Kenyan Supreme Court upholds election result

A supporter of losing presidential candidate Raila Odinga gestures as he protests with others in the rain in front of riot police guarding the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday, March 30, 2013. Kenya's Supreme Court on Saturday upheld the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country's next president, in a verdict on a petition by candidate Raila Odinga appealing the election result, ending an election season that riveted the nation amid fears of a repeat of the 2007-08 postelection violence. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A supporter of losing presidential candidate Raila Odinga gestures as he protests with others in the rain in front of riot police guarding the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday, March 30, 2013. Kenya's Supreme Court on Saturday upheld the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country's next president, in a verdict on a petition by candidate Raila Odinga appealing the election result, ending an election season that riveted the nation amid fears of a repeat of the 2007-08 postelection violence. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Kenyan police with clubs chase a small group of supporters of presidential candidate Raila Odinga after they ran down a street smashing shop windows in protest at the verdict of the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday, March 30, 2013. Kenya's Supreme Court on Saturday upheld the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country's next president, in a verdict on a petition by candidate Raila Odinga appealing the election result, ending an election season that riveted the nation amid fears of a repeat of the 2007-08 postelection violence. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Supporters of losing presidential candidate Raila Odinga hold posters designed as banknotes with his face on, as they protest the verdict of the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, March 30, 2013. Kenya's Supreme Court on Saturday upheld the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country's next president, in a verdict on a petition by candidate Raila Odinga appealing the election result, ending an election season that riveted the nation amid fears of a repeat of the 2007-08 postelection violence. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

FILE - In this Saturday, March 9, 2013 file photo, Kenya's president-elect Uhuru Kenyatta waves at supporters after winning the elections in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya's Supreme Court on Saturday, March 30, 2013 upheld the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country's next president, in a verdict on a petition by candidate Raila Odinga appealing the election result, ending an election season that riveted the nation amid fears of a repeat of the 2007-08 postelection violence. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

Losing presidential candidate Raila Odinga speaks to the media as he accepts the Supreme Court ruling upholding the election result, and urges unity amongst Kenyans, at a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, March 30, 2013. Kenya's Supreme Court on Saturday upheld the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country's next president, ending an election season that riveted the nation amid fears of a repeat of the 2007-08 postelection violence. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? Kenya's Supreme Court on Saturday upheld the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country's next president and the loser accepted that verdict, ending an election season that riveted the nation with fears of a repeat of the 2007-08 postelection violence.

Jubilant Kenyatta supporters flooded the streets of downtown Nairobi, honking horns, blowing plastic noisemakers and chanting.

But supporters of defeated Prime Minister Raila Odinga angrily protested after the verdict and police fired tear gas at them outside the Supreme Court as well as in the lakeside city of Kisumu, Odinga's hometown.

Two young men participating in riots were fatally shot in Kisumu, police spokesman Masoud Mwinyi told The Associated Press, although it was not clear by whom, and residents there said they could hear gunshots late in the night.

Outbreaks of violence by Odinga supporters were also reported in some Nairobi slums and truckloads of police were called in to quell the demonstrations, according to reports on a police radio heard by an Associated Press reporter.

In a victory speech late Saturday, Kenyatta urged Kenyans to move past the election and pledged to "work with, and serve, all Kenyans without discrimination whatsoever."

"Above all, let us continue to pray for peace in our country," he said.

Odinga, who had challenged the election results, accepted the court ruling and urged national unity and peace.

"It is our view that this court process is another long road in our march toward democracy, for which we have long fought," he said. "The future of Kenya is bright. Let us not allow elections to divide us."

However, Odinga said it was unfortunate that some of his legal team's evidence had been disallowed by the court. This, he said after the court's verdict, means that "in the end Kenyans lost the right to know what indeed happened" in the counting of votes.

"Although we may not agree with some of its findings, and despite all the anomalies we have pointed out, our belief in constitutionalism remains supreme," he said. "Casting doubt on the judgment of the court could lead to higher political and economic uncertainty, and make it more difficult for our country to move forward."

Odinga wished Kenyatta success and said he hopes the incoming government "will have fidelity to our constitution, and implement it to the letter for the betterment of our people."

Saturday's Supreme Court verdict ? following a drawn-out court case that raised tensions across the nation ? means that Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's first president, is to be sworn in as president on April 9. He will become the second sitting president in Africa to face charges at the International Criminal Court.

Kenyatta and Deputy President-elect William Ruto both face charges that they helped orchestrate the 2007-08 postelection violence in which more than 1,000 people died. Both deny the charges. Ruto's trial is set to begin in late May; Kenyatta's is to start in July. Kenyatta has promised to report to The Hague.

Kenyatta's win may complicate the U.S. relationship with Kenya, which has the largest American embassy in Africa. Because of the ICC charges against Kenyatta, the U.S, Britain and other European countries have said they may have limited contact with Kenya's new president.

But Western powers can't completely sever the relationship. Kenya is a key component in the fight against the al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab. Additionally, as East Africa's largest economy, China is strongly courting Kenya's leaders, and the West will be loath to lose economic influence here.

The office of British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government did not congratulate Kenyatta by name after he was declared the winner, said in a statement that Cameron wrote to Kenyatta on Saturday to note "his strong commitment to the partnership that exists between Kenya and the U.K." The statement said "the Kenyan people had made their sovereign choice" in electing Kenyatta.

The White House congratulated Kenyatta in a statement, which urged Kenyans "to peacefully accept the results of the election."

Lawyers for Odinga, the loser in Kenya's last two elections, had argued before the Supreme Court that the election was marred by irregularities and that Kenyatta did not win enough votes to avoid a runoff election. According to official results, Kenyatta won 50.07 percent of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff election against Odinga, who said his case before the Supreme Court would put Kenya's democracy on trial.

But the Supreme Court's unanimous decision, read out by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, said the election was "conducted in compliance with the constitution and the law" and that Kenyatta and Ruto were legally elected.

"It is the decision of the court that (Kenyatta and Ruto) were validly elected," the ruling said. The reasons behind the judges' decision were not given Saturday. The chief justice said a detailed judgment would be delivered within two weeks.

Unlike after the 2007 election, which degenerated into tribe-on-tribe violence that damaged Kenya's reputation as a stable country, this time Odinga said he had faith in the judiciary's ability to give him a fair hearing.

