In rare case, Beijing court sentences petitioner interceptors

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Beijing court has sentenced 10 people to up to 18 months in jail for illegally detaining petitioners from another city, state media reported on Sunday, in a rare case of the judiciary taking on the shadowy men who operate on the margins of the law.

Those convicted were hired by authorities from Changge city in central Henan province to stop petitioners airing their grievances in Beijing, the People's Daily said on its website, citing a Beijing newspaper.

They held them in rented houses in a Beijing suburb where the petitioners said they were beaten, the report said.

The men wore badges identifying them as employees of the Beijing representative office of the Changge government, it added.

Petitioning officials has deep roots in China, where courts are seen as beyond the reach of ordinary people, who often try to take local disputes ranging from land grabs to corruption to higher levels in the country's capital Beijing.

But studies show only small numbers are ever able to resolve their cases through petitioning.

In many cases, petitioners are rounded up in Beijing by men hired by provincial authorities to prevent the central government from learning of problems in China's outlying regions.

They are often forced home, or held in "black jails" in Beijing.

Despite international criticism, China has continued to run these so-called black jails - unlawful secret detention facilities used to hold critics and petitioners, where detainees are often subjected to beatings, sleep and food deprivation, as well as psychological abuse.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Niu Shuping; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Daniel Magnowski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rare-case-beijing-court-sentences-petitioner-interceptors-083200804.html

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Professional boxing goes rural | ECTODAY

Masizakhe Boxing Promotions and the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture will stage an eight fight boxing extravaganza at the Fort Beaufort Town Hall on Friday 7 December.

The main bout on the card will see East London Champion Aphiwe Mboyiya take on Whittlesea challenger Lucky Kwaza over 10 roundsfor the Eastern Cape Featherweight Title.

Chris Pondo of Masizakhe Boxing Promotion thanked the Department of Sport for bringing boxing to the people.

?This is the first professional boxing tournament to be held in Fort Beaufort since 1992.
Pondo has specialised in staging rural boxing events since 1985.

He promoted an event in Stutterheim in 2010 and last year he held a tournament in Queenstown.
?I want to revive boxing by taking professional fights to the rural areas,? Pondo said.

Posted by Luke Charter on December 3, 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://getectoday.co.za/sports/professional-boxing-goes-rural/

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Study Bolsters Link Between Routine Hits to Head and Long-Term Brain Disease

The growing evidence of a link between head trauma and long-term, degenerative brain disease was amplified in an extensive study of athletes, military veterans and others who absorbed repeated hits to the head, according to new findings published in the scientific journal Brain.

The study, which included brain samples taken posthumously from 85 people who had histories of repeated mild traumatic brain injury, added to the mounting body of research revealing the possible consequences of routine hits to the head in sports like football and hockey. The possibility that such mild head trauma could result in long-term cognitive impairment has come to vex sports officials, team doctors, athletes and parents in recent years.

Of the group of 85 people, 80 percent (68 men) ? nearly all of whom played sports ? showed evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., a degenerative and incurable disease whose symptoms can include memory loss, depression and dementia.

Among the group found to have C.T.E., 50 were football players, including 33 who played in the N.F.L. Among them were stars like Dave Duerson, Cookie Gilchrist and John Mackey. Many of the players were linemen and running backs, positions that tend to have more contact with opponents.

Six high school football players, nine college football players, seven pro boxers and four N.H.L. players, including Derek Boogaard, the former hockey enforcer who died from an accidental overdose of alcohol and painkillers, also showed signs of C.T.E. The study also included 21 veterans, most of whom were also athletes, who showed signs of C.T.E.

The study was conducted by investigators at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, in collaboration with the Sports Legacy Institute. It took four years to complete, included subjects 17 to 98 years old, and more than doubled the number of documented cases of C.T.E. The investigators also created a four-tiered system to classify degrees of C.T.E., hoping it would help doctors treat patients.

The volume of cases in the study ?allows us to see the disease at all stages of severity and how it starts and spreads in the brain, which gives us an idea of the mechanism of the injury,? said Ann McKee, the main author of the study, who is a professor of neurology and pathology at Boston University School of Medicine and works at the V.A. Boston.

Those categorized as having Stage 1 of the disease had headaches and loss of attention and concentration, while those with Stage 2 also had depression, explosive behavior and short-term memory loss. Those with Stage 3 of C.T.E., including Duerson, a former All-Pro defensive back for the Chicago Bears who killed himself last year, had cognitive impairment and trouble with executive functions like planning and organizing. Those with Stage 4 had dementia, difficulty finding words and aggression.

