Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/155392601?client_source=feed&format=rss
indianapolis colts colts colts turkey the walking dead the walking dead turkey map
Monday, October 31, 2011
Iran parliament to question Ahmadinejad over fraud (AP)
TEHRAN, Iran ? Iran's parliament is set to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning over an economic scandal and his polices after the required number of lawmakers signed a petition Sunday, the latest salvo in a long battle between the president and his rivals.
Ahmadinejad would be the first president to be hauled before the Iranian parliament, a serious blow to his standing in a the conflict involving the president, lawmakers and Iran's powerful clerics.
At least 73 lawmakers signed the petition to question Ahmadinejad, just above one-quarter of the 290 members required by Iran's constitution to call in a president.
Earlier the parliament found Ahmadinejad's economics minister guilty in relation to a $2.6 million fraud case, considered the largest in Iran's history.
This is just one of several economic misconduct cases that target Ahmadinejad allies, evidence that his political struggles are a factor. Ahmadinejad has been wrestling with the parliament and the clergy over in the run-up to parliamentary elections in March and a presidential election in 2013.
Ahmadinejad has come under increasing attacks in recent months from the same hard-liners who brought him to power.
Dozens of Ahmadinejad's political backers have been arrested or hounded out of the public eye by hard-line forces in recent months. His protege and top aide, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, has been effectively blackballed from his goal of succeeding Ahmadinejad in 2013 elections by a series of reputation-killing accusations.
They include leading a "deviant current" that seeks to challenge the system of theocratic rule, and alleged links to the $2.6 billion bank fraud.
The questioning, should it happen, would be a serious blow to Ahmadinejad, who has already been weakened after he publicly challenged Khamenei in April over the choice of intelligence minister.
The $2.6 billion fraud case involving top government officials has reinvigorated efforts by lawmakers to seriously bring Ahmadinejad before the house.
"The petition to question the president has reached the minimum of signatures required. It was handed over to the presiding council," lawmaker Hossein Sobhaninia said.
The parliament's presiding council acknowledged receiving the petition Sunday, clearing the way to bring the president before the house.
At a session of parliament broadcast live on state radio Sunday, a report was read saying that a parliamentary investigation has found top government officials guilty in the case, described as the nation's biggest financial scam.
Economy Minister Shamsoddin Hosseini is set to be impeached Tuesday over the case.
Sobhaninia, a member of the presiding council, said a special parliamentary committee will question a representative of the president before Ahmadinejad himself is summoned before the house.
Dozens of Iranian lawmakers signed a similar petition last year, but later, several lawmakers withdrew their signatures, killing the move.
Ali Motahari, a conservative lawmaker behind the petition, resigned earlier this month to protest the parliament's failure to summon Ahmadinejad for questioning. He charged that he could no longer protect the rights of the people who elected him to parliament.
On Sunday, Motahari said he will withdraw his resignation if the president is actually questioned.
The $2.6 billion fraud case involved the use of forged documents to obtain credit from at least two Iranian state banks to purchase state-owned companies.
Iranian businessman Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, also known as Amir Mansour Aria, has been accused of masterminding the scam, a scandal that broke in September.
A long report on parliament's investigation found Hosseini, the economy minister, his deputies and managers of the Central Bank of Iran as well as managers of the banks involved in the fraud case guilty of failing to take action despite having knowledge of the offenses.
ipod nano watch dancing with the stars elimination dancing with the stars elimination nexus prime nexus prime new iphone new iphone
NATO convoy bomb adds urgency to protecting Kabul (AP)
KABUL, Afghanistan ? The weekend suicide bombing of a NATO convoy that killed 17 people in Kabul adds urgency to the U.S.-led coalition's work to expand a security bubble around the Afghan capital.
With most of the attacks in Kabul blamed on the Pakistan-based Haqqani network, the latest reinforced U.S. and Afghan demands that Islamabad do more to curb militant activity and sanctuaries on its territory.
While there is no specific information linking Saturday's convoy attack to the Haqqani network, investigators say they soon will have evidence the bombing was "Haqqani-related," a western diplomat said Sunday. The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation, said it was "very possible" the attack was the work of Haqqani fighters, who have ties to both al-Qaida and the Taliban.
In the brazen midday assault, a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into an armored coalition bus traveling in the southwest end of the city. Heavily armored military vehicles also were in the convoy, but the bomber targeted the bus, which was carrying troops and civilians contractors.
The Haqqanis were the specific focus of two military operations this month that involved tens of thousands of Afghan and NATO troops. They were conducted over nine days in Kabul province, Wardak, Logar and Ghazni provinces south and west of the capital and Paktia, Paktika and Khost provinces along the border. More than 200 insurgents were killed or captured. At least 20 of them had ties to the Haqqani group, including 10 identified as leaders of the network.
Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that the operations against the Haqqanis were conducted in preparation for next year's plan to step up operations to keep insurgents from infiltrating across the Pakistani border and into the capital, especially from the south.
"The campaign plan is to extend operations down in that area ? pretty significantly ? to secure the orbital districts around Kabul and push that security zone out," Allen said.
"The overarching campaign plan for next year is going to see us consolidate our holdings in the south, conduct operations in the east to expand the security zone around Kabul and then connect the two," he said. That also would facilitate travel along a highway that connecting Kabul with southern Afghanistan, he said.
In Saturday's attack, the force of the explosion knocked the bus on its side and ignited a large fire that sent heavy black smoke rising above the scene. Seventeen people died ? five NATO service members, including one Canadian soldier; eight civilian contractors, including two from Britain; and four Afghans, including a policeman.
A U.S. defense official initially said all the foreigners killed were American, but that could not be confirmed. NATO does not disclose the nationalities of those killed.
Fluor Corp., a company based in Irving, Texas, that employs contractors in Afghanistan, confirmed on Sunday that some of its employees, including the two British nationals, were killed in the attack. Their names were not being released out of respect for their families, said Keith Stephens, a company representative.
The deadly attack was on a thoroughfare near the landmark Darulaman Palace, the bombed-out seat of former Afghan kings. At the time of the blast, Afghan lawmakers and ministers were gathered at the parliament building nearby to remember six lawmakers killed in a 2007 suicide bombing in Baghlan province. A lawmaker from Kunar province, who was making a speech, ducked when he heard the loud explosion.
At least 11 of about 15 major attacks in the capital this year can be blamed on the Haqqanis, according to a senior official with the coalition who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss undisclosed investigative reports on the incidents.
