NY bill would require bachelor's degrees for RNs

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) ? New registered nurses would have to earn bachelor's degrees within 10 years to keep working in New York under a bill lawmakers are considering as part of a national push to raise educational standards for nurses, even as the health care industry faces staffing shortages.

The "BSN in 10" initiative backed by nursing associations and major health policy organizations aims to attack the complex problem of too few nurses trained to care for an aging population that includes hundreds of thousands of nurses expected to retire in the coming years. But some in the health care industry worry that increased education requirements could worsen the problem by discouraging entrants into the field.

Currently, most registered nurses have two-year associate's degrees. No state requires a four-year degree for initial licensing or afterward, though New Jersey and Rhode Island have considered proposals similar to New York's over the past several years. New York's legislation died in committee last session, but it has bipartisan support in both chambers this year and could be debated as early as January.

Demand for more skilled nurses is increasing as the population gets older and has more chronic diseases, and as the new federal health care law promises to help 32 million more Americans gain insurance within a few years.

Federal health officials have recommended upgrading nurse education to BSNs for more than a decade, and the idea got a boost in a 2010 report, "The Future of Nursing," by the National Academy of Sciences nonprofit Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. As of 2008, about a third of RNs had bachelor's degrees or higher, according to federal statistics. The institute recommended increasing that to 80 percent by 2020.

Advocates say that in addition to improving patient care, a key reason for requiring more education is to put more nurses in position to move on to jobs in administration and in-demand specialties like oncology, and to teach at nursing schools, where the average faculty age is 53.

"More and more hospitals are looking to hire BSNs, but the catch is that not that many schools offer the RN-to-BSN program or have the faculty to teach it," said Sharon Shockness, an adjunct teacher at Mercy College in Westchester County.

The New York bill's main sponsors, Democratic Assemblyman Joseph Morelle of Rochester and Republican Sen. James Alesi of Monroe County, said the bill is needed to further professionalize nursing. Both serve on their respective higher education committees and represent districts that include University of Rochester Medical Center and St. John Fisher College, which have BSN programs.

In addition to helping provide future teachers, the lawmakers say the added education and critical thinking skills are needed as patient care has become more sophisticated and studies show staff with higher levels of education serve patients better.

In a memo supporting the bill, the New York State Nurses Association cites a 2003 University of Pennsylvania study that found every 10 percent increase in staffing by nurses with bachelor's degrees results in a 5 percent decrease in surgical deaths.

Current registered nurses would be exempt from the education requirement to prevent driving more nurses from the field.

"This bill shouldn't discourage anyone at this point because it doesn't involve anyone even applying for licensure right now ... and 10 years is a long time to get a degree that will give you better pay," Alesi said.

Alesi contends the measure will "improve the landscape of nursing" by increasing the pool of RNs who can go on to obtain master's degrees and teach.

Researchers say almost 900,000 of the nation's roughly 3 million licensed RNs are older than 50, and while there's been an uptick in new, younger nurses, shortages are still expected as the health care industry continues to add nursing jobs. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in 2009 that almost 582,000 new RN jobs would be created by 2018.

Federal projections in 2004, the most recent available, forecast a shortfall of 54,000 RN jobs in New York by 2020; the state currently has about 170,000 working nurses. But the state and national shortage estimates have varied greatly as the overall economy and national health policy have changed. A study published this year in the journal Health Affairs reports a surge among younger RNs entering the workforce, pointing to an easing of a national shortage previously forecast to reach 400,000 by 2020.

That shortage concerns New York's health care providers.

William Van Slyke, spokesman for the Healthcare Association of New York State, said the organization representing health care networks and hospitals supports having a better educated nursing workforce, but opposes a four-year degree mandate.

One problem, he said, is the lack of nursing faculty ? the same issue advocates say the bill would address.

"If you start the clock and you don't have the educational system, we may find ourselves having to turn away staff and have shortages," Van Slyke said.

The association has proposed legislation that would provide incentives like loan forgiveness to encourage people to become nurse educators, he said, but lawmakers haven't taken up the idea.

Morelle, the Assembly sponsor, said the state's community colleges also have expressed concerns that the requirement will cut into the number of people seeking the 2-year degrees they offer.

