Good Reads: From a bold vision for China to cyberwarfare to Norwegian fishing

This week's round-up of Good Reads includes China's desire to become the world's main superpower, Edward Snowden's confessional video, the ease of making cyberweapons, eradicating global poverty, and the demise of Norwegian fishermen.

By Allison Terry,?Correspondent / June 26, 2013

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits with President Obama in California.

Evan Vucci/AP

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China's Worldview

China?s new president, Xi Jinping, has a bold vision for his country, inspired by its ancient prestige. In Time magazine, Hannah Beech describes how Mr. Xi intends for China to match US military capabilities, becoming the strongest country economically, politically, and culturally.

Skip to next paragraph Allison Terry

Correspondent

Allison Terry works on the national news desk for the Christian Science Monitor. She also contributes to the culture section and Global News blog.

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This ?China Dream,? depending on how Xi shapes his tenure as president, could lead to shifts in international dynamics. ?How China sees the world matters because Chinese aspirations, tastes and fears will shape the lives of billions of people across the globe. Indeed ... China ? and its worldview ? may once again dictate the narrative of our age,? Ms. Beech writes.

But despite its desire to become the world?s main superpower, China must deal with internal issues first, Beech writes. Chief among these is stanching the exodus of the country?s elite ? 150,000 Chinese received permanent residency abroad in 2011. ?When a nation?s elite is ready to bolt at a moment?s notice, it says much about the regime?s lack of legitimacy and its staying power,? David Shambaugh, a China scholar, told Beech.

Hero or traitor?

In a carefully executed leak, former National Security Administration contractor Edward Snowden unveiled documents showing how US government programs mine communication data including people?s e-mails, Facebook posts, and even Skype chats. Digital surveillance is not new, especially during this era of heightened national security awareness. Gathering electronic information is legal under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but Mr. Snowden said the government is redefining what is constitutional, creating ?architecture of oppression.?

In an identity-revealing video interview with Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian, Mr. Snowden explained why people should be worried about the government?s actions.?

?Even if you are not doing anything wrong, you are being watched and recorded. And the storage capabilities of these systems increases every year, consistently by orders of magnitude,? Snowden said, adding that just a wrong call could raise suspicion. ?Then they can use the system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you?ve ever made, every friend you?ve ever discussed something with, and attack you on that basis to sort of derive suspicion from an innocent life and paint anyone in the context of a wrongdoer.?

The fallout of his actions is not yet known as the United States arranges to press charges against the whistle-blower. Whether he is a hero or a traitor depends on how one weighs the balance between civil liberties and national security.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/LvyQAB0oOes/Good-Reads-From-a-bold-vision-for-China-to-cyberwarfare-to-Norwegian-fishing

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Scientists produce Star Trek-like deflector device for cancer-free ...

Scientists at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK are working on a Star Trek-like deflector shield to enable the transport of humans between planets and stars without subjecting them to lethal doses of cosmic radiation.?This research comes at a vital time, as numerous groups, including NASA, look to send humans to Mars ? but without adequate shielding from the Sun?s harsh cosmic rays, it could be a one-way trip full of vomiting, diarrhea, and more serious symptoms of radiation poisoning, such as death.

Other than time and money, one of the biggest barriers to sending humans to other planets is Solar radiation (from flares and coronal ejections) and galactic cosmic rays. The exact origin of GCRs is unknown, but it?s theorized that they originate in supernovae and the dense nuclei of other galaxies. In any case, both forms of radiation consist of high-energy protons that bombard every square inch of the Solar System, including Earth. Being hit by a high-energy proton is bad news, and if you get hit by enough you will develop radiation sickness, your tissues will degenerate, and you might develop cancer.

Fortunately, here on Earth you?re protected from Solar radiation and GCRs by a number of awesome effects. The Earth?s atmosphere absorbs most Solar radiation. The Earth?s magnetic field deflects all but the most powerful GCRs. There?s also an interplanetary magnetic field, produced by the Sun, which deflects GCRs at the edge of the Solar System (the heliopause; the region of space that Voyager-1 recently traversed). As a result, we receive very little radiation from space here on Earth ? about 0.4 milli-Sieverts (mSv) per year. Astronauts aboard the Apollo missions, though, which traveled far away from Earth?s atmosphere and magnetic field, received on the order of 1.2 mSv per day, or 1100 times more radiation than those of us down on Earth.

XKCD?s radiation dose chart. Click to zoom in.

As we know from XKCD?s amazing Radiation Dose Chart (pictured above), we know that a dosage of around 100 mSv in a single year increases your chance of developing cancer. It?s estimated that a trip to Mars could expose the astronauts to as much as 1,000 mSv (1Sv) or more. Solar radiation and GCRs are unlikely to cause acute radiation poisoning ? you need a bigger dose in a shorter period ? but unless you want everyone to develop cancer, or spend the entire trip vomiting and ejecting liquid poop, spacecraft will need adequate radiation shielding.

Which leads us neatly onto the?Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK, which has devised a ?mini magnetosphere? that essentially recreates the protection provided by the Earth?s magnetic field. The scientists have so far used the magnetosphere to protect a scale spacecraft from radiation (pictured right, in a plasma stream), and they?re now working on a concept spacecraft,?called Discovery, with a full-scale magnetosphere that could theoretically take humans to Mars.

The advantage of the magnetosphere method is that it?s significantly lighter than conventional radiation shielding, which usually consists of thick metal plates. Other viable methods have popped up in recent months, though. Most notably, Inspiration Mars, which will send two humans to Mars in 2018, will employ a radiation shield fashioned out of food, water, and poop stored against the hull of the spacecraft.

Now read:?NASA working on faster-than-light space travel, says warp drives are ?plausible?