Last month, then-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said the Haqqani network "acts as a veritable arm" of Pakistan's intelligence agency ? an accusation that Pakistan has denied.
Mullen accused the network of staging an attack against the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul on Sept. 13 as well as a truck bombing that wounded 77 American soldiers in Wardak province. He claimed Pakistan's spy agency helped the group.
The senior coalition official said that the Taliban, based in the Pakistani city of Quetta, appeared to linked to the Sept. 20 assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, but that investigators did not see any direct tie to the Pakistani intelligence service. Rabbani, who was leading the Afghan government's effort to broker peace with the Taliban, was killed at his Kabul home by an assassin posing as a peace emissary from the insurgent group.
The United States has stepped up criticism of Pakistan and its counterterrorism cooperation but at the same time has worked to cajole the increasingly angry and resistant Pakistanis into doing more to squeeze militants on its side of the border.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered an unusually blunt warning to the Pakistanis when she visited the region last week. She said Pakistan "must be part of the solution" to the Afghan conflict. Clinton said the Obama administration expects the Pakistani government, military and intelligence services to "take the lead" in not only fighting insurgents based in Pakistan but also in encouraging Afghan militants to reconcile with Afghan society.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who directs day-to-day military operations in Afghanistan, said this week that he thinks the goal to have Afghan security forces in the lead across the country by the end of 2014 can be achieved without work against militant sanctuaries in Pakistan. But he said it would be a challenge.
"In order to do that, we have to build a strong, capable layered defense with the Afghan national security forces in order to provide, you know, a proper interdiction. And that it'll be a much tougher task, he said.
___
Associated Press writers Tarek El-Tablawy and Rahim Faiez in Kabul contributed to this report.
frank gore frank gore brooklyn bridge lady antebellum marques colston dez bryant listeria
New rules for dictatorship crimes in South America (AP)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina ? A generation after dictatorships gave way to democracy in South America, Brazil and Uruguay are catching up to their neighbors in digging into long-buried crimes against humanity.
A "truth and reconciliation" commission to investigate four decades of human rights abuses passed Brazil's Congress unanimously this week. On Thursday, Uruguay's Congress revoked a military amnesty and classified dictatorship-era kidnappings, torture and killings as crimes against humanity.
"It indicates an enormous leap forward, away from the fear," Argentine-Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman said by telephone from London, where a revival is being staged of "Death and the Maiden," his play about the failures of Latin American justice. "The past has been haunting Argentina, and Chile and Brazil and Uruguay for many years now, and unless you bury it well, it turns into a ghost, and you can't kill a ghost."
Brazil's vote late Wednesday night represented a compromise between military leaders and human rights advocates after years of argument.
Uruguay's lawmakers did the opposite hours later, breaking a deal made a quarter-century ago to protect both the right and the left as democracy was restored.
Rights advocates in both countries hope their governments will now reveal more about what really happened, just as in Argentina and Chile, where hundreds of dictatorship-era officials have been convicted of "dirty war" crimes.
The latest such convictions came Wednesday in Argentina, where a one-time navy secret agent known as the "Angel of Death" and 11 other former officials were sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, torture and murders of detainees at the notorious Navy Mechanics School, where 5,000 people were held and only half survived.
Military dictatorships allied with the United States ruled much of South America in the 1970s. They combined forces in Operation Condor, a coordinated effort to crush the threat of armed revolution.
As each nation returned to democracy in the 1980s, still-powerful militaries forced them to make uncomfortable compromises ? amnesties or rulings by pro-junta judges that delayed or denied prosecutions, or "truth" commissions whose ground rules left many unsatisfied.
Dorfman, whose long exile from Chile and Argentina began with the 1973 coup of Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet, has written many works about the difficulties of seeking justice long after authoritarian governments give way to democracies. Each country's journey is incomplete, but he said Thursday was a day to celebrate.
"There's only one road to hell but there are many roads to heaven," Dorfman said. "All of these Operation Condor countries that collaborated and were such allies in this fight against the democratic forces of their societies, they are all coming to separate ways of dealing with that past. It's very heartening."
Brazil's government recently tallied 475 people killed or disappeared by combatants on the right and left during its 1964-1985 dictatorship, but it has never fully investigated or punished those responsible.
The compromise reconciliation panel gives both sides plenty to worry about.
The commission will have subpoena power, can demand any document it wants from the government and put witnesses under oath. But the country's 1979 amnesty remains intact, so it won't result in prosecutions. It's not clear what will happen to people who refuse to talk. And in a concession to Brazil's military, it must look at any rights crimes from 1946 to 1988, the beginning of Brazil's current democracy.
"This commission is extremely limited ? it's almost perverse. There is no infrastructure, not enough people, and not enough time to research and investigate everything that happened," said Cecilia Coimbra, who was tortured by Brazil's military. "History will be told in a limited way."
Coimbra founded the anti-torture group Tortura Nunca Mais and lobbied against a truth commission without the power to impose punishment.
But Brazil's human rights minister, Maria do Rosario Nunes, said the commission represents a "commitment by the Brazilian state to never again use coercion and violence as a tool of politics in our country."
It will begin its work as soon as President Dilma Roussef names its seven members.
Argentina's experience shows such commissions alone aren't enough, said Estela de Carlotto, leader of the activist group Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
"Here, reconciliation? Forget it," Carlotto said in an interview last year. "Here there has to be truth and justice. Why? Because first of all, they didn't ask for forgiveness. Here, they said they did the right thing and would do it again."
Argentina's "Never Again" commission, led by writer Ernesto Sabato, began an official tally that eventually numbered 13,000 victims of the dictatorship ? evidence of deaths and disappearances powerful enough to enable the fragile democracy to try and convict former junta leaders in civilian courts.
Lower-ranking officers then rebelled, forcing amnesties that held for two decades. Only after Argentina's Congress and Supreme Court overturned them could evidence gathered a generation earlier be prepared for the many trials currently under way.
To date, 262 people have been convicted of crimes against humanity, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday. The latest was former navy spy Alfredo Astiz, who infiltrated and betrayed a group of mothers seeking their missing children. He also was convicted of kidnapping, torturing and murdering two French nuns and a journalist.
"Now we have trials all over the country because the laws of impunity fell and we're operating with complete justice," Carlotto said. "At times it's bad justice, or weak or deceitful, or good. But it's justice, and you can appeal it and bring forward your testimony and evidence."