"Their classes are overflowing," Morelle said, and there is a "whole host of programs" that allow students to progress from a 2-year to a 4-year program.

A spokesman for the New York nurses association said New York City metropolitan area hospitals are increasingly requiring new RNs to have a bachelor's degree or earn one within five years, creating a disparity in standards between downstate and upstate, where fewer candidates have four-year degrees.

"Even without the legislation in place, hospitals and other medical facilities are making hiring decisions that favor those with BSN degrees over those without them," said Dr. Peggy Tallier, program director and associate professor in nursing school health at Mercy College.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-30-NY%20Nurse%20Education/id-241628b7062445eeb3475d279bc63cd5

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Nintendo: Don?t expect Facebook games from us

Do you honestly, REALLY believe that Nintendo would even consider such a thing?

Nintendo has never, ever done such a thing.

And frankly, Facebook gaming can die, for all I care. It's the worst thing that has ever happened to gaming, legitimizing practices that have no purpose but to suck dry the wallets of those who play them.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/nintendo-dont-expect-facebook-games-from-us/6659

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No firm totally destroyed by tornado, storm

by Doug Walker, Associate Editor Rn T.Com

Damages to the Fairbanks Co. were conservatively estimated at $200,000. That figure is expected to rise significantly. (Doug Walker / Rome News-Tribune)

slideshow A week after an EF-2 tornado etched a swath across Rome and into neighboring Bartow and Gordon counties, a more thorough examination of the damages has resulted in an estimated dollar value for damages to local businesses in the neighborhood of $1.82 million.

The figure does not take into account any losses to residential properties.

Floyd County Emergency Management Agency Director Scotty Hancock reported that two-thirds of the losses were incurred by just six businesses, all estimated to be at a minimum of $200,000, however, none were completely destroyed as preliminary assessments indicated.

The Fairbanks/American Pipe buildings, 202 Division St.; the former Habitat for Humanity HomeMart building, 617 Excelsior St.; Shorter University?s warehouse, 218 John Davenport Drive; Brenda White Insurance, 9 N. Hanks St.; the West Rome IGA shopping center on Shorter Avenue; and mini-warehouses at 702 Shorter Ave. were the businesses that were listed as having sustained major damages.

Keith Clark, owner of the West Rome IGA grocery, said he is still working on a final assessment of the damages at his store.

?Ours is over $100,000 in itself,? Clark said. ?Everything from roof damage to sign damage to throwing away over $70,000 worth of product ? produce, meat, the deli ? we just dumped it in the dumpster out back and watched it drive off.?

Clark said the entire roof over the shopping center is going to have to be replaced.

Similarly, Mark White, manager at the Fairbanks Co., indicated the $200,000 figure placed on their business is expected to be well below the actual cost of repairs to the building that essentially lost two exterior walls and a part of its roof.

Thirty-one other businesses or commercial establishments also sustained losses that are being listed as minor, meaning losses of at least $20,000 were estimated.

On Thursday night, Hancock learned that Floyd County became eligible for assistance through the Small Business Administration.

A disaster loan outreach center will open Tuesday from noon to 6 p.m. at the Northwest Georgia Public Health District office, 1309 Redmond Road.

The hours are: Jan. 4 through Jan. 6, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Jan. 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Jan. 9 through Jan. 12, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Hancock said Thursday he felt confident the county would be eligible.

?We?ve not only met but exceeded the threshold,? Hancock said.

Hancock said all they needed was 25 uninsured or under-insured properties to get the designation for assistance.

Source: http://rn-t.com/bookmark/16938870

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Judge blocks California's low-carbon fuel rules

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily halted California's ability to enforce rules to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation fuels, effectively taking the regulatory teeth out of the state's year-old program.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence O'Neill issued a preliminary injunction that ruled the California Air Resources Board's low-carbon fuel regulations violated the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause by discriminating against crude oil and biofuels producers located outside California.

The regulations require producers, refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel to reduce the carbon footprint of their fuel by 10% over the next decade, as part of California's landmark global-warming law aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The regulation calculates the life cycle of fuels from their extraction ? or cultivation, in the case of biofuels such as corn-based ethanol ? to their combustion. For example, the state considers how corn is grown, harvested and converted to ethanol intended for California gas tanks, a life-cycle evaluation called "seeds to wheels."

