Monday, December 31, 2012

Hillary Clinton Hospitalized!

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been hospitalized for a blood clot that stems from a concussion she suffered a couple of weeks ago. Today Clinton was taken to a New York City hospital where she was admitted for a blood clot, which can be life threatening if not caught in time. I am not saying that is the case of Hillary but just a little fact there. The State Department has revealed that it believes her current condition was caused by a fall she took two weeks ago. The fall was due to the former First Lady being super dehydrated thanks to a bad stomach virus she had at the time. The clot was discovered earlier on Sunday when Clinton went to see her doctors for a follow up visit. She was immediately taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital where she is being treated with anti-coagulants. Hillary will reamin in the hospital for at least 48 hours so that the condition of the blood clot can be monitored. Guess she will be ringing in 2013 in a the hospital which sucks but better safe than sorry I say. A spokesperson for Hillary Clinton had this to say about her being [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/0a1pnsmxsuY/

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ACS using volunteer 'champions' to recruit ... - MedCity News

In 1959, Elmo Ligon of Eastern North Carolina was diagnosed with leukemia and agreed to enroll in a research study at Duke Hospital that was testing the effectiveness of a new drug called Cytoxan.

The drug worked, and Ligon lived for 16 more years, until 1975, when he died at age 57.

Thirty years later, in April 2005, Ligon's granddaughter, Cheryl Burgess, was diagnosed with breast cancer. And she learned a surprising thing:

"The drug he took in the clinical study ended up being one of the drugs that I took for my breast cancer treatment," said Burgess, now 46, of Lincolnton. "You just never know how what you do is going to benefit somebody else."

That's what medical research is all about.

Patients who may not even be helped themselves volunteer for studies that might help others in the future.

Cheryl, grateful for her grandfather's decision, is now a volunteer "community champion" for a long-term research project sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

It's a national study that aims to enroll 300,000 people nationwide to help understand factors, such as lifestyle, environment and genetics, that could cause or prevent cancer.

Enrollment began in 2006 through the cancer society's Relay For Life events across the country. Last year, recruiting expanded to other sites, such as hospitals and churches.

Recruiters are coming to the Charlotte area in March, hoping to enroll 1,200 people at nine locations over four days.

Participants must be between the ages of 30 and 65 and never have had cancer. They will be asked to complete a survey and give a blood sample. Then for 20 to 30 years, they'll be asked to fill out a survey every two or three years. The blood will be stored so that, if participants develop cancer later, it can be analyzed for markers that might give clues about cause or prevention.

"We have made great strides in treating cancer, but we still don't know how to prevent it," said Denise Goodwin-Hockaday, a director with the cancer society's South Atlantic Division, based in Charlotte.

"Imagine what could come out of this study?...Wouldn't it be wonderful if we talked about cancer the way we talk about polio? Children would say: 'Ma, what's that?' "

So far, the study has enrolled 185,000 people, and enrollment will close at the end of 2013.

Research will focus on environmental factors.

"Society has become more obese," Goodwin-Hockaday said. "....We live close to power lines. Everyone has cellphones to our ears. And we're all sitting at work...We're eating processed food."

Before enrollment begins in the Charlotte area, the cancer society plans to sign up 240 volunteer "champions," who like Burgess, will personally recruit others to participate.

Champions could be cancer survivors who want to give back to the community, said Kari Dahlstrom, a cancer society spokesperson.

"It's a great way for them to do something meaningful that doesn't take a lot of time."

Garloch: 704-358-5078 ___

[Image from flickr user Jim Wienecke] Copyright 2012 MedCity News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://medcitynews.com/2012/12/acs-using-volunteer-champions-to-recruit-participants-for-environmental-study-of-cancer/

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Engadget's 2012 holiday giveaway: last chance to win an AT&T smartphone!

The new year is upon us, and that means our holiday 2012 giveaway is about to wrap up. If you haven't stopped by our gift guides and left a comment on each to win one of 14 AT&T smartphones, well, you might want to think about doing that now. We're accepting entries till today, December 31st, at 11:59 PM EST -- so get on it!

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/31/engadgets-2012-holiday-giveaway-last-chance/

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Eric Chua : Life, Business and Real Estate in Singapore ? How To ...

When a booming business is your goal, your focus should be on Affiliate marketing to gain your customer base. Learn and apply these basic tips for successful Internet marketing. You should have a better idea of how to become great with Internet marketing.

Use the actual term ?guarantee? in your online ads when you are marketing on the Internet. This reassures customers and makes them more likely to make a purchase. There are many various guarantees that can be offered. Try different kinds of guarantees when you are setting them up. Select which guarantee is best for the product that is being sold.

It?s ok to go to other online businesses or retailers, you can propose deals of products as well as other services for a discounted price. This tactic is a sound strategy to create connections between multiple markets. This has a cumulative effect of boosting overall revenue. A great example where you can see this is on online booking agents. These agents have negotiated reduced prices on your behalf for airfare, hotels and even car rentals. This is a great option if your business sells products that can be considered supplementary to another company?s products, rather than competing products.

TIP! You cannot use a copy of another website and expect to be successful with it. Search engines have been getting extremely efficient at identifying duplicate content.

Consider using positive motivation as a method to promote your products. Be certain that people understand why your products and services are relevant to their own lives. Shoppers should know this information once they have briefly visited your website or any other page on the web that is relevant to your operations. Encourage your readers to be successful, and they will believe it too.

Your site should be very clear so that any links that you post are easily identifiable. Always ensure that your links are clearly visible and organized for the incoming traffic. Obscure or poorly placed links will often lead to less usage. This could cause one of your main pages to be losing out on a huge profitable angle.

TIP! The appearance and performance of your website is just as important as the in-store buying experience. Routinely audit and test the links, pictures, and online payment systems to identify any bugs or issues that will create difficulties for your customers.

