a small amount of everything that has different textures and colors on the table can help alleviate cravings! And remember, everything in moderation -- one piece of pumpkin pie will not tip the scales!
2) Cook and Eat Safe
Food safety is very important when you prepare your holiday meal. To reduce the risk of food-borne illness, safely thaw, prepare and cook all meat, poultry and seafood. To keep bacteria at bay, first thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator in cold water or in a microwave oven. Thoroughly clean surfaces, utensils and your hands after touching raw poultry as bacteria can be transferred to other food. Make sure to thoroughly cook all food to the temperature recommended by the FDA (click here for more information). Wash all fruits and vegetables and store leftovers in containers in the refrigerator or freezer. Finally, with the holiday season coinciding with increased travel and the cold/flu season, wash your hands often and use alcohol based hand sanitizers to prevent the spread of viruses and other microbes.
3) Stay Active
Physical activity is one of the most important steps you can take towards a healthier future. If you are not currently exercising, start slowly and build up. Aim for at least 30 minutes at least five days a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise with strength training, or 1 hour and 15 minutes per week of high-intensity aerobic exercise. Pick activities you like -- take the stairs instead of elevators, dance, engage in a power walk instead of a power lunch. Try a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps a day. This holiday season, enjoy being active with friends and family -- bundle up and go for a walk together or play a game of touch football. Visit fitness.gov to learn more.
4) Stay Hydrated
Whether you are traveling or hosting a holiday event, changing routines and the stress of the season can make it easy to forget to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Drinking water can help with jet-lag if you are traveling, and also help you control your appetite and prevent excessive eating. A reasonable goal is 4-6 cups a day and even more preceding your holiday meal so as not to feel famished when dinner begins.
5) Stamp Out Smoking
If you don't smoke, please never start. If you do smoke, the holiday season can be a great time to utilize family support to quit. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S and is linked to heart disease, cancer and stroke [5]. Furthermore, second-hand smoke significantly impairs the health of those who are in contact with smokers. Not smoking is the number one thing you can do to safeguard your health today and in the future!
6) Limit Alcohol Consumption
If you drink, do so responsibly and only in moderation. Alcohol adds calories. And while one glass a day of red wine might help prevent heart disease, alcohol abuse accounts for 79,000 preventable deaths every year, and is associated with an increased risk of liver disease and some forms of cancer, as well as tens of thousands of motor vehicle accidents annually [4]. Please never, ever drink and drive.
7) Get Plenty of Rest
Between traveling, shopping, and attending holiday events, it can be difficult to get enough sleep during the holiday season. But getting a good night's rest will leave you refreshed and can also help to reduce stress. Most adults require 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Even if you are traveling or away from home during the holidays, try to maintain a regular bedtime routine. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, heavy meals, and exercising right before bedtime. Create a dark, quiet, and comfortable environment to help you fall asleep. Getting adequate sleep will give you a boost to feel your best and enjoy the holiday season.
8) Enjoy Family, Friends and Strengthen Your Social Network
Oftentimes the focus at holiday events is on food, rather than on the friends and family who have gathered together to celebrate the season. Shifting the focus of the day to visiting with loved ones and away from food can make it easier for those trying to maintain healthy eating behaviors during the holidays. Planning ahead can be a helpful tool, as can maintaining as close to a normal eating schedule as possible. As mentioned above, make sure to eat regularly throughout the day and avoid treating a holiday meal as the only meal of the day [2]. When eating, focus on your own plate, rather than suggesting second helpings for others [3]. Have the conversation at the table focus on the positive atmosphere and love of friends and family rather than on the food. Remember, social support is an important ingredient in a recipe for a healthy, happy life, with many studies showing that relationships influence our long-term health in ways that can be as powerful as a healthy diet and getting enough sleep! Having strong connections to others can improve your health and longevity. It's also more fun and easier to engage in healthy behaviors if others join you. These benefits extend to givers and receivers of support. A lack of connections, on the other hand, is associated with increased mortality by as much as 50 percent, depression, and a decline in cognitive function later in life. It's the quality of relationships that makes the difference, so visit with your friends and family in 2012, make new contacts and enjoy developing meaningful connections.
