Washington Post ombudsman, reporter compare supporters of ...

CWN - February 28, 2013

The belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman is a stance akin to racism, according to the ombudsman of The Washington Post.

?Because our profession lives and dies on the First Amendment?one of the libertarian cornerstones of the Constitution?most journalists have a problem with religionists telling people what they can and cannot do,? writes Patrick Pexton. ?We want to write words, read books, watch movies, listen to music, and have sex and babies pretty much when, where and how we choose.?

?Yet many Americans feel that allowing gay men and lesbians to marry diminishes the value of their heterosexual marriages,? he continued. ?I don?t understand this. The lesbian couple down the street raising two kids or the two men across the hall in your condominium?how do those unions take anything away from the sanctity, fidelity or joy you take in your heterosexual marriage??

?That?s why many journalists have a hard time giving much voice to those opposed to gay marriage,? Pexton added. ?They see people opposed to gay rights today as cousins, perhaps distant cousins, of people in the 1950s and 1960s who, citing God and the Bible, opposed black people sitting in the bus seat, or dining at the lunch counter, of their choosing.?

Pexton made his comments after he recounted an e-mail exchange between a reader and a reporter:

The reader wrote that Post stories too often minimize the conservative argument: ?The overlooked ?other side? on the gay issue is quite legitimate, and includes the Pope, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, evangelist Billy Graham, scholars such as Robert George of Princeton, and the millions of Americans who believe in traditional marriage and oppose redefining marriage into nothingness. .?.?. Is there no room in The Post for those who support the male-female, procreative model of marriage??

Replied the reporter: ?The reason that legitimate media outlets routinely cover gays is because it is the civil rights issue of our time. Journalism, at its core, is about justice and fairness, and that?s the ?view of the world? that we espouse; therefore, journalists are going to cover the segment of society that is still not treated equally under the law.?

The reader: ?Contrary to what you say, the mission of journalism is not justice. Defining justice is a political matter, not journalistic. Journalism should be about accuracy and fairness.

?Good journalism also means not demeaning conservatives as ?haters.? ?

The reporter: ?As for accuracy, should the media make room for racists, i.e. those people who believe that black people shouldn?t marry white people? Any story on African-Americans wouldn?t be wholly accurate without the opinion of a racist, right?

?Of course I have a bias. I have a bias toward fairness,? the reporter continued. ?The true conservative would have the same bias. The true conservative would want the government out of people?s bedrooms, and religion out of government.?

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Source: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=17186

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3D Na'Tee Wants Rap's Top Spot, Regardless Of Gender

'I wanna go down as one of the best period,' 3D Na'Tee tells Mixtape Daily.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by FLX

3D Na'Tee
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702827/3d-natee-female-rap.jhtml

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Segs4Vets to Award Segways to Wounded Warriors on Deck of USS Midway

On March 6, 2013 severely wounded Vets will receive Segway personal transporters to improve their mobility and independence at a ceremony on the forward deck of the historic USS Midway.

San Diego, Calif. (PRWEB) February 27, 2013

Although U.S. troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan, the war never ends for severely injured military service members. On March 6, 2013 more than two dozen wounded warriors will receive Segway personal transporters from Segs4Vets to improve their mobility and independence at a ceremony on the forward deck of the historic USS Midway.

Segs4Vets, ranked as one of America?s best charities and recipient of the prestigious Spirit of Hope Award from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, will award the Segways at an outdoor ceremony on the deck of the USS Midway on Wednesday, March 6, at 10:45 a.m. The ceremony is open to the public. General Hal Hornburg, USAF (Ret) and Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Col. H.C. "Barney" Barnum USMC (Ret), Segs4Vets board members, will participate in the presentation.

Segs4Vets is a project of Disability Rights Advocates for Technology (DRAFT). The program is dedicated to restoring independence and productivity to severely injured service members. Segs4Vets has awarded more than 1,000 Segways since 2005 and plans to award 2,000 more in the next five years.

Last year the number of Americans wounded in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan passed the 50,000 mark. The Pentagon classified more than 16,000 of the wounded as so "severely injured" that most would have died on a battlefield just a generation ago. Improvements in protective gear and battlefield medicine and evacuation save the lives of 90 percent of the injured. However, the survivors are living with more debilitating injuries. More than 1,653 service members have lost a limb to amputation since hostilities began in 2001.

"The fact that this war is finally ending means little to the severely injured who face a lifetime of disability and challenge because of their injuries," said Jerry Kerr, the President and co-founder of Segs4Vets. "We have seen no let up in demand for Segways and we do not expect any change in the immediate future. The country is war weary but we must remember our brave soldiers, sailors and Marines and make certain they get the best possible tools so they can reclaim lives of independence and dignity."

"Our focus is not so much on what has happened to these American heroes but what lies ahead for them and their families. They must rise again and continue to be productive participants both in their families and in our overall society. The Segway helps them do that," said Kerr. "While amputees face special challenges, many of the other injured service members suffer just as much with a range of severe injuries which leave them living with pain and limited mobility."