The options at your disposal when it comes to running your business and website can be overwhelming. Make a list of what would be found on your website if it were ideal. You should select a field with which you are familiar and which brings you enjoyment for your niche website marketing efforts. You will find website marketing more simple when you have goals.

When writing content, use simple and plain language to make your points or describe your products. Actually using the word ?easy? in your content will get you some added attention. People generally dislike overly complicated things, so adding tags like ?easy to order? and ?easy to use? can entice them to use your product. This is a wonderful way to increase traffic and sales.

?Fast? is a word that is very effective in advertising campaigns and when used in conjunction with products and services, so be sure to make use of it. Many people are willing to spend a little more money if they can save some time. Make sure to emphasize how fast you can get things done, and than make sure you stick to that.

TIP! Use your email to your business advantage. Make sure these emails contain interesting information.

Split your website into sections, and have a map from which people can choose the products they?d like to see. Remember, adding variety to your page is beneficial but you still want to keep your page structured.

Offer subscription services for your most popular products. As an example, computer paper buyers might enter a subscription service to receive paper every month.

Always view your website in the way that a potential customer would. Is it truly user-friendly? Does it engage your customers? Is it user-friendly? All the SEO in the world will be pointless if your potential customers have trouble navigating your site once they get there.

TIP! To be successful as an Internet marketer, you must be positive about your business and show plenty of enthusiasm. Let people in on how much you love your products, this can help you promote your business easily.

Here is a great tip for successful internet promotion. Have a clear and stated goal on the front page of your site. This page is about selling your product. Your viewer should be able to see what you?re selling and whether they want it instantly when they see this page. If the viewer has to dig for what he or she is looking for, they are sure to leave quickly.

It?s important enough to say again and again: The increased visibility that Online marketing can give to your business is a tremendous opportunity. Most consumers now turn to the Internet to find the products and services they need. Use the tips in this article to get started, and market your business online.

Join me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/maynaseric

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/how-to-effectively-market-products-through-the-internet-2

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Jacob Bergeron sinks 25-foot putt to win Junior Golf Championship

, December 29, 2012 6:04 p.m.

Jacob Bergeron of Slidell hits onto the sixth green at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Tommy Moore Memorial Junior Golf Championship in Algiers on Saturday. - (Chris Ganger, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Slidell?s Jacob Bergeron drained a 25-foot par putt on the final hole to win the Boys 14-18 Division of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Tommy Moore Memorial Junior Golf Championship during a frigid and windy Saturday at Lakewood Golf Club.

Bergeron, who won the Boys 12-13 Division last year, missed a 5-foot birdie on 17, but recovered from a short approach on the 18th to close out the dramatic win with an even-par 72 on the final day. He shot a 1-under 143 for the tournament.

?I was looking at the putt, and just like all the putts I had all day, I couldn?t really tell how it was breaking,? he said. ?I just said play it left edge and see what happens, and it broke right in the middle of the hole. It was a cool feeling. I?m really just speechless right now, and I?m super blessed.?

Ross Bell of Madison, Miss., finished second with an even-par 144, and St. Paul?s Brandon Pierce finished third with 2-over-par 146. Bell opened with four straight birdies, but double bogeyed 17 to finish at even-par.

?It was fun trying to play in these conditions,? Bergeron said. ?It was definitely a struggle for the most part. I just played my game and tried to capitalize on the birdie opportunities that I got.?

Pierce, an LSU signee, said his chip-in on 10 helped jump start his back nine after he finished the front nine at 3-over-par.

?I chipped it to within an inch of where I wanted to land it, and it went in,? he said. ?I guess that got me back into it because I don?t think I was completely 100 percent focused. It got me through the rest of the round. The conditions were pretty tough. The first day, I played the first 12 holes with almost no wind, and all day today, it was a two, three, four club wind.?

The tournament featured 80 golfers from eight states in four different divisions. Hayden White of Benton, La., won the Boys 12-13 division with a 154 two-day total. White shared the Day 1 lead after shooting a 4-over-par 76 and said a birdie on the first hole followed by an up-and-down save on the par-3 third set the tone for his day.

?I went through the whole round not making too many bad mistakes,? he said. ?The worst I had today was a double, and it didn?t really get to me that much because I didn?t want it to change my thinking. I had a good short game today.?

In the Girls 14-18 Division, Morgan Nadaline, of Anderson, Ind., sank a six-foot bogey putt on 18 to edge McGehee freshman Angelica Harris for the girls title by one stroke.

Nadaline shot an 80 for a 161 two-day total. After a 3-over-par front nine, she double bogeyed 12 before rebounding for a birdie on 15.

?I think I played better than I did yesterday,? she said. ?I definitely made more putts, but it was just so windy, and the cold made it worse. A lot was going through my mind (on the last putt). I?m not the best putter there is, so some of those putts are iffy for me. I just knew I needed to have confidence, and I made it.?

Harris, who made a triple bogey on the ninth hole, rallied for a birdie on 18 after she hit a 6-iron to within a foot of the pin. She finished with 82 for a 162 two-day total.

?The last hole I was really excited because I just wanted to finish strong,? Harris said. ?Yesterday, I didn?t play that hole too well, so I was able to redeem myself and play it better. I was affected by the wind a little bit, but I just love to play. It doesn?t matter what the conditions are I?ll always be out here. ?

Presley Baggett of Diamondhead, Miss., won the Girls 12-13 Division, finishing with a 176.

?I didn?t play as well as I usually do,? she said. ?The conditions weren?t the worst, but they were pretty bad. The wind was the worst, but it feels really good because I know today was a hard win. My chipping was a lot better than it has been as was my putting.?

**************

Follow Joseph Halm at twitter.com/josephhalm.