Industry groups applauded the decision and said the program would have resulted in higher fuel costs for California consumers.

In a joint statement, Bob Dineen, president of the Renewable Fuels Assn., and Tom Buis, chief executive of Growth Energy, which were plaintiffs in the case, said, "With this ruling, it is our hope that the California regulators will come back to the table to work on a thoughtful, fair, and ultimately achievable strategy for improving our environment by incentivizing the growth and evolution of American renewable fuels."

The judge's ruling did not invalidate the air board's low-carbon fuel program or its reporting requirements. But the injunction does remove the state's ability to punish fuel wholesalers and refineries that sell gasoline or biofuels whose carbon footprint exceeds state guidelines.

In the first year of the program, wholesalers were to reduce the carbon footprint of their products 0.25% .

Air board spokesman Stanley Young defended the program as "an evenhanded standard that encourages the use of cleaner low carbon fuels," adding that "it does not discriminate against any fuels on the basis of geography."

Young said the agency will go back to O'Neill's court next week seeking clarification of the ruling and will appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Oil refiners and corn-ethanol producers filed suit last year, alleging that the mandate was unfairly punitive to out-of-state fuel suppliers.

julie.cart@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/c7efhrK9nmI/la-me-ethanol-ruling-20111230,0,7167642.story

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Mount Washington Observatory Winter Edu Trips

Looking for a high adventure close to home this winter? Check out the ?Edu Trips? offered by the Mount Washington Observatory. There are weekend workshops on mountaineering skills, climate change, outdoor photography, bringing science into the classroom, women?s mountaineering skills, glacial geology, and more. The best part? Your classroom is the top of Mount Washington!

Source: http://www.amcmaine.org/mount-washington-observatory-winter-edu-trips/

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New Mexico Statehood to be Honored on Forever Stamp

?

A ceremony will be held for the First-Day-of-Issue New Mexico Statehood Forever Stamp on Friday, January 6, 2012 at the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Special guests include Governor Susana Martinez, Board of Governors Mickey Barnett of the U.S. Postal Service, and more.

The U.S. Postal Service honors the 100 years that have passed since January 6, 1912, when New Mexico became the 47th state in the union.

Today, New Mexico is the fifth-largest state in the U.S., known for its rich history, vibrant cultures, and stunning geographic diversity.

Art Director, Richard Sheaff selected an existing oil painting for the stamp art created by New Mexico resident and artist, Doug West.

Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

Source: http://southvalley.kob.com/news/arts-culture/104908-new-mexico-statehood-be-honored-forever-stamp

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Unexpected signaling role for foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide in cell response to protein misfolding

Unexpected signaling role for foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide in cell response to protein misfolding

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Something rotten never smelled so sweet.

This is what members of a team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) are telling one another as they discuss a new finding they did not expect to make. They have discovered that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) ? the flammable, highly toxic gas that we usually associate with the smell of rotten eggs in landfills and sewers ? plays an important role in the regulation of a signaling pathway implicated in biological malfunctions linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, among others.

"H2S comes under the category of things that people think of as toxic and nasty, but which can actually be harnessed to serve a useful purpose," says CSHL Professor Nicholas K. Tonks, FRS, who led the research team. In fact, H2S, which is produced naturally in small quantities in various tissues, is a gasotransmitter, one of a family of gaseous signaling molecules that includes nitrous oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO). Unlike growth factors, cytokines and hormones that act through receptors in the cell membrane, these gasotransmitters are able to permeate membranes and enter freely the interior of living cells.

Tonks and colleagues were intrigued by reports in the scientific literature suggesting that H2S was produced as part of the cell's response to what is called ER stress. The ER is the cellular organ called the endoplasmic reticulum. It is an extensive network of membranes spread throughout the cytosol, which is involved in protein synthesis and processing.

When the cell is placed under stress, specifically when newly formed proteins are being manufactured in the ER so rapidly that they do not fold properly, rendering them non-functional, the cell must make a decision either to slow down protein production to match its physiological requirements in the hope that proteins will begin to fold properly or, if that is not sufficient, to commit a form of suicide called apoptosis.

