Memory strategy may help depressed people remember the good times

Feb. 25, 2013 ? New research highlights a memory strategy that may help people who suffer from depression in recalling positive day-to-day experiences.

The study is published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Previous research has shown that being able to call up concrete, detailed memories that are positive or self-affirming can help to boost positive mood for people with a history of depression. But it's this kind of vivid memory for everyday events that seems to be dampened for people who suffer from depression.

Researcher Tim Dalgleish of the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and colleagues hypothesized that a well-known method used to enhance memory -- known as the "method-of-loci" strategy -- might help depressed patients to recall positive memories with greater ease.

The method-of-loci strategy consists of associating vivid memories with physical objects or locations -- buildings you see on your commute to work every day, for instance. To recall the memories, all you have to do is imagine going through your commute.

In the study, depressed patients were asked to come up with 15 positive memories. One group was asked to use the method-of-loci strategy to create associations with their memories, while a control group was asked to use a simple "rehearsal" strategy, grouping memories based on their similarities.

After practicing their techniques, the participants were asked to recall as many of their 15 positive memories as they could.

The two methods were equally effective on the initial memory test conducted in the lab -- both groups were able to recall nearly all of the 15 memories.

But the strategies were not equally effective over time.

After a week's worth of practice at home, the participants received a surprise phone call from the researchers, who asked them to recall the memories one more time.

Participants who used the method-of-loci technique were significantly better at recalling their positive memories when compared to those who used the rehearsal technique.

These data suggest that using the method-of-loci technique to associate vivid, positive memories with physical objects or locations may make it easier for depressed individuals to recall those positive memories, which may help to elevate their mood in the long-term.

In addition to Dalgleish, co-authors on this research include Lauren Navrady, Elinor Bird, Emma Hill, Barnaby Dunn and Ann-Marie Golden, all of the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit.

This research was supported by the U.K. Medical Research Council.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Association for Psychological Science.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. T. Dalgleish, L. Navrady, E. Bird, E. Hill, B. D. Dunn, A.-M. Golden. Method-of-Loci as a Mnemonic Device to Facilitate Access to Self-Affirming Personal Memories for Individuals With Depression. Clinical Psychological Science, 2013; DOI: 10.1177/2167702612468111

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://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/l9PNtGchdOo/130225122047.htm

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Hummingbird flight: Two vortex trails with one stroke

Feb. 25, 2013 ? As of today (February 25), the Wikipedia entry for the hummingbird explains that the bird's flight generates in its wake a single trail of vortices that helps the bird hover. But after conducting experiments with hummingbirds in the lab, researchers at the University of California, Riverside propose that the hovering hummingbird instead produces two trails of vortices -- one under each wing per stroke -- that help generate the aerodynamic forces required for the bird to power and control its flight.

The results of the study could find wide application in aerospace technology and the development of unmanned vehicles for medical surveillance after natural disasters.

The researchers used high-speed image sequences -- 500 frames per second -- of hummingbirds hover-feeding within a white plume (emitted by the heating of dry ice) to study the vortex wake from multiple perspectives. They also used particle image velocimetry (PIV), a flow-measuring method used in fluid mechanics, to quantitatively analyze the flow around the hummingbirds. PIV allowed the researchers to record the particles surrounding the birds and extract velocity fields.

The films and velocity fields showed two distinct jets of downwards airflow -- one under each wing of the hummingbird. They also revealed that vortex loops around each jet are shed during each upstroke and downstroke.

The researchers therefore propose in their paper published online last month in the journal Experiments in Fluids that the hummingbird's two wings form bilateral vortex loops during each wing stroke, which is advantageous for maneuverability.

"Previous studies have indicated that slow-flying bats and faster flying birds produced different structures in their wakes," said Douglas Altshuler, formerly an assistant professor of biology at UC Riverside, whose lab led the research. "We have been investigating the wake structure of hovering hummingbirds because this allows us to decouple the effects of different types of wings -- bat versus bird -- from different forward flight speeds.

Hummingbirds each weigh 2-20 grams. Because they can hover with high precision, they are able to drink nectar from flowers without any jiggling movement to their bodies. Besides using upstrokes and downstrokes, hummingbirds can rotate their wings. They can even flap their wings from front to back with a 180-degree amplitude.

"We began this study to investigate how the hummingbird used its tail while hovering," said Marko Princevac, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and a coauthor of the research paper. "After all, many insects also hover, but they have no tail. Instead, however, our research showed something interesting about the hummingbird's wings: the bilateral vortex structure. Hummingbirds hovering should cost a lot of energy but these birds are able to hover for long periods of time. Ideally, unmanned vehicles need to be operated with a very limited energy supply, which is why understanding how the hummingbird maximizes its use of energy is tremendously beneficial."

Sam Pournazeri, a former Ph.D. graduate student in Princevac's lab and a co-author on the paper, explained that in a downstroke, the air pressure difference developed as a result of wing movement creates flow from the bottom to the top of the wing. The result is a circular movement or vortex.

"Based on theories in fluid mechanics, this vortex should close either on the wing/body or create a loop around it," he said. "It's these loops that provide circulation around the wings and cause the hummingbird to overcome its weight. Hovering requires the bird to create a lift that cancels its body weight. Although the two-vortex structure we observed increases the hummingbird's energy consumption, it provides the bird a big advantage: a lot more maneuverability."

Next, the research team plans to study the hummingbird in a wind tunnel to closely observe how the bird transitions from hovering to forward motion, and vice versa.

"Current technology is not successfully mimicking how living things fly," Princevac said. "Drones don't hover, and must rely on forward motion. Research done using hummingbirds, like ours, can inform the development of the next generation of drones."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Riverside. The original article was written by Iqbal Pittawala.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Sam Pournazeri, Paolo S. Segre, Marko Princevac, Douglas L. Altshuler. Hummingbirds generate bilateral vortex loops during hovering: evidence from flow visualization. Experiments in Fluids, 2012; 54 (1) DOI: 10.1007/s00348-012-1439-5

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/mX8jP5brUZY/130225153139.htm

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Guns for Beyonc? tickets proposed

Beyonc? performs during the half-time show of the 2013 Super Bowl. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)

Got a gun? Hand it in, and you could end up with a ticket to Beyonc?'s Mrs. Carter tour.