Source: http://highschoolsports.nola.com/news/article/-280781310011545467/jacob-bergeron-sinks-25-foot-putt-to-win-junior-golf-championship/

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Did Miley Cyrus Secretly Get Married To Liam Hemsworth? (Photos)

Did Miley Cyrus Secretly Get Married To Liam Hemsworth? (Photos)

Miley Cyrus in black side cut-out dress picturesThere are rumors swirling that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth may have secretly wed, after family Christmas photos shared online show them both wearing new bands on their left hands. Miley posted her festive photos to her Instagram, leaving fans to speculate she may have tied the knot just before the holidays. One photo featuring ...

Did Miley Cyrus Secretly Get Married To Liam Hemsworth? (Photos) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2012/12/did-miley-cyrus-secretly-get-married-to-liam-hemsworth-photos/

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Study Claims Online Voter Registration Contributed ?Significantly? To Higher Youth Registration

3003337804_c01d490152 (1)California's experiment in fully online voter registration appears to have been a success. "Online registration contributed significantly to an increase in 2012 youth registrants and modestly to overall increases in general registration rates," claims a University of California, Davis, study of the 2012 election, which finds that online voting boosted youth registration an entire percent (10.1 percent to 11.1 percent) in its short one-month existence prior to the election [PDF].

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Ps3hFULse0U/

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leblancesmatt: Education & Reference 2016: Petal the Owl Colours

Buy on the merchant's online shopping and browse reviews. If you're attempting to search out Petal the Owl Colours with special deals. This is the simplest price for you. Where you'll find these item is by online looking stores? Read the review on Petal the Owl Colours Now, it's the simplest value. Therefore do not lose it.

Petal the
Petal the Owl Colours
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4.0 out of 5 stars(3)

Download: $1.99 (as of 12/25/2012 14:14 PST)

Education & Reference

Petal the Owl Colours is a sweet little ebook following Petal the nature owl, as she learns about colours around her. It is a great little first reader ebook for young ones learning their basics. Colours cover Brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink and white. Ages 3-6.

  • Rank: #1521 in eBooks
  • Published on: 2012-05-04
  • Released on: 2012-05-04
  • Format: Kindle eBook
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Source: http://educationreference234.blogspot.com/2012/12/petal-owl-colours.html

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Source: http://hugohammond.typepad.com/blog/2012/12/education-reference-2016-petal-the-owl-colours.html

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Source: http://capaciousness-wallenstein.blogspot.com/2012/12/education-reference-2016-petal-owl.html

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Source: http://leblancesmatt.blogspot.com/2012/12/education-reference-2016-petal-owl.html

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Tigers making comeback in Asia

Camera trap images reveal tiger numbers rebounding across Asia, especially in southwestern India, where young tigers are leaving protected reserves due to population pressure, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The WCS attributes the rise in different tiger groups to better law enforcement and protection of additional habitat. For example, a notorious poaching ring was busted in Thailand last year, and the gang leaders have been given prison sentences of up to five years ? the most severe punishments for wildlife poaching in Thailand's history, the conservation group said in a statement.

Tiger numbers have been rising steadily in Thailand's Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary since 2007, with a record 50-plus tigers counted last year, the WCS said. The sanctuary is part of the country's Western Forest Complex. This core spans 7,000 square miles (18,000 square kilometers) and is home to an estimated 125 to 175 tigers.

In India's mountainous landscape of Nagarahole and Bandipur national parks, tigers have reached saturation levels, with more than 600 individuals caught on camera trap photos in the past decade. Young tigers are leaving the parks along protected corridors and entering a landscape with a population of a million people, the group said. [In Images: Tigers Rebound in Asia]

Conservationists also worked with government officials in Russia to create additional protected areas for tigers. The country declared a new corridor, called the Central Ussuri Wildlife Refuge, on Oct. 18. The refuge links the Sikhote-Alin tiger population in Russia ? the main group of endangered Amur tigers? with tiger habitat in China's Heilongjiang Province in the Wandashan Mountains. The refuge ensures that tigers can move across the border between Russia and China in this region.

An estimated 3,200 tigers are living in the wild, with only 2,500 breeding adult pairs, according to TRAFFIC, a monitoring group funded by the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Tigers have lost 93 percent of their historical range, which once sprawled across Asia from Turkey to Russia and south to Bali, according to the group.

"Tigers are clearly fighting for their very existence, but it's important to know that there is hope. Victories like these give us the resolve to continue to battle for these magnificent big cats," Cristi?n Samper, WCS president, said in a statement.

Reach Becky Oskin at boskin@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @beckyoskin. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.

Copyright 2012 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tigers-making-comeback-asia-144611814.html

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Christopher Brauchli: And the Solution Is... More Guns

"Such as do build their faith upon
Holy text of pike and gun."
-- Samuel Butler, Hudibras, pt.I

The NRA showed the importance of a thoughtful response to the tragic events in Newtown by maintaining a respectful silence until December 21, 2012 when it sent its beloved Wayne LaPierre to meet the press. Earlier in the week the organization had issued a compassionate response saying: "[W]e were shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in Newtown. Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting. The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again." The full investigation to which the NRA referred took one week since exactly one week after the murders Mr. LaPierre held a press conference.

At the press conference Mr. LaPierre offered a solution to the problem of mass slaughters in schools that was radically different from others that had been heard. He suggested that all schools should have armed guards in place to protect the students. This was a creative solution that no one else had proposed.

According to the Center for Education Reform, as of 2010 there were 132,656 K-12 schools in the United States. 5,714 charter schools, 28,220 private schools, and 7,400 Catholic schools for a total of 173,990 schools needing protection. At this point it is impossible to know how many armed guards each school would need. There are probably no school buildings that have only one door and large schools have many doors. For this discussion we can assume that each school could limit the number of open entrances to five and thus only five guards would be needed for each school. Of course if one fears a gunman who shoots through a locked door as happened in Newtown, many more would be needed. Ignoring that, however, a force of 869,950-armed guards would be required.