The surprise in the research performed by Tonks' team ? which is published online today in Science Signaling ? is that H2S plays a critical role in the exquisitely tuned signaling pathway through which cells make this fateful determination.

Navasona Krishnan, a postdoctoral fellow, performed an experiment to determine whether H2S could covalently modify an enzyme called PTP1B. Discovered by Tonks in 1988, PTP1B is a protein tyrosine phosphatase, or PTP ? an enzyme that specifically removes phosphate groups from amino acid residues called tyrosines. This function is critical in regulating cellular signaling in normal and disease conditions.

H2S did indeed modify PTP1B, specifically on a cysteine amino acid residue in the enzyme's active site, which inactivated the enzyme. A number of subsequent experiments performed in collaboration with CSHL Professor Darryl Pappin, who directs the proteomics Shared Resource at the Laboratory, identified this modification and revealed that it occurred in vitro and in vivo.

Because PTP1B is itself a signaling pathway regulator, this inactivation was immediately understood to be important and potentially useful. Further experimentation revealed that the H2S-induced modification to PTP1B prevented this phosphatase from inactivating an enzyme called PERK, which is a sensor of the presence of unfolded proteins and a critical regulator of the cell's response to ER stress.

The completed puzzle is as follows: small amounts of hydrogen sulfide are produced when the cell senses ER stress; PTP1B undergoes a unique covalent modification at its active site in response to the H2S that is produced, which in turn prevents the phosphatase from dephosphorylating PERK thereby allowing the latter protein to play its specific regulatory role in response to the stress. Importantly, the process is fully reversible, such that this previously undiscovered pathway can act like a switch, to help fine-tune a response to stress that potentially can lead to cell death.

"We hypothesize that the controlled production of H2S could have a profound impact on how this part of the ER stress pathway ? the PERK 'arm' ? is regulated. When proteins are misfolded in response to cellular stress, the inactivation and reactivation of PTP1B appears to be one means by which the cell regulates its protein synthesis machinery and can exert tight control over whether it lives or dies, ," says Tonks.

The linkage of such regulation with human disease is a subject that bears further exploration. ER stress is causally related to the protein-folding-related pathologies seen in such illnesses as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, Tonks says. "What we are trying to do is understand the structure of PTP1B in the presence and absence of its modification by H2S ? to define this modification in molecular detail and understand its importance to the control of this major signaling enzyme in normal and disease states."

###

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: http://www.cshl.org

Thanks to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115957/Unexpected_signaling_role_for_foul_smelling_hydrogen_sulfide_in_cell_response_to_protein_misfolding

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Amazon forest loss at lowest in 23 years: Brazil (Reuters)

BRASILIA (Reuters) ? Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region fell to its lowest in 23 years in the year through July, the government said Monday, attributing the drop to its tougher stance against illegal logging.

Destruction of the Brazilian portion of the world's largest rain forest dropped 11 percent to 6,238 square km (2,400 square miles) over the 12-month period, satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research showed.

That is less than a quarter of the forest area that was destroyed in 2004, when clear-cutting by farmers expanding their cattle and soy operations reached a recent peak.

Brazil has stepped up its monitoring and enforcement policies in the Amazon in recent years but the improvement has partly been driven by slower global economic growth that has reduced demand and prices for the country's farm produce.

Overall improvement in 2010/11 masked worrying rises in some Amazon states such as Rondonia, where deforestation doubled from the previous year. Forest clearing in the farming state of Mato Grosso rose 20 percent.

"Some states are still extremely sensitive," Environment Minister Isabel Teixeira told reporters. "Rondonia needs to be clarified, we need to understand what has caused the change in its profile."

Two large hydroelectric dams are being built in Rondonia, boosting the local economy and attracting migrant workers.

The drop in deforestation comes as Brazil's Congress debates an overhaul of the land law that environmentalists say would severely set back conservation efforts. The Senate is expected to approve the new forest code in the coming days.

Brazil's influential farming lobby says the reform, which would ease conservation requirements for land owners, is needed to end widespread uncertainty over the current regulations that farmers say is a burden on production.