The Segway, a battery powered two wheel mobility device, has found an avid following among the disabled because its universal design allows almost anyone to use it without drawing attention to the disability. Recipients use their Segways to attend college, remain on active duty, work in private sector jobs, and engage in recreational activities and everyday tasks like shopping with their families. Recipients say the device makes it easier for them to stand longer and travel farther without fatigue and the need of extra pain killers. It has been so life changing for many recipients that their families credit the device with improving family relationships.

For more information, visit http://www.segs4vets.org.

About Segs4Vets

Segs4Vets was started in late 2005 by Disability Rights Advocates for Technology, a 501c3 created to represent people with disabilities who refuse to be defined by their disability and whose passionate enthusiasm for participation in life activities is supported by Universal Design and new and emerging technologies. The organization is a member of Military Veterans & Patriotic Service Organizations of America and has been certified as one of the best charities in America by the Independent Charities Seal of Excellence, an honor accorded fewer than 2,000 of the more than one million public charities in the United States. DRAFT launched Segs4Vets as a way to thank disabled American veterans of all wars for their sacrifice and for changing the face of disability in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.segs4vets.org.

Christine Black Office
For Segs4Vets
(202) 333-3853
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/segs4vets-award-segways-wounded-warriors-deck-uss-midway-080430171.html

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Wii-playing surgeons may improve performance on laparoscopic procedures

Feb. 27, 2013 ? Laparoscopic surgeons may improve certain aspects of surgical performance by regularly playing on a Nintendo? Wii, according to research published February 27 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Gregorio Patrizi and colleagues from the University of Rome, Italy.

Considering the technical skills required to perform laparascopic procedures, several studies aim to evaluate and improve training for surgeons outside the operating room. Previous studies have assessed the effect of playing video games on hand-eye coordination and spatial attention. In the current research, the authors combined these two aspects by analyzing how a four-week training regimen on the Nintendo? Wii impacted the laparoscopic skills of post-graduate residents in the first or second year of their surgical training. Half the surgeons were assigned to a training regimen on the Wii while the other half were not. Before and after the regimen, all the participants' performance was tested on a laparoscopic simulator.

The study found that participants in both groups improved their skills over the four week period, but those who had been trained on the Wii showed a significant improvement over the other group in their performance on several specific metrics like economy of instrument movements and efficient cautery. The study concludes, "The Nintendo? Wii might be helpful, inexpensive and entertaining part of the training of young laparoscopists, in addition to a standard surgical education based on simulators and the operating room."

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Journal Reference:

1. Domenico Giannotti, Gregorio Patrizi, Giorgio Di Rocco, Anna Rita Vestri, Camilla Proietti Semproni, Leslie Fiengo, Stefano Pontone, Giorgio Palazzini, Adriano Redler. Play to Become a Surgeon: Impact of Nintendo WII Training on Laparoscopic Skills. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e57372 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057372

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/top_health/~3/TPR-SEe5As0/130227183500.htm

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Progress at Iran nuke talks?

ALMATY (Reuters) - Major powers offered Iran limited sanctions relief in return for a halt to the most controversial part of its atomic work during the first day of nuclear talks on Tuesday, and Iran promised to respond with a proposal on the same scale.

The talks in Kazakhstan were the first in eight months between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany - the "P5+1" - on a decade-old dispute that threatens to trigger another war in the Middle East.

Iran has used the time since the last meeting in June to further expand activity that the West suspects is aimed at enabling it to build a nuclear bomb, something that Israel has suggested it will prevent by force if diplomacy fails.

The two-day negotiations in the city of Almaty follow inconclusive meetings last year in Istanbul, Baghdad and Moscow.

Western diplomats described the first day of talks as "useful" but said Iranian negotiators did not immediately respond to the P5+1's demand that Tehran closes its underground nuclear facility Fordow, at the center of their concerns.

"Hopefully the Iranians will be able to reflect overnight and will come back and view our proposal positively," said a spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton who oversees Iranian diplomacy for the six powers.

With the Islamic Republic's political elite preoccupied with worsening infighting before a presidential election in June, few believe the meeting will yield a quick breakthrough.

"It is clear that nobody expects to come from Almaty with a fully done deal," the EU spokesman, Michael Mann, said before the meeting started.

OFFER PRESENTED

A U.S. official said that the offer - an updated version of one rejected by Tehran last year - would take into account its recent nuclear advances, but also take "some steps in the sanctions arena".

For years, the powers had attempted a mix of economic pressure and diplomacy to persuade Iran to scale back its atomic work, but Tehran has insisted that sanctions are lifted before it complies with any demands.

In Almaty, a source close to the Iranian negotiators told reporters: "Depending on what proposal we receive from the other side we will present our own proposal of the same weight. The continuation of talks depends on how this exchange of proposals goes forward".