Source: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/159971-scientists-produce-star-trek-like-deflector-device-for-cancer-free-interplanetary-travel

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Defense Of Marriage Act: Supreme Court Crowd Erupts In Cheers Over Ruling

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Married couple Michael Knaapen (L) amd John Becker (2nd L) react after hearing the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court, June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court ruled to strike down DOMA and determined the California's proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was not properly before them, declining to overturn the lower court's striking down of the law. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Married couple Michael Knaapen (L) amd John Becker (2nd L) kiss after hearing the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court, June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court ruled to strike down DOMA and determined the California's proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was not properly before them, declining to overturn the lower court's striking down of the law. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Michael Knaapen, left, and his husband John Becker, right, embrace outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after the court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California by holding that defenders of California's gay marriage ban did not have the right to appeal lower court rulings striking down the ban. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 26: Richelle Spanover (2nd R) wipes her eye after after the Supreme Court ruled key portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, at the Stonewall Inn on June 26, 2013 in the West Village neighborhood of New York City. The Stonewall Inn became historically important in the Lesbian-Gay-Bigender-Transgender community after playing a key role during the Gay-rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The high court ruled to strike down DOMA and determined the California's proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was not properly before them, declining to overturn the lower court's striking down of the law. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 26: Virginia Sin (L) and Gretchen Menter smile after the Supreme Court ruled key portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, at the Stonewall Inn on June 26, 2013 in the West Village neighborhood of New York City. The Stonewall Inn became historically important in the Lesbian-Gay-Bigender-Transgender community after playing a key role during the Gay-rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The high court ruled to strike down DOMA and determined the California's proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was not properly before them, declining to overturn the lower court's striking down of the law. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Edith Windsor, center, accompanied by her attorney Robert Kaplan, right, is greeted by Orie Urami, left, as she arrives at the LGBT Center for a news conference, in New York, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. In a major victory for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

David Boies, an attorney arguing in support of gay marriage, speaks to the media after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and declined to rule on the California law Proposition 8 in Washington, D.C., U.S. on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. A divided U.S. Supreme Court gave a landmark victory to the gay-rights movement, striking down a federal law that denies benefits to same-sex married couples and clearing the way for weddings to resume in California. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Chris Roe (L) and Roby Chavez (R) celebrate while holding their soon-to-be adopted children as the US Supreme Court ruling is announced on June 26, 2013. The US Supreme Court struck down The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) today, and declared that same-sex couples who are legally married deserve equal rights to the benefits under federal law that go to all other married couples. In another ruling, the Supreme Court cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California as the justices, in a prcedural ruling, turned away the defenders of Proposition 8. AFP PHOTO/Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

Edith Windsor arrives at the LGBT Center for a news conference, in New York, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. In a major victory for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Edith Windsor reacts during a news conference at the LGBT Center, in New York, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. In a major victory for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Kris Perry, second from right, kisses her partner Sandy Stier outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after the court cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in their home state of California. From left are, plaintiffs Jeff Zarrillo, and his partner Paul Katami, attorney David Boies, plaintiffs Sandy Stier and Kris Perry, and attorney Ted Boutrous. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

John Lewis, left, and Stuart Gaffney embrace outside San Francisco's City Hall shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. The other was a technical legal ruling that said nothing at all about same-sex marriage, but left in place a trial court's declaration that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Sandy Stier, center, and her partner Kris Perry, right, plaintiffs in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the California Proposition 8 case, meets with reporters outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after the court's 5-4 decision that cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in their home state of California. Gesturing at far left is fellow plaintiff Jeff Zarrillo. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: American University students Sharon Burk (L) and Mollie Wagoner (R) embrace after hearing that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court, June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court ruled to strike down DOMA and determined the California's proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was not properly before them, declining to overturn the lower court's striking down of the law. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

John Lewis, left, and his partner Stuart Gaffney embrace as they react next to Andrea Shorter after the Supreme Court decision at the office of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee at City Hall in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a U.S. law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in the state of California. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. The other was a technical legal ruling that said nothing at all about same-sex marriage, but left in place a trial court's declaration that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 26: Same-sex couple Jewelle Gomez (R) and Diane Sabin react upon hearing the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings on gay marriage in City Hall June 26, 2013 in San Francisco, California. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Gay rights activist Bryce Romero, who works for the Human Rights Campaign, offers an enthusiastic high-five to visitors getting in line to enter the Supreme Court on a day when justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country, in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Gay rights activist Bryce Romero, who works for the Human Rights Campaign, offers an enthusiastic high-five to visitors getting in line to enter the Supreme Court on a day when justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country, in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Attorney David Boise (C) speaks while flanked by plantiff couples Paul Katami, (L), Jeff Zarillo (2nd L), Sandy Steier (2nd R) and Kris Perry (R) after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court, June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court ruled to strike down DOMA and determined the California's proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was not properly before them, declining to overturn the lower court's striking down of the law. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Plaintiffs in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the California Proposition 8 case, react on steps of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after justices cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California. From left are, Jeff Zarrillo, and his partner Paul Katami, attorney David Boies, and Sandy Stier and her partner Kris Perry. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Michael Knaapen (L) and his husband John Becker react outside the US Supreme Court in Washington DC on June 26, 2013. The US Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a controversial federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, in a major victory for supporters of same-sex marriage.The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) had denied married gay and lesbian couples in the United States the same rights and benefits that straight couples have long taken for granted. AFP PHOTO / MLADEN ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Chase Hardin hugs friend Kai Neander on the steps of the Supreme Court after favorable rulings were issued in same sex marriage cases June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court ruled to strike down DOMA and determined the California's proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was not properly before them, declining to overturn the lower court's striking down of the law. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Gay rights supporter Jay Norris, of New York City, holds a U.S. flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court building on June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court is expected to rule on the DOMA and Prop 8 gay marriage cases. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Martha Acevedo, 25, celebrates the Supreme Court ruling after a watch party at Equality California, a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California, on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Ellen Pontac, left, and her wife Shelly Bailes, celebrate in Sacramento, Calif., after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage in California, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The 5-4 decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples, like Pontac and Bailes, from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) will now have the same (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Attendees at a watch party in Miami celebrate after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage in California Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. The other was a technical legal ruling that said nothing at all about same-sex marriage, but left in place a trial court's declaration that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Julia Tate, left, kisses her wife, Lisa McMillin, as they read results of Supreme Court decisions regarding gay rights on Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. The other was a technical legal ruling that said nothing at all about same-sex marriage, but left in place a trial court's declaration that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. McMillin holds the couple's son, Luke. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Juan Talavera, right, kisses his partner Jeff Ronci after the announcement of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling at a watch party in Miami, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. The other was a technical legal ruling that said nothing at all about same-sex marriage, but left in place a trial court's declaration that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Renata Moreira, right, and partner Lori Bilella cheer after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage in California, at San Francisco's City Hall on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. The other was a technical legal ruling that said nothing at all about same-sex marriage, but left in place a trial court's declaration that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. The couple plans to marry. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Erica Ikeda (C), 26, and Jessica Parral (R), 24, react to the Supreme Court ruling at a watch party at Equality California, a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California, on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Brandon Benoit (C) hugs Martha Acevedo (L), 25, and Briana Castaneda, 23, as they celebrate the Supreme Court ruling at a watch party at Equality California, a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California, on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: People celebrate in the street after the Supreme Court ruling at a watch party at Equality California, a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California, on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 26: Supporters of same-sex marriage cheer as they learn results of the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings on gay marriage in City Hall June 26, 2013 in San Francisco, United States. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 26: Same-sex couple Sue Rochman (L) and Robin Romdalvik celebrate upon hearing the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings on gay marriage in City Hall June 26, 2013 in San Francisco, United States. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Gay rights activists reacts outside the US Supreme Court building in Washington DC on June 26, 2013, after the court ruling on California's Proposition 8, the controversial ballot initiative that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. AFP PHOTO / MLADEN ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images)