(Reporting by Hugo Bachega; writing by Stuart Grudgings; editing by John O'Callaghan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111206/sc_nm/us_brazil_amazon

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Police stop religious gatherings in Indian Kashmir (AP)

SRINAGAR, India ? Baton-wielding police in Indian-controlled Kashmir have broken up Muslim religious processions being held in defiance of a strict curfew in the disputed Himalayan region.

At least 30 people were detained Sunday after police imposed the curfew in the territory's main city, Srinagar, to prevent gatherings marking the Muslim holy month of Muharram from developing into anti-India protests.

Srinagar police chief Ashiq Bukhari says a group resisted police efforts to disperse their gatherings and scuffles broke out, but no one was reported injured.

Large public gatherings have been banned in Indian-administered Kashmir since the outbreak of an armed insurgency in 1989 demanding the Himalayan region's independence from India or its merger with neighboring Pakistan.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111204/ap_on_re_as/as_kashmir_crackdown

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First significant snow of winter to hit central US

By Reuters

Up to 12 inches of snow could fall in parts of Colorado and New Mexico on Saturday as a storm system moves through the central U.S., bringing what forecasters said would be the first significant snow of the season to the region.

From New Mexico to the Great Lakes, the storm that brought damaging winds to Western states and several inches of snow to the Rockies on Friday is set to drop four to seven inches of snow in other states in the region, including Nebraska and Kansas, according to forecasters.

Parts of Nebraska were already blanketed with snow on Saturday morning. And residents of the high country in Arizona were on the lookout for snow later Saturday as well, with forecasters predicting up to eight inches in Flagstaff by Saturday night.

The same system was bringing rain to parts of north Texas, as well as parts of Michigan and Iowa.

The northern Great Lakes can expect snow accumulation on Saturday night, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service issued an advisory on Saturday warning of potential heavy rain in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas on Saturday night in advance of a cold front expected to hit the area late Saturday or early Sunday.

A second winter storm is expected to develop on Sunday evening in New Mexico, across Texas and into Oklahoma, bringing temperatures down to the 20s for some areas and sparking the potential for snow, sleet or ice.

More news and feature stories from msnbc.com:

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/03/9189879-first-significant-snow-of-winter-to-hit-central-us

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Afghan woman, jailed for being raped, wins pardon (Reuters)

KABUL (Reuters) ? Afghanistan has pardoned a woman who was raped by a family member but then jailed for adultery, a statement from the presidential palace has said, in a case that highlights deep concerns about women's rights in the country.

It remained unclear whether the 21-year-old-woman, known as Gulnaz, would still have to marry the man who attacked her, her cousin's husband, after an earlier release offer which stipulated they must marry.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's palace issued the statement pardoning Gulnaz late on Thursday, a rare pardon in such a case in staunchly conservative Muslim Afghanistan.

Her case attracted international attention after she took part in a documentary film commissioned by the European Union but later withheld.

Gulnaz had eventually agreed to the condition she marry her attacker under the earlier release offer but her lawyer said the release granted this week did not depend on her going through with the marriage.

It was not clear whether she still intended to marry the man, her lawyer, Kimberley Motley, said. Her attacker is serving a 7-year prison term for the crime.

Motley said she hoped her client would be released shortly, and that there was a place for her in a women's shelter.

The palace statement said Justice Minister Habibullah Ghalib asked a panel of top legal officials to order her release. Gulnaz sought a pardon from Karzai earlier this week.

"After assessing Gulnaz's case, (they) decided that her remaining sentence in jail should be pardoned under the current rules and regulations of the country and she should be released," the palace statement said.

Gulnaz was initially sentenced to two years in jail for "adultery by force," which was later increased to 12 years on appeal. She was given the choice of marriage or serving a jail sentence.

Her sentence was then cut to three years after a third appeal, and the requirement for her to marry was dropped.

Gulnaz became pregnant as a result of the attack and gave birth to a daughter in the Badam Bagh women's prison in Kabul almost a year ago.

Motley also welcomed what she said was a decision to review the cases of other women in the same jail.

"The judiciary has effectively supported the Elimination of Violence Against Women Act by allowing for her to be released, for allowing for her to be pardoned," Motley said.