At least, that's the dream of music manager Michael "Blue" Williams, the head of Family Tree Entertainment. The idea is part of his proposal for what the New York Daily News says would be the "first private-sector gun buyback program."

Called Guns for Greatness, Williams' proposal, made to the New York City Police Department, would offer music industry mentorship and concert tickets in exchange for firearms. Of course, if the department rubber-stamps the program, Williams, who has managed Outkast and Cee Lo Green, among others, still has to get the wildly popular singer to sign on to the idea.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the Daily News that Williams' plan needs to be studied. He said, ?We want to get as many guns off the streets, and if this works, we?d like to support it.?

The hip-hop mogul has raised $75,000 toward his $100,000 fundraising goal. Richard Buery, CEO and president of the Children?s Aid Society, has added his name to the proposal.

In a letter to the NYPD and shown to the Daily News, Williams writes, ?A disturbingly high number of these [gun] victims are young people. As Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and others have noted strongly, the issue of gun violence is an urgent crisis that requires immediate attention.?

The NYPD currently has a program that offers cash for guns, no questions asked.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/gun-buyback-proposal-trade-firearms-beyonc%C3%A9-tickets-195308327.html

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Former players, coaches pay tribute to late Consortium coach Al Anderson

Keep up with your favorite Metro Detroit high school football team and its rivals from your smart phone. Our new app, HS Football, gets you the latest high school football scores for 180 teams, plus schedules, standings, news stories, photo galleries and video, all from The Detroit News. The app is free and currently available on the Android platform. Don't worry, Apple users, an iOS version is coming shortly.

Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130222/SPORTS05/302220442/1361/rss41

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Afghanistan: U.S. special forces must leave province

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Afghanistan's president on Sunday ordered all U.S. special forces to leave a strategically important eastern province within two weeks because of allegations that Afghans working with them are torturing and abusing other Afghans.

The decision seems to have caught the coalition and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, a separate command, by surprise. Americans have frequently drawn anger from the Afghan public over issues ranging from Qurans burned at a U.S. base to allegations of civilian killings.

"We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and go to great lengths to determine the facts surrounding them," the U.S. forces said in a statement.

Also Sunday, a series of attacks in eastern Afghanistan showed insurgents remain on the offensive even as U.S. and other international forces prepare to end their combat mission by the end of 2014.

Suicide bombers targeted Afghanistan's intelligence agency and other security forces in four coordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul and outlying areas in a bloody reminder of the insurgency's reach nearly 12 years into the war.

Presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said the decision to order the American special forces to leave Wardak province was taken during a meeting of the National Security Council because of the alleged actions of Afghans who are considered linked to the U.S. special forces.

He said all special forces operations were to cease immediately in the restive province next to Kabul, which is viewed as a gateway to the capital and has been the focus of counterinsurgency efforts in recent years.

The Taliban have staged numerous attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces in the province. In August 2011, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter, killing 30 American troops, mostly elite Navy SEALs, in Wardak. The crash was the single deadliest loss for U.S. forces in the war.

Afghan forces have taken the lead in many such special operations, especially so-called night raids.

"Those Afghans in these armed groups who are working with the U.S. special forces, the defense minister asked for an explanation of who they are," Faizi said. "Those individuals should be handed over to the Afghan side so that we can further investigate."

A statement the security council issued in English said the armed individuals have allegedly been "harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people."

Ceasing all such operations could have a negative impact on the coalition's campaign to go after Taliban leaders and commanders, who are usually the target of such operations.

Faizi said the issue had already been brought up with the coalition.

The U.S. statement said only that the announcement was "an important issue that we intend to fully discuss with our Afghan counterparts. But until we have had a chance to speak with senior Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials about this issue, we are not in a position to comment further."

The brazen assaults, which occurred within a three-hour timespan, were the latest to strike Afghan forces, who have suffered higher casualties this year as U.S. and other foreign troops gradually take a back seat and shift responsibility for security to the government.

The deadliest attack occurred just after sunrise ? a suicide car bombing at the gate of the National Directorate of Security compound in Jalalabad, 125 kilometers (78 miles) east of Kabul.

Guards shot and killed the driver but he managed to detonate the explosives-packed vehicle, killing two intelligence agents and wounding three others, according to a statement by the intelligence agency. Provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai confirmed the casualty toll and said the building was damaged in the attack.

A guard also shot and killed a man in an SUV filled with dynamite that was targeting an NDS building on a busy street in Kabul, not far from NATO headquarters. The explosives in the back of the vehicle were defused. Blood stained the driver's seat and the ground where security forces dragged out the would-be attacker.

Shortly before the Jalalabad attack, a suicide attacker detonated a minivan full of explosives at a police checkpoint in Pul-i-Alam on the main highway between Kabul and Logar province. One policeman was killed and two others were wounded, along with a bystander, according to the NDS.

Also in Logar province, which is due south of Kabul, a man wearing a suicide vest was stopped by police as he tried to force his way into the police headquarters for Baraki Barak district, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, the provincial government spokesman. The attacker detonated his vest while being searched, wounding one policeman, according to Darwesh and the NDS.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the Jalalabad attack and two others in the eastern province of Logar in an email to reporters. He did not address the attempted assault in Kabul.

____

Associated Press writers Heidi Vogt, Rahim Faiez and Kim Gamel contributed to this report from Kabul.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-us-special-forces-must-leave-province-161601103.html

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Young adults have less debt according to Pew research study

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -

Young adults have less debt according to a recent Pew Research Study.

But is it because they're not buying anything?

The study released today shows that young adults under the age of 35 have less debt. The main reason is mainly because they own fewer assets such as cars and houses.

Young adults today say they're avoiding those major purchases after watching their parents struggle.