The court's ruling ended days of anxiety since March 9, when Kenyatta was declared the winner of the March 4 vote that many described as the most complex in Kenya's history. More than 12 million Kenyans participated in the election. Some observers had expected a low registration of voters because of apathy following the 2007-08 violence, but campaigns by Kenyatta, Odinga and other presidential candidates led to the highest registration in the country ever. Kenya's electoral commission registered 14.3 million people.

Election day, though, did not go as planned. An electronic voter ID system intended to prevent fraud failed for reasons yet to be explained by the electoral commission. Vote officials instead used manual voter rolls.

After the polls closed, results were to be sent electronically to Nairobi, where officials would quickly tabulate a preliminary vote count in order to maximize transparency after rigging accusations following the 2007 vote. But that system failed, too. Election officials have indicated that computer servers were overloaded but have yet to fully explain the problem.

As the early count system was still being used, election results showed more than 330,000 rejected ballots, an unusually high number. But after the count resumed with the arrival in Nairobi of manual tallies, the number of rejected ballots was greatly reduced, and the election commission said the computer was mistakenly multiplying the number of rejected ballots by a factor of eight.

Odinga's lawyers told the Supreme Court this week that the switch from electronic voter identification to manual voter roll was contrived to allow inflation of Kenyatta's votes to take him past the 50 percent threshold. That accusation was vehemently denied by the electoral commission and Kenyatta's legal team.

___

Associated Press reporters Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, and Jason Straziuso in Mombasa, Kenya, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-30-AF-Kenya-Election/id-bd43b42566b34beaa18fdf0cb19b27cc

Oscars 2013 barcelona vs real madrid renee zellweger catherine zeta jones charlize theron barbra streisand barbra streisand

Star Trek: Into Darkness Will Have a NASA Ad for Real-Life Starfleet

Star Trek is every thing we hope space travel can be someday. Maybe we could do without all the universe-threatening disasters, but we're all hoping for a warp drive, or a tricorder, or a replicator. Until then, NASA is carrying the fire, and the 30-second NASA trailer that will play before Star Trek: Into Darkness aims to get you stoked about our current day, real-life Starfleet. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6LZKvuZ2V8k/star-trek-into-darkness-will-have-a-nasa-ad-for-real+life-starfleet

dr seuss birthday derrick williams romney michigan railgun jk rowling new book between two ferns statins

Thinking, Reading, Writing, and Speaking Skills Are Better ...

Six years ago, the video ?Shift Happens? (2007) was featured at our school?s professional development day. I clearly remember one take-away:

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don?t exist using technologies that do not exist in order to solve problems we don?t even know are problems yet.

The video was created by Karl Fisch, and modified by Scott McLeod.?The slides provided statistics on the rapid exponential growth in population and in information, highlighting the differences between the present and what was successful in the past, specifically England?s position on the world stage in 1900. Several slides are alarming in calling attention to the building tsunami of information available to students with examples such as ? there is more information in a week?s worth of the?The New York Times?than what an average person knew in the 1700s?. Since 2007, there have been several updated versions of ?Shift Happens? uploaded to YouTube; there have also been many imitations.

I thought of this video this week when I drove past a sign on a large office building: Strategic Information Technologies.

?What does that mean?? I asked my friend Catherine, ?Is the technology stategic because of geography? Strategic because of a choice of software or hardware?? I continued, ?I don?t know what a ?strategic information technologist? does?Is this one of the unknown new jobs were are ?preparing? our 21st Century students to take?? I referenced the video.

?That?s ridiculous! The people who ?prepared? us for the 21st Century were not worried about what new jobs would be?available?in our future. In fact,? she continued, ?they taught us what they knew?what they thought we should know, and we are doing just fine.?

I was startled. Could a ?Shift Happens? video place a misguided emphasis on adjusting skills and content in order to prepare students for the unidentified problems they?don?t even know are problems yet?

?After all,? she continued, ?We are the generation that created these new technologies that we didn?t know would exist today.?

When I reflect on her statement I think about how my favorite teachers in grades K-12 ?(Sister Ella, Mrs. Rowland, Miss Montessi) were not obsessed with preparing me for some unidentified job in the future. Instead, their collective obsession was to prepare me with basic skills and content so that I could be a productive member of?society? I was taught to think, to read well, write well, speak well, know math, appreciate history, recognize science, and, since I attended Catholic school, recite my?Catechism.

Perhaps, educators cannot predict the future for their students, but educators can address trends. For example, in 1957, the American public began to reconsider how the role of public education may contribute to winning the Space Race with the Soviets once Sputnik had been released. The investments in education made as a consequence resulted in increased scientific advancements and many spin-off technologies. In contrast, however, predictions such as those at the?1964 NY World?s Fair of a future with flying cars, jet packs, vacation trips to Mars and beyond, underwater cities, and robot laborers have never came to fruition.

Similarly, Karl Fisch?s video alerted educators to the rapid changes in education and the global implications in preparing students for the real world. He wrote:

??it?s a different world out there. A world whereanyone?s?ideas can quickly spread if they happen to strike a chord.?

This was certainly true of the ?Shift Happens? video which had great success without??a large company or a huge public relations effort to make an impact.? Fisch continued:

This is just one of the reasons that I believe our schools need to change. They need to change to reflect this new world, this flatter world, this information-abundant, globally connected, rapidly changing, technology super-charged world that they are going to spend the rest of their lives in.

Fisch made no silly ?predictions? like those at the NY World?s Fair. Instead, his video served to bring attention to trends that require an increase in the skills of ?communication and sharing information.

In order to communicate and to share, students from grades K-12 must think, read well, write well, and speak well regardless as to what predictions are being made about new industries or technologies.?In trying to anticipate the future, educators must not discount how the generations of students who learned these important skills became the graduates who are now responsible for evolving changes of the present.