"Precedent definitely has been set. As I understand it, the judiciary today was also reviewing the files of other women in Badam Bagh," she said.

The presidential palace declined to comment on whether other cases were under review.

FILM BLOCKED

The film in which Gulnaz featured, a documentary on women in prison, was blocked from release by the EU mission in Afghanistan over fears it might compromise the safety of the women involved because it showed their identity.

The film-makers have been pushing for the film to be released, and say Gulnaz wanted her story to be told.

"I made a promise to these women that I would get their stories out. I am glad that I've been able to honor that promise to Gulnaz," said the film's director Clementine Malpas.

"I still hope that our film can be released, so people can hear the stories of the other women, and perhaps increase their chance of getting justice as well."

EU spokeswoman Lynne O'Donnell welcomed news Gulnaz would be freed but declined to comment on whether the film would be released.

Gulnaz's case had been condemned widely by human rights groups. An online petition started by Motley has been signed by more than 6,000 people.

Motley said she is still trying to ascertain whether the attacker will also be released if they agree to marry.

(Reporting by Jan Harvey and Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Paul Tait)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111202/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_women_prison

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Cobra Tool Takes Tires Off in Seconds

Yes, you can rip a bike tire from a rim with nothing but your bare, gnarled hands, but a lever makes things a lot easier. I use two (from a set of three) and keep them in my toolbag at all times. If even that is too much for you (and you haven’t yet mastered [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/vpMyIdBH96o/

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Clinton meets democracy icon Suu Kyi in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar?? Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on a historic visit to Myanmar Thursday after offering the reclusive country the first rewards for reform.

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The two women were having a private dinner at the home of the top-ranking U.S. diplomat in Myanmar before a more formal meeting at Suu Kyi's residence on Friday.

It is the first time the pair ? two of the world's most recognized female political figures ? have met in person, though they have spoken by telephone. Clinton has often referred to Suu Kyi as a personal inspiration.

Clinton is in Myanmar to test the long isolated and repressive country's new civilian government on its commitment to reforms that have prompted Suu Kyi to participate in upcoming elections.

Earlier Thursday, Clinton said the United States would back more aid for Myanmar and consider lifting sanctions if there was further reform on human rights.

She said she had "candid, productive" conversations with President Thein Sein and other Myanmar ministers, and told them Washington stood ready to support further reforms as the country seeks to emerge from decades of authoritarian military rule.

But she also urged Myanmar to take further steps to release political prisoners and end ethnic conflicts.

And she warned that better U.S. ties would be impossible unless Myanmar halts its illicit dealings with North Korea, which has repeatedly set alarm bells ringing across Asia with its renegade nuclear program.

"The president told me he hopes to build on these steps, and I assured him that these reforms have our support," Clinton told a news conference after her talks in Myanmar's remote capital, Naypyitaw. "I also made clear that, while the measures already taken may be unprecedented and welcomed, they are just the beginning."

Sein welcomed Clinton on a visit he said would be a "milestone." "Your excellency's visit will be historic and a new chapter in relations," he said before the start of the closed-door meeting.

Clinton's landmark visit to the country also known as Burma marks a tentative rapprochement after more than 50 years of estrangement from the West.

Undeserved reward?
Some members of Congress have expressed concern that the trip is an undeserved reward for the regime.

"I am concerned that the visit of the secretary of state sends the wrong signal to the Burmese military thugs," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"Secretary Clinton's visit represents a monumental overture to an outlaw regime whose DNA remains fundamentally brutal," she added.

Video: Clinton's historic visit to Myanmar (on this page)

Clinton unveiled several incremental steps to improve ties and said the United States would consider returning an ambassador to the country.

The United States would consider easing sanctions if it saw concrete reforms, she said.

"I told the leadership we will certainly consider the easing and elimination of sanctions as we go forward in this process together ... It has to be not theoretical or rhetorical, it has to be very real, on the ground, that can be evaluated," she said.

"It is encouraging that political prisoners have been released, but over 1,000 are still not free," Clinton said.

Clinton to get rare top-level peek at Myanmar

"Let me say publicly what I said privately earlier today: No person in any country should be detained for exercising universal freedoms of expression, assembly and conscience," she added.