"I feel that our parents? generation are in debit, and personally, the reason why I don't have debt is because I've seen my parents struggle with it my whole life," said ?27 year old, Owland Mackey.

Mackey says he's thankful he learned to avoid debt at an early age.

And experts say he's not the only one.

Financial West Group Investment?Adviser,?Ford Keeler said, "I think they have seen what their parents and older folks have gone through with crises in their financial situation, and in large part young adults want to avoid that, and if they can, having a few less toys and assets I think they're willing to forego some of those things."

Mackey says his biggest asset, which he bought before the recession helps him avoid piling up bills.

"I was able to have an opportunity to purchase a house when I was young. It's really helped me out to be able to rent it, really one of the best choices I've made," explained Mackey.

Despite his purchase, a recent Pew Research Study shows younger households with any kind of debt dropped to 78% - the lowest level in 30 years.

Mackey says unlike him, his friends don't have any assets.

"It's kind of a fine balance, I think having assets having things that will spur on our local economy is one thing, but gaining the debt to obtain those items without a doubt is a negative," said Keeler.

The study shows the number of young adults with credit card debt is dropping as well.

And experts say that may be because it's harder for young people to get credit in the first place.

"I think banks have stiffened their lending requirements to a large extent, I think particularly young folks who don't have an established credit history, banks aren't as willing or able to lend money as they once were," said Keeler.

Still Mackey thinks as a young person you have to make a choice to stay out of debt.

"It's all about spending the money that you have. A lot of people with without their means, they max out their credit cards. And I just base my expenses on how much I make," explained Mackey.

Source: http://www.kjct8.com/news/Young-adults-have-less-debt-according-to-Pew-research-study/-/163152/19047940/-/ds0ss9z/-/index.html

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Gillmor Gang: Gangnam Style

The Gillmor Gang ? John Taschek, Robert Scoble, John Borthwick, and Steve Gillmor ? went bicoastal with @stevegillmor at @borthwick's Betaworks Studios in New York City. @scobleizer and @jtaschek held down the West Coast as it threatened to float away in Googlemania. With a touch Chromebook and a Google Glasses video surfacing, at least half the Gang is predicting Apple is in trouble. Certainly the Googlers get network while a Tim Cooked Apple gets supply chain, but who's to say (Scoble) that the fun ride is over for ownership of innovation. I think not, fascinated as I am with the amazing platform being nurtured around the iPad Mini and what it augurs for Apple's move to the streaming cloud.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/JzmLd7rWbig/

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Young pitchers lead Union County to win over Gaffney

by Tiffany Grady-Hudgins
Sports Editor Union Daily Times

Tiffany Grady-Hudgins|Daily Times Union County's Hannah Sailors delivers a pitch during Thursday night's scrimmage against Gaffney.

slideshow

UNION ? Peyton Martin and Hannah Sailors combined for seven innings of shutout softball on Thursday night in a pitchers duel versus Gaffney to help Union County to a 1-0 win.

?The pitching was solid,? said Union County Head Coach Danny Gault after the game. ?We?re turning into pitchers, we?re not just throwers.?

Martin and Sailors, both ninth graders, are being called on to fill the void that Union County was left with when it lost pitching duo Tiffany and Ashley Vaughan to graduation.

Martin, who got the start on Thursday, gave up just one hit in four innings before being relieved by Sailors in the fifth.

Gaffney didn?t receive another base-runner in the scrimmage and a couple of Union County hits in the sixth inning made the difference.

Shatadra Hall reached first off an infield single and Connor Wicker drove her in with a two-out double to left field.

Gaffney picked up the final out at the plate leaving Wicker stranded on second but Union County?s defense remained stout in the seventh and Sailors rung up the last batter for the 1-0 Union County win.

?Their pitcher was more than what we expected,? said Gault. ?The girls were talking about her having a different spin on the ball than they?re used to, something that threw them off. Out of 18 outs, nine of ours were fly balls so we were popping it up, but we played good defense and that?s a good thing.?

Union County didn?t commit an error in the game.

Martin and Sailors helped themselves at the plate with a hit apiece. Hall and Wicker each had one hit.

The Lady Jackets will travel to Landrum on Monday for a scrimmage before returning home for a pre-season tournament on Wednesday at the Timken Sports Complex.

Sports Editor Tiffany Grady-Hudgins can be reached by e-mail at thudgins@civitasmedia.com or by cell at (864) 251-4330.

Source: http://uniondailytimes.com/bookmark/21799580

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Egypt president will modify parliament election dates - speaker

CAIRO | Sat Feb 23, 2013 1:57pm GMT

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi will modify the dates of upcoming parliamentary elections after requests from Christian lawmakers to change them, the speaker of parliament's upper house said on Saturday.

Members of the Coptic Christian minority had objected to the election dates Mursi announced on Thursday, as some voting would be held during their Easter celebrations.

"The president answered the requests of the Coptic members and will issue a statement changing the dates of the elections," Ahmed Fahmy, the speaker of the Shura Council, told lawmakers. He did not say when Mursi would make an announcement.

(Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz)

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/23/uk-egypt-parliament-idUKBRE91L0T220130223?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

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How many immigrants does South Africa have? That depends who you ask.

Immigration is a hot-button issue in South African politics, but one of the most important questions about migrants remains the most basic: How many are there?

By John Campbell,?Guest blogger / February 21, 2013

South African soldiers check the documents of residents of the Diepsloot township north of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Jerome Delay / AP

Enlarge

South Africans often assume that since the end of apartheid and the coming of democracy in 1994, there has been a huge wave of migration into their country from the rest of the continent.?Stories abound of entire Johannesburg neighborhoods that are now Nigerian or Congolese ? and of immigrants taking over certain crime syndicates. Over the past five years, there have been multiple waves of xenophobic riots against Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa who, with the benefit of high education standards in their home country, are seen by township dwellers as competition for scarce jobs.?

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But how many immigrants does South Africa really have? That depends on who you ask.?