Shift is not an entirely new enterprise on the world stage, for example, ?the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution are all examples of global ?shifts?. In the six short years since the ?Shift Happens? video, Facebook has replaced MySpace as the world?s most?formidable?social network; Twitter has evolved into a powerful communication tool. The role of educators is not ?to predict the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or company that will spawn new jobs or dominate an industry or the next ?shift?. Instead, the role of educators must be to teach the skills of thinking, reading, writing, and speaking well that contributed to the ?shift? that is happening for our students. There is no surprise that ?Shift Happens?, and the students who are prepared to think, to read well, to write well, and to speak well will not be surprised either.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Source: http://usedbooksinclass.com/2013/03/30/thinking-reading-writing-and-speaking-skills-are-better-predictors-when-shift-happens/

Paul Bearer Cnn.com abc news brandi glanville Valerie Harper White Smoke Barcelona

Pope makes Easter pleas for Mideast peace

VATICAN CITY (AP) ?

Pope Francis is making an Easter Sunday peace plea, saying conflicts have lasted too long in Syria, and between Israelis and Palestinians.

Francis also urges reconciliation on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea says it has entered "a state of war" with South Korea.

Before a crowd of 250,000 in St. Peter's Square he also denounced warfare and terrorism in Africa, and decried a greedy affluent world looking for "easy gain."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-makes-easter-pleas-mideast-peace-101523086.html

new york mega millions jetblue jetblue michelle malkin october baby sugarland 16 and pregnant

Veterinarians try artificial insemination on Giant Panda at National Zoo

Mei Xiang, the Giant Panda at the National Zoo was artificially inseminated Saturday after she and the zoo's male giant panda failed to breed naturally.?

By Jane Sutton,?Reuters / March 30, 2013

Giant panda Mei Xiang looks over a stone wall in her enclosure at the Smithsonian's National Zoo during a spring snow in Washington, D.C. March 25.

Connor Mallon/Smithsonian's National Zoo/Reuters

Enlarge

Veterinarians at the?National Zoo?artificially inseminated the zoo's female giant panda?Mei Xiang?on Saturday after natural breeding failed to occur, zoo keepers said.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Mei Xiang?was put under general anesthesia and inseminated with a combination of fresh semen and frozen semen collected from the zoo's male giant panda Tian Tian. The scientists said they planned a second insemination later on Saturday.

Veterinarians detected a rise in hormone levels on Tuesday, indicating?Mei Xiang?was ready to breed but said "no competent breeding" between the panda pair had occurred.

"We are hopeful that our breeding efforts will be successful this year, and we're encouraged by all the behaviors and hormonal data we've seen so far," said?Dave Wildt, head of the?Center for Species Survival?at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Scientists will continue to monitor?Mei Xiang's hormone levels in the coming months and conduct ultrasounds to determine whether she is pregnant. A pregnancy lasts between 95 and 160 days, they said.

Mei Xiang?has given birth to two cubs. One died a week after its birth last year. The other was born in 2005 and is now at the?China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda?in Wolong.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/ti5HnTXiknU/Veterinarians-try-artificial-insemination-on-Giant-Panda-at-National-Zoo

bus driver uppercut Alex Karras BCS Rankings 2012 vampire diaries derek jeter Red Bull Stratos Redbull Stratos

They?re gonna clean up your looks with all the lies in the books (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295522333?client_source=feed&format=rss

god bless america earned income credit florida primary 2012 super bowl matthew broderick tax refund calculator huntington disease

Experts debate the psychology of ?Star Trek? vs. ?Star Wars?

Wondercon 2013: The psychology of Star Trek vs. Star Wars (Eric Pfeiffer/Yahoo News)ANAHEIM, Calif.?At Friday?s opening day of Wondercon 2013, the swords were drawn early. Or, more specifically, the light sabers were drawn and the phasers were set to kill.

Four experts, including two psychologists, debated four specific topics as part of an epic breakdown analyzing the respective strengths and weaknesses of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek."

To an outsider, the debate might seem trivial. But to fans of each series, the differences have long run deep, pitting the more cerebral science fiction of "Star Trek" against the emotional, fantasy-driven stories of the "Star Wars" universe.

As the debate opened, it was clear a majority of the hundreds of Wondercon attendees who packed into the ballroom showed up in, er, force, to support "Star Wars."

Well, first of all, there are not as many Trekkies here because they are all at work today,? quipped NYU clinical psychologist Dr. Ali Mattu.

Round 1: Nature vs. Nurture

Thanks to the infamous "Star Wars" prequels, we now know that the villainous Darth Vader was not always bad. But the greatest villain of "Star Trek," Khan Noonan Singh, was literally born bad?a product of genetic engineering who believed himself superior to lesser men. So, which is the better story?

?Vader is someone you can probably diagnose with borderline personality disorder,? Mattu said. ?In fact, the American Psychological Association hosted a talk on this very topic in 2007. Whereas Khan is the most dangerous thing in social psychology when you dehumanize people. You get things like the eugenics wars and the Nazis.?

?Khan had a later life transformation,? said Larry Nemecek, author of "Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion." ?When we first met him in the "Stark Trek" television series, he was a villain. But when he comes back in the second film (?Wrath of Kahn?), his wife has been killed and his adopted planet ruined.?

For her part, Dr. Andrea Letamendi, a psychologist, said Vader?s story was more compelling because of its complexity.

?George Lucas really has an understanding of what makes evil,? she said. ?There is a sophistication of what makes risk, loss and antisocial behavior. We are reminded that humans are complex.?

For his part, "Robot Chicken" writer Hugh Sterbakov did see one common failing of the two diabolical leaders: ?They're both really bad at choosing assistants,? he said, noting that in the accompanying photos for the panel, both men are seen lifting men into the air by their throats.

Round 2: Strength and Resilience

But who in the two competing sagas overcomes the most adversity? Was it the crew of the Enterprise overcoming the death of Spock? Or Luke Skywalker seeing his murdered aunt and uncle and being forced into a completely new world?

Dr. Letamendi said both series have similarities in the way that their characters maintain their behavioral patterns even after trying situations. For example, in "Star Trek 2," Spock is willing to accept death during an unwinnable computer simulation. Later in the film, he sacrifices his own life to save the crew of the Enterprise.

And in "The Empire Strikes Back," Luke Skywalker is quick to anger during a test of character in the caves of Dagobah. Later in the film, he succumbs to the same behavior, and suffers for it, when he is quick to confront Vader.

?The main point is not win or lose but how you went down,? Nemecek said.

Round 3: Artificial Intelligence

The panelists weren?t allowed to speculate on who would win in a fight between Captain Kirk and Han Solo. But they were free to debate who has the better robots.