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Erica Ikeda (C), 26, and her friends react to the Supreme Court ruling at a watch party at Equality California, a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California, on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

John Lewis, left, gets a kiss from his partner Stuart Gaffney as they embrace after the Supreme Court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California at the office of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee at City Hall in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. The other was a technical legal ruling that said nothing at all about same-sex marriage, but left in place a trial court's declaration that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Plaintiff couple Sandy Stier (C) and Kris Perry (L) arrive for their Proposition 8 case before the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court is expected to rule on the DOMA and Prop 8 gay marriage cases. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Gay rights supporters Brian Sprague (L) and Charlie Ferrusi, from Albany, New York, hold a Human Rights flag outside U.S. Supreme Court building on June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court is expected to rule on the DOMA and Prop 8 gay marriage cases. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Gay rights supporter Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court building on June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court is expected to rule on the DOMA and Prop 8 gay marriage cases. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Gay rights activists gather outside the US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC on June 26, 2013. The US Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a controversial federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, in a major victory for supporters of same-sex marriage.The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) had denied married gay and lesbian couples in the United States the same rights and benefits that straight couples have long taken for granted. AFP PHOTO / MLADEN ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images)

American University students Sharon Burk, left, and Molly Wagner, embrace outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after the court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California by holding that defenders of California's gay marriage ban did not have the right to appeal lower court rulings striking down the ban. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Arriving at the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, on a final day for decisions in two gay marriage cases are plaintiffs in the California Proposition 8 case, from left, Paul Katami, his partner Jeff Zarrillo, and Sandy Stier and her partner Kris Perry. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Michael Knaapen, left, and his husband John Becker, right, embrace outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013 after the court struck down a federal provision denying benefits to legally married gay couples. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

American University students Sharon Burk, left, and Molly Wagner participate in a rally for rights for gay couples in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after the court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California by holding that defenders of California's gay marriage ban did not have the right to appeal lower court rulings striking down the ban. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Supporters of gay marriage embrace outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after the court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California by holding that defenders of California's gay marriage ban did not have the right to appeal lower court rulings striking down the ban. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) spotted in the crowd during the SCOTUS decisions on June 26

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/defense-of-marriage-act-supreme-court_n_3454846.html

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What Happens When You Buy Assets Down 80%? ? Mebane Faber ...

We?ve done a lot of articles on value and drawdowns on the blog before (search the archives). ?I was curious what happens when you bought the US equity sectors back when they were really hammered (French Fama to 1920s). ?

Average 3 year nominal returns when buying a sector down since 1920s:

60% = 57%

70% = 87%

80% = 172%

90% = 240%

?

Average 3 year nominal returns when buying an industry down?since 1920s:

60% = 71%

70% = 96%

80% = 136%

90% = 115%

?

Average 3 year nominal returns when buying a country?down?since 1970s:

60% = 107%

70% = 116%

80% = 118%

90% = 156%

?

It?s hard to buy something down 80%, especially if you owned it when it was down 30, 50, then 80%. ?But usually that is a great time to be wading in?Some recent examples of assets that have gotten clobbered include tech in 2002, homebuilders in 2009, and Greece and (Junior) Gold Miners now. ?

Source: http://www.mebanefaber.com/2013/06/25/what-happens-when-you-buy-assets-down-80/

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Black Bear Roams In D.C., Days After Red Panda's Jaunt

First there was Rusty, the red panda. Now there are reports that a bear was captured after roaming around in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, prompting (mostly unserious) concerns of a possible siege on the nation's capital.

The bear is described as being about a year old, weighing nearly 100 pounds. It was spotted by a resident Wednesday morning, who called the city's help hotline. Here's how that went, according to local news radio WTOP:

"'It was like, alright, this is Marlon Perkins, yes it is, right here, D.C.," she says.

"She says when she called 311, the city's information center, the response on the other end was ""What?! A bear?"