A blanket amnesty declared by Chile's dictatorship in 1978 remains in force, preventing most prosecutions involving the bloodiest period of the 1973-1990 military rule. Prosecutors have tried hundreds of former military and police officials, nevertheless. They argue that a crime is still being committed as long as a victim hasn't been found and that amnesties can be applied only at the conclusion of the judicial process, not beforehand.
Uruguay's twin amnesties protecting former military members and leftist guerrillas were twice upheld in national referendums. But the governing Broad Front coalition finally found enough votes in Congress to overturn the military amnesty, and President Jose Mujica is expected to sign the law before Nov. 1, when a statute of limitations would have eliminated the possibility of new prosecutions.
Long-dormant cases will be opened against former military and police officials suspected in the kidnappings and killings of about 30 leftists during Uruguay's 1973-1985 dictatorship.
The backlash has already begun. Some retired military leaders said they will ask for prosecutions of about 30 former Tupamaro guerrillas as well. While Mujica and most other ex-rebels served long prison sentences before democracy's return, others remained free.
___
Associated Press writers Raul O. Garces in Uruguay, Marco Sibaja and Juliana Barbassa in Brazil and Debora Rey in Argentina contributed to this report.
___
Michael Warren is at http://www.twitter.com/mwarrenap.
ellen degeneres show ellen degeneres show david guetta david guetta work of art iphone update iphone update
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Candidates on Climate Change (ContributorNetwork)
The climate change debate is heating up, and with an election on the way, it's important to know what the candidates believe in regard to the issue. Here is what the front-runners and President Barack Obama have to say on climate change:
Mitt Romney: "My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet," he said at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. "And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us. My view with regards to energy policy is pretty straightforward: I want us to become energy secure and independent of the oil cartels."
Herman Cain: "I don't believe global warming is real. Do we have climate change? Yes. Is it a crisis? No," he said. "The real science doesn't say that we have any major crisis or threat when it comes to climate change." He strongly opposes legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, because he believes it is "another source of taxation for the bureaucrats."
Rick Perry: "I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized. I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects. I think we're seeing it almost weekly or even daily, scientists who are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change. Yes, our climates change. They've been changing ever since the Earth was formed. But I do not buy into, that a group of scientists, who in some cases were found to be manipulating this data."
Ron Paul: "(The Copenhagen treaty on climate change) can't help the economy. It has to hurt the economy and it can't possibly help the environment because they're totally off track on that. It might turn out to be one of the biggest hoaxes of all history, this whole global warming terrorism that they've been using, but we'll have to just wait and see, but it cannot be helpful. It's going to hurt everybody."
Barack Obama: "Few issues facing America or the world are more important than combating Climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We've seen record drought spreading famine and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season. Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil, if left unaddressed, will continue to weaken our economy, and threaten our national security."
the green mile nba lockout james whitey bulger rachel uchitel amerigo vespucci julio jones elizabeth warren
Planets smashed into dust near supermassive black holes
Friday, October 28, 2011
Fat doughnut-shaped dust shrouds that obscure about half of supermassive black holes could be the result of high speed crashes between planets and asteroids, according to a new theory from an international team of astronomers. The scientists, led by Dr. Sergei Nayakshin of the University of Leicester, publish their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Supermassive black holes reside in the central parts of most galaxies. Observations indicate that about 50% of them are hidden from view by mysterious clouds of dust, the origin of which is not completely understood. The new theory is inspired by our own Solar System, where the so-called zodiacal dust is known to originate from collisions between solid bodies such as asteroids and comets. The scientists propose that the central regions of galaxies contain not only black holes and stars but also planets and asteroids.
Collisions between these rocky objects would occur at colossal speeds as large as 1000 km per second, continuously shattering and fragmenting the objects, until eventually they end up as microscopic dust. Dr. Nayakshin points out that this harsh environment - radiation and frequent collisions - would make the planets orbiting supermassive black holes sterile, even before they are destroyed. "Too bad for life on these planets", he says, "but on the other hand the dust created in this way blocks much of the harmful radiation from reaching the rest of the host galaxy. This in turn may make it easier for life to prosper elsewhere in the rest of the central region of the galaxy."
He also believes that understanding the origin of the dust near black holes is important in our models of how these monsters grow and how exactly they affect their host galaxies. "We suspect that the supermassive black hole in our own Galaxy, the Milky Way, expelled most of the gas that would otherwise turn into more stars and planets", he continues, "Understanding the origin of the dust in the inner regions of galaxies would take us one step closer to solving the mystery of the supermassive black holes".
###
University of Leicester: http://www.leicester.ac.uk
Thanks to University of Leicester 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 87 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114735/Planets_smashed_into_dust_near_supermassive_black_holes
neil degrasse tyson neil degrasse tyson braves braves harrys law orioles atlanta braves
Saturday, October 29, 2011
U.S. announces desert ?solar energy zones?
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
Source: www.nashuatelegraph.com --- Saturday, October 29, 2011
LOS ANGELES ? The Obama administration on Thursday announced its plan for solar Energy development, directing large-scale industrial projects to 285,000 acres of desert in the Western U.S. while opening 20 million acres of the Mojave for development. The Bureau of Land Management?s ?solar Energy zones? are intended to make some of the desert?s most sensitive landscapes less desirable for solar prospecting by identifying ?sweet spots? that already have passed environmental requirements and therefore promise expedited permitting, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said. ?These 445 square miles of zones are ... where development will be driven,? Salazar said. The 17 solar Energy zones in six western states ? including two large areas in California ? were identified by their absence of major environmental or cultural conflicts. ...
dark energy sherri shepherd sherri shepherd sean avery east river east river harry shum jr
Bill Murray Gets A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III
Bill Murray is beloved around Moviefone HQ for his bizarre quirks, brutal honesty, prodigious talent and total unpredictability. Which is what makes this latest bit of Murray-centric news perfect and even somewhat obvious: Variety reports that Murray has joined the cast of 'A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III' opposite Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza and -- wait for it -- Charlie Sheen. Directed by Roman Coppola, 'Swan' focuses on the titular playboy (Sheen; duh), a successful graphic designer who sees his life go down the toilet after a break-up. Per the Variety description, Swan copes with the pain "through delirious fantasies involving his many failed romances, [and] begins the hard road of self-evaluation to come to terms with life without her."
No word yet on who Murray will play, but it's a reunion of sorts for Murray: he worked with Roman's sister Sofia Coppola in the Oscar-nominated 'Lost in Translation.'