?There's a spectrum of how they treat artificial intelligence in 'Star Trek,'? said Nemecek. ?Even Data's creator was an outcast. It's a complex question in the "Star Trek" universe.?

Letamendi responded by saying that the "Star Wars" androids were more likeable because they are less human, citing the Uncanny Valley concept, which states that humans are emotionally put off by artificial intelligence the more closely it resembles actual human behavior and appearance.

But Mattu disagreed, agreeing with Nemecek that the wide variety of artificial intelligence on display in the "Star Trek" universe was met with different responses from different cultures.

Round 4: The Test

The panelists then moved on to the final round to argue which saga showcases the greater journey for its characters. From there, it was left to the audience to decide who had won the debate.

?It's an inspirational, motivational story that goes to the core of what it means to experience self-actualization and self-individualization,? Letamendi said of "Star Wars." ?It's actually what psychologists consider to be the most advanced state of being. And they have bad-ass costumes.?

Mattu offered the counterpoint, saying of his own experience:

?What happened to me when I saw "Star Trek" was that I could see myself there. It was a future we could see, a mirror into ourselves. How with empathy, science and knowledge we can grow, improve as a society and overcome.?

?Plus, only in "Star Trek" can you blow up a planet and create one simultaneously using science.?

Ultimately, the cheers were loud for both sides, though it appeared that the "Star Trek" argument came out slightly ahead, reversing what had seemed like an audience stacked in favor of "Star Wars" at the onset.

But to any attendees who felt disappointed with the results, Mattu offered some positive news.

?Here's how we all win: We all have J.J. Abrams now.?

Can these experts finally solve the Star Trek vs. Star Wars debate? (Eric Pfeiffer/Yahoo News

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/experts-debate-psychology-star-trek-vs-star-wars-222637187.html

Voting Locations atlanta falcons voting hours election results Doug Martin Barack Obama & Joe Biden Am I registered to vote

Officials: US training Syrians forces in Jordan

In this Sunday, March 24, 2013 image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters drops a shell into a firing tube, in Damascus countryside, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

In this Sunday, March 24, 2013 image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters drops a shell into a firing tube, in Damascus countryside, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The United States is training secular Syrian fighters in Jordan in a bid to bolster forces battling President Bashar Assad's regime and stem the influence of Islamist radicals among the country's persistently splintered opposition, American and foreign officials said.

The training has been conducted for several months now in an unspecified location, concentrating largely on Sunnis and tribal Bedouins who formerly served as members of the Syrian army, officials told The Associated Press. The forces aren't members of the leading rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, which Washington and others fear may be increasingly coming under the sway of extremist militia groups, including some linked to al-Qaida, they said.

The operation is being run by U.S. intelligence and is ongoing, officials said, but those in Washington stressed that the U.S. is providing only nonlethal aid at this point. Others such as Britain and France are involved, they said, though it's unclear whether any Western governments are providing materiel or other direct military support after two years of civil war that according to the United Nations already has killed more than 70,000 people.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the program.

Officially, the Obama administration has been vague on the subject of what type of military training it may be providing, while insisting that it is doing all it can ? short of providing weapons to the rebels or engaging in its own military intervention ? to hasten the demise of the Assad family's four-decade dictatorship.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday the U.S. has "provided some logistical nonlethal support that has also come in handy for the Syrian rebels who are, again, fighting a regime that is not hesitating to use the military might of that regime against its own people.

"That is something we're going to continue to work to bring to an end," he told reporters.

It's unclear what effect the training has had in the conflict, which has become a quagmire with Assad's regime unable to snuff out the rebellion and Syria's opposition incapable thus far of delivering any serious blow to the ruling government's grip on Damascus and control over much of the country.

Some of the Syrians the U.S. is involved with are, in turn, training other Syrians inside the border, officials said.

They declined to provide more information because they said that would go too deep into intelligence matters. Defense Department officials insisted the Pentagon isn't involved with any military training or arms provisions to the Syrian rebels, either directly or indirectly. The CIA declined to comment.

The New York Times reported Monday that the CIA helped Arab governments and Turkey sharply increase their military aid to Syria's opposition in recent months, with secret airlifts or arms and equipment. It cited traffic data, officials in several countries and rebel commanders, and said the airlift began on a small scale a year ago but has expanded steadily to more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari planes landing in Turkish and Jordanian airports.

The training in Jordan, however, suggests the U.S. help is aimed somewhat at enhancing the rebels' capacity in southern Syria, the birthplace of the revolution two years ago when teenagers in the sleepy agricultural outpost of Dara'a scribbled graffiti on a wall and were tossed into jail, spurring Syria's own version of an Arab Spring uprising. Much of the violence since, however, has been in the northern of the country where rebels have scored several military successes after the Assad regime cracked down brutally on peaceful protesters.

Despite months of U.S. and international support to build a cohesive political movement, however, Syria's fractured opposition is still struggling to rally Syrians behind a common post-Assad vision. And the opposition coalition appears as much hampered by its political infighting as its military deficiencies against an Assad regime arsenal of tanks, fighter jets and scud missiles.

The coalition's president, Mouaz al-Khatib, resigned his position on Sunday because of what he described as restrictions on his work and frustration with the level of international aid. He said Monday he would still represent the opposition this week in Doha, where the Gulf state of Qatar will host a two-day Arab League summit starting Tuesday.

Al-Khatib's resignation comes only days after the opposition chose Ghassan Hitto, a long-time Texas resident, to head its interim government after intense wrangling over posts and influence that U.S. officials say has strained the opposition's unity and caused friction among its primary benefactors Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

It's also unclear how al-Khatib's departure will affect the U.S. goal of political negotiations with amenable members of the Assad regime to end the civil war, given the moderate preacher's support for talks. Much of the Syrian opposition, including Hitto, rejects such talks.

"He's been a courageous leader," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said of al-Khatib.

"But the bottom line is what we're looking for is unity," Ventrell said. "We continue to support the coalition's vision for a tolerant, inclusive Syria. We want them to continue to work together to implement that vision."

Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Paris on Wednesday to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for talks expected to focus on arming Syrian rebels. The discussions also are expected to touch on the suspected use of chemical weapons in Syria, according to French officials.