"'I said, 'Yes, B-E-A-R. A bear!'"

The news also provoked a response from the National Zoo, which had alerted D.C. residents earlier this week that Rusty, a red panda, had escaped. The zoo used its Twitter feed to keep people up to date on the panda-hunt, as the animal was eventually captured and returned to the facility.

The black bear was in the Spring Valley neighborhood near American University, about 3.5 miles northwest of the Adams Morgan neighborhood where Rusty was captured Monday.

And today, the zoo took the opportunity to emphasize that this bear isn't their bear ? and to disabuse any notions that this black bear might possibly hang out with Rusty someday.

"The black bear sighted in NW DC is not our bear, nor will it be coming to the Zoo," the National Zoo tweeted.

After a block-by-block search, the bear was located in a stand of bamboo. After being tranquilized, it was wrapped in a tarp and carried to a Washington Humane Society van. According to WTOP, it was released "into the wilderness in Maryland" this afternoon.

"It's not common, but it's not unexpected," the Washington Humane Society's Scott Giacoppo tells WTOP. "We are in a wooded area, near Rock Creek Park, that's a thoroughfare for a lot of different wild animals. And, this time of year, they're looking to find their own territory and resources to survive."

"Bear sightings have been reported all over our viewing area recently," reports WUSA TV News. "The Glen Echo Heights Citizens Association said in an email on Tuesday night that a woman spotted a bear on her back deck."

In case you're wondering if everyone is conflating bears with red pandas, we should note that the classification of the red panda is a "known issue" among people who study such things. From National Geographic:

"The red panda has given scientists taxonomic fits. It has been classified as a relative of the giant panda, and also of the raccoon, with which it shares a ringed tail. Currently, red pandas are considered members of their own unique family?the Ailuridae."

We can only presume red pandas would prefer that name to their other, more pejorative, title: "lesser pandas."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/26/195933759/black-bear-roams-in-d-c-days-after-red-pandas-jaunt?ft=1&f=1007

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Military announces same-sex spousal benefits after Supreme Court decision

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Ingvar Kamprad, founder of furniture company IKEA, announced on Wednesday he plans to return home to Sweden 40 years after leaving the country to escape its high taxes. Kamprad, 87, said he would return from Switzerland before year-end and settle down on a farm outside of Almhult, a southern Swedish town where he founded IKEA 70 years ago and put Swedish "flat-pack" furniture on the global map. "Moving back to Sweden gets me closer to my family and my old friends," Kamprad said in a statement. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/military-announces-same-sex-partner-benefits-following-supreme-222026405.html

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Will the GOP Embrace Marriage Equality?

Bobby Jindal has criticized the GOP and told it to stand strong. Which way will the party go?

Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters

It was a busy week in existential threats to the Republican Party.?Two issues that various Republicans have said require the party to evolve or die have been thrust into the national spotlight:?Immigration reform is on its way to passing the Senate, and the Supreme Court offered two major victories for the supporters of marriage equality.?

With comprehensive immigration reform, the more progress it makes, the louder the voices of opposition. But in the wake of the Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriage, the reaction was markedly different, suggesting that the forces of progress have momentum on their side.?

Both issues test whether the Republican Party will regain its national stature through forward-looking appeals to a changing electorate or whether it will do so through standing fast to principle and letting that new electorate be drawn to the Republican Party. This debate pits social?conservatives against the libertarian populists and generation against generation. It?s been going on since Mitt Romney lost, long enough for there to be a debate about whether the debate is even necessary?long enough, in fact, for some to take both sides of that debate. In January, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal?knocked the GOP as ?the stupid party??for the way some of its members spoke in public, but is now?telling the GOP to stop the "bedwetting" about the way it is perceived. If you like unscripted politics, this has been an exciting week: As these wedge issues have become national news, the leaderless party has been fighting about core principles with a passion that no one can control.

Those who have argued that the GOP must embrace marriage equality hoped that the court's decision would quiet debate. Large majorities of younger voters support same-sex marriage (81 percent in an ABC poll), which means it's a key to reaching a younger demographic and also probably irreversible. "There are a lot of Republicans who believe that it's time to move on from this," says veteran Iowa GOP strategist Dave Kochel who ran Romney's campaign there. "Same-sex marriage is legal in Iowa and has been for four years. And regardless of need for some Iowa activists to continue to raise money and apply litmus tests on candidates, it's time to move on and allow the GOP to be open and hospitable to people who may disagree with our platform. I don't think anyone will be successful in rolling back the clock."?

"Jesus wept," is how Mike Huckabee characterized his reaction to the Supreme Court rulings in a?fundraising?letter.?For those who view the decisions as a blow to traditional marriage, the battle now turns to the states. Presidential hopefuls courting social conservatives will need to campaign in those local battles. "Twenty years ago Republican establishment figures were saying abortion was a losing issue," says one conservative strategist. "Earlier this year, Time magazine's cover said that the battle is over and the pro-life side has won. More than 30 states have voted to protect marriage. It's not the end, it's just the?beginning." Once and future presidential candidate Rick Santorum made the abortion link immediately in his response to the ruling "The DOMA decision is another case of the high court overstepping its role, just as it did with Roe v. Wade.??

The abortion analogy is flawed though, say Republicans in support of marriage equality. "This is not abortion," says a GOP veteran strategist. "You cannot convince this nation's young people that two same-sex?people, in love, just like them, are not entitled access to the same institution as they are because they are straight. It doesn't hold water.?Same-sex marriage?is about freedom, fairness, equality?"the right to life,?liberty?and the?pursuit of happiness" if you will. With abortion, you can in fact change minds because you have new technology, sonogram images and a better chance for survival later in the term."