At best, diplomats and analysts say, Iran will take the joint offer from the United States, Russia, France, Germany, Britain and China seriously and agree to hold further talks soon on practical steps to ease the tension. Initial meetings could involve only technical experts, who cannot strike deals.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Berlin that he hoped Iran "will make its choice to move down the path of a diplomatic solution".

But Iran, whose chief negotiator Saeed Jalili is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is a veteran of Iran's 1980s war against Iraq and the Western powers that backed it, has shown no sign of willingness to scale back its nuclear work.

It says it has a sovereign right to carry out nuclear enrichment for peaceful energy purposes, and in particular refuses to close the underground Fordow enrichment plant, a condition the powers have set for any sanctions relief.

FASTER ENRICHMENT

A U.N. nuclear watchdog report last week said Iran was for the first time installing advanced centrifuges that would allow it to significantly speed up its enrichment of uranium, which can have both civilian and military purposes.

Accelerating Western sanctions on Iran over the last 14 months are hurting Iran's economy and slashing oil revenue. Its currency has more than halved in value, which in turn has pushed up inflation.

The central bank governor was quoted on Monday as saying Iran's inflation was likely to top 30 percent in coming weeks as the sanctions contribute to shortages and stockpiling. [ID:nL6N0BP51A] Iranians say inflation is already much higher than that official figure.

But analysts say the sanctions are not close to having the crippling effect envisaged by Washington and - so far at least - they have not prompted a change in Iran's nuclear course.

Western officials said the powers' offer would include an easing of restrictions on trade in gold and other precious metals if Tehran closes Fordow.

The facility is used for enriching uranium to 20 percent fissile purity, a short technical step from weapons grade.

Western officials acknowledge an easing of U.S. and EU sanctions on trade in gold represents a relatively modest step. But the metal could be used as part of barter transactions that might allow Iran to circumvent financial sanctions.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman last week dismissed the reported incentive as insufficient and a senior Iranian lawmaker has ruled out closing Fordow, close to the holy city of Qom.

(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl in Almaty, Zahra Hosseinian in Zurich, Arshad Mohammed and Stephen Brown in Berlin; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/powers-offer-iran-sanctions-relief-nuclear-talks-055616179.html

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JPMorgan to cut up to 17,000 jobs by end of 2014

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Tuesday that it plans to cut 17,000 jobs by the end of 2014, representing about 6.6 percent of the company's overall workforce, as the bank sheds staff that helped it deal with bad home loans.

The bank is optimistic that it can generate record income this year and is planning to add 4,000 employees in commercial and investment banking and credit cards to help it win business, bank executives said at an investor conference.

That hiring will be more than offset by job cuts in areas like mortgage servicing and retail banking, where the bank is positioning for a recovering housing market and new forms of branch banking. The net impact of the additions and cuts will be 17,000 fewer employees on the bank's payrolls.

The job cuts reflect the pressure that banks are under, even as the U.S. housing market and overall economy show signs of recovery. Many banks are looking to automate more of their businesses to make their staff more productive and improve profits.

For example, at JPMorgan's branches, where it plans to cut about 6,000 tellers and other employees, the bank hopes customers will use automated teller machines for every day transactions and that remaining staff can focus on higher-margin activities like selling wealth management services.

JPMorgan is one of the few big U.S. banks that is still adding branches to its network, but it is hoping to staff the branches with fewer workers. The bank's 5,614 branches have 63,500 employees, representing about a quarter of JPMorgan Chase's total. Chase's branch network is second to Wells Fargo & Co's in size.

For overall staffing levels, JPMorgan Chase had 258,965 employees globally at the end of 2012. Its headcount rose following the financial crisis to 262,882 in the second quarter of 2012 from 219,569 in the first quarter of 2009. Since last year's second quarter, staffing levels have drifted lower.

JPMorgan Chase overall earned $21.9 billion last year, excluding accounting charges linked to changes in the value of its debt. The bank said it has the potential to earn about $27.5 billion, thanks in part to efficiency gains. It aims to cut overall expenses by $1 billion in 2013.

To reach the $27.5 billion profit figure, the bank is also counting on costs for lawsuits to fall as disputes over bad mortgages are resolved, as well as seeing a one percentage point rise in interest rates, said Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake.

The profit scenario also depends on the bank not being hit by another trading debacle like the $6.2 billion loss last year on derivatives trades placed by the London Whale, the nickname given a London-based JPMorgan trader for the size of the positions.

Chief Executive Jamie Dimon acknowledged that many of his top lieutenants who spoke to investors on Tuesday were in new jobs after changes he made last year in his management team and the bank's divisions.

"It is a little bit too much change in one year," Dimon said. "Some of it was the Whale. Some of it was the re-org" to better align product divisions with customer interests, he said.

All of the top executives, however, have been at the company several years and know its businesses, Dimon said.

JPMorgan Chase shares were down 0.2 percent at $47.60 at the close of trading on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting By David Henry; Additional reporting by Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, North Carolina; Writing by Dan Wilchins; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, John Wallace and Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jpmorgan-chase-cut-4-000-jobs-2013-010505461--sector.html

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