The need for security at 2-year, 4-year and non-degree granting colleges is no less than the need for security in K-12 schools, as the Virginia Tech massacre, among others, demonstrated. According to the National Center for Education Statistics there were 11,237 such institutions in the year 2009-2010. Since many of those institutions have scores of buildings with many entrances it is impossible to know how many armed guards will be required but it is safe to assume it is at least as many as would be required for K-12 schools. Thus, the total needed to protect all educational institutions in the country would be a least 2 million armed guards and probably considerably more. Although the NRA has addressed only educational institutions, it would surely agree that there should be armed guards in all movie theaters in the country and, given the recent shooting in a shopping mall in Portland, Oregon, at all shopping malls. When fully implemented, our security will be guaranteed by local militia comprising at a minimum 4 to 5 million armed citizens, a militia two to three times as large as the armed forces. We won't need more guns, however, since there are already in excess of 300 million guns owned by safety-minded individuals in the United States. With the militia in place there will be no need for them in the home and they can, and probably will, be donated to the newly created militia by owners happy to obtain a charitable deduction on their taxes for their donations.

Some may wonder who is going to pay for such a militia. The cost of the militia will be paid by school districts, (and indirectly by the taxpayers) and in the case of other venues, the proprietors of the protected properties will pay and pass the cost on to their customers.

As soon as the foregoing has been fully implemented there will almost certainly be no more slaughters in the protected venues. Of course, there will be the occasional exception such as the shooting at the Columbine school where notwithstanding the protection provided by two policemen guarding the school, 12 students and one teacher were killed and 21 students were injured.

The new United States will still suffer the occasional casual death attributable to the gun. During the 12 days following the Newtown shooting 222 deaths in the United States were attributed to guns and that is not unusual. The average number of people killed in the United States each day through gun related activities is 24. That is an unfortunate fact that the NRA proposal does not address (except insofar as gun owners donate their weapons to the militia) but it does not detract from the merit of its proposal. Instead of carping, we should all be grateful to the NRA for offering a solution that insures that all of us who don't accidentally get killed by the rogue gun or by being participants in a slaughter notwithstanding the presence of armed guards, can look forward to long, peaceful lives.

Christopher Brauchli can be emailed at brauchli.56@post.harvard.edu. For political commentary see his web page at http://humanraceandothersports.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-brauchli/nra-armed-guards-in-schools_b_2372223.html

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Family quiet on condition of George H.W. Bush

FILE - In a Tuesday, June 12, 2012 file photo, former President George H.W. Bush, and his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, arrive for the premiere of HBO's new documentary on his life near the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush spokesman Jim McGrath said Wednesday, Dec. 26. 2012 that doctors at the Houston hospital where Bush has been treated for a month remain ?cautiously optimistic? that he will recover. Still, no discharge date has been set, and McGrath says that doctors are being cautious because at Bush?s age ?sometimes issues crop up that are beyond anybody?s ability to discern or foretell.?(AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

FILE - In a Tuesday, June 12, 2012 file photo, former President George H.W. Bush, and his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, arrive for the premiere of HBO's new documentary on his life near the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush spokesman Jim McGrath said Wednesday, Dec. 26. 2012 that doctors at the Houston hospital where Bush has been treated for a month remain ?cautiously optimistic? that he will recover. Still, no discharge date has been set, and McGrath says that doctors are being cautious because at Bush?s age ?sometimes issues crop up that are beyond anybody?s ability to discern or foretell.?(AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

(AP) ? Former President George H.W. Bush is unlikely to leave the Houston hospital where he's being cared for anytime soon but would tell well-wishers to "put the harps back in the closet," a longtime aide said.

Jean Becker said in a statement Thursday evening that the 88-year-old, who has been hospitalized for longer than a month, is receiving excellent care after a "terrible case of bronchitis which then triggered a series of complications."

Bush, the oldest living former president, has been in intensive care since Sunday. He was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Houston on Nov. 23 for treatment of what his spokesman Jim McGrath described as a "stubborn" cough. He had spent about a week there earlier in November for treatment of the same condition.

McGrath and a hospital spokesman did not provide any new information on the president's health Friday morning. McGrath said previously that only changes in Bush's condition would prompt updates about his health.

Becker, Bush's longtime Houston chief of staff, said "most of the civilized world" contacted her Wednesday after word spread that Bush had been placed in intensive care unit when physicians were having difficulty bringing a fever under control.

"Someday President George H.W. Bush might realize how beloved he is, but of course one of the reasons why he is so beloved is because he has no idea," Becker said in the at-times lighthearted statement that made multiple references to jokes and the former president's sense of humor.

She said updates about Bush's condition have been limited "out of respect for President Bush and the Bush family who, like most of us, prefer to deal with health issues in privacy." She said another factor was "because he is so beloved we knew everyone would overreact."

"I hope you all know how much your love, concern and support are appreciated," Becker said.

While the president's treatment was "unequaled anywhere," she said prayers also were needed and welcomed.

"I am thinking heaven has not seen such a barrage of prayer intentions since 'It's a Wonderful Life,'" she said, referring to the classic Christmas movie.

It was hoped Bush would be well enough to spend Christmas at home. But while his cough eased, he developed a persistent fever and his condition was downgraded to "guarded."

The former president has had visits from family and friends, including longtime friend James Baker III, his former Secretary of State. Bush's daughter, Dorothy, arrived Wednesday from her home in Bethesda, Md. Other visitors have included his sons George W. Bush, the 43rd president, and Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor.

Bush and his wife, Barbara, live in Houston during the winter and spend their summers at a home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Bush, the 41st president, had served two terms as Ronald Reagan's vice president when he was elected in 1988 to succeed Reagan. Four years later, after a term highlighted by the success of the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait, he lost to Democrat Bill Clinton amid voters' concerns about the economy.

Bush was a naval aviator in World War II ? at one point the youngest in the Navy ? and was shot down over the Pacific. He's skydived on at least three of his birthdays since leaving the White House, most recently when he turned 85.