The Republican Party is already a long way from 2004, when George Bush sought to help his re-election by proposing a constitutional amendment blocking same-sex marriage. No party leaders are calling for that now, and most of the initial responses were muted. Lawmakers talked about disappointment in the ruling, but not in the emphatic tones that might inspire social conservatives. Judging by their public comments, they were much more focused on President Obama's climate-change proposals and his "war on coal." The clear message from the tepid reaction to the Supreme Court rulings is that on this question about the party's future, the momentum in the Republican Party is toward changing with the times.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/06/supreme_court_and_gay_marriage_will_the_gop_finally_embrace_marriage_equality.html

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Obama lands in an Africa more skeptical of his presidency

White House predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton left a mark on Africa. Obama in his first term did not. Will his second term bring a different story?

By Mike Pflanz,?Correspondent / June 26, 2013

President Obama arrives with his family at the airport in Dakar, June 26. Obama and his wife Michelle will visit Senegal until the 28th before travelling to South Africa and Tanzania.

Joe Penney/Reuters

Enlarge

Barack Obama landed tonight in Senegal on the first leg of a three-nation Africa tour made both emotional and symbolic by the ailing health of Nelson Mandela, Africa's paramount moral leader for much of the 20th century, who is described as in critical condition at a hospital in Pretoria.?

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The White House is scheduled to visit South Africa Friday, after a visit in Dakar that will include a meeting with Macky Sall, the Senegalese president -- and the trip will then include a brief and private Obama family visit to Slave House, the oceanside portal from which captured Africans were onloaded to ships run by slave traders.?

Next week the White House entourage will visit Tanzania.?

Yet for now the Mandela-Obama dynamic is capturing the most attention: Whether the first black American president can or will possibly meet with the first black and democratically elected president of formerly white-ruled South Africa is highly unclear, and Obama's aides suggest their plans are forming day-by-day.?

The South African leg is resonant with some historical echoes. As we reported yesterday:?

In June 1966, at the University of Cape Town in apartheid?South Africa,?Bobby Kennedy?gave a speech that eulogized the power of the individual to overcome even the most powerful tyranny.

?Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice,? Senator Kennedy told the students, ?he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and ? those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

On Sunday, Obama, a man who has made "hope" his watchword, and whose father was?Kenyan, will give a speech at?the same South African university.?

The speech is eagerly awaited. When Mr. Obama won the 2008 election, Africans erupted into near-unanimous joy that an American of African heritage would for the first time be president of the?United States. Perhaps, many hoped, he would help build "ripples" into "currents" to tackle Africa's entrenched challenges.

?Guys went nuts,? says Octopizzo, a rising hip-hop artist from the slums of Kenya?s capital Nairobi. ?He was seen as a real hero for Africa, because he changed the way people looked at themselves. People used to set themselves standards, goals, and try to pass them. Obama made us build higher standards and set higher goals, and inspired us to reach them.?

But now, five years later, there is disappointment at a lack of substantive new continent-wide assistance programs from the man some in Africa once called a messiah.

Obama?s predecessor, George W. Bush, launched the multi-billion-dollar President?s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, credited with averting 1.1 million deaths from AIDS in Africa. Obama effectively cut its funding in 2009.

President Bill Clinton was hugely popular among ordinary Africans. He was more so with the African business community for initiating the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which cut or scrapped duty for goods from the continent exported to the US.

So far, however, there have been no such major initiatives from Obama, the son of a Kenyan economist who grew up a poor goatherd. In the meantime, China, Turkey, Brazil, and other emerging nations are sweeping across Africa, gaining influence and lucrative contracts.

?In some parts of the continent, his gloss has not come off, but in many places, it has,? says Steven Friedman, a South African academic specializing in democracy studies.

?There?s no great mystery to it ? he is the first African-American president, whose father was a Kenyan, and perhaps that raised expectations. In fact, it likely made him more reluctant than his predecessors to be some great savior for Africa.

?He?s had major problems at home, but he?s also had to go out of his way to demonstrate that he?s the American president, not the African president, and as a result he?s not done terribly much here.?

Obama has barely visited, in fact, spending only 22 hours in sub-Saharan Africa during a fly-by through Ghana in 2009.

Tomorrow's trip that will include Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania, may either be his only major visit here as president, or the start of a more regular second-term involvement.?

White House officials argue that there have been major engagements with the continent since 2008.

Obama has held meetings with African leaders focused on food security and nutrition. America?s military has been involved in conflicts in Somalia, Mali, Libya, the Central African Republic, and?Uganda. The US remains the world?s largest contributor of humanitarian aid to Africa.

Nonetheless, Obama?s team is acutely conscious of the anticipation ahead of the tour.

?Frankly, there?s been great disappointment that the president hasn?t traveled to Africa until this point, other than a brief stop in Ghana,? Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, told reporters in a recent White House briefing. ?Africa is a critically important region of the world. We have huge interests there. We need to be present in Africa."

The stated aims of the visit, to Africa?s west, its south, and its east, are to boost US trade and investment, encourage democracy, advance food security and health, and inspire young people.

For Charles Dokubo, research professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos, what is expected from Obama?s visit are ?actions, not promises.?

"If he wants to make any difference in Africa, truly we want to see actions that that improve the social provisioning for Africa?s people, not promises," Mr. Dokubo says. "Until Obama brings about something that makes that happen, he is like any other president.?

That misses the point of Obama?s power in Africa, says Rosebell Kagumire, a respected Ugandan rights activist and blogger.

?Obama will always be a role model, especially for our young people who very much look up to him in a place where we?re very short of good role models,? she says. ?He understands the continent and has more links to here than any other US president before him, and his approach is very different from that of a traditional donor who comes with promises to fix everything for us."

Ms. Kagumire continues: ?Obama is almost hands-off, which has been criticized as doing nothing. But in fact it allows us the space to search for our own solutions. He?ll support Africa then, when it?s necessary and when it?s still in US interests. But he?s right that it?s up to Africans, not outsiders, to fix our problems.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/jSy84FdYcq0/Obama-lands-in-an-Africa-more-skeptical-of-his-presidency

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LG Optimus G2 appears in leaked slides

A Wild LG Optimus G2 appears; uses dual-buttons. It's super-effective!