9) Set Realistic Expectations
Many people get wrapped up in trying to make every aspect of the holiday season perfect. Set realistic goals for yourself -- do not expect that you will find the perfect gift for everyone, focus on weight maintenance rather than weight loss and don't punish yourself if you indulge every now and again.
10) Take Time for Yourself
While it can be enjoyable to spend extra time with family and friends at social gatherings this holiday season, make sure to find your own stress buster and time in the day just for you. Take a walk, read a book, practice yoga. Bundle up with a blanket and cup of hot tea and exercise your mind by playing Sudoku, reading a book, doing crossword puzzles or beginning to learn a new language or skill. Choosing fun and meaningful activities as the New Year begins makes life more enjoyable!
11) Travel Safe
Whether you are driving or flying this holiday season, make sure to travel safe. If you are driving, always wear a seat belt and get adequate sleep before getting behind the wheel. Research shows that driving after being awake for more than 20 hours is similar to driving with a blood alcohol level at the limit of 0.08, with recent studies estimating that driver fatigue was linked to 1 in 6 fatal motor vehicle accidents annually [6, 7]. Getting enough rest is also important if you are flying, particularly across time zones. Finally, with 2 million people crossing national borders every day, the spread of infectious diseases like flu is just a jet plane away. If you are travelling internationally, make sure to speak with your doctor about any necessary immunizations or health safety precautions (such as drinking only bottled water) that might be relevant for your destination.
12) Give Thanks and Give Back
More than 50 million Americans will struggle to put food on the table this holiday season, so consider making a donation to a local food bank or dedicating a day of service to help those who are hungry. Many food banks and local charities also support toy drives for children living in poverty. Visit the Feeding America and Snap to Health websites to learn more about how you can contribute to preventing hunger in your community and in our country.
13) Be Ready in Case of an Emergency
Be prepared in the event of a disaster occurring during the holidays, such as a tornado, hurricane, or severe snow storm. Develop a family plan and communication strategy. For more information, call 1-800-Be-Ready or visit www.ready.gov and www.fema.gov. Know what you can do to keep safe from the flu: practice good hygiene, wash hands, cover coughs, get vaccinated for seasonal flu (this year's vaccine provides protection against H1N1 as well) and avoid settings with people who are ill. Check out www.flu.gov to learn more.
14) Be a Savvy Health Consumer
Read as much as you can and use trustworthy Internet sites (see list below) for reliable health information. Know your health plan. Be informed. Knowledge is power when it comes to your health and the health of your family, business and community. By following the steps in this prevention prescription, you can enjoy a healthier future this holiday season, in the New Year and beyond!
Recommended Websites for More Information:
www.4publichealth.org
www.4globalhealth.org
www.healthfinder.gov
www.healthierus.gov
www.womenshealth.gov
www.cdc.gov
www.fitness.gov
www.sleepfoundation.org
www.medline.gov
www.myplate.gov
www.nutrition.gov
www.flu.gov
www.ready.gov
www.fema.gov
www.healthcare.gov
References
[1] FDA. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005.
[2] Berrett, Michael. Twelve Ideas to Help People with Eating Disorders Negotiate the Holiday. Retrieved 25 Nov 2011.
[3] Hickey, Tracey. Hickey: "Coping with Eating Anxiety During Thanksgiving." November 20, 2011. Retrieved 25 Nov 2011.
[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fact Sheets: Alcohol Use and Health. July 20, 2010. Retrieved 25 Nov 2011.
[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Inhaling Tobacco Smoke Causes Immediate Harm. December 9, 2010. Retrieved 25 Nov 2011.
[6] "Two Out of Five Drivers Admit to Falling Asleep at the Wheel, Finds AAA Foundation Study." Retrieved 28 Nov 2011.
[7] National Sleep Foundation. Facts About Drowsy Driving. 2007. Retrieved 28 Nov 2011
[8] Wilper AP, Woolhandler S, Lasser KE, McCormick D, Bor DH, Himmelstein DU. "Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults." American Journal of Public Health, Sept. 17, 2009 (online); print edition Vol. 99, Issue 12, December 2009.
Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. (ret.) is the
Beth Hoffman graduated magna cum laude from Brown University. She is a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a former Health Policy Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington D.C.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-blumenthal/healthy-holidays_b_1168890.html
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Marjorie Cohn: Bradley Manning, Hero, or Traitor?
The end of U.S. military involvement in Iraq coincided with Bradley Manning's military hearing to determine whether he will face court-martial for exposing U.S. war crimes by leaking hundreds of thousands of pages of classified documents to Wikileaks. In fact, there is a connection between the leaks and U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq.
When he announced that the last U.S. troops would leave Iraq by year's end, President Barack Obama declared the nine-year war a "success" and "an extraordinary achievement." He failed to mention why he opposed the Iraq war from the beginning. He didn't say that it was built on lies about mushroom clouds and non-existent ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. Obama didn't cite the Bush administration's "Plan for Post-Saddam Iraq," drawn up months before 9/11, about which Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill reported that actual plans "were already being discussed to take over Iraq and occupy it - complete with disposition of oil fields, peacekeeping forces, and war crimes tribunals - carrying forward an unspoken doctrine of preemptive war."
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also defended the war in Iraq, making the preposterous claim that, "As difficult as [the Iraq war] was," including the loss of American and Iraqi lives, "I think the price has been worth it, to establish a stable government in a very important region of the world."
The price that Panetta claims is worth it includes the deaths of nearly 4,500 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. It includes untold numbers wounded -- with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -- and suicides, as well as nearly $1 trillion that could have prevented the economic disaster at home.
The price of the Iraq war also includes thousands of men who have been subjected to torture and abuse in places like Abu Ghraib prison. It includes the 2005 Haditha Massacre, in which U.S. Marines killed 24 unarmed civilians execution-style. It includes the Fallujah Massacre, in which U.S. forces killed 736 people, at least 60% of them women and children. It includes other war crimes committed by American troops in Qaim, Taal Al Jal, Mukaradeeb, Mahmudiya, Hamdaniyah, Samarra, Salahuddin, and Ishaqi.
The price of that war includes two men killed by the Army's Lethal Warriors in Al Doura, Iraq, with no evidence that they were insurgents or posed a threat. One man's brain was removed from his head and another man's face was skinned after he was killed by Lethal Warriors. U.S. Army Ranger John Needham, who was awarded two purple hearts and three medals for heroism, wrote to military authorities in 2007 reporting war crimes that he witnessed being committed by his own command and fellow Lethal Warriors in Al Doura. His charges were supported by atrocity photos which have been released by Pulse TV and Maverick Media in the new video by Cindy Piester, "On the Dark Side in Al Doura - A Soldier in the Shadows." CBS reported obtaining an Army document from the Criminal Investigation Command suggestive of an investigation into these war crimes allegations. The Army's conclusion was that the "offense of War Crimes did not occur."
One of the things Manning is alleged to have leaked is the "Collateral Murder" video which depicts U.S. forces in an Apache helicopter killing 12 unarmed civilians, including two Reuters journalists, and wounding two children. People trying to rescue the wounded were also fired upon and killed. A U.S. tank drove over one body, cutting the man in half.
The actions of American soldiers shown in that video amount to war crimes under the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit targeting civilians, preventing the rescue of the wounded, and defacing dead bodies.
Obama proudly took credit for ending U.S. military involvement in Iraq. But he had tried for months to extend it beyond the December 31, 2011 deadline his predecessor negotiated with the Iraqi government. Negotiations between Obama and the Iraqi government broke down when Iraq refused to grant criminal and civil immunity to U.S. troops.
It was after seeing evidence of war crimes such as those depicted in "Collateral Murder" and the "Iraq War Logs," also allegedly leaked by Manning, that the Iraqis refused to immunize U.S. forces from prosecution for their future crimes. When I spoke with Tariq Aqrawi, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, at a recent international human rights film festival in Vienna, he told me that if they granted immunity to Americans, they would have to do the same for other countries as well.
Manning faces more than 30 charges, including "aiding the enemy" and violations of the Espionage Act, which carry the death penalty. After a seven day hearing, during which the prosecution presented evidence that Manning leaked cables and documents, there was no evidence that leaked information imperiled national security or that Manning intended to aid the enemy with his actions.