U.S. officials say there are strong indications that chemical weapons weren't used in an attack last week in northern Aleppo, over which the regime and the rebels have issued counterclaims.

Washington has said it will support a U.N. investigation.

___

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Lara Jakes in Washington and Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-25-US-Syria/id-17a945e7ea73478aa0fd7b679eb57136

chipper jones chipper jones mickael pietrus heart transplant the international preppers geraldo

Researchers unravel molecular roots of Down syndrome

Monday, March 25, 2013

What is it about the extra chromosome inherited in Down syndrome?chromosome 21?that alters brain and body development? Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have new evidence that points to a protein called sorting nexin 27, or SNX27. SNX27 production is inhibited by a molecule encoded on chromosome 21. The study, published March 24 in Nature Medicine, shows that SNX27 is reduced in human Down syndrome brains. The extra copy of chromosome 21 means a person with Down syndrome produces less SNX27 protein, which in turn disrupts brain function. What's more, the researchers showed that restoring SNX27 in Down syndrome mice improves cognitive function and behavior.

"In the brain, SNX27 keeps certain receptors on the cell surface?receptors that are necessary for neurons to fire properly," said Huaxi Xu, Ph.D., professor in Sanford-Burnham's Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell Research Center and senior author of the study. "So, in Down syndrome, we believe lack of SNX27 is at least partly to blame for developmental and cognitive defects."

SNX27's role in brain function

Xu and colleagues started out working with mice that lack one copy of the snx27 gene. They noticed that the mice were mostly normal, but showed some significant defects in learning and memory. So the team dug deeper to determine why SNX27 would have that effect. They found that SNX27 helps keep glutamate receptors on the cell surface in neurons. Neurons need glutamate receptors in order to function correctly. With less SNX27, these mice had fewer active glutamate receptors and thus impaired learning and memory.

SNX27 levels are low in Down syndrome

Then the team got thinking about Down syndrome. The SNX27-deficient mice shared some characteristics with Down syndrome, so they took a look at human brains with the condition. This confirmed the clinical significance of their laboratory findings?humans with Down syndrome have significantly lower levels of SNX27.

Next, Xu and colleagues wondered how Down syndrome and low SNX27 are connected?could the extra chromosome 21 encode something that affects SNX27 levels? They suspected microRNAs, small pieces of genetic material that don't code for protein, but instead influence the production of other genes. It turns out that chromosome 21 encodes one particular microRNA called miR-155. In human Down syndrome brains, the increase in miR-155 levels correlates almost perfectly with the decrease in SNX27.

Xu and his team concluded that, due to the extra chromosome 21 copy, the brains of people with Down syndrome produce extra miR-155, which by indirect means decreases SNX27 levels, in turn decreasing surface glutamate receptors. Through this mechanism, learning, memory, and behavior are impaired.

Restoring SNX27 function rescues Down syndrome mice

If people with Down syndrome simply have too much miR-155 or not enough SNX27, could that be fixed? The team explored this possibility. They used a noninfectious virus as a delivery vehicle to introduce new human SNX27 in the brains of Down syndrome mice.

"Everything goes back to normal after SNX27 treatment. It's amazing?first we see the glutamate receptors come back, then memory deficit is repaired in our Down syndrome mice," said Xin Wang, a graduate student in Xu's lab and first author of the study. "Gene therapy of this sort hasn't really panned out in humans, however. So we're now screening small molecules to look for some that might increase SNX27 production or function in the brain."

###

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute: http://www.burnham-inst.org

Thanks to Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 26 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127431/Researchers_unravel_molecular_roots_of_Down_syndrome

martin scorsese sacha baron cohen best picture nominees 2012 academy awards 2012 albert nobbs a star is born oscar nominees

Supreme Court wary of broad gay marriage ruling

By Lawrence Hurley and David Ingram

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court signaled reluctance on Tuesday to rule broadly on the question of the right to marriage for gays and lesbians as the justices heard arguments on same-sex marriage for the first time.

As thousands of demonstrators on both sides of America's long-standing gay rights divide rallied outside, the court heard a spirited, 80-minute oral argument on whether to let stand a California ban on same-sex marriage.

Despite the case being one of the most eagerly anticipated legal showdowns of the year, some of the nine justices showed an unwillingness to dive headfirst into the delicate and divisive issue.

Though polls show growing support among Americans for gay marriage, only nine states recognize it, while 30 states have constitutional amendments prohibiting it.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, a potential swing vote, gave a clear indication of where he stood when he warned of the court entering "uncharted waters."

It was the first of two days of arguments. On Wednesday, the court will consider the related question of whether the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies federal benefits to married same-sex couples, should be struck down.

Rulings in both cases are not expected until June.

In making his antipathy to a broad ruling clear, Kennedy even raised the prospect of the court dismissing the case altogether, a relatively unusual move that would leave intact a federal appeals court ruling that had earlier struck down the California law, known as Proposition 8.

If dismissal were the outcome of the Supreme Court's consideration of Proposition 8, gay marriages in California could proceed, but the case would have no impact on other states, as gay rights activists had hoped. It would also mean that the high court could stay silent on the issue, at least in the short term.

Kennedy was not the only one with reservations. Justice Samuel Alito also urged caution, noting that gay marriage, as a concept, is "newer than cellphones and the Internet."

None of the justices indicated support for the Obama administration's compromise solution, which would strike down Proposition 8 and require the eight other states that already recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships to allow gays and lesbians to marry.

COMPETING RALLIES

Outside the court, demonstrators did not share the justices' reluctance to take a clear stand, with hundreds gathered representing both sides. Anti-gay marriage protesters marched past the imposing Supreme Court building accompanied by police on motorcycles, drawing jeers and shouts from a pro-gay marriage rally, but there were no physical confrontations.

"No hate - we just disagree!" yelled one marcher, holding a sign that proclaimed children do best with a mother and father.

Jay Golon, a New York City educator who was at the pro-gay marriage rally, said he has many students with same-sex parents.

"It's a family," he said. "That's all."

Inside the hushed courtroom, filled to capacity with lawyers and spectators, some of whom had waited for days to get a seat, it quickly became apparent that the justices were more interested in legal technicalities than flowery rhetoric.

One key issue is whether California opponents of gay marriage even had a right to be heard in federal court.