Despite the breadth of the findings, the study, like others before it, did not prove definitively that head injuries sustained on the field caused C.T.E. To do that, doctors would need to identify the disease in living patients by using imaging equipment, blood tests or other techniques. Researchers have not been able to determine why some athletes who performed in the same conditions did not develop C.T.E.

The study also did not demonstrate what percentage of professional football players were likely to develop C.T.E. To do that, investigators would need to study the brains of players who do not develop C.T.E., and those are difficult to acquire because families of former players who do not exhibit symptoms are less likely to donate their brains to science.

?It?s a gambler?s game to try to predict what percentage of the population has this,? said Chris Nowinski, a co-author of the study and a co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine. ?Many of the families donated the brains of their loved ones because they were symptomatic. Still, this is probably more widespread than we think.?

Researchers expected the details in the study to dispel doubts about the likelihood that many years of head trauma can lead to C.T.E. The growing connections between head trauma and contact sports, though, have led some nervous parents and coaches to assume that any concussion could lead to long-term impairment. Some doctors say that oversimplifies matters. Rather, the total amount of head trauma, including smaller subconcussive hits, as well as how they were treated, must be considered when evaluating whether an athlete is more at risk of developing a disease like C.T.E.

?All concussions are not created equal,? said Robert Cantu, a co-author of the study and a co-director of the encephalopathy center. ?Parents have become paranoid about concussions and connecting the dots with C.T.E., and that?s wrong. The dots are really about total head trauma.?

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/sports/study-bolsters-link-between-routine-hits-to-head-and-long-term-brain-disease.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Posted by DuboisVanita845 on December 1, 2012 in Articles with No Comments


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2 dead after bus crash at Fla. airport; 3 critical

Law enforcement officers watch as a bus which hit a concrete overpass at Miami International Airport is hauled away, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 in Miami. The vehicle was too tall for the 8-foot-6-inch entrance to the arrivals area, and buses are supposed to go through the departures area which has a higher ceiling, according to an airport spokesperson. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Law enforcement officers watch as a bus which hit a concrete overpass at Miami International Airport is hauled away, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 in Miami. The vehicle was too tall for the 8-foot-6-inch entrance to the arrivals area, and buses are supposed to go through the departures area which has a higher ceiling, according to an airport spokesperson. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Law enforcement officers stand next to a bus after it hit a concrete overpass at Miami International Airport in Miami on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. The vehicle was too tall for the 8-foot-6-inch entrance to the arrivals area, and buses are supposed to go through the departures area which has a higher ceiling, according to an airport spokesperson. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Emergency personnel attend to injured passengers after a bus accident at Miami International Airport on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 in Miami. Officials say a bus has hit an overpass, killing at least one person and injuring more than two-dozen people on board. Airport spokesman Greg Chin says the large, white bus hit the overpass going into the airport's arrivals section on Saturday morning. The bus was going about 20 mph when it clipped the roof entrance. (AP Photo/El Nuevo Herald, Roberto Koltun)

A bus is lodged into an overpass at the Miami International Airport on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. The vehicle was carrying over 30 people when it crashed into the structure. Authorities say buses typically are routed through the departures area, which has a higher clearance. (AP Photo/Suzette Laboy)

A bus is lodged into an overpass at the Miami International Airport on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. The vehicle was carrying over 30 people when it crashed into the structure. Authorities say buses typically are routed through the departures area, which has a higher clearance. (AP Photo/Suzette Laboy)

MIAMI (AP) ? A charter bus carrying 32 members of a church group hit a concrete overpass at Miami International Airport after the driver got lost Saturday, killing two elderly people on board and leaving three others critically injured, officials said.

The large, white bus was too tall for the 8-foot-6-inch entrance to the arrivals area, said airport spokesman Greg Chin. Buses are supposed to go through the departures area, which has a higher ceiling, he said.

Chin said passengers told him they were part of a group of Jehovah's Witnesses headed to West Palm Beach. Police said in a news release that the group had chartered the bus to take them to a church convention there.

The group was made up of congregation members of Sweetwater's Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, said Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maro?o.

"This is a tragic accident that has affected many families, as well as, our Sweetwater family," Maro?o said in a press release. "I am pursuing all avenues to get in touch with the appropriate persons to officially extend our help to the congregation and those who were hurt."