On the contrary, in an online chat attributed to Manning, he wrote, "If you had free reign over classified networks... and you saw incredible things, awful things... things that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington DC... what would you do?"
He went on to say, "God knows what happens now. Hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms... I want people to see the truth... because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public."
Manning has been held for 19 months in military custody. During the first nine months, he was kept in solitary confinement, which is considered torture as it can lead to hallucinations, catatonia and suicide. He was humiliated by being stripped naked and paraded before other inmates.
The U.S. government considers Manning one of America's most dangerous traitors. Months ago, Obama spoke of Manning as if he had been proved guilty, saying, "he broke the law." But Manning has not been tried, and is presumed innocent in the eyes of the law. If Manning had committed war crimes instead of exposing them, he would be a free man today. If he had murdered civilians and skinned them alive, he would not be facing the death penalty.
Besides helping to end the Iraq war, the leaked cables helped spark the Arab Spring. When people in Tunisia read cables revealing corruption by the ruling family there, they took to the streets.
If Manning did what he is accused of doing, he should not be tried as a criminal. He should be hailed as a national hero, much like Daniel Ellsberg, whose release of the Pentagon Papers helped to expose the government's lies and end the Vietnam War.
Marjorie Cohn is a professor of law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and past president of the National Lawyers Guild. Her books include "Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent" and "The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse." See www.marjoriecohn.com.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-cohn/bradley-manning-hero-traitor_b_1168462.html
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Queen Elizabeth visits husband in hospital (AP)
LONDON ? Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by her children, visited her husband in hospital Saturday, where Prince Philip is recovering from a heart procedure.
Philip, 90, was taken to the hospital from the queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk late Friday after experiencing chest pains. He had a coronary stent put in after tests found a blocked artery was to blame, though the palace has refused to say if he suffered a heart attack.
Elizabeth and her two children, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, were flown in by helicopter and arrived at Papworth Hospital, some 70 miles (113 kilometers) from London, shortly after 11 a.m.
"Prince Philip was in good spirits," Buckingham Palace said. After spending 45 minutes with Philip, the royals traveled back to Sandringham by helicopter, it said.
It said Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, arrived at the hospital 45 minutes later by car and that no further family visits are expected.
Doctors said Philip could have suffered a heart attack, but without more information it was impossible to know for sure.
Coronary stenting is standard procedure both to fend off a heart attack or save a patient already in the midst of one, said Dr. Allan Schwartz, chief of cardiology at New York-Presbyterian, Columbia University Medical Center.
Philip has been known to enjoy good health throughout his life and rarely misses royal engagements. Upon his 90th birthday in June, he announced plans to cut back his official duties.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron offered his support to Philip.
"The Prime Minister has been kept informed of the situation and wishes the Duke of Edinburgh a very speedy recovery," Cameron's office said.
Doctors say that some patients can leave the hospital a day after a similar medical procedure, but the palace said it does not know when Philip will be released. It said the prince remains "under observation" and that he is having a "short stay" in the hospital.
It is unclear if Philip will be able to join the royal family for the traditional Christmas celebrations at Sandringham, the queen's sprawling rural estate in Norfolk where the royal family gathers for the festivities. Philip had been there since Monday.
The palace said Elizabeth and the royal family will attend church as usual on Sunday.
Another key part of the royal family's Christmas celebrations is the queen's annual message to the nation, which this year will focus on family and community.
The queen has made a prerecorded Christmas broadcast on radio since 1952 and on television since 1957. She writes the speeches herself, and the broadcasts mark the rare occasion on which the queen voices her own opinion without government consultation.
________
Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
California Public School Ranking: 2010 API Scores
? The database shows the ''base'' Academic Performance Index for California public schools. The API score is based on the standardized tests and high school exit exams taken in spring 2010. That score is then used to compute a school's statewide rank on a 1-10 scale. The database also includes similar school rankings on a 1-10 scale. Those rankings show how an individual school compares with 100 schools with similar demographics, such as student mobility, ethnicity, poverty, English-language learners and class sizes.