The country's?Human Sciences Research Council?once estimated that there are 4 to 8 million undocumented migrants in South Africa, but later withdrew the figure. Those numbers nonetheless still make their way into the press ? and the public consciousness ? despite the fact that?Statistics South Africa, a government agency,?estimates undocumented persons in the country to be somewhere in the range of 500,000 to 1 million.

Using other demographic data, however, a team of academics at the?Forced Migration Studies Program?(FMSP) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg has produced their own set of statistics. They estimate?that the overall foreign population in South Africa ranges from 1.6 to 2 million, or 3 to 4 percent of the total population. They also report that there are between 1 and 1.5 million legal and illegal Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa.

Because of its stability, highly developed infrastructure and first-world amenities, many elites from Nigeria, Congo, and other African countries travel to South Africa, and the wealthiest often have houses there. They are a population of high visibility.?So too are the receptionists and others, born in Zimbabwe,?who deal with the public. But South Africa has a total population of more than 50 million, and the numbers of these highly visible migrants are relatively small. Most immigrants, on the other hand, work in low-wage and informal sectors of the economy, filling the ranks of the country's security guards, street hawkers, and domestic workers.?

For sake of comparison, about 11 percent of the US population is made up of immigrants, according to the?Center for Migration Studies.?

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of Africa bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/world/~3/9MBY2-nqF7Y/How-many-immigrants-does-South-Africa-have-That-depends-who-you-ask

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Czech government signs church compensation deal

PRAGUE (AP) ? The Czech government has signed deals with representatives of 16 churches to pay them billions of dollars in compensation for property that the country's former totalitarian Communist regime seized from them.

After Friday's signing, Prime Minister Petr Necas called the deals to pay 59 billion koruna ($3.1 billion) in financial compensation over the next 30 years "an act of justice."

The state, meanwhile, will gradually stop covering the churches' expenses over the next 17 years.

The payment is part of a religious restitution plan approved by Parliament. Under it, the churches, including Roman Catholic and Protestant ones, also will get back 56 percent of their former property now held by the state ? valued at 75 billion koruna ($3.9 billion).

The opposition has challenged the plan at the Constitution Court.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/czech-government-signs-church-compensation-deal-131815353.html

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The Sports Den's Daily NBA Picks - 2/21

The Sports Den had a decent night going 3-2 with it's picks. here are our picks for the two game on the NBA schedule tonight, and last nights results. Lines are from Sportsbook.

?????????????????????????? Thursday Feb. 21, 2013

???????????????? Game??????????????????????????????????? Pick

???? ?????Heat?@ Bulls????????????????????????????????Bulls????+3.5
????????? Spurs?@ Clippers???????????????????????? Spurs???+3.5

?????????????????????????? Wednesday Feb. 20 Results??

???????????????? Game?????????????????????????????????? Pick???????????????????????? W/L/T

?????????Grizzlies 90 - Raptors 82???????????????Grizzlies???+1??????????????? W
???????? Pistons 105 - Bobcats 99????????????? Pistons???? -3???????????????? W
???????? Lakers 113 - Celtics 99???????????????? Lakers?????-7?????????????????W
???????? Rockets? 124 - Thunder 119?????????Thunder???? -3.5????????????? L
???????? T'wolves 94 - 76ers 89????????????????? 76ers??????+3.5?????????????? L?

???????? Last Night: 3-2???

???????? Season: 238-236-12??

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSportsDenSportsBlogitsAllAboutSports/~3/yYx7UH42_sA/the-sports-dens-daily-nba-picks-221.html

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elements diet and fitness Silent Auction | Manassas Sports ...

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Source: http://manassas.patch.com/events/elements-diet-and-fitness-silent-auction

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University of Maryland president endorses gun legislation

University of Maryland, College Park president Wallace Loh has endorsed state legislative efforts to limit gun ownership, following an apparent murder-suicide this month involving students at the school.

Loh, in a column to be published in the campus newspaper, The Diamondback, on Thursday, wrote that making the campus and surrounding areas safer had long been a priority for him. Yet it was the recent shooting ? police say a graduate student living off-campus killed his roommate and wounded another roommate before killing himself ? that spurred Loh's public endorsement of Gov. Martin O'Malley's gun control legislative package.

"The shooting of our students so close to the campus was a tragedy," he wrote in the column. "Given the circumstances, it could have been a mass tragedy. We must address gun safety in our state."

Loh also said he wants to hire more campus police officers and expand their patrols.

Early in the morning Feb. 12, Dayvon Green, an engineering graduate student who graduated from Morgan State University, set fires around his off-campus house to lure his roommates outside, according to police. Once he had done so, he shot and killed Stephen Rane, 22, and wounded Neal Oa, 22, police said. Oa's family members have said he is recovering.

Police said Green was suffering from an unspecified mental illness, which Loh referred to in his column. The proposed legislation would limit the availability of guns to those suffering from serious mental health issues that may cause them to be a threat.

"I respect the constitutional right of gun ownership," Loh wrote. "Strengthening regulations will save lives and need not strangle this right. As part of our university's comprehensive approach to safety, I urge the General Assembly to enact the governor's gun safety legislation."

Loh also noted crime on campus has declined dramatically. Several recent armed robberies of students had stoked fears, however, before last week's shooting.

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Source: http://feeds.baltimoresun.com/~r/baltimoresun/news/rss2/~3/mSGFtjeZH7E/story01.htm

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Azerbaijani parliamentary panel discusses changes to religion law ...

The human rights commitee of Azerbaijan's parliament on Wednesday discussed addenda and amendments to the law on religious faith.

The new amendments concern religious literature, audio and video materials, and religious information.

According to the amendments, citizens and religious organizations can obtain and use religious materials that have control labels placed by executive authorities.

Religious organizations, non-religious physical and legal entities can produce, import and export these materials after getting permission from executive authorities and independently disseminate them after they are labeled with control labels.

The labeled religious materials can be sold only in special places established with the permission of executive authorities.

But the main problem is that such materials generally are spread by new communication technologies and via the Internet.

According to the law on religious faith adopted in 1992, everyone has the right to believe in any religion, to express and spread his or her opinion about religion. All religions and religious associations are equal in Azerbaijan.