In addition to Murray, Sheen, Schwartzman and Plaza, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Patricia Arquette have been added to the cast. Production is currently underway in Los Angeles.
[via Variety]
[Photo: Getty]
Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
RELATED
Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1923849/news/1923849/
grandparents day 911 9/11 ground zero world trade center university of michigan university of michigan
Bad Girls Club Finale Videos
The Final Bout: Nastasia vs. Shelly The girls arrive home from the club. Shelly tells Tiara she won?t miss everyone, but she will miss Tiara. Meanwhile, upstairs as Nastasia prepares for a fight she warns Judi to protect her stuff. Shelly heats up dinner for her and Angelic and serves Angelic. Nastasia approaches Shelly and [...]
jonah hill neutrinos neutrinos autumnal equinox rob bell jaycee dugard meg whitman
KBW cuts workforce after loss; CEO steps down (AP)
NEW YORK ? KBW Inc. said Thursday that it is reducing its workforce by 13 percent after reporting a surprising third-quarter loss. The investment bank also said long-time CEO John Duffy was stepping down after being diagnosed with prostate cancer
The New York company, which is known as Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. and specializes in the financial services industry, blamed the disappointing quarter on the decline in bank and financial stocks.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, the company said it lost $15.7 million, or 51 cents per share. That's compared with a profit of $3.8 million, or 11 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Not including one-time items, the company lost 47 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 2 cents per share, according to FactSet.
Quarterly revenue dropped to $50.4 million, from $89.6 million. The company lost $19.9 million from principal transactions, compared with a $12 million gain a year ago. Investment banking revenue fell to $32.1 million, from $38.4 million.
Revenue from commissions rose to $35.1 million, from $28.2 million. Although advisory fees from investment banking mergers and acquisitions rose, the company noted that activity was still "muted" amid concerns about asset values.
As part of a broader cost-cutting measure, the company noted that it began the process of cutting 80 of its 600 full-time positions in the quarter through layoffs and attrition. The company said it expects to record severance costs of about $5 million; $1.8 million was included the third quarter and the remainder is expected to be included in the fourth quarter results.
KBW also noted that it is reducing its use of consultants and temporary employees and trimming other non-compensation expenses.
Chief Operating Officer Thomas Michaud, 47, was named to succeed Duffy, who led the company for the past 10 years. Andrew Senchak, vice chairman and president, will take over Duffy's role as board chairman; Duffy, 62, will stay on the board as vice chairman.
The company declared a quarterly dividend of 5 cents per share.
Shares of KBW rose 89 cents per share, or 6 percent, to $15.17.
gilad shalit gilad shalit ny jets ny jets new york jets santonio holmes john edward psychic
Friday, October 28, 2011
UT study looks at manual wheelchair use, exercise and calorie burning
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 28-Oct-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Lola Alapo
lalapo@utk.edu
865-974-3993
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
University of Tennessee researchers have calculated calorie costs of various physical activities performed by manual wheelchair users
KNOXVILLE -- A person who uses a manual wheelchair can burn up to 120 calories in half an hour while wheeling at 2 mph on a flat surface, which is three times as much as someone doing the same action in a motorized wheelchair.
The same person can expend 127 calories while mopping and as much as 258 calories while fencing in a 30-minute timeframe if the activities are done in a manual wheelchair.
This is according to a review article written by Professor David R. Bassett Jr. of the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It calculates the calorie costs of various physical activities for people who use manual wheelchairs and summarizes them into a single source -- a first of its kind.
The article, which Bassett co-authored with former UT graduate student Scott A. Conger, was published this month in Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, a journal issued by Human Kinetics Inc.
The review should be helpful to those who want to create physical activity questionnaires and develop recommendations for people with disabilities.
It also would show people with disabilities that they can obtain health-enhancing benefits when they exercise moderately or vigorously, Bassett said.
"It might be simply wheeling their chair along while taking their dog for a walk or playing wheelchair basketball," he said. "You can still burn a significant number of calories."
Bassett co-authored another document entitled the "2011 Compendium of Physical Activities" for able-bodied people. The study, which was funded by National Institutes of Health, contains a list of activities that is continually updated and is widely used. But he saw a need to develop a comparable resource for those who use wheelchairs.
Bassett and Conger reviewed more than 250 studies containing energy expenditure data for wheelchair-related physical activities. They identified 63 activities, ranging from being sedentary to household chores and transportation to exercise.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Sciences recommends that adults with disabilities should get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. The suggestion is the same for able-bodied people.
A partial list of wheelchair-related activities and their caloric burn (performed by a 160-pound adult in 30 minutes):
Sitting, watching TV: 40
Dusting: 65
Table Tennis: 80
Vacuuming: 98
Basketball (shooting baskets): 116
Tennis: 149
Basketball (gameplay): 221
Nordic sit skiing: 428
###
[ | 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: 28-Oct-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Lola Alapo
lalapo@utk.edu
865-974-3993
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
University of Tennessee researchers have calculated calorie costs of various physical activities performed by manual wheelchair users
KNOXVILLE -- A person who uses a manual wheelchair can burn up to 120 calories in half an hour while wheeling at 2 mph on a flat surface, which is three times as much as someone doing the same action in a motorized wheelchair.
The same person can expend 127 calories while mopping and as much as 258 calories while fencing in a 30-minute timeframe if the activities are done in a manual wheelchair.
This is according to a review article written by Professor David R. Bassett Jr. of the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It calculates the calorie costs of various physical activities for people who use manual wheelchairs and summarizes them into a single source -- a first of its kind.
The article, which Bassett co-authored with former UT graduate student Scott A. Conger, was published this month in Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, a journal issued by Human Kinetics Inc.
The review should be helpful to those who want to create physical activity questionnaires and develop recommendations for people with disabilities.
It also would show people with disabilities that they can obtain health-enhancing benefits when they exercise moderately or vigorously, Bassett said.
"It might be simply wheeling their chair along while taking their dog for a walk or playing wheelchair basketball," he said. "You can still burn a significant number of calories."
Bassett co-authored another document entitled the "2011 Compendium of Physical Activities" for able-bodied people. The study, which was funded by National Institutes of Health, contains a list of activities that is continually updated and is widely used. But he saw a need to develop a comparable resource for those who use wheelchairs.
Bassett and Conger reviewed more than 250 studies containing energy expenditure data for wheelchair-related physical activities. They identified 63 activities, ranging from being sedentary to household chores and transportation to exercise.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Sciences recommends that adults with disabilities should get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. The suggestion is the same for able-bodied people.