Source: http://www.presstelegram.com/education/ci_18001895?source=rss_viewed
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In China, a daring few challenge one-child limit (AP)
ZHUJI, China ? Seven months pregnant, Wu Weiping sneaked out early in the morning carrying a shoulder bag with some clothes, her laptop and a knife.
"It's good for me I wasn't caught, but it's lucky for them too," said Wu, 35, who feared that family planning officials were going to drag her to the hospital for a forced abortion. "I was going to fight to the death if they found me."
With her escape, Wu joined an increasingly defiant community of parents in China who have risked their jobs, savings and physical safety to have a forbidden second child.
Though their numbers are small, they represent changing ideas about individual rights. While violators in the past tended to be rural families who skirted the birth limits in relative obscurity, many today are urbanites like Wu who frame their defiance in overtly political terms, arguing that the government has no right to dictate how many children they have.
Using Internet chat rooms and blogs, a few have begun airing their demands for a more liberal family planning policy and are hoping others will follow their lead. Several have gotten their stories into the tightly controlled media, an indication that their perspectives have resonance with the public.
After finding out his wife was expecting a second child, Liu Lianwen set up an online discussion group called "Free Birth" to swap information about the one-child policy and how to get around it. In less than six months, it has attracted nearly 200 members.
"We are idealists," said the 37-year-old engineer from central China, whose daughter was born Oct. 18. "We want to change the attitudes of people around us by changing ourselves."
Freed of the social controls imposed during the doctrinaire era of communist rule, Chinese today are free to choose where they live and work and whom they marry. But when it comes to having kids, the state says the majority must stop at one. Hefty fines for violators and rising economic pressures have helped compel most to abide by the limit. Many provinces claim near perfect compliance.
It's impossible to know how many children have been born in violation of the one-child policy, but Zhai Zhenwu, director of Renmin University's School of Sociology and Population in Beijing, estimates that less than 1 percent of the 16 million babies born each year are "out of plan."
Liu thinks his fellow citizens have been brainwashed. "They all feel it's glorious to have a small family," he said. "Thirty years of family planning propaganda have changed the way the majority of Chinese think about having children."
The reluctance to procreate is also an issue of growing concern for demographers, who worry that the policy combined with a rising cost of living has brought the fertility rate down too sharply and too fast. Though still the world's largest nation with 1.3 billion people, China's population growth has slowed considerably.
"The worry for China is not population growth ? it's rapid population aging and young people not wanting to have children," said Wang Feng, director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy, a joint U.S.-China academic research center in Beijing.
Wang sees a looming disaster as the baby boom generation of the 1960s heads into retirement and old age. China's labor force, sharply reduced by the one-child policy, will struggle to support them.
He argues that the government should allow everyone at least two children. He thinks many Chinese would still stop at one because of concerns about being able to afford to raise more than that.
Penalties for violators are harsh. Those caught must pay a "social compensation fee," which can be four to nine times a family's annual income, depending on the province and the whim of the local family planning bureau. Parents with government jobs can also lose their posts or get demoted, and their "out of plan" children are denied education and health benefits.
Those without government posts have less to worry about. If they can afford the steep fee and don't mind losing benefits, there's little to stop them from having another child. There's popular anger over this favoring of the wealthy but not much that ordinary people can do about it, since the policy is set behind closed doors by the communist leadership in Beijing.
In 2007, officials in coastal Zhejiang province threatened to start naming and shaming well-off families who had extra kids, but the campaign never got off the ground, possibly because it threatened to tarnish the reputations of too many well-connected people.
Hardest hit by the rules are urban middle class parents with Communist Party posts, teaching positions or jobs at state-run industries.
Li Yongan was ordered to pay 240,000 yuan ($37,500) after his son was born in 2007 as he already had a 13-year-old daughter. After refusing to pay the fee, Li was denied a household registration permit for his son, forcing him to pay three times more for kindergarten.
He was also barred from his job teaching physics at a state-run university in Beijing. "I never regret my second child, but I have been living with depression and anger for years," said Li, who struggles to make ends meet as a freelance chess teacher.