If you weren't pretty sure we are about to see the LG Optimus G2 in New York on August 7, you haven't been paying close attention. That's OK, rumors fly around and they can be hard to keep track of, but usually pictures make it easier. Thanks to habitual leaker @evleaks, we now have a few.

Nothing that confirms or denies the expected specs of a Snapdragon S800 processor and 1080p HD display, but LG and Qualcomm pretty much let that out of the bag a week or so ago.

What is interesting is that the mystery buttons on the back of the device are shown in these pictures, along with a slide that leads us to believe they will be tied to the volume setting. We'll likely know all there is to know in a little over a week, but for now we can look at the images and speculate. Hit the break to see the rest.

Source: @evleaks

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/dhHeyqbOXeE/story01.htm

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PSA: You can now use your Amazon account to log into Lovefilm

You might be able to knock one password off your list, as you now have the option to log in to your Lovefilm account using Amazon credentials. The changeover is part of the online retail giant's recently announced Login With Amazon initiative, intended to let you use a universal ID for its other websites or those of third party developers. To switch, you'll need to follow the link at the source and enter both your Lovefilm and Amazon details, and may need to re-enter payment info as well. The company promised that your private data will remain "completely safe," and said that any rental lists, bookmarks, viewing history and watchlists will stay put. On the off-chance you're on Lovefilm but don't have an Amazon account, the company wouldn't be adverse to your creating one at the same time, in case you fancy physical disc media to go along with the streaming variety. That's not the only change Lovefilm users may notice however, as the service has rolled out versions of its next generation streaming app -- first seen on the PS3 -- for the Xbox 360 as well as Sony Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players and home theater systems.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Amazon

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7 Steps to Simplify Social Media Strategy for Your Business | Social ...

By Heidi Cohen
Published June 26, 2013

Does your business have a social media strategy?

According to research conducted by Constant Contact, over 50% of small businesses need help with social media.

While many businesses have a social media presence, many are not engaging on those platforms and thus not meeting their goals.

With planning, your small business can use social media effectively.

Here are seven steps to a social media strategy for your business.

#1: Determine Your Business Objectives for Social Media

How do you want to use social media to help your business? What goals do you want to achieve?

Make your goals as concrete, measurable and achievable as possible. For example, if you currently get five new leads a month, setting a goal to get 100 new leads in the next 12 months is more realistic than setting a goal to get 5,000 new leads.

Define clear goals for your social media marketing. Image source: iStockPhoto.

Here are some objectives commonly identified by small businesses:

• Build your brand by getting people to recognize your name and associate it with your product.
• Attract new customers by driving traffic to your social media page or company website.
• Support sales by answering prospects? questions and showing them how to use your products or services.
• Engage with your fans by giving customers a reason to talk about your brand and encourage others to purchase from you.

By setting specific objectives, you establish markers for your business. This helps define your social media metrics and will make effective social media marketing easier for you to do.

#2: Know Your Audience

Determine the prospects and customers with whom you want to engage on social media. This is your target audience.

Who is your target audience on social media? Image source: iStockPhoto.

To help you understand their characteristics, create a set of marketing personas for the segments you want to reach.

• Understand your target market?s point of view and activities. Think demographics, psychographics and past purchases, as well as interests and priorities.
• Consider influencers, buyers and end users. Most purchase decisions, including consumer purchases, are made with input from more than one person.
• Know where your audience engages on social media. Not everyone is on Facebook.
• Consider your audience?s social media behavior. Does your market lurk, share or create social media content? What incentives will make them act?

The more you know your audience, the easier it will be to engage with them on social media and get the results you?re looking for.

#3: Choose Your ?Hot Buttons?

These are your firm?s core topics.

Select your audience?s hot buttons. Image source: iStockPhoto.

Target your three to five main topics. These should be categories or words you want to place for in search optimization. Create content around these topics for which you want your business to be known.

• Create an editorial calendar integrated with your promotional calendar. Plan relevant content around your main keywords and your planned promotions. Develop a framework to minimize content creation time by not needing to think about what you?re going to write before you craft content.
• Brainstorm ideas for content around these categories. Before developing your content, list topics you want to cover. For most businesses, the easiest way to accomplish this is to answer your customers? questions before and after purchase. Link to appropriate product pages but don?t be promotional!
• Offer a variety of content formats, not just text. People take in content differently. Attract attention with images, since some social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram are image-based.

Actionable marketing tip: Leverage the power of blogging. It provides an owned home base for social media interactions, while supporting building a house file and encouraging social sharing.

By clearly defining the right hot topics for your company and creating content and conversations around these topics, you?ll find it easier to get the results you want from social media.

#4: Stake Your Social Media Turf

Create a presence on all major social media platforms.

Stake your claim on social media venues. Image source: iStockPhoto.

Take ownership of your firm?s name across social media entities. Understand that this may not be possible, depending on your company name and similarly named organizations. But you?ll want to secure your name for the main social media profiles.

Branding is a shorthand that helps customers to recognize your company without thinking. After you?ve claimed your space, remember to incorporate elements of your brand into your profile.

Here?s how Social Media Examiner presents its brand on Facebook.

Also think ?findability? and post your store location, phone number and local hours. Remember to include a link to your website.

A strong social presence will help you get the most out of your social media marketing.

#5: Set Your Social Media Engagement

Be strategic with your social media time usage. It?s easy to spend more time than you need to on social media. A social media plan?together with a strategic approach?will help you find the right balance.

Use your existing communications such as email and in-store signage to encourage your customers to get onto social media and engage with you.

A New York City green market vendor encourages social media engagement using a chalkboard.