If the court were to find the proponents did not have standing, then it would not reach the merits of that case. That would mean that an earlier federal district court ruling that struck down Proposition 8 would be left intact. Further litigation would ensue over whether the district court rule would apply statewide.

U.S. citizens, in general, do not have a right to sue to enforce laws they favor. Chief Justice John Roberts pressed lawyer Charles Cooper, who represents gay marriage opponents, on why his clients are any different as they seek to enforce Proposition 8.

"I don't think we've ever allowed anything like that," Roberts said.

DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE

On the broader question of same-sex marriage, pressed by attorney Theodore Olson on behalf of two California same-sex couples, some conservative justices seemed eager to raise objections to the court making a definitive statement, citing a lack of scientific data on same-sex couples raising children.

Justice Antonin Scalia said there is "considerable disagreement" about whether gays and lesbians should be able to raise children.

Kennedy agreed that there is "substance to the point that sociological information is new."

On the liberal wing, justices probed Cooper on his assertion that the government's interest in promoting procreation is a primary reason for limiting the definition of marriage.

Both Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Stephen Breyer questioned Cooper on how his definition of marriage squares with the fact that infertile opposite-sex couples can marry.

"There are lots of people who get married who can't have children," Breyer said.

The court will reconvene on Wednesday morning to weigh the DOMA statute.

Unlike Proposition 8, that case does not give the court the opportunity to issue a broad ruling for or against gay marriage because the case relates only to a federal law that limits the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples for the purposes of federal benefits.

(To follow oral arguments both days, visit the Reuters live blog at http://reut.rs/scotus1)

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and David Ingram; Additional reporting by Joseph Ax, Ian Simpson and Joan Biskupic; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Howard Goller and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-justices-gay-marriage-first-time-051006399.html

fiat 500 abarth madonna halftime m i a mia super bowl tom coughlin eli manning eli manning

Enterprising Lindener helping deportees reintegrate into society ...

?

?

?We were treated as aliens in the countries that deported us here, and now we are in the country of our birth and we are further alienated. We are still being treated as aliens, and it is hard- we have to go that extra mile just to be accepted!?
This is the lament of Paul Nurse, an ?involuntary re-migrant? (deportee) who currently resides at Wisroc, but has a property at Victory Valley, Wismar, where he is very active in community developmental activities.
Nurse was sent back to Guyana three years ago after spending time in a New York penitentiary for conspiracy charges. He had spent almost 30 years of his life in the US. His departure from the US meant separation from his relatives there, including his eighteen children.
But Nurse is a survivor and has the founded the Guyanese Association for Involuntary Remigrants (GAFIR), which is an organization that was established to assist deportees to reintegrate into society.
According to Nurse, there are about one hundred deportees in Linden alone, and some of them have returned as recent as two months ago.
Nurse noted that the greatest challenge facing deportees is the stigma associated with their status, and the general negative perception of locals, who often attribute anything bad happening in a community, to them.
?For anything bad that happens in the community, fingers are pointed to the remigrant. Now I?m not saying that a few of them don?t get involved in negative activities, but this is not true for everybody.
?Many of us still try to live as decent law abiding citizens, but the negativity can sometimes get to you. It?s like we were aliens in the countries we were deported from, and when we come here we are still aliens, in the country of our birth.?
But despite the negativity, Nurse is determined to make something of his life, and in the process assist those in a similar position like him.
His mission, however, is not just about assisting deportees, as many persons could attest to.
Presently operating a variety business off the One Mile main road, Nurse has employed a number of persons over the few years that he has been back here.
But his greatest challenge is garnering enough money to launch into business in a big way, which would afford him the opportunity of employing even more people.
? Now, I?m a person that always thinks big and want to do things on a large scale- for instance back in the United States, I had my own night club and car dealership. I?m accustomed to doing business at the corporate level, but here it?s hard even getting started.
You know I would often sit here and look at all the vehicles coming out of the interior, knowing that all of that money is just passing through this town, when we ought to be looking at ways to capitalize on these things.
Right now I?m looking to do business on a twenty four hour basis, to cater to these people who make these long commute, and would require certain basic things?.

Poultry rearing and cooking!
Nurse is the holder of an associate degree in the culinary arts, and loves to cook. One of his very first business ventures was rearing and selling chickens, and of course barbequing them.
But he realized that he was not ?even ready? when he travelled to Mahdia to take some orders.
?The quantity of chicken these people wanted on a weekly basis, I was barely producing in a month- so it clearly showed that I had to plug more money into the business.?
Nurse said that when he came back to Guyana he was given some money, which he used to establish himself in business, and subsequently employed a number of persons.
He noted that most of them were single parents, and so were in dire need of some kind of financial support.
But today his main focus is no longer just on money-making projects, but rather more community oriented. He often takes time away from his business to assist in some community project or other, and to sit with his fellow deportees and talk.

Challenges
Nurse said that deportees face huge challenges, including a lack of housing and unemployment opportunities.
Added to that, he noted, is the fact that they are sometimes taken advantage of, and he cited the case of one of his colleagues who had entered the country with a bullet in his head and a US$5000 treasury cheque, which he never saw again after presenting it to customs.
?That money was supposed to be support for him from the US, as he was shot by the federal government, and as such was entitled to continued support from them. He had felt that presenting the cheque to customs was the right thing to do, as they were the authority, and would probably mail the cheque to him. I mean in the US these kinds of things don?t happen like that, or go unaccounted for.
He made several attempts to try to retrieve it, but all were futile, I guess the cheque was cashed and mis-appropriated.?

Halfway Home.
Nurse is suggesting that some type of halfway home be established here for deportees, who often come back and have no home, and most times lack adequate resources to acquire their own lodgings.
Many of them would have left all their relatives in the US and other countries, so there is no one here that they could depend on.
With no jobs they are ?hard put? to pay a rent.
He is also advocating for a process whereby deportees could acquire lands that they could cultivate, and so contribute to the agricultural development of the country, in a community where there is a dearth of jobs.
(Enid Joaquin)

Source: http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/03/25/enterprising-lindener-helping-deportees-reintegrate-into-society/

colcannon dystonia tourettes rosie o donnell soda bread recipe vanderbilt evan mathis

Swiss+Tech MMCSSS Micro-Max Fits Nearly Every Tool in Your Pocket

If preparation is your goal and you'd rather not carry around a giant toolbox everywhere you go, Swiss+Tech's MMCSSS Micro-Max fits pretty much every tool in your pocket for under $10.