Of course, there are surreptitious, though not foolproof, ways to evade punishment: paying a bribe or falsifying documents so that, for instance, a second child is registered as the twin of an older sibling. Or, sometimes second babies are registered to childless relatives or rural families that are allowed to have a second child but haven't done so.
Wu, the woman who made the early morning escape, said she never intended to flout the one-child rule. She had resorted to fertility treatments to conceive her first child ? a daughter nicknamed Le Le, or Happy ? so she was stunned when a doctor told her she was expecting again in August 2008.
The news triggered a monthlong "cold war" with her husband, Wu said. Silent dinners, cold shoulders. She wanted to keep the baby. He didn't. After a few weeks, he came around, she explained with a satisfied smile.
But family planning officials insisted on an abortion. The principal at her school also pressured her to end the pregnancy.
Desperate, she went online for answers ? and was led astray.
At her home on the outskirts of Zhuji, a textile hub a few hours south of Shanghai, the energetic former high school teacher recounted how she divorced her husband, then married her cousin the next day, all in an attempt to evade the rules.
The soap-opera-like subterfuge was meant to take advantage of a loophole that allows divorced parents to have a second child if their new spouse is a first-time parent.
Wu had helped raise her cousin, who is 25 and 10 years younger than her, and when she asked if he would marry her to help save the baby, he agreed.
The divorce, on Sept. 27, 2008, involved signing a document and posing for a photo. It was over in just a few minutes. The next day's marriage was similarly swift.
"I remember I was very happy that day," Wu said holding the marriage certificate with a glued-on snapshot of the cousins. "Because I thought I'd figured out a way to save my baby."
But her problem wasn't over. When the newlyweds applied for a birth permit, officials informed them conception had to take place after marriage. They were told to abort the baby, then try again. Wu was back to square one.
A popular option that was out of reach for Wu economically is to have the baby elsewhere, where the limits don't apply. Some better-off Chinese go to Hong Kong, where private agencies charge mainland mothers hundreds of thousands of yuan (tens of thousands of dollars) for transport, lodging and medical costs.
The number giving birth in Hong Kong reached 40,000 last year, prompting the territory to cap the number of beds in public hospitals they are allowed from 2012. However, parents of kids born abroad face the bureaucratic hurdles of foreigners, having to pay premiums for school and other services.
In the end, Wu also fled, but not as far as Hong Kong. Three months from her due date, she kissed her baby daughter goodbye, telling her she was going on vacation, and hopped an early morning train to nearby Hangzhou. There she switched to another train bound for Shanghai, hoping the roundabout route would throw off anyone trying to tail her.
In Shanghai, Wu used a friend's ID to rent a one-room apartment with shared bathroom and kitchen. It was tiny and not cheap for her, 700 yuan ($107) a month, but it was across from a hospital that allowed her to register without a government-issued birth permission slip and it had an Internet connection.
Wu had never used email, so her husband ? the real one ? set up a password-protected online journal that he titled "yixiaobb," or "one tiny baby." She posted to the journal up to nine times a day, describing where she was living without ever revealing her exact location. She prefaced every entry with a capital M for mother, and added a number to mark how many messages she wrote in a day. Using the same journal, her husband wrote to her, coding his messages with an F.
It felt like an invisible tether linking Wu to her husband. He didn't know where she was, but knew she was OK. Shortly before her due date, she asked him to come to Shanghai, and he was present for the birth of their son.
More than two years later, she and her former husband, the father to both her children, have yet to remarry ? hoping it will legally shield him from any future punishment.
The marriage with her cousin was easily dissolved after they discovered it was never valid, because marriages between first cousins is illegal in China.
Wu was fired from her job as a public school teacher because of the baby, and her ex-husband, who is also a teacher, was demoted to a freelance position at his school. Though told she has been assessed a 120,740 yuan ($18,575) social compensation fee, Wu has refused to pay.
Enforcers of the family planning limits showed up at their house in July, and again in November, threatening legal action. Wu is afraid their property might be confiscated or that she or husband might end up in detention, but she doesn't want to pay the fine because she doesn't believe she's done anything wrong.
"I don't think I've committed any crime," she said. "A crime is something that hurts other people or society or that infringes on other people's rights. I don't think having a baby is any kind of crime."
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