A partial list of wheelchair-related activities and their caloric burn (performed by a 160-pound adult in 30 minutes):
Sitting, watching TV: 40
Dusting: 65
Table Tennis: 80
Vacuuming: 98
Basketball (shooting baskets): 116
Tennis: 149
Basketball (gameplay): 221
Nordic sit skiing: 428
###
[ | 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/2011-10/uota-usl102811.php
hilary duff pregnant psat psat brenda song mountain west mountain west rickross
Where Are the Women at Occupy Wall Street? Everywhere???And They're Not Going Away (The Nation)
- Web
- Images
- Video
- Local
- Shopping
- Apps
- News
- More
- Answers
- Directory
- Jobs
- Sports
- Finance
- All Search Services
- Advanced Search
- Preferences
- Advertising Programs
- About This Page
- Page Tour
- Privacy / Legal
- About Our Ads
- Submit Your Site
download ios 5 pokey find my mac gumby derrick mason derrick mason lamichael james
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Cheap Vehicle insurance Charge * Never pay A lot of to the ...
October 26th, 2011
By Renato U.H. Walquist
It will seem when you are already included in a number of incidents it?ll be impossible that you can locate low cost risky car insurance even though you adjust companies. However, it?s all about opposition with insurance agencies, they need to hold the very best prices. Even though they will notice you might be doing all of your study pertaining to much better prices it may construct your prices drop. Keep examining your month to month affirmation and you may well find that your prices already have fallen with your insurance provider failed to tell you.
Truth: Americans are generally caught in regards to the concept that possessing insurance constantly results in gonna need to pay out a good deal. This isn?t true, as Cheap auto insurance companies currently provides you with the exact same protection for a cheaper fee!
You will discover a quote for affordable risky car insurance faster than any other time. The insurance plan companies are incredibly competing so they really would love you to discover his or her coverage and still have any quotation very quickly in any respect. Regardless of whereby america your house is; companies? prices are for sale to you. You can examine estimates and you don?t need to talk a person.
Truth: Insurance companies prices can adjust each day but they also don?t let their potential customers understand. Even so, a cheap car insurance prices are generally super easy to find that provides the the same protection you have.
Insurance plan companies? prices fluctuate every day. Just before it will consume plenty of your time getting in touch with each and every firm and then expecting these to phone you to be able to have an insurance fee. This particular authorized insurance agencies for you to cost their potential customers in excess of they will get. The good thing is looking prices of varied companies just needs a couple of minutes.
Truth: Loans insurance agencies have recently consumed a large amount of business from popular companies they don?t devote your entire monthly premiums on advertising.
Many people don?t get which looking many companies? prices it?ll preserve these large sums of money 12 months for his or her car insurance. Browsing your prices most in the United states and will also help the bank balance.
Several car protection companies understand this specific and as a consequence they should lower his or her prices to remain competing. By simply looking the web you?ll get estimates free of charge and then find the best deal for you personally.
Inexpensive car insurance is required through everybody on this stage of international recession along with fiscal lack of stability. This is with the seniors who?ve retired from energetic solutions and still have to reside in regards to the pension plan. Car insurance companies take into account seniors as risky classification in order to get discount rates onto it seniors must explore a number of information to own these.
There?s two age brackets that are rarely presented Inexpensive automobile insuranceYoung motorists below 25 along with seniors over Sixty five aren?t presented low cost car insurance. Youthful motorists are considered to become dangerous along with new whilst seniors are considered to become vunerable to incidents on account of health-related troubles.
A proven way pertaining to seniors to own lower insurance costs would be to consider aid of local advocacy programs. This particular sensation to become an integral part of an extremely huge team assists seniors for you to get significantly lower insurance costs. This is a typical training pertaining to insurance agencies to produce fantastic discount rates if they are acquiring majority business. Using this method of obtaining lower price is useful for seniors that are very good socialites.
Categories: Academics | Tags: Cheap auto insurance
Sorry, comments are closed for this item.
lsu football maps directions josephine baker pumpkin patch troy polamalu grimm boo at the zoo
TechCrunch Ad Hoc Meet-Up In Hong Kong And Shenzhen
As you probably know, Disrupt Beijing is happening next week and I'll be heading south from Beijing after the event. I would love to hang out with folks in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. As it stands, I think we can put together a meet-up in Hong Kong on Wednesday Night (November 2nd) and another meet-up in Shenzhen on Friday night (November 4). I welcome recommendations for spots and I'd love to talk to start-ups and gadget folks in those cities.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Bu_IXxuuEDg/
gene simmons my bloody valentine mario manningham mario manningham holes houston texans houston texans
China limits 'overly entertaining' TV programming
BEIJING (AP) ? China plans to limit reality TV shows and other light fare shown on satellite television stations as part of a drive to wrest back Communist Party control over cultural industries that have fueled more independent viewpoints.
The order from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television refers to shows that are vulgar or "overly entertaining." It singles out programs dealing with marital troubles and matchmaking, talent shows, game shows, variety shows, talk shows and reality programming.
The country's 34 satellite TV stations must largely phase out such shows by next year, to be replaced with news and cultural programming. The order also bans viewership surveys and the use of ratings as the sole criteria for whether to broadcast a particular show.
The changes aim to "meet the public's demand" for varied and high quality viewing, said the order, published Wednesday.
"Satellite channels are mainly for the broadcast of news propaganda and should expand the proportion of news, economic, cultural, science and education, children's, and documentary programming," the order said.
The order follows a Communist Party meeting last week that asserted the need for strengthening social morality and boosting China's cultural influence abroad ? a recognition by the party that it is losing its power to dictate public opinion. Social media, especially hugely popular microblogs that encourage individuals to generate content, are also being targeted by government censors.
The crackdown coincides with a bout of national hand-wringing over a lack of public ethics, highlighted by the death last week of a toddler who was struck by two vehicles and left for dead by passers-by. Officials believe the promotion of "core socialist values" ? a phrase meant to counter calls by liberal Chinese for "universal values" ? will bolster social cohesion in the face of rising materialism.
The communique that emerged from last week's meeting called on officials to "focus education and improvement in the ethical field where there are particularly serious problems."
"Resolutely oppose money worship, hedonism, and extreme individualism and arduously correct bad tendencies such as abusing one's powers, fakery, unprincipled acts, and harming others for profit," said the document, published Wednesday on government websites.