However, it is forbidden by the law to propogate and spread religious ideas related to racial, ethnic, religious and social hostility that contradict the principles of humanism. The law also bans religious propaganda by foreigners in Azerbaijan.

Chair of the Azerbaijani parliament's Human Rights Commitee Rabiyyat Aslanova says that these issues are the subject of security of the state. According to her, it is important to have control over religious literature.

Aslanova earlier said that selling of Holy Quran in subway stations and streets is disrespect to religion. Selling of the Quran in such places is unacceptable. It is vital to control the selling of the Quran.

Chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations Elshad Iskandarov earlier said that registration of stores selling religious literature is underway. According to him, 25 stores have received permission for sale of religious literature so far.

One of the important issues is the conditions of sale in such stores. Stores selling religious literature must be clean and attractive. Another issue is the books which reflect reality and do not damage the interests of citizens and the state.

Tolerance in Azerbaijan

Religion is a sensitive issue; state control over religious literature, materials and bookstores is vital for the provision of state security and unity of the nation.

The establishment of dialogue between religions is important for any state. The provision of religious tolerance is a key issue in addressing moral problems in society.

Peaceful coexistence of a number of religious confessions in Azerbaijan is a unique example of tolerance in the world and is frequently applauded in the reports of influential organizations.

Source: http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/49720.html

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Spurs coach Andre Villas-Boas views Lyon tie as litmus test

The north London outfit are going strong guns in the Premier League and lie fourth, just a point behind third placed Chelsea.

But Lyon, who made the semi-finals of Europe's elite competition four years ago represents a stern test for Villas-Boas.

He is fully aware of the challenge that awaits believe him, and believes the result could have a say on whether Spurs are able to compete with the cream of Europe again.

He said: "I think we've been handed the most difficult draw of this knock-out phase.

"This is like a Champions League tie, Lyon represent a club with tremendous Champions League experience in recent years.

"It will be a good test for Tottenham. It's always going to be a learning experience for us and I think it can serve that purpose towards the future, that's for sure."

As far as team news goes, Younes Kaboul is still out but could be available for selection in two weeks' time.

Jermain Defoe is ruled out with an ankle injury and Tom Huddlestone has a minor knee injury.

Brad Friedel will start in goal, denying Hugo Lloris the chance to face his former employers.

Spurs qualified as runners-up from Group J.

Source: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/377728/Spurs-coach-Andre-Villas-Boas-views-Lyon-tie-as-litmus-test

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Woman Dies in Charles County House Fire | NBC4 Washington

Megan McGrath

A 66-year-old woman died in a house fire early Wednesday after family members were unable to reach her.

Five-Generation Family Loses Home to Fire

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A 66-year-old woman died in a house fire early Wednesday after family members were unable to reach her.

The fire broke out around 1 a.m. at 5315 Stuckey Road in Indian Head, Md.

Authorities say that despite family members' efforts, Geraldine R. Key couldn't escape from the fire in her bedroom. The rest of the family was forced to flee the house, which was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

They said it was a difficult fire to fight, News4's Megan McGrath reported. Since the home was located in a rural area, there were no fire hydrants, and firefighters had to bring in tanker trucks to fight the blaze.

One firefighter sustained a burn injury at the scene.

The home was destroyed. Five generations had been living together in the house, and four children and three adults were displaced, McGrath reported.

Key's daughter-in-law told McGrath that Key was a wonderful person.

"If you needed a place to stay, Geraldine Key would open her door," said a family friend.

Investigators believe the fire started when household items came in contact with a kerosene heater. Damage is estimated at $80,000.

Get the latest headlines sent to your inbox!

Source: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/One-Killed-in-Charles-County-House-Fire-190988431.html

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Fox hires Scott Brown as contributor

NEW YORK (AP) ? Fox News Channel is hiring former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown as a contributor, and the Republican is making his debut in prime time on Wednesday.

The network says Brown will offer commentary across several programs, starting with Sean Hannity on Wednesday. Brown lost his seat to Elizabeth Warren in November and declined to run in a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by now-Secretary of State John Kerry.

Brown says he's looking forward to challenging elected officials to put the country's needs ahead of their partisan interests.

Fox has been remaking its contributor lineup in recent months, cutting ties to Sarah Palin and Dick Morris while hiring Brown and Dennis Kucinich.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-13-TV-Fox-Brown/id-17c40cf3ea454e138a9628370c38c649

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U.S. withdrawing 34,000 troops from Afghanistan within a year

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that 34,000 troops - about half the U.S. force in Afghanistan - will withdraw by early 2014, bringing the United States one step closer to wrapping up the costly, unpopular war.

Obama announced the withdrawal in his annual State of the Union address, as he renewed his pledge to a war-weary American public that the 66,000 remaining U.S. troops in Afghanistan would move into a support role this spring.

"This drawdown will continue. And by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over," Obama said to applause.

The announcement was limited in detail and appeared to give the White House time and flexibility before it answers bigger questions about its exit strategy from America's longest war.

This includes the size of the U.S. force that Obama will keep in Afghanistan once the NATO mission is completed and the war is declared formally over at the end of 2014.

Obama also must decide how large an Afghan force to finance, and for how long, as his allies in Congress press to keep them at their maximum strength.

No decisions on broader issues have been made, a senior administration official said, and Obama said only that the future U.S. mission would be focused on training and equipping Afghan forces and combating al Qaeda.

"Beyond 2014, America's commitment to a unified and sovereign Afghanistan will endure, but the nature of our commitment will change," Obama said.

The announcement came a month after Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed in Washington on a plan to slightly speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan, with Afghan forces taking the lead role throughout the country this spring.

How the Afghan forces fare in this leading role has yet to be seen. Although U.S. military officials express confidence in growing Afghan capabilities, Afghan forces remain highly dependent on U.S. support.

The Taliban dismissed the announcement, re-iteratating their position that the war would only end once all foreign troops had left Afghanistan.

"As long as invading forces remain in the country, the jihad will continue," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote in a text message to reporters in the Afghan capital. "Decreasing or increasing the number of troops does not solve the problem."

