Saturday, June 29, 2013

Obama tells leaders to follow Mandela's example

U.S. President Barack Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma, not pictured, address a press conference following their meeting at Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

U.S. President Barack Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma, not pictured, address a press conference following their meeting at Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures during a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma, not pictured, at the Union Building on Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa. The president is in South Africa, embarking on the second leg of his three-country African journey. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

El presidente Barack Obama, izquierda, habla con su contraparte de Sud?frica Jacob Zuma el s?bado, 29 de junio del 2013 en Pretoria, Sud?frica. (Foto AP/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma address a press conference following their meeting at Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

U.S. President Barack Obama flanked by First Lady Michelle Obama, left, waves with South African President Jacob Zuma, second right, and his wife Tobeka Madiba Zuma, right, on the steps of Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama encouraged leaders in Africa and around the world Saturday to follow former South African President Nelson Mandela's example of country before self, as the U.S. president prepared to pay personal respects to relatives who have been gathered around the critically ill anti-apartheid icon.

"We as leaders occupy these spaces temporarily and we don't get so deluded that we think the fate of our country doesn't depend on how long we stay in office," Obama said.

Obama spoke at a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma in the midst of a weeklong tour of the continent that also included stops in Senegal and Tanzania. But many other African nations are embroiled in religious, sectarian and other conflicts.

Obama decided to avoid stopping in his father's home nation of Kenya because of international disputes there. The International Criminal Court is prosecuting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for crimes against humanity, including murder, deportation, rape, persecution and inhumane acts allegedly committed by his supporters in the violent aftermath of Kenya's 2007 elections.

"The timing was not right for me as the president of the United States to be visiting Kenya when those issues are still being worked on, and hopefully at some point resolved," Obama said. He noted he's visited Kenya several times previously and expects he will as well in the future.

Obama and Zuma appeared at the Union Buildings that house government offices and the site of Mandela's 1994 inauguration as the country's first black president after 27 years behind bars for his activism.

The 94-year-old Mandela has been in a nearby hospital for three weeks after being admitted with a lung infection. Zuma told reporters that Mandela is in critical but stable condition and the whole nation is praying that he will improve.

Obama visited with two of Mandela's daughters and eight of his grandchildren Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, part of the former president's foundation. Obama said he told the family he hopes Mandela draws comfort from the time he's spending with loved ones.

"I also reaffirmed the profound impact that his legacy has had in building a free South Africa, and in inspiring people around the world ? including me," Obama said in a statement after the visit. "That's a legacy that we must all honor in our own lives.

Obama also spoke by telephone with Graca Machel, Mandela's wife, while she stayed at his bedside in the hospital. Machel said she drew strength from the call and that Obama added a characteristic "touch of personal warmth."

"I am humbled by their comfort and messages of strength and inspiration, which I have already conveyed" to Mandela, she said.

The White House said that in accordance with the family's wishes, Obama was not planning to visit with Mandela.

In nearby Pretoria earlier, Obama revered Mandela as "one of the greatest people in history," referred to him by his clan name as he praised South Africa's historic integration from white racist rule as a shining beacon for the world.

"The struggle here against apartheid for freedom, Madiba's moral courage, this country's historic transition to a free and democratic nation has been a personal inspiration to me, it has been an inspiration to the world," Obama said.

"The outpouring of love that we've seen in recent days shows that the triumph of Nelson Mandela and this nation speaks to something very deep in the human spirit, the yearning for justice and dignity that transcends boundaries of race and class and faith and country," Obama said. "That's what Nelson Mandela represents, that's what South African at its best represents to the world, and that's what brings me back here."

Zuma told Obama he and Mandela are "bound by history as the first black presidents of your respective countries."

"Thus, you both carry the dreams of millions of people in Africa and in the diaspora who were previously oppressed," Zuma said, reading from a prepared statement.

On other topics, Obama declined to commit to supporting South Africa's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. He said the U.N.'s structure needs to be updated and it would be "odd" for an expanded Security Council not to have African representation.

"How we do that and what fashion is complicated, it's difficult and it involves all kinds of politics," Obama said.

"Everybody wants a seat at the table, but when it comes time to step up and show responsibility, sometimes people want to be free riders," Obama said, adding he wasn't referring to South Africa specifically.