He left New England for an oil business job in West Texas in 1948. He's also been a Republican congressman from Texas, U.S. ambassador to China and CIA director.

Bush suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease that forced him in recent years to use a motorized scooter or wheelchair for mobility.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-28-Bush%20Hospitalized/id-6f86a779afde44a891ad59b101a239ff

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Monkey see, monkey do: Visual feedback is necessary for imitating facial expressions

Dec. 27, 2012 ? Research using new technology shows that our ability to imitate facial expressions depends on learning that occurs through visual feedback.

Studies of the chameleon effect confirm what salespeople, tricksters, and Lotharios have long known: Imitating another person's postures and expressions is an important social lubricant.

But how do we learn to imitate with any accuracy when we can't see our own facial expressions and we can't feel the facial expressions of others?

Richard Cook of City University London, Alan Johnston of University College London, and Cecilia Heyes of the University of Oxford investigate possible mechanisms underlying our ability to imitate in two studies published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

In the first experiment, the researchers videotaped participants as they recited jokes and then asked them to imitate four randomly selected facial expressions from their videos. When they achieved what they perceived to be the target expression, the participants recorded the attempt with the click of a computer mouse.

A computer program evaluated the accuracy of participants' imitation attempts against a map of the target expression. In contrast to previous studies that relied on subjective assessments, this new technology allowed for automated and objective measurement of imitative accuracy.

In one experiment, the researchers found that participants who were able to see their imitation attempts through visual feedback improved over successive attempts. But participants who had to rely solely on proprioception -- sensing the relative position of their facial features -- got progressively worse.

These results are consistent with the associative sequence-learning model, which holds that our ability to imitate accurately depends on learned associations between what we see (in the mirror or through feedback from others) and what we feel.

Cook and colleagues conclude that contingent visual feedback may be a useful component of rehabilitation and skill-training programs that are designed to improve individuals' ability to imitate facial gestures.

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

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Journal Reference:

  1. R. Cook, A. Johnston, C. Heyes. Facial Self-Imitation: Objective Measurement Reveals No Improvement Without Visual Feedback. Psychological Science, 2012; DOI: 10.1177/0956797612452568

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/BxPGDLaHIAM/121227142959.htm

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Positive Prescription: Fitness, Nutrition and a Good Attitude ...

RX prescription form

One of the trends I?d love to see get going is a prescription for ?real health.?? Last year I finally convinced my doctor to start writing prescriptions in that regard.? While he still writes them for medications, he has now added fitness, nutrition and a good attitude to the mix.? It took many years and my own studies in epigenetics, neuroscience, fitness and psychology to convince him regarding how those three areas did more for health than standard medicine.

Instead of simply taking care of one?s health, many people have relegated it to prescription medications, surgery, and even hospital care.? Most doctors focus on that too.? There a few progressives types that buck their own health care system to do what is right and what works.? And hopefully, it will soon be the trend and not the exception.

Still, I believe, it is ultimately up to each one of us to write our own prescription of health.? That means to take action to get fit, eat healthy and maintain that good attitude in all aspects of life.? And while we are on that subject of writing, get out a journal (a spiral-bound notebook will suffice) and start writing in it.? Write down your fitness goals and the action steps you WILL take towards them.? Write consistently too.? Make this next year one that will be your best yet.? A healthy body leads to a healthy mind.

Start taking control of your own health and when you do that, you will feel better, look better and be better.? That will transform itself into other areas of your life too.? People love to associate with those that have that youthfulness glow about them, in mind and body.

You now have a prescription of fitness, nutrition and a positive attitude.? Use it starting NOW!

Bob

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Source: http://bobchoat.com/2012/12/27/positive-prescription-fitness-nutrition-and-a-good-attitude/

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96% Monsters, Inc. 3D

All Critics (178) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (182) | Rotten (8) | DVD (45)

It may be harder nowadays to dazzle audiences with fancy visual effects, but Monsters, Inc. 3D proves that smart, imaginative storytelling still does the trick every time.

Most of the charm of "Monsters Inc." comes from its vocal cast.

If history is any guide, you and your family - whether young or old - will probably want to see "Monsters University" over and over.

The movie itself stands up well, even from an adult, two-dimensional perspective.

Its reassuring message is more relevant than ever.

The good guys are those who realize that laughter is stronger than fear. That's a message worth taking to heart these jittery days.

There's really little reason to check out Monsters, Inc. 3D in... well, 3D, rather than going for a good old-fashioned 2D screening instead.

It does well, but not brilliantly: an amusing trifle from a studio whose best work still lay ahead of it.

Not quite a Pixar classic, but funny, witty and visually spectacular enough to be enjoyed again on the big screen.

Monsters, Inc. continues a positive 3D trend for the company, who appear to be selecting their upgraded titles wisely, choosing features that benefit from the additional depth.

Not even the opportunistic 3D-ification can squander the pure delight of the film's meticulously detailed world of ragtag creatures.

[A] sparkling cartoon ...

John Lasseter and the Pixar crew know how to turn shared human feelings and experiences into strange and delightful animated features. "Monsters, Inc." is one of their most solid efforts.

A typically engrossing Pixar effort...

Cute, kid-friendly monster movie; may scare sensitive kids.

Though "Monsters, Inc." relies more on spinning-plates plot than its Pixar peers, this romp retains the charm and heart of the animation juggernaut's forte - adding extra to ordinary hopes, in this case leaving great impressions on the kids we love.

A charming cartoon classic coming courtesy of a successful collaboration by the good folks at Disney and Pixar.

A charming cartoon classic coming courtesy of a successful collaboration by the good folks at Disney and Pixar.

A stunning release of one of Pixar's most sadly underappreciated works.

Monsters, Inc. is a celebration of unforgettable characters and a world unlike any other.