FLEXIBILITY

Outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta welcomed the decision and said the plan to continue drawing down American forces in a phased approach over the coming year was recommended by the former commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen.

Allen's successor, General Joseph Dunford, "will have the combat power he needs," Panetta assured in a statement.

Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. commanders would have the flexibility to decide when to withdraw the 34,000 troops, as long as they were out by early next year, meaning the bulk of them could stay through this year's peak fighting months.

Jeffrey Dressler of the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think-tank, said such flexibility would allow the military to "focus on the fight at hand" during the summer and early fall.

Still, he described the removal 34,000 troops as a "tall task" that comes at a challenging time for Afghan forces.

"The real question now is what the post-2014 presence will be, which in my mind, is a far more important question," Dressler said.

Previous discussions at the White House focused on a range of options of between 3,000 and 9,000 troops, with military commanders most comfortable with the higher-end figures.

It was unclear when Obama might make a decision.

Bruce Riedel, who chaired Obama's 2009 review of Afghan policy and is now at the Brookings Institution think-tank in Washington, said a crucial factor will be the extent to which al Qaeda's core leadership in Pakistan continues to degrade.

A stronger al Qaeda in neighboring Pakistan means the United States would need a more robust counter-terrorism presence, for example, he said.

"The president is rightly not making that decision now when he doesn't have to," said Riedel, who heads the Intelligence Project at Brookings.

"He should wait and see how much success we have against (al Qaeda core)."

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in KABUL; Editing by Jackie Frank, Bill Trott, Cynthia Osterman and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-withdrawing-34-000-troops-afghanistan-within-031139496.html

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Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. Releases Production Results from ...

?Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:ASM,NYSE:ASM,FWB:GV6) reported January 2013 production results from its San Gonzalo mine operation in Mexico. There was a 10% increase in gold production over December and silver feed grades increased from 287 g/t in December to 315 g/t in January.

As quoted in the press release:

January Highlights

• The increase in silver and gold production resulted primarily from higher grades and improved recoveries.
• Silver and gold feed grades showed a steady increase and confirmed grades achieved in drilling.
• Recoveries for silver and gold showed a marked improvement due to ongoing upgrades to the mill and also the transition to more sulphides.
• Mill feed tonnage processed remained essentially the same from December due to a holiday closure and two days of shutdown for maintenance and service.
• January?s Average Daily Throughput of 228 tonnes decreased slightly from December but increased significantly from November?s rate of 218 tpd.
• Closing inventory of the San Gonzalo stockpile located near the crushing plant decreased to 16,730 tonnes from an opening inventory of 20,471 tonnes.
• During January the mine shipped and sold 194 tonnes of concentrate from December?s production.

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. President and CEO, David Wolfin said:

We are extremely pleased with the pattern of steady improvement in nearly all facets of our operation. Grades and recoveries are increasing with depth, as we have anticipated, and we expect this trend to continue as we leave the oxides and move into predominantly sulphide material.

Click here to read the Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:ASM,NYSE:ASM,FWB:GV6) press release

Click here to see the Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:ASM,NYSE:ASM,FWB:GV6) profile.

Source: http://goldinvestingnews.com/32115/avino-silver-gold-mines-ltd-releases-production-results-from-san-gonzalo.html

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Primping pooches: Do's and don'ts at Westminster

NEW YORK (AP) ? Scissors, blow dryers, bobby pins ? they're as much a part of the Westminster Dog show as commands, crates and treats.

Take Sophie, for example. With perfectly trimmed pompoms and fluffed out fur, she's the very essence of Poodle pulchritude.

What Westminster won't tolerate, though, are PEDs ? performance-enhanced dogs.

That means no tattooing a boxer's nose to make it more black, no braces for a pointer to straighten its teeth, no removing a basset hound's inner eyelid to improve its appearance.

"It goes against the spirit of showing dogs in their appropriate state," Westminster President Sean McCarthy said Monday, the opening of the two-day show.

Cosmetic surgery isn't permitted, either, along with steroids. Yet detecting illegal drugs is virtually impossible while a dog has its few minutes in the ring.

"Our judges are not all veterinarians," longtime Westminster television host and breeder David Frei said. "They can't tell if a dog is on greenies."

There were 2,721 entries this year, though some missed out after getting stranded by the recent blizzard that hit the Northeast. The 137th Westminster features dogs in 187 breeds and varieties with a pair of newcomers, the treeing Walker coonhound and the Russell terrier.

The herding, toy, nonsporting and hound group winners were to be chosen Monday night. The top working, sporting and terriers come Tuesday, and judge Michael Dougherty was set to pick the best in show shortly before 11 p.m. at Madison Square Garden on the USA Network.

A Doberman playfully called Fifi and big-winning wire fox terrier called Sky are among the favorites to walk off with the prized silver bowl. A highly ranked American foxhound named Kiarry's Pandora's Box was beaten out in early breed judging.

An affenpinscher called Banana Joe was picked Monday as the best of his breed for the third straight year. The three-peater known for his monkeylike face ranks among the nation's top show dogs.

Sophie the standard poodle did her best, yet didn't advance. She sure got a lot of attention backstage, with little girls petting her white coat and nuzzling her muzzle. When co-owner Jay Ponton of Norfolk, Va., moved close, Sophie chawed on his nose and licked his face.

There were pump and spritz sprays on the tables in the poodle grooming area, but none of the heavy-duty aerosol hairspray cans that are a no-no. It takes plenty of primping to get poodles ready to compete, though there are limits.

"If you're putting in teeth, that's a different beast. It's a different animal," said Roxanne Wolf of Baltimore. She's the fiancee of Sophie's handler, Kaz Hosaka, who guided a miniature poodle to the 2002 Westminster crown.

Some things are OK. Corn starch is often used to get water off a coat, and that helped Monday on a rainy as dogs piled into the exhibition space at the piers on the Hudson River for early judging.

Crufts, which expects to show 25,000 dogs next month in Birmingham, England, might change regulations that have been in place for nearly a century.