Zuma responded that he wishes the process of change at the U.N. would speed up.

Obama also said he wants to boost trade with Africa and plans to renegotiate an African trade pact to improve it for American businesses. He said he welcomes competition from other nations who have been aggressive in pursuing commercial opportunities in Africa, including China.

"I don't feel threatened by it. I think it's a good thing," he said. He added: "Our only advice is make sure it's a good deal for Africa." He said that includes making sure foreign investment employs Africans and doesn't tolerate corruption or take its natural resources without compensation for Africans.

Obama also is paying tribute to South Africa's fight against apartheid by visiting the Soweto area Saturday afternoon for a town hall with students at the University of Johannesburg. At least 176 young people were killed in Soweto township 27 years ago this month during a youth protest against the apartheid regime's ban against teaching local Bantu languages. The Soweto Uprising catalyzed international support against apartheid, and June is now recognized as Youth Month in South Africa.

The university plans to bestow an honorary law degree on the U.S. president.

Protesters under police watch demonstrated outside the university against Obama's record on surveillance and foreign policy. Demonstrators from a range of trade unions and civil society groups chanted, "Away with intelligence, away," holding posters depicting Obama with an Adolf Hitler moustache.

"People died in Libya. People are still dying in Syria," said 54-year-old Ramasimong Tsokolibane. "In Egypt, in Afghanistan in Pakistan drones are still killing people. So that's why we are calling him a Hitler. He's a killer."

Obama has been trying to inspire the continent's youth to become civically active and part of a new democratically minded generation. Obama hosted young leaders from more than 40 African countries at the White House in 2010 and challenged them to bring change to their countries by standing up for freedom, openness and peaceful disagreement.

Obama wraps up his South Africa stay Sunday, when he plans to give a sweeping speech on U.S.-Africa policy at the University of Cape Town and take his family to Robben Island to tour the prison where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years behind bars.

Obama has visited the island before, but said it's a particular privilege to bring his daughters back to learn its lessons.

___

Associated Press Television News reporter Bram Janssen contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler and Julie Pace at https://twitter.com/jpacedc

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-29-AF-Obama/id-e98b31506a1b4405a94523f430cc9356

best buy sears Aeropostale Jcpenny ohio state football cyber monday lupus

JURIST - Paper Chase: US Senate approves immigration reform bill

? JURIST Legal News and Research Services, Inc., 2013. JURIST is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. E-mail inquiries, changes, news tips, URLs, corrections, etc. to JURIST@jurist.org. This site is not an official site of the University of Pittsburgh. The University of Pittsburgh is not responsible for its content. Nothing on this site is intended as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, please consult an attorney.

Source: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/06/us-senate-passes-broad-immigration-bill.php

victoria secret fashion show SEC Championship Rick Majerus Cotto vs Trout Robin Givens Gus Malzahn hyperemesis gravidarum

Survival of the Galapagos sea lion

June 29, 2013 ? Immune systems of endangered Galapagos sea lions are in overdrive because of harmful activity by people, reveal scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

The study shows that Galapagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) are more prone to starvation because of exposure to human influences like pets and pollution. These can impair the level of their immunity, making them less able to hunt and more likely to go hungry when food is scarce.

This research is published June 28 in the journal PLOS ONE.

Conservationists spent more than eighteen months on the Islands of San Cristobal, which is inhabited by humans, and Santa Fe, where there are no humans, dogs, cats, mice or rats. They tagged 60 Galapagos sea lions from each island and monitored their behaviour and physiology.

ZSL's Institute of Zoology Director, Professor Tim Blackburn says: "We are increasingly aware of the threats of infectious diseases to wildlife around the world, from amphibians in the tropics to the birds in British gardens. It is worrying that we are now potentially seeing such threats to sea lions in the supposedly pristine wilderness of the Galapagos Islands."

ZSL's Dr. Paddy Brock, author on the paper, says: "A tell-tale sign of an unhealthy sea lion is a thinner than normal layer of blubber, which is what we saw in the sea lions on San Cristobal. This was all the more notable as we didn't notice these patterns in sea lions on Santa Fe, where they live without the presence of people or pets.