No pocket tool will replace a good, solid toolset simply because of its size, but this one comes about as close as you're going to get. The 19-in-1 keychain-ready multitool offers two hex wrenches (1/4", 7/16"), six screwdrivers (#0,1,2 flat, #0,1,2 Phillips), pliers, bottle opener, wire cutter and stripper, wire crimper, hand drill, file, two rulers, and two rule extensions (both with millimeter and inch measurements). If you need a DIY powerhouse in a pocket size, you can get this solid option on the cheap.

Swiss+Tech MMCSSS Micro-Max 19-in-1 Keychain MultitoolSwiss+Tech MMCSSS Micro-Max 19-in-1 Keychain Multitool ($10) | Amazon

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/JaEeX0xNU4c/swiss%252Btech-mmcsss-micro+max-fits-nearly-every-tool-in-your-pocket

jennifer lopez wardrobe malfunction hugo hugo nfl combine 84th annual academy awards beginners 2012 oscars

Windows 8's Main Apps All Just Got a Little Better

Tomorrow, Windows 8 and RT's Mail, Calendar, and People apps will all receive updates in the Windows Store. Meaning, tomorrow, Windows 8 gets a little bit better! Here's how the updates to the apps will break down. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/D68HlyuTDzw/windows-8-blue-all-the-updates-to-the-main-windows-8-apps

touch nitrous oxide rihanna thug life tattoo arizona governor patrick witt leprosy tampa bay buccaneers

China chooses Ubuntu for a national reference OS coming in April

China's government and people have historically been friendly toward Linux, although not quite on the level of a new deal with Canonical. The country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is teaming with Canonical to create Ubuntu Kylin, a variant of the regular Linux distribution that would serve as a reference point for local hardware and software developers. A Raring Ringtail-based build due this April should bring Chinese calendars, character input methods and quick access to relevant music services. Later Kylin releases should integrate Baidu mapping, mass transit information, Taobao shopping and a common slate of photo editing and system tools from WPS. The hope is to foster open source development in China as part of a five-year government growth plan -- and, we suspect, get away from closed operating systems that Americans control.

Filed under: Software

Comments

Via: The Register

Source: Canonical

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/yh2SE0Mig1o/

vontaze burfict jimmy kimmel amzn white house correspondents dinner phoenix coyotes bruce irvin charlie st cloud

Transform Your Offline Business To Online | Sharanyan Sharma

Review Overview

Sharanyan SharmaMarch 24, 2013The exciting news for the small businesses is that the recent E-Commerce revolution has introduced a whole new level playing field offering everyone a fair chance to become an internet business giant very easily enabling everyone to enjoy the big profits.The internet carries the free information flow and everyone?s looking for their necessaries. 8.5110

• Online Marketing7

• Offline Marketing10

Total Score8.5

The exciting news for the small businesses is that the recent E-Commerce revolution has introduced a whole new level playing field offering everyone a fair chance to become an internet business giant very easily enabling everyone to enjoy the big profits.The internet carries the free information flow and everyone?s looking for their necessaries.

Hey Guys!

Shopping at the city?center?or running errands around your local town lately? While doing these regular chores, if you look closely, you will find huge changes taken place over the recent years.I?m living in Northern Province Vavuniya City, but No matter where you live, I think the little guys- the small stores, independent business owners are all disappearing. At least in my local town, majority of them can?t be found anymore. Most of the local small families running stores offering the homely personal touch are now being all swallowed up by the latest market dominants, the supermarkets and the chain stores which sell almost anything and everything you may need for the day to day life.

It is a really depressing and pathetic scene where numerous out of town retail parks and supermarkets are uprooting the locals and taking their places. Virtually, each major town or city is basically a carbon copy of one other. Anywhere you travel; there is not much diversity or change you can find anymore. In every city or town, it?s the usual brand of coffee shops, all the same cloth stores, the usual chains of garden care companies, DIY or the same restaurants or electrical outlets.These small businesses owners are struggling to survive a losing battle and are loosing their lifeblood as it is being sucked out.

The exciting news for the small businesses is that the recent E-Commerce revolution has introduced a whole new level playing field offering everyone a fair chance to become an internet business giant very easily enabling everyone to enjoy the big profits.The internet carries the free information flow and everyone?s looking for their necessaries.? These are the local folks ? People living in your own area, Your customers with the biggest potentials.

Check out the recent statistics and you?ll get your proof. The trend of researching products and services online is increasing every year as more and more people are getting easy access to high speed internet facilities. Also the smart phone revolution and tablet devices have been a big help. But still, they buy OFFLINE! Grab full advantage of the E-Commerce concept, put your innovative ideas into effect and watch your business flourish. Make this approach, your competitors did and they are doing well.Keep reading and find out how you too can bring out your ?A Game? and someday become an online business giant.

Getting Started Online

Promoting business on the web can be quite overwhelming. This is one of the many reasons why small business owners postpone their advertisement plans over the internet. On the web, there are numerous advertisement techniques available and not having a clear idea might cause trouble deciding where to start from.

Many local businesses dip into the online marketing world and after sometime they give up as the expected results don?t show up.

The internet marketing is efficient and fruitful but it?s not a magic wand which will help you get rich overnight. You know your business by heart, so, now find an easy and simple approach to let the others know.

Not all marketing methods work well for all type of business ventures, but below are some basic things which literally almost any business venture, no matter which sector the venture is related to, can certainly help you to mark your presence on a large scale over the internet without draining your account dry.

Your Online Income Generation Machine ? ?Your Website

You don?t have to create an expensive website with all singing and dancing works of art. The site should be updated regularly and be search engine friendly.Designing a fully functional and yet profitable website is an extremely daunting task. So, small businesses owners usually leave all the designing and technical works to the hired contractors.This sometimes turns out to be an expensive mistake. Website designers are capable of making stunning looking website designs complete using every bell and whistle.

For example, if you were running a car dealership, you would not trust the car mechanics to run your marketing campaigns. He ?may be a damn good car mechanic, but it is almost unlikely that the mechanic would also be an expert authority on marketing. Hand the control of the marketing campaigns over to him and pretty soon you?ll be out of business.Allowing your website designer to run the website for you would put you into similar situations as mentioned above.