"The Kennel Club set up a working party to look at the rules surrounding the use of hairspray, chalk and other products at dog shows, and whilst this review goes on the strict prohibition of these substances remains in place, including for Crufts 2013," club secretary Caroline Kisko said.

"The Kennel Club regulations state that the use of products that could 'alter the natural color, texture or body of the coat' may not be used," she said.

___

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/primping-pooches-dos-donts-westminster-223449812--spt.html

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Comtech Telecommunications Corp. Receives $4.4 ... - VoIP Wire

MELVILLE, N.Y.?(BUSINESS WIRE)?February 12, 2013 ? Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq: CMTL)
announced today that its Santa Clara, California-based subsidiary,
Comtech Xicom Technology Inc., received a $ 4.4 million order from a
domestic integrator for Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers (?TWTAs?) for a
U.S. Government Satellite Communications application.

?Comtech Xicom Technology continues to
execute in the growing marketplace for Milcom high-power amplifiers. We
received the order because the Comtech Xicom products meet the stringent
technical and reliability requirements that are required for this
application, and we anticipate significant follow-on business for this
product area.?

Fred Kornberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Comtech
Telecommunications Corp., said, ?Comtech Xicom Technology continues to
execute in the growing marketplace for Milcom high-power amplifiers. We
received the order because the Comtech Xicom products meet the stringent
technical and reliability requirements that are required for this
application, and we anticipate significant follow-on business for this
product area.?

Comtech Xicom Technology, Inc., a world leader in high-power amplifiers,
manufactures a wide variety of tube-based and solid-state power
amplifiers for military and commercial satellite uplink applications.
The product range encompasses power levels from 8 W to 3 kW, with
frequency coverage in sub-bands within the 2 GHz to 45 GHz spectrum.
Amplifiers are available for fixed and ground-based, ship-board, and
airborne mobile applications. Please visit www.xicomtech.com
for more information.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. designs, develops, produces and markets
innovative products, systems and services for advanced communications
solutions. The Company believes many of its solutions play a vital role
in providing or enhancing communication capabilities when terrestrial
communications infrastructure is unavailable, inefficient or too
expensive. The Company conducts business through three complementary
segments: telecommunications transmission, RF microwave amplifiers and
mobile data communications. The Company sells products to a diverse
customer base in the global commercial and government communications
markets. The Company believes it is a market leader in the market
segments that it serves.

Certain information in this press release contains statements that are
forward-looking in nature and involve certain significant risks and
uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from such
forward-looking information. The Company?s Securities and Exchange
Commission filings identify many such risks and uncertainties. Any
forward-looking information in this press release is qualified in its
entirety by the risks and uncertainties described in such Securities and
Exchange Commission filings.

PCMTL

Source: http://www.voipwire.co.uk/comtech-telecommunications-corp-receives-4-4-million-traveling-wave-tube-amplifier-order-for-military-communications/

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Metro's electronics retailer to boost online business -report

BERLIN (Reuters) - German group Metro's Media-Saturn consumer electronics retailer aims to step up its online business to compete with the likes of Amazon.com Inc,, newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said.

Media-Saturn, operator of Europe's largest chain of consumer electronics stores, wants to more than double the share of total sales generated by the online business to 10 percent next year and double it again in the years to come, unit chief Horst Norberg said in an interview with the newspaper published on Sunday.

"We're stronger than Amazon," the newspaper quoted Norberg as saying.

The company also aims to add between 40 and 50 stores per year to its current global tally of 942, according to Norberg.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/metros-electronics-retailer-boost-online-business-report-131645246--finance.html

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Israel gives final approval for 90 new settler homes

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel gave final approval on Monday for 90 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, driving another wedge into a rift with Washington ahead of a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama.

The dwellings will be built in Beit El, a major Jewish settlement north of Jerusalem, and will house educational staff, the Defense Ministry said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged that 300 new homes will eventually be erected in Beit El, where 30 settler families were evicted last June after the Supreme Court ruled they were living illegally on private Palestinian land.

Israel has come under international criticism, including from its main ally the United States, over its construction policy in the West Bank, territory it captured in the 1967 war and which the Palestinians want for their future state.

Settlement expansion has been an irritant in a testy relationship between Netanyahu and Obama, who is due to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this spring.

Both Israel and the United States have played down speculation that the trip could result in the revival of U.S.-hosted peace talks with the Palestinians that collapsed over the settlement issue in 2010.

"The Palestinian position is clear. There can be no negotiation while settlement continues," Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in response to the new Beit El construction.

Most countries consider Israel's settlements illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and Biblical links to the land.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she had not seen the announcement but repeated the Obama administration's opposition to such settlement building.

"Our position on this has not changed. We don't think it's helpful," Nuland told reporters at her daily briefing.

There are now more than 325,000 settlers in the West Bank, with a further 200,000 living in East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel after 1967 in a move not recognized internationally.

It is claimed by the Palestinians as their capital city.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and by Arshad Mohammed in Washington; writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-gives-final-approval-90-settler-homes-215136128.html

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Obama to lay out economic growth plan in State of Union speech

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will describe his plan for spurring the economy in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, offering proposals for investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy and education, a senior administration official said on Saturday.

In the annual presidential address to Congress, Obama plans to show he has not lost sight of the economic woes of middle-class Americans - issues that dominated the 2012 election campaign but have been overshadowed recently by efforts to cut the deficit, overhaul immigration laws and curb gun violence.

"The potential success of his second term is hugely dependent on the rate at which the economy grows," said Ruy Teixeira, a political scientist with the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress.

"There's no problem the Democrats have that can't be solved with faster growth. Conversely, there's not much they'll be able to do if growth stays slow."

Obama previewed his economic growth plan in a speech to House of Representatives Democrats this week, telling them he would stress the importance of education, development of clean energy, and infrastructure.

There were no details on the new initiatives for infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy and education, elements first reported by the New York Times.

But any new spending will face tough opposition from Republicans in Congress who are focused on cutting spending and reducing the deficit.