From its jazzy main titles to its gentle fadeout, Monsters, Inc. has something that money can't buy. It's likeable. [Blu-ray]

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/monsters_inc_3d/

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Snowstorm heads east after South twisters; 3 dead

A house in the Midtown section of Mobile, Ala. is damaged after a tornado touched down Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. A Christmas Day twister outbreak left damage across the Deep South while holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled sometimes treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mike Kittrell) MAGS OUT

A house in the Midtown section of Mobile, Ala. is damaged after a tornado touched down Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. A Christmas Day twister outbreak left damage across the Deep South while holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled sometimes treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mike Kittrell) MAGS OUT

In this image from video provided by WALA-TV in Mobile, Ala. a tornado touches down in Mobile on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. The tornado hit some areas of downtown Mobile Tuesday, causing severe damage in the area before moving north, officials said. (AP Photo/WALA-TV) MANDATORY CREDIT: WALA-TV

A house in Tioga, La., is severely damaged after an apparent tornado tore through the area Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/The Daily Town Talk, Melinda Martinez) NO SALES

A home is damaged and its lawn is covered with debris after a tornado touched down Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012 in Mobile, Ala. A Christmas Day twister outbreak left damage across the Deep South while holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled sometimes treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions. (AP Photo/G.M. Andrews)

A home in the Midtown section of Mobile, Ala. is damaged after a tornado touched down Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. A Christmas Day twister outbreak left damage across the Deep South while holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled sometimes treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mike Kittrell) MAGS OUT

(AP) ? An enormous storm system that dumped snow and sleet on the nation's midsection and unleashed damaging tornadoes around the Deep South has begun punching its way toward the Northeast, slowing holiday travel.

Post-Christmas travelers braced for a second day of flight delays and cancellations, a day after rare winter twisters damaged numerous homes in Louisiana and Alabama. The vast storm system stretching across numerous states has been blamed for three deaths and several injuries though no one was killed outright in the tornadoes. The storms also left more than 100,000 without power for a time, darkening Christmas celebrations.

Drenching rains and blustery winds moved early Wednesday across Georgia, a slew of tornado watches still in effect. The severe weather system was set to lash the Carolinas later in the day before taking aim next at the heavily populated Northeast corridor.

Farther north on a line from Little Rock, Ark., to Cleveland, blizzard conditions were predicted before the snow ? up to a foot in some places ? made its way into the Northeast.

Rick Cauley's family was hosting relatives for Christmas when the tornado sirens went off in Mobile. Not taking any chances, he and his wife, Ashley, hustled everyone down the block to take shelter at the athletic field house at Mobile's Murphy High School in Mobile.

It turns out, that wasn't the place to head.

"As luck would have it, that's where the tornado hit," Cauley said. "The pressure dropped and the ears started popping and it got crazy for a second." They were all fine, though the school was damaged, as were a church and several homes, but officials say no one was seriously injured.

Camera footage captured the approach of the large, frightening funnel cloud.

Mobile was the biggest city hit by numerous by the rare winter twisters. Along with brutal, straight-line winds, the storms knocked down countless trees, blew the roofs off homes and left many Christmas celebrations in the dark. Torrential rains drenched the region and several places saw flash flooding.

More than 500 flights nationwide were canceled by the Tuesday evening, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. More than half were canceled into and out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that got a few inches of snow.

Holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions from the same fast-moving storms. In Arkansas, highway department officials said the state was fortunate the snowstorm hit on Christmas Day when many travelers were already at their destinations.

Texas, meanwhile, dealt with high winds and slickened highways.

On Tuesday, winds toppled a tree onto a pickup truck in the Houston area, killing the driver, and a 53-year-old north Louisiana man was killed when a tree fell on his house. Icy roads already were blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma, and the Highway Patrol there says a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy U.S. Highway near Fairview.

Trees fell on homes and across roadways in several communities in southern Mississippi and Louisiana. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in the state, saying eight counties reported damages and some injuries.

It included McNeill, where a likely tornado damaged a dozen homes and sent eight people to the hospital, none with life-threatening injuries, said Pearl River County emergency management agency director Danny Manley.

The snowstorm that caused numerous accidents pushed out of Oklahoma late Tuesday, carrying with it blizzard warnings for parts of northeast Arkansas, where 10 inches of snow was forecast. Freezing rain clung to trees and utility lines in Arkansas and winds gusts up to 30 mph whipped them around, causing about 71,000 customers to lose electricity for a time.

Christmas lights also were knocked out with more than 100,000 customers without power for at least a time in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.

Blizzard conditions were possible for parts of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky up to Cleveland with predictions of several inches to a foot of snow. By the end of the week, that snow was expected to move into the Northeast with again up to a foot predicted

Jason Gerth said the Mobile tornado passed by in a few moments and from his porch, he saw about a half-dozen green flashes in the distance as transformers blew. His home was spared.

"It missed us by 100 feet and we have no damage," Gerth said.

In Louisiana, quarter-sized hail was reported early Tuesday in the western part of the state and a WDSU viewer sent a photo to the TV station of what appeared to be a waterspout around the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in New Orleans. There were no reports of crashes or damage.

Some mountainous areas of Arkansas' Ozark Mountains could get up to 10 inches of snow, which would make travel "very hazardous or impossible" in the northern tier of the state from near whiteout conditions, the weather service said.

The holiday may conjure visions of snow and ice, but twisters this time of year are not unheard of. Ten storm systems in the last 50 years have spawned at least one Christmastime tornado with winds of 113 mph or more in the South, said Chris Vaccaro, a National Weather Service spokesman in Washington, via email.

The most lethal were the storms of Dec. 24-26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32.

In Mobile, a large section of the roof on the Trinity Episcopal Church is missing and the front wall of the parish wall is gone, said Scott Rye, a senior warden at the church in the Midtown section of the city.

On Christmas Eve, the church with about 500 members was crowded for services.