It said television programs and other cultural products should be "refined and inspiring," while oversight of the Internet must be strengthened to block pornography, vulgarity, and the "transmission of harmful information."
In a sign authorities intend to pursue online infractions, three people have been punished with warnings or up to 15 days in detention for spreading rumors online, while suspects were being sought in another three cases, the official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday.
According to the SARFT regulation, satellite channels as a whole can show no more than nine of the restricted programs each night between the prime time hours of 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with individual channels limited to two programs each not exceeding 90 minutes in total.
They must also show at least two hours of news programs between 6:00 a.m. and 11:30 p.m., with at least two news programs running no less than 30 minutes each to be shown in prime time.
While satellite television has grown massively as an alternative to the staid government-run terrestrial channels, younger Chinese have increasingly turned to the Internet for viewing domestic and foreign produced movies and television programs. Government efforts to police the Web have focused mainly on blocking pornography, gambling sites, and those featuring politically sensitive content, while moves to restrict entertainment have been largely ineffective.
The new rules emerge from an ongoing push for media to be both politically docile and relevant to a Chinese audience, according to David Bandurski, editor of the China Media Project website at the University of Hong Kong. Heavy restrictions on content may ultimately doom that to failure, he said.
"They can't have it both ways. That is the real conflict. This is not really about culture at all, it's about politics," Bandurski said.
The new restrictions also contain a strong commercial element in that they stand to favor central government broadcaster CCTV, which has been struggling for viewers despite its monopoly on nationwide terrestrial television. Authorities last month had already ordered leading competitor Hunan Satellite to suspend broadcasts of the hugely popular "American Idol" type singing contest "Super Girl," allegedly for running overtime.
The restrictions had been expected for some time and media reports said stations were already tailoring their programming to conform. Most were already cutting contest shows in which viewers vote for their favorite contestant, a concept frowned on by party cadres who don't permit competitive elections or other facets of Western-style democracy.
The producer of a popular dating program on Shanghai satellite station Dragon TV called "Pick One From a Hundred" referred questions on programming to station managers who did not answer their phones.
"I'm OK with the new rule. The authorities have their reasons for issuing it and we just need to go along," Shao Zhiyu said.
Associated Pressindy 500 martin luther king memorial walking dead season 2 walking dead season 2 saving private ryan nfl scores nfl scores
The Engadget Show - 026: A visit from Intel, a trip to New York Comic Con, haunted houses and costume contests
Hope you weren't planning on falling asleep tonight. We've got a very spooky episode of The Engadget Show coming at you this week. We get a behind the scenes tour of the technology that goes into running Manhattan's Nightmare haunted house. And we swing by New York Comic Con, to discuss the state of digital comics and shoot the breeze with geek legends Mark Hamill and Stan Lee.
We also announce the winners of our Frankengadget contest and give away the clothes from Tim's back to the winner of our in-studio costume contest, courtesy of Halloweencostumes.com -- oh, did we mention that Tim and Brian and dressed as Darth Vader and a storm trooper this whole episode? Because they are.
Intel's staff futurist Brian David Johnson stops by to talk about the near future of the chipmaker and the role science fiction plays in his daily work. We pay tribute to Steve Jobs with the help of some eager Apple fans. And we take a look at the iPhone 4S, Amazon Kindle and the ASUS Zenbook UX31.
Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater
Special guests: Brian David Johnson
Producer: Guy Streit
Director: Alexander Vietmeier
Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger, Brian Heater and Michael Rubens
Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 026 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 026 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 026 (Small)
Subscribe to the Show:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4).
[RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
[HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD.
[iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.
We also announce the winners of our Frankengadget contest and give away the clothes from Tim's back to the winner of our in-studio costume contest, courtesy of Halloweencostumes.com -- oh, did we mention that Tim and Brian and dressed as Darth Vader and a storm trooper this whole episode? Because they are.
Intel's staff futurist Brian David Johnson stops by to talk about the near future of the chipmaker and the role science fiction plays in his daily work. We pay tribute to Steve Jobs with the help of some eager Apple fans. And we take a look at the iPhone 4S, Amazon Kindle and the ASUS Zenbook UX31.
Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater
Special guests: Brian David Johnson
Producer: Guy Streit
Director: Alexander Vietmeier
Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger, Brian Heater and Michael Rubens
Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 026 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 026 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 026 (Small)
Subscribe to the Show:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4).
[RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
[HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD.
[iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.
The Engadget Show - 026: A visit from Intel, a trip to New York Comic Con, haunted houses and costume contests originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/BIF081MD-nE/
frank lucas house of wax kody brown lego man lego man cheryl hines denver weather
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Holland tops Pujols, Cards; Texas ties Series at 2 (AP)
ARLINGTON, Texas ? Inning by inning, this World Series is getting more intriguing.
Derek Holland provided the latest twist, boosted by a pregame pep talk from his manager. The Texas lefty shut down the St. Louis Cardinals on two hits into the ninth inning, and the Rangers won 4-0 Sunday to even things at 2-all.
A day after the Cardinals, powered by Albert Pujols, scored a team record 16 runs in a postseason game, they never got close against Holland.
"When I came off the field, arm hairs are sticking up. It's not like I have much, but man, it was tingly," Holland said.
Rangers manager Ron Washington came to the mound after 8 1-3 innings following Holland's second walk of the game. So close to a shutout, and with the crowd chanting his name, Holland pleaded his case, trying to talk his way into staying in.
"He was begging," Washington said. Or, as Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler described it: "A lot of profanity, we sounded like sailors out there."
Washington listened, then signaled for closer Neftali Feliz. Holland had done his job in Game 4, and then some. He had kept Pujols in the ballpark and the Rangers in this Series.
"Now it's a best out of three," Pujols said. "See who can win two games. At the end, that's who is going to be raising the trophy."
Holland struck out seven and came within two outs of pitching the first complete-game shutout in the World Series since Josh Beckett's gem for Florida to clinch the 2003 title at Yankee Stadium.
"I was very focused. I knew this was a big game for us," said Holland, who was 16-5 with 3.95 ERA and four shutouts in the regular season. "I had to step up and make sure I was prepared."
Hobbled Josh Hamilton put Texas ahead with an RBI double in the first inning. Then Mike Napoli broke it open with a three-run homer in the sixth that set off a hearty high-five in the front row between team president Nolan Ryan and former President George W. Bush.
And just like that, for the first time since 2003, the World Series stood at two games apiece.