""The immune systems of San Cristobel sea lions were more active, perhaps indicating a threat of infectious disease, which could mean human activity is increasing the chance of potentially dangerous diseases emerging in the Galapagos sea lion," Dr Brock added.

Despite laws designed to protect the unique wildlife found on the Galapagos, pets are regularly imported to the islands, which increases the risk of new diseases arriving and spreading to local species. In addition, dumping of sewage into the bay on San Cristobal where the sea lions live may be increasing their exposure to germs and bacteria associated with humans.

ZSL, together with collaborators, will continue to address the threats faced by the Galapagos sea lion by carrying out further research into the methods driving the described patterns, such as the role that genetics plays in shaping them.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/UgP0hAd2l9E/130629164735.htm

wmt human nature arkansas football howard johnson levon helm firelight world peace elbow

Friday, June 28, 2013

Babies can read each other?s moods, study finds

June 27, 2013 ? Although it may seem difficult for adults to understand what an infant is feeling, a new study from Brigham Young University finds that it's so easy a baby could do it.

Psychology professor Ross Flom's study, published in the academic journal Infancy, shows that infants can recognize each other's emotions by five months of age. This study comes on the heels of other significant research by Flom on infants' ability to understand the moods of dogs, monkeys and classical music.

"Newborns can't verbalize to their mom or dad that they are hungry or tired, so the first way they communicate is through affect or emotion," says Flom. "Thus it is not surprising that in early development, infants learn to discriminate changes in affect."

Infants can match emotion in adults at seven months and familiar adults at six months. In order to test infant's perception of their peer's emotions, Flom and his team of researchers tested a baby's ability to match emotional infant vocalizations with a paired infant facial expression.

"We found that 5 month old infants can match their peer's positive and negative vocalizations with the appropriate facial expression," says Flom. "This is the first study to show a matching ability with an infant this young. They are exposed to affect in a peer's voice and face which is likely more familiar to them because it's how they themselves convey or communicate positive and negative emotions."

In the study, infants were seated in front of two monitors. One of the monitors displayed video of a happy, smiling baby while the other monitor displayed video of a second sad, frowning baby. When audio was played of a third happy baby, the infant participating in the study looked longer to the video of the baby with positive facial expressions. The infant also was able to match negative vocalizations with video of the sad frowning baby. The audio recordings were from a third baby and not in sync with the lip movements of the babies in either video.

"These findings add to our understanding of early infant development by reiterating the fact that babies are highly sensitive to and comprehend some level of emotion," says Flom. "Babies learn more in their first 2 1/2 years of life than they do the rest of their lifespan, making it critical to examine how and what young infants learn and how this helps them learn other things."

Flom co-authored the study of 40 infants from Utah and Florida with Professor Lorraine Bahrick from Florida International University.

Flom's next step in studying infant perception is to run the experiments with a twist: test whether babies could do this at even younger ages if instead they were watching and hearing clips of themselves.

And while the talking twin babies in this popular YouTube clip are older, it's still a lot of fun to watch them babble at each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_JmA2ClUvUY

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/child_development/~3/ttEOJhEX-Xk/130627102835.htm

faith hill metro north taco bell taco bell Breezy Point Seaside Heights nj transit

Mandela's ex-wife: Former S. African leader better

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The former wife of critically ill Nelson Mandela says he is showing "great improvement" compared to a few days ago.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela gave the update on the former president's health Friday while speaking to media outside Mandela's former home in Soweto.

"I'm not a doctor but I can say that from what he was a few days ago there is great improvement," said Madikizela-Mandela, who is also a member of South Africa's Parliament.

Members of Nelson Mandela's family and South African Cabinet ministers have visited the hospital where the 94-year-old former president is critically ill.

On Thursday, the office of South African President Jacob Zuma said that Mandela's condition was critical but stable.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mandelas-ex-wife-former-african-leader-better-160050353.html

kim jong un Facebook Phone lollapalooza emma watson Jaromir Jagr Shain Gandee mlb

Brazilian president's plan to import doctors faces resistance

By Esteban Israel

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff's plan to import foreign doctors to work in rural and poor parts of Brazil, part of a move to quell massive street protests over poor public services, has run into stiff opposition from the powerful medical lobby.