Clinton also said the United States would support new World Bank and International Monetary Fund assessment missions to help Myanmar jumpstart its feeble economy.

The United States and Myanmar would discuss a joint effort to recover the remains of Americans killed during the building of the "Burma Road" during World War Two, the Secretary of State said.

Clinton added it would "be difficult to begin a new chapter" until Myanmar began forging peace with ethnic minority rebels and started allowing humanitarian groups, human rights monitors and journalists into conflict areas.

Suu Kyi: Take a risk
Suu Kyi told reporters on Wednesday she fully backed Washington's effort to gauge reforms that Myanmar had enacted since the military nominally gave up power to civilian leaders following elections last year.

"I think we have to be prepared to take risk. Nothing is guaranteed," she told reporters in Washington in a rare public video call from her home in Yangon, where she was held in detention for 15 of the last 21 years before being released in November last year.

But Suu Kyi ? a Nobel peace laureate and towering figure for Myanmar's embattled democracy movement ? said the United States must remain watchful that the new army-backed civilian government does not halt or roll back political and economic reforms which have gained pace in recent months.

"If there are again arrests of those who are engaging in politics, then I think you would need to speak out loud and clear," she said.

Video: Obama: ?Flickers of progress? in Myanmar (on this page)

Suu Kyi confirmed she would run in upcoming by-elections. Her National League for Democracy party swept elections in 1990, but the military ignored the result.

The NLD boycotted last year's polls but will contest the by-elections ? another sign of the rapid change unfolding ? and hopes to open offices across the country and start a newspaper, she said.

Eyes gouged out
Last week, Myanmar's parliament approved a law guaranteeing the right to protest, which had not previously existed, and improvements have been made in areas such as media and Internet access and political participation.

But the government that took office in March is still dominated by a military-proxy political party, and Myanmar's commitment to democratization and its willingness to limit its close ties with China are uncertain.

Video: Freed Myanmar activist speaks out (on this page)

Corruption runs rampant, hundreds of political prisoners are still jailed and violent ethnic conflicts continue in the country's north and east. Human rights activists have said Clinton's visit should be judged on improvements in those conditions.

Myanmar's army continues to torture and kill civilians in campaigns to stamp out some of the world's longest-running insurgencies, according to rights groups.

They say ongoing atrocities against ethnic minorities serve as a reminder that reforms recently unveiled by the country's military-backed government to worldwide applause are not benefiting everyone.

Aid groups have reported atrocities that occurred as recently as last month: A village leader was killed, allegedly by soldiers, for helping a rebel group, his eyes gouged out and his 9-year-old son buried beside him in a shallow grave. The boy's tongue was cut out.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45504481/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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Daily Apps: PDF Connoisseur, iDownloader Pro, Safari Party, Apple Life i, Kick the Buddy Episodes

PDF Connoisseur – Kdan Enterprise iPad Edition: A versatile, top-notch file reader from Kdan Mobile?s PDF product series that includes the following features: Save to PDF, Text to Speech, annotations, file transfer, and more. [$9.99 for iPad - App Store link] iDownloader Pro: Easily download anything from the...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/x3pgGUr2td8/story01.htm

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Ukraine activists topless to protest Euro 2012

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updated 10:16 a.m. ET Dec. 2, 2011

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukrainian women's rights activists have staged a topless demonstration at Kiev's Olympic Stadium to protest what they say are attempts to legalize prostitution during the 2012 European Championship.

Five members of the Femen group chanted slogans and displayed banners criticizing tournament organizer UEFA.

Femen spokeswoman Inna Shevchenko says UEFA is "trying to influence our government" to legalize prostitution during the June 8-July 1 tournament. UEFA is making the draw Friday.

Kiev police arrived at the gates of the downtown stadium and dragged the women into a police vehicle.

Femen has established an international reputation for staging semi-naked protests in Ukraine and abroad.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsVeejay Villafranca / AFP - Getty Images

Beckham lends a hand

Away from fans' prying eyes, David Beckham took time out from soccer to share his experiences and listen to Filipino children struggling to rebuild their broken lives.

Season set

Major League Soccer's 2012 season will open March 10 with six games.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45523808/ns/sports-soccer/

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