Game 5 is Monday night at Rangers Ballpark. It's a rematch of the opener, when Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter topped C.J. Wilson. After that, it's back to Busch Stadium to crown a champion.
Pujols produced arguably the greatest hitting show in postseason history in Game 3, tying Series records with three home runs, six RBIs and five hits during the Cardinals' romp. However, Holland has now emerged as the unlikely star.
Pujols finished 0 for 4 and hit the ball out of the infield only once.
"I wanted him to see my 'A' game," Holland said.
Feliz took over and closed. He walked Allen Craig, then retired Pujols on a fly ball and struck out Matt Holliday to end it.
Holland was in tune all evening with Napoli, his pal and catcher. Much better than the battery for the pregame ceremony ? Bush tossed a wild pitch that glanced off the catcher's mitt Ryan wore.
"I should've gone with the regular glove," Ryan said with a chuckle.
The bounce-back Rangers managed to avoid consecutive losses for the first time since Aug. 23-25, a streak that's kept them out of trouble in the postseason.
The Rangers also completed a Sunday sweep in the matchup of teams from St. Louis and the Dallas area. Earlier in the afternoon, the Cowboys beat the Rams 34-7 right across the parking lots. Hamilton and Lance Berkman served as honorary captains for the pregame coin toss, wearing their baseball uniforms.
Many fans might remember Holland from last year's World Series. He's the reliever who came in against San Francisco, walked his first three batters and promptly got pulled.
Maybe that guy was an impostor. Because this 25-year-old lefty with the sorry little mustache was completely poised, with pinpoint control. Perhaps it was the talk he got from Washington near the dugout shortly before taking the mound.
Washington put both hands on Holland's shoulders and talked to him tenderly, like a dad about to send his teenage son off to college. Holland kept nodding, and Washington finished up with a playful pat to Holland's cheek.
"It was just a general message that he's capable of going out there and keeping us in the ballgame. That's all it was," Washington said. "I talk with Derek like that all the time, it just happened to catch me on TV."
Added Holland: "He shows that he cares about all his players, and he definitely showed that when he talked to me."
After that, Holland was in total command in his first Series start, and improved to 3-0 lifetime in the postseason. The only hits he allowed were by Berkman: a double in the second and a single in the fifth. Holland got even later, getting Berkman to look at a strike three that left the St. Louis star discussing the call with plate umpire Ron Kulpa.
Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson kept his team close despite a wild night in which he walked seven in 5 1-3 innings. Jackson left after a pair of walks in the sixth and Napoli homered on the first pitch from reliever Mitchell Boggs.
"It's just a matter of time before they catch up with you," Jackson said.
NOTES: Napoli became the first catcher to hit two homers in a Series since Mike Piazza of the Mets in 2000. ... Kinsler and St. Louis C Yadier Molina played a little game of back-and-forth in the second. Kinsler robbed Molina of an RBI single with a nice stop up the middle to end the top half. In the bottom half, Molina made a snap throw that trapped Kinsler off first base for the last out.
ea sports ovarian cancer symptoms angola manny ramirez harvest moon alyssa campanella alyssa campanella
Secrets of long life sought in DNA of the elderly (AP)
NEW YORK ? George Eberhardt turned 107 last month, and scientists would love to know how he and other older folks like him made it that far. So he's going to hand over some of his DNA.
He's one of 100 centenarians taking part in a project announced Wednesday that will examine some of the oldest citizens with one of the newest scientific tools: whole-genome sequencing, the deciphering of a person's complete collection of DNA.
Scientists think DNA from very old healthy people could offer clues to how they lived so long. And that could one day lead to medicines to help the rest of us stay disease-free longer.
By the time you reach, say, 105, "it's very hard to get there without some genetic advantages," says Dr. Thomas Perls, a geriatrics expert at Boston University.
Perls is helping find centenarians for the Archon Genomics X Prize competition. The X Prize Foundation, best known for a spaceflight competition, is offering $10 million in prize money to researchers who decipher the complete DNA code from 100 people older than 100. The contest will be judged on accuracy, completeness and the speed and cost of sequencing.
The contest is a relaunch of an older competition with a new focus on centenarians, and it's the second sequencing project involving the elderly to be announced this month.
Genome pioneer J. Craig Venter says the centenarian project is just a first step in revealing the genetic secrets of a long and healthy life.
"We need 10,000 genomes, not 100, to start to understand the link between genetics, disease and wellness," said Venter, who is co-chairing the X Prize contest.
The 107-year-old Eberhardt of Chester, N.J., played and taught tennis until he was 94. He said he's participating in the X Prize project because he's interested in science and technology. It's not clear his genes will reveal much. Nobody else in his extended family reached 100, and he thinks only a couple reached 90, he said in a telephone interview.
So why does he think he lived so long? He credits 70 years of marriage to his wife, Marie. She in turn cites his "intense interest in so many things" over a lifetime, from building radios as a child to pursuing a career in electronics research.
But scientists believe there's more to it, and they want to use genome sequencing to investigate. Dr. Richard Cawthon of the University of Utah, who is seeking longevity genes by other means, says it may turn up genetic features that protect against multiple diseases or that slow the process of aging in general.
Protective features of a centenarian's DNA can even overcome less-than-ideal lifestyles, says Dr. Nir Barzilai of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. His own study of how centenarians live found that "as a group, they haven't done the right things."
Many in the group he studied were obese or overweight. Many were smokers, and few exercised or followed a vegetarian diet. His oldest participant, who died this month just short of her 110th birthday, smoked for 95 years.
"She had genes that protected her against the environment," Barzilai said. One of her sisters died at 102, and one of her brothers is 105 and still manages a hedge fund.
Earlier this month, Scripps Health of San Diego announced a different genome project involving the elderly. The Scripps Wellderly Study will receive the complete genomes of 1,000 people age 80 and older from a sequencing company.
A complete genome reveals not only genes but also other DNA that's responsible for regulating genes. It's "the full monty," showing DNA elements that are key for illness and health, says Dr. Eric Topol, who heads the Wellderly Study.
Participants in that study have an average age of 87 and range up to 108, and they've never had diabetes, heart disease or cancer, or any neurological disease.
"Why are these people Teflon-coated?" Topol asked. "Why don't they get disease?"
The ability to turn out lots of complete genomes is "the new-new thing" in trying to find out, he said.
"There's been too much emphasis on disorders per se and not enough on the people who are exceptionally healthy," to learn from their genomes, Topol said. "Now we have the powerful tools to do that."