Public dissatisfaction over the quality of healthcare has helped fuel nationwide protests over the past month and spurred Rousseff, a pragmatic leftist, to announce earlier this week the "emergency action" plan to bring in foreign doctors.

Brazil's public healthcare system, which serves some 75 percent of its 194 million people, has a shortage of 54,000 physicians, leaving it with a mere 1.8 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, according to government data.

The problem is particularly dire in remote parts of the country. In Imperatriz, a city of 250,000 in the poor northeastern state of Maranhao, the municipal hospital's intensive care unit has gone without a pediatrician for a year.

With not enough Brazilian doctors to meet these needs, health officials have seized upon the idea of importing doctors from Spain and Portugal, which have about double the number of doctors per capita but are suffering deep economic crises.

Local doctors, however, are skeptical and angry about the plan, which they see as an attempt to obscure the government's failures in healthcare. The Federal Board of Medicine, which represents 400,000 doctors, has announced a walk-out on July 3 in protest.

"Portuguese and Spanish won't come because of the work conditions," said Roberto D'Avila, president of the Federal Board of Medicine. "All this rhetoric is being employed to justify the arrival of Cuban doctors without re-training."

Early this year, authorities floated the idea of bringing up to 6,000 doctors from Cuba. D'Avila is dubious of the skills of Cuban doctors, claiming that some have the training of one of "our nurses."

"Bringing doctors from abroad would only make matters worse," Alison Soto, the director of the municipal hospital in Imperatriz, said in an interview. "It's the government's skewed view."

Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, has long been a destination for immigrants, with waves of Europeans and Japanese going there in the last century. But foreigners only represent 0.3 percent of Brazil's current labor force, far below the global average of 3 percent, according to United Nations data.

"Brazil needs to have a migratory flow 10, 15, 20 times bigger than it currently does," Ricardo Paes de Barros, secretary of strategic affairs for the president's office, said in an interview with Reuters. "That would oxygenate Brazil's society and economy."

In the last six months Brazil has taken steps in that direction, facilitating access to temporary work visas and permitting spouses of foreign professionals to work as well.

Paes de Barros wants to simplify the hiring of foreign professionals, create special visas for foreigners interested in looking for jobs in Brazil and offer work permits to foreigners who study in the country.

Changing work laws, however, likely won't be enough to fix the labor shortages. Foreigners complain about the high cost of living, violence and traffic gridlock in its cities.

And with the country's once strong economic growth cooling - GDP grew by about 0.9 percent last year - Latin America's largest economy is not as strong a lure as it was a few years ago.

A faltering economy and the government's decision to focus on preparations for the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics has stoked public anger and fueled the demonstrations.

"We could have the friendliest legislation in the world without anyone wanting to come," said Paes de Barros. "We don't only have to send the invitations - we have to make sure that the party will be a good one."

(Reporting by Esteban Israel; Additional reporting by Lucas Iberico-Lozada; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazilian-presidents-plan-import-doctors-faces-resistance-211315356.html

Amber Tamblyn Lilit Avagyan Nashville TV Show VP debate sandusky Sam Champion Hulk Hogan sex tape

HTC One Google Play edition hands-on (video)

HTC One Google Play edition handson video

Samsung might have pleasantly surprised us with a Galaxy S 4 running stock Android at Google I/O last month, but it wasn't long before HTC followed suit with its own announcement regarding the One. Officially known as the HTC One Google Play edition, the phone is now available in the Play store for $599 alongside the aforementioned Galaxy S 4. When it comes to specs, the handset is a dead ringer for AT&T's 32GB version and incorporates the same radios (with LTE support). It features Qualcomm's 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 SoC with 2GB or RAM, a 4.7-inch 1080p Super LCD 3 display, an Ultrapixel camera (4MP) with OIS and flash and a sealed 2300mAh Li-polymer battery. We finally played with it yesterday and came away rather smitten. Read on for our first impressions and hands-on video after the break.

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/htc-one-google-play-edition-hands-on-video/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

Reeva Steenkamp rubio Affenpinscher Dorner Banana Joe state of the union fat tuesday