#6: Plan Your Resource Use

For many small businesses, the concept of planning resource utilization may be new. Even if you?re a solopreneur, you must take a strategic view of your time. If you don?t, you?ll find that you?re running from one online emergency to another.

Plan your social media engagement. Image source: iStockPhoto.

• Decide who will handle your social media engagement. For most small businesses, this is often the owner.
• Set parameters for social media use. This means defining your social media guidelines for both employees and visitors.
• Create processes where possible. Depending on your business, assess where you have opportunities to develop content that supports your goals. Think customer interactions, purchases and conferences.

Actionable marketing tip: Prepare for creating content. Have a camera, smartphone or iPad ready to capture content while you?re doing business! Don?t forget to get customers? permission to use their images to ensure you don?t have issues later. Have a plan in place to determine how and where you?ll use the information.

#7: Measure Your Social Media Results

Don?t forget to set up everything you?ll need to measure your results. The metrics you?ll want to track will be based on the business objectives you defined.

Measure your social media progress. Image source: iStockPhoto.

You?ll want to make it easy to measure your results.

• Incorporate a social media call to action. Don?t just assume prospects will take the next action without prompting. Guide them to engage and interact with contextually relevant calls to action.
• Track indicators that help show that you?ve accomplished your objectives. For most businesses, this means more than comments and social media shares.

Actionable marketing tip: Ensure you can track your results by using a unique promotion code or targeted landing page.

Over to You

The bottom line is that your small business can successfully use social media to achieve your business objectives. To this end, plan ahead to ensure that your time spent on social media reinforces your other business messaging and engagement and yields measureable results.

What do you think? What are your special tips for making social media engagement effective at driving your business?s success? Please include your suggestions in the comments section below.

Images from iStockPhoto.

Tags: content, editorial calendar, engagement, heidi cohen, measurement, social media, social media goal, social media objective, social media plan, social media presence, social media strategy

Source: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-setup-a-social-media-business-strategy/

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'Human Evolutionary Genetics' by Jobling, Hollux, Hurles, Kivisild, and Tyler-Smith

Public release date: 26-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Alain Mentha
alain.mentha@taylorandfrancis.com
917-351-7138
Garland Science, Taylor & Francis Group

New second edition -- now available!

Garland Science is proud to announce the publication of the long-awaited Second Edition of Human Evolutionary Genetics by Jobling, Hollux, Hurles, Kivisild, and Tyler-Smith.

Now in full-color, the Second Edition of Human Evolutionary Genetics has been completely revised to cover the rapid advances in the field since publication of the highly regarded First Edition. Written for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, it is the only textbook to integrate genetic, archaeological, and linguistic perspectives on human evolution, and to offer a genomic perspective, reflecting the shift from studies of specific regions of the genome towards comprehensive genomewide analyses of human genetic diversity.

Human Evolutionary Genetics is suitable for courses in Genetics, Evolution, and Anthropology. Readers with a background in anthropology will find that the streamlined genetic analysis material contained in the Second Edition is more accessible. The new edition also integrates new technologies (including next-generation sequencing and genomewide SNP typing) and new data analysis methods, including recent data on ancient genomes and their impact on our understanding of human evolution. The book also examines the subject of personal genomics and its implications.

The new Second Edition has been comprehensively revised and updated. New to the Second Edition:

• Two new authors contributing additional expertise in genome variation, infectious disease, primatology and anthropology.
  
• Now with a new layout and in full-color throughout, making the text and figures easier to read.
  
• Two additional chapters, reflecting developments in understanding the human genome in the context of other hominid and great ape genomes, and in complex disease.
  
• The guest-authored 'Opinion Boxes' are retained, with completely new boxes and guest authors to reflect current issues and controversies.
  
• Each chapter ends with in-depth review questions.
  
• Comprehensive glossary of over 1,300 terms, doubling the terms in the first edition.

Praise for the First Edition of Human Evolutionary Genetics:

"I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in human evolutionary genetics or anthropological genetics. It would be an ideal choice for advanced undergraduates and graduate courses on this topic, and would also be a key reference for those active in such research." HUMAN GENOMICS

"[Human Evolutionary Genetics] is one of the best textbooks on any subject I have ever read. It belongs on the shelves of everyone interested in the genetic aspects of human evolution. There is also much of value in it for paleoanthropologists, historical linguistics, archaeologists, and human biologists (biological anthropologists), as well as for geneticists with various complementary specialties and interests." AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS

"I strongly recommend Human Evolutionary Genetics as an undergraduate textbook. At the same time, I recommend this book to any readers with an interest in human evolution or human genetics." HUMAN GENETICS

###

About the Book:

Human Evolutionary Genetics, Second Edition (Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8153-4148-2) was written by Mark Jobling, Edward Hollux, Matthew Hurles, Toomas Kivisild, and Chris Tyler-Smith and published by Garland Science. The new edition is available in paperback and is 650 pages with 357 full-color illustrations. Figures in PowerPoint and JPEG formats will be available for instructors.

For additional book information, and to learn about e-book options visit: http://www.garlandscience.com/heg2.

The Authors:

Mark A. Jobling - University of Leicester, UK
Edward Hollox - University of Leicester, UK
Matthew Hurles - Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK
Toomas Kivisild - University of Cambridge, UK
Chris Tyler-Smith - Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK

About Garland Science:

Garland Science has been publishing scientific textbooks of the highest quality for over two decades. In that time, Garland has established itself as one of the leading publishers in the fields of cell and molecular biology, immunology, genetics, and protein sciences. Our publications include such classics as Molecular Biology of the Cell, Essential Cell Biology, Janeway's Immunobiology, The Immune System, The Biology of Cancer, Human Molecular Genetics, and Introduction to Protein Structure.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 26-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Alain Mentha
alain.mentha@taylorandfrancis.com
917-351-7138
Garland Science, Taylor & Francis Group

New second edition -- now available!

Garland Science is proud to announce the publication of the long-awaited Second Edition of Human Evolutionary Genetics by Jobling, Hollux, Hurles, Kivisild, and Tyler-Smith.

Now in full-color, the Second Edition of Human Evolutionary Genetics has been completely revised to cover the rapid advances in the field since publication of the highly regarded First Edition. Written for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, it is the only textbook to integrate genetic, archaeological, and linguistic perspectives on human evolution, and to offer a genomic perspective, reflecting the shift from studies of specific regions of the genome towards comprehensive genomewide analyses of human genetic diversity.

Human Evolutionary Genetics is suitable for courses in Genetics, Evolution, and Anthropology. Readers with a background in anthropology will find that the streamlined genetic analysis material contained in the Second Edition is more accessible. The new edition also integrates new technologies (including next-generation sequencing and genomewide SNP typing) and new data analysis methods, including recent data on ancient genomes and their impact on our understanding of human evolution. The book also examines the subject of personal genomics and its implications.

The new Second Edition has been comprehensively revised and updated. New to the Second Edition:

• Two new authors contributing additional expertise in genome variation, infectious disease, primatology and anthropology.
  
• Now with a new layout and in full-color throughout, making the text and figures easier to read.
  
• Two additional chapters, reflecting developments in understanding the human genome in the context of other hominid and great ape genomes, and in complex disease.
  
• The guest-authored 'Opinion Boxes' are retained, with completely new boxes and guest authors to reflect current issues and controversies.
  
• Each chapter ends with in-depth review questions.
  
• Comprehensive glossary of over 1,300 terms, doubling the terms in the first edition.

Praise for the First Edition of Human Evolutionary Genetics:

"I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in human evolutionary genetics or anthropological genetics. It would be an ideal choice for advanced undergraduates and graduate courses on this topic, and would also be a key reference for those active in such research." HUMAN GENOMICS

"[Human Evolutionary Genetics] is one of the best textbooks on any subject I have ever read. It belongs on the shelves of everyone interested in the genetic aspects of human evolution. There is also much of value in it for paleoanthropologists, historical linguistics, archaeologists, and human biologists (biological anthropologists), as well as for geneticists with various complementary specialties and interests." AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS

"I strongly recommend Human Evolutionary Genetics as an undergraduate textbook. At the same time, I recommend this book to any readers with an interest in human evolution or human genetics." HUMAN GENETICS

###

About the Book:

Human Evolutionary Genetics, Second Edition (Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8153-4148-2) was written by Mark Jobling, Edward Hollux, Matthew Hurles, Toomas Kivisild, and Chris Tyler-Smith and published by Garland Science. The new edition is available in paperback and is 650 pages with 357 full-color illustrations. Figures in PowerPoint and JPEG formats will be available for instructors.

For additional book information, and to learn about e-book options visit: http://www.garlandscience.com/heg2.

The Authors:

Mark A. Jobling - University of Leicester, UK
Edward Hollox - University of Leicester, UK
Matthew Hurles - Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK
Toomas Kivisild - University of Cambridge, UK
Chris Tyler-Smith - Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK

About Garland Science:

Garland Science has been publishing scientific textbooks of the highest quality for over two decades. In that time, Garland has established itself as one of the leading publishers in the fields of cell and molecular biology, immunology, genetics, and protein sciences. Our publications include such classics as Molecular Biology of the Cell, Essential Cell Biology, Janeway's Immunobiology, The Immune System, The Biology of Cancer, Human Molecular Genetics, and Introduction to Protein Structure.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/gst-heg062613.php

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Opening statements begin in Zimmerman trial

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? After almost two weeks of picking a jury, prosecutors and defense attorneys will make opening statements Monday in the trial of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager.

Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, says he shot the 17-year-old Martin in self-defense. Prosecutors say Zimmerman racially profiled Martin as he walked through a gated community where Zimmerman lived and often patrolled. Martin was returning from a convenience store on a rainy night in February 2012, wearing a dark hooded shirt. The two eventually got into a fight and Zimmerman shot Martin.

Circuit Judge Debra Nelson ruled last week prosecutors will be able to use the word "profiled" in their opening statements, as long as their description isn't limited to racial profiling. Prosecutors will be able to describe Zimmerman as a "wannabe cop" and "vigilante" and will be able to say Zimmerman confronted Martin.

"We don't intend to say he was profiled solely because of race," prosecutor John Guy said last week.

Defense attorneys Mark O'Mara and Don West will argue the case is simply self-defense, free of the racial overtones that have overshadowed it. The initial decision not to charge Zimmerman led to public outrage and demonstrations around the nation. Civil rights leaders and others accused the police in the central Florida city of Sanford of failing to thoroughly investigate the shooting because Martin was black teen from Miami. Martin was visiting his father in Sanford when he was shot.

"We're trying so hard in this case not to make it what everybody outside the courthouse wants it to be," O'Mara said.

On Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman spotted Martin, whom he did not recognize, walking in the townhome community where Zimmerman and the fiancee of Martin's father lived. There had been a rash of recent break-ins and Zimmerman was wary of strangers walking through the complex.

The two eventually got into a struggle and Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest with his 9mm handgun. He was charged 44 days after the shooting, only after a special prosecutor was appointed to review the case and after protests.

Two police dispatch phone calls will be important evidence for both sides' cases.

The first is a call Zimmerman made to a nonemergency police dispatcher as he followed Martin walking through his gated community. At one point, the dispatcher tells Zimmerman he doesn't need to be following Martin.

The second 911 call captures screams from the confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin. Martin's parents said the screams are from their son while Zimmerman's father contends they belong to his son.

Nelson ruled last weekend that audio experts for the prosecution won't be able to testify that the screams belong to Martin, saying the methods the experts used were unreliable.

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Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/opening-statements-begin-zimmerman-trial-094426278.html

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