___
Online:
X Prize competition: http://genomics.xprize.org/
Wellderly Study: http://bit.ly/pHFHDj
___
Malcolm Ritter can be followed at http://twitter.com/MalcolmRitter
daylight savings 2011 bcs merce cunningham mona simpson mona simpson bcs rankings tebow
Swedish dads swap work for child care (AP)
STOCKHOLM ? One of Henrik Holgersson's friends laughed in his face when he told him he was going to spend the better part of 2011 as a stay-at-home dad.
"What kind of a man are you?" the friend asked Holgersson, who works for an event management company. But just about everyone else was positive. His employer and co-workers patted him on the back and wished him luck.
Holgersson took out 240 days of parental leave paid for by the government while his girlfriend, Jenny Karlsson, went back to her job as a real estate agent, after eight months at home with their son Arvid.
"To take care of Arvid is a real fatherly thing to do. I think that's very masculine," said Holgersson, 34, gently rocking his 1-year-old son's stroller on a walk around the block near his apartment in southern Stockholm.
Holgersson's experience isn't unusual here, largely because Sweden encourages dads to stay at home with their newborn through a parental leave policy that is among the most generous in the world.
While more than a dozen countries now offer paid paternity leave, usually for a couple of weeks, Sweden subsidizes such leave for up to 14 months.
In Sweden, men pushing strollers ? sometimes in twos or threes ? have become part of the landscape. Baby changing stations are typically found in both men's and women's restrooms. Brawny men with Viking tattoos can be overheard discussing their "pappaledighet," Swedish for daddy leave, over a pint in the pub.
Parents share 480 days of paid parental leave for each child, courtesy of the government. The benefits amount to 80 percent of the stay at home parent's salary for the first 390 days, but no more than 910 kronor ($135) a day. Thereafter the amount drops to 180 kronor ($30) a day for the remaining period.
Mothers are still taking more leave than fathers, but things are changing. In 2000, Swedish men took out only 12.4 percent of the parental leave; by last year their share had nearly doubled to 23.1 percent, according to government statistics.
Though there is widespread agreement that the gap should close even more, Swedes so far have resisted calls by women's rights activists for a compulsory 50-50 split.
However, Sweden has introduced incentives and rules to encourage men to take more time off with their babies.
To qualify for the maximum benefits, couples must split the parental leave so that one of them takes at least 60 days. (Single parents ? male or female ? can take out the full 480 days on their own.)
In addition, the government awards an "equality bonus" in the form of tax breaks that are proportional to how evenly couples split the parental leave. A household with a 50-50 division qualifies for a maximum deduction of 13,500 kronor ($2,000).
Even at a time when Europe's debt crisis is leading to painful austerity cuts across the continent, Sweden's parental leave benefits appear safe. The economy is in relatively good shape, the budget is balanced and the government would commit political suicide if it scaled back on a program embraced by Swedes across all income brackets.
Foreigners often grow to appreciate it, too.
"I think it's great, I'm a huge fan of it. Here is the Swedish state subsidsdizing it for both parents. It's almost too good to be true," said Joel Sherwood, a 35-year-old American living in Sweden.
He took more than six months off work to stay home with his daughter, Mary Lee. When he told his friends back home, they were flabbergasted that his employer was OK with it, and that the government would foot the bill.
"The more you get into the details of it, the more floored they get," Sherwood said.
In the U.S. there is no nationwide policy for government-subsidized parental leave. Some states, including California and New Jersey, have begun adopting such policies, but most parents are instead offered 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Some companies offer paid leave to their employees.
When state-subsidized parental leave was introduced in Sweden in 1974, women took nearly all of the parental leave. Men would wash dishes and fold the laundry, but child-rearing was considered a female domain.
Four years later, the government launched an advertising campaign featuring national weightlifting champion Lennart Dahlgren to convince fathers you could stay home with a child and still be a real man. The poster of a smiling Dahlgren cradling a baby in his muscular arms remains an iconic image in Sweden.
A milestone was crossed in 1995 when the government started earmarking one month of parental leave benefits for each parent. Seven years later it was increased to two months. Then came the equality bonus that further encouraged men to take daddy leave.
Roger Klinth, a researcher on gender issues at Linkoping University, said the legislative changes have helped normalize the idea of men taking care of children in Sweden.
"You're not different anymore ... you're a part of the political system," he said.
There is widespread agreement in Sweden that it doesn't matter for a child's development whether the primary caretaker is a man or a woman. Suggesting the contrary, especially in this gender-equality conscious country, can be highly controversial.
Child psychologist Eva Sternberg provoked an outcry last year when she blamed an increase in accidents involving toddlers on the growing numbers of stay-at-home dads. Men are preconditioned through evolution to hunt and are not fit to replace women as caretakers, especially in the first year of a baby's life, she argued in a newspaper column that drew a flood of angry responses.
"There is no special gene that makes women more suited to provide comfort and care than men, just like men are no better equipped to drive a car or lead a company," replied Lars Ohly, leader of Sweden's opposition Left Party.
Such attitudes can seem foreign to the growing number of immigrants in Sweden, who represent about 14 percent of the population.
Jafar Feili, an Iraqi who has been living in Sweden since 1998, said his wife took as much parental leave as possible, while he chose to forgo the two months that were earmarked for him.
Although he supports the Swedish system, Feili said it would have been difficult to explain to friends and family in Iraq if he had chosen to stay at home with the children.
"There's no question about it. They would laugh and make fun of me," he said. "Most men down there are pretty macho and they would say things like 'he's scared of his wife and doesn't dare to open his mouth.' They would think that it was the wife who had decided on something like that."
Half-way through his leave, Holgersson noted a shift in his son's behavior. When both parents were around, Arvid no longer ran to his mother when he hurt himself, but to his father. Holgersson felt as if he had become the caretaker parent, while Karlsson was the "fun" parent that Arvid liked to play with in the evening.
Toward the end of his parental leave, Holgersson had mixed feelings about going back to his job. Though he looked forward to seeing his work colleagues, he knew he would miss the long days of casually playing with Arvid in the playground behind the apartment block.
Holgersson said he had forged an unbreakable bond with his son, learning to recognize Arvid's huffs, snivels and snorts, and what they say about his mood ? or the content of his diaper.
"How could you not want to spend time with this little one?" he said, sharing a hammock with Arvid in the playground. "Yes, I could imagine having another one, too."
lil kim michael j fox seattle times seattle times michelle obama lvs oxycodone
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)