A phone number listed for the center in Sweetwater went unanswered.

At the airport, two large signs warn drivers of large vehicles not to pass beneath the concrete overpass. One attached to the top of the concrete barrier reads: "High Vehicle STOP Turn Left." The other, placed to the left of the driveway and several feet in front of the barrier, says all vehicles higher than the 8-foot-6 threshold must turn left.

Three people were at hospitals in critical condition. The other 27 surviving passengers were hurt, but their injuries were less extensive, authorities said.

One person died at the scene; the second died later at a hospital.

Eight of the 14 patients taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital were in stable condition while two others were in critical, said hospital spokeswoman Lidia Amoretti. Three others were expected to be discharged later Saturday.

A majority of the injuries were facial due to the frontal impact, said Miami-Dade Police spokesman Det. Alvaro Zabaleta.

"People that are passengers on a chartered bus, you are putting total confidence on the driver and they're high back chairs," he said. "It's just like you are sitting on a plane. You really don't see anything in front of you until of course they felt the impact ? the force takes them forward and the majority of them were facial injuries."

Zabaleta said it was "too early to tell if in fact any charges are going to be filed."

Osvaldo Lopez, an officer with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, said he first heard a loud noise Saturday morning and was certain it was some sort of car wreck.

He said he went inside the bus to help and found several passengers thrown into the center aisle. He said the passengers, many of whom were elderly, remained calm after the wreck.

"It was just very bloody," he said of the scene.

After helping the passengers, Lopez suffered some injuries of his own ? his left arm and a finger on his right hand were both bandaged.

Fire trucks and police cars swarmed the area after 8 a.m. Saturday, and the bus was blocked off by yellow police tape. A white cooler that had been filled with water bottles was on its side behind the bus, the front of which remained wedged beneath the overpass for hours before it was towed away.

The bus was privately owned and typically used for tours, though police believe all the passengers were local residents, said Miami-Dade police Lt. Rosanna Cordero-Stutz. The driver was unfamiliar with the area near the airport and did not intend to wind up at the arrivals area, Cordero-Stutz said. Investigators were interviewing the driver, she said.

The bus was going about 20 mph when it struck the overpass Saturday morning, Chin said.

The bus model is commonly used for charters and tours, with the driver seated low to the ground and passenger seats in an elevated area behind the driver's seat.

Markings on the bus show it was owned by Miami Bus Service Corp.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records found online show the company has had no violations for unsafe driving or controlled substances and alcohol. It also had not reported any crashes in the two years before Oct. 26, 2012.

The records show it did receive three citations related to driver fatigue in April 2011.

The company owns three motor coaches, according to the records. Miami Bus Service Corp. officials did not immediately respond to a phone message Saturday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-01-Miami%20Airport-Bus%20Crash/id-4ca45bb538e34991a0bb4afd17be2157

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Acer extends $199 C7 Chromebook distribution to NewEgg, TigerDirect, Staples.com

Acer extends $199 C7 Chromebook distribution to NewEgg, TigerDirect, Staplescom

If you're absolutely stuck on not spending a penny more than $199 on a laptop, then you've probably had your eye on Acer's C7 Chromebook. The barebones machine won't be taking home any awards for performance, battery life or build quality this holiday season, but it does fit the bill at just shy of 200 bucks, including 100 gigs of Google Drive storage for the first two years (a $120 value). NewEgg, TigerDirect and Staples.com have now joined the ranks of proud C7 distributors, in addition to Google Play and Best Buy, giving you a few more e-tailer options to choose from when it comes time to hand over your pair of Franklins for the 3.05-pound "stocking stuffer."

Continue reading Acer extends $199 C7 Chromebook distribution to NewEgg, TigerDirect, Staples.com

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Albertans have the tools, if not the will, to address the province's ...

Tags: Politics, Politics - Alberta, Robert Ascah

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December 2, 2012

EDMONTON, AB, Dec. 2, 2012/ Troy Media/ ? Last week,?I identified what aspects of provincial government finances are within the control of the provincial Cabinet and Treasury Board and what are not. This column examines how the levers of provincial finance might be used to address continuing deficits.