"Thank God this didn't happen last night," Rye said.

___

Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala., Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston, Chuck Bartels in Little Rock, Ark., Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans and AP Business Writer Daniel Wagner in Washington, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-26-Christmas%20Weather/id-a83ebe4264574f988f45ef5fb210b7ad

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Police union seeks more help for Newtown officers

From left, Town of Ridgefield, Conn., Det. Durling, and Town of Greenwich, Conn., Officer Rivera stand near a memorial in Newtown, Conn. Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. Regional police agencies arrived in Newtown to relieve the local police force for the Christmas holiday. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

From left, Town of Ridgefield, Conn., Det. Durling, and Town of Greenwich, Conn., Officer Rivera stand near a memorial in Newtown, Conn. Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. Regional police agencies arrived in Newtown to relieve the local police force for the Christmas holiday. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Police continue to block the road to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. On Tuesday police officers from elsewhere are on duty, to give local officers a break on Christmas. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

(AP) ? Some of the police officers who responded to the school shooting in Newtown are so traumatized they haven't been working, but they have to use sick time and could soon be at risk of going without a paycheck, a union official said Wednesday.

The union, Council 15 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is seeking more generous assistance in talks with the town's insurer. It is also reaching out to lawmakers and the governor's office with proposals to modify state law and expand workers' compensation benefits for officers who witness horrific crime scenes.

"The insurer for the town has taken a position that these officers are entitled to only what the statute allows. Unfortunately for these officers, the statute doesn't allow any benefits," said Eric Brown, an attorney for the union, which represents nearly 4,000 officers around Connecticut.

A gunman shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14 and slaughtered 20 first-graders and six educators. The gunman, who had also killed his mother that morning, committed suicide as police arrived.

Brown said that the number of officers "critically affected" by the tragedy is below 15 and that a small number of them are not currently working.

A spokesman for Newtown police, Lt. George Sinko, said the officers are generally holding up well.

"A couple of them are taking it harder than some of the other ones," he said. "The things that the officers had to experience underscores the need to support them in every way possible."

Officials with the town's insurer, the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Authorities say the victims were shot with a high-powered, military-style rifle loaded with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage. All the victims had been shot at least twice, the medical examiner said, and as many as 11 times. Two victims were pronounced dead at a hospital, while all others died in the school.

In the past, advocates have pushed to change the statutes on workers' compensation, which currently include provisions for officers who suffer mental impairment as the result of using or being subjected to deadly force ? but not for those who witness crime scenes with mass casualties.

Concerns about the potential cost to cities and towns have been an obstacle, but the issue is likely to resurface in the next legislation session, said state Rep. Stephen Dargan, a West Haven Democrat who is co-chairman of the legislature's public safety committee.

"We don't want it to be used in an abusive way, but the circumstances are so horrific in Newtown. We need to protect those first responders and give them all the help we can give them," he said.

Firefighters who responded to the scene at Sandy Hook also have described struggling with feelings of frustration and anguish, but said they were grateful they were spared from witnessing the scene that greeted police inside the school.

Brown said outside agencies have been meeting demands for counseling services, but it will be important to ensure support is in place over the long term. The officers who are not working also could use up available sick time by early January, he said.

"The emotional loads they're carrying far exceed anything they could imagine," Brown said.

Police have yet to offer a possible motive for gunman Adam Lanza's rampage.

Expansive memorials throughout the small New England town have become gathering points for residents and visitors alike. A steady stream of well-wishers have taken pictures, dropped off toys and fought back tears at a huge sidewalk memorial in the center of Newtown's Sandy Hook section that is filled with stuffed animals, poems, flowers, posters and cards.

Newtown officials plan to convert into a memorial the countless mementos paying tribute to the schoolhouse victims. Thousands of flowers, letters, signs, photos, candles, teddy bears and other items at sites around town will be turned into soil and blocks to be used in a memorial, The News Times in nearby Danbury reported.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-26-Connecticut%20School%20Shooting/id-5d138e8605a4439ea50b2a5ff56828d9

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Video: December movies: Rated 'L' for 'long'

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50294395/

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Bay Area's stormy weather expected to subside

Bay Area's stormy weather expected to subside | www.ktvu.com

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Posted: 11:55 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012

KTVU.com and Wires

BAY AREA ?

The rain-soaked Bay Area was expected to get a slight reprieve from the stormy weather for the next couple of days, a National Weather Service forecaster said Wednesday.

Isolated thunderstorms and hail were possible throughout the day

Wednesday, but that night and Thursday should be dry, forecaster Steve Anderson said.?

"We're dealing with some light residual showers around the region," Anderson said. "Some of them can be locally heavy but they're going to be short-lived."

The next significant rainfall was expected Friday night and Saturday, but Anderson said that rain likely wouldn't be as heavy as what the Bay Area had seen over the past few days.

High temperatures were expected to reach the mid-50s, with overnight lows in the mid-30s in the North Bay and the mid-40s elsewhere, he said.

?

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Source: http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/bay-areas-stormy-weather-expected-subside/nTf3K/

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Whither the birthplace of Jesus?

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem @ UNESCOChurch of the Nativity, Bethlehem @ UNESCO

For centuries, Christians have been making the pilgrimage to Bethlehem to pay their respects to Jesus ? except they may have been making a wrong turn.

According to NPR and the London Times, the son of Mary wasn't born in the little town of Bethlehem in Palestine's West Bank area. Instead, archaeologists think it's the little village called Bethlehem of the Galilee, about 100 miles north.

As if shifting a well-traveled holy route wouldn't be awkward enough, the United Nations just designated Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in November ? the first for Palestine. This year, AFP reported that an estimated 15,000 are visiting Bethlehem. People even pay homage online: Searches on Yahoo! have rise for "bethlehem" (+109%), "o little town of bethelem lyrics" (+50%), and "bethlehem israel" (off the charts) in the past day.