Obama has urged Congress to take steps to postpone harsh government spending cuts slated to take effect on March 1, and the White House took pains on Friday to describe how the cuts would affect ordinary Americans' lives.

Obama has said he is willing to cut a "big deal" with Republicans to trim spending on the Medicare and Social Security programs for the elderly, but has insisted in ending long-standing tax breaks for oil companies, private equity firms and corporate jet owners to create more revenue for government.

(Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-lay-economic-growth-plan-state-union-speech-022047207.html

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Fugitive's rant puts focus on evolving LAPD legacy

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Fugitive former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner's claim in an online "manifesto" that his career was undone by racist colleagues conspiring against him comes at a time when it's widely held that the police department has evolved well beyond the troubled racial legacy of Rodney King and the O.J. Simpson trial.

Dorner, who is suspected in a string of vengeance killings, has depicted himself as a black man wronged, whose badge was unjustly taken in 2008 after he lodged a complaint against a white female supervisor.

"It is clear as day that the department retaliated toward me," Dorner said in online writings authorities have attributed to him. Racism and officer abuses, he argued, have not improved at LAPD since the King beating but have "gotten worse."

Dorner's problems at the LAPD, which ended with his dismissal, played out without public notice more than four years ago, as the department gradually emerged from federal oversight following a corruption scandal. At the time, the officer ranks were growing more diverse and then-Chief William Bratton was working hard to mend relations with long-skeptical minorities.

"This is no longer your father's LAPD," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declared in 2009, after the federal clampdown was ended.

Dorner's allegations led Police Chief Charlie Beck on Saturday to order a reexamination of the disciplinary case that led to the former officer's firing. Beck said he wanted to assure the city that the department "is transparent and fair in all the things we do."

"I am aware of the ghosts of the LAPD's past, and one of my biggest concerns is that they will be resurrected by Dorner's allegations of racism," Beck said in a statement.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice said the department should review the Dorner case and his claims, while stressing that she is not defending the suspect in any way and is shocked by the attacks.

She said the 10,000-member force headquartered in a glass-walled high-rise in downtown Los Angeles has entered a new era.

"The open racism of the days before is gone," said Rice, who closely tracks racial issues inside the department and has faced off against the LAPD in court. "The overall culture has improved enormously."

Police say Dorner shot and killed a couple in a parking garage last weekend in Irvine, the beginning of a rampage he said was retribution for his mistreatment at LAPD. A search for him continued Saturday, centered on the mountain town of Big Bear Lake, where his burned-out pickup truck was found Thursday.

The woman who died was the daughter of a retired police captain who had represented Dorner in the disciplinary proceedings that led to his dismissal. Hours after authorities identified Dorner as a suspect in the double murder, police believe he shot and grazed an LAPD officer and later used a rifle to ambush two Riverside police officers, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

"This is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD," Dorner wrote in a 14-page online manifesto.

On Friday, a community of online sympathizers formed, echoing complaints against police that linger in some communities. One Facebook page supporting Dorner, which had over 2,300 fans by Friday evening, said "this is not a page about supporting the killing of innocent people. It's supporting fighting back against corrupt cops and bringing to light what they do."

The LAPD was once synonymous with violent and bigoted officers, whose culture and brand of street justice was depicted by Hollywood in films like "L.A. Confidential" and "Training Day."

In 1965, 34 people died when the Watts riots, triggered by a traffic stop of a black man by a white California Highway Patrol officer, exposed deep fractures between blacks and an overwhelmingly white law enforcement community.

In the 1980s, gang sweeps took thousands of youths into custody. The O.J. Simpson trial deepened skepticism of a department already tarnished by the videotaped beating of King, the black motorist who was hit with batons, kicked repeatedly and jolted with stun guns by officers who chased him for speeding. Rioting after a jury with no black members acquitted three of the LAPD officers on state charges and a mistrial was declared for a fourth lasted three days, killing 55 people.

In the Rampart scandal of the late 1990s, scores of criminal convictions were thrown out after members of an anti-gang unit were accused of beating and framing residents in a poor, largely minority neighborhood. A handful of officers were convicted of various crimes and the scandal led to federal oversight that lasted eight years.

Much has changed: Whites now make up roughly a third of the department and, while under federal authority, LAPD moved to require anti-gang and narcotics officers to disclose their finances and worked on new tools to track officer conduct.

When Bratton announced in 2009 he was stepping down, he said he hoped his legacy would be improved race relations. "I believe we have turned a corner in that issue," he said.

Dorner's own case in some ways reflects the diversity of the LAPD: the superior he accused of abuse was a woman and the man who represented him at his disciplinary hearing was the first Chinese-American captain in department history.

When Dorner, a Naval reservist, returned to LAPD after deployment to the Middle East in 2007, a training officer became alarmed by his conduct, which included weeping in a police car and threatening to file a lawsuit against the department, records show.

Six days after being notified in August 2007 that he could be removed from the field, Dorner accused the training officer, Sgt. Teresa Evans, of kicking a severely mentally ill man in the chest and left cheek while handcuffing him during an arrest.

However, his report to internal affairs came two weeks after the arrest, police and court records allege. Civilian and police witnesses said they didn't see Evans kick the man, who had a quarter-inch scratch on his cheek consistent with his fall into a bush. A police review board ruled against Dorner, leading to his dismissal.

Online, Dorner tells a different story. He argues he was "terminated for doing the right thing."

"I had broken their supposed 'Blue Line.'. Unfortunately, It's not JUST US, it's JUSTICE!!!" he wrote. Dorner said in the posting that his account was supported by the alleged victim. He also claims the board that heard his case had conflicts because of ties to Evans, the training officer.

Rice was quick to point out that while the LAPD culture has improved, there are still what she calls pockets of bad behavior.

That was echoed by Hector Villagra, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

"There has definitely been improvement from those dark days," Villagra said. "We are in a vastly different place, but there still are opportunities for improvement in this and any other police department."

___

Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fugitives-rant-puts-focus-evolving-lapd-legacy-190148754.html

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