Revenue

The government has the ability to change the rate and basis of taxation on persons and businesses. Alberta?s low tax regime, reported on in provincial budgets, is enviable. If Alberta taxed at the levels of the next lowest taxed province ? British Columbia ? it would enjoy an extra $12 billion in revenue, due chiefly to the absence of a sales tax. This fiscal policy choice has both positive and negative consequences. For each one per cent of a sales tax, Alberta is foregoing over $700 million in revenue. However having no sales tax supports the highest retail sales per capita in the country. Still, it?s hard to justify the government?s position of no sales tax as a fundamental right of Albertans when legitimate spending pressures surface. Such a tax is normally viewed as penalizing low income families but these objections can be addressed with tax credits.

Albertans also enjoy one of the lowest personal income tax rates, especially for high income earners. A one per cent rise in the personal income flat tax would generate an additional $870 million per year.

Other sources of revenue could include higher ?sin taxes? including liquor, gaming and tobacco. These currently generate about $3 billion. Increases could be justified by future reduction of health expenditures as price-sensitive drinkers, gamblers and smokers kick the habit or scale back. Another potential source of additional revenue is the re-introduction of health care premiums abolished by the Stelmach government. An exemption for low income families would address objections that such a tax is regressive.

Two other possible revenue sources would be carbon taxes on emitters and on motorists. Higher taxes would discourage consumption and discourage investment. The current levy of $15 per tonne on large carbon emitters, which is being used to advance research commercialization on climate change technologies, might be used to fund programs to reduce carbon emissions. Research presented at a conference this past May showed that the burden of a significant carbon tax would not be too large even on oil sands operations. Such a bold move would demonstrate Alberta?s leadership in Canada.

To conclude on the revenue side: Albertans should demand that their government clearly articulate the rationale for its choices for its revenue structure in relation to choices about spending and resource savings.

Expenditure

With the exemption of debt servicing charges, inflation-adjusted per capita spending by the Alberta government is near the top when compared to other provinces. Some argue that, in Alberta, spending as a percentage of GDP or personal income is lower than other provinces therefore government is arguably under-spending in many areas. For some, this high spender status is justified based on higher revenues that the province receives because of resource rents and high tax yields based on high income levels for persons and corporations.

High spending levels are particularly pronounced in capital spending on roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure. Indeed, provincial budget documents since 2005 have highlighted that Alberta per capita capital spending is about 1.5 times or more than that of other provinces. This area requires tighter controls on priority setting.

A recent book by former Alberta Liberal leader Kevin Taft shows that spending on health care and K-12 education in 2009 is higher than the average of other Canadian provinces. Other higher spending areas include transportation and communications, post-secondary education and housing. On the other hand, spending on social services was lower by nearly $500 per person.

The government, in order to determine the effectiveness of its spending, is undertaking program reviews called ?results-based budgeting.? This action is commendable, but the public should be expecting that their government will make the difficult choices to ensure the most effective use of every dollar expended. The public should also gird itself to some programs being eliminated or scaled back.

The Alberta government has many policy tools to address the deficit.

But is the deficit a spending problem or a revenue problem? Most persons would see the solution as a little of both. It is our politicians who make the decisions on public spending and taxation levels. These decisions are difficult ones but they need to be addressed now.

Most importantly, a sustainable budget system must be built on the recognition that resource revenues are volatile. In both the short and long term, revenue depends on prices, industry costs and production levels that are largely beyond the province?s control. A sustainable budget system must therefore include (1) savings to address volatility of revenues from year to year and (2) long-term ?savings plan? insulated from short-term political raids so that our children and grandchildren are left financial assets to offset the inevitable decline of our energy resources.

Bob Ascah is Director of the Institute for Public Economics at the University of Alberta

This column?is FREE to use on your websites or in your publications. However, Troy Media ? Alberta Edition, with a link to its web site, MUST be credited.


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Source: http://www.troymedia.com/alberta-edition/2012/12/02/albertans-have-the-tools-if-not-the-will-to-address-the-provinces-deficit/

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Settle Down, Facebook Users, ?Cause You?re Not Getting $1M For Sharing A Pic Of A Fake Lottery Ticket

705372_10151174983342730_1814883642_oIn today's edition of Facebook scams comes the story of Nolan Daniels and his $1M lottery ticket picture. "Looks like I won't be going to work EVER!!!! Share this photo and I will give a random person 1 million dollars!", says the Facebook pic. Of course this is legit. It's on Facebook. Never mind that the numbers on the ticket are out-of-order.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Gzoe3thWXrI/

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