The hypothesis isn't a new one among scholars, and the Israeli Antiques Authority (IAA) has been talking about evidence unearthed in an excavation that may point to where the real manger lies. "It makes much more sense that Mary rode on a donkey, while she was at the end of the pregnancy, from Nazareth to Bethlehem of Galilee which is only 7 kilometers rather then the other Bethlehem which is 150 kilometers," IAA senior archaeologist Aviram Oshri explained to NPR, adding that West Bank's Bethlehem (also called Judea) didn't even have residents back in the first century.

Religious scholars have noted how the Bible refers to Jesus as "Jesus of Nazareth." In 2008, the National Geographic points to a passage (John: 7:41-43) noting how his origins from Galilee counted against him.

Oshri wrote about how the evidence changed his mind for Archaeology magazine in 2005:

I had never before questioned the assumption that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. But in the early 1990s, as an archaeologist working for the IAA, I was contracted to perform some salvage excavations around building and infrastructure projects in a small rural community in the Galilee. When I started work, some of the people who lived around the site told me how Jesus was really born there, not in the south. Intrigued, I researched the archaeological evidence for Bethlehem in Judea at the time of Jesus and found nothing. This was very surprising, as Herodian remains should be the first thing one should find. What was even more surprising is what archaeologists had already uncovered and what I was to discover over the next 11 years of excavation at the small rural site--Bethlehem of Galilee.

The IAA stopped the excavations in 2006, citing a lack of funding; right now nobody's investing in any more digs at the Bethlehem of the Galilee. Oshri doesn't think any new evidence would change anything anyhow. "I don?t think it will make a difference to people,? Oshri told the London Times. ?Christianity is leaning on the Old Testament, and in the Old Testament the Messiah should come from the house of David and Bethlehem near Jerusalem."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/whither-birthplace-jesus-o-little-town-bethlehem-vs-184009556.html

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West Coast girds for more tsunami debris in winter

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Volunteers who patrol California beaches for plastic, cigarette butts and other litter will be on the lookout this winter for flotsam from last year's monstrous tsunami off Japan's coast.

Armed with index-size cards, beachcombers will log water bottles, buoys, fishing gear and other possessions that might have sailed across the Pacific to the 1,100-mile shoreline.

The March 2011 disaster washed about 5 million tons of debris into the sea. Most of that sank, leaving an estimated 1 1/2 million tons afloat. No one knows how much debris ? strewn across an area three times the size of the United States ? is still adrift.

Tsunami flotsam has already touched the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii this year. The West Coast is bracing for more sightings in the coming months as seasonal winds and coastal currents tend to drive marine wreckage ashore.

Like the past winter, scientists expect the bulk of the debris to end up in Alaska, Washington state, Oregon and British Columbia. Last week, the Coast Guard spotted a massive dock that possibly came from Japan on a wilderness beach in Washington state.

Given recent storm activity, Northern California could see "scattered and intermittent" episodes, said Peter Murphy, a marine debris expert at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which recently received a $5 million donation from Japan to track and remove tsunami debris.

To prepare, state coastal regulators have launched a cleanup project to document possible tsunami items that churn ashore. Working with environmental groups, volunteers will scour beaches with a checklist. It's like a typical beach cleanup, but the focus will be to locate articles from Japan.

Until now, efforts in California have been haphazard. The goal is to organize tsunami debris cleanups at least once every season stretching from the Oregon state line to the Mexican border and then posting the findings online.

Debris from Asia routinely floats to the U.S. It's extremely difficult to link something back to the Japanese tsunami without a serial number, phone number or other marker.

Of the more than 1,400 tsunami debris sightings reported to NOAA, the agency only traced 17 pieces back to the event, including small fishing boats, soccer balls, a dock and a shipping container housing a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with Japanese license plates. No confirmed tsunami debris so far has reached California.

Even in the absence of a direct connection, California coastal managers said it helps to know if a beach is being covered with more marine debris than usual.

"We want to get an idea of where to focus our efforts. We have limited resources," said Eben Schwartz, marine debris program manager at the California Coastal Commission, which heads the $50,000 NOAA-funded project. "If we see the problem is hitting the north coast and not getting as far south as San Francisco, that tells us where to focus."

Last summer, NOAA awarded $250,000 to five West Coast states to help with tsunami debris removal. Alaska spent its share to clean up a 25-mile stretch of beach before the weather turned too bitter. Hawaii and Washington state have yet to dip into their funds.

Oregon racked up $240,000 to remove debris on beaches including a 66-foot dock that broke loose from the port of Misawa during the tsunami and splashed ashore over the summer. Part of the tab ? $50,000 ? was covered by NOAA.

Charlie Plybon, Oregon's regional manager at the Surfrider Foundation, said the tsunami has raised beachgoers' awareness about marine debris plaguing the world's coastlines.

"There's a bit of tsunami debris fever. It's like an Easter egg hunt," said Plybon, who has been cleaning up the Oregon coast for more than a decade. "People used to walk past debris. Now they want to be engaged."

Health experts have said debris arriving on the West Coast is unlikely to be radioactive after having crossed thousands of miles of ocean. Tsunami waves swamped a nuclear power plant and swept debris into the ocean. The debris field, which once could be spotted from satellite and aerial photos, has dispersed. More than 18,000 residents were killed or went missing.

Volunteer Julie Walters has combed Mussel Rock Beach south of San Francisco for wreckage, but all that's turned up so far are wave-battered boat parts and lumber of unknown origin.

If she did find an object with a direct link, "I would find it quite intriguing that it made this incredible journey across the Pacific," said Walters, a volunteer with the Pacifica Beach Coalition. "It would also sadden me to think of the human tragedy."

___

AP writers Becky Bohrer in Honolulu and Tim Fought in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Alicia Chang at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/west-coast-girds-more-tsunami-debris-winter-141532827.html

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