Of course, they come with excellent design skills, but they are not experts on marketing in most cases. Only a few website designers completely understand the effective search engine optimization techniques, or how to present compelling sales information or advertisements which effectively pre-sells the products and services you intend to put on the shelves.Believe me; nobody wants a website designer who only focuses on eye catching designs with pretty looking but absolutely pointless gimmicks providing Zero efficiency.Below some tips are presented that will help you run your website with total control and eventually you?ll be running a website providing a healthy profit.

1.? Think straight and be sure about what it is that you really want. You want and need a website working 24/7 with regular earnings. Be clear about exactly what task each web page is expected to accomplish and design them accordingly. Also, in advance, decide what kind of customers your website is trying to attract.

1. For example, are you interested in showing off your products via an online brochure or do you want to sell those on the website?
2. ?Do you want the webpage to collect the visitor?s contact details or just want the site to let the consumers know your contact details?To keep the customers updated you can go for a blog or newsletter delivery.

2.? Place your offers and make the Buy and contact details clearly visible on the website.? People buy online to save time. So, if you want more online buyers, make the Buy button clearly seen. Make sure that your contact details are visible bright and clearly on each web page, so, the customers can call you if needed.

?Download Your Free Ebook ?

Social media allow you connect with your target audience and have a two-way effective conversation. But it can be easy to forget that not everyone who finds your social media profiles will speak your language, or be able to relate to your region?s latest trends.Social Media Marketing is Secret Weapon for any offline; online business and Brands. Big MNC?s and Small Business owners use social media platform to capture the attention of their target audiences . That?s why?I?ve?created ?special short report about ?Basic E-Commerce Strategies and transform your Business Online using Social media and search Engines. Don?t worry I?m not going to ask you to subscribe my mailing list, but if you like my short report then you can?subscribe my blog to receive Regular updates via email notification.

I hope my short report will help you create some amazing ideas about your business and Brand. Just hit reply to this post and let me know what you thought please.

Talk Soon,

Sharanyan Sharma

Google+

Source: http://www.sharanyan.com/local-business-online-giant/internet-marketing/

Quvenzhané Wallis dancing with the stars cast kristen stewart Shirley Bassey adele Oscars 2013 barcelona vs real madrid

Senate nears pre-dawn OK of Democratic budget

WASHINGTON (AP) ? An exhausted Senate neared approval early Saturday of a $3.7 trillion budget for next year that will let majority Democrats highlight their fiscal priorities, but won't resolve the deep differences the two parties have over deficits and the size of government.

Senators sorted through a final batch of amendments and were on course to approve the measure in the pre-dawn hours and leave town for a two-week spring recess. The non-binding plan would shrink annual federal shortfalls over the next decade to nearly $400 billion, raise taxes by nearly $1 trillion and cull modest savings from domestic programs.

In contrast, a rival budget approved by the GOP-run House balances the budget within 10 years without boosting taxes.

That plan ? by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., his party's vice presidential candidate last year ? claims $4 trillion more in savings over the period than Senate Democrats by imposing major cuts in Medicaid, food stamps and other safety net programs for the needy. It would also transform the Medicare health care program for seniors into a voucher-like system for future recipients.

"We have presented very different visions for how our country should work and who it should work for," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who chairs the Senate Budget Committee. "But I am hopeful that we can bridge this divide."

Congressional budgets are planning documents that leave actual changes in revenues and spending for later legislation, and this was the first the Democratic-run Senate has approved in four years. That is testament to the political and mathematical contortions needed to write fiscal plans in an era of record-breaking deficits that until this year exceeded an eye-popping $1 trillion annually, and to the parties' profoundly conflicting views.

"I believe we're in denial about the financial condition of our country," Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, top Republican on the Budget panel, said of Democratic efforts to boost spending on some programs. "Trust me, we've got to have some spending reductions."

Though the shortfalls have shown signs of easing slightly and temporarily, there is no easy path to the two parties finding compromise ? which the first months of 2013 have amply illustrated.

Already this year, Congress has raised taxes on the rich after narrowly averting tax boosts on virtually everyone else, tolerated $85 billion in automatic spending cuts, temporarily sidestepped a federal default and prevented a potential government shutdown.

By sometime this summer, the government's borrowing limit will have to be extended again ? or a default will be at risk ? and it is unclear what Republicans may demand for providing needed votes. It is also uncertain how the two parties will resolve the differences between their two budgets, something many believe simply won't happen.

Both sides have expressed a desire to reduce federal deficits. But President Barack Obama is demanding a combination of tax increases and spending cuts to do so, while GOP leaders say they won't consider higher revenues but want serious reductions in Medicare and other benefit programs that have rocketed deficits skyward.

Obama plans to release his own 2014 budget next month, an unveiling that will be studied for whether it signals a willingness to engage Republicans in negotiations or play political hardball.

In a long day that began Friday morning, senators plodded through scores of amendments ? all of them non-binding but some delivering potent political messages.

They voted in favor of giving states more powers to collect sales taxes on online purchases their citizens make from out-of-state Internet companies, and to endorse the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that is to pump oil from Canada to Texas refineries.

They also approved amendments voicing support for eliminating the $2,500 annual cap on flexible spending account contributions imposed by Obama's health care overhaul, and for charging regular postal rates for mailings by political parties, which currently qualify for the lower prices paid by non-profits.

In a rebuke to one of the Senate's most conservative members, they overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to cut even deeper than the House GOP budget and eliminate deficits in just five years.

The Democratic budget envisions $975 billion in unspecified new taxes over the coming 10 years. There would be an equal amount of spending reductions coming chiefly from health programs, defense and reduced interest payments as deficits get smaller than previously anticipated.

This year's projected deficit of nearly $900 billion would fall to around $700 billion next year and bottom out near $400 billion in 2016 before trending upward again.

Shoehorned into the package is $100 billion for public works projects and other programs aimed at creating jobs.

__

Associated Press reporter Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-nears-pre-dawn-ok-democratic-budget-073539397.html

diane sawyer Colorado Marijuana Washington Election Results drudge report Presidential Election 2